Chapter 1618

For the sake of Old Sun, Chen Guanlou decisively agreed to Yang Deguang's request, owing the other party a favor.

He really was deeply attached to Old Sun!

Tomorrow, he would have to find Old Sun to ask for a favor in return.

The next day, the Imperial Prison, following the list, transferred several scholars involved in the case to the Heavenly Prison.

There were five people in total.

Two shared the surname Sun and were clansmen of Minister Sun.

The other three were from the same hometown as Old Sun.

All were young talents, promising seeds of scholarship expected to make the Golden List. No wonder Old Sun had arranged for the five to stay at the Sun residence, only for them to cause such a huge disaster.

Sun Daojing rushed to the Heavenly Prison at the first opportunity and gave the five a thorough scolding.

Not knowing the height of the sky or the depth of the earth, they dared to follow others and step into a mud pit, almost getting stuck in it.

"Even I, an official, dare not meddle in the affairs of the Imperial House. Where did you get the guts to dare to get involved? Are you tired of living, or do you think you aren't dying fast enough?"

The five men lowered their heads one after another, not daring to utter a word of rebuttal. After a trip to the Imperial Prison, they all looked very well-behaved.

The atmosphere in the Imperial Prison, even without torture, was enough to scare a person half to death.

Sun Daojing was furious, "Who exactly instigated you? Or did you want to make a name for yourselves, knowing there were tigers in the mountains yet heading toward Tiger Mountain? Speak!"

"We didn't know the inside story at all at first; we thought it was just a simple poetry and literature gathering. We never imagined it would involve the Imperial House."

Sun Daojing scolded angrily: "You couldn't imagine?! What are your brains for? Have you all studied your books into a dog's stomach? I warned you from the start that the water in the capital is deep, not to talk nonsense outside, and not to leave behind a single word. If you aren't sure about something, come back and ask. Did you listen?"

The five men remained silent in unison, not daring to make a sound.

Sun Daojing looked at them, his anger rising, "This matter isn't over yet. You will stay in the Heavenly Prison for now, and all of you behave yourselves. You will leave only when the case is closed."

"My lord..."

"Uncle..."

All five were terrified.

They had to continue sitting in prison until the case was closed.

If it affected their official careers, if they were stripped of their titles... they didn't dare imagine the consequences.

"Now you know fear, what were you doing earlier?" Sun Daojing raged, "This case involves the Imperial House, and I am constrained by fear of collateral damage. In short, all of you behave yourselves. Listen to Prison Warden Chen in everything; whatever he tells you to do, you will cooperate honestly. Whoever dares to act one way to his face and another behind his back will be sent straight to the Imperial Prison for torture!"

Once these words were spoken, even if they had other thoughts in their hearts, they could only suppress them.

Having toured the Imperial Prison, all five felt its terror. By comparison, the Heavenly Prison was better! At least it wasn't so gloomy.

"Reflect on yourselves properly!"

Sun Daojing flicked his sleeves and left.

Chen Guanlou smiled at the five and called over a prison guard, "Lock them up separately, and keep them far away from the other imprisoned officials. Lest they say things they shouldn't and bring disaster upon Minister Sun."

"Understood!"

The five clearly had something to say, but Chen Guanlou ignored them and followed Old Sun out of the Jia-grade prison to the office to drink tea.

"Old Sun, calm your anger; it's not worth ruining your health over a few good-for-nothings. You are at an advanced age, so you should focus on maintaining your health. I am still counting on you to sit in the position of Minister of Justice for a long time to come, shielding me from the wind and rain."

"Am I very old?"

Sun Daojing was in a fit of anger, looking for trouble, determined to pick a fight.

By the average lifespan of ordinary people, ignoring the status he was shielding, he was already a long-lived person.

"Whether you are old or not, you know it in your own heart."

Chen Guanlou knew how to make people die of anger.

Sun Daojing hummed twice, "If you can't speak properly, shut your mouth."

He paused, took a deep breath, and tried hard to suppress his anger, "This time, it's thanks to you. I owe you a favor."

"Don't just say it with your mouth; give me something practical." Chen Guanlou climbed up the pole, not knowing what politeness was.

"What do you want?"

"Make up the arrears in money and grain."

Sun Daojing didn't even think about it and refused outright, "Impossible! The Ministry of Revenue has no money, and the Ministry of Justice has no money either. There is still a war in the Northwest, and Minister Xie is racking his brains all day about where to get money. Don't count on it this year. When the war in the Northwest ends, then you can count on it."

"Old Sun, you are really stingy. I helped you with such a big favor, and you only thank me with words; do you think that's appropriate? If you are like this, I won't help you next time."

Chen Guanlou was very disdainful.

He spent money and effort, and even owed Yang Deguang a favor.

Sun Daojing sat back and enjoyed the fruits of his labor, yet refused to allocate money and grain. It was too much!

Old Sun was stingy to the core.

Sun Daojing stroked his beard, "There is no silver, but for grain, I can allocate a portion of old, stale grain. If you don't mind, I will write you a slip right now."

"How many years old is the grain?"

This matter had to be clarified.

One to two-year-old grain was acceptable, but three years was out of the question. He was afraid of poisoning people to death.

"Two or three years, definitely."

"Old Sun, if you want the prisoners in the cells to die, just say so. There's no need to use such a roundabout method. You dare to give moldy grain, but I don't dare to feed it to the prisoners."

Sun Daojing denied it flatly, "Where is there mold? It's preserved very well. Stop talking nonsense."

Chen Guanlou clicked his tongue in wonder, mocking him to the extreme, "Listen to yourself, do you believe it? How can there be two or three-year-old grain in the capital that is still well-preserved? Who are you trying to fool? Officials aren't fools; they wouldn't know to sell good grain for money and honestly let it pile up in the warehouse. Why don't you say that a child carrying gold through a busy market wouldn't make people greedy?"

Sun Daojing's old face flushed, and he became angry from embarrassment, "Do you want it or not?"

"I didn't say I didn't want it, but it has to be converted. Ten catties of old grain count as one catty of new grain. If you agree, I will arrange for people to pick up the grain today."

"Impossible! At most, three catties count as one! If you don't want it, there are plenty of people who do!" Sun Daojing would not back down.

Chen Guanlou sneered, "Six catties of old grain count as one, take it or leave it. I don't believe there is anyone outside who is easier to talk to than me. Besides the Heavenly Prison, who else can help you handle this batch of old grain? Where else can you find such a sucker?"

Sun Daojing frowned, "Six catties for one, that's hard to calculate. How about five catties for one?"

"Add another five thousand taels of silver."

"Impossible! At most, I can allocate one thousand taels to the Heavenly Prison. The state of the country is difficult this year, the Ministry of Revenue has many arrears, and the Ministry of Justice has no money either. You should be more understanding."

Sun Daojing started playing the emotional card.

Chen Guanlou couldn't be bothered to argue, "One thousand five hundred taels, you write the slip, and it will be transferred directly from the Heavenly Prison's public account; no need to go through the Ministry of Justice's accounts."

Sun Daojing nodded decisively, "Deal! As for those five people, put in more effort and let them know what's good for them."

"To what extent?" Chen Guanlou asked directly. He didn't want to wait until he had taken action for Old Sun to turn around and say he had been too heavy-handed. This kind of thing had to be clarified in advance to prevent future entanglement.

"As long as they aren't dead, crippled, or disfigured!" Sun Daojing said viciously, "They just need a lesson!"

Chen Guanlou didn't believe a word of it, "Old Sun, you are in a fit of anger right now, so you aren't calm enough. Wait a few days for this matter."