Chapter 54

Chen Guanlou spent a fortune to entertain Master Li at Zui Xiang Pavilion, listening to songs and drinking with courtesans, even inviting the courtesan queen to join them.

He had come to a decision—he would remain in the Jia-Cell Prison.

The Jia-Cell Prison’s wealth was one reason, but more importantly, he could not yield, could not bow to Wan Yuli. Bowing was easy; lifting your head again afterward would be hard.

Wan Yuli was using a chicken feather as a decree, not only trying to seize his post but also aiming to drive him out of Tianlao—how outrageous!

Taking his position was bad enough, but now they wanted to urinate on his head—uncle may tolerate it, but aunt won’t! If he didn’t strike back, how would the people in Tianlao see him? Who would ever give him an inch of face?

A tree lives by its bark; a man lives by his face. Even if he could do without face, it had to be his own choice to discard it—not have it stripped from him by others.

After five courses of food and three rounds of wine, both men were drunk and flushed, in the perfect mood for serious talk.

“You’re an interesting lad. Don’t worry—I know all about your situation. I’ll speak well of you to Master Fan.”

“Thank you, Master Li. I toast you—please drink as you please.”

“Hahaha! I always knew you could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk. One day, I’ll test you properly.”

“Master Li flatters me—I’m just young and can hold my liquor.”

“Modest, modest. Everyone in Tianlao knows about the feud between you and Wan Yuli. Master Fan agrees with your view—this season is most prone to epidemics; caution is necessary. Rest easy—Wan Yuli dreaming of driving you out over this? He’s dreaming.”

Hearing this, Chen Guanlou relaxed half his tension.

Master Li waved his hand; the courtesan queen rose gracefully and said, “I’ll go brew some tea to sober you both up. Please wait a moment.” She left the private room with several other women.

Chen Guanlou anticipated Master Li had something important to tell him.

Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Master Li said, “Tianlao is a cursed place. Though Master Fan is the prison warden, he often merely follows orders from above, with little room to maneuver.”

Chen Guanlou quickly said, “What troubles Master Fan? I am willing to ease his burdens.”

Master Li nodded approvingly—the lad was sharp.

“You may not know, but recently in Jiangnan, a major tax revolt erupted—those rebels actually stormed the yamen. The momentum had been suppressed, but then a junior official from the Shao Fu accidentally blabbed to the Emperor.”

Chen Guanlou was momentarily stunned.

A tax revolt in Jiangnan had nothing to do with Tianlao. Was this detour too far? He didn’t understand!

Master Li didn’t expect him to understand—he continued, “Do you know who this case implicates?”

“Please enlighten me, Master Li. I’m dull—I can’t guess.” Chen Guanlou whispered.

Master Li stroked his beard, feigning profundity: “Let me tell you—it involves Jiang Tu.”

“Jiang Daoren? How?” Chen Guanlou was puzzled. From what he knew, Jiang Tu was a native of Jingcheng, had always served in the capital, never been posted elsewhere. Even if Jiang Tu had long arms, could they reach Jiangnan?

Jiangnan was the domain of the court’s top officials—who dared reach in? Even imperial princes and dukes amassed wealth there in secret, hiding behind layers of intermediaries.

Master Li chuckled mysteriously: “Jiang Tu is the Emperor’s most favored minister. Many are eager to use his connections. Trouble in Jiangnan was inevitable—it just happened to explode now.”

“May I ask, Master Li, how does this relate to Master Fan? How does it involve Tianlao? And what should I do?”

Master Li was pleased with Chen Guanlou’s quickness: “Do you know the prisoner in Cell 27?”

“Li Shaoqing of the Dalisi ?”

“Exactly. Master Fan is troubled. The Jiangnan tax revolt has somehow entangled the Dalisi . Do you understand now?”

Chen Guanlou opened his mouth but said nothing.

He needed time to untangle the connections.

Previously, killing the chicken to scare the monkeys had been meant to intimidate Li Shaoqing.

Now the tax revolt surfaced—and Jiang Tu was implicated too.

He made a bold guess: “Could Li Shaoqing be Jiang Daoren’s man? When did Jiang Daoren build such a network? He even managed to recruit a Dalisishaoqing —impressive!”

“Where did you get that idea?” Master Li rolled his eyes. “Li Shaoqing has nothing to do with Jiang Tu. But Li Daoren once served in Jiangnan—as a Censor.”

Chen Guanlou leaned forward slightly, whispering: “Are you suggesting… that Li Daoren should… target Jiang Tu?”

Master Li was satisfied—the lad was clever, grasped it instantly.

Chen Guanlou was stunned: “Can this work? Two men with no connection—how can they be linked?”

“That’s not your concern.”

“What do you want me to do? Li Daoren should be eager to implicate Jiang Tu, right? Logically, this shouldn’t fall to me.”

But Master Li raised this matter seriously—clearly, the situation was far more complex than he imagined.

“To implicate Jiang Tu, you must go through Yu Zhaoan. These two once served together as Censors. And the case may involve Jiangnan officials. This is a difficult case.”

Meaning they wanted Li Shaoqing to bear it all alone—no wonder he refused. Making him bear it alone meant sentencing him to death.

The old Emperor was capricious; executing a few officials was nothing—especially when Jiang Tu was involved.

Chen Guanlou put on a troubled expression: “But I’m not skilled in interrogation or coercion.”

He truly didn’t want this mess—he didn’t want to dirty his hands.

But Master Li wouldn’t let him off: “Master Fan is in trouble—shouldn’t we ease his burdens? Little Chen, at a critical moment, you can’t be foolish!”

At this moment, Chen Guanlou wanted to quit outright.

Damn it—he was just a jailer, yet now he was doing black work. Who the hell came up with this plan—to trade Li Shaoqing’s career and life for Jiang Tu’s downfall? And even then, they might not bring Jiang Tu down.

He wasn’t optimistic about this at all.

The old Emperor clearly still needs Jiang Tu, yet the court’s top officials insist on opposing him. This will inevitably blow up—and when it does, the top officials will be safe, while men like him will just die.

But if he refused now, he’d be on Master Fan’s blacklist—unless he wanted to quit Tianlao forever.

Tianlao was a treasure—he truly didn’t want to lose this job.

He gritted his teeth: “What exactly does Master Fan want to achieve?”

Master Li was exceptionally pleased—the lad was sharp, had potential.