Chapter 170

Some rejoice, others grieve.

Chen Guanxin complained for a while, drank a few cups of wine, and fell into a deep snoring sleep—probably even thunder wouldn't wake him.

Chen Guanlou took a piece of fine cotton cloth and carefully wiped his great blade.

The old bastard had followed him for so long, drunk countless lives, and slowly gathered a touch of malevolent aura.

Malevolent aura is invisible and intangible, yet undeniably real.

Facing the candlelight, he studied the blade's edge, staring silently. Man and blade became one, their harmony innate.

A sound came from the wall.

Chen Guanlou did not go out to investigate; he merely quietly put away his great blade, concealing its edge. His aura sank inward—he became again an ordinary, unremarkable jailer, a harmless commoner.

He took out his wine flask and cup, just poured the wine full, when Qi Wuxiu burst in.

"You knew I was coming?"

"Everyone else comes through my front door. Only you like climbing over walls."

Qi Wuxiu chuckled awkwardly and pointed to the guest room next door. "Guest?"

"A clan brother—got beaten up, had nowhere to go, came to borrow my bed. Won't be going home for New Year's Eve. And yet you have time to come drink with me?" Chen Guanlou asked, curious and teasing.

Qi Wuxiu lifted his cup and drained it in one gulp, as if he'd been parched for days, treating wine like water.

He wiped his lips, sat down on the bamboo chair, and sighed, "This year's been anything but peaceful."

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow slightly. "It's perfectly peaceful! The Marquis just won a battle. The whole realm sings and dances in peace."

Qi Wuxiu looked at Chen Guanlou with a half-smile. "You really think it's peaceful? How long has the Tianlao gone without pay or grain? Have you ever heard of a time of peace and prosperity where salaries went unpaid for a full year?"

Chen Guanlou snorted. "Similar situations happen all the time. When they say it's a time of peace and prosperity, am I supposed to contradict them and claim the people are suffering? This is Jingcheng—Embroidered Uniform Guard territory. I want to live a few more years. Wait—you're not even a proper government official. Your salary isn't even cut. Besides, you don't live off that pittance. Just like me—if I relied on the court's stipend, I'd have starved to death eight hundred years ago."

Qi Wuxiu shook his head, offering a bitter smile. "Sometimes ignorance is bliss."

Chen Guanlou didn't like hearing that—it was too damn sharp. What did he mean by "ignorance"?

Fine.

As a plain, insignificant little jailer, he ought to be ignorant.

He swallowed his urge to retort, sipped his hot tea. "What's gotten into you? Come here drunk on New Year's Eve? No—wait, it's already the first day of the first month. Why are you here at this hour, not curled up with a woman? My place isn't a brothel."

Qi Wuxiu burst out laughing. "If you opened a brothel, you'd make a fortune."

"Get lost!"

Chen Guanlou nearly drew his blade.

After laughing, Qi Wuxiu lowered his brows, his face solemn as he pointed north.

Chen Guanlou didn't understand.

Qi Wuxiu didn't care whether he understood—he simply blurted, "Something's happened."

"Where?" Chen Guanlou asked, curious, glancing at the direction he pointed, then fixed his gaze on Qi Wuxiu's face. Then he suddenly realized: "You mean Jinzhou? No—do you mean the Imperial Palace?"

Qi Wuxiu nodded, withdrew his hand, and said gravely, "Their good days are nearly over. But the Tianlao probably won't be affected."

Chen Guanlou frowned at him. "You're on night duty at the palace? So you're actually a proper government official. Tonight's New Year's Eve—the palace is bustling, everyone's busy pleasing His Majesty. What could possibly happen? I didn't hear the bell ring. His Majesty's blessings must be boundless—he's fine."

Qi Wuxiu poured himself another drink. "You know I'm a government official—that's enough. Some things I can't tell you. I'll only say this: the Crown Prince has gone mad."

Chen Guanlou's eyes widened, staring fixedly at Qi Wuxiu, trying to read some secret in his face.

But Qi Wuxiu avoided his gaze.

Chen Guanlou blinked. "Literal madness? Or just an exaggeration?"

Qi Wuxiu chuckled. "Both."

Chen Guanlou grimaced—he was agonized. Hearing only half a rumor burned like fire in his chest.

He asked, "Can you elaborate? You've started—can't leave it hanging. Honestly, you shouldn't have come here in the first place, and you shouldn't have said these half-baked words. If you won't explain, I won't sleep tonight."

"That's against protocol."

"Look at how many rules you've broken tonight already—slacking off duty, leaking secrets, spreading gossip about the Crown Prince… You've already broken them all. What's one more? As they say: break down to rebuild. You look like you've been shattered—keeping it inside will only make you worse. You might even make another mistake later. You know I keep my mouth shut. I swear I won't tell a soul."

Chen Guanlou wheedled him.

He guessed Qi Wuxiu was a second-generation type—energetic, idealistic, willing to act. With decent martial skill, he'd gone undercover in the street gangs. After being vetted, his superiors saw he was competent and had family backing, so they gave him the night watch duty at the palace.

But the royal family's actions had shattered Qi Wuxiu's illusions, and he desperately needed somewhere to vent. He couldn't talk to his family—they'd tell him to shut up. Friends? Too risky—he might get betrayed. Colleagues? Even worse—they were rivals.

Only Chen Guanlou, a nameless, lowly jailer with zero stake in it, could be trusted to listen without consequence.

"Won't tell a soul?"

Chen Guanlou nodded firmly, swore an oath—he wouldn't tell a soul.

Seeing Qi Wuxiu still doubted him, Chen Guanlou complained, "Who would I tell? The other jailers? Only if I were insane. The Chen clan? I'm not that stupid—I still hope the big boss flies high and takes me with him. Talk to neighbors about the Crown Prince? I'm not that cruel—I don't want to ruin lives. As for my bedmates? Don't worry. They change every night. Look—I've got no one to confide in. What are you afraid of?"

Qi Wuxiu almost retorted that Chen Guanlou was pitiful—but then he realized he wasn't much better. Fifty steps laughing at a hundred—no point.

He cleared his throat. Chen Guanlou immediately brought him a cup of hot tea. "First, wet your throat. Dawn's still far off."

Qi Wuxiu: …

He suddenly regretted coming to Chen's house.

He sipped, scratched his head, looking troubled. "You know now I'm government staff. Tonight, during New Year's, the palace needed more hands, so they assigned me."

"And then?" Chen Guanlou, as a proper audience, pushed for more.

"Maybe because I'm good-looking and my family background is clean, they assigned me to Zhengyang Palace. That's where the banquet was held tonight."