Chapter 339: The Imperial Son-in-Law Is My Grandfather

"Who are you trying to extract?"

Regardless of the other's true intentions or source of arrogance, Chen Guanlou decided to observe silently first, probing the man's true strength.

He wondered: was the person this man sought also a cultist? Did the Jia-class prison hold a hidden cultist? Could there be a convicted official who was a cultist?

How foolish—to abandon a good official post and become a cultist instead.

Once his identity is exposed, he's dead.

As a convicted official, there's still hope of reinstatement. As a cultist, there's only death—no future at all.

Throughout all dynasties, no cultist has ever succeeded.

Besides, no matter how much cultists stir up trouble, their ultimate goal is always to seize land and become officials.

Zhang Daohe didn't immediately reveal his target, but asked instead, "Are you willing to cooperate, Prison Warden Chen?"

Chen Guanlou glanced at the night sky outside—deep into the night, and he really didn't want to waste time with idle chatter.

"Whether I cooperate depends on who you want to extract and how much you're willing to pay. If you're trying to free the ringleader or someone the entire court is watching, sorry—I don't have that kind of power. You've come to the wrong man. For a job like this, you should go to officials in the Ministry of Justice—they have more connections."

"No, no, no—the man I want to extract, you're the only one suited for it. The price is negotiable."

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow slightly. "Then who exactly are you trying to extract?" He was genuinely curious.

Zhang Daohe seemed hesitant.

Chen Guanlou found it utterly repulsive—the man was hesitating, yet still came to him?

He almost wanted to whistle for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to come arrest him.

But he disliked Zhang Daohe—and he disliked the Embroidered Uniform Guard too. He had no reason to help them earn merit.

Besides, chasing fugitives was the job of the Six Gates—none of his business.

One of the principles of serving the state: never overstep your bounds, never meddle like a dog chasing rats, never take on other people's problems.

The Six Gates' affairs? None of his damn business.

"Have you decided yet? If not, why not come back another day?" Chen Guanlou asked casually.

Zhang Daohe snapped out of his thoughts, glanced outside, and cleared his throat. "The man I want to extract is named Wang Qiren!"

What?

Inside, Chen Guanlou's mind erupted in a storm—but his face remained cold and expressionless.

His fingers twitched slightly—he'd nearly lost control and acted.

He frowned, feigning thought. "There's no prisoner named Wang Qiren in the Jia-class prison. Are you mistaken?"

"He is indeed imprisoned in the Jia-class prison."

"Impossible," Chen Guanlou denied firmly, his expression utterly convincing, leaving no room for rebuttal. "I'm the prison warden of the Jia-class prison—I know every prisoner's name and background by heart. The man you call Wang Qiren is not in the Jia-class prison. Zhang Daohe, I don't care what your goal is—you come lying to me? Do you want to die? Don't forget—you're a fugitive."

"Are you certain you know every prisoner in the Jia-class prison?"

"What do you mean?" Chen Guanlou glanced at him. "Are you questioning my competence? Who the hell are you?"

Zhang Daohe smiled calmly, as if he held all the cards. "Have you ever been to the deepest part of the Jia-class prison? As far as I know, a nameless prisoner has been held there for decades. That man is Wang Qiren—the one I want to extract."

Chen Guanlou feigned utter shock. "How could you possibly know that? Where did you get this information? Even the Tianlao archives have no record of this nameless prisoner—how do you know? How do I know you're not lying? Just because you say he's Wang Qiren, does that make it true?"

Zhang Daohe smiled confidently, utterly certain. "I have my own sources. I can swear—the nameless prisoner is Wang Qiren."

"Who is Wang Qiren? He's been imprisoned for decades—he's probably near death. Why do you want to extract him?"

Chen Guanlou felt a flicker of tension—he feared the man wouldn't bite. If he didn't uncover the connection between them, he'd go mad. To get halfway through a juicy story and be left hanging? Impossible to bear!

"I have my reasons for extracting him. Will you help me with this small favor, Prison Warden Chen?"

"Sorry, I can't." Chen Guanlou refused outright. "You won't reveal anything, yet you expect me to extract someone for you? Dream on. You walk away, but I'm still stuck here in the Tianlao. If a prisoner—especially one held for decades—vanishes without reason, I can't bear the blame."

"I'll pay two thousand taels!"

"Heh!"

Two thousand taels? Are you mocking me?

Zhang Daohe, a cultist—the market has changed. Prison Warden Chen isn't the broke fool he once was—he's now a millionaire with ten thousand taels in assets.

"Five thousand taels!"

Chen Guanlou sneered. Before he could speak, Zhang Daohe raised the price again: "Ten thousand taels!"

Now that's a bold move!

But he still refused. "This nameless prisoner, held in the deepest part of the Jia-class prison, has no official record—at least, none in the Tianlao archives. Precisely because of that, no room for error. You won't tell me your reason, yet you demand extraction—and you think ten thousand taels will make me shoulder the penalty of beheading? Dream on. Find someone else. For anyone else, ten thousand taels could buy connections in the Ministry of Justice."

"He's my grandfather!"

Zhang Daohe's words shattered the air.

Chen Guanlou considered himself well-traveled and unshakable—but now, he felt the world's absurd layers, utterly illogical.

"What did you say? He's your grandfather? What proof do you have? I heard that prisoner had no family left—so where did you come from?"

He acted as if violently shaken.

He simply couldn't believe it!

Wang Qiren and Zhang Daohe—how could they possibly be grandfather and grandson?

"You don't even share the Wang surname!"

"If I bore the Wang surname, I would've died at birth. My grandmother was a servant of my grandfather's; after giving birth to my father, she lived quietly in a countryside estate. My mother, surnamed Zhang, raised me as a posthumous child. Before I was born, the Wang family fell—everyone perished. My mother was a woman of the Jianghu; she never formally married my father. With help from my uncles, she escaped death, and I was born safely. Now that I have power, I learned my grandfather still lives—imprisoned in the deepest part of the Tianlao. Prison Warden Chen, will you help me extract him?"

Chen Guanlou was half-skeptical.

But who could fabricate such an outlandish backstory?

He himself had struggled desperately to uncover information about Wang Qiren and Princess Luyang. Few in the capital even remembered the couple, let alone anyone beyond it.

As for Zhang Daohe—he had no connections inside the palace. If this were a lie, where did he get such details?

Could he truly be Wang Qiren's grandson?

"Who exactly is Wang Qiren? Besides being your grandfather, what other identity does he hold? Why did the Wang family vanish?"