Chapter 265: A roundabout relative relationship

Chen Guanlou gave Mu Yiguan Mu a thumbs-up and showed off. "I sent a batch of goods to the Marquis's Mansion's Great Master before. The Great Master was very satisfied and gave me half a catty of tea leaves."

"You drink the tea leaves the Marquis gave you like this?" Mu Yiguan Mu was very disgusted, almost pointing at him and scolding him for wasting heaven's gifts, not knowing how to cherish them at all.

"Tea leaves are just for drinking," Chen Guanlou said indifferently.

Mu Yiguan Mu clicked his tongue twice, but his mouth didn't stop for a moment, pouring tea himself and savoring it carefully.

Old Zhang Tou didn't understand tea leaves, only feeling that Chen Guanlou's tea leaves were more fragrant than the tea leaves he drank on weekdays, not expecting them to be a reward from the Marquis. He was actually drinking the same tea leaves as the Marquis.

"The tea leaves in the palace are probably about the same," he said.

Medical Official Mu was savoring the tea's fragrance when he heard Old Zhang Tou's words, and he let out a sound of disdain. "Old Zhang Tou, today we are all basking in Chen Tou's light. Let me tell you this: even in the palace, this kind of tea leaves is rarely seen."

Old Zhang Tou was shocked.

"You mean, the tea the Emperor drinks isn't as good as the Marquis's?"

"Such words cannot be spoken randomly." Chen Guanlou hurriedly stopped the nonsense of the two, especially Mu Yiguan Mu.

Mu Yiguan Mu didn't care. "There are only three of us here; who would pass it on? Old Zhang Tou, would you?"

Old Zhang Tou sneered. "Am I crazy?"

"I definitely wouldn't either." Mu Yiguan Mu put down his teacup. "To tell you the truth, the Son of Heaven is the most difficult person in the world to serve. According to reason, the best things must be reserved for the Son of Heaven. However, good things are rare in quantity, and if they are gone, the Son of Heaven wants them—what do you say to do?

Especially tea leaves; there is a difference in production between years with abundant rain and years of drought, and there is also a difference in quality. The Son of Heaven is determined by the original taste; if you can't take it out, it's deceiving the monarch and you'll be beheaded. If it were you, would you dare to offer the best tea leaves, which are rare in quantity and cannot be guaranteed to be supplied in full every year, to the Son of Heaven?"

"I understand." Old Zhang Tou picked up his teacup and drank it cautiously. To be able to drink tea leaves better than what the Emperor drinks—that must be savored carefully; it can't be gulped down like before.

Chen Guanlou also didn't understand tea. He was truly curious and asked Mu Yiguan Mu, "Is it as good as you say?"

Mu Yiguan Mu "heh"ed, disgusted that the other party was ignorant. "These tea leaves falling into your hands is truly a waste. When the Marquis gave you the tea leaves, didn't he mention the name and origin of the tea leaves?"

"No! I drank a cup of tea in the Great Master's study, felt it tasted good, and casually said a sentence, and the Great Master ordered the steward to send half a catty."

"Tsk tsk..." Mu Yiguan Mu was both disgusted and envious. "The Marquis didn't mention the origin of the tea leaves, probably because he was afraid you would have a burden. Forget it, I won't meddle. You just need to know that even if the nobles came, you would be absolutely qualified to take out these tea leaves to entertain them."

"Or, I'll sell it to you." Chen Guanlou's turn of the corner was simply...

Mu Yiguan Mu was stimulated to cough repeatedly, waving his hands and looking at him with the eyes of a fool. "Can't afford it."

He would be crazy to keep these tea leaves at home, reluctant to drink them and itchy to look at them. This isn't black tea like Pu'er, which gets more fragrant the longer it's stored. If tea leaves are stored for a long time, they lose their charm.

It's better to leave it for Chen Guanlou to squander; that can be considered making the best use of it. At worst, he can go down to the Heavenly Prison every day to mooch tea. He won't feel a bit of heartache, and he doesn't have to spend a penny—perfect!

Chen Guanlou was very disappointed. "Hearing you praise it so much, I thought you cherished these tea leaves. But you won't buy them."

Mu Yiguan Mu chuckled. With free tea leaves to drink, only a fool would spend money to buy them.

After two days, the two prisoners transferred from Zhao Prison to the Heavenly Prison finally woke up from their coma. Both prisoners were wooden-faced, appearing very numb to the transfer to the Heavenly Prison, their eyes hollow—clearly, they had already given up. Plus, their tongues were gone, and they couldn't speak, so basically, there was no way to communicate.

But Chen Guanlou still chattered with the two prisoners for a while, because he knew the ears of the two prisoners were good and they could hear.

He looked down at the two and said, "My surname is Chen, everyone calls me Chen Tou, and I am the one in charge here. I have roughly understood your situation.

I will also tell you clearly: the Embroidered Uniform Guard transferred you here to save your lives, but you are still prisoners of Zhao Prison and are not on the Heavenly Prison's roster. I hope the two of you will cooperate well with the treatment and don't cause trouble.

If you two really don't want to live, that's fine; I won't stop you. You just give a squeak, and I guarantee to satisfy you. Don't mess around blindly, making everything bloody. Cleaning the cell is very troublesome; bloodstains are the hardest to clean. In the summer, flies fly around, and it's very easy to transmit epidemics. There are hundreds of imprisoned officials and hundreds of prison guards here; absolutely no carelessness is allowed. If you understand, just nod, and I will take it as your agreement."

The two prisoners were very numb and slow. Just when Chen Guanlou thought the two wouldn't give him face, they finally had a reaction, slowly nodding.

"That's very good!" He smiled very satisfactorily. "Since you have encountered such a grievance, I don't care. But if you want to do something, such as sending a message to your family, give enough silver, and I can satisfy you."

As soon as these words came out, the reaction of the two was swift; they both raised their heads to look at him, their dead-gray, numb eyes suddenly having life—the breath of a living person.

He just said, people are not grass or trees; they must have something they seek.

Chen Guanlou waved his hand and called Xiao Jin over. "Introduce our service package to these two well; whatever they need, satisfy them as much as possible."

After saying that, he left the cell.

Old Zhang Tou also had news.

The two prisoners were surnamed Meng and were brothers, seemingly having a roundabout relative relationship with the Marquis's Mansion.

"No nonsense? Really have a roundabout relative relationship with the Marquis's Mansion? Then how did they fall to this point? Don't they know how to spend some money to find the Marquis's Mansion to settle the matter?"

Chen Guanlou couldn't believe it. With the relationship of the Marquis's Mansion, they actually fell to the point of having their tongues cut and being castrated, completely without the ability to resist.

"I already said it's a roundabout relative relationship. My apprentice is low in position and light in words, and the news he could inquire about was limited. I only know that the Meng family was implicated, and it seems to involve a secret matter of a noble family. I guess the Marquis's Mansion wasn't easy to come forward to interfere."

"Fine, just knowing the surname is enough; I will find someone to inquire about the rest of the matter."

Recently, the capital has been busy focusing on the Great Master hanging the marshal's seal to go on an expedition, the Grand Tutor's life or death unknown, and the Crown Prince's difficult situation—all major events. No one was heard chatting about noble family secrets; it seems the news was blocked.

However, this matter couldn't stump Chen Guanlou.

Where does he live?

He lives in the back alley of the Marquis's Mansion, and the neighbors are either servants of the Marquis's Mansion or members of the Chen clan.

As soon as he got home, he asked Chunxiang Sao, "Does the Marquis's Mansion have any relatives surnamed Meng? Has any family surnamed Meng been raided in the capital recently?" ===== CHAPTER 266 =====