My daily cultivation progress is calculated.

Chapter 7: Meeting an Old Friend, Things Have Changed

Shen Yan was reviewing the prisoners' files in the office.

suddenly.

He flipped to a name that looked familiar.

"Lin Changfu? It must be a coincidence, right?"

Upon closer examination of the case files, it appears to be the same person.

When they received the prisoner just now, they didn't recognize him at all. The imperial prison is truly no place for humans.

Lin Changfu was arrested and imprisoned by the Embroidered Uniform Guard because of his involvement with the White Lotus Sect.

Shen Yan calculated the time and realized it was shortly after he resigned from his job.

Seeing that it was an acquaintance, and since it was lunchtime, Shen Yan carried a food bucket and delivered the food.

Arriving at the cell where Lin Changfu was being held, I saw a slightly overweight figure inside.

Although his face was covered in blood and unrecognizable, his figure was the same as that of Manager Lin in my memory.

"Manager Lin?"

Lin Changfu heard someone calling his name and struggled to lift his head.

"Shen Yan!"

Lin Changfu never expected to meet Shen Yan in such a place, in such a capacity; it was arguably the last thing he wanted in his life.

Lin Changfu crawled over, and Shen Yan scooped up the few remaining grains of rice from the bottom of the bucket and served him a bowl of thin porridge.

He didn't bother to talk to Shen Yan and started wolfing down his food.

"Manager Lin, how did you get involved with the White Lotus Sect?"

"Heh! Do the Embroidered Uniform Guards care about evidence and excuses? It's good to have a big tree to lean on, but if the big tree falls, I, the monkey on the tree, will naturally be in trouble."

Shen Yan recalled that the mastermind behind the Sifang Trading Company was an official from the Ministry of Revenue. Judging from his words, it seemed that his backer had fallen, and he had taken care of Lin Changfu as well.

"Alas! We are but insignificant weeds, as insignificant as dust, as fragile as mud, easily broken by the wind."

Shen Yan couldn't help but sigh. Two years ago, the White Lotus Sect raised its flag and rebelled in the north. Getting involved with them was a serious crime of treason, and the whole family would have to go to the execution ground at Caishikou.

"One should not be too rich. If you have money but no power, you are like duckweed on the river, at the mercy of others."

After chatting for a few minutes, Shen Yan continued delivering the food.

As Li Wu passed by cell number 22, he saw that it was Shen Yan who was delivering the food, and he stood up.

"Have you figured things out and come to become my disciple? I practice a superior internal cultivation method."

Shen Yan rolled her eyes at him, tossed down a spoonful of rice porridge, and left.

She had already made up her mind that she would never bring him food again and would have Sun Fugui do it instead.

Li Wu watched his departing figure, a slight anger rising within him.

"Hmph! When your external martial arts skills have made no progress, you'll come begging to me."

After delivering the meal, Shen Yan was on his way back to his office.

Suddenly, four figures appeared ahead. Upon closer inspection, they were none other than the No. 1 prison guards of the Heavenly Prison, led by Da Niu.

Holding short sticks and with mocking expressions, they blocked Shen Yan's path.

They were clearly there to cause trouble; Shen Yan hadn't expected them to make a move right there in the prison.

"Shen Yan, there's no one here to help you."

"Go get him, just break one of his legs."

There was no unnecessary talk, clearly because he was afraid that other prison guards would see it and cause unforeseen complications.

At Da Niu's command, three jailers behind him charged toward Shen Yan with short sticks.

In his eyes, the prison guards' movements were full of flaws and their steps were unsteady.

"They all seem to be ordinary people who have never practiced martial arts. It's a good opportunity to try out the Taizu Long Fist at its peak."

They swung short sticks at Shen Yan, who dodged them by sidestepping and punched a prison guard in the chest.

The jailer was knocked back a few steps and fell to the ground, looking at Shen Yan with a shocked expression.

Shen Yan easily took down the remaining two, leaving only Da Niu staring at him in disbelief.

