Chapter 257: How much money is it worth? Is it worth risking your life for?

Duty room!

Xiao Jin and the others surrounded Chen Guanlou, each of them looking worried, yet delighted, and also wanting to get to the bottom of the truth. They all had the look of wanting to say something but holding back.

Chen Guanlou was very impatient. "What are you all surrounding me for? Don't you have anything to do?"

"Hehe!"

"Hehe my ass!" Chen Guanlou scolded angrily.

Xiao Jin and the others laughed even more heartily.

Chen Guanlou frowned. "What exactly are you all laughing at?"

"Chen Tou, you're the best!" Xiao Jin gestured with a thumbs-up.

Qian Fugui then said, "Chen Tou really has his ways. The thugs are so arrogant now, taking out four Donggong guards in one go."

"Donggong guards are nothing; they have no real combat experience."

"Chen Tou is worthy of being the boss, teaching them a lesson without even making a scene."

"Wait, all of you shut up!" Chen Guanlou scolded them to stop their chattering. "You are framing me, do you understand? Who told you I did it? Do you have any evidence?"

For things without evidence, he firmly refused to admit it, firmly refuted it, and firmly resisted such suppression.

Xiao Jin chuckled. "Chen Tou, there are no outsiders here. Our lips are sealed tight, so don't bother denying it."

"That's right, Chen Tou. There's no such thing as a coincidence in this world; we all understand."

"Chen Tou is righteous, teaching four of them a lesson at once. I heard they won't be able to get out of bed for a month."

"Bullshit! Slander! It's all slander!" Chen Guanlou flatly denied it, his mood very unpleasant. What is this? Does he have "I am the murderer" written on his forehead?

"Get out, get out, all of you get out. Keep your mouths shut, and don't you dare spout a single word of nonsense. Remember, we are in friendly cooperation with the Donggong guards; there is absolutely no bad blood."

"I understand! Don't worry, Chen Tou, it's definitely friendly cooperation."

"Rest assured, Chen Tou, we definitely won't have any conflict with them."

"No matter what they ask, I'll just play dumb. I guarantee I won't expose Chen Tou."

"Go to hell, what do you mean by 'expose'?" Chen Guanlou kicked out at them. Why can't they understand human speech? He had already said this had nothing to do with him, yet they didn't believe him. Since when did his words become so ineffective?

After driving away the three "Crouching Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix," Chen Guanlou felt some regret. If he had killed the four Donggong guards, Guard Cui probably wouldn't have suspected the Heavenly Prison guards. Even with a hundred guts, a prison guard wouldn't dare kill Donggong guards. However, since it was only internal injuries and not murder, this scope seemed large, but it was actually very easy to lock onto the target.

Not killing, just injuring, was clearly aimed at teaching a lesson. The Crown Prince's opponents could never be so gentle; if they made a move, they would surely take a life. Therefore, Guard Cui's suspicion of the Heavenly Prison guards was well-founded.

Chen Guanlou bared his teeth. Going back to kill now would be like drawing a snake and adding feet—a superfluous act.

Forget it, forget it. As long as Guard Cui has no evidence, he can't stir up any waves. The most important thing right now is the safety of the Grand Tutor; the Crown Prince surely wouldn't let Guard Cui have a conflict with the Heavenly Prison.

Everyone needs to cooperate to protect the Grand Tutor's safety. If they start fighting among themselves before the enemy even arrives, what kind of situation would that be? If anything happened to the Grand Tutor during this period, the Crown Prince would probably be so angry he'd want to kill someone.

Guard Cui also has to weigh the consequences of a falling out. Even if his cousin is the Crown Prince's concubine, that's not enough of a foundation for him to act recklessly.

Guard Cui was convinced that this matter had something to do with Chen Guanlou and his gang of prison guards, but he couldn't find a shred of evidence. The four injured Donggong guards only remembered coming out of a brothel at night, seeing darkness before their eyes, and then losing consciousness. By the time they woke up, they were already lying on the ground unable to move.

