Chapter 486: I Take Seven, You Take Three

The new Emperor had not yet been chosen, yet this fellow Jiang Tu had already begun his life behind bars, thrown into the Heaven Prison.

This was Li Li Liangcheng's special instruction.

Jiang Tu must be locked in the rule-abiding Heaven Prison, and absolutely must not be thrown into the Imperial Prison.

He worried that if Jiang Tu entered the Imperial Prison, before the new Emperor had even ascended the throne, the man would be dead, his family ransacked, and all his wealth vanished without a trace.

This was something the Brocaded Guards were absolutely capable of doing.

Over the dynasty's three hundred years, the Brocaded Guards' foul reputation was by no means slander; ninety-nine percent of it was their own misdeeds.

The old Emperor had passed away, and the throne sat empty.

You might think that with no master, the Brocaded Guards would panic like headless flies.

Dead wrong.

During the transition between old and new, other yamen carried on with business as usual, but the Brocaded Guards could seize the chance to exploit every loophole, with no one to rein them in. Strictly speaking, only the Emperor could command the Brocaded Guards.

The implication was that even if Zhengshitang stepped in, the Brocaded Guards could refuse to give face. Of course, in official circles, no one would make relations so hostile. The Brocaded Guards still had to give Zhengshitang face.

But once the Brocaded Guards found a loophole to exploit, it would be terrible. By the time someone took charge, the rice was already cooked, and there was nothing to be done but sigh in vain.

To prevent Jiang Tu from dying in prison, Li Li Liangcheng had made special arrangements to have him locked in the Heaven Prison. He ordered the Heaven Prison to keep a close watch and not use any torture. Everything would wait until after the new Emperor's coronation!

The pressure instantly landed on the Heaven Prison—to be precise, on Chen Chen Guanlou.

On the day Jiang Tu was thrown into prison, he was escorted by a mob of officialdom thugs, his hat torn off, hair disheveled, clothes ripped, and one shoe missing from his feet.

Seeing this, how could Chen Chen Guanlou dare hesitate? He hurriedly had the jailers step forward to take custody of the prisoner Jiang Tu; the paperwork wasn't even finished before the man was already locked inside.

He was afraid this mob of officialdom thugs would get carried away and beat the man to death.

Those above had reminded him time and again that he must keep a close watch over Jiang Tu.

Jiang Tu was a treacherous official—this was true. But he was also the key figure in the bombing case; whether the bombing case could be investigated clearly still depended on Jiang Tu. If anything happened to the man in the Heaven Prison, it would be Chen Chen Guanlou's responsibility.

Chen Chen Guanlou: …

Could they not lock such a sensitive and critical figure in the Heaven Prison? The Imperial Prison next door had been quite empty lately, with cells specifically cleared out to hold prisoners related to the bombing case.

Those above flatly refused.

"Li Xiang said the Heaven Prison jailers know the rules and won't act recklessly. The Heaven Prison's reputation has reached Li Xiang's ears. Chen Chen Guanlou, you must seize this opportunity!"

These words were spoken by Sun Sun Daoning.

This fellow Sun Sun Daoning had been jumping around a lot lately, bouncing up and down with particular vigor.

With Jiang Tu imprisoned, he was especially enthusiastic. He took time out from the palace to make a trip, came to the Heaven Prison to inspect the first-class cells, looked over the environment of the first-class cells, and 'extended regards' to the prisoners held inside. Then he grabbed Chen Chen Guanlou and poured a stream of grand principles into him.

Chen Chen Guanlou suddenly asked, "Is my lord about to be promoted? Is the Minister of Justice about to change?"

"Nonsense! How can such words be spoken carelessly. Do your own job properly, keep an eye on Jiang Tu, don't let anything happen to this fellow."

"My lord still doesn't know me well enough. I took down the Great Ming King and held out until the Grand Sacrifice. A mere Jiang Tu is absolutely in the bag."

