Chapter 991: Interrogation

Chen Guanlou hurried to the Ministry of Justice to seek out Sun Daoning.

He laid out the entire story of Ma Liu’s case in detail.

After hearing the full account, Sun Daoning sighed with relief.

“Thank heaven you acted swiftly and plugged the leak. That bunch of useless fools in the Six Gates Bureau can’t even handle a simple matter—they’ve been scheming behind the scenes. Meng Changgen deserved to die!”

“Why is the Court of Criminal Appeals targeting the Ministry of Justice?”

“Who in the Court of Criminal Appeals doesn’t target someone? They go after anyone they smell blood from. This Six Gates Bureau affair definitely has a mole—or someone blabbed. Just make sure Ma Liu’s corpse stays intact; I’ll handle everything else.”

Sun Daoning was furious, yet his words were evasive—he was clearly hiding something.

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow slightly. “My lord, if there’s something you’re not saying, you might as well tell me. At least I can run errands for you or clean up the mess. If you reveal nothing, don’t come crawling to me later.”

“What hidden matter? Just the usual stinking politics. Don’t overthink it! Just make sure Ma Liu’s corpse remains untouched.”

How could it remain untouched!

Buried underground for so many days—how could it possibly remain untouched!

After leaving the Ministry of Justice, Chen Guanlou went to the mortuary.

Ma Liu’s corpse had already been exhumed from the mass grave.

In this sweltering heat, the stench was so foul that even before reaching the mortuary, people kept their distance.

He quickly sealed off his sense of smell, afraid he might vomit on the spot and disgrace the Tianlao.

“What’s the situation?”

“Not good. The decay is severe.”

“Can you discern any physical features?”

The coroner nodded. “Some are still visible. The weather’s too hot, so I took the liberty of using lime to preserve it. Please don’t blame me, my lord.”

“You did right. Proper preservation measures were necessary—you’re not at fault. I’ll reward you.”

Following the coroner into the mortuary’s corpse chamber, Chen Guanlou saw Ma Liu’s body lying stiffly on a wooden slab. Most of the face had rotted away, making facial features unrecognizable.

The coroner was clever—he knew what Chen Guanlou wanted to see. He quickly lifted a corner of the corpse’s clothing to reveal the shoulder blades. “My lord, according to the records, Ma Liu had a birthmark on his left shoulder blade—it’s still fairly clear. Also, the scars on his legs match the descriptions in the files.”

With sufficient identifying features confirmed, Chen Guanlou finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Bring in men. Transport the corpse back to Tianlao. Wait for the Court of Criminal Appeals to inspect it.”

This job was awful!

Stinking and unlucky!

The jailers were reluctant, filled with resentment.

Chen Guanlou promptly promised a bonus afterward, which finally spurred their enthusiasm.

They didn’t hire professional funeral workers because they feared unexpected mishaps. Better to use their own men.

After the corpse was returned to Tianlao, the entire prison seemed saturated with the stench of decay—unbearable.

Chen Guanlou hurriedly ordered Mu Yiguan to find a way to eliminate the odor and ensure proper preservation.

Ice and lime weren’t enough. What medicine could preserve the corpse in its current state?

Mu Yiguan spread his hands. “Only poison. But then it’ll interfere with the autopsy. If the Court of Criminal Appeals uses that as an excuse to accuse us, we’ll be shooting ourselves in the foot.”

“Is there no other way?”

“Any method involves medicine. Once you use medicine, it taints the autopsy results—the Court of Criminal Appeals will have grounds to suspect Ma Liu’s death was staged and use it to pick a fight. Better to stick with traditional methods. The coroner’s preservation is sufficient. Even in this heat, as long as we have enough ice, it’ll still work.”

Chen Guanlou frowned, and with no alternative, accepted Mu Yiguan’s advice and ordered logistics to procure more ice.

The Court of Criminal Appeals acted swiftly—by the next day, they began investigating Ma Liu’s case, interrogating personnel from both the Six Gates Bureau and Tianlao.

Everyone grumbled: Why should the Court of Criminal Appeals meddle in the Ministry of Justice’s affairs? Why come to their territory to investigate?

But this time, the Court held the Imperial Sword, with imperial approval to probe the Ministry’s corruption case—everyone had to cooperate.

The Court official assigned to interrogate Tianlao was surnamed Ji, in his forties, slightly overweight, with a well-proportioned face and good rapport with others. But his eyes—like a wolf’s—made people shiver when he observed them.

Clearly an experienced investigator.

Chen Guanlou ushered him into the office and brewed tea with ordinary leaves meant for unfamiliar guests.

“My lord, shall we begin now? First to the corpse chamber, or…?”

“Later.”

“Very well. Whatever you say, my lord. What would you like to know?”

Chen Guanlou sat down casually, facing him directly.

Official Ji visibly raised an eyebrow—taken aback by Chen Guanlou’s tone of equality. In official rank, they differed by over ten grades—where was the equality? Logically, Chen Guanlou should have sat lower.

Yet he didn’t correct him, but asked directly: “According to the records, Tianlao imprisoned Ma Liu in mid-February.”

“Correct.”

“The jailer Xu Fugui signed and stamped the intake documents. Why was there no signature or stamp from Chen Yucheng?”

“No regulation requires the jail warden to sign. Ma Liu was a major bandit—his status only needed the jailer’s signature.”

“So when Ma Liu was imprisoned, you knew nothing of the case and never saw him?”

“That’s right.”

“Is Tianlao’s management this lax?”

“Does every case investigated by the Court of Criminal Appeals require your personal signature and stamp, Official Ji?” Chen Guanlou countered.

Official Ji raised an eyebrow slightly. “You seem dissatisfied with the Court’s investigation.”

Chen Guanlou spread his hands. “I don’t know what’s wrong with Ma Liu’s case. Why reopen it days after his death? They say you suspect Ma Liu isn’t Ma Liu—but the corpse is right there in the chamber. Isn’t that obvious? You’ve brought your own coroner—why not skip the interrogation and go straight to the autopsy?”

“Not yet. Since you weren’t the one who processed Ma Liu’s intake, I have nothing to ask you. Next, I’ll question Xu Fugui, who handled the intake, and the jailers who guarded Ma Liu. Are they all present?”

“They’re waiting in the adjacent room. Call them in whenever you’re ready.”

“Then start with Xu Fugui!”

Chen Guanlou stepped out of the office. Xu Fugui entered. They exchanged a glance: Watch your tongue!

Xu Fugui was nervous, sweat pouring down. Chen Guanlou gave him a firm pat on the shoulder. “Go in. Answer whatever Official Ji asks. Remember—you’re Ministry of Justice personnel!”

Xu Fugui nodded vigorously.

As Chen Guanlou stepped into the Jiashizi Large Jail’s office, everyone rushed to greet him.

Mu Yiguan asked first: “How did it go?”

Chen Guanlou sneered. “They’re not here for friendly chat.”