Chapter 468: The Truth Is Not Important

Living in a sealed environment, the most important thing is to keep one's emotions stable.

As long as emotions remain stable, everything proceeds step by step, in an orderly fashion, and matters will not be too bad. No need to worry about people deliberately sabotaging the surroundings and causing irreversible consequences.

Originally, some people in the Heaven Prison still clung to wishful thinking, believing the court was still stable, that the old Emperor was surely fine, and that he would soon emerge to take charge and steady the situation.

But when the first ray of morning sunlight struck the earth, the city gates swung wide, and the imperial troops entered Jingcheng, utterly extinguishing everyone's last flicker of hope.

The Divine Armament Battalion and the Divine Sharp Battalion entered Jingcheng one after another — last year it was these two bands of soldiers who had run rampant through the capital.

Immediately after, the entire Divine Engine Battalion also entered Jingcheng.

In an instant, Jingcheng became the territory of the three great battalions.

The moment the three great battalions met, violent clashes broke out.

At this point there was no other choice. The Heaven Prison reached a unanimous opinion: seal the main gate, assign more men to patrol from the watchtowers. All prisoners in the cells were switched to one meal a day, and without any grease. Previously, prisoners in the top-tier cells, if not every day, would at least see a bit of oil every two or three days.

After all, they had paid so much money — life should be a little better.

Chen Chen Guanlou descended into the great prison to soothe the prisoners' emotions. He did not wish to see situations like a prisoner riot occur.

Xie Changling, his face covered in stubble, looked extremely worn and down on his luck. For some time now he had neither washed up nor paid to go out for a breath of air.

Upon seeing Chen Chen Guanlou, he said indifferently, "I need to get out!"

Chen Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow. "Telling me this is useless. I'm not an official of the Ministry of Justice, just a jailer. I'm only responsible for guarding you lot."

"Help me deliver a letter to the Ministry of Justice. Afterwards, I will surely have weighty thanks."

Don't talk to him about weighty thanks.

The Hou Fu's weighty thanks had yet to arrive.

He shook his head and told the man, "The Heaven Prison is sealed. No one may enter or leave. Right now there's no one who can deliver your letter for you."

"What's the situation outside now?" Xie Changling was not anxious, his expression still indifferent. He seemed to have long been prepared for his own predicament and for the Heaven Prison's current state of affairs.

"The three great battalions have entered the capital one after another, and several clashes have already broken out. Who wins and who loses, I don't know either. As for the situation inside the palace, there's been no word to this day. If you're asking me whether Your Majesty is alive or dead — sorry, I don't know a thing."

"No word from the Hou Fu either?"

"None. The Hou Fu's heir is said to have entered the palace, and then there was no word of him."

Hearing this, Xie Changling suddenly furrowed his brow. "I need to get out, I must get out. Others can't leave the Heaven Prison, but I know Warden Chen, you definitely have a way to get out of the Heaven Prison. Please make a trip to the Ministry of Justice and find an official surnamed Ou. Just say I sent you to find him. You won't need to worry about anything that comes after. Once I'm out, I will surely have weighty thanks."

Chen Chen Guanlou shook his head and refused.

Without seeing real silver and gold, he could not possibly help. Especially given that the situation outside was now unclear, with clashes breaking out everywhere.

He strictly observed the saying that a gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall.

Xie Changling gritted his teeth. "How about this — you go to the Xie residence, take my handwritten note and collect the money. Once you have the money, then make a trip to the Ministry of Justice for me. How about it?"

Chen Chen Guanlou still refused.

"What would it take for you to agree to help me?"

"Why is Lord Xie in such a rush to get out? Could it be you know who blew up the altar? What could you, a convicted official, accomplish by getting out?"

"Don't worry about what I can do. As long as you're willing to help me, I'll owe you this favor. I'll repay this debt of gratitude to you in the future. How about it?"

