Chapter 625: To be both a whore and want a memorial archway

Chen Guanlou pursed his lips, signaling for Li Ren to look at the neighboring cell.

Li Ren's expression sank, and he immediately said with grief, "Jinxing has passed away suddenly. I am heartbroken and do not know how to answer to his wife. It is my fault for not looking after him well. If Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen cannot be understanding, so be it, but to rub salt into my wounds with such nonsense is too much. Enough, enough. Right and wrong will be judged by others; I do not expect everyone to understand."

Chen Guanlou:...

What a massive white lotus!

He bowed to his superiority; even if he cultivated for another ten or twenty years, he would not be able to match Magistrate Li's flourishing white lotus act.

"Whatever makes you happy!"

"Do not talk nonsense! Ever since Jinxing passed away, I have been restless day and night, too grief-stricken to even think. What reason would I have to be happy? If Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen does not know how to speak, then don't speak. I wish to be quiet by myself."

Chen Guanlou sneered, "How boring! I knew before that Magistrate Li was a good actor, but I didn't expect you to not only be good at acting but also enjoy it so much. Well, if you didn't enjoy it, how could you practice such superb acting skills? However, there is no need to act in front of me. In the Heavenly Prison, we collect money and get things done, fair and square; no one will report you. So, you can just show your true nature; there is no need to act every day. You aren't tired, but I'm tired just watching you."

Li Ren flicked his sleeves, very annoyed, "What acting? I don't understand. I ask Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen not to slander me. I still need to recite the Rebirth Mantra for Jinxing, so I will not keep the Warden company with idle chatter."

"Suit yourself!"

Chen Guanlou smiled and continued his patrol of the cells.

The Li family seemed to be retreating step by step.

And so, not long after, another person was locked into the Heavenly Prison.

But this time it wasn't the brother-in-law, but the Li family's granddaughter's husband, a fifth-rank official, Magistrate He Cheng, who had been thrown into the big prison. As for the charges: harming the locality, corruption and bribery, trampling on human life, ostracizing colleagues, colluding and forming cliques, and engaging in factionalism...

A long string of charges, the most serious of which was forming cliques for private interests.

What the Emperor hates most is court officials forming cliques. Corruption and bribery don't matter; as long as they are useful, it's nothing. But once it involves forming cliques, any Emperor with ambition and a normal brain will send people to investigate thoroughly, never letting it go.

The Li family's enemies are strong. They don't strike unless they have to, but once they do, they strike at the vital point. The Li family's son-in-law has entered the Heavenly Prison this time; if he wants to get out, he will likely have to be carried out horizontally.

Look at this battle stance; it is clearly an attack from the periphery, first cutting off the Li family's peripheral forces. When the Li family is left as a bare pole, they will strike with one blow, and Minister Li will have to roll down. I wonder how many counter-attack methods the Li family has.

Chen Guanlou is also a person who enjoys the fun. He specifically instructed that He Cheng be arranged in the cell next to Li Ren, which was the cell Liu Jinxing lived in before he passed away. Let the two get close.

Magistrate He is young, a few years younger than Li Ren. He was originally from a small family, but he was lucky enough to be favored by Minister Li and recruited as a granddaughter's husband.

Relying on the Li family, Magistrate He rose rapidly in his career. He is younger than Li Ren, but his official position is several ranks higher. Who told him to be a Jinshi graduate, while Li Ren is only a mere Juren scholar?

These two had no dealings in private. One is Minister Li's nephew, the other is Minister Li's granddaughter's husband, separated by generations, separated by family branches, and separated by geographical distance; they were not even officials in the same place.

Now they are both locked in the Heavenly Prison, their cells are right next to each other, and they are both imprisoned because of the Li family's case. The cause was still the report against Li Ren's brother-in-law, Liu Jinxing.

It wouldn't be right not to have a chat.

If Li Ren was directly implicated by Liu Jinxing, then He Cheng was innocently implicated. Of course, with so many charges against him, he is not innocent himself. However, without the Liu Jinxing case serving as a fuse, the Li family's enemies would not have included him in their sights, and naturally, they would not have impeached him, and he would not have been thrown into the big prison.

One knows one's own affairs; He Cheng knows that among the officials of the Li family line, he belongs to those with shallow qualifications, an unclean bottom, and insufficient experience in doing things, so he naturally easily becomes a target.

However, if it weren't for Li Ren indulging Liu Jinxing and being caught by others, he would still be sitting in his official position, showing off his power.

In the final analysis, Li Ren is the culprit.

When these two met, He Cheng did not give Li Ren a good look.

"Sure enough, just a Juren!"

The first sentence was a personal attack.

Li Ren originally wanted to greet him and help each other in the Heavenly Prison, but when he heard this, his lungs were about to explode with anger.

The biggest regret of his life was not being able to pass the Jinshi exam, having to enter officialdom as a Juren, and wasting his life in the position of a seventh-rank county magistrate.

He hates it most when people bring up his Juren background.

"Although I am a Juren, I also know how to be loyal to the monarch and love the country; I would not dare to form cliques for private interests."

"Hmph! If it weren't for Magistrate Li's lack of discipline in his inner chambers and inability to manage his own brother-in-law, how could I, He, be where I am today? Everything today is because of you. If the Li family falls, you are the culprit."

"Nonsense! It was my uncle who made enemies in the court; I am just an innocent person implicated." Li Ren said this, and he thought so in his heart. With countless psychological suggestions, he firmly believed that he was innocent, and everything was caused by the political enemies his uncle provoked, but he became the first to be sacrificed.

"Innocent! Hahaha! The funniest joke today is nothing more than this. Li Ren, oh Li Ren, now that things have come to this, are you still holding onto luck? Do you really think you are innocent?" He Cheng stretched his neck, wanting to see how shameless Li Ren's expression was in the neighboring cell.

"I am innocent." Li Ren said firmly, emphasizing again, "I didn't do anything; I was implicated by Liu Jinxing."

Upon hearing this, He Cheng gave a cold laugh, "Your brother-in-law has done many evils for so many years; I don't believe you haven't heard a single rumor. It shows that you are also a blind, self-deceiving thing, and you deserve to end up where you are today."

"Stop talking nonsense! I am busy with official business and do not understand the situation of my brother-in-law, so it is excusable."

Excusable my ass!

He Cheng was very disdainful.

Most of the Li family members are quite gutsy, and their reputation outside is okay. After all, Minister Li holds the position of Minister of Rites, the government office that values reputation the most. I didn't expect that, being of the same Li family, Li Ren is actually a coward, pushing all the responsibility onto the dead Liu Jinxing.

Those things Liu Jinxing did, living under the same roof, could he not know? Not knowing for one year, could he still not know for two or three years?

To put it bluntly, he enjoyed the wealth and various benefits brought by Liu Jinxing's evil deeds on one hand, and pretended to be stupid and ignorant on the other, not wanting to take responsibility, nor did he advise or restrain him. To be both a whore and want a memorial archway, shameless to the extreme, a lowly thing!

He Cheng looked down on him and shouted to change cells; he didn't want to be neighbors with such a shameless person, even though they were separated by a wall and couldn't see each other.

Chen Quan didn't say a word and blocked him directly.

"The Heavenly Prison has no rules for changing cells. It's good enough that you have a place to live. Either stay in this one, or go to the deepest cell in the big prison where you can't see the sun; choose for yourself."

He Cheng:...

Forget it, forget it. Although there is an annoying Li Ren next door, at least here he can see a little bit of daylight. ===== CHAPTER 626 =====