Chapter 943: A Person Who Can Die or Can Live

"I can accept 55 percent of the profits, even 50 percent is acceptable. But this amount is too small."

Sun Daoning pursed his lips and glanced at the silver notes on the table.

Chen Guanlou: ...

Greed makes a snake swallow an elephant!

He asked, "Old Sun, what are you getting at...?"

Sun Daoning picked up his teacup, blew gently, and several tea leaves floated and bobbed on the surface.

He said slowly, "Since you have the ability to pull money from corrupt officials’ pockets, pull more. I won’t ask for much from this batch of prisoners—fifty thousand taels."

"Are you robbing people?!" Chen Guanlou exclaimed. "Not every corrupt official has something to offer."

"I can create opportunities for you. The rest depends on your ability."

"You could let the Six Ministries handle this."

Sun Daoning sneered with clear disdain: "Those rough brutes in the Six Ministries work clumsily and earn hatred. You, however, are different—you take money from corrupt officials, yet they still thank you, praise your integrity, and trust you. No one in the Six Ministries comes close to you. A bunch of fools, relying only on brute force and power to threaten people, utterly clueless about the art of soft persuasion."

Chen Guanlou felt slightly embarrassed—was he being praised or not?

He felt Old Sun was devious.

"Even if you praise me, I still say the same thing—you’re asking for too much."

"Fifty thousand taels is too much? There are many officials like Zhao Jinming. Shall I list them all for you, one by one, and you negotiate with each? As long as you succeed, stick to your original rate—fifty percent. Don’t think of slacking off, and don’t assume you’ve earned enough to rest. As long as you’re warden, you must share the burden of the Ministry of Justice, and share my burden."

Chen Guanlou fell into thought.

Suddenly he realized: "Old Sun, you’ve brainwashed me! You’ve gone too far!"

Sun Daoning’s lip twitched, looking as if he couldn’t bear to look. "Can you focus? Don’t veer off topic. Even if I did brainwash you, just answer: am I being fair? Am I being generous?"

Go ask around—what other department takes only fifty percent? Eighty or ninety percent is common. Only I am willing to give you the greatest freedom to operate."

Look at the Heavenly Prison’s ledgers—before, we were always in debt. Now we’re not only debt-free but have savings. This isn’t just your talent for gathering wealth—it’s also my tolerance and leniency. If someone else took your place, they’d have drained every copper from the ledger and left the prison owing money."

Chen Guanlou was speechless.

He couldn’t refute it!

Because Sun Daoning spoke nothing but truth.

Under Chen Guanlou’s management, the Heavenly Prison had finally become prosperous and saved money. In the past, the ledger was always empty; everyone scrambled to gather funds, but the money was siphoned off by superiors, leaving them perpetually destitute.

Sigh, thinking of it brings tears.

The Heavenly Prison being a lowly post is justified.

"Fifty thousand taels is too much." He remained unmoved.

Sun Daoning grew furious: "If you weren’t so lazy, you’d earn fifty thousand taels in less than a month—even half a month."

Chen Guanlou just wanted to slack off.

He didn’t lack money to spend—yet he wasn’t even allowed to loaf.

"Less, less. Add this ten thousand taels—I’ll give you another twenty thousand."

"Fifty thousand taels. Not a single copper less. I’ll order my subordinates to expedite interrogations of the remaining officials—every one of them gets tortured!"

"Is that appropriate?"

"Nothing inappropriate. Progress is too slow. If we don’t use force, they’ll think the Ministry of Justice is easy to bully." Sun Daoning’s temper flared—he decided to use brutal measures to instill fear.

"My request..."

"As long as the silver arrives, I’ll issue orders: release those who should be freed, even commute death sentences to exile. But not at this price!"

"Old Sun, are you short on money?" Chen Guanlou asked, slightly concerned. "Your state seems off."

"Who isn’t short on money? All officials are. Don’t worry about my affairs—just gather the silver quickly. Don’t fear I’ll abuse power. Those who must die will die—I won’t tolerate leniency. But those who could die or could live—their lives might be spared."

Clearly, he had a hidden bottom line, flexible enough to avoid leaving any trace.

Those who could die or could live—of course they could be spared. All procedures would be legal, compliant, and flawless—no one could find fault.

The precondition: silver must arrive.

He couldn’t personally negotiate with the officials or their families—any contact would leave evidence.

Chen Guanlou, as warden of the Heavenly Prison, was the perfect intermediary—this environment was a natural marketplace for transactions, with no risk of exposure or investigation.

Demanding money from prisoners in the Heavenly Prison was perfectly normal. Even the Emperor himself couldn’t condemn it. This had always been the way—why should the current dynasty change the rules?

If you want to change the rules, fine—first repay all the backlogged grain and funds.

The jailers and laborers must eat—do prisoners not eat? Do the cells not need maintenance? Do weapons, uniforms, and gear cost nothing?

Add it all up: if the court fully replenishes the grain and funds, the Heavenly Prison can guarantee it won’t demand a single copper from prisoners. But who can guarantee that? No minister can. No chancellor can. Not even the Emperor can!

Fine!

Stick to the old rule: tacitly permit jailers to extort money from prisoners—legal, legitimate, and impossible to investigate.

Chen Guanlou felt his hair thinning—fifty thousand taels? A daunting task.

"Must it be so urgent? Can’t we take it slowly? You know I always support you, stand by your side. Now that you urgently need money, I’ll help shoulder the burden. Have you offended someone? Are you buying safety with silver?"

Sun Daoning shot him a sidelong glance. "If you can’t speak properly, don’t speak. Fifty thousand taels—hurry up!"

"Give me a list first—those who could die or could live, those to be exiled... sort them out. Give me some pressure, so I can act. When asking for money, you need a reason, right?"

Sun Daoning pulled a list from a stack of documents—he’d clearly prepared it in advance.

"Extract money from this list. Whoever refuses, take them straight to the execution ground and behead them. I don’t believe there are still people who fear death."

He looked furious—like he wanted to drag everyone down with him.

"Old Sun, who offended you? Let me avenge you."

"No need! My affairs, I’ll handle myself. Just gather the silver for me. Also, don’t keep too much money in the Heavenly Prison’s public account—spend it quickly, convert it into supplies if possible."

"Is the Ministry of Justice eyeing the Heavenly Prison’s money?"

"Not just the Ministry of Justice—the Ministry of Revenue is watching too, and the Ministry of Household Affairs as well."

"I understand why the Ministry of Revenue is watching—but why the Ministry of Household Affairs? They have no dealings with the Ministry of Justice. How do they even know how much money is in the Heavenly Prison’s ledger?"

"Naturally, they have spies. Don’t ask for details—just remember: spend the ledger’s money quickly. Don’t leave any trace."

Chen Guanlou nodded in agreement.

He realized now—someone was watching the Ministry of Justice, perhaps even targeting the chair beneath Sun Daoning’s seat, and the opponent was powerful. Old Sun was panicked—he’d decided to use silver as a weapon and fight back.