Chapter 671

Chen Guanlou went to see the Prison Clerk Fan again and told him, "Your case is up to fate!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Prison Clerk Fan burst into loud sobs, knowing full well he likely had no chance of walking out of the Imperial Prison alive. Even if he were lucky enough to walk out, he would lose half his life and all his family assets.

Chen Guanlou told him, "The money isn't used up; I'll return the rest. For the sake of being colleagues, I won't charge a service fee this time; consider it a favor."

"I beg you, Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, tell my family to leave the capital as soon as possible."

"They can't leave right now. As long as the case isn't closed, they cannot leave."

"Does this mean they will execute my nine generations?" The Prison Clerk Fan couldn't believe it; he was just a shopkeeper, he hadn't done anything. Just because his inn hosted a few thieves, he had to suffer this unprovoked disaster.

"Executing your nine generations shouldn't happen. However, according to the rules, your family indeed cannot leave the capital right now, so they are available for questioning by the authorities at any time. Leaving now would be equivalent to fleeing, and the consequences would be severe."

"I understand. Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, I won't hide it from you—I'm afraid I won't be able to withstand the eighteen methods of the Imperial Prison. If I die, I beg you to take the trouble to notify my family to collect my body."

Chen Guanlou offered a few words of comfort, "Don't be so pessimistic; you might not die."

"I won't be able to withstand it." The Prison Clerk Fan shook his head repeatedly, his face ashen and devoid of color. "I know myself; I tremble even when I see the punishments in the Heavenly Prison, let alone the methods in the Imperial Prison. I won't even need a second round of torture; I'll be begging for death during the first."

Chen Guanlou sighed inwardly; under imperial power, everyone is an ant, and human life is like grass.

"Endure if you can; we'll see when you can't."

Chen Guanlou left the Imperial Prison and returned to the Heavenly Prison, his mood slightly agitated.

Xiao Jin came looking for him again.

He suppressed his anger and met him.

Xiao Jin truly refused to accept his fate; he was unwilling and wanted to ask why. Why wouldn't he give him a chance? Why promote Chen Quan? Why use him heavily, only to discard him at the critical moment and leave him to rot in the gutter?

Chen Guanlou laughed in anger. "I gave you chances, and more than once. Not only did I personally point you in the right direction and tell you to pull yourself together and stop overthinking, but I also had others remind you to stay alert at critical moments. And what did you do? You treated my words as wind in your ears and didn't listen to a single word. You were so sure that I couldn't do without you and would definitely promote you, so you acted with complete arrogance. Since that's the case, what's wrong with me promoting Chen Quan?"

"How is Chen Quan better than me?" Xiao Jin was unconvinced.

Chen Guanlou sneered and retorted, "How is Chen Quan not better than you! Not only is he better than you, he does his job better than you and has more ambition. Since I promoted him to Prison Clerk, I basically haven't had to worry about the Jia-block prison; he's doing a great job."

"I could do it too!" Xiao Jin roared.

Chen Guanlou swept a light glance at him and said coldly, "It's too late! There is only one chance, and everyone has a fair competition. Chen Quan seized the opportunity, while you—heh—were so arrogant that your defeat is not unjust. If you can't cooperate with Chen Quan's work, I can give you another job. If you are still dissatisfied, the Heavenly Prison is large, but it has no room for troublemakers."

Xiao Jin was devastated, looking as if he had lost his parents.

He gritted his teeth, feeling unwilling and unconvinced, but he was unwilling to lose his job as the Jia-block head.

He tried hard to suppress his resentment and dissatisfaction, and reluctantly said, "I will cooperate with Prison Clerk Chen's work."

"You'd better mean what you say. If I find out you are acting in compliance but secretly defying me, don't blame me for not warning you—my patience is limited. If you lose, you must accept it!"

Chen Guanlou gave Xiao Jin one last chance. As long as he was willing to correct his attitude and cooperate well with Chen Quan, he was still willing to continue using him.

Otherwise, he could go sit on the bench.

Xiao Jin left in low spirits.

Medical Official Mu came to the office. "The Six Shanmen have been frequently interrogating prisoners over the last two days, and their methods are extremely cruel. I'm too busy treating injuries to keep up. Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, should we tell the Six Shanmen not to torture prisoners to death? The medical expenses for this month have exceeded the budget."

"Just use some medicine to ensure the prisoners don't die for the time being," Chen Guanlou said indifferently.

The Son of Heaven has been assassinated; in such a major case, if you don't interrogate them strictly, are you supposed to save them for the New Year?

If a few hundred or a thousand people don't die this time, this case won't be settled.

Even though some of them are truly wronged, like the Prison Clerk Fan, under imperial power, this is fate.

Chen Guanlou told Medical Official Mu to use medicine perfunctorily, with the priority being to keep them alive; as for whether they end up crippled, that depends on luck. At a time like this, being able to keep one's life is a blessing from heaven.

He estimated that a thousand people would die, but he still underestimated the severity of this case.

In just a few days, the case expanded again. Even the Three Great Camps were mobilized, directly surrounding the Jin Prince's Mansion.

Chen Guanlou:...

The old Emperor is trying to kill two birds with one stone, turning the place into a river of blood with heads rolling!

He only ascended the throne two years ago; this year is only the first year of Jian Shi, and he's already so impatient?

He even suspected that the assassination case might have been staged by the old Emperor himself, just to completely eradicate the Jin Prince's faction. You have to know, back when they were fighting for the throne, the Jin Prince was the biggest threat.

Now that the Emperor has ascended the throne, the Jin Prince is like a bone in his throat—he won't be happy until he's dead.

Who exactly gave the Emperor Jian Shi this idea?

The North and South are still at war, and he's already impatient to engage in fratricide.

At this moment, he finally understood: the discussion in the court a while ago about the Prince Cheng intending to rebel was purely a smokescreen used to divert attention and paralyze the Jin Prince.

The Jin Prince is doomed!

Only three days after Chen Guanlou had this realization, the Jin Prince was sent to the Heavenly Prison.

This was a "Great Buddha" in the true sense of the word.

The entire Heavenly Prison was on high alert!

Chen Guanlou personally supervised the laborers in renovating the cell, reinforcing the surroundings, and replacing all the cell doors with iron bars. The beds, bedding, tables, and chairs had to be arranged according to VVIP standards, ensuring that the Jin Prince would feel "at home."

Medical Official Mu:...

I wonder what the Jin Prince would think if he heard the words "at home."

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen really doesn't know how to talk! His mouth is truly poisonous!

It's clear the Jin Prince is in for bad luck this time; he'll likely lose his life, and he's talking about feeling "at home." Heh!

Upon receiving the notification, Ministry of Justice officials personally escorted the Jin Prince to the Heavenly Prison.

Chen Guanlou hurriedly led his men out to welcome them.

Unexpectedly, it was Minister Sun Daojing himself who escorted the Jin Prince to the Heavenly Prison.

Chen Guanlou led everyone to pay their respects to the Jin Prince first. "Greetings, Your Highness! Greetings, my lord!"

The Jin Prince wore plain clothes, had a fair face with a short beard, and his appearance was three or four parts similar to the Emperor Jian Shi, though his temperament was more rugged. His martial cultivation was at the Second Rank, barely enough to be considered decent. His eyes were very bright, burning with heat. He didn't look decadent despite being burdened with the charge of rebellion; instead, he looked full of spirit.