Chapter 177: One cannot be too stingy in life

"My lord, you have many connections in the imperial court; why fear Jiang Tu?" Chen Guanlou probed.

Yu Zhaoan gave a bitter laugh. "Do you still not see it? That man surnamed Xiao coming to interrogate me means that my colleagues in the court have either already abandoned me, or they are powerless to help. This is a game of chess with no winners; it only depends on how far the struggle goes before His Majesty decides to call a halt. And I am merely a pawn in this game, with no qualifications to be a player."

"With your wisdom, my lord, even if you truly go to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, I believe you will be able to handle it with ease."

"Easier said than done! If one doesn't think for oneself, one must at least think for one's family, right? Losing one person is always better than losing the whole family, the whole clan."

Yu Zhaoan looked utterly disheartened, appearing extremely decadent. In just a short time, he seemed to have aged ten years.

Chen Guanlou was very puzzled. "Is there really no power to fight back?"

With Yu Zhaoan's background, could it be that he didn't even have a single means of self-preservation?

Yu Zhaoan gritted his teeth and slapped the railing, his expression growing increasingly frantic. "There is, of course there is. I wonder if Chen Tou is willing to help me."

Chen Guanlou refused immediately. Are you kidding? He was just a tiny prison guard; how could he participate in such a major affair?

"My lord, please do not make things difficult for me. I only do what is within my duties."

Yu Zhaoan was extremely disappointed. "Chen Guanlou, you are truly detestable. Sometimes I see that you have a conscience and are a person with a bottom line. But when your help is needed, you make excuses and find all sorts of reasons."

"My lord's request is truly forcing a difficult situation upon me. How can small characters like us get involved in the struggles at your level? My lord, you at least have a wife and children; even if you die, your Old Yu family line won't be broken. If I die, our Old Chen family will truly have no descendants."

Chen Guanlou complained repeatedly, his misery beyond words.

Yu Zhaoan was so angry he laughed. He gritted his back teeth and pointed his finger at the other man, unable to speak for a long while, nearly suffocating himself.

Chen Guanlou advised him to think more openly; once he reached the Imperial Prison, he should cooperate where he should, striving to suffer a little less.

"When it comes down to it, it's all caused by money. You bureaucrats, if you could get a large amount of silver for His Majesty, His Majesty wouldn't listen to Jiang Tu, right?"

Yu Zhaoan froze on the spot, staring blankly at him.

Chen Guanlou felt a wave of guilt and great unease. "I didn't say anything wrong, did I, Lord Yu? Please don't scare me."

Yu Zhaoan laughed aloud. "Your words just now reminded me. You're right; what does Jiang Tu rely on? Nothing more than making money. He is not the only one who is good at making money."

Chen Guanlou was very curious; hearing this tone, it seemed there was a turning point. He probed, "Can you get money, my lord?"

"I don't understand the way of management, but I know where to get money. Jiang Tu's sword is pointed at me, but his intention is essentially to make money. I heard that the reward silver for the Jinzhou pacification army hasn't been distributed yet?"

"I really don't know about this. But I can be certain that the salaries of the officials in the capital haven't been paid out a single cent. This New Year, many poor capital officials couldn't even afford meat and had to rely on loans to get by."

If it weren't for his small stature and lack of a great backer, Chen Guanlou would have wanted to go into lending, specializing in the loan business for capital officials. This was a big business.

"Hmph, I dare say the rewards for the Jinzhou pacification army definitely haven't been distributed. Delaying like this will sooner or later lead to a major incident. By then, I don't know if Marquis Pingjiang will be able to quell the anger in the court."

"At worst, the merits and demerits will cancel each other out, which is exactly what some people want."

With such great merit, when the court discussed merits, they didn't give the Master any promotion or title, only some empty names, such as the nominal Commander of the Five Armies Governor's Office, which managed nothing at all.

How stingy the court was, and how stingy the old Emperor was, could be seen from this.

The Master's merit, not to mention saving the country, at least suppressed the restless hearts of the world and the ambitious people who were ready to move for the old Emperor. Such merit, not to mention a promotion in title, giving some practical benefits—more gold, silver, and treasures, or a real-power official position—would be a hundred times better than an empty title.

Disliking the Master for being disabled and inconvenient for holding office, they shouldn't have appointed the Master as commander in the first place. They could appoint him as commander, but were reluctant to give a single real-power position, tsk!

Truly stingy!

Yu Zhaoan smiled half-heartedly. "Chen Guanlou, this concerns the future of Marquis Pingjiang; are you really unwilling to help me?"

"My body is frail and my courage is small; I cannot help. Lord Yu should seek someone more capable."

Yu Zhaoan was so angry his expression twisted.

Chen Guanlou was as impervious as ever. He gritted his teeth and said, "If you won't help, fine. Can you help me pass a message to the steward at my mansion?"

"You can write a letter, and while the Embroidered Uniform Guard hasn't come to take you yet, I can help you send it to your mansion."

Yu Zhaoan stopped talking nonsense and picked up his brush to write, writing quickly and well.

Chen Guanlou turned his back to the prison door, determined not to look at the contents of the letter.

Yu Zhaoan blew the ink dry and put the letter into an envelope. "Fine, you can turn around. For the sake of you helping me deliver the letter, I guarantee I won't implicate you."

Chen Guanlou took the envelope, checked the seal to ensure it was intact, and then accepted it.

"Lord Yu, tidy yourself up well; I will go check the situation. If there is any new situation, I will have the prison guard inform you."

"Go quickly, go quickly. Let's see what kind of heaven-defying and people-resenting things that group of Embroidered Uniform Guards can do."

Chen Guanlou rushed out of the Heavenly Prison and was informed that Vice Minister Sun Daoning of the Ministry of Justice had arrived and was currently talking to Lord Xiao of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the office.

"Since Lord Sun is here, I won't go in. Has Master Little Fan arrived?"

"Reporting to Chen Tou, Master Little Fan has been found, but Master Little Fan was dead drunk last night and hasn't woken up yet; it will take some time for him to rush over."

Chen Guanlou sneered. "Forget about him. Let Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan worry about his affairs."

He entered the side room to drink tea. Through the window of the side room, he could directly see the movement at the entrance of the office. With sharp ears and eyes, he pricked up his ears and could hear bits and pieces.

Sun Daoning was arguing with Xiao Jincheng. If you could call it arguing, their wording was very elegant and circuitous. Without a bit of literary foundation and experience dealing with civil officials, one truly wouldn't understand the hidden barbs in their words or the twists and turns of their meaning.

Wanting documents?

Fine!

Isn't it just the document procedures for interrogating prisoners? The Embroidered Uniform Guard could handle it in minutes.

However, it was clear that Sun Daoning was unhappy. He was a civil official, and of course, he had to protect the interests of civil officials and hold the position of his colleagues. On the spot, he accused the Embroidered Uniform Guard of overstepping their boundaries.

Don't mention Jiang Tu; Jiang Tu was just a petty person. He only asked the Embroidered Uniform Guard what exactly they wanted to stop.

Both sides were at daggers drawn. Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan was anxious and terrified, covered in cold sweat, not even daring to say a word. He could only watch as the two big shots went back and forth, turning the office into a martial arts arena.

At this very moment, Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan was hoping that someone would stand up to relieve him, at least giving him an excuse to retreat. This scene was too fierce; he wasn't suitable to watch. ===== CHAPTER 178 =====