Chapter 708: The rhythm of making trouble

Prison Clerk Zhang was notified to go to the office for a talk, and when he learned that Lu Datou was also there, he knew the matter had been exposed.

He wasn't afraid, though.

Because he was certain that Prison Warden Chen usually protected his own people rather than being reasonable.

However, this matter involved the palace, so he would inevitably be scolded.

Therefore, when he walked into the office, he appeared exceptionally respectful and sincere, looking like he knew he was wrong and was ready to be punished.

Chen Guanlou sneered immediately.

He discovered that the people under him were all talents; their acting was so superb that they deserved a Best Actor award.

"Prison Clerk Zhang, the eunuchs in the palace complained to the Ministry of Justice, saying that you organized the prison guards of the Heavenly Prison to rig gambling, and gambled a group of poor little eunuchs in the palace into bankruptcy. What do you have to say about this?"

"My lord, this subordinate knows he was wrong."

Prison Clerk Zhang was crisp and decisive, kneeling directly on the ground to plead guilty.

When Lu Datou saw this, he shouted that he had to learn, he must learn from Prison Clerk Zhang. If he had known, he would have admitted his mistake decisively, and he wouldn't have had to suffer so many brush strikes.

Mu Qingshan:...

The prison guards of the Heavenly Prison were indeed talents; they had learned the ability to bend and stretch to perfection.

"Don't be in such a hurry to admit your mistake. Tell me, how did you think of rigging the gambling against the little eunuchs in the palace, and who gave you the idea? Besides wanting to win money, what other purpose did you have? Don't tell me this idea was your own, and don't tell me you covet the little bit of loose change in the hands of the little eunuchs. You have so many ways to get money, and I know your monthly income clearly. Don't tell me you had no money to spend and wanted to find some pocket money to use."

Chen Guanlou's voice became lower and lower, blocking all possibilities for Prison Clerk Zhang to defend himself in one breath. It also meant that a fire was rising in his heart.

If Prison Clerk Zhang couldn't give him a reasonable explanation, this matter wouldn't end today.

He could protect the people under him, but he could naturally also abandon them. It all depended on how the people under him chose and which side they stood on.

Prison Clerk Zhang stammered, his face changing slightly.

Chen Guanlou sneered, his expression unkind. "Is there some unspeakable secret? Could it be that someone threatened you? Tell me, who threatened you, and who gave you the idea? Don't be in a hurry to deny it. I can probably see through your level and what you can do by eighty percent. Rigging the gambling against the little eunuchs is definitely not something you could think of, and it's no benefit to you. A mere thousand taels of silver, divided up, and you wouldn't get much. On weekdays, your gambling addiction isn't that big and you can control it. What forced you to take such a risk and go provoke that bunch of eggless guys?"

Prison Clerk Zhang's face turned pale; it looked like he had been guessed correctly.

Chen Guanlou's face became even gloomier!

"You won't say it, right? If you don't say it, then I will thoroughly investigate the Yi-grade prison; the matter probably originated from some prisoner in the prison. Once I find out, your end will definitely not be better than the people inside the cells."

"My lord, spare my life!" Prison Clerk Zhang suddenly shouted. "I'll say it, I'll say it all. My lord has eyes like torches, and nothing can be hidden from you. Yes, yes, yes... it was someone from the Dingguo Duke's mansion who told me to do this."

"What does this have to do with the Dingguo Duke's mansion?" Chen Guanlou didn't figure out the logic in this for a moment. In the capital, especially among the nobility, human relationships were connected, relatives were connected; without a careful understanding, one couldn't figure out the twisted relationship network inside.

"My lord might not know, but there is a cousin in the Dingguo Duke's mansion whose daughter is by the Emperor's side and has been conferred as a Noble Consort."

Chen Guanlou:...

He smoothed out his thoughts and threw all the unnecessary things out of his head.

"How did you get in touch with the people from the Dingguo Duke's mansion?"

Prison Clerk Zhang said hesitantly: "The maternal relatives of the old lady in the Dingguo Duke's mansion committed an offense and were locked in the Yi-grade prison. After contacting them more, we could talk. That guy was released from prison last year, and last month he suddenly found me with a steward from the Dingguo Duke's mansion, saying he wanted to introduce me to a business. It was to let me find a way to coax the little eunuchs in the palace to gamble, and try to win money. I don't know exactly what they wanted to do. I made many guesses, and I estimate it has something to do with the Noble Consort in the palace and the Third Prince. As for other things, I know nothing."

"Did the other party tell you what to do after winning the money? Did they anticipate today's situation?"

"I asked. The other party said, just set up the gambling and win the money, and I don't need to worry about the rest."

"How did you get in touch with that bunch of little eunuchs?"

"My lord doesn't go to gambling dens to play, so you don't know, but actually, those little eunuchs in the palace also like to go to gambling dens to play. After going back and forth, everyone became familiar. I had the intention to set up a game, and those little eunuchs were more active than anyone else, pulling new people into the field every night; I didn't even need to deliberately pull in people. To gather popularity, I asked Brother Datou to find more people and not always be the same familiar faces. I promised that for every person pulled in, I would give Brother Datou three coins of silver."

Prison Clerk Zhang laid out the details, and Chen Guanlou immediately glared fiercely at Lu Datou.

What a bastard, he even hid the head-count fee, and hid it so tightly.

Lu Datou:...

He was standing on the side, and disaster fell from the sky!

He wanted to explain, but Brother Chen didn't give him a chance at all.

It's over!

Actually, he just wanted to earn some private money, nothing else. Really, he wasn't lying.

Chen Guanlou snorted coldly. "Did you take the opportunity to lend usury?"

Gambling and usury were a pair of twin brothers, depending on each other, neither could leave the other.

Unexpectedly, Prison Clerk Zhang shook his head. "There was a big eunuch from the palace responsible for lending loans on the spot; I couldn't get my hands on this business."

"Letting you set up gambling, but not letting you touch usury, that's interesting."

Chen Guanlou began to ponder. "How many little eunuchs participated in your gambling?"

"Coming and going, there were at least three or four hundred people."

Sure enough, they were a bunch of poor ghosts. Three or four hundred people, and they only scraped together a thousand taels of silver.

The preliminary conclusion was that someone was using gambling to pull in people, wanting to create a new force in the palace. A new force strung together by gambling and usury.

Three or four hundred people, involving all twenty-four offices of the inner palace, concerning every aspect of the palace's eating, drinking, playing, clothing, food, housing, and transportation.

This was going to cause trouble!

If this temporarily set-up gambling game could be done for a long time and made big, wouldn't it involve the entire imperial palace, and even the people around the Emperor couldn't avoid being tainted by it.

Gambling in the palace was repeatedly banned but never stopped; everyone knew it.

That bunch of people who had lost their roots, besides money, had gambling; life only had these two hobbies. Grabbing these two things was equivalent to indirectly controlling the inner palace.

Chen Guanlou didn't even dare to think deeply about it.

No wonder they wanted to use the prison guards of the Heavenly Prison to set up gambling.

The prison guards of the Heavenly Prison were all old gamblers, and in anyone's eyes, they weren't eye-catching and were easy to muddle through. Because everyone knew that out of ten prison guards of the Heavenly Prison, eleven were gamblers. Gambling with the little eunuchs in the palace wasn't strange; it was truly normal.

If it were someone with another identity gambling with the people in the palace, it would be a bit eye-catching and easy to arouse suspicion.

What a subtle calculation.

It was a pity that it was seen through, and the complaint was made directly to the Ministry of Justice, cutting off the way back. ===== CHAPTER 709 =====