Chapter 993: The rat race is inhumanly cruel

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In the end, Lord Ji signed and sealed the documents with great reluctance before flicking his sleeves and departing.

This investigation of the Heavenly Prison had returned empty-handed.

The prison guards of the Heavenly Prison were as tight-lipped as clams. Actually, that wasn't important; as long as they found key evidence and threw this bunch of guards into the interrogation room, using all one hundred and eight methods, they wouldn't have to worry about them not opening their mouths.

The point was the key evidence: Ma Liu's corpse was actually real, and not a single trace of fakery could be found.

It had been so difficult to tear open a gap in such a major case. As it turned out, the gap was reasonable, legal, authentic, and valid, and it could even conversely prove the innocence of the Ministry of Justice, which was being investigated. Who could endure this?

Was the entire plan collapsing just like that?

They were so unwilling! So unwilling!

Chen Guanlou led the prison guards to watch Lord Ji and his party depart.

The guards spat one after another.

The Grand Court of Revision wanted to manage things over the Ministry of Justice's head? They were daydreaming.

Once the pressure dissipated, Xu Fugui sat down on the ground with a thud, looking incredibly disheveled. Yet, no one mocked him; instead, they understood him well.

Chen Guanlou walked up and patted the other man's shoulder. "The first hurdle is passed. Rest easy!"

"Could there be a second hurdle?" Xu Fugui couldn't believe it, looking incomparably terrified.

"The Grand Court of Revision certainly won't let the matter rest here. If they can't find a breakthrough point here at the Heavenly Prison, they'll look elsewhere. In such a large yamen, there are always a few things that can't see the light of day. I told you all in the past: don't be too greedy, do things according to the rules, and the sky won't fall. This time is a lesson. If I hadn't patched the loopholes in time, everyone in the Bing-grade prison, from top to bottom, would have died!"

The word "died" made all the guards of the Bing-grade prison fall silent, their faces showing lingering fear.

Sweat dripped into their eyes, stinging them painfully.

Xu Fugui raised his hand to wipe it away. "What do we do next?"

"What do you mean, what do we do? Do what you're supposed to do; don't panic. Go on duty when it's your turn, take leave when it's your turn. Also, have less to do with that bunch of trash from the Six Shanmen. If nothing goes wrong, it was the Six Shanmen who leaked the news this time."

Chen Guanlou held that bunch of brothers from the Six Shanmen in low regard; it was bad enough that they were sloppy in their work, but they also couldn't keep their mouths shut. Now that they had come knocking, he hoped the people from the Six Shanmen would be a bit more capable and not spill the truth just because someone scared them.

"How should we handle Ma Liu's corpse?" Medical Official Mu stepped forward to ask.

The stench of the corpse—no matter how much they tried to prevent the odor, in the middle of summer, there was still a smell drifting out. It made the entire Heavenly Prison reek. Every day when he returned home, he had to wash at least two or three times just to barely get the smell off his body.

If things went on like this, life would be unbearable.

Medical Official Mu hoped to drag the corpse outside the city to be buried as soon as possible; it couldn't be kept for long!

Chen Guanlou, however, said: "As long as the case isn't closed, the corpse must continue to be kept in the morgue. Tell people to use more ice. If there isn't enough ice, have the accounting office authorize funds to purchase it."

"The weather this year is clearly hotter than last year, and the price of ice has gone up."

"Even if the price has gone up, we still have to buy it. I'll try to get the Ministry of Justice to reimburse this expense."

He was cleaning up the mess for the Six Shanmen, so the cost of preserving the corpse should rightfully be borne by the Six Shanmen. He would find time to argue this account with Sun Daoning.

Public funds had to be calculated down to the last cent; don't be falsely generous. The more generous and uncalculating you are, the more the higher-ups will deduct from you.

Fighting for every cent is one of the essential qualities of eating from the public trough.

If you don't fight for it today, tomorrow the neighboring brother unit will be riding on your head to take a dump.

"We can't just keep it here forever!" Medical Official Mu reminded him cryptically. In the hot weather, with a corpse like that, he had to be careful about an epidemic breaking out.

