Chapter 545: Who is reneging on the debt? Don't talk nonsense

Sun Daojing had originally intended to leave Chen Guanlou hanging for a while, to let the other party know what was good for him. But he was worried that this fellow's temper would flare up, that he would start a scene regardless of the consequences, and start shouting about flipping the table.

He could only helplessly instruct his subordinate, "Go call Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen in. If there's nothing else, don't disturb me."

The subordinate acknowledged the order and left.

A moment later, Chen Guanlou was led into the office.

"Greetings, my lord!" Chen Guanlou was all smiles, as if the incident of being kicked off the carriage earlier had never happened.

Sun Daojing gave a cold snort. "Showing courtesy without a reason—if it's not treachery, it's theft. Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, you aren't on duty at the Heavenly Prison, so what are you doing running to the Ministry of Justice? And you specifically requested to see me. Am I someone you can see just because you want to? The Heavenly Prison has its own managing officials; why aren't you seeing your superiors instead of running here?"

"My lord, as your rank grows higher, your temper seems to be rising along with it. Forget it, forget it, I won't lower myself to your level." Chen Guanlou put on an appearance of great magnanimity.

Sun Daojing was so angry he laughed. "You won't lower yourself to my level? Does that mean I should be grateful to you?"

"Old Sun, you're a sensible man. If you insist on being grateful to me, I certainly won't refuse." Chen Guanlou was not polite at all; he didn't treat himself as an outsider.

Sun Daojing was so angry he felt like vomiting.

Listen to that, just listen. What is this dog thief Chen Guanlou calling him? He doesn't even call him 'my lord' anymore; he actually calls him 'Old Sun'. Is that something he is allowed to call him?

Sun Daojing was so angry he leaned back, yet he had to comfort himself: don't be angry, don't be angry. It's not worth ruining one's health over a bastard.

He picked up his teacup; the tea was already cold, mere dregs. In the past, he would have certainly called the subordinate serving outside to bring him a fresh cup of hot tea. But at this moment, he didn't mind at all; he drank the dregs to cool down his agitated emotions.

"It's not a holiday or a festival, what are you running here for?"

"Old Sun, you need to reflect on your own attitude. I've come to bring you money, is this how you treat the God of Qian Cai?" Chen Guanlou flicked the silver notes, looking like a wealthy playboy throwing money at people.

Sun Daojing glanced at them slightly and estimated the amount; it was quite a lot.

He raised his eyebrows but didn't reach out to touch those silver notes; he leaned back, keeping his distance instead.

"What are you doing? Do you know that you are publicly humiliating me? I only need to shout once, and you'll be in deep trouble."

"Old Sun, is it really that serious? How about you try humiliating me instead? I'm ready to accompany you at any time."

Chen Guanlou found a chair and sat down on his own. "This money was taken from the Zhu family."

"The Zhu family? Which Zhu family?" Sun Daojing became anxious the moment he heard this.

"Which other Zhu family could it be? How many Zhu families are there in the capital? Isn't it that Zhu family from the Marquis Cheng'en Prefecture?"

"You..." Sun Daojing looked at Chen Guanlou in disbelief. "You have such guts, daring to extort money from the Zhu family. Are you tired of living?"

"Old Sun, I don't like hearing that. You are a civil official, someone who is about to become the Minister of Justice; how can you fear the nobility? You should stand your ground, nail that bunch of nobles to the wall, and demonstrate the ability and bearing of you civil officials. I'm bringing you money and merit, and not only are you not thanking me, you're cursing me. Old Sun, you're a failure as a person; being two-faced will get you struck by lightning."

Chen Guanlou launched into a fierce scolding, and Sun Daojing's head began to spin.

How many years had it been!

How many years had it been since anyone dared to point at his nose and curse him, calling him two-faced and a petty person?

This is outrageous.

Even the Grand Secretaries of the Secretariat spoke to him in a consultative, polite tone.

This is going too far!

