Chapter 963: The Case That Costs Heads

Chen Guanlou pondered all the way back to the office.

Sun Daoning’s anger had largely subsided; he was sipping tea.

The name that made Old Sun turn pale with fear could be easily narrowed down—only the imperial family fit the bill. Which one exactly? No need to know.

In other words, someone from that family was involved in this examination fraud case.

Wow, this case is truly enormous!

Think deeper, and it may even tie into the succession struggle—the recent uproar over naming the Crown Prince.

The imperial waters are indeed deep.

If we push this case in that direction, the number of people implicated won’t be dozens or hundreds. The dead won’t be dozens or hundreds—they’ll be tens of thousands.

No exaggeration!

A few years ago, the deposed crown prince affair claimed over a thousand lives.

The Yan Prince case, the Jin Prince case—tens of thousands died…

Human lives are worthless!

Especially when tied to imperial succession struggles, the dead will only increase, never decrease.

He finally understood why Sun Daoning wanted to kill Zhang Yulang—he was pure poison. Forcing everyone’s heads closer to the executioner’s blade, how could anyone not hate him?

If it were me, I might have flown into a rage and killed Zhang Yulang outright.

Sun Daoning could suppress his murderous urge—no wonder he’s Minister of Justice; his self-control is terrifying.

“My lord, the man has been returned to the dungeon and locked up. Reliable guards have been posted at the door, watching him day and night.”

“Can you guarantee absolute safety?” Sun Daoning asked.

“My lord, you’re joking. Nothing in this world is absolutely safe. We can only strive for perfection!” Chen Guanlou replied.

Hearing this, Sun Daoning sighed and waved his hand, signaling the door to be closed. He had private words to say.

“You need not inquire into the details—I won’t tell you. If the Zhang man is smart enough to survive, he won’t blab to you. And you—don’t try to dig. Your life comes first. Zhang Yulang is a hot potato. Frankly, I want him dead, but I can’t do it. I must keep him alive.”

He sighed again and again.

One is powerless against circumstance!

Killing Zhang Yulang is easy; the hard part is covering it up.

Now is not the time to stir up trouble.

Better to do nothing, achieve nothing, than to act rashly.

Killing Zhang Yulang is a blunder—it’s reckless action, inviting uncontrollable chain reactions. A massive disaster!

“Are you worried someone will come to kill him?”

“I wasn’t before. But from today on… suffice it to say, you must be extra vigilant.”

“When you spoke with Zhang Yulang, was anyone eavesdropping?”

Sun Daoning slowly shook his head. “You don’t understand! Whether someone eavesdropped doesn’t matter. What matters is people’s hearts—what others will suspect, what they’ll speculate. Once suspicion takes root, killing becomes inevitable. Killing often needs no concrete proof—do you understand?”

Chen Guanlou nodded. He understood perfectly.

Killing never needs a reason.

Sometimes, stepping into a room with your left foot first is enough to get you killed. Where do you go to plead your case?

“I can only guarantee that as long as I’m here, Zhang Yulang’s life is safe. But when I’m not in the dungeon, accidents may happen.”

Sun Daoning frowned. “Can’t you just stay in the dungeon? Watch him day and night.”

Chen Guanlou protested. “My lord, I didn’t sell my life to the dungeon. I have my own life—I need to eat, drink, relieve myself, and sleep. Making me guard him twenty-four hours a day? That’s unreasonable!”

“Unreasonable? This is an emergency. I order you to protect Zhang Yulang’s life—and you’re making demands?”

Chen Guanlou grunted, too lazy to argue, and offered a suggestion instead: “My lord, there’s a simple way to save Zhang Yulang’s life: release him. Let the Zhang family take him home and place him under house arrest.”

The dungeon is a sieve—killing is easy. Besides, even tigers sleep. Consider me a dozing tiger.

But the Zhang family isn’t a sieve—they’ll spare no effort to protect him. They might even strike back! Keeping him in the dungeon is the worst possible move.”

Sun Daoning fell into thought.

“The fraud case led us to arrest Zhang Yulang because he was implicated. But if we want to release him—what excuse?”

Chen Guanlou waved his hand. “I don’t know. You’ve handled criminal law for decades—you’re the expert. You’ll find a legitimate way to release him.”

Sun Daoning pondered. He had many methods. Flipping through the Great Qian Code, he could easily find several statutes to justify Zhang Yulang’s release.

But he didn’t want to do it.

In this emergency, if he used the Great Qian Code to release someone, he’d leave behind evidence—ammunition for his political enemies.

Emperor Jian Shi was nearly out of his mind with rage. If accused, he’d become the emperor’s scapegoat.

Emperor Jian Shi’s temper had grown increasingly unpredictable—who knew what mad acts he might commit? After all, the recent assassination of the Marquis of Pingjiang, who now lay bedridden, was still fresh.

Behind closed doors, court officials all believed the Marquis of Pingjiang’s assassination was ordered by Emperor Jian Shi.

No matter how much the emperor protested his innocence, no one would believe him.

Why would the emperor send assassins?

Who knows!

A mad emperor committing mad acts—that’s perfectly reasonable.

“Come here!”

Sun Daoning gestured for Chen Guanlou to come closer.

Chen Guanlou stopped three steps away. “My lord, give your order.”

“Hmm… the prisoner is gravely ill, near death, and from a prominent family. If his family pays a sum, he may return home to die. You understand?”

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow. “Why not say it plainly—have someone poison Zhang Yulang…”

“Nonsense! Absolute nonsense!” Sun Daoning cut him off sharply. “Did I say anything about poisoning? Don’t speak foolishly! The dungeon is unsanitary, the weather is growing hot, insects breed. It’s natural for a pampered young master to fall ill.”

“You’re absolutely right!” Chen Guanlou grinned. “Gravely ill, near death, family pays to take him home—perfect!”

Sun Daoning smiled, then added a warning: “You must find a way to alert the Zhang family—they’re being targeted. They must prepare.”

“No need for you to worry. Zhang Yulang values his life most. Just explain the danger to him—he’ll know what to do.”

Sun Daoning was even more satisfied now.

Getting rid of this hot potato means that if the case explodes, the dungeon and the Ministry of Justice won’t be implicated. The Ministry escapes unscathed—Amitabha!

He even showed rare generosity, waving his hand: “I’ll authorize five hundred taels of silver for you. See to it thoroughly—leave no loopholes. You know the stakes—this is about your head. Don’t be careless.”