Chapter 417: Don't be so sneaky when doing things

After the people from the Ministry of Justice had all left, Jiang Jiang Yucheng Lei scurried like a mouse into the office of the Grade-A prison, chasing everyone else who was warming themselves by the fire out.

Chen Guanlou:...

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Lei, you are an official after all; can you not be so sneaky when doing things? It's beneath your dignity! If this were to spread, the majesty of a Jiang Jiang Yucheng would be discounted once again.

"What did Vice Minister Sun say to you?" Jiang Jiang Yucheng Lei appeared nervous, with a sense of mania, as if he might go insane at any moment.

Chen Guanlou didn't rush to answer, but instead asked in return: "Did Vice Minister Sun promise you anything?"

"Promise my foot. He absolutely refuses to send people to guard the Heavenly Prison; the safety of the Great Ming Prince rests entirely on the prison guards of the Heavenly Prison. You tell me, with the few people you have on hand, who can you defend against?"

"We can't defend against anyone," Chen Guanlou said truthfully.

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Lei felt immense resentment in his heart. Logically, he wouldn't have the guts to hold a grudge against Vice Minister Sun, but at this moment, with his life at stake, he could no longer care about the hierarchy of status, and he hated Vice Minister Sun to the core.

"Then what should we do?"

Chen Guanlou pacified him: "Vice Minister Sun did promise that if an accident truly occurs, he will do his best to preserve everyone in the Heavenly Prison."

"Really?" In his despair, Jiang Jiang Yucheng Lei finally saw a glimmer of hope and was eager to get a definitive answer.

"Actually, you don't need to worry so much. The importance of the Great Ming Prince is beyond doubt. Just imagine, if the Great Ming Prince were truly abducted, what would happen?"

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Lei frowned and pondered deeply: "What would happen? Surely some would be happy and some would be sad; the Ministry of Justice would be shrouded in gloom and burning with anxiety. There would inevitably be arguments and debates over guilt in the imperial court. If we really had to assign blame, the Ministry of Justice would certainly bear the brunt. Our Heavenly Prison..."

"Our Heavenly Prison is just an inconspicuous little unit. The people above know exactly what level the Heavenly Prison guards are at," Chen Guanlou continued.

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Lei nodded secretly: "You're right. The commoners outside might not know the level of the Heavenly Prison, but the imperial court certainly knows it clearly. Expecting the Heavenly Prison to block fierce bandits from raiding the prison is simply a joke. Even if blame is to be assigned, it won't be the Heavenly Prison's turn to take the fall. The people above certainly won't let the Ministry of Justice off; they will definitely seize the Ministry of Justice and punish them to death. Eh, it makes no sense that Vice Minister Sun wouldn't think of this. Since he knows the consequences, why would he let it be? Does he really hope for the Ministry of Justice to be besieged by everyone?"

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Lei pondered deeply, unable to figure out the joints of this matter, unable to figure out what kind of scheme the officials of the Ministry of Justice were playing.

Chen Guanlou spouted some nonsense: "Perhaps the Ministry of Justice already has a backup plan. It is also possible that some things are destined by Heaven; it is Heaven's will!"

"Don't spout nonsense about Heaven's will." Jiang Jiang Yucheng Lei shivered; his brain was like paste, a complete mess. He felt that the Ministry of Justice was playing a game of chess, and as a pawn, he couldn't understand the logic of this game at all.

"I can't figure it out," he said, feeling very distressed.

Chen Guanlou advised him, "My lord, why seek out trouble for yourself? Even if the sky were to collapse, there are taller people to hold it up. If you can't figure it out, then don't; it won't affect your daily life."

"You're right, it won't affect my daily life." Jiang Jiang Yucheng Lei left with all sorts of thoughts, deciding that in the coming days, he would never step foot in the Heavenly Prison unless necessary. This place was cursed for him; nothing good ever happened whenever he came here.

Once he had earned enough money next year, he had to quickly find an opportunity to transfer away from the Heavenly Prison. This broken place, whoever wants to come can come; he didn't care for it anyway.

