Chapter 720: The Negotiation Falls Apart, the Deal Fails

"Pervert!"

Chen Chen Guanlou knew right then that the other man wasn't holding back anything decent.

But he still asked patiently, "How many dead, and who? Give me a list."

Xiao Xiao Jincheng didn't stand on ceremony with him, and rattled off a list the moment he opened his mouth.

Chen Chen Guanlou listened and found there were officials imprisoned in the Class-A prison, as well as noble clansmen in the Class-B prison. The imprisoned officials were all fourth-rank and above, officials who had a chance of being released and reinstated. The prisoners in the Class-B prison were all important figures.

In short, an outrageous demand!

Shameless to the extreme!

"You might as well just empty out the Imperial Prison entirely! Brother Xiao, this is no attitude for a negotiation, and that's not how you do business. If you have no sincerity and don't want to take this job, just say so. It's not like I can't afford to lose face. Losing face isn't new for me, I can take it. If you're sincere, don't joke around, and don't talk nonsense."

Xiao Xiao Jincheng gave a cold snort. "Prison Clerk Chen finds it difficult, does he? What you're feeling right now is exactly how this official feels. You asked for three prisoners, all major offenders, and the money you offered wasn't generous either. What do you expect me to do?"

Chen Chen Guanlou gritted his teeth. Infuriating!

"One hundred and twenty thousand. Not a single tael more. I have to eat too!"

Xiao Xiao Jincheng hummed noncommittally. "Kill three, exchange three. How about it?"

"Not happening! Either you nod and we part on good terms, close this deal, and I'll definitely help you out in the future. Or we call it off, go our separate ways, and I walk out of here right now."

"The ones I want you to kill are by Prince Chu's side..."

"I won't kill anyone!" Chen Chen Guanlou quickly cut off the other's attempt, firmly refusing to listen, refusing to get involved, refusing to jump into the fire pit. "Even if you name them, I'll pretend I never heard. Don't try to drag me into this."

"Sharing the burdens of the court..."

"That's you! I'm just a tiny prison clerk, no skills at all, only good at freeloading and waiting to die!" Chen Chen Guanlou's attitude was firm, repeatedly cutting the other off to make his position clear.

"With this attitude of yours, Prison Clerk Chen, how am I supposed to cooperate?"

"Then let's call it off, no more cooperation! So many demands, so many conditions. I'm the middleman, earning a broker's fee. I'm not responsible for after-sales, and I don't offer extra services. Remember, I'm not the one fishing people out, I'm just the messenger. Whether they live or die, whether they can be fished out, doesn't have a single copper's worth to do with me. At worst, I lose some face. Look at me—do I look like someone who cares about face? I'm the most shameless person there is!"

After saying this, Chen Chen Guanlou even flashed the other man a particularly smug grin.

He really was shameless!

Someone who can say to a person's face in this day and age that they're the most shameless of all—truly no ordinary mortal. This man was the very embodiment of brazenness. Truly an eye-opener.

For a moment, Xiao Xiao Jincheng was a bit stunned. He couldn't get a handle on the man either way. Outrageous!

Chen Chen Guanlou had already resigned himself to the idea that this deal wouldn't go through. He drank his tea and prepared to get up and leave. Tomorrow he still had to go to the head steward to return the money—so many things to do.

"Your tea leaves here are pretty good, about the same as what I drink. Well, thanks for the hospitality today. I'll treat you another day. Farewell!"

"Prison Clerk Chen doesn't want to fish people out anymore?"

"Will you let me fish them out? Look at you, trying to toy with me again, trying to get a handle on me. Would you die if you didn't target me?" Chen Chen Guanlou complained bitterly. "In the end, you never had any sincerity. From the very start, you never intended to release anyone. Because you don't trust anyone. You're worried that once those three leave the Imperial Prison, they'll slip out of your control, and that instinct of yours will be uneasy. Don't talk about one hundred and fifty thousand—even if the price went up to two hundred thousand, you still wouldn't release them. Forget it, today counts as a wasted trip for me!"

He couldn't be bothered with more talk and left without hesitation.

