Chapter 1583: The Sharp Tongue Is Real, and So Is the Praise

"Lord Yang, after you!"

Chen Chen Guanlou wore a faint smile, meeting the other's gaze directly. His manner was warm, yet carried an underlying firmness that left no room for the slightest objection.

Yang Deguang toyed with the thumb-ring on his thumb, his face expressionless. After a moment, he suddenly laughed. "Very well! I've long heard that Warden Chen's tea for guests rivals tribute-grade leaves. Today I simply must have a taste. Warden Chen, please lead the way!"

Chen Chen Guanlou led the man into the office.

He poured the tea himself, and its fragrance filled the room!

It was indeed top-grade tea, the fresh new harvest of this year. Hou Fu had given him half a jin; he had set aside one liang for Sun Sun Daoning, and another liang for Imperial Physician Mu. The remaining liang he kept at home for entertaining guests.

The rest he kept in the office, for his daily drinking.

When Yang Deguang said he would taste the tea, he truly began a proper appraisal, speaking with great authority.

Chen Chen Guanlou grew mildly curious and asked offhandedly, "Lord Yang has studied the Classic of Tea?"

"I leaf through it now and then when I have nothing to do. I wouldn't call it study—merely a hobby."

"What a refined hobby, Lord Yang. The post of Commander of the Imperial Guard gives people a very coarse, vulgar impression, as if one knows nothing but martial force. Lord Yang is different—far more like a civil official."

"Warden Chen jests. Since entering officialdom, this official has always been mired in the military camps and has never served as a civil official."

Chen Chen Guanlou nodded in reply. "Though Lord Yang is a military man, I daresay he has never given up his reading and study. Civil strategy and martial prowess both—truly admirable."

A man who enjoys reading the Classic of Tea must certainly be a scholar.

Even if he is a fighting man, he is a cultured one among fighting men.

Yang Deguang had long harbored a deep prejudice against Chen Chen Guanlou and had always avoided dealing with him. In his imagination, this man must be the sort who, leaning on Hou Fu and his martial cultivation, acted recklessly and spoke without the slightest restraint.

Meeting him for the first time today, he had never expected that the man's praise could strike so deep into the heart—truly formidable.

All these years he had kept his brush busy without pause, never setting aside his books, and in his heart had always prided himself on being a cultured general. Through all these years, hardly anyone had understood him.

He never expected that at their very first meeting, Chen Chen Guanlou would understand him so well.

This fellow is nothing like the rumors outside.

He vaguely understood why Chen Chen Guanlou got along so well with the Minister of Justice. Being this likable—he's an expert. The assault of his sugar-coated bullets is fierce indeed.

Chen Chen Guanlou's mouth is full of wit.

His sharp tongue is truly sharp—it can anger the dead back to life and the living to death.

But when he sincerely praises a person, no one can withstand his assault. He truly can praise straight to the heart, to the very core, driving the point straight into the bull's-eye.

To be able to praise straight to the heart, he must possess an extraordinary gift for reading people—seeing through them in a few words, knowing exactly what approach works on them, knowing what they most crave deep within.

This ability must surely be a skill honed through reading countless people.

The only pity is that Chen Chen Guanlou does things according to his mood. In a good mood, he can praise a person until they bloom like a morning glory. In a bad mood, he can poison a person with words until everyone wants to tear him apart with their bare hands.

Yang Deguang set down his teacup. No matter how likable the man was, today he had come only on official business, not for private matters.

"Warden Chen must already know why I am here today."

Chen Chen Guanlou nodded in reply. "I've heard. Your Imperial Guard wishes to interrogate Xiao Xiao Changsheng. But this does not follow the rules. Xiao Xiao Changsheng's case falls under the Ministry of Justice. Without a document from the Ministry of Justice, let alone the Imperial Guard—even if the Heavenly King Laozi himself came, no one will lay a finger on Xiao Xiao Changsheng.