Shen Yan picked up the short stick from the ground and walked towards Da Niu.

"I'll just break one of your legs."

"You can't do that; it's illegal to hurt your colleagues."

"Harming a colleague is indeed illegal, but the four of you ganged up on me. It's perfectly reasonable for me to retaliate, and even if the prison magistrate intervenes, I'm in the right."

Shen Yan struck Da Niu on the shin with his stick, and Da Niu immediately let out a scream.

Da Niu's screams quickly alerted the other prison guards.

Shen Yan watched the prison guards with their waist knives tucked into their belts looking into the distance. Only when they saw it was Shen Yan did they feel relieved and walk over.

When Ma Danian saw the four people fall to the ground, and Shen Yan standing there unharmed with a rice bucket beside him, he immediately understood what had happened.

"Shen Yan, these people attacked you while you were on duty."

"Bullshit, Ma Danian, don't talk nonsense."

Hu Youtian walked over from a distance, saw his four men lying on the ground, and cursed inwardly.

"waste."

For a time, the two jailers, A and B, were arguing fiercely.

The prison guards never lacked amusement. In the past, it was the guards who entertained the prisoners, but now it was the prisoners' turn to entertain the guards. This was the first time they had ever seen it, and the news spread quickly.

Xu Shaogong also knew about their fight, so he summoned Hu Youtian, Ma Danian, and the others involved in the fight to his cell.

"What the hell is going on? Damn it, I just told you guys to be honest, but you just won't listen, right?"

Shen Yan sensed Xu Shaogong's anger from his words.

He was in the right, so naturally he had to defend himself. Da Niu and the others quickly retorted when they heard Shen Yan's words.

The two sides stuck to their own versions of events and started arguing in Xu Shaogong's cell.

"Enough! Clerk, go investigate! I want to see who's so bold as to ignore my words. If you can't find anything, send them all to the torture chamber. I refuse to believe that there's anything we can't get out of them under Sanmu!"

"Yes, sir."

Da Niu and his men did this without informing Hu Youtian. Hearing his subordinates' words, Hu Youtian assumed that Da Niu and his men had been wronged.

He showed no sign of backing down in his words.

Da Niu and the others turned pale with fright upon hearing Xu Shaogong's words; this matter could not withstand close scrutiny.

Xu Shaogong glanced around and saw that Shen Yan's expression was calm, while Da Niu and the other three looked flustered.

I've already made up my mind.

Soon the clerk returned to the cell and whispered something in Xu Shaogong's ear.

Xu Shaogong's face grew increasingly dark.

"Very well, the advisor just praised Shen Yan for his diligence, and you all immediately start finding fault, is that it!"

"It seems you don't take me, the prison warden, seriously, Hu Youtian!"

"grown ups."

Hu Youtian's face turned pale when he heard Xu Shaogong's words. In his heart, he had already cursed Da Niu and the others, and their ancestors for eighteen generations.

"You still think I'm the jailer? I thought this prison was under your jurisdiction now."

"Your Honor, I've been wronged! I wouldn't dare!"

"It's best if you don't dare. According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, what crime should Da Niu and the other three be punished?"

"Your Honor, assaulting a constable without cause is considered contempt for the imperial court and should be punished with fifty strokes of the cane."

Upon hearing this, Da Niu and his three companions turned deathly pale, terrified and wetting themselves in fear. They repeatedly knelt and kowtowed, begging Xu Shaogong to spare their lives.

Zhang Daquan only received ten strokes of the cane before losing his life; how could they possibly survive fifty strokes?

Seeing that the atmosphere was about right, Xu Shaogong's expression changed.

"Seeing that you sincerely admit your mistakes and that this is your first offense, I will fine you three months' share of the profits. Do you accept that?"

The four survivors dared not offer any opinions; they were too busy kowtowing and expressing their gratitude.

Xu Shaogong was quite satisfied and turned to Hu Youtