Chapter 1615: Do Me a Favor

Sun Sun Daoning was furious and frustrated.

A few scholars from his hometown were staying at his residence, and they often went out to attend poetry and literary gatherings in normal days. He also encouraged them to mingle with other scholars. As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.

A friendship forged at such a time might well become a source of support once they entered officialdom in the future.

Back in his own day, he had suffered from being unskilled at making connections, wasting years in the lower ranks. Had it not been for the fact that all his superiors above him had gotten into trouble, the position of Minister of Justice might never have fallen to him.

He hoped the few scholars from his hometown could learn from his lesson and take a few less detours.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected them to get dragged into a major case — one that implied the Emperor mistreated Prince Ning, stirred up rumors, and intended to sow discord between the Emperor's own brothers.

By the time he learned of it, the men had already been arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Only at this point did the people at home tell him the truth.

"The men have already been arrested, and only now you tell me, only now you let me go fish them out — where were you all this time? I'm busy with official business at the yamen all day, with no time to keep an eye on them. Surely you all had time to keep an eye on them?"

Lady Niu was thoroughly irritated and snapped, "If I had known they were running wild out there, I would never have let them step out the door. It's all because of you — you kept egging them on, and that's how their guts grew bigger and bigger."

"I encouraged them to go out and make friends, not to write poems that cast aspersions on His Majesty."

In front of his old wife, Sun Sun Daoning dropped all pretense of dignity and said exactly what was on his mind. Fuming, he sat down beside her.

"A few brats — they should be taught a hard lesson."

Lady Niu frowned. "I have no objection to letting them learn a hard lesson, but the Imperial Prison... if anything goes wrong, won't their whole lives be ruined? It wasn't easy for a few decent young men to come out of there — they can't be destroyed inside the Imperial Prison."

Sun Sun Daoning's face was full of worry. "I've always kept clear of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, with little contact. With the previous Commander Xiao, I could still exchange a few words. But with this current Yang Delight, I've never had the chance to deal with him. If I show up out of the blue, I'm afraid he may not be willing to do me the favor."

Lady Niu fretted along with him. "Didn't you say Warden Chen has always had a good relationship with the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Could you ask Warden Chen to step in and mediate? I'm not asking to have them released — at the very least, transfer them to a different cell, move them to the Heavenly Prison. What do you say?"

Sun Sun Daoning thought it over carefully and nodded. "Hopefully this Lord Yang is the easygoing sort."

He didn't dare to hope.

This case had been personally assigned by the Emperor, to be carried out by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Yang Delight was newly appointed, eager to produce some results to show the Emperor, eager to demonstrate his loyalty before the Emperor. He was unlikely to compromise!

Sigh!

Now he had no better option — he could only let Chen Chen Guanlou step in and test the other's attitude first.

If the other's attitude showed room for negotiation, he could come forward himself, and it wouldn't be too late.

The next day, he invited Chen Chen Guanlou to the Ministry of Justice and told him the full truth of the matter.

"You've dealt with Yang Delight before — what sort of man is he? Do you think he'll do me the favor?"

"He'll definitely give you face." Chen Chen Guanlou said with conviction.

"That certain?"

Sun Sun Daoning was half-convinced, half-doubting.

"Old Sun, don't sell yourself short. You're the Minister of Justice — whatever he may think in his heart, on the surface he'll certainly give you full respect."

"Will he release the men?"

"Definitely not." Chen Chen Guanlou said with a grin.

Sun Sun Daoning couldn't help but roll his eyes. "What's the use of just giving face without releasing the men?"

"But, a transfer should be possible."

Chen Chen Guanlou spoke between breaths.

Sun Sun Daoning was furious.

He'd been sent on an emotional rollercoaster.

He nodded. "Then transfer them. Tell him — if he's willing to do me this one favor, I'll owe him a favor. The day will come when I repay it. I hope he can deal with these juniors of mine with discretion. For a scholar, earning his Kao Qu Gong is no easy matter!"

Chen Chen Guanlou agreed with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll see it done for you. If Yang Delight refuses to give face, I'll go raid the prison. I guarantee the lads come out whole and intact."

"Nonsense! As Warden of the Heavenly Prison, every word out of your mouth is about raiding prisons — you rascal! If you really went and raided the prison, you'd only make things worse for them. They want an official career — they can only walk out of prison in proper fashion, never through crooked back doors."

"I know, I know — I was only joking, look how worked up you are. I've been in the prison business for so many years — how could I not know the weight of things here? You think too little of me."

"I'm not thinking little of you. I'm worried you'll rely on your martial prowess and run wild without restraint. There's a reason the officialdom has no room for martial artists. Martial artists are used to solving problems with force — you must not pick up that bad habit."

Sun Sun Daoning spoke with earnest, painstaking advice.

Chen Chen Guanlou laughed it off and didn't take it to heart.

Compared to the martial artists of the jianghu, he could be called an apostle of peace. If it could be talked through, he absolutely would not resort to force.

Sun Sun Daoning was simply biased against him.

He didn't care!

Seek common ground while reserving differences!

One must allow the other party to hold different views.

After leaving the Ministry of Justice, he sent someone to deliver an invitation to Yang Delight, asking him out for wine and women that evening, and asking him to be sure to grace them with his presence.

On the Imperial Prison side, Company Commander Yang was still in charge.

Chen Chen Guanlou gave him two hundred taels of silver, handed over the name list, and asked him to look after them well.

"A bit of intimidation is fine, but absolutely no torture. I'll go discuss with your Lord Yang whether we can transfer these men."

Company Commander Yang glanced at the name list. "These men are all from out of town — does Brother Chen know them?"

"I don't. But they're all fellow townsmen of Minister Sun. Minister Sun asked me to look after them, so naturally I must do my utmost. Brother Yang, you and I have been brothers for so long — you wouldn't make things hard for me, would you?"

Company Commander Yang laughed heartily, very straightforwardly. "Rest easy, Brother Chen. Since they're Minister Sun's fellow townsmen, I definitely won't torture them — at most I'll give them a scare. But you need to move fast. This case is being supervised by the palace — the palace eunuchs are watching every day, and we don't dare slack off. While there's still time, if a transfer is possible, hurry and do it."

"Done! If this works out, I'll owe you a favor. If you need anything in the future, come find me anytime."

"That would be wonderful!" Company Commander Yang beamed.

To get Warden Chen to owe him a favor — what a rare thing that was. With this favor to call in, his heart was sweet with satisfaction. He decided to save it for the most critical moment and absolutely not waste it.

A favor owed by a ninth-rank martial artist — worth a fortune!

Yang Delight, being busy, did not wish to attend the banquet.

His subordinates still tried to persuade him, "Chen the Prison Clerk has wide connections—it's said he even has some friendship with Prime Minister Xie. And Her Grace the Empress has a very good relationship with him too; she's summoned him into the palace twice in a row. This uncle-nephew bond is something no other member of the Chen clan can claim. Even the Empress's own maternal uncle hasn't received such an honor. Since he's hosting, even if knives were falling from the sky, my lord should still go."

Yang Deguang frowned, visibly displeased. "You're telling this official to curry favor with someone surnamed Chen?"

"My lord misunderstands! This isn't currying favor—it's mutual benefit! Chen the Prison Clerk has none of the bureaucratic airs about him; he's more like a man of the jianghu, who values loyalty and righteousness. There's no harm in my lord being on good terms with him."

"Are you telling this official to imitate Xiao Xiao Jincheng?"

The subordinate dared not speak further.

He was afraid that saying more would backfire.