Chapter 285

At night, the order in the capital had not been restored; instead, there was a trend of increasing chaos.

Chen Guanlou leaned against the artillery tower wall, looking at the distant fire, with the sounds of shouting and killing coming and going in his ears. He had once thought about whether to go out and scout the situation, but later gave up.

His level of strength, placed in the world of martial arts, was more than enough compared to those great bandits and martial arts heroes; he was absolutely in a position of crushing them.

However, the place where the incident occurred was the Imperial Palace. No one knew how many old monsters were hidden within the palace. Compared to those old monsters, his meager strength wasn't even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth; going out would just be cannon fodder.

It was early spring weather, cold and warm by turns, and the night was chilly.

The prison guards lay on the artillery tower wrapped in quilts, half-asleep and half-awake, and any slight disturbance could wake them up.

Old Zhang Tou smoked his dry tobacco, "I don't know what the situation is outside."

"There are so many wealthy and powerful families in the capital; that's enough for them to wreak havoc. Ordinary commoners don't have much money in their hands; robbing the commoners' time is enough for them to run to the wealthy families and make a fortune." Chen Guanlou said in an indifferent tone.

Old Zhang Tou was curious, "Aren't you worried about your eldest sister's family?"

Chen Guanlou exhaled a breath; he wasn't cold, but he couldn't appear too unconventional.

He tightened the cotton-padded jacket on his body and said, "There's nothing to worry about. Su Dacheng is a city gate official; he must have received the news earlier than I did. He's an old hand in the world; he should have already taken his whole family and hidden."

"At worst, they can just go to the back alley of the Marquis's mansion and hide in my home. The Marquis's mansion has a group of guards who are not to be trifled with. If the guards aren't enough, there are still people at the manor. As long as they can get out of the city and send the message, they can gather people in time to enter the city and protect the Marquis's mansion."

"Why did the incident happen at this time?" Old Zhang Tou frowned, like deep gullies; every wrinkle was a trace left by time, carrying a thick murderous aura that kept ghosts and gods away.

Chen Guanlou narrowed his eyes slightly, appearing unfocused, but in reality, he was keeping an eye on the north, on the direction of the Jingcheng.

He said casually, "Perhaps now is the best time. The Great Master is leading troops outside, the nobility are leaderless, the Grand Tutor's life or death is unknown, and the Crown Prince is isolated and helpless. The Divine Artifact Battalion suddenly entered the capital, catching the court officials off guard."

"If the Great Master were in the capital, perhaps he could rely on his prestige to mobilize the capital garrison and force the Divine Artifact Battalion to withdraw from the capital. Unfortunately, other nobles have neither such prestige nor the courage to survive a desperate situation. What if... what if the old Emperor settles scores after the autumn harvest? Not everyone is the Great Master, who only lost one leg."

"But both Prime Ministers are in the capital; will they just do nothing and watch? Can't they mobilize the capital garrison?"

"I don't know the situation with the Left Prime Minister. But I can be certain that the Right Prime Minister definitely wouldn't dare to come forward and mobilize the capital garrison; he is the father-in-law of Prince Jin. Once he makes a move, he won't be able to clear his name of suspicion. Unless they have a sure chance of winning."

Chen Guanlou spoke his analysis casually. All of this was based on the premise that the old Emperor mobilized the troops himself to depose the Crown Prince through a military coup.

What if things weren't like that?

What if it was the Crown Prince causing a palace coup? One couldn't just listen to Zhao Mingqiao's one-sided words. They supported the orthodox line and the Crown Prince, so they would definitely speak for the Crown Prince everywhere. How this chaos actually happened—at the moment, everyone was kept in the dark, understanding only a little, and it was difficult to glimpse the whole picture.

"Lie down! Lie down quickly!"

Chen Guanlou suddenly roared.

All the prison guards, even if they had doubts, obediently lay down.

Just as they lay down, the air suddenly became dry and thin, and time and space seemed to be distorted, suffocating. Two figures flashed across the air, one after the other, and with a 'whoosh', they disappeared without a trace.

Chen Guanlou climbed up abruptly and chased after those two figures; it was the direction of the Imperial Palace. The two figures were chasing each other toward the Imperial Palace.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

"What happened?"

"What was that just now?"

"I thought I was about to die!"

"Boss Chen, what was that just now?"

"Little Brother Chen, do you know something?"

"Just now there were two Ninth-Rank martial artists—no, no, no, it must be more than Ninth-Rank. Grandmasters, they must be Grandmasters; two Grandmasters passed over our heads."

Wherever they went, the aura of a Grandmaster could tear everything apart. Like a ball of fire, it instantly burned away all obstacles.

"Grandmasters?"

"Are there really Grandmasters in this world?"

"Aren't Grandmasters legends?"

"Prison Clerk Chen, can you distinguish Grandmasters?"

"How would I have the ability to distinguish Grandmasters? But that power—aside from the legendary Grandmasters, who else could it be?"

Once these words were spoken, no one refuted them.

That deadly, suffocating power—yes, aside from Grandmasters, who else could it be?

"But I didn't see anything. Did you see the Grandmasters?"

"I didn't see them either."

"How could ordinary people see Grandmasters?"

"Only death can allow us ordinary people to see Grandmasters. You had better hope you never see a Grandmaster in your entire life."

The prison guards were noisy and clamorous.

Chen Guanlou, however, had already descended from the artillery tower.

He rushed into the office, his gaze stern, staring fixedly at Lu Mingchuan, who was sitting on the bed with a heart full of worries.

"Has Mr. Lu rested well?"

"Good! It's just that I'm a bit hungry. Could Little Brother Chen show mercy and give me something to eat?"

"The medical official said your body is not suitable for eating and drinking; you need to be hungry for three or five days." Chen Guanlou said indifferently, without any guilt for not providing food.

This old man had lived a life of luxury, using flowery words to deceive the world, fishing for fame, and wantonly trampling on others. A mere hunger—what did that count for? Compared to what the old man had done, starving for three days and nine meals couldn't even be called a punishment. At most, it could be considered clearing the stomach.

Lu Mingchuan sighed, "Little Brother Chen has a great prejudice against me."

"Why must you do this? Zhao Mingchuan has told me everything; there's no point in you continuing to pretend." Chen Guanlou sat down on the chair with a heavy, imposing manner.

The bed in the office was just a place for temporary rest; it didn't focus on comfort, only on convenience. Therefore, the bed was very narrow, only about 1.2 meters wide, and hard as a rock. A group of prison clerks were not clean people either, and the bedding had a certain smell. It couldn't compare to the comfortable and soft silk quilts of wealthy families.

Lu Mingchuan had been enduring it; as long as he could save his life, it would be fine.

"Since Little Brother Chen already knows everything, why must you continue to make things difficult for me?"

"Just now, two Grandmasters passed over the Heavenly Prison; it looks like they are going to the Imperial Palace."

Lu Mingchuan's reaction was huge; his originally hunched back suddenly straightened, and his tone also sounded very urgent, "Are they truly Grandmasters?"

"We were at the artillery tower and almost died. If they aren't Grandmasters, what else could they be?" Chen Guanlou said so.

Lu Mingchuan's body instantly collapsed again, looking like he lacked spirit, "It seems that things have exceeded control. The Crown Prince is not without the power to fight back."

Chen Guanlou asked one question, "You don't want the Crown Prince to win?"