Chapter 921

"What do I know! I was sleeping at home that night; I don't know anything."

Chen Guanlou denied it flatly, his tone righteous and stern!

He not only knew who had raided the prison, but he also knew who had cut off the head. But he could not say.

He could not have any connection with the cult leader; at least on the surface, there could be no record of it in official channels.

Although in private, Wei Wubing and that group all knew he had dealings with Zhang Daohe.

He just insisted there was no evidence and refused to admit it even if he died!

This is called adhering to professional ethics and firmly refusing to overstep boundaries.

A prison warden should just do their own job well.

He cannot usurp the role of the Six Shanmen next door. This is a fine quality that must be carried forward.

"You also don't know about the Prince of Chujiang's head finding its own way back to the inn?"

Sun Daoning was half-believing and half-doubting.

He had a very strange intuition that this matter had more or less something to do with Chen Guanlou. It wasn't to say Chen Guanlou killed the person, but the return of the head likely had some connection.

"Should I know?" Chen Guanlou asked back, "I slept soundly all night and didn't leave my house for even half a step. It wasn't until the next day, when Chen Quan and the others sent someone to report, that I learned the Prince of Chujiang was dead and had been decapitated. The head went missing for half the night and then ran back on its own. I was scared to death!"

"Act! Keep acting! Scared to death—do you think I believe you?"

"Alright, I admit I wasn't scared. I scolded the prison guard who reported it on the spot, saying he was talking nonsense. He didn't even know how to make up a lie properly. Later, I realized I had wronged them; the head was indeed lost and then recovered. But, Old Sun, are you interrogating me? Do you suspect I'm involved in this case? Aren't you being absurd!"

Chen Guanlou was furious on the spot, nearly pointing at Sun Daoning's nose to curse him for not being human. The two had worked together for so many years, yet there wasn't even basic trust; it was truly disheartening.

Sun Daoning admitted it generously, "You are a mysterious person with too many things that cannot see the light. I am too lazy to ask you. Since the Prince of Chujiang case has nothing to do with you, then let it be."

"My people?"

"The death penalty can be avoided, but living punishment is hard to escape. All are to be driven out of the Heavenly Prison, or demoted to menials."

Menial work is not something humans should do.

Menials in the Heavenly Prison are even lower than prison guards.

It's too bullying.

"Fine them! Fine a sum of money as atonement silver, how about that? This money will be handed directly to the Ministry of Justice." Chen Guanlou offered an idea.

After all, a mistake was made; it's impossible to punish nothing and just let people go while keeping their original posts. This move is against the rules and cannot convince the masses.

Chen Guanlou could not accept driving people away or demoting them to menials.

Thus, simply fining them could be considered an explanation to the outside world.

"You want to spend money to buy them peace? Have you thought about whether the Six Shanmen side will agree?"

"The Six Shanmen is none of my business; I only care about my own people." Chen Guanlou made his attitude clear.

"Then how much do you think is appropriate to fine?"

Chen Guanlou pondered for a moment, "Ten taels per person."

"Are you kidding? Are you mocking me?" Sun Daoning was angry; ten taels to atone for a crime? Does he think the Ministry of Justice is a beggar?

"Then how much do you think is appropriate?"

"One hundred taels! No bargaining!" Sun Daoning set the price directly.

Chen Guanlou countered, "One hundred taels is too much. You know the character of those prison guards. They are all people who can't save a single coin. Let alone a hundred taels, they can't even come up with ten taels of silver."

"I don't care if they can come up with it. One hundred taels, no bargaining."

"Fifty taels!"

"Impossible! Chen Guanlou, don't go too far. This is the Ministry of Justice, and I am a dignified Minister of Justice, not a vegetable market, let alone a small peddler. You are bargaining with me—what do you take me for? If it were anyone else who dared to speak to me like this, they would have been beaten out long ago and would never dream of stepping into this office again!"

Sun Daoning was exasperated!

To think that he, a dignified Minister of Justice, had fallen to bargaining over a few dozen taels of silver with a petty thief like Chen Guanlou. It was truly infuriating!

The more he thought, the angrier he got!

The more he thought, the more stifled he felt!

Seeing that face, he felt restless and his breathing became unstable. The cultivation of a scholar and the composure of a warrior were all broken.

He really is a debt collector.

Let a bolt of lightning come and strike him.

"Sixty taels, no more than that."

Chen Guanlou didn't care at all whether the other party would break down; he only knew that money must be calculated down to the last cent! One shouldn't be too embarrassed to bargain just because one has thin skin.

One shouldn't give up money just to save face, right!

How much is face worth anyway!

Sun Daoning took a deep breath, suppressing the irritability in his heart, "Eighty taels, say no more. I have already made exceptions for you several times. Go out and ask around; in the entire Ministry of Justice, who else can speak to me as casually as you? Who else can receive my special regard? Don't be ungrateful!"

Seeing the other party on the verge of exploding, Chen Guanlou stopped while he was ahead, "Alright, eighty it is. Please allow a few days of grace."

"Why, do you want to pay the fine for them?"

"How could I! I'll lend it at most, at low interest!" Chen Guanlou stated his attitude.

Sun Daoning nodded.

"If there's nothing else, withdraw. I am busy with official business and have no extra time to chat with you."

"Old Sun, tell me the truth: if the Prince of Chujiang hadn't died on the road, how long after returning would he have been beheaded?"

Sun Daoning stared at him, "You really want to know? I might as well tell you: the original plan in the palace was to secretly execute the Prince of Chujiang at the beginning of next month. It was just bad luck that he died on the road and his head was cut off. You should be glad that you were lucky this time, because this matter pleased His Majesty, which is why His Majesty did not pursue it."

"Why would it please His Majesty, just because his head was cut off?"

"Aren't you very good at guessing His Majesty's thoughts? Then why don't you guess?"

"The Prince of Chujiang having his head cut off means the Prince of Chujiang's lineage has many enemies, so it pleased His Majesty?" Chen Guanlou guessed casually. Sun Daoning sighed inwardly; some people really dare to think.

They are in the game, and they think about everything in a complicated way—the more complicated and bizarre, the better.

Chen Guanlou does the opposite, thinking in the simplest way, using human nature as an anchor to guess, which often has unexpected yet expected effects.

Human nature!

In the final analysis, it is still human nature!

If an enemy's son has bad luck, is one happy? Of course one is happy!

Emperor Jian Shi's mentality is just that simple. So when Emperor Jian Shi learned the news that the Prince of Chujiang had been decapitated and the head had run back on its own after going missing, he laughed heartily.

Sun Daoning didn't even dare to say it directly, fearing it would tarnish the monarch's reputation. He only dared to describe it with the word "pleased."

A person is dead, yet as an uncle, he is laughing heartily. If this spreads, it indeed sounds bad and is damaging to one's reputation.

"After your people pay the atonement silver, this matter ends here. The Prince of Chujiang's family will be cleaned up one after another in the future. You need to be prepared."

"Father and son are both dead, yet His Majesty still refuses to let them go?"

"You said His Majesty is narrow-minded, what do you think?"