Chapter 1646

Chen Guanlou was very angry, his face instantly falling.

He suspected the other party was mentally ill.

"Is the Count's Mansion all that great?"

Zhu San stammered; he was not unable to read the room—on the contrary, he was very good at observing expressions.

For a moment, he stammered, unable to utter a single word.

"It seems Brother Zhu has never understood me. If you had ever inquired about my situation, you would not have said such things that boost others' morale and deflate my, Chen Guanlou's, prestige."

"I..." Zhu San was quick to react. "Brother Chen, please forgive me; I truly have never inquired about Brother Chen's situation. It is my shallowness!"

Having said this, he bowed again to apologize!

Full of sincerity.

Chen Guanlou snorted coldly. "You only know that I am a Jiang Jiang Yucheng of the Heavenly Prison, but you have forgotten my surname is Chen. You know Marquis Pingjiang, right!"

Of course he knew.

Zhu San nodded repeatedly.

That was the world-renowned Marquis Pingjiang, known to everyone. Even children in mountain villages knew of Marquis Pingjiang. After all, for these years, the reason the imperial court has been increasing taxes is because of the war in the Northwest.

"My surname is Chen, the same Chen as the Marquis Pingjiang's Mansion. As for our relationship, I call the Marquis Pingjiang 'Uncle'."

Zhu San let out an "Ah," shocked once again! So the powerful person was right by my side!

He was panicked beyond measure.

He began to recall if he had offended the other party during their previous interactions.

Chen Guanlou ignored the other party's reaction and continued: "I am a Ninth-Rank warrior, the number one person among the Ninth Rank. Many years ago, I had a duel with Master Qi of the Jixia Academy, and it ended in a draw. That year, I had just stepped into the Ninth Rank."

"You, you, you... the person who dueled with Master Qi back then was actually Brother Chen."

"If it wasn't me, could it have been someone else?" Chen Guanlou was very proud.

"I always thought... I, I, I..." Zhu San was so excited he was incoherent.

As an ordinary merchant who never cared about the martial arts world, he had heard of that duel. It was said that both sides fought directly in the sky, with flying sand and stones, blocking out the sun—the scene was incredibly shocking.

He never imagined that the person who dueled with Master Qi back then was the Jiang Jiang Yucheng, Master Chen, with whom he had once drunk and eaten meat.

It was his own lack of vision.

He truly did not know these circumstances.

He had always thought Chen Guanlou was just an ordinary Jiang Jiang Yucheng with a bit of money. He really hadn't gone to find out, and no one had introduced him. That bunch of drinking buddies all viewed him as a sucker, and they wouldn't tell him about many of the ins and outs.

He himself was also at fault; he only thought about networking, networking with those officials and those nobles, but forgot that the gentleman beside him was also a powerful person.

"Brother Chen, please forgive me; I had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai!"

Chen Guanlou snorted coldly, head held high, his eyes full of disdain. A small fry with no eye for talent—the true god was right beside him, and he didn't know how to cling to his leg, instead running off to cling to Zhang Laosi's leg.

Zhang Laosi was nothing!

"Are you still worried now that I am overreaching by going up against the Count's Mansion?"

"It was I who was overreaching; Brother Chen, please forgive me." Zhu San apologized sincerely again; it was his own lack of judgment.

He also hadn't expected that a dignified Ninth-Rank warrior, with the backing of the Marquis's Mansion, would actually settle for a position as a Jiang Jiang Yucheng in the Heavenly Prison. He had never seen such a person.

In his understanding, Ninth-Rank warriors were either in sects or in aristocratic families. It was absolutely impossible for them to be holed up working in the Heavenly Prison. It was too contradictory, too magical!

So much so that he had preconceived notions and ignored that this gentleman was a genuine powerful person.

"Enough, since I have accepted your money, I will not make things difficult for you. I will investigate your case clearly. If the Count's Mansion framed you on purpose, I will make the Count's Mansion hand over the real culprit. In the future, stay far away from the Count's Mansion. That kind of trash is only a treasure in your eyes."

Zhu San smiled bitterly again and again.

