Chapter 97

“A true man with no ambition at all—truly pitiful.”

Yu Zhaoan felt profound regret, his expression as if to say: Chen Guanlou, you just missed a million—exactly one million!

Opportunity lay before you; any man worth his salt should seize it firmly, not push it away—that’s what fools do.

Chen Guanlou remained utterly unmoved: “Everyone has their own path.”

Yu Zhaoan snorted in clear displeasure: “I intended to bestow fortune upon you, yet you are ungrateful.”

Chen Guanlou internally: Hmph!

He knew Yu Zhaoan had no good intentions—sure enough, he wanted to use him.

“Who said I want your head?” he asked curiously. “What do you plan to do with it?” Yu Zhaoan was a selfish, petty man, arrogant and obsessed with hierarchy.

He refused to believe the man would grant him any favor without cause.

Such men, when they treat others with deference, always have an agenda.

“Who said I want your head?” Yu Zhaoan sneered. “Your head isn’t worth anything.”

This time, it was Chen Guanlou who showed contempt.

At this point, still putting on a show—for whom?

He cut straight to the point: “My head may be worthless, but my mouth still holds value to you, Lord Yu. You’re a high official with a bright future—do you find amusement in tormenting lowly men like me? If I’d been even slightly greedy, I’d already fallen for your trap. If any other jailer had stood here today, in two days he’d be a corpse. You don’t care about the lives of petty folk like us—but I do. Mind your tongue. You’re on my turf, and I have plenty of ways to deal with you.”

Yu Zhaoan was speechless, his face twisted with rage. “How dare you! Don’t you fear that when I leave, one word from me will send you three thousand li away to dig coal?”

“I fear it! I’m terrified. That’s why I’ve always treated you with courtesy, fulfilling your demands. But today, you want my head—to satisfy your own greed? Then we’re mortal enemies. To anyone who seeks my death, I show no mercy.”

Chen Guanlou swung his water-and-fire staff, his aura matching the other man’s.

Yu Zhaoan was furious—he’d been threatened by a mere jailer. He’d been seen through by a mere jailer.

He could not tolerate this!

“Do you believe I can kill you right now?”

“I believe it. Every threat you utter, I believe. But so what? Even a lowly man won’t let you manipulate him. If you want me as a pawn, you’d better ask if I’ll agree.”

Chen Guanlou refused to yield, refused to retreat. If he stepped back, the other would press further. Pressing down on petty folk came naturally to men like Yu Zhaoan—it was what they’d done since childhood, with no guilt, no remorse. Once successful, they’d boast: “It’s your honor to be used by me.”

Such arrogance.

“So you’d rather die than stand against me?” Yu Zhaoan hissed.

Chen Guanlou scoffed, mocking the stupidity of the question: “Do you think cooperating with you would keep me alive?”

“Of course you’d live!” Yu Zhaoan rushed to say. “Just deliver one message for me to someone, and I guarantee your safety—you’ll be freed from Tianlaomiao and appointed as an official, starting at the ninth rank. How?”

“Do you believe I couldn’t go to the Hou Fu’s master, pay a little money, and get a ninth-rank post myself—with no risk at all?”

Chen Guanlou mocked him.

He wasn’t without connections—he bore the surname Chen. Even though he was five generations removed from the Hou Fu, he still had one more patron than others. Others might have money but couldn’t even enter the Hou Fu’s gates—he could.

“You’re utterly ungrateful. Don’t you want to hear what fortune I’m offering? What’s the Hou Fu to me?”

Yu Zhaoan still hadn’t given up—he was still trying to persuade Chen Guanlou.

Chen Guanlou believed him malicious, yet still offered him face, sincerely advising: “Lord Yu, you’re in such a hurry—why not spend some money and have me summon your household steward? Your steward is far better at running errands and delivering messages, and knows far more powerful figures.”

“Lord Yu, why look far away and scheme against petty folk like me? I’ve done nothing to you. Even if you despise me, even if you look down on me, there’s no need to kill me. As long as I’m here in Tianlaomiao, when your fellow townsfolk or fellow examinees are thrown in, I’ll treat them kindly, on your account—I’ll make sure no one abuses them.”

“Absurd! Don’t curse me! My fellow townsfolk and fellow examinees are perfectly fine!”

“There’s a saying you may not have heard: The end of every official’s career is Tianlaomiao. Tianlaomiao is a place every official must visit, sooner or later, in their lifetime.”

Chen Guanlou grinned.

Yu Zhaoan was furious, his beard bristling, eyes bulging.

Chen Guanlou had won a small victory—he waved his hand and resumed patrolling the cells.

Yu Zhaoan kicked the cell door in rage: “Chen Guanlou, you’ll regret today’s decision!”

Chen Guanlou raised his hand and gave the man the middle finger. Among officials, if Vice Minister Sun Daoning was inscrutable, Yu Zhaoan embodied the ugliness and treachery of human nature.

Those who stand high are so arrogant—they treat ordinary people as ants, crushing them without a second thought. In their eyes, ants exist only to be exploited for taxes; when dead, they become fertilizer for the earth. Meaning and value in life? Ants are unworthy of such things.

Damn it!

Chen Guanlou felt a fierce urge rise within him—he would kill Yu Zhaoan, this bastard, one day.

Peaceful days are always rare.

He’d thought refusing Yu Zhaoan would end it. But days later, while the other jailers were still reeling, struggling to accept their drastically reduced income, one of his men died.

A young man named Hong Zhuangshi, nicknamed Hong Ergou, who had only recently joined his squad. Quiet, diligent, seemingly harmless.

“How did he die?” Chen Guanlou realized he’d grown deeply familiar with this question—he asked it every so often.

The frequency of deaths in Tianlaomiao was too high.

Xiao Jin stepped forward: “Rumor says he was attacked by bandits at night, stabbed. By the time they found him, he was already dead.”

Chen Guanlou’s face darkened: “What did the yamen conclude?”

Xiao Jin nodded quickly: “I checked at the yamen—it was a knife wound, fatal blood loss.”

“Who was on duty with Hong Ergou these past days?”

“I was!” Little Liu She stepped forward. “I’ve been paired with Hong Zhuangshi this whole time.”

“Any irregularities?”

“I’m blind—I noticed nothing unusual.”