Chapter 521: Slipping Through

The mortuary had undergone a complete transformation; compared to when the Brocaded Guard had come, it was now spacious and bright, neat and orderly.

Jiang Tu's corpse lay on a door plank right in the center, covered by a piece of yellowed white cloth.

Chen Chen Guanlou, disregarding the filthy surroundings, stepped into the mortuary first and lifted the white cloth. "My lord, please look—this is Jiang Tu's corpse. He died last night; it's still fresh, the smell hasn't even dispersed yet."

If he hadn't said anything, fine. The moment he spoke, the Ministry of Justice official immediately felt a miasma of death hovering around his nose and mouth, along with Jiang Tu's resentment. One only needed a single glance at Jiang Tu's remains to conclude that the man had died full of grievance, and that his death had certainly not been peaceful.

His body was not even intact!

Skin torn and flesh mangled!

The appearance that an official values most had also been destroyed. That amounted to cutting off his future prospects entirely. Even if one day a general amnesty came, he could never return to Zhonghuichaotang to serve as an official.

What is an official? The foremost requirement is that one's features be proper and upright. An ugly man cannot be an official; a cripple cannot be an official. Of course, if you are a cripple of Marquis Pingjiang's status, and possess the ability to campaign and fight, and command the awe of acclamation among the noble ranks, naturally you would not care whether your body is maimed.

The Ministry of Justice official endured the discomfort all over his body and steeled himself to walk into the mortuary, to verify the identity and examine the birthmarks. Jiang Tu was an important figure; verifying his death was likewise an important assignment—no carelessness was permitted, no shirking or slacking. Because the superiors could inquire into the matter at any moment, and if he could not give a clear account, he would inevitably earn their displeasure and thereby damage his own prospects.

Therefore, the identity-verification process appeared especially solemn and drawn-out, especially meticulous. Comparing against the little-figure portrait in the dossier, they checked each birthmark's size and position one by one, and even reached out to touch them, ensuring they were genuine and not fabricated.

The Ministry of Justice official was clearly also aware of certain tricks and schemes in the Heaven Prison; he knew the business of faking corpses inside and out. Had it not been Jiang Tu, he would absolutely not have stepped in personally, nor minded the inauspiciousness.

After verifying the identity, the Ministry of Justice official let out a long breath. "Identity confirmed. It is indeed Jiang Tu."

Chen Chen Guanlou stepped forward. "My lord, please come to the side hall for tea. The remaining matters can be left to the men below to handle."

"No matter! Since I've come, I'll see the whole thing through."

At a single glance from the Ministry of Justice official, several Ministry of Justice coroners filed into the mortuary and began the autopsy.

Jiang Tu had died of poisoning; any experienced physician or coroner could determine that.

Chen Chen Guanlou's expression was composed, but Qian Xu Fugui, who had shrunk into a corner, was nervous and uneasy, afraid something might go wrong, afraid those coroners might take the money yet not do the job, going back on their word.

Xiao Jin and the others nearby were likewise on tenterhooks, slightly ill at ease.

Chen Chen Guanlou cast a casual glance; his gaze seemed calm, yet carried an inexpressible intimidating force over the jailers. For a moment, the jailers who felt somewhat guilty all straightened their backs and chests, looking exceptionally righteous.

Chen Chen Guanlou nodded in satisfaction. Now that was more like it.

Anyone who gave the game away, he would certainly deal with severely afterward.

The Ministry of Justice official sensed the shift in atmosphere and turned to look them over a few times, yet could not spot any problem. Questions lurked in his mind, but he did not know where to seek the answers.

An official who could keep his footing in the Ministry of Justice and hold his position steady naturally possessed some real ability. The Ministry of Justice official was convinced this lot of Heaven Prison jailers was fishy—surely Jiang Tu's death was in doubt?

So he asked the coroners, "Have you verified the cause of death?"

The three coroners, heads bowed, were nonetheless communicating silently.