Chen Guanlou spread his hands, indicating he was helpless. "What can I do? I'd love to drag the corpse out and bury it right now. But, as long as the case isn't closed, can I bury it? Who knows when the Grand Court of Revision might come back to examine the corpse. The Censorate certainly won't be idle either. It's useless for you to urge me; you have to urge the Ministry of Justice, urge Minister Sun. Have him quickly find a way to take down the Grand Court of Revision."

Medical Official Mu looked melancholy. After thinking for a moment, he said: "I'll store the corpse separately and use medicine in the surrounding area, trying my best not to affect the corpse."

Chen Guanlou nodded repeatedly; it was indeed time to use some medicine. After all, he didn't know how long it would have to be stored.

He reminded him again: "Also, find a master of painting to make realistic drawings every day, recording the changes in the corpse. This is to avoid the corpse decaying severely after a long time, making it impossible to see its original appearance. Remember, when drawing, strip off all the clothes; you must make the physical features clearly visible and easy to understand at a glance!"

"We have to draw pictures too?" Medical Official Mu was stunned. "Is that necessary?"

"It's very necessary! After drawing, take it to the coroner every day, and you too, to sign and seal it, ensuring the authenticity of the drawings. In case there's a war of words in the future, at least we'll have evidence to produce. That's much stronger than just empty words."

Medical Official Mu reluctantly accepted this explanation.

As for a master of painting, after thinking it over, Medical Official Mu decided to do it himself. If he went outside to look, he wouldn't find anyone. When people heard it was to draw a corpse, and to draw it every day, no one would pay him any mind. If it were serious, they might just slap him.

In this day and age, those who knew painting, especially portraiture, were first and foremost scholars. Scholars were respectable people who wouldn't even step foot inside the gate of the Heavenly Prison, so how could they possibly draw a corpse?

Chen Guanlou was surprised. "Old Mu, you're full of hidden talents; you actually know painting too."

"It's average. When I was studying, I dabbled in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. When you were studying, my lord, didn't you learn these?"

"Me? I'm just a half-filled bucket!" Chen Guanlou frankly admitted he knew nothing, only how to spend money. He didn't feel the slightest bit embarrassed.

Medical Official Mu's mouth twitched. "Prepare the brush and ink; I need the best quality. If it's not top-tier brush and ink, my hands will be stiff, and I won't be able to draw well."

"These are all small matters; I'll order people to purchase them right now. The key is, I want it realistic; are you sure you can do it?"

"What's difficult about mere realism? Mu Qingshan can do it too. It's just that he doesn't like to paint, and his level is limited."

Medical Official Mu was very confident.

Chen Guanlou, however, was half-doubting.

It wasn't until he saw Medical Official Mu pick up the brush to paint with his own eyes—it was realistic, the effect was similar to a sketch, the physical features were clearly visible and easy to understand at a glance—that he became convinced that Old Mu never bragged. Just like him, one word from him was as good as a nail.

A top student!

Why didn't he take the imperial examinations back then, but chose to practice medicine instead?

"The imperial examinations aren't that easy to pass. With my level, I could only fool the illiterate commoners. Compared to true masters of painting and the lucky winners of the imperial examinations, I'm far behind!"

"You're being humble!"

"I'm not being humble! Do you think I haven't taken the imperial examinations? It's that I couldn't pass. I took them three times in a row and didn't place. Sigh..." Mentioning the past, Old Mu also looked melancholy.

If he had passed the imperial examinations back then, his fate would have been a different story.

Chen Guanlou:...

It was he who was shallow!

He thought that people who could pass the imperial examinations and become officials were just so-so. Dealing with criminal officials every day, his standards were too high. Only someone like Xie Changling could be called a top student and talent.

As it turned out, anyone who could pass the imperial examinations was a one-in-ten-thousand lucky person with real talent and learning; there was no room for any fakery.

Old Mu had talent and learning, yet he hadn't even touched the edge of the imperial examinations.

The track of the imperial examinations was too competitive, so competitive that it lost all humanity. ===== CHAPTER 994 =====