Chapter 256: I

The Grand Tutor failed to be moved out of the Heavenly Prison, and Chen Guanlou was disappointed.

He had even hoped to use the Grand Tutor's illness as an excuse to rid himself of this hot potato.

Sun Daoning and the Crown Prince are too inept. They could easily rally the civil and military officials to create public pressure. The old emperor still cares, at least a little, about court criticism.

The Grand Tutor fell ill, so the cook changed the menu to light, bland dishes. The Grand Tutor refused.

"I'm already in my dozens of years—I've enjoyed everything worth enjoying. What does it matter if I live a few years less?"

"Your Excellency doesn't understand—if diet isn't controlled, complications will erupt, and it will be worse than death. Blindness and rotting legs are merely the basics; in short, every kind of suffering awaits. Your Excellency may not care for yourself, but you must think of the Crown Prince. He is now in his most difficult time. Your Excellency must preserve your health."

Chen Guanlou urged him. Even if the Grand Tutor truly went blind and his legs rotted, it must wait until after his release. He must not suffer complications inside the Heavenly Prison—the prison cannot bear that responsibility.

The Crown Prince's rage alone would be enough to drown the entire prison in trouble. If the old emperor went mad and decided to cultivate a reputation as a benevolent ruler, a single word could wipe the entire prison from existence.

The Grand Tutor sighed along.

"If not for the Crown Prince, how could I have come to this?"

Seeing the Grand Tutor yield, Chen Guanlou secretly exhaled.

Good—he listened!

Officer Cui teased him, "You've got some tricks—you actually managed to persuade the Grand Tutor."

"I have no ability to persuade the Grand Tutor. He cares for the Crown Prince and wishes to ease his burdens, so he willingly cooperates with his recuperation."

"Whatever you say! The Eastern Palace wants the Grand Tutor to get sunlight and move around daily. That's the imperial physician's advice."

Chen Guanlou frowned deeply. Making the Grand Tutor go outside every day would be a nightmare. In all these years, no one in the Heavenly Prison had ever enjoyed daily outdoor time.

But the Eastern Palace had spoken—he had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept it.

"Fine, I'll arrange it. There's a courtyard behind the prison—I'll have it cleaned up."

"That's perfect!"

"Then the Grand Tutor's safety is entrusted to you."

"Rest assured, with me here, the Grand Tutor is perfectly safe." Officer Cui brimmed with arrogance—he was a fifth-rank cultivator, and he had every right to be proud.

Chen Guanlou glanced at him, internally scoffing.

Xiao Jin was also fifth-rank, yet clearly stronger than Officer Cui—and still he lost to me. And that was last year.

This year, he had already reached the fourth chapter of the Ascension Scripture—he was even stronger.

Just a fifth-rank, what's there to boast about!

He returned to his duty room to drink tea, glanced at the shift roster, and asked, "Where's Liu She? Where is he?"

"Report, Chief Chen, Liu She requested leave."

"Did he say why?"

At the question, all of them fell silent.

Chen Guanlou sensed something was off. He pointed at Xiao Jin. "You speak—what really happened?"

"It's no big deal. Last night, Liu She bumped into an Eastern Palace guard. Who knew that one bump caused internal injuries? Those Eastern Palace guards are cultivators; we're just ordinary people. None of us expected their force to be so strong."

Chen Guanlou frowned. "How did they even bump into each other?"

"The corridor was narrow. We already stepped aside, but they still slammed into us."

"It was deliberate," Chen Quan muttered under his breath.

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow. "How serious is Liu She's injury?"

"The physician prescribed medicine and ordered rest for a while. It shouldn't be too bad."

"Two ribs broken," Chen Quan muttered again. Xiao Jin shot him a furious glare—they had agreed beforehand to downplay this. Angering the Eastern Palace guards would bring them nothing but trouble.

Chen Quan was indignant. "I just can't stand those guys."

"You can't stand them? You still have to endure them. They're Eastern Palace guards—each one comes from a noble family or has powerful patrons in the military. Who are we? Can we even win a fight against them?" Xiao Jin scolded Chen Quan, clearly provoking him.

Chen Guanlou ignored their quarrel and said only, "Give me the list of Eastern Palace guards on duty last night."

"Chief Chen, Liu She himself said he won't press charges. My suggestion is we pool some money to help him recover."

"Chief Chen, there's no need to clash with the Eastern Palace guards."

"Who said I'm going to clash with them? Don't worry—I have my limits."

Chen Guanlou truly had his limits. He remained silent for two days, then personally visited Liu She. The injury was far worse than Xiao Jin had claimed. He left twenty taels of silver, urged him to rest well, and assured him not to worry about his duties.

Afterwards, he invited Officer Cui and the Eastern Palace guards out for drinks—full banquet at Zui Xiang Pavilion.

Officer Cui saw this and thought it was very thoughtful—he gladly accepted the invitation.

At the table, they exchanged toasts and laughter, thoroughly enjoying themselves, as if all past grievances had vanished.

Afterward, their relations indeed became much more harmonious.

Just as they were getting along perfectly, four Eastern Palace guards were ambushed. They didn't die, nor did they lose limbs—they all suffered internal injuries requiring a month of bed rest.

"Who? Who dares to ambush Eastern Palace guards?" Officer Cui roared, his gaze sweeping over every jailer's face. As soon as it happened, he suspected the jailers of the Heavenly Prison.

Chen Guanlou stepped forward. "Cui, even if your eyes are bad, your brain must still work. Those four are all cultivators. Look around at the jailers here—who among them could fight one of your men and walk away unharmed? Not even all of them together could match those four."

Officer Cui's eyes narrowed. He hadn't offended anyone recently. If he had to name a grudge, it was only the jailers.

"Forget everything else—how have we been getting along lately? Harmonious, right? My men have lost so much money to yours. We're at this point—so who would strike in the dark? We've been gambling together long enough. It's definitely someone from outside."

Officer Cui snorted. "No one from outside has the guts to provoke Eastern Palace guards."

"If outsiders lack the guts, how much less do we jailers? You don't seriously think we did it, do you? You're overestimating us. We're trying our best to please you—how would we dare ambush Eastern Palace guards? They're cultivators. Don't you know how much power cultivators hold in the eyes of ordinary people?"

Every word Chen Guanlou spoke was perfectly logical—there was not a single flaw to be found.

Yet Officer Cui clung to his instinct. His gut told him the jailers were involved.

He knew well—these jailers were all rich. Their income even surpassed that of the Eastern Palace guards, which infuriated him. You looked down on their low status, yet they quietly amassed fortunes. Especially Chen Guanlou—he had serious wealth and handled the trade of antiques and calligraphy from disgraced officials.

These jailers certainly lacked the strength to ambush cultivators—but they had money to hire someone.

"I will get to the bottom of this."

"Absolutely. The truth must be uncovered—I'll fully cooperate!" Chen Guanlou spoke with righteous fervor, as if a halo of light shone around him.