Chapter 922

Eighty taels of silver is absolutely a huge sum, an astronomical figure, for prison guards who are addicted to eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling. They simply cannot come up with it.

Only Chen Quan's situation is slightly better.

In the past two years, Chen Quan has strived for progress and learned to save money. If he scrapes it together, he can still come up with eighty taels of silver.

When he learned that he could return to the Heavenly Prison to serve after paying the eighty taels of atonement silver, he was very decisive and gathered the money that very day.

Other prison guards wailed and could only find Chen Guanlou to complain.

Chen Guanlou told them to find Qian Fugui to borrow from the public account, with interest. It would be deducted from their salaries and bonuses every month for sixty months!

If they think sixty months is too short, they can choose eighty-four months, with the longest being ninety-six months. But the interest would be fifty to one hundred percent higher.

This group of guys still wanted to complain, thinking the interest was too high.

Chen Guanlou rolled his eyes, "If you think the interest is high and the cycle is long, go to the banks outside to borrow. Or go through resignation procedures, and you won't have to pay the atonement silver. By the way, there is a third option: demote yourself to a menial, and you won't have to pay a single cent either. How about that?"

Not good!

Who would be willing to be a menial if they could be a prison guard! Dealing with shit and piss every day, the dirtiest, smelliest, and most tiring work is all done by menials. The money earned is all hard-earned money.

No, no!

Resign? Throw away the iron rice bowl?

Also no!

The current world is not good; even in the capital, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a long-term, stable, and non-tiring job.

More people have no guarantee of their next meal, waiting for work, looking for work, and working every day, just to buy rice for the pot with their wages. This kind of life has no end! Every day of living is a torment; there is not a single day that is easy.

How is it like being a prison guard, eating communal meals every day without spending a cent. Salaries and bonuses are issued on time every month, and with money, one can go out and have fun for a few days, or gamble heavily at the gambling house for a night.

There's no need to fear even if you lose everything; at worst, you don't take a vacation and go to the Heavenly Prison to serve and eat communal meals every day. Anyway, there's no need to worry about going hungry.

The key is that there is meat to eat in the communal meals.

With this treatment and this job, let alone eighty taels, even if it were doubled to one hundred and sixty taels, it must be kept.

If you have no money, then borrow.

More than half of the people chose the sixty-month repayment period.

A few gamblers who were addicted to everything chose the longest cycle of ninety-six months.

"Think clearly, if you choose ninety-six months, the interest will be doubled."

"Thought clearly, double is double." As long as the money in hand each month can be a little more, it's fine.

Qian Fugui handled the loans for everyone, signing and pressing fingerprints, in triplicate.

"Starting from next month, on payday, the debt will be deducted directly from your salaries. Don't come to me later saying the money is wrong and try to argue."

"Don't worry, we definitely won't come to argue with you."

Everyone paid eighty taels, and this silver was sent to the Ministry of Justice. After obtaining the official documents, this batch of prison guards and Chen Quan were all reinstated and continued to serve in the Heavenly Prison.

The case of the Prince of Chujiang being decapitated ends here.

As for the others in the Prince of Chujiang's lineage, when they learned the news that the Prince of Chujiang had been decapitated, they all cried, feeling very sorrowful and sharing the grief of the rabbit dying. They didn't know how much longer they could live!

At most one year.

Chen Guanlou estimated that the people in the Prince of Chujiang's lineage had at most one year to live.

With Emperor Jian Shi's patience, one year was an overestimate.

Emperor Jian Shi is a narrow-minded and petty person; he will not tolerate the Prince of Chujiang's family and descendants living for long. They must die! They must all die to dissipate the hatred in his heart!

"Your suspicion has been cleared!"

Chen Guanlou was drinking tea in the office when Eunuch Wang Hai suddenly popped out, opening with good news.

"What suspicion? Have I done anything recently?"

Chen Guanlou pretended to be stupid while signaling the other party to sit down and talk.

"The matter of Master Liaochen's passing, your suspicion has been cleared."

Ah?

"That matter! How was it cleared? I emphasized repeatedly that I was innocent, but you didn't believe me and kept asking questions, as if I had the ability to kill Master Liaochen. Now you've changed your tune and said my suspicion is cleared. Tell me how it was cleared."

His tone was teasing, releasing feelings of dissatisfaction.

Wang Hai could fully understand the other party's dissatisfaction, so he explained patiently: "Eunuch Wei has already figured out who killed Master Liaochen. So your suspicion has been cleared."

"Who killed him?" Chen Guanlou asked with feigned curiosity. He actually wanted to know what Zhang Daohe had done to make Wei Wubing believe it so firmly.

"It is said to be cult bandits." Wang Hai's information was incomplete; he only said cult bandits and didn't say it was the cult leader Zhang Daohe.

"Why would cult bandits want to kill Master Liaochen? They don't conflict, right? No grudge, right. As far as I know, some of the cult bandits' doctrines were copied from Buddhism."

Chen Guanlou feigned surprise, looking puzzled.

He felt his acting skills were becoming more and more superb.

Look, Eunuch Wang never saw through that he was acting from beginning to end.

Wang Hai coughed lightly, "I don't know the specific situation. In short, your suspicion is cleared, and from now on you can sleep soundly."

"Was the murderer caught?" Chen Guanlou was very concerned about this; he hoped Zhang Daohe could escape, but also hoped the other party would be caught. Scourges should be dealt with by scourges.

"I heard the murderer escaped."

Escaped is also good!

Chen Guanlou thought silently; in this way, he didn't have to worry about the transaction between himself and Zhang Daohe being known by a third person. If Wei Wubing learned that he had calculated against him, he would probably come over immediately to take his head.

Thank goodness, Zhang Daohe's escape skills haven't been lost; even a Grandmaster can be toyed with by him!

"That is to say, from now on, it's none of my business. Thank you, Brother Wang, for telling me this good news. If Brother Wang has time, don't leave; let's go out and drink flower wine together."

Knowing full well the other party was a eunuch, Chen Guanlou insisted on dragging him into a pile of women and wouldn't allow him to refuse.

He bluffed: "The inner palace is a woman's world. A woman's mind is actually very simple; as long as you grasp the key, you can manipulate them as you please. There is no place in the world that can understand women faster than a brothel. If you can be like a fish in water in a brothel, the inner palace will be a piece of cake."

"Do you know what the first step to manipulating women is? It's to disenchant them. When you understand women and see through them, the concubines and palace maids in the inner palace are just like that. So, Brother Wang, don't resist; rather than resisting, it's better to actively integrate. Look at how enthusiastic the girls are; they all adore you for being handsome."

Wang Hai had a cold face, like a coffin lid, keeping strangers away.

Chen Guanlou deliberately let the girls lean on the other party.

So what if he's a eunuch!

Eunuchs also need to live, and life cannot be separated from women.

Wang Hai was very angry; he felt humiliated, ashamed, and uncomfortable all over.

Chen Guanlou advised: "You are troubling yourself. If you don't overcome the psychological shame and face your own defects calmly, it will inevitably become your inner demon in the future. If you want to be promoted to Grandmaster, I'm afraid there's no hope in this life. With your talent, are you willing to stay in the Ninth Rank for the rest of your life?"

"Could it be that Prison Warden Chen usually cultivates like this, cultivating in a pile of women?"

"Yes! Those who know me know that I drill into a pile of women every day. From initially satisfying my own desires to now having a heart like still water, with no desires and no demands. What is this? This is the improvement of the state of mind. Brother Wang, I have emptied my bottom-of-the-box secrets for you."