Chapter 736

The Nanshan Marquis kept a straight face and said: "There are dedicated tomb guards at the ancestral graves. If they were robbed, it would certainly be reported to me. Since I have not received any such news, they should not have been robbed."

"Are you sure?"

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"I have always been curious: where did the palace get new clues pointing to your family? The Emperor's impatient decree to make arrests suggests he must have found reliable clues. Is there a possibility that the clues came from your ancestral graves?"

"You, you, you..." The Nanshan Marquis was furious, unable to speak, and wanted to flip out on the spot.

Chen Guanlou signaled for the other to calm down, "We are not handling a formal case. So, there is no harm in making bold assumptions and careful verification. By opening up our thinking, we might just touch the edge of the truth. Don't you want to know the truth?"

"I don't!" The Nanshan Marquis said emphatically.

He was already being tortured to death by the so-called 'secret' of his ancestors; he only hated why his family had a 'secret' at all. Why couldn't they live a straightforward life? Why did they have to live in fear, worrying at any time that the Brocade Uniform Guard would break into the house and make arrests?

In the end, the Brocade Uniform Guard didn't come, which was a slight relief. But the Ministry of Justice came, which wasn't much better! It was nothing more than the conditions in the prison being much better.

"It won't work even if you don't want to!" Chen Guanlou clicked his tongue twice, "Do not resist; your current attitude is wrong. Marquis, I am trying to find a way for you, not trying to get benefits from you; you need to get your position straight!"

The Nanshan Marquis felt very uncomfortable, his heart feeling stifled.

Fortunately, he was not a twenty-something hothead; he knew the weight of the matter, put away his temper, and said: "Whether my ancestral graves have been robbed, sending someone over to take a look will tell us."

"Where are your ancestral graves? Are all the ancestors buried in the ancestral graves?"

The Nanshan Marquis gave a location.

When Chen Guanlou heard it, damn, it was actually thousands of miles away.

"Then the Profound Ancestor you mentioned—is he also buried in the ancestral graves? Was he buried normally?"

"Of course he is buried in the ancestral graves! Of course he was buried normally. Wait, Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, what do you mean by asking if he was buried normally?"

"Since you said that the only ancestor in your family who might have had the ability to hide a secret was that Profound Ancestor, I want to know if his death was a normal death, if the burial process was normal, and if any abnormal situations occurred during that time? Perhaps we can glimpse the truth from these minute details."

The Nanshan Marquis was a bit numb, but he still cooperated: "Let me think. Among my ancestors, several liked to write lewd poems and songs and mess around with singing girls. One of them seemed to have written something in his diary."

"What something?"

The Nanshan Marquis frowned and pondered for a moment, "It seems to say that the Profound Ancestor passed away suddenly, the body was kept for three days, and then they set off south to be buried in the ancestral graves. But on the way south carrying the coffin, they encountered a rainstorm and were struck by lightning... in short, it was very unlucky! When they were lowering the coffin into the ground, it is said a small incident occurred. As for the specific situation, the ancestors did not record it."

"Is keeping the body for three days normal?"

"Not very normal. Under normal circumstances, the body is kept for seven days before the coffin is carried south. After arriving south, they wouldn't be in a hurry to bury it either; instead, the coffin would be kept in the ancestral hall, waiting for a year or a year and a half, for an auspicious day, before it could be buried in the ground!"

"Look, this is the suspicious part!"

Chen Guanlou said firmly.

"But this doesn't prove anything! It's not like similar situations haven't happened before."

"Similar situations have certainly happened, but would all these abnormal situations happen to one person?"

Chen Guanlou asked back directly.

The Nanshan Marquis was speechless.

He found it hard to answer; he couldn't answer.

With so many ancestors, it is possible that one ancestor encountered rain while going south, another kept the body for only three days, and a certain ancestor had a small incident during burial. However, for all these abnormal situations to be concentrated on one person, it is a bit suspicious.

The Nanshan Marquis was left speechless. Could it be that there really was a problem with the Profound Ancestor's death? Was there really a secret hidden in the Profound Ancestor's tomb? Did Chen Guanlou really guess it right?

At this moment, he wished he could fly to the ancestral graves to check.

"It seems necessary to arrange for someone to go to your ancestral graves to check if any grave robbers have visited."

"The tomb guards are all family servants; they cannot betray us."

"I didn't say betrayal. But, if they are not sharp enough and never discover abnormal situations, it is also possible. Your ancestral graves should cover a large area, right? If the area is large and there are not enough guards, it is highly likely that lapses will occur without being discovered."

The Nanshan Marquis felt terrible.

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, do you really think there is a problem with my Profound Ancestor?"

Chen Guanlou thought seriously for a while and shook his head, "It's hard to say. Just as you said, it's possible that everything is just our speculation and not true. It's also possible that we really guessed it right, and your Profound Ancestor Mao Gong might have really hidden a secret, and it was discovered by the palace."

"But if the palace has already discovered the hidden secret, why throw my whole family into prison? It's useless! The matter of the ancestors happened over a hundred years ago; I know nothing!"

"You don't need to know. You can try another line of thought: venting anger!"

"Venting anger!?"

The Nanshan Marquis was shocked. His cheeks, which were not too dark, looked exceptionally gray and white at this moment, as if he had lost the will to survive.

"Venting anger!" The Nanshan Marquis muttered to himself, "Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, do not tease me."

"I have said it: this matter is just bold speculation and careful verification. No one knows the palace's intentions, and no one can be sure of the Emperor's thoughts. You are innocent, and your family members are all innocent; this much is certain. Yet you were all arrested; one of the possibilities I can think of right now is venting anger!"

After a pause, Chen Guanlou whispered, "Everyone knows that the one in the palace is very petty! It's very different from the rumors of the past!"

In the past, everyone said the Crown Prince was benevolent, open-minded, and good at accepting advice.

Looking at it now, only two words can express it: Heh heh!

They were all acting!

Every moment was a display of true feelings, but only feelings, not his true nature.

Now that his true nature is exposed, one knows he is worthy of being the late Emperor's seed—exactly the same. His methods are just as cruel and brutal. The key is that his endurance and decision-making are far inferior to the late Emperor's, yet he wants to surpass the late Emperor.

One only knows how to cherish after losing.

In the past, everyone cursed the late Emperor as a muddled ruler.

Now they discover that no matter how muddled the late Emperor was, he was still a cut above Emperor Jian Shi.

The gap is mainly reflected in the fact that the late Emperor would at least be particular about things, occasionally still care about dignity, and have some bottom line. When Emperor Jian Shi gets ruthless, he abandons all bottom lines, like a willful and reckless young man, only caring about his own satisfaction and not caring whether others live or die.

During the late Emperor's time, he would never stir up major cases before the New Year, causing everything to be turned upside down. Even if a major case broke out, he would suppress it and wait until after the New Year to handle it.