Chapter 1521: Just eat the egg; there

Zhou Tongpan's expression darkened instantly.

The young ladies, who had been giggling just a moment ago, were extremely perceptive; seeing this, they all shut their mouths.

"The tea has gone cold; I'll go urge them."

"The food is cold too; I'll go check the kitchen to see if there's any fresh wine and dishes."

The young ladies all found excuses to leave the private room.

Only the two grown men remained in the room.

Zhou Tongpan picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of food, saying as he ate, "I was wondering why Brother Chen would have the time to invite me for a drink; so, it turns out to be a Hongmen Banquet."

After speaking, he raised an eyebrow and smiled, his expression indescribably determined and confident. It was an attitude of having full confidence and not fearing Chen Guanlou at all.

Chen Guanlou continued to toy with his wine cup. "The term 'Hongmen Banquet' is an exaggeration. I already said, I just want to have a sincere exchange and sincere consultation with Brother Zhou. Could it be that Brother Zhou has some difficulty, and the case of Wang Qiren is inconvenient to discuss?"

Zhou Tongpan put down his chopsticks and said in a slightly exaggerated tone, "So it turns out I misunderstood Brother Chen."

"No matter! This is our first time interacting with such candor; it's understandable to have some misunderstandings. As long as it doesn't affect the brotherhood between us, it's fine. I treat Brother Zhou with sincerity, and I hope Brother Zhou will reciprocate with sincerity. I am protecting Wang Qiren; tell me how to handle it, and how much money is needed?"

Chen Guanlou wore a smile, his expression sincere, but in reality, he was aggressive and unyielding.

Zhou Tongpan gave a soft laugh; the situation before him seemed quite interesting.

He took a sip of wine. "May I ask why Brother Chen wants to protect Wang Qiren?"

"I have a deal with someone else, and Wang Qiren is part of that deal. I hope Brother Zhou can accommodate me a little." Chen Guanlou cupped his hands and then toasted the other party.

But he didn't rush to drink, instead watching the other party with a smile to see if he would accept the toast.

Zhou Tongpan toyed with his wine cup but was slow to pick it up.

"If it were any other case, I would certainly facilitate the person Brother Chen wants to protect. However, the case of Wang Qiren involves a noble, so I cannot make the decision on this case."

"You mean the Zhao Wang Fu, right? Is there any room for communication?"

Zhou Tongpan shook his head. "What kind of figure am I? I have no qualifications to communicate with the Wang Fu. Even if it were our Master (the Governor of Jingzhao), when encountering such matters, he could only act according to the noble's instructions."

Chen Guanlou scoffed, looking very disdainful. "A mere hunter—does the noble even know this happened? It's clearly the Wang Fu steward acting under the guise of the noble's power, and you all are taking it seriously."

"Even if he is acting under the guise of power, he is indeed borrowing the influence of the Wang Fu. As the saying goes, 'If you don't look at the monk's face, look at the Buddha's.' We are not looking at the steward's face, but the Wang Fu's face. You also cannot guarantee that the noble in the Wang Fu doesn't know about this."

Zhou Tongpan used the other's spear to attack the other's shield, throwing the problem back.

Chen Guanlou decisively put down his wine cup, looking at him with a half-smile. "Does Brother Zhou mean that this favor cannot be done?"

"Not at all! As long as Brother Chen has a way to get the Wang Fu to loosen their grip, I will release the person immediately. I can also guarantee that during this period, Wang Qiren will not receive any harsh treatment and will be safe and sound! How about that?"

Zhou Tongpan made his stance clear: he would not interfere in this case; he would just act according to instructions. Don't expect him to take risks just because of a meal and drinks.

Let alone one meal, even ten meals would be useless.

Compared to his future, the face of a Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen was nothing. He was just an add-on.

If he had the ability, he should go find the Zhao Wang Fu, not him.

Chen Guanlou laughed out loud. "Brother Zhou is a straightforward person. Even though you didn't agree to my request, it doesn't hinder the friendship between us. Come, Brother Zhou, I toast you—to our friendship!"