A dignified Count's Mansion—he would feel ashamed that his status wasn't high enough to curry favor with them, yet in Brother Chen's mouth, they were only worthy of being called trash.

He could already roughly outline the contempt chain of the noble circle.

The Marquis Pingjiang's Mansion must be at the top of the contempt chain, which is why Chen Guanlou could look down on the Count's Mansion so much, calling them Zhang Laosi one moment and small trash the next.

Fourth Master Zhang, who was glorious in front of others and fawned over by everyone, was actually "small trash" in the mouths of others.

Zhu San didn't know whether he should cry or laugh.

His mood was quite complicated.

"Sit in prison with peace of mind; if you need anything, just tell the guards. I have already greeted them; no one will make things difficult for you."

"Many thanks, Brother Chen; Brother Chen is righteous!"

Chen Guanlou left the C-block Heavenly Prison and had Chen Mengzhi go to the Hou Fu to get a list of guests from the Count's Mansion's banquet a few days ago.

"Go find the Head Steward for the list, and while you're at it, help me ask what the deal is with the Count's Mansion's banquet and under what name they were inviting guests. Then ask him one more thing: Zhang Laosi inviting a merchant to a banquet—what was the intention?"

Chen Mengzhi was curious. "Uncle Lou, you're asking about this—are you planning to overturn the case for that merchant surnamed Zhu?"

"Overturn what case? Has the case been concluded? Has the Ministry of Justice passed judgment? Without a verdict, how can there be an overturning of the case? This is called a normal investigation. Alright, hurry up and get the list; I'm going to the Six Shanmen for a walk."

Chen Mengzhi responded; he was very happy to run errands for Uncle Lou. Uncle Lou was generous and never let people work for nothing. He had never seen anyone more lavish than Uncle Lou.

Chen Guanlou went directly to the Six Shanmen and found Li Tou, who was in charge of the case.

He dragged the other party directly to a brothel to drink.

Since he was asking for a favor, he couldn't just ask dryly; he had to show some sincerity.

Li Tou knew exactly what was going on. After playing around in the brothel for a while, he took the initiative to bring up the serious business: "Is Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen looking for me because of the Count's Mansion case?"

"The culprit you caught, that Zhu San—I have some connection with him. I don't think he looks like the type to abuse and kill women; is there something to this? You are a professional; you saw the primary scene—can you tell me about it?"

Li Tou looked left and right.

Chen Guanlou understood instantly and waved his hand, dismissing the girl who was serving them. "Between you and me, feel free to be frank. Once we step out of this door, consider today as never having happened. Now you can rest assured, right?"

Li Tou chuckled. "I won't hide it from Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen; I've been working in criminal justice for over twenty years, and I wouldn't dare say my eyes are like torches, seeing through the real culprit at a glance. But that Zhu San—the first time I saw him, I knew he wasn't the killer; he was most likely framed by someone. Later, after seeing the crime scene, it confirmed my suspicions even more."

Chen Guanlou:...

Just as he thought!

He said so—Zhu San is a merchant; seeking profit and avoiding harm is an instinct. He wouldn't have had time to fawn over Zhang Laosi, so how could he dare commit such a major case at the Count's Mansion? Even if you gave him ten guts, he wouldn't dare.

Even if he was drunk and remembered nothing, he couldn't have done such a thing.

It wasn't as if he hadn't seen what Zhu San looked like when drunk—he didn't make a fuss; he just slept!

"Are there any clues?"

"The key to this case is not in the clues, but in the location of the crime and the people behind it." Li Tou said mysteriously, "Zhu San woke up holding a dagger. That dagger was inspected—guess what?"

"What?" Chen Guanlou asked casually.

"Because it concerns the reputation of the deceased, the Count's Mansion didn't allow us to observe the body up close. We observed it from afar; there were many wounds on the body. However, they were not all made by the dagger. There were bite marks on the deceased, and in more than one place. There were also traces of dripping candle wax, as well as stab wounds from a sharp, pointed weapon. However, in that room where Zhu San was, the only weapon was the dagger. There were no candles, no sharp weapons, and I dare bet the bite marks don't match either."