After warming himself by the fire for a while, Chen Guanlou went down to the prison and walked straight to the cell door of the rebel Great Ming Prince.

Medical Official Mu was currently setting the bones for the other party.

Chen Guanlou asked curiously: "Broken bones? Worthy of being the Great Ming Prince, I haven't heard you cry out in pain once."

Seeing Chen Guanlou, the Great Ming Prince's gaze flickered slightly, and he subconsciously tensed his muscles all over.

Medical Official Mu patted his shoulder: "Relax, don't tense up. It will be fine soon."

Chen Guanlou smiled knowingly, standing guard to the side, watching Medical Official Mu perform his medical skills. He possessed the Longevity Dao Fruit, which would automatically repair injuries on his body; he didn't even have a cold throughout the four seasons, so he really had no chance to experience Medical Official Mu's medical skills, which he felt was a bit of a pity whenever he felt melancholic.

This kind of mood is commonly known as being pretentious.

He was also a pretentious person.

Medical Official Mu skillfully set the Great Ming Prince's bones, applied ointment, tied on wooden boards, and gave medical instructions: "Try not to move within half a month. If there is anything, let the prison guards or the handymen do it for you; absolutely do not try to be brave. Although your body is strong, you are getting on in years after all, and you can't compare to young people."

Chen Guanlou flipped through the file; the Great Ming Prince was already forty-five this year, which in any era is middle-aged, or even middle-aged to elderly. Those the same age as him were already grandfathers.

At the age of forty, he started a rebellion, making a grand and spectacular scene; even if it ended in failure, it was not in vain to have walked this world once. The commoners would forget him one day, but history books would record him forever. Even thousands of years later, people flipping through history books would still be able to see his great name.

This is also a kind of success, a life that others cannot replicate. Perhaps in later generations, there would still be people who commemorate him and believe in him. That's truly awesome.

Chen Guanlou asked Medical Official Mu: "Are there any other ailments?"

"I've already explained everything clearly to the prison guards, and the prescription has been written. Great Ming Prince, does your army not have military physicians?" Medical Official Mu asked curiously, mainly because the Great Ming Prince had too many hidden ailments on his body, all treated carelessly, and some hidden ailments were even treated with the wrong medicine.

The Great Ming Prince said with a calm demeanor: "There were military physicians, but they were veterinarians before. It was only after they followed me that they changed their profession to become military physicians."

Medical Official Mu had an expression that was hard to describe; no wonder the medicine was wrong. Damn it, veterinarians can treat people too; these rebels are indeed capable of doing what others cannot.

"When you were winning battles and occupied so much territory, why didn't you kidnap a few doctors to be military physicians? Don't tell me you couldn't control these doctors," Chen Guanlou asked curiously.

The Great Ming Prince sighed: "They were all a bunch of poor wretches, who only had a period of prosperity when winning battles. At that time, we didn't understand anything; our eyes were just fixed on food, gold, silver, jewelry, and women. By the time we came to our senses and went to search for medicinal herbs, they were already gone. A clever woman cannot cook without rice. Even if there were good doctors, there were no medicinal herbs; what could we do? My land didn't produce medicinal herbs to begin with; the herbs were all transported from other places. I did want to open up a trade route, but every time there was an opportunity, the imperial army would kill their way over. It felt like they knew I was lacking herbs and weapons here, and deliberately came to attack me when I was at my most difficult. You tell me, is there a traitor inside?"

"There's no need for a traitor; even with your toes, you could guess that you were lacking medicinal herbs. If you didn't grab enough herbs, then the herbs were either in the hands of the wealthy or in the hands of the government soldiers; in any case, they weren't in your hands. Just find an accountant, do a little statistics, and you could calculate your accounts clearly. With your conditions, the imperial court fought you for several years before completely wiping you out; I have to say, your vitality is truly tenacious."

Chen Guanlou praised the other party sincerely.

It seemed the Great Ming Prince didn't buy this, and his face became increasingly foul. ===== CHAPTER 418 =====