"Chen Guanlou, I've given you face, allowing you to be so presumptuous."

"Old Sun, just tell me whether you accept my favor or not. Could it be that you're truly afraid of the Zhu family?"

"Is this a question of the Zhu family? It's clearly your attitude that's the problem."

"What's wrong with my attitude? What kind of problem could there be between you and me? Could it be that you really want to renege on the debt? I put aside past grievances and came personally to bring you money, and you actually want to renege?"

Chen Guanlou wore an expression that said if you dare to renege, I dare to flip the table.

Sun Daojing felt a splitting headache. "Who is reneging on the debt? Who is reneging? Don't talk nonsense. The twenty-day deadline has only just passed by a few days. Stop spouting nonsense."

"Then tell me, do you accept the favor or not? The money is right here, just say the word."

Sun Daojing frowned tightly; under Chen Guanlou's unreasonable pestering, he had forgotten to pursue the issue of his attitude. He stared at the silver notes on the table, feeling utterly miserable.

"What exactly do you want to do? Why do you want to cause trouble for Zhu Ruhai? If I remember correctly, he is clearly detained in the Yi-grade prison. You aren't watching the Jia-grade prison, so why are you interfering with a prisoner in the Yi-grade prison?"

"Old Sun, Magistrate Sun, you really are a noble who forgets things easily. I am now a Heavenly Jiang Jiang Yucheng; is there a problem with me interfering with a prisoner in the Yi-grade prison? Have I overstepped my boundaries? I don't think so."

Chen Guanlou's rhetorical question left Sun Daojing speechless.

It's all the fault of this dog thief Chen Guanlou, making his mind chaotic and almost causing him to forget this matter.

"Although you are a Jiang Jiang Yucheng, that is not a reason for you to extort money from Zhu Ruhai. The Zhu Ruhai case is deep; the Ministry of Justice doesn't have a specific plan yet, and you're already in a hurry to act. You are clearly just messing around."

Chen Guanlou laughed. "Old Sun, are you worried about how to handle Zhu Ruhai? Whether his case should be handled lightly or severely? How about I give you an idea?"

"What kind of rotten idea do you have?" Sun Daojing didn't mind listening.

Chen Guanlou gave a cold snort. "No rotten ideas, these are all serious suggestions. If you ask me, for the Zhu family case, you should just handle it lightly but punish severely."

Sun Daojing frowned immediately.

Chen Guanlou continued to incite the other party, sparing no effort. "You haven't dealt with Zhu Ruhai, so you might not know, but that bastard surnamed Zhu is a tough nut to crack—he doesn't eat soft or hard, and his willpower is extremely firm.

This guy is clearly a big fish, and it's only because his rank is low that he hasn't surfaced until now. His business has many things that cannot see the light of day; I'm sure you've already guessed that.

Let's not talk about the business first; just look at the person himself. He's gone three days without eating nine meals, and even cutting off his water and food couldn't make him submit. May I ask, Old Sun, in all your years at the Ministry of Justice, how many people as tough as him have you encountered? Once this person is released, you should know how much destruction he will cause."

Sun Daojing looked slightly surprised. "I didn't know that Zhu Ruhai was truly as you say, that even cutting off water and food couldn't make him submit? Then where did this money come from?"

"The prison guards below were incompetent, so they came to me. I stepped in personally, and only then did I force Zhu Ruhai to submit. You count for yourself how many prisoners I've personally extorted money from in these few years; which one of them wasn't a big fish?"

Chen Guanlou spoke the truth without hiding anything. He wasn't wrong; the prisoners he personally extorted money from all had real skills. The key was that those prisoners were all corrupt officials. Only Zhu Ruhai, a mere commoner, actually required him to step in personally, which was very unusual.

Sun Daojing clicked his tongue. Reminded by Chen Guanlou, he also realized that this Zhu Ruhai was not simple. He wasn't the typical noble playboy who made money by relying on family background. He was a capable person with real skills. ===== CHAPTER 546 =====