"Don't be careless. The Great Ming King was just a rebel, and those he could implicate were all a bunch of yokels. Jiang Tu is different. Jiang Tu has been muddling through officialdom for over a decade, and he was a favorite minister by His Majesty's side. How many people and how many matters are tangled up in this, I myself dare not think too deeply. If the number of people who wanted the Great Ming King dead was ten, then the number who want Jiang Tu dead is at least a hundred. Little Chen, the pressure on you is immense."

Chen Chen Guanlou quickly seized the opening. "My lord, our Heaven Prison suffers! We do the most exhausting and bitter work, bear the misunderstandings and curses of the whole realm, and take the lowest salary from the court—even dogs don't look kindly on us. I beg my lord to show some mercy and waive the cut."

"Rubbish!" Sun Sun Daoning's eyes bulged, as if he wanted to eat Chen Chen Guanlou alive. It was simply absurd—daring to mention waiving the cut. What kind of propriety was that? If the cut were waived, where would the tea money, heating money, overtime money, travel money, cooling money… for the lords come from? Who would they ask?

Chen Chen Guanlou immediately backed down. "Th-then, could we go back to the cut ratio from four years ago? With the current cut ratio, us jailers are truly worrying ourselves sick like prime ministers while earning cabbage-selling wages. It's too little. My lord, give us a bit more."

Sun Sun Daoning also began to cry poor. "This matter isn't something I can decide alone. You're also a man who eats the public's rice, you should understand clearly—once the ratio goes up, getting it back down is immensely difficult. Sigh, the state affairs are hard. The Ministry of Revenue cries famine every year, you all should also sympathize with the Ministry of Justice's difficulties. The Ministry of Justice has so many people top to bottom, everyone needs to eat, needs to support a family. With that little money divided among everyone, how much actually lands in hand? It's possible that what I myself receive is no more than what you, boy, get."

"That can't be! Absolutely impossible!" Chen Chen Guanlou denied outright, loudly protesting. "My lord, every entry in my accounts can be verified—there are absolutely no private accounts, no sloppy accounts, no bad accounts, absolutely no pocketing of funds. The money I earn each month is also clear and plain as day. I'm about to not be able to afford meals. My lord, show some mercy, at least leave us a way to live. Let a little slip through your fingers, and it'll be enough to make us jailers happy."

"Sigh, no one has it easy."

A dignified Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice—his skill at deflecting topics was truly top-notch. Cry hardship, everyone has their hardships. Cry poverty, everyone is poor.

In any case, it was an extreme tug-of-war.

No matter how much Chen Chen Guanlou talked his mouth raw, Sun Sun Daoning's lips didn't loosen a single crack. Instead, he wanted the Heaven Prison to try harder and hand over more share money to those above—it was almost a forced levy.

Chen Chen Guanlou was so frightened he quickly shut down the topic.

Damn, these old officialdom hands must have learned their tricks from the Ministry of Revenue—when it comes to wanting money, they come up with one brilliant scheme after another. When they don't want to give money, their expressions and postures are absolutely moving.

Chen Chen Guanlou hated these superiors enough to kill them—always thinking about money.

He simply asked, "Jiang Tu is locked in the Heaven Prison. May I ask, my lord, to what extent can we jailers go?"

Sun Sun Daoning's brows shifted slightly, and he countered, "To what extent do you want to go?"

Chen Chen Guanlou extended his hand, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together in a money-counting gesture.

Sun Sun Daoning chuckled. "Fine! But mind the limits, and mind the methods. The amounts must be carefully considered. Also, I take seventy percent, off the books."

"My lord taking seventy percent, wouldn't that…"

Chen Chen Guanlou wanted to curse the man for his insatiable greed—one person taking seventy percent, why not just rob people outright.

"Then eighty percent!" Sun Sun Daoning lifted his teacup, wearing an air of utter nonchalance.

Chen Chen Guanlou: …

He opened his mouth, afraid that if the talk continued, it would become ninety percent, a hundred percent, and in the end he'd have worked for nothing.

"Fine, seventy percent it is, seventy percent, off the books. How do I get the money to my lord?"

"I will naturally send someone to collect it. If there are any fine-quality calligraphy or paintings or antiques, remember to send them to my residence."