Chapter 341: The Man Was Gone Indeed

Chen Guanlou raced to Tianlaomiao at top speed.

He summoned the on-duty jailer and asked, "Any disturbances?"

The jailer looked confused. "What disturbances?"

"Nothing happened at all?" Chen Guanlou swallowed the words "prison break"—this couldn't be made public; even Wang Qiren's existence must never reach the ears of those above.

He didn't want Tianlaomiao drawing attention.

A job with plenty of money, little work, and close to home couldn't afford more people discovering its advantages—especially not attracting blame, and certainly not a massive black pot slammed onto his head.

The best strategy was to pretend Wang Qiren never existed, and that everyone had forgotten him.

"Nothing at all!" the jailer blinked, bewildered. "Not a single sound all night—not even a shout."

Chen Guanlou immediately scowled and snapped, "Stop thinking only of gambling—use some sense in your duties. Get out of my sight. I'll go down and check myself—no need to follow."

"Really no need to follow?"

"Get lost! You stink—trying to choke me to death?"

The jailer silently withdrew, then reached up, sniffed his armpit, and muttered, "Stink? I don't smell it. I can wear this another three days."

Chen Guanlou descended Tianlaomiao alone, walking straight to its deepest chamber.

Close!

Close!

The cell door stood open—empty.

The prisoner escaped!

The prisoner was taken by force!

Someone had silently removed him from the deepest part of Tianlaomiao.

Zhang Daohe had an inside man in Tianlaomiao.

He suddenly realized: why had Zhang Daohe sought him out? Because tonight he was on duty—Zhang Daohe's real aim was to keep him occupied. Conversely, if he'd helped extract the prisoner, Zhang Daohe's accomplices wouldn't have needed to break in at all.

To stall him, Zhang Daohe had even revealed his own origins.

But wait—why not simply break in when Chen Guanlou wasn't on duty?

Unless there was a final deadline forcing them to take Wang Qiren tonight.

Zhang Daohe clearly sensed Chen Guanlou harbored secrets—if they fought, it would erupt into chaos and alert the Embroidered Uniform Guard next door. Once they moved, the cultists could never escape with Wang Qiren alive.

The best plan was to keep Chen Guanlou away from Tianlaomiao, while Zhang Daohe's accomplice, working with the inside man, quietly slipped Wang Qiren out of the prison and out of Jingcheng.

Chen Guanlou:...

He stared at the empty cell, his chest heavy.

Was Zhang Daohe truly Wang Qiren's grandson?

Why must they take Wang Qiren?

Did Wang Qiren hide other secrets? Was he truly tied to those cultists?

At this moment, he still had the luxury to ponder such nonsense—how careless of him.

Zhang Daohe had achieved his goal; now the problem landed on Chen Guanlou's shoulders: how to handle the sudden disappearance of a prisoner?

Chen Guanlou slipped out of Tianlaomiao without a sound.

At dawn, he summoned Xiao Jin. "Do you know the prisoner in the deepest cell?"

"Of course. But I've only gone down there once—it's creepy."

"He's gone," Chen Guanlou stated calmly.

Xiao Jin was confused—did "gone" mean dead or missing?

"Figure out how to handle this."

"Are you saying we report it?" Xiao Jin ventured.

Chen Guanlou pressed his lips shut and exhaled heavily. "Report the prisoner's death. Find the cook who delivered meals, lock him up, question him carefully, and don't let him out yet."

"My lord, reporting death requires a corpse. This man's gone—there's no corpse at all, right?"

The two played at riddles, neither uttering the words "prison break," yet both knew: this was a prison break. Tianlaomiao had been breached—but the thieves were so skilled, they left no trace.

No one knew the identity of the prisoner in the deepest cell, but being held there in special custody for decades meant he was no ordinary man. If news of the prison break spread, everyone involved would be ruined.

So why not act as usual—report a death? Prisoners dying in Tianlaomiao was normal; every prison had its quota. A prisoner held for decades suddenly dying? Perfectly plausible.

"Find a corpse that fits Tianlaomiao's atmosphere. Can you do it? If not, find Lu Datou—he's experienced."

Xiao Jin grimaced. Finding a corpse was easy—the outskirts had fresh bodies daily. But one that matched Tianlaomiao's atmosphere, one that could pass the Ministry of Justice's coroner's inspection? That was hard.

Corpses in Tianlaomiao differed from those outside—just the smell alone was unmistakable. A body never exposed to sunlight versus one from years of labor—any child could tell the difference.

Chen Guanlou added, "I'll approve five hundred taels. Go to Qian Fugui for the money. If it's not enough, ask him for more."

"Does Qian Fugui know about this?"

"Qian Fugui knows nothing. The fewer people who know, the better. No one in Tianlaomiao knows this nameless old prisoner's true identity. We must guard against the Ministry of Justice inquiring. If his background is great, even the palace might send someone. So it must be real."

Chen Guanlou stressed the word "real."

Xiao Jin understood the depth of the implication. "My lord, there's another way to make it real. The weather's hot—bodies decay fast. Our morgue, though grim, has no ice."

Chen Guanlou nodded silently. "You're a veteran of Tianlaomiao—you know what fits. Don't slip on details. Prepare for inspection by the coroner, even by the palace. I'll approve another three hundred taels. Eight hundred taels total—see this done. Move quickly. I'll report the death by the end of my shift—you have only a few hours."

Xiao Jin accepted the order and hurried out with a trusted jailer to find a corpse.

Chen Guanlou rubbed his temples.

Zhang Daohe had dumped a mess on him—and Chen Guanlou hadn't received a single copper, yet had to spend eight hundred taels.

Next time he saw Zhang Daohe, he'd kill him.

After suffering such a loss and having to clean up the mess, Chen Guanlou's mood was naturally foul.

At lunch, he encountered Xu Fugui and gave him no good face. Xu Fugui flew into a rage and whispered to a colleague, "Have I offended him lately?"

"Probably still brooding over that girl who jilted him," the colleague chuckled.

Xu Fugui clicked his tongue. "Serves him right! Thinks he can marry a refined lady? Who does he think he is? A jailer should know his place—marry a big-hipped woman who can bear children. That's the sensible choice."

"He's a scholar—he's different."

"Different? Still eats the jailer's rice. Just better at kissing ass."

"Hahaha…"

The group burst into laughter.

Xu Fugui's jealous sneer and the fact that Chen Guanlou was despised amused these dull, monotonous jailers.