Chapter 519: Just for His Body

"Five hundred taels is definitely too much."

Qian Xu Fugui managed the money and was exceptionally sensitive to wealth.

"A mere coroner, a coroner from the Ministry of Punishment is still just a coroner. How dare he ask for five hundred taels to grease the wheels? If he dares to name that price, I dare to slap it right in his face. Giving him fifty taels is already giving him face."

Is a coroner from the Ministry of Punishment so worthless?

Chen Chen Guanlou was somewhat skeptical.

Medical Officer Mu was also a novice who didn't understand market prices. "Fifty taels, isn't that too little?"

These two were born wealthy and simply didn't know the immense value and purchasing power of fifty taels in the market.

"Does Medical Officer Mu know how much money it takes to grease the wheels for a coroner in a county yamen below?"

"How much?"

"One tael of silver is enough; even five qian of silver counts as generous. The Ministry of Punishment holds a higher status, so greasing the wheels for their coroner requires two or three taels; five taels of silver is already extremely generous. This time, because we need a favor, a tenfold premium, giving fifty taels is extremely decent. If anyone thinks it's too little, they are either rejecting the face we offer or they don't intend to cooperate with our Heavenly Prison and have other ideas."

"This, this, this... is it really that cheap?" Medical Officer Mu found it hard to believe and looked at Chen Chen Guanlou, hoping the other would make the decision.

Chen Chen Guanlou hummed, "Listen to Xu Fugui on this matter. He knows the trade better than us. We subconsciously projected ourselves as the coroner, thinking this couldn't be done without five hundred taels. It's purely being blinded by a single leaf, self-righteous, unaware of market prices, and purely inflating prices. I hate people who inflate prices the most in my life. Xu Fugui, I'm entrusting this matter to you; be sure to handle it properly. Jiang Tu's death must be confirmed as death from severe injuries, and I don't want any complications. Do you understand?"

"This humble one understands. This humble one will go find someone to contact the Ministry of Punishment's coroner immediately. Jiang Tu is a big shot; since he died, the Ministry of Punishment will surely assign the most experienced coroner to examine the body."

"Your line of thinking isn't wrong. But you can't ignore the second and third coroners. What if someone upstairs gets a sudden idea, doesn't use the most experienced one, and insists on using the second most experienced one? Last-minute greasing of the wheels might not be enough time to operate."

"I understand what my lord means: cast a wide net to surely catch fish."

"That's the logic."

Qian Xu Fugui accepted the task, took his leave, and departed.

Medical Officer Mu took a sip of tea to clear his mind. "Will it work?"

Chen Chen Guanlou chuckled; this time it was his turn to give Medical Officer Mu a lesson.

He said, "You only know if it works after trying. You can't rely solely on words for anything; you must do it. Only by doing it will you know where the errors and omissions are, and only then will you know how to improve."

Why do they say that scholars' empty talk harms the nation? It's because scholars only chatter with their mouths, fooling those who don't understand, yet they have never practiced. They themselves aren't sure if what they say will work or how many errors and omissions there will be.

If someone actually does what they say, and it involves coercing thousands upon thousands of people, tell me, once a mistake happens, how severe would the consequences be?

Do the scholars bear the consequences? No, they don't. After the scholars chatter, they just pat their backsides and leave. If asked afterwards why what they said was wrong, the scholar has one sentence: "This humble one is only responsible for speaking; I never told you to do it this way. If it went wrong, what does that have to do with me?" Do you find this scholar annoying or not?"

"You might as well point directly at my name and curse; why point at the mulberry tree to curse the locust tree? It's superfluous."

Medical Officer Mu snorted coldly, looking particularly disdainful.

Chen Chen Guanlou laughed heartily. "Old Mu, look at you, falling into the narrow-mindedness of scholars again, unable to tolerate anyone saying you're wrong. Am I cursing you? If I were cursing you, would I need to point at the mulberry tree to curse the locust tree? You, you, you judge a gentleman's heart with a petty person's mind."

"If you are a gentleman, I will swallow poison right now and end this life."

"No need, no need. Although I am not a gentleman, I am at least a true petty person. I am opening my heart to you, so you needn't look at me sideways. At least, my face has been verified by the sisters in the brothels; they throw themselves at me, just for my face."

"Is that purely for your face? It is clearly for your body."

"That makes sense!"

Chen Chen Guanlou was cheerful; Old Mu was good after all. Old Mu knew his stuff. He knew his body was more popular than his face.

With such a big shot as Jiang Tu dead, people from all sides arrived at once.

At dawn, the neighboring Embroidered Uniform Guard, holding official documents, arrived at the Heavenly Prison first to inspect.

Chen Chen Guanlou personally welcomed them.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard had learned their lesson, knowing they had to bring official documents; otherwise, they wouldn't see Jiang Tu's body at all.

Chen Chen Guanlou ordered the jailers to take the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the morgue. The coroner didn't need to come.

"The Heavenly Prison is only responsible to the Ministry of Punishment. The Embroidered Uniform Guard arranging for a coroner to examine the body has no logic and no rule. You handling business this way is clearly questioning the authority of the Ministry of Punishment. You can check the identity of the corpse, but you cannot examine the body."

He stood under the eaves, hands clasped behind his back, with an attitude of conducting official business as equals with a brother unit. Just because he was merely a lowly clerk didn't mean he had to bow and scrape. May I ask, who dares make a martial arts expert bow and scrape?

"That scoundrel Jiang Tu deserved to die. However, everything was fine before, and he suddenly died at this precise moment, which is truly surprising. Please, Prison Warden Chen, do us a favor and let the coroner take a close look; at least let us have peace of mind."

Chen Chen Guanlou sneered. "Whether your Embroidered Uniform Guard have peace of mind or not is none of our Heavenly Prison's business. The two are brother units; without an order from the palace, the Embroidered Uniform Guard cannot ride on top of the Heavenly Prison to act tyrannically, right? I give you face by letting you see Jiang Tu's body. You should at least give me face and not ruin the rules. Otherwise, neither of us will look good."

"Prison Warden Chen insists on not letting the coroner examine the body. Does that mean there is something fishy about Jiang Tu's death?"

Chen Chen Guanlou squinted his eyes and looked at the speaker; the face was unfamiliar, one he had never seen before.

He chuckled lightly. "If I brought a coroner to your Embroidered Uniform Guard to examine the body and your Embroidered Uniform Guard refused, would that not also mean you are guilty? Rules are rules; stop dragging in baseless matters. If you are not convinced, go to the palace to demand an imperial decree, or go to the Ministry of Punishment to demand official documents. As long as the Ministry of Punishment issues official documents, check however you like. Ten or eight coroners can examine the body together; I will absolutely not obstruct."

His attitude was tough and righteous, showing not a trace of guilt.

He believed he had done nothing wrong, so why should he feel guilty? Anyone who feels guilty must, deep down, also believe they have done wrong.

"We understand what Prison Warden Chen means. Fine, we won't bring a coroner."

The leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard silenced the noise from those around him, complied with the Heavenly Prison's rules, and followed the jailers to the morgue.

Before last night, the Heavenly Prison's morgue was empty. This morning, good heavens, the morgue was full, bodies piled on top of each other, the smell so strong it made people dare not approach.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard covered their noses and mouths, not daring to step into the morgue. "How can there be so many corpses? It hasn't even reached summer yet. Have you Heavenly Prison gone mad with poverty, killing so many people in one breath?"