Chapter 994: Sun Daoning Wants to Kill

The Dali Temple took two men away from the Six Ministries Office.

Damn it!

Chen Guanlou met with Meng Laoda of the Six Ministries Office and asked him, “Can you silence them?”

Meng Laoda looked uneasy, his eyes slightly glazed, but he clenched his teeth and said, “Absolutely! The autopsy revealed nothing—no matter how the Dali Temple investigates, the Ma Liu case won’t have any issues.”

Chen Guanlou sneered, “Have you figured out who leaked the news? The problem definitely isn’t here in the Tianlao.”

Meng Laoda tried to argue, but was cut off: “The Dali Temple looks down on everyone—they despise Tianlao jailers and refuse to deal with them. But your Six Ministries Office is different; you’re proper officials, so the Dali Temple naturally respects you more.”

“Are you so certain it was one of your Six Ministries Office men who leaked it?” Meng Laoda still clung to denial.

Chen Guanlou didn’t indulge him—he gave a cold smile. “Then what? The Tianlao jailers didn’t even know about the Ma Liu case. At first, they didn’t even know the prisoner inside was a fake Ma Liu.”

“The Dali Temple came prepared—they clearly had inside information. Someone who knew the details but didn’t know the real Ma Liu.”

Meng Laoda was speechless—there was no defense left.

“What about the Ministry of Justice?”

“Unless you swapped the identities and made deals with certain people in the Ministry. Did you?”

Meng Laoda stayed silent, his face growing darker, heavy with worry.

Both fell silent.

After a moment, Chen Guanlou broke the silence: “What’s the situation with the two men taken by the Dali Temple?”

“Those two boys are cowards. When questioned, they got scared and showed clear signs of panic. The Dali Temple must’ve thought they were a weak point, so they issued a formal order to take them away.”

“You didn’t warn them beforehand? Didn’t prep them?”

“I warned them—repeatedly. I even gave them scripted answers. They all promised perfectly on the surface—who knew they’d crack the moment real pressure came? Their fear showed right through!”

“Pathetic!” Chen Guanlou sneered.

“Worse than Tianlao jailers!”

The insult was harsh. Meng Laoda wanted to retort, but had no Diqi . After all, the Dalisi had failed at Tianlao but found success at the Six Shanmen .

As their leader, he felt this was a disgrace!

“Getting worse every year! Are you recruiting only connections now?” Chen Guanlou asked coldly.

Meng Laoda let out a bitter laugh. “Chen brother, don’t say any more—I’m already suffering enough.”

One insult after another—this was unbearable.

Chen Guanlou snorted. “Think about how to clean this up.”

“What if…?” Meng Laoda hardened his resolve and made a throat-slitting gesture.

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow, silently mocking him. “So you want me to be your executioner?”

“Please, Chen brother, lend me a hand!”

“So ruthless toward your own men? Do they know you’re this cruel?”

“I have no choice! I’ll support their families from now on.”

“You’ve lost your mind!” Chen Guanlou cursed without restraint, ignoring face or camaraderie. “You think killing them solves anything? Naive! If they die now, the Dali Temple isn’t stupid—they’ll guess it was the Ministry of Justice. If this blows up, the case will drag on forever, and everyone will be ruined.”

“Then what do you suggest? Those two boys are already in the interrogation room—they won’t hold out. They’ll spill everything.”

Meng Laoda’s hands were trembling!

He was terrified!

If the truth came out and superiors investigated, losing his post was the least of it. Worse—he’d lose his head. Walk to the execution ground, and decades of effort turned to dust.

Chen Guanlou glanced at his fear and sneered. “What’s there to fear? The corpse is real—the case is real. Even if the process was messy, what evidence is there? The key witness—the real Ma Liu—is lying in the morgue. No matter what the Dali Temple claims, they can’t overturn the Ministry of Justice with mere hearsay.”

This case doesn’t hinge on anything else—it hinges on Ma. At least I don’t have to worry about my people cracking under pressure and turning traitor!”

Meng Laoda wiped his face. “Chen brother, help me. I dare not go to the Ministry of Justice—I’m afraid Sun Daoning will kill me. Think of something. I’ll repay you handsomely.”

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow. “Poison them.”

“Poison who?” Meng Laoda didn’t catch on.

Chen Guanlou looked at him with utter contempt. “Your two useless subordinates, of course.”

Meng Laoda slapped his own head. “Chen brother, you’re brilliant! Poison—yes, poison. Best if it renders them unable to endure interrogation, and unable to speak. Why didn’t I think of this before?”

“Do you have someone in the Dali Temple?” Chen Guanlou asked curiously, lowering his voice.

Meng Laoda chuckled smugly. “I’ve been around the capital for years—I’m not useless. I know everyone in every office. Especially among peers—I can name any of them. As for the Dalisi … I can’t say much, but in the prison section… Heihei …”

“Be careful. They might already be watching, waiting for you to walk into a trap.”

“Chen brother, I know the stakes. I have reliable people—I’ll get it done without a trace. But I’ll need Mu Yiguan from Tianlao to help with the poison.”

“That’s simple!”

They reached an agreement.

Meng Laoda went to contact his operatives; Chen Guanlou returned to Tianlao to get the poison from Mu Yiguan.

Mu Yiguan frowned deeply when he heard the request, his expression full of disdain. “How can Six Ministries Office men be this useless?”

“Exactly! Beyond my imagination!” Chen Guanlou agreed eagerly. “In the end, it’s management failure—these men are vermin. One scare and they crack. Truly pathetic! Enough said—Old Mu, do you have any such poison?”

“I do. But whoever takes it will suffer.”

“Suffering is deserved!” Chen Guanlou wasn’t worried—as long as they didn’t die.

Mu Yiguan went home himself to fetch the poison. When handing it over, he asked, “Will this really solve the problem?”

Chen Guanlou replied solemnly: “That’s why we need to clean it up! Meng Changgen is terrified—he’s afraid Sun Daoning will kill him, so he’s hiding from the Ministry of Justice. If he messes up again, even heaven itself can’t save his life.”