Chapter 817: Everything handled cleanly

"My lord, a small unexpected situation has occurred. I don't know if I should speak of it or not."

Xu Fugui stood inside the office, looking like a young daughter-in-law—grievanced, twisting and turning, plus anxious and uneasy, his eyes darting about.

Chen Guanlou sipped his tea, blowing away the foam. "Did you kill someone?"

"No, more than that. A few people did indeed die, but that doesn't matter. What's fatal is that the interrogation in the torture room really did extract something useful. I couldn't gauge the weight of it for a moment, so..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow slightly. "Let's hear it. What did you extract that scared you into this state?"

Xu Fugui subconsciously leaned in to speak.

Chen Guanlou found him stinky—he hadn't bathed in days—and glared at him. The other man stopped in his tracks, looking slightly embarrassed.

"If you're going to talk, talk properly."

"My lord, the matter I have to report is truly very fatal."

"Rest assured, no one is eavesdropping here."

Even if someone dared to eavesdrop, they could not escape his eyes.

With these words, Xu Fugui instantly found his backbone, as if he had taken a reassurance pill. He deliberated and said: "Reporting to my lord, in the torture room, a prisoner confessed that on the night of the Armory explosion, he was in the vicinity. He saw with his own eyes several people dressed in palace eunuch robes enter the Armory. Nearly an hour passed before they came out. Not long after this group left, the explosion occurred. I was worried he was spouting nonsense, so I interrogated him repeatedly, and I can confirm he is telling the truth. My lord, regarding this matter, what do you think..."

"What do you mean, what do I think!"

Chen Guanlou's expression sank, and he was furious.

"Did you see anything? Did you hear anything? I'm telling you, nothing happened, and you heard nothing. Go back immediately, tell Old Zhang Tou to handle everything cleanly. Treat it as if nothing ever happened."

"This, shouldn't this matter be reported up?" Xu Fugui asked, trembling.

Chen Guanlou sneered. "If you think your life is too long, go ahead and report it; I won't stop you. If you want to live, listen to me: today's matter, today's words—none of it happened, and none of it was said. Forget this matter, do you remember?"

"I, I, I naturally want to live."

"If you want to live, what are you still standing there for? Get lost."

Xu Fugui scrambled away.

Chen Guanlou didn't forget to remind him, "Keep your mouth shut. If something happens, I can protect myself, but can you?"

No!

Xu Fugui knew clearly how much he was worth. He didn't dare gamble with his own life.

It was right not to gamble.

Still a bit uneasy, Chen Guanlou invited Old Zhang Tou over and personally instructed him, "Handle it cleanly. Seal every mouth that needs to be sealed. I won't ask about your disciples and grand-disciples; you manage them yourself."

"My lord, aren't you going to ask personally?" Old Zhang Tou puffed on his pipe. "That man confessed other things too."

"What things?"

"That man lived near the Armory and saw Armory personnel sneaking things out several times. They were covered with oilcloth; he wasn't clear on exactly what they were. But it definitely has something to do with the things produced by the Armory. Who the goods were for, where they went—these matters..."

"Old Zhang Tou, you've overstepped!" Chen Guanlou scolded sternly, his eyes and expression appearing extremely cold. "The torture room is only responsible for interrogations and collecting money; other matters are not within your scope of duty. The torture room belongs to the Heavenly Prison, and the Heavenly Prison is only responsible for guarding prisoners, not for investigating cases, and certainly not for reviewing cases or reporting them. Each of us must strictly adhere to our own duties; the biggest taboo in handling official business is overstepping. You, old man, have worked hard your whole life; don't destroy the merit you've accumulated over the years in one go."

Old Zhang Tou's expression stiffened, and he was left speechless.

Finally, he gave a self-deprecating smile. "My lord's reminder is correct. I'm old, I'm old, I almost acted foolishly and committed a grave error. I know what to do. My lord, rest assured, everything will be handled cleanly."

"Go!"

Still a bit uneasy, he arranged for Chen Quan to watch the whole process to ensure everything was handled cleanly.

From beginning to end, he did not go down to the torture room, nor did he take a single look at that prisoner. He had to ensure his own innocence; only if he himself was innocent could he protect the people below him.

If he were not innocent, the people below him, even if they were innocent, would have to follow him into misfortune and lose their heads.

The heads of prison guards were worthless, no better than those of the thugs; if they were chopped off, they were chopped off. That's how the world is; no one can do anything about it.

Afterwards, when the torture room interrogated prisoners, they only hit them for money; they asked little about anything else.

Regardless of whether they had committed a crime, as long as they paid, it was fine.

Xu Fugui was visibly relieved; no matter how big the matter, as long as there was money, it could be smoothed over.

The C-block prison had cleared out some cells, and the stench was finally not so foul; it was barely passable to walk through.

Chen Guanlou went down to the C-block prison once. It was hard on the prison guards, working in such a foul environment every day. And the laborers, who had to pinch their noses every day to clean up the excrement and urine of hundreds of prisoners.

Bonuses!

A bonus must be issued to soothe everyone's hard work during these days.

He focused on observing the prisoners sent by the Embroidered Uniform Guard; there were many sorry-looking wretches, but also some with decent appearances. There were fierce and wicked types who looked like they had several lives on their hands. There were also those with delicate features who looked very innocent.

"Among you, who wants to get out alive? Those who want to live, raise your hands!"

Swish!

All the prisoners in the surrounding cells instantly raised their hands one after another. Some felt one hand wasn't enough to express themselves, so they simply raised both hands to show their presence.

During this period, this group of prisoners had been extremely obedient. Having witnessed the brutality of the Heavenly Prison and the cruelty of the torture room, only one thought remained in their minds: live! Get out alive!

Even if they were to die, they wanted to die outside. Not be dragged out like dead dogs and discarded in a mass grave.

"If you want to get out, pay a sum of atonement silver! Confess your crimes honestly, and hand over the silver. Afterwards, I will negotiate with the Embroidered Uniform Guard and put in a good word for you. If you don't cooperate, then just wait for death!"

Having said this, he left quickly.

The prisoners were stunned.

They began to discuss it in a hubbub.

They understood the atonement silver; it was nothing more than a way to demand money.

But what was this about crimes? What crimes to confess? What kind of crimes could get them out, and what kind couldn't? The most crucial thing was, did he keep his word? Don't take the money and not deliver. Could it be that they had the ability to find the Heavenly Prison to get a refund?

"What are you arguing about! Shut up! The person who just spoke to you is our Heavenly Jiang Jiang Yucheng, Warden Chen. You should have all heard of Warden Chen's great name. Once he says something, it's set in stone! He takes money and gets things done, fair and square! What's there to argue about? What our Lord Chen says is as good as gold; if he says he'll help you negotiate with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he absolutely will. If you want to live, listen to Lord Chen. If you don't want to live, then hurry up and die!"

"Then how much money should we pay?"

"Two hundred taels per person!"

"So much!"

"Think it's too much? Is your life not even worth two hundred taels? Then you deserve to die!"

"I'm willing to pay, I'm willing to live."

"Those who already paid before, do we have to pay again?"

"For those who already paid before, as long as you pay enough to reach two hundred taels, you don't need to pay anymore." ===== CHAPTER 818 =====