Chapter 990

Three days later, Zhao Jinming finished his last meal in the mortal world, washed up simply, changed into a clean prisoner’s robe, and was about to be taken to the execution ground.

He still cursed under his breath, but his voice was much quieter.

These past few days, he had cried, screamed, and raged nonstop—his voice was now hoarse.

“Save your strength!” Chen Quan couldn’t take it anymore, sneering.

“What do you know!” Zhao Jinming looked down his nose at Chen Quan, willing to grant only Chen Guanlou a shred of respect. “I’m about to die—can’t I curse a few times?”

Chen Quan rolled his eyes. “I’m looking out for you. Save your strength—it’ll come in handy at the execution ground. I’m not lying. You’re a high-ranking official, and if you waste all your energy now, you’ll lose control of your bowels and bladder on the scaffold. You’ll humiliate yourself. Whether you listen is up to you. There’ll be crowds watching—maybe even former colleagues, your family—tsk, tsk…”

Zhao Jinming fell silent instantly.

After a moment, he asked, “Will any colleagues really come to watch the execution?”

“Plenty! Officials love watching their peers die. Every time an official is beheaded, the teahouses and taverns near the execution ground are packed—fully booked by rich and powerful officials.”

Chen Quan wasn’t lying.

Compared to beheading a notorious bandit, both commoners and nobles preferred watching the beheading of corrupt officials.

The spectacle was too thrilling—everyone cheered and howled.

Chen Guanlou arrived at the scene and asked, “Everything ready? Zhao my lord, it’s rare to see you so quiet!”

“Chen Yucheng, can you grant me one final favor?”

“Speak.”

“Can you find me a swift executioner? I don’t want to suffer. I’ve heard some executioners need three or four swings to kill a man. I don’t want that pain—I can’t bear it. I just want one clean cut, and it’s over.”

As he spoke, Zhao Jinming began to cry again.

He truly had so many tears!

And he could cry so well!

Chen Guanlou agreed. “This is simple. Today’s executioners are all seasoned veterans, each with years of experience—each has beheaded at least a hundred men. Your fears are unnecessary. But if you’re still uneasy, I’ll personally assign you the most steady, fastest blade among them—how’s that?”

“Thank you, Chen Yucheng! As for collecting my body, please grant me this favor—let my family retrieve it immediately. I don’t want my corpse left exposed to be licked by stray dogs.”

“These are minor matters! Time’s running short—let’s go.”

“Chen Yucheng, aren’t you coming?”

“I’ll join you later.” Chen Guanlou smiled warmly and waved goodbye.

Chen Quan was responsible for escorting this batch of prisoners to the execution ground. No delays allowed—better early than late!

The law mandated execution at noon, but prisoners must arrive early and wait.

After this batch was taken away, the prison felt noticeably quieter.

Chen Guanlou had no need to go to the execution ground—he was Yucheng. Such dirty, grueling work fell to his subordinates; he only needed to sit in his office, sign, and stamp.

“My lord, the Ministry of Justice wants to inspect Ma Liu’s corpse!” Mu Qingshan rushed into the office, sweat flying from his frantic pace.

“Damn it! How much time has passed? Ma Liu’s corpse was buried long ago!” Chen Guanlou stared in disbelief.

Who ever dug up a buried corpse for inspection?

There was never such a procedure.

Absurd!

Nonsense!

“When Ma Liu first died, we reported it to the Ministry of Justice. They examined the body, signed and stamped the paperwork. The corpse was then buried. Now they want to inspect it again—what’s going on? Are they deliberately harassing us?”

He flew into a rage, nearly storming off to the Ministry of Justice to demand answers.

Mu Qingshan shook his head rapidly. “The Ministry explains that Ma Liu was originally on today’s list of condemned prisoners. Since he died early, his name was crossed out. That should’ve been fine.

But today’s execution supervisor is from the Dalisi . They have an old list. When they compared old and new lists, they noticed Ma Liu was missing—a bandit who terrorized the people for over a decade. The Dalisi demands proof: alive, show us the man; dead, show us the corpse. Otherwise, today’s execution ground may descend into chaos.”

Chen Guanlou frowned sharply. “What’s the Dalisi implying? That we in the prison colluded with outsiders, substituted bodies? Bullshit!”

“Could it be the Six Gates Bureau’s doing? The Dalisi found out.” Mu Qingshan’s big mouth guessed correctly.

Chen Guanlou nodded vigorously.

It was likely the Six Gates Bureau leaked the news. The Dalisi had held back all this time, waiting to strike decisively today.

But the Dalisi knew only half the story. They knew the Six Gates Bureau swapped prisoners—wrong goods—but didn’t know Chen Guanlou had plugged the gap by killing the real Ma Liu.

He immediately summoned Lu Datou. “Take my name card to the Six Gates Bureau and find Meng Laoda. Tell him: their deed has been exposed. The Dalisi has proof. Let him watch himself.”

Lu Datou took the name card and asked, “If Meng Laoda asks what I should do, how should I answer him?”

“Tell him: know your place. Don’t break protocol. Control everyone’s mouths—say the wrong thing, and you’ll die.”

The Dalisi had clearly come prepared, targeting the Ministry of Justice specifically.

He needed to inform Sun Daoning.

“Someone! Go at once to the city’s outer graveyard. Dig up Ma Liu’s corpse and secure it. No one is to approach it without my order.”

The Dalisi means trouble. With today’s heat, how much of Ma Liu’s corpse remains? Can his physical features still be identified?

Thank heaven and earth—under my management, the prison has become increasingly orderly these past years.

Corpses like Ma Liu’s, with no relatives to claim them, are buried deep. If we still followed the old ways—dumping bodies carelessly in the graveyard—they’d have been devoured by dogs long ago. I’d have no way to prove anything.

Standardized procedures are essential.

He summoned Xu Fugui and informed him of the matter.

“Control everyone’s mouths—especially the jailers’. Don’t panic and blab everything to every official. Tell the jailers: keep silent, get through this, and everyone gets a reward. As for you—watch yourself!”

Xu Fugui turned pale, his legs trembling. “M-my lord, why would the Dalisi care about Ma Liu’s case?”

“Don’t ask why. Just remember your story. Don’t slip up.”

“Maybe I should take sick leave—say I’m ill.”

“Look at you—so weak. Even if the sky falls, taller men will hold it up. Your job is to warn the jailers, learn from this, and don’t piss yourself just hearing the word Dalisi .”

Xu Fugui instinctively glanced down at his crotch. Chen Yucheng was lying—he hadn’t wet himself. But he was about to.