Chapter 705: Beheading is also a small matter

Mu Qingshan's head was buzzing; he felt like he had tinnitus.

He found Chen Guanlou with the three-thousand-tael IOU and criticized him righteously: "This is not in accordance with the rules. As the Prison Warden of the Heavenly Prison, you should not lead the way in breaking the rules. According to the law, water bandits should be beheaded. How can you disregard the law and protect a water bandit for the sake of a mere pittance of interest? If this continues, won't everything fall into chaos, and the law become nothing but a display?"

Chen Guanlou's head was also buzzing. Mu Qingshan's fussing gave him a headache too.

"How is it not in accordance with the rules? Stop talking nonsense. Otherwise, I will report you for slander."

"You are protecting a death-row prisoner; how can this be considered in accordance with the rules?"

"Who told you he is a death-row prisoner? Does the Ministry of Justice have a verdict? Has the crime been confirmed? Nothing of the sort exists, so don't go spouting nonsense just because you know a little bit about the law."

Chen Guanlou retorted to Mu Qingshan with righteous indignation.

Mu Qingshan was furious. "The water bandit's crime will be confirmed sooner or later. Once it is, he must be sent to the execution ground to be beheaded; there will be no accidents."

"You are not an official of the Ministry of Justice, so don't be so certain in your speech." Chen Guanlou lectured him with the attitude of someone who had seen it all. "Also, I have my own reasons for lending money, so why are you so agitated? Rest assured, everything is guaranteed to be reasonable and evidence-based; I will absolutely not trample on the law."

Everyone was trampling on the law; as the gatekeeper of the law's bottom line, it shouldn't matter if he occasionally trampled on it a couple of times.

It was just a tiny water bandit, irrelevant to the overall situation, irrelevant to the world.

Mu Qingshan expressed his doubts. "Can you tell your student, my lord, what exactly you saw in this water bandit that makes him worth you stepping in to protect him?"

"Who said I want to protect him? I'm just giving him a chance. If you chat with him, you'll know he isn't that bad of a person; he just took the wrong path. After entering the Heavenly Prison, he realized his mistakes and decided to turn over a new leaf. You tell me, should I, as an official, give him a chance? It's called 'punishing the past to prevent the future'!"

Mu Qingshan didn't believe a single word, but he was helpless, so he threw down the IOU and ran off. This lousy job made him sick with anger every single day.

In his spare time, Chen Guanlou chatted with Medical Official Mu. "Your nephew is fine in every other way, but he has too many of a scholar's bad habits; he always has to get to the bottom of everything. After all these years, he still hasn't learned the four words 'rare to be muddled.' You tell me, he's a perfectly good person, so why can't I teach him after all this time? Could it be that my educational methods are wrong?"

Medical Official Mu chuckled. "People like you, my lord, who are so unconventional yet so righteous, are truly rare. Let's put it this way: Qingshan is surrounded by normal people. After meeting you, he was bewildered. He can't distinguish when you are being serious and when you are joking while wearing a serious mask. He's confused, and afraid of doing the wrong thing, so he can only be earnest. He can't grasp your intentions, so please be more forgiving."

"It has to be Old Mu; you really know how to talk. Once you put it that way, the anger in my heart has all vanished."

Medical Official Mu laughed heartily and continued, "To be honest, I'm also curious why you want to protect that water bandit? He doesn't look like anything special, just a bit better at swimming."

"Not only is he good at swimming, he also knows how to train water troops. This is a scarce talent; it would be a pity to just 'crack' and behead him."

"You aren't a general, so why do you care if it's a pity or not?" Medical Official Mu retorted.

Chen Guanlou smiled. "I may not be a general, but I never said my apprentice wouldn't be one."

"You mean Wu..." Medical Official Mu was stunned. He looked around a few times to ensure no one was eavesdropping before asking in a hushed voice, "You really are reckless! Saving his life wasn't enough, you even want to teach him how to fight and gather talent for him. What do you want to do? Or rather, I should ask what he wants to do. Don't you dare mess around! This kind of thing is no joke."

Medical Official Mu was truly anxious; he was spitting while he spoke. He wished he could pry open Chen Guanlou's head to see what kind of fertilizer was inside, thinking of one thing after another. The key was that his ideas were completely unexpected; he really wasn't a normal person.

Normal people wouldn't even dare to think about doing this, let alone actually doing it; they would be running away before they could even blink.

"Old Mu, given the relationship between you and me, I have never kept anything from you, right?"

"What do you want to say?" Medical Official Mu felt a chill. "I could overlook your loose tongue, but I didn't expect you to be for real, to actually do this. You've lived a good life for too long and just have to go looking for excitement."

"Look at what you're saying. I can reveal the truth to you because I don't treat you as an outsider. Look at you, your words are full of opposition and disgust. If the kid wants to toss and turn, let him toss and turn."

"Can this simply be called tossing and turning? This is clearly courting death; it's something that will get you beheaded. You went through so much trouble to save his life, you should have let him hide his name, marry a wife, and have children to continue his bloodline. Not encourage him to seek death!"

Medical Official Mu was very angry.

He believed Chen Guanlou had been harmed by the Wu family, a bunch of ingrates. They weren't satisfied with the debt of saving their lives and even wanted to drag Chen Guanlou into the water; they were simply a scourge!

"Calm down, calm down! Things aren't as serious as you think." Chen Guanlou looked nonchalant, completely unconcerned, making Medical Official Mu look like a grumpy rooster with all his feathers standing up.

"Not serious? This is a matter that will lead to the confiscation of property and the extermination of the clan. In your eyes, what exactly is serious?" Medical Official Mu asked repeatedly.

Chen Guanlou pondered for a moment. "At worst, it's just death! I've already made everything clear to him; this path is difficult to walk, and if you aren't careful, you'll be 'cracked' by someone before you even show your head. He insists on walking it, wants to give it a try; even if he dies, he dies for a worthy cause. You tell me, if the kid isn't afraid of death, can I be afraid? Wouldn't that make me look worse than a kid?"

"Can you reason like that? Can this matter be discussed this way?" Medical Official Mu complained bitterly.

Chen Guanlou stepped forward, put his arm around Medical Official Mu's shoulder, and said with a smile, "Old Mu, do you know what your biggest problem is? You've lived your whole life too cautiously. A lifetime of caution, rarely a moment of joy. It's no big deal to be a little bolder occasionally and pull off some small moves. If something really happens, I'll protect you."

Medical Official Mu snorted, showing his disdain.

"How will you protect me? You can take one person out of the capital in one go, but can you take the entire Mu clan out of the capital? Don't imagine individual martial power to be that strong. In front of an army, individual martial power is useful, but limited."

"I agree with what you said; it's very insightful. However, Old Mu, you have to open your eyes and look at the big picture. The imperial court failed to wipe out Prince Chu at the first opportunity, which means a hole has appeared in the sky of the Great Gan. This hole will only get bigger. From now on, the sky of the Great Gan will no longer be a single game of chess, and the chess player will no longer be the Emperor alone. There are more variables on the chessboard. What we are seeking is this variable."

After Chen Guanlou finished speaking, he nodded heavily to reinforce his credibility.

Medical Official Mu felt exhausted. "I knew it; no matter what I say, you won't listen. You always have your own reasons. But I still hold the same attitude: the Wu family are not good people, so don't get too invested."

"I'll listen to you." ===== CHAPTER 706 =====