Chapter 1797: Face is a renewable resource; if you lose it, you can pick it up and use it again

As soon as Xia Qiuhong took office, he began to reform the Brocade Uniform Guard with great vigor, excluding dissidents and promoting his own people. His actions were so flamboyant and bold that they attracted the attention of all parties.

It is said that a new official taking office needs three fires, and three fires at least need some time to brew.

Xia Qiuhong directly skipped the brewing step and started doing it right away. The complaints within the Brocade Uniform Guard were very loud.

Chen Guanlou heard it even while in the Heavenly Prison.

The screams from the neighboring Imperial Prison in the dead of night were increasingly soul-shaking.

Medical Official Mu muttered to him privately, "Can this Master Xia go on like this? Isn't he afraid that in the end, it will cause heaven's anger and people's resentment, and he will be thrown out by the Emperor to offer sacrifices to heaven?"

"Why do you bother worrying about others? At least for now, the Emperor is very satisfied with him."

"How can you tell?" Medical Official Mu asked curiously; he didn't see it.

Chen Guanlou smiled softly, "The Brocade Uniform Guard changing equipment costs money. This money cannot go through the Ministry of Revenue's accounts; it can only go through the Emperor's private treasury. You tell me if the Emperor is satisfied with him."

The iron-rooster Emperor took the initiative to pay; he must be extremely satisfied.

Medical Official Mu clicked his tongue in wonder, "So the Emperor likes people who don't follow the rules."

"You said that wrong. What the Emperor likes are people who follow the rules for him but bite randomly like a mad dog to the outside. Xia Qiuhong fits the Emperor's expectations very well. Regardless of how it ends in the future, at least for these few years, the one surnamed Xia will certainly be infinitely glorious, and everyone will have to give him three points of face and avoid his limelight."

Medical Official Mu snorted coldly, "I want to see what kind of end he will come to."

Chen Guanlou lowered his head and smiled, "You will certainly see it. Like him, a cruel official, after a few years of glory, usually doesn't have a good end."

The prisoners in the Heavenly Prison listened to the screams from the Imperial Prison next door and were all rejoicing that they were locked in the Heavenly Prison and didn't have to suffer torture.

Even the top scholar Yuan Sikai was nagging, "The Emperor's appointment of Xia Qiuhong is foolish. A little reputation will sooner or later be ruined by the one surnamed Xia."

"Master Yuan is indeed a loyal minister and a filial son; trapped in prison, he doesn't forget to worry for the Son of Heaven. It's a pity that the Son of Heaven has long forgotten that there is a person like you." Chen Guanlou teased the other party, clearly wanting to see a joke.

Yuan Sikai didn't take it seriously and snorted coldly, "As a minister, what I seek is to have no regrets in my heart. Whether the Emperor remembers me is my honor. Whether the Emperor doesn't remember me doesn't matter. In short, as long as I have no regrets, that's enough."

Chen Guanlou sneered, looking down on the other party's behavior of still wanting to hold onto his reputation at this time; it was too fake and not sincere at all.

"Master Yuan, to speak the truth, are you panicked in your heart? For such a long time, Chen Guanfu has already observed mourning, but you are still locked in the Heavenly Prison. Don't you have any thoughts?"

Yuan Sikai was unhappy, thinking the other party looked down on him, "Why should this official panic? Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, don't use the heart of a villain to measure the belly of a gentleman."

"Yes, yes, yes, I am a villain."

Half a sentence is too much for those who don't agree.

This Master Yuan was truly a pretender, too good at pretending.

Chen Guanlou turned and left.

Now it was Yuan Sikai's turn to be anxious, "Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, come back. I was just joking with you, and you took it seriously."

Chen Guanlou looked back at the other party, "You are truly boring! Very hypocritical! Talking to you is exhausting."

He spoke bluntly, without leaving any face.

Yuan Sikai's face stiffened, and he took a deep breath to suppress the anger in his heart.

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, can you help me ask the Ministry of Justice what the explanation for my case is."