This time, Xiao Xiao Jincheng didn't try to keep him. The thin paper had been pierced; there was no longer any need to keep probing and tugging. Both of them were people who didn't lack money—one hundred and fifty thousand was indeed a lot, but it wasn't something they absolutely had to earn.

Once home, he had someone pass word to the head steward: the negotiation had fallen through, tell the other party to give up. Just consider those three people all dead! Cut ties where they need to be cut, and absolutely don't harbor any wishful hopes.

He thought that no matter how big the matter, it would have to wait until tomorrow.

Who would have thought that in the dead of night, the head steward would show up at his house to ask about the situation.

Chen Chen Guanlou rubbed his eyes and glanced at the hour. "You really don't get sleepy, do you, old man!"

"Old people sleep less!"

"But I need to sleep!"

"You're already awake anyway, let's chat. What exactly happened?" The head steward wore a deeply troubled look. One hundred and fifty thousand and the negotiation still fell through—just how greedy was this surnamed Xiao?

Chen Chen Guanlou sat up without hesitation and said, "The other party never intended to release anyone! This isn't about money. Don't talk about one hundred and fifty thousand—even two hundred and fifty thousand wouldn't get it done. Those three people, barring accidents, are as good as dead!"

Hearing this, the head steward frowned deeply.

Chen Chen Guanlou yawned and casually muttered a couple of loaded lines. "Anyone connected to that matter from back then, whether or not it's been verified, cannot possibly walk out of the Imperial Prison alive. The Brocaded Guards do exactly this kind of work—it's their specialty, and they're best at silencing people. Head Steward, you old man, take it easy. Don't go fishing out both the dead and the living. Hou Fu certainly won't be implicated right now, but for you old man, that's hard to say. Don't end up fine and dandy, only to pay a visit to the Imperial Prison in your old age."

"Pah, pah, pah, you crow-mouth! I'm doing just fine, I don't need you worrying about me. Is this what surnamed Xiao told you?"

"How could it be! It's all something I figured out on my own. Guaranteed authentic!"

Chen Chen Guanlou even cheekily winked at the other man.

The head steward's face was full of misery.

"Since this trip didn't get the job done, I won't take the hard-work fee. Just send me two catties of tea leaves and we'll call it even!"

"Two catties of tea leaves!" The head steward came back to himself. "Hou Fu only has ten-odd catties of tea leaves in total, and you want two. Two catties is out of the question. How about half a catty?"

"Half a catty is a bit little, but fine, fine, half a catty it is. Remember to send someone to deliver it. I can't be bothered to go to Hou Fu to ask for it—makes me look too thick-skinned. The young Misses all laugh at me for being shameless."

The "older and younger sisters" Chen Chen Guanlou mentioned naturally referred to the Hou Fu's young Misses. By relation, they were all sisters; the blood tie just wasn't that close.

He was a member of the main family, so the rule that no outsider male enters the inner courtyard didn't apply. He had met all the Hou Fu's young Misses—each one as lovely as a flower, talented, virtuous and magnanimous, textbook examples of ladies from a great house. What a pity they ended up with the stinky men outside.

There were simply too many points to complain about; the head steward didn't know where to begin.

He rubbed his brow. "Based on your observation, there's absolutely no room for negotiation on this."

"Not a shred of room. Unless Hou Fu helps the Brocaded Guards kill off all the major generals by Prince Chu's side—then maybe there's room to negotiate." Chen Chen Guanlou tossed it out as a joke.

The head steward gave a cold snort. Hou Fu would have to be crazy to do such a thing. If Prince Chu were to fall, what benefit would that bring Hou Fu? Not a single shred of benefit.

Right now the war was at a stalemate, maintaining a strange kind of balance—that was the best state. Everyone was satisfied!

The merchants were satisfied, the officials were satisfied, the nobility were satisfied.

Only the Emperor was dissatisfied!

Does the Emperor's personal opinion matter? Not one bit!

The head steward finally thought it through at last. "Since we can't fish them out, then forget it. Let's pretend this never happened. Looks like surnamed Xiao keeps a very tight grip on the Brocaded Guards—not the slightest crack to slip through."