This time, Zhou Tongpan drank the wine very readily, without another word.

This drinking session lasted until the third watch before breaking up.

The money had been given, but Zhou Tongpan refused to stay the night, saying he had to get up early the next morning to go out on official business.

Knowing it was an excuse, Chen Guanlou didn't insist on him staying.

Since the other party wouldn't take the bait, he couldn't be bothered to waste any more effort.

Old, crafty, and cunning!

He sneered coldly!

Zhao Wang Fu?

He wouldn't go find the Zhao Wang Fu for anything!

Early the next morning, he went directly to find Sun Daoning, requested an official document from Old Sun, and went straight to the Jingzhao Prefecture to take the person.

After completing the handover procedures, Wang Qiren was released.

Zhou Tongpan did not show his face, remaining seated in his office. A subordinate reported the matter to him: "Master, are we really not going to stop him? Wang Qiren is involved in the Wang Fu poisoning case; if the Wang Fu asks about it..."

"Why should we stop him? If the Wang Fu asks, just tell the truth. The prisoner has been taken for interrogation by the Ministry of Justice; if they want the person, go ask the Ministry of Justice."

After speaking, Zhou Tongpan laughed to himself.

Then he muttered to himself: "I thought he would borrow the influence of the Hou Fu to deal with the Wang Fu. I never expected him to go directly through the Ministry of Justice's connections to take the person. Rumors outside say he has an extraordinary relationship with Minister Sun; I didn't believe it before. Now it seems the rumors aren't groundless. Have you found out clearly what relationship Wang Qiren has with Chen Guanlou?"

"I asked; there is no relationship at all. It seems he is taking money to rescue people?"

"Rescuing people all the way to the Jingzhao Prefecture? This is not Chen Guanlou's style. There must be a hidden story in this matter."

"Master, do you need me to continue asking?"

"No need!"

Zhou Tongpan understood the principle of stopping in time; he didn't have such strong curiosity that he had to get to the bottom of it.

He only cared about his own official hat. As long as it didn't affect his promotion and wealth, it was fine.

The subordinate acknowledged the order and withdrew.

Wang Qiren was brought back to the Heavenly Prison for detention.

Two days later, a document was sent to the Ministry of Justice: the prisoner Wang Qiren had 'died'!

Wang Qiren had sat in the Heavenly Prison for two days, then walked out of the Heavenly Prison with a bewildered look on his face and was picked up by Wang Shi.

"I'm okay now?"

"There is a problem! In the official records, you are already dead. From now on, you are called Wang Shijun, not Wang Qiren."

Oh!

Wang Qi... Wang Shijun went to prison in a daze, got out of prison in a daze, and was sent out of the capital by Wang Shi in a daze, with the warning that he was not allowed to come to the capital within a year, otherwise his dog legs would be broken.

Wang Shijun was dizzy and confused; he hadn't even figured out what happened before he returned home. A prison tour hadn't been fully experienced before it ended. He still felt a bit unsatisfied.

Wang Shi was very satisfied with Chen Guanlou's attitude toward handling the matter, but she wasn't very satisfied with the case of Wang Qiren being closed as a death.

The overall result was good, so she accepted it.

She told Chen Guanlou, "In the future, if you have any needs, you can still come to find me. As long as the price is right, I am willing to serve."

"I have a question; I don't know if I should ask it or not."

"Since you've already said it to this point, can you hold back from asking?"

Chen Guanlou laughed. "Regarding that precious bug of yours, the Golden War Armor, I am very curious. I dare to guess that the bug wasn't cultivated by you yourselves, right? Your sect had contact with cultivators back then, right? Is the bug from the cultivation world?"

After hearing his question, Wang Shi stared at him with a somewhat strange expression.

Then she gave a soft laugh. "Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen has quite an imagination. I can only tell you that the Golden War Armor is my treasure. As for what cultivators or the cultivation world are, I don't know, and I've never heard of them. A bug is just a bug; why care where it came from? Just like when you eat an egg, do you care about the hen that laid it?" ===== CHAPTER 1522 =====