"Haven't you heard? I'm a man who never bites on painted cakes. How about this — how much are you planning to pay me to deliver the message for you?"

"One thousand taels. How about it?"

This price, if placed in ordinary times, would absolutely count as market-destroying behavior — far too high. It smacked of price-gouging.

But right now, a mere one thousand taels was frankly too low.

"Two thousand taels! Take my handwritten note, go to the Xie residence, and you'll get this sum. I guarantee it."

Chen Chen Guanlou still did not agree. "You officials, scheming against this one today and that one tomorrow — how is it you never schemed for your own sake?"

"Three thousand taels, plus a famous painting. This is the highest price I can offer. Warden Chen — yes or no, give me an answer."

"Two thousand taels plus a painting, and you'll owe me two favors."

"Deal!"

Xie Changling was visibly relieved. He had to get out, he had to get out as quickly as possible. If he delayed, he feared it would be too late.

Chen Chen Guanlou did not inquire what exactly the man intended to do — he never asked about such things.

Taking Xie Changling's handwritten note and letter, without alerting anyone, without using the main gate, and without climbing over any walls, he could completely leave the Heaven Prison without a sound.

First, he went to the Xie residence.

The people at the Xie residence seemed to have long been prepared. Upon seeing the handwritten note, they asked nothing and very readily handed over the money and the painting.

After that, he went to the Ministry of Justice and, sure enough, found an official surnamed Ou. After delivering Xie Changling's letter to the man, he left.

The painting he gave to Tutor Du, letting Tutor Du appraise it for a while. The Heaven Prison was not a convenient place to store antiques and calligraphy — they were easily damaged.

Tutor Du, upon seeing him, looked pleasantly surprised. "How come you've suddenly come back? I thought you wouldn't leave the Heaven Prison until everything was over."

"Just out for a stroll. The Heaven Prison has too many people locked up in it — the smell is a bit much."

"True enough. Let me tell you secretly — the Hou Fu has sealed its gates. The order was given by the head steward himself."

"What do you mean?"

"Except for the side gate, which is kept open for people to come and go, every other gate has been sealed. No one may enter or leave. The head steward also brought in a batch of guards — reportedly every one of them is a martial artist — to protect the Hou Fu's safety."

"Is the situation really that serious?" Chen Chen Guanlou slightly furrowed his brow.

"Who says it isn't." Tutor Du's face was full of worry.

"Have you heard any news of the heir?"

"I don't know!" Tutor Du was worried to death. "I heard the heir went to the altar and never came back. All I know is that the heir is safe; beyond that, nothing is clear. Have you seen the heir?"

"I'd like to see the heir, but unfortunately no chance." Chen Chen Guanlou wondered — could Chen Chen Guanfu be trapped inside the palace?

What on earth is the situation inside the palace right now?

He gazed toward the direction of the imperial palace.

If not for the concern of Grandmasters guarding the palace, he would truly have wanted to sneak in and take a look. He had never properly seen what the imperial palace looked like.

"Any movements from the other meritorious noble families?"

"I don't know! Things are a mess everywhere right now. The Hou Fu has issued orders that no one may go out unless absolutely necessary. For now, the Hou Fu area is still relatively safe. When the soldiers are fighting it out, they all steer clear of the Hou Fu."

"After all, the Grand Master's prestige is well known. Even if they don't give the Heir Apparent face, they still have to give the Grand Master face. Otherwise, once the Grand Master leads those field troops who've spent years slaying bandits up north back into Jingcheng, the Three Great Camps will all lose their heads."

Troops who fight in the field every day versus troops cooped up in camp every day—who wins and who loses is obvious at a glance.

It's no exaggeration to say that the army in the Grand Master's hands is currently the strongest fighting force in the Great Qian Dynasty. This is beyond doubt.

From this we can tell that the Heir Apparent Chen Chen Guanfu's safety is certainly not an issue. The remaining problem is the tearing apart of interests.

As for the truth—does it matter?

Not one bit!