Chapter 608: Turning the Tables!

With Lord Huang dead, many officials in the bureaucracy secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But the Ministry of Justice was not having it.

Just when the case was about to make progress, when they could pry something fatal out of the surnamed Huang's mouth, the man died.

He had been safely locked up in the Heaven Prison, yet he killed himself!

Absurd!

Outrageous!

The Ministry of Justice immediately dispatched men, arriving at the Heaven Prison in a fierce, aggressive manner to investigate. They led the charge by going after Chen Chen Guanlou.

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, do you know your crime?"

"What crime have I, your subordinate, committed?" Chen Chen Guanlou retorted without courtesy. What a reversal of heaven and earth—the surnamed Huang's death had nothing to do with him. It was clearly the Ministry of Justice's incompetence in handling the case, letting information leak, which caused the people outside to panic and take Lord Huang's life. Shameless Ministry of Justice, actually trying to make him take the fall—dream on!

"Regarding Huang Huang Zhimin's suicide, you, as Warden of the Heaven Prison, failed in your supervisory duties. This is the crime of dereliction of duty!"

Chen Chen Guanlou spoke shamelessly, his voice louder than anyone's, declaring boldly: "The surnamed Huang was rushing to his death. I could stop him once, but could I stop him two or three times? It's clearly your incompetent handling of the case, your excessive pressure, that drove the surnamed Huang to despair and suicide."

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, you must not argue irrationally. According to what this official knows, Huang Huang Zhimin killed himself by swallowing gold—why was there no silver ingot found in his mouth at the time of death in the corpse? Destroying evidence—this is Zhi Fa Fan Fa, a grave offense. Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, you had better think this through."

"Bullshit!" Chen Chen Guanlou shot back without courtesy. "The documents state clearly: the surnamed Huang committed suicide. When did anyone write that he swallowed gold? Since it wasn't swallowing gold, where would a silver ingot come from? Don't think that because my rank is low and my position humble, you can frame and slander me at will."

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, the Heaven Prison is not a place where you alone can cover the sky with one hand. Whether Huang Huang Zhimin swallowed gold to kill himself, everyone knows perfectly well. For his death, the Heaven Prison cannot escape blame. It is evident that Warden Chen's management was inadequate—a charge of dereliction of duty cannot be avoided."

"You say the surnamed Huang swallowed gold to kill himself—kindly produce evidence, my superior." Chen Chen Guanlou adopted the attitude of a dead pig unafraid of boiling water. "If you cannot produce evidence, it is slander. Slandering a colleague—I shall go to the Ministry of Justice to file a complaint."

"The surnamed Huang died in the Heaven Prison—that is fact. Even if you go to complain, you cannot overturn the case. A perfectly fine person was locked up in the prison, and now he's gone. Warden Chen, don't dream of staying out of it."

Chen Chen Guanlou slammed the table, furious: "Where was he a perfectly fine person? The surnamed Huang was terrified every day, in constant dread, already scared half to death by your methods. His suicide was entirely because you scared him to it. You are the true culprits. Besides, the Heaven Prison is only responsible for guarding prisoners, not for soothing their emotions. If a prisoner wants to kill himself out of his own despair, can you stop him? In any case, the Heaven Prison cannot!"

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, stop changing the subject. I ask you—did Huang Huang Zhimin swallow gold to kill himself?"

"No!" Chen Chen Guanlou declared emphatically, without a shred of hesitation. Even with a lie detector, it couldn't detect him lying. After all, he himself believed his own words.

"May I ask Warden Chen—how exactly did Huang Huang Zhimin kill himself?"

Come, please begin the performance. How does a person, without external objects, suffocate to death?

Chen Chen Guanlou scoffed, "Of course by covering his mouth and nose until he suffocated."

"Absurd! Warden Chen, even if you wish to hoodwink the Ministry of Justice, at least fabricate a plausible reason. The coroner has already examined Huang Huang Zhimin's corpse—there are obvious marks at his throat, because a foreign object blocked the throat and caused death by suffocation. We are, after all, officials of the Ministry of Justice—do not treat us as three-year-old children who know nothing and try to deceive us."