"I thought you really weren't in a hurry." Chen Guanlou smiled with a look that was not a smile, his eyes scanning the other party, "This is right. Revealing your true thoughts is not shameful. Face is a thing that is inexhaustible and inexhaustible. If you lose it this time, you can pick it up next time and inlay it on your face to continue using it, which won't delay any serious business. I can help you ask about your case; how much money do you plan to spend?"

"Still need money?" Yuan Sikai was shocked.

Chen Guanlou was also shocked. "Listen to yourself. When it comes to legal lawsuits, how could there be any that don't cost money? You go out looking for help, do you expect it all for free? That you haven't been beaten to death yet is only because you have a lucky life."

Yuan Sikai was so angry that his cheeks twitched, and he endured his temper, asking, "Then how much money do you say?"

"Just ask, don't do anything else?" Chen Guanlou confirmed again.

Yuan Sikai pondered for a moment, "What else can you do?"

Chen Guanlou raised his eyebrows slightly and said with deep meaning, "For example, achieve what you think and wish for."

Yuan Sikai didn't understand.

Chen Guanlou asked him, "You don't want to get out of prison?"

"Can you help me get out of prison?"

"Try it and you'll know."

"What's the price?"

Chen Guanlou quoted a price, not asking for too much, knowing the other party was an iron rooster and an old stubborn. Bargaining was a difficult process. Dealing with such people, he usually quoted a price close to the actual price, leaving a little room.

"If it's just helping to ask, I won't ask for much, give eight hundred taels. If it's helping you get out of prison, ten thousand taels, no second price."

Yuan Sikai gasped, "Ten thousand taels, this makes money faster than robbery. Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, you are a rich man."

Chen Guanlou was very dissatisfied; these words were truly unpleasant to hear.

"Look at what you're saying, I am clearly priced, honest and fair, you are willing and I am willing, and I never do strong buying and strong selling. It is essentially different from robbery. Although I want a lot, I really do things. If I say I will help you get out of prison, I will definitely succeed."

"What if it can't be done?" Yuan Sikai asked.

He had only been an official for a year or two and had limited understanding of Chen Guanlou. The rumors on the street were just hearsay, and he didn't know the whole picture.

Asking a few more questions was no problem.

"If it can't be done, I will refund thirty percent of the fee."

"Not a full refund?" Yuan Sikai was shocked.

"Are you joking?" Chen Guanlou looked at the other party very seriously and found that the other party was really not joking, so he laughed instead.

He asked very seriously, "Master Yuan, haven't you found anyone to help you until now? No wonder you don't understand the rules of officialdom. If the matter is not done, I will refund you thirty percent, which can be called kind. More often than not, the matter is not done, not a single penny is refunded, and you cannot have the slightest dissatisfaction. Otherwise, it is disrespect to the superior official.

Although I am not your superior official, you are indeed under my management at the moment. If I am unhappy and deal with you, do you think you can handle it? Did you hear the screams from the Imperial Prison next door in the middle of the night? If I deal with you like the Imperial Prison, what can you do to me? Master Yuan, I advise you to take the opportunity to learn the rules, so that you don't return to your original position today and offend your colleagues tomorrow, only to be thrown into the Heavenly Prison again."

Yuan Sikai wanted to refute, opened his mouth, but made no sound.

Although he was a newcomer to officialdom, he was not a fool.

A fool could not pass the top scholar exam.

He had also heard of some rules of officialdom.

He gritted his teeth, "Ten thousand taels is too expensive, a little less."

"It can't be less. This is my conscience price. You ask other imprisoned officials; if they want to go out, without thirty thousand taels, the matter can't be done."

"Why is the gap so big?"

"Because your case is easy to handle; whether it's a human or a ghost depends on the opinion of the above. Other people's cases are hard to handle; the charges are nailed to the board, and the evidence is even more of a basket, with both human and material evidence. There is no possibility of overturning the case; at most, the death penalty is changed to exile, and exile is changed to imprisonment. Even so, it takes a lot of effort, and ordinary people can't do it at all. It's just me who might have a few points of certainty."

Chen Guanlou boasted.

Yuan Sikai was half-believing and half-doubting!

He had to inquire! ===== CHAPTER 1798 =====