Chapter 607

Chen Guanlou sat in the duty room of the Jia-grade prison, in the most expensive chair.

When he was a prison clerk before, this chair was his exclusive seat.

Wang Bantou stood before him, looking cautious.

A group of prison guards stood in several rows, each of them very honest at this moment, not daring to let their eyes wander, and even less daring to whisper, for fear of being caught by Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen and made an example of for criticism.

Chen Guanlou tapped the table lightly with his fingers, "Let's talk about it, what exactly happened? A perfectly good little god of wealth was toppled by you all; do you think you have too much money!"

He picked up the account book and slapped it on the table with a loud thud.

"Since Master Huang was locked in the Heavenly Prison, he has paid a total of 1,500 taels of silver. Are you all very rich now, each with a fortune of tens of thousands?"

"The lord is joking."

"Am I joking? Then why did you look down on even 1,500 taels and, *crack*, just killed the man."

Chen Guanlou slapped the table heavily; it was infuriating!

Each and every one of them was bold enough to defy the heavens, and even assisted in a suicide.

The prison guards all buried their heads and remained silent.

Wang Bantou smoked his dry pipe, looking troubled; he spoke a few words occasionally, but it was useless, all just empty pleas for mercy.

"No one is standing up to admit it, right? Then for this shift, everyone's bonus for this month is canceled."

Chen Guanlou didn't indulge any of them.

Even then, no one was willing to stand up and take responsibility.

Chen Guanlou immediately sneered, "Get out! All of you, get out! Wang Bantou, stay."

The prison guards retreated in a hurry, fearing that if they were slow, they would be left behind to be criticized. Everyone felt the pain of having their bonus for the month canceled, but compared to keeping their jobs, a month's bonus was nothing.

Once everyone had left, only Chen Guanlou and Wang Bantou remained in the duty room.

Chen Guanlou pursed his lips, signaling for the door to be closed.

After Wang Bantou closed the door, he sat upright and stopped smoking his dry pipe. He knew that what came before was just an appetizer, and the main course had only just begun.

Chen Guanlou suddenly laughed out loud, which left Wang Bantou very confused. But he was steady, and his face also looked steady, appearing somewhat like someone who wouldn't change his expression even if Mount Tai collapsed.

After Chen Guanlou finished laughing, he was the first to speak, "Wang Bantou, you hide things really deep! Looking at your thick eyebrows and big eyes, it turns out you are the most cunning one among us."

"I don't understand what the lord is saying."

"Still playing dumb in front of me! Heh! Yes, I indeed don't have any evidence, but I know that you killed Master Huang."

Wang Bantou's mouth twitched slightly, and he remained silent. He neither refuted nor defended himself.

Chen Guanlou's face sank instantly, "Wang Bantou, I don't care whose dog you are, nor do I ask who your master behind the scenes is, and I care even less whether you are acting on orders or doing it for money. I'll just tell you this: don't let me catch you with evidence next time."

Wang Bantou tapped his pipe stem lightly, knocking out the ash inside, still remaining silent.

Chen Guanlou narrowed his eyes slightly, "I have always known that the Heavenly Prison is like a sieve. However, there is a difference between a sieve and a hole. When you take money and do little things on weekdays, I turn a blind eye; it's not easy for everyone to earn money. But you killed someone, clearly not putting me in your eyes."

Wang Bantou finished tapping his pipe stem and slowly rolled some tobacco, "Why does the lord have to put it so harshly? This place, the Heavenly Prison, is in the middle of summer, and the environment is harsh; it's quite normal for a person or two to die."

Chen Guanlou laughed; he had to admire Wang Bantou's psychological quality, "You're right, it's normal for a person or two to die in this weather. But that doesn't include suicide by swallowing gold. Clean up your own mess. If the Ministry of Justice asks about it, I won't be generous enough to cover for you."

Wang Bantou took a puff of smoke, "Those above are eager for Master Huang to shut up."

"But that doesn't include the Ministry of Justice!" Chen Guanlou reminded the other party by slapping the table.

"The lord also dislikes Master Huang for being talkative. In the end, Master Huang's death actually solved everyone's problem."

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow and smiled, "In that case, I should thank you."

"I wouldn't dare! I am just stating a fact. Anyway, the person is already dead, so let's handle it according to procedure."

"What did your master behind the scenes instruct?"

"Reporting to the lord, I have no master. I eat the public's food; if I must speak of a master, it is only the imperial court." Wang Bantou spoke with a resonant voice, appearing particularly open and honest.

Chen Guanlou bared his teeth.

This guy had learned his shamelessness to perfection.

It was truly excessive!

"This once, and never again. I'm deducting three months of your bonus, do you accept?"

"I accept! I accept wholeheartedly, my lord!"

Chen Guanlou flicked his sleeves and left, feeling quite annoyed.

He didn't tell anyone about this, only revealing a little to Mu Medical Official.

Mu Medical Official was very surprised, "I didn't expect it to be Wang Bantou; he looks honest, but it turns out he was hiding his true self. Why did you let him go? Why not take this opportunity to drive him out of the Heavenly Prison, or transfer him away from the Jia-grade prison."

"I can't! For one, Wang Bantou is an old-timer in the Jia-grade prison, and for another, the person behind him probably has a significant background."

"Are you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid! But I hate the Jia-grade prison losing control even more. At least, I've dug out a bit of Wang Bantou's background. Replacing him is simple; the hard part is the new person who comes in—who knows whose spy they are. Better to deal with someone you know than someone you don't. I've peeled a layer of Wang Bantou's skin off, and next, I just need to keep peeling. It's better than dealing with someone whose background I don't know."

Background checks are simple. The difficulty is that in this day and age, wearing a mask is difficult for ordinary people, but very easy for those with backgrounds.

Who knows how many masks, how many identities, who the masters behind them are, and whose connections these people in the Heavenly Prison have.

Someone like him, who is so open and honest, has a clean background, doesn't collect money indiscriminately, and doesn't kill people in the prison, is a rare find.

After working together for so many years, if it weren't for Wang Bantou revealing a flaw this time, Chen Guanlou wouldn't have believed that the most honest and sincere-looking Wang Bantou was actually the most cunning one; he hid it deep enough.

And after being exposed, he was calm and unhurried, clearly having nothing to fear.

Chen Guanlou just wanted to know, what gave Wang Bantou such confidence? Who exactly is the master behind him? That confidence definitely couldn't come from mere silver; there must be a great backer behind him.

He would never give up until he peeled the skin off Wang Bantou.

Mu Medical Official sighed repeatedly; if it weren't for Chen Guanlou saying with certainty that Master Huang was killed by Wang Bantou, he would never have believed that the thick-browed and big-eyed Wang Bantou was so cunning and hid it so deep.

"What now? Just let Wang Bantou continue?"

"If he wants to do it, he can do it; I certainly won't stop him." Chen Guanlou sneered.

Mu Medical Official stroked his beard, "This place, the Heavenly Prison, is indeed like a sieve. Why don't you continue to turn a blind eye and not bother asking. Anyway, the previous few Prison Wardens all did it this way."

"I have my own sense of proportion; I will close my eyes when I should!"