Chen Chen Guanlou heard this and immediately sighed, "You insist on pressing the matter—fine, fine, I'll tell you. The surnamed Huang wrapped a stone in cloth, stuffed it into his mouth, and swallowed it, using this method to achieve suicide."

"You—you—you—" The Ministry of Justice officials could not believe it. Chen Chen Guanlou was so bold as to fabricate nonsense right before their eyes, without a trace of fear.

Contempt!

Chen Chen Guanlou was clearly showing contempt for the Ministry of Justice, contempt for these officials of the Ministry of Justice. Treating the Ministry of Justice as fools to toy with!

This boy was brazen beyond measure, acting without any scruple—he absolutely could not remain in the Warden position.

"Then may I ask—where are the cloth and the stone?"

"Someone, bring forth the tools Lord Huang used to kill himself, and show them to the lords of the Ministry of Justice."

The jailers obeyed the order, and shortly after, presented the murder implements—rags stained with the surnamed Huang's saliva, and broken stones.

"Warden Chen, you go too far! You fabricated evidence—this is a crime!"

"Absurd! What evidence do you have to accuse me of fabricating evidence? You speak of swallowing gold—did anyone see it with their own eyes? You speak of a silver ingot—did anyone see it with their own eyes? If so, bring the person here, and I will confront him face to face."

Chen Chen Guanlou spoke with righteous indignation, wearing the look of one gravely wronged and furious, as if he wanted to flip the table on the spot and storm into the Ministry of Justice to demand justice.

That appearance—anyone who saw it would think he had suffered a monstrous injustice. The Ministry of Justice officials were abusing their power, leaving no way out for those beneath them.

"This official has never seen such a thick-skinned and ignorant wretch as Warden Chen."

"The feeling is mutual!" Chen Chen Guanlou cupped his hands in greeting, his manner very polite.

A textbook case of feeling no shame but taking pride instead.

The Ministry of Justice official turned purple with rage. "This matter, this official will report faithfully. Warden Chen, we'll see about that."

"Rest assured, my lord—I will also report faithfully to the Ministry of Justice. You yourselves handled the case poorly, yet you vainly attempt to shift the blame onto the Heaven Prison, making me your scapegoat—don't even think about it! Show them out!"

Chen Chen Guanlou raised his voice and shouted "Show them out," which so startled the advisor Mu Qingshan that two of his three souls departed. The remaining one wandered like a walking corpse, dazed and confused, as he escorted the Ministry of Justice officials out of the Heaven Prison.

When the wind blew, he belatedly realized his clothes were already soaked through with sweat, his whole body as if pulled out of a pool of water.

He hurried back to the office. "My lord…"

My lord, why are you so incredible? In front of the Ministry of Justice officials, not only did you remain unruffled and fabricate nonsense, you even turned the tables on them. That presence, that scene, that righteous performance—it was as if you had truly suffered a monstrous injustice.

My lord, how did you do it?

Aren't you afraid the Ministry of Justice will hold you accountable?

"What's there to panic about!" Chen Chen Guanlou said with great disdain. "Get lost, wash up, then come back. In such hot weather, do you want to stink this official to death? Also, this official is perfectly fine—it's not your turn to wail at my funeral."

Mu Qingshan had a bellyful of words, all of which were blocked back. "My lord, your face…"

"Get lost!"

Knew the surnamed Mu's mouth couldn't spit out ivory.

What face? Is that a face? It's clearly the insight and experience gained from eating the public's rice!

Mu Qingshan slunk away!

Chen Chen Guanlou sent for Wang the Wu Bantou, and said point-blank: "This official has blocked the Ministry of Justice's investigation for you. Tell your master behind the scenes—this official never works for free."

Wang the Wu Bantou clearly froze, taking quite a while to recover. "What does my lord want?"

Chen Chen Guanlou snorted coldly. "Tell your master—pay up to dispel the disaster!"

I, Chen Chen Guanlou, want money!