"You really don't remember what the people who attacked you looked like?"

"With all due respect to the Company Commander, we really didn't see what the people who attacked us looked like. We don't even know if they were men or women."

"Trash! All of you are trash!" Guard Cui scolded sternly. He had been counting on the four of them to point fingers at the Heavenly Prison guards, but now it seemed they couldn't help at all.

The four guards felt guilty and resentful, but they didn't dare to refute him. They could only lower their heads and listen to the lecture.

After Guard Cui vented, his tone softened. "Recover well. I will cover for you with the Crown Prince. You'd better think hard; if you remember anything at all, you must tell me."

"Yes!"

The Grand Tutor went out for fresh air every day, and Guard Cui was very responsible, accompanying him every time.

The weather was freezing. The rebels in Pingzhou and Jinzhou were acting vigorously, once heading south to plunder wealthy areas, causing great harm.

The Grand Tutor looked at the horizon, his mood very depressed.

Guard Cui comforted him, "Grand Tutor, do not worry. The Crown Prince is already thinking of a way."

"What way could the Crown Prince have? His words before His Majesty are completely ineffective, and even counterproductive. You must remind the Crown Prince to speak less, show off less, and not hover before His Majesty when there's nothing to do. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, and that's the situation right now. You tell him this is my meaning, and he must consider it carefully."

Guard Cui bowed and accepted the order.

People like them had their lives and fortunes tied to the Crown Prince alone, just waiting for the Crown Prince to ascend the throne so they could all rise to power. They were more anxious than anyone else that the Crown Prince was having a hard time.

He had even thought that if one day the Crown Prince decided to stage a palace coup, he would definitely be at the forefront. The Crown Prince had the most legitimate status, the support of all the civil and military officials, a reputation in the scholarly circles, and a good name among the common people. If a coup were to happen, it wouldn't necessarily be without a chance of success.

It was just a pity that the Crown Prince couldn't make up his mind and didn't dare to bear the crime of patricide.

Seeing that there were no outsiders around and that this was the Heavenly Prison, he wasn't worried about anyone eavesdropping, so he boldly asked in a low voice, "Has the Grand Tutor ever thought about letting the Crown Prince take a step further?"

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" The Grand Tutor turned his head sharply. He also knew this topic was deadly, so his voice was very low, appearing even deeper and full of pressure. "As an Donggong guard, how can you frame the Crown Prince for unrighteousness? Never say such things again. Today, I will pretend I never heard it." Having said that, he flicked his sleeves and left.

Guard Cui was very embarrassed, standing in place without moving.

Just at this moment, a group of men in black suddenly descended from the sky, their moves all lethal.

Guard Cui's reaction was not slow. "Assassins! Protect the Grand Tutor!"

With the strength of a Fifth-Rank warrior, he fought a dozen men in black alone.

"Assassins, assassins!" The Heavenly Prison guards began to move.

Chen Guanlou led the guards running toward the backyard of the Heavenly Prison, shouting all the while that there were assassins. However, upon reaching the backyard, all the guards stood still, hiding in corners to watch the show.

The Grand Tutor's life is a life, but their own lives are lives too.

The Heavenly Prison guards have their own set of rules: the shouting must be loud enough, but there's no need to risk their lives against the bandits. Everyone just acts as the "atmosphere group," cooperating a little is enough.

How much money is it worth? Is it worth risking their lives for? Didn't they see that the Donggong guards were already lying down? Those were Second and Third-Rank warriors.

"Go to the neighboring office to get reinforcements. It doesn't matter if it's the Embroidered Uniform Guard or the Six Shanmen, get reinforcements quickly. That's the Grand Tutor, hurry, hurry, hurry!"

At Chen Guanlou's order, the guards moved, waving their knives and sticks, cheering for Guard Cui from the sidelines.

Cheering, they were professionals at that. ===== CHAPTER 258 =====