I am not making things difficult for Lord Yang; I am merely handling official business by the book. We both make our living in the prisons and courts—you and I both know the consequences of incomplete paperwork. I hope Lord Yang will bear with me."

Yang Deguang toyed with his thumb-ring. "Warden Chen is an old hand at prisons and ought to know that the Imperial Guard does not come to the Heaven Prison to interrogate a prisoner for no reason. I'll tell you plainly: His Majesty is deeply dissatisfied with the Ministry of Justice's handling of the case. So he ordered the Imperial Guard to take Xiao Xiao Changsheng and close the case swiftly. This official's coming to the Heaven Prison today to interrogate the prisoner is in obedience to that order. I hope Warden Chen will do me a favor."

"Telling me this is useless. I only recognize documents from the Ministry of Justice. Since His Majesty has spoken, go straight to the Ministry of Justice, settle it with them, and have them issue a document. Once I see the document, I'll hand the man over. How about it?"

Chen Chen Guanlou's manner seemed very agreeable, but in truth he was absolutely unyielding. His stance was plain: even if one talked a flower into bloom today, he would not relent.

With him guarding the Heaven Prison, even if every member of the Imperial Guard came to seize the man, no one would have the ability to approach Xiao Xiao Changsheng's cell and take him away.

Yang Deguang's eyes narrowed slightly, a terrifying glint flashing within them.

In this state, he did look like a military commander—presence enough. But it still wasn't strong enough!

Chen Chen Guanlou kept smiling at the man, projecting an attitude of "everything is open for discussion, but I have my own principles of conduct."

"Can't Warden Chen make an exception?"

"Is Lord Yang in some difficult position? Getting a document from the Ministry of Justice is no great feat. Why skip that step and come straight to the Heaven Prison to interrogate the prisoner? I can't help suspecting you are assuming the tiger's majesty, borrowing the Emperor's name to achieve some unspeakable purpose."

"Do not slander this official." Yang Deguang's face darkened, anger smoldering beneath the surface.

Chen Chen Guanlou, however, smiled all the more broadly, deliberately provoking him.

He said with a smile: "We are all men of the officialdom. What happens in the court is a secret to the common folk, but to me it is no secret. Zhengshitang has been blocking the Emperor, forbidding him from a wholesale slaughter. Xiao Xiao Changsheng is the court's compromise with the Emperor, but that does not mean the Emperor can do as he pleases. Hence Xiao Xiao Changsheng went into the Heaven Prison, not the Imperial Prison.

Zhengshitang's meaning is very clear: this case must go through the Ministry of Justice, handled by the Ministry of Justice. Your coming to the Heaven Prison today to interrogate Xiao Xiao Changsheng is plainly the Emperor expressing his displeasure. But the Emperor does not wish to leave a handle for Zhengshitang to nag him about, so he sent you as the vanguard to seize the man by force. If you succeed, all the better! If it blows up, it is merely the Imperial Guard acting on its own, and the Emperor cannot be implicated. Am I right?"

Yang Deguang's face was dark and stormy, his eyes like a wolf's. "Warden Chen—has anyone ever told you that sometimes you are extremely annoying?"

Chen Chen Guanlou laughed heartily and admitted it openly. "Yes, many people have said so. It's all this mouth of mine—I can't help chattering away. Every single time I manage to chatter out the truth and stab straight into the heart.

Lord Yang, you should trust your own judgment. I have always stood aside, forever in the position of an observer. The truths you cannot see while caught in the game, I can see. The points that confuse you, I can see through as well. Between us, we can cooperate for mutual benefit. I help you see through the fog, and you, in return, give me some convenience. What do you say?

Yang Deguang frowned. "What are you after?"

"Xiao Xiao Changsheng is a hot potato—handing him over to you is no big deal. But are you certain you can cover the fallout? Are you certain you can walk away unscathed?"

"What do you mean?"