Chapter 1587: One dies of incurable injuries, one dies of incurable illness—perfect!

"Aren't you afraid that His Majesty will vent his anger on the Ministry of Justice, or vent his anger on the Heavenly Prison? Aren't you afraid of implicating Minister Sun?"

Medical Official Mu asked tremblingly, his heart shivering. Privately killing a prisoner personally supervised by the Emperor was like poking a hole in the sky!

He still underestimated Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen's courage.

"He will definitely vent his anger! However, the Secretariat will stop him; they will absolutely not let him act recklessly. Soon, he won't have the energy to act recklessly either."

"Why?"

Because Marquis Pingjiang is about to return.

Recently, there hasn't been much movement in the imperial court.

Precisely because there hasn't been much movement, he guessed that the negotiations between the Marquis's mansion and Xie Changling had entered the fast lane and would soon have a result.

If the negotiations had broken down, the imperial court wouldn't be this quiet.

Xie Changling would definitely have moved long ago, making countermeasures, not hesitating to abandon the north just to finish off Marquis Pingjiang.

When Emperor Jian Shi was alive, they didn't operate this way because the most important thing in the imperial court at that time was the appointment of the Crown Prince, and limiting Emperor Jian Shi from stimulating Marquis Pingjiang with extreme behavior.

Before the Crown Prince was decided, everything was based on stability.

Now, the appointment of the Crown Prince is no longer a major issue for the imperial court.

Instead, it is the empty treasury and the high cost of war that have dragged down the Great Gan dynasty, becoming a burden on the people, to the point where the common people are increasingly impoverished. The people have been pressed until their backs are bent; a single spark could ignite them, becoming the biggest problem.

The source of solving this problem lies in the northwest.

Xie Changling is very responsible as the Left Minister; he only grasps the primary problem. He considers other things only after solving the primary problem.

If the primary problem isn't solved, any measure is just patching things up.

Medical Official Mu furrowed his brows. "My lord, how much certainty do you have that you can land safely?"

Chen Guanlou gestured with a fist. "At least fifty percent certainty."

"Does Prince Ning really have a relationship with the Lu Prince's mansion?"

"Don't worry about whether they have a relationship; in any case, you just do as I instruct. Old Mu, you have to trust me!"

"I naturally trust you, my lord. I'm just worried that you are underestimating the danger, resulting in irreversible consequences. A prison guard's life is also a life."

After the incident, Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen certainly wouldn't die, but the prison guards of the Heavenly Prison might not be so lucky.

"No one cherishes the lives of the Heavenly Prison guards more than I do," Chen Guanlou said.

These words held some truth.

In the past, those prison wardens never cared about the life or death of the guards, and even felt it was beneath them to talk to the guards, looking down on them in various ways. Only Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen truly managed to view the guards as his own people.

Medical Official Mu took a deep breath. "Fine! Since you have certainty, I will listen to your instructions. How should they die?"

"Xiao Changsheng dies of an incurable illness. The Xiao mansion's steward dies of an incurable condition from infected wounds. How about that?" Chen Guanlou suggested.

Medical Official Mu nodded; neither of these methods was difficult, and for him, they were easy to handle. Even the poison he would use was ready-made, guaranteeing that the coroners wouldn't be able to detect it.

"Rest assured, my lord, I will handle this matter properly."

That day, the Xiao mansion's steward was dragged into the interrogation room to be tortured; when he was dragged out, he had only one breath left.

Chen Guanlou went to take a look, and watching the steward groaning in pain, he leaned in close and whispered: "Do you want to be released early? You know full well who your master offended. Don't have any delusions."

"My lord, I really don't know. My master didn't have much contact with Prince Ning; even if they met, they just chatted about family matters..."

"Who asked you about that?" Chen Guanlou gave a light laugh. "From this moment on, keep your mouth shut and don't say anything. Just pretend you're a mute, remember?"

The Xiao mansion's steward finally realized that the other man wasn't here to interrogate him, but to make him shut up.

His heart suddenly panicked. "I..."

"I'll leave you a good grave so you can close your eyes in peace!" Chen Guanlou promised.

The Xiao mansion's steward instantly revealed a relieved smile, his whole body becoming relaxed, and he even cried. He cried from happiness!

"I don't want to be a lonely ghost."

"I'll set up a tombstone for you. If your descendants have a chance in the future, they will definitely burn paper for you, allowing you to continue living in wealth in the underworld."

"Thank you, thank you! My master, he..."

"He is fine, you don't need to worry."

"Please tell my master that I didn't say anything, I kept my mouth shut, and I absolutely did not betray my master."

"Very good!" Chen Guanlou smiled at him. "Have a good sleep, you will be released soon."

He stood up and left.

Early the next morning, the Bing-grade prison reported that two people had died.

One of them was the Xiao mansion's steward, who had died from incurable injuries.

Chen Guanlou received the news and instructed the signing office to write up the documents and report them to the Ministry of Justice. Seeing the weather getting hotter, he requested the Ministry of Justice to send someone to verify and approve them as soon as possible, and to arrange for the burial of the bodies.

The Ministry of Justice sent someone to the Heavenly Prison that same day to verify. It was unprecedented efficiency.

"This person is the Xiao mansion's steward; why did he die?"

So they had come to hold him accountable.

"He was tortured and died from incurable injuries."

"Who gave you permission to torture him? This is outrageous!"

Chen Guanlou was articulate and forceful. "The Ministry of Justice has been in arrears with money and grain for over a year. If you don't torture the prisoners to get money, are you going to give us money? If the prisoners in the cells really starve to death, can you take responsibility?"

"Absurd! Does missing one portion of money mean you'll starve to death? When the prisoner was sent here, we instructed you to watch him well, not to mistreat him, and not to let him die in the Heavenly Prison. You agreed to it perfectly well, and now look! Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, this is dereliction of duty; I am going to report you!"

"Go ahead and report me, hurry up and report me; if you don't report me, you're a grandson. The Ministry of Justice doesn't allocate grain or salaries, and you still think you're in the right. We have to find ways to get money ourselves; why are you blocking us? I'm telling you, if you don't make up the money and grain, we will continue to torture them for money. If one dies, so be it."

"You, you, you..."

The Ministry of Justice official was so angry he was half-dead.

In the history of the Heavenly Prison, Chen Guanlou was definitely the first prison warden who dared to challenge the Ministry of Justice.

Outrageous!

Audacious.

Privately torturing for money, beating someone to death, and still daring to argue righteously—who gave him the courage?

"You surnamed Chen, just you wait! I will definitely report you. A person like you, if you were working at the Ministry of Justice, you would have been impeached long ago."

"You hurry up and impeach me. If you don't impeach me, you're the son of a foot-washing maid." Chen Guanlou fired on all cylinders, his tongue so poisonous he wished he could curse the other man to death. He truly wanted to anger the living to death.

The Ministry of Justice official left in a fit of rage.

Unfortunately, the documents didn't have money.

The bodies could only continue to be kept in the Heavenly Prison's morgue.

Fortunately, it wasn't the hottest season yet.

He instructed the handymen, "If the bodies start to stink, dig a pit and bury them shallowly. After the Ministry of Justice approves the documents, pull them out and bury them. Remember to choose a good grave and set up a tombstone so it's easy to find."

"My lord, setting up a tombstone in a mass grave is frowned upon."

Everyone is in a mass grave; why should you have a tombstone and someone burning paper? The resentful spirits will be dissatisfied and will definitely cause trouble!

"Then find a grave on the outskirts of the mass grave and let those who handle funerals take care of it. We are only responsible for paying!"

"As you wish, my lord!" ===== CHAPTER 1588 =====