It was still the most experienced coroner who spoke up: "Reporting to my lord, the corpse's limbs are broken in multiple places, with no trace of bone-setting. Massive internal bleeding in the abdomen, multiple internal organs damaged—clearly he suffered extremely grave injuries. Given that no treatment was administered, such wounds would certainly be fatal. Indeed, he died of his grave injuries going untreated."

Hearing this, the Ministry of Justice official knit his brows. He did not doubt the coroner's words, but suspected that the Heaven Prison had employed methods unknown to others, methods that could even deceive an experienced coroner.

Chen Chen Guanlou seized the moment to say: "My lord should know, that wretch Jiang Tu was bent on dying, stubbornly refusing treatment. Whoever tried to give him medicine, he would try to kill himself. The jailers feared he truly meant to end his life, so they dared not apply medicine. Sigh, who would have thought that wretch was such an iron man, that he died in agony."

"I heard that the moment Prison Clerk Chen returned from leave, he couldn't wait to go see Jiang Tu?" The Ministry of Justice official stared at Chen Chen Guanlou, looking him up and down. Since the other party did not throw around the identity of a martial arts powerhouse but kept to his identity as a Heaven Prison man, naturally he would handle the matter by the book, questioning the course of events in the capacity of a superior.

"Reporting to my lord, I not only saw Jiang Tu, I made the rounds of every prisoner in the Jia-ranked cell block. I did not favor anyone."

"What I heard is not quite that. They say you and Jiang Tu chatted privately for quite a while."

"I saw Jiang Tu's injuries were too severe, feared something might happen to him, so I urged him to take medicine. He stubbornly refused, preferring to die in agony rather than accept treatment. He declared again and again that he only wished to die, that he did not want to linger on in a living death."

"A living death! Hmph! What face does that wretch Jiang Tu have to talk about a living death? All these years, how many loyal officials have suffered a living death because of him, how many people lost their heads because of him. What he endured does not even reach a tenth. To die like this is really far too easy on him."

Chen Chen Guanlou went along with the other's words: "My lord speaks rightly. Presumably Jiang Tu too was clear about his past deeds, and knew that everything he now suffers is retribution. That is why he was bent on dying. Once a man has set his heart on death, even if a great Luo Golden Immortal descended to the mortal world, he could not be saved."

"Jiang Tu's death truly has no points of doubt?" the Ministry of Justice official asked the coroners again.

The three coroners nodded in unison. "Indeed, he died of grave injuries going untreated and excessive blood loss."

"Inauspicious!"

Having found nothing at all, the Ministry of Justice official swept his sleeves and departed.

Chen Chen Guanlou led the jailers and sent the man off with particular warmth. He invited the Ministry of Justice official to the office for tea; when refused, he was not annoyed, but rather very pleased.

Watching the Ministry of Justice official depart, this hurdle could be considered passed.

"There won't be any further complications, will there!" Physician Mu stood beside Chen Chen Guanlou and asked in a low voice.

Chen Chen Guanlou smiled and said: "The register has been ticked off. We can notify the people of Jiang Fu to come claim the body and transport it back for burial."

"Excellent! I never expected this hurdle to be passed so easily."

"It was not easy at all. In such a short time, to get every joint of the affair sorted out, it depended entirely on the Heaven Prison working together with one heart. I alone could not have managed it."

"True enough."

For the great meritorious official Qian Xu Fugui, Chen Chen Guanlou gave special commendation and bestowed a generous reward.

Qian Xu Fugui wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "I won't hide it from you, my lord. The little one has been on tenterhooks the whole time, afraid those coroners would be ungrateful and refuse to play along."

Chen Chen Guanlou nodded approvingly. "Take a man's money and you're in his debt. Since they took the money, there's no reason for them to go back on their word—unless they don't want to keep working in this line. Our reputation may be poor and our station lowly, but we're not that easy to dismiss; we have plenty of ways to deal with people. Fortunately, those coroners all knew what was what, understood that the less fuss the better—very good!"