Chapter 860: The Stone in the Cesspit: Stinking and Hard

"Are you so certain that Your Majesty cannot tolerate me, that he insists on putting me to death?"

Yu Yu Zhaoan refused to believe he was the unlucky one. Why should all the good things go to Xie Changling? Why couldn't it be his turn?

No one believes their own luck is that bad; everyone firmly believes they are the lucky one, that heaven will stand on their side. Gamblers especially so!

Being an official, more often than not, also has an element of gambling in it.

Not a single person would accept, let alone believe, that they would end up in the most wretched of circumstances. It's all alarmist talk, all rhetoric.

Everyone firmly believes they are the protagonist; everyone has a fluke of luck in their heart.

"Whether Your Majesty can tolerate you, you know best. Do you think Your Majesty has the magnanimity to tolerate others?"

One counter-question left Yu Yu Zhaoan tongue-tied, and he kept drinking his sorrows away.

Chen Chen Guanlou had no burden at all and continued, "You invited me here for no other reason than because Your Majesty ordered you south to take charge of the overall situation, and you have your doubts. Presumably, the strategists around you have already given you several plans. As for me, a mere minor Jiang Jiang Yucheng, I have no heaven-shaking, earth-shattering talent, I can't compare to your strategists, laying out plans one, two, three, four for you.

"But considering we got along passably well back in the Sky Prison, and considering you're treating me to wine today, I'll say one thing: going south is definitely the way to go.

"You can completely change your line of thinking. Since there's no room to spread your wings in Jingcheng, then go spread them in the provinces. With your ability, you'll surely make some waves. As the saying goes, if it's not bright in the east, it's bright in the west. Your gaze can be far-reaching, your vision can be a bit bigger. This world is vast, it's not just the Great Qian. What do you say!"

Yu Yu Zhaoan raised an eyebrow slightly, but said nothing.

Chen Chen Guanlou gave a mocking laugh, took a swig of wine, and went on, "Whether the Chu King is destroyed or not actually depends entirely on a single thought from certain people. One thought, one thought... Prime Minister Yu, do you want the Chu King to live, or do you want the Chu King to die?"

"This official doesn't have that kind of power!" Yu Yu Zhaoan waved his hand. "This trip south, I'm just a rubber stamp. That's the real reason this official is so miserable."

"A rubber stamp may seem unimportant, but if the stamp is gone, things get serious. my lord, why belittle yourself."

"Chen Chen Guanlou, you really do fear the world is not in chaos! If you hadn't stayed in the Sky Prison day after day for years, refusing to budge, this official would be tempted to suspect you were born a rebel, with rebel bones in your head. A man like you will sooner or later become a calamity!"

"Thank you for the high opinion, my lord. Unfortunately, I'm no good at being a rebel, I can only be a Jiang Jiang Yucheng."

"Hahaha..." Yu Yu Zhaoan burst out laughing. "Just like the old days! Wild, truly wild, and stubborn, truly stubborn. Is the Sky Prison really that good? You wouldn't even take a promotion."

"Apart from the poor environment and bad reputation, the Sky Prison is good in every way. my lord needn't try to persuade me. In this life, I was born a man of the Sky Prison, and I'll die a ghost of the Sky Prison."

Chen Chen Guanlou said with an air of righteous solemnity.

Yu Yu Zhaoan was so provoked he nearly sprayed his wine.

He pointed at the other man, "You really are..." ungrateful, absurd, heretical, not a normal person.

Chen Chen Guanlou seized the chance to laugh, raised his cup, "my lord, I toast you. I wish you smooth sailing on this trip south, and may all your heart's desires be fulfilled. Xie Changling is destined to be Chancellor; whether you're content or not, there's nothing you can do about it!"

"Is there really no way to break the deadlock?"

"Perhaps you could try another path. For instance, the Jixia Academy."

The moment Yu Yu Zhaoan heard the four words Jixia Academy, he frowned at once, looking deeply troubled.

"The decline of Jixia Academy was caused by you alone. And you have the nerve to bring up Jixia Academy to me. Chen Chen Guanlou, oh Chen Chen Guanlou, you really are brazen and reckless."

Chen Chen Guanlou spread his hands, looking utterly innocent. "What does the decline of Jixia Academy have to do with me? I just got into one fight, then hid away to heal. Everything that happened afterward was done by others. You don't go after the true culprit, yet you come to blame me. Prime Minister Yu, could it be that you too bully the weak and fear the strong? Tch..."

One tch conveyed countless measure of disdain and contempt.

Yu Yu Zhaoan snorted coldly in anger, "If not for that fight of yours, how could the others have found their chance?"

"Without me, there would have been Li Chen Guanlou, Wang Chen Guanlou. With Jixia Academy's arrogant, overbearing way of doing things, with their eyes on the top of their heads, looking down on everyone else, a beating was only a matter of time. When a man runs wild, disaster follows!"

Chen Chen Guanlou clicked his tongue in admiration.

Jixia Academy had it coming; what does it have to do with him!

He absolutely refused to take the blame.

Don't even think about pinning the guilt on him.

"Li Chen Guanlou, Wang Chen Guanlou, anyone but you, Chen Chen Guanlou." Yu Yu Zhaoan suppressed his fury. "You have Hou Fu behind you. If it weren't you, there would never have been such enormous influence, the consequences wouldn't have been so severe, and there would still be room to salvage things."

"It's too late to say anything now. Prime Minister Yu, you're so angry, how about a fight? You can call up every martial artist in your household; I'll take them on alone, unarmed. How about it?"

Arrogant!

Audacious!

Yu Yu Zhaoan laughed in spite of his anger, "I won't fight you! This official would have to be crazy and stupid to fight you. Get out of here!"

"We haven't even finished the wine, and you're already chasing me away. Is this how you treat a guest? Yu Yu Zhaoan, oh Yu Yu Zhaoan, is there anyone as petty as you?"

"Don't worry, I'll have the rest of the wine sent to your residence, you can drink to your heart's content anytime. This official has lost all interest now, I can only trouble you to head back first. The thank-you gift will be arranged and sent over tomorrow."

Upon hearing there was a thank-you gift, Chen Chen Guanlou tolerated the other's willful caprice for the time being. Otherwise, he would have flipped the waterside pavilion and thrown a drunken tantrum at Yu Fu.

"If the thank-you gift is too stingy, I won't accept it. You know my temper—I only recognize money, not people."

"Yes, yes, I know. After all these years, that nasty habit of yours hasn't changed one bit."

"If I had changed my nasty habit, would you still be treating me to wine tonight?" Chen Chen Guanlou snorted coldly, exceptionally contemptuous. Wanting everything and having it all, endlessly greedy, serves you right to be done in.

He silently cursed the other's journey to be fraught with misfortune, with nothing going right.

Yu Yu Zhaoan, shrewd as he was, guessed it at a glance: "Are you cursing me in your heart?"

"Yes, I'm cursing you!" Chen Chen Guanlou admitted openly, not treating the other as the Chancellor who stood but one step below one man and above ten thousand at all. Just like back in the Sky Prison—if he was unhappy, he'd fall out.

Yu Yu Zhaoan was first furious, then burst into laughter. "After all these years, you're the first person to openly admit to cursing this official in your heart. Come, just for that rotten temper of yours, this official toasts you. Drink this cup, and get lost."

Chen Chen Guanlou gave a cold laugh, refused to wait on him any longer, and swept his sleeves and left.

Yu Yu Zhaoan shook his head with a bitter smile, and drank the wine in his cup alone.

A beautiful maid stepped forward to attend him closely, "Why is the Prime Minister so lenient with one surnamed Chen? That man has no manners, speaks wildly, behaves outrageously, and has offended the Prime Minister repeatedly. By the rules, he ought to be beaten to death."

Yu Yu Zhaoan heard this and laughed heartily, "Beat him to death? Don't ever say that again, this official still wants to live a few more years. As for his rude behavior, he's been this way for years, looking down on everyone. You treat him with three parts courtesy, he returns two. You suppress him three parts, he strikes back ten. He's a man who refuses to take a loss, yet he's clever, unmoved by fame or fortune, and holds fast to his principles. A man like that, with Hou Fu backing him, is truly a stone in a cesspit—stinking and hard, and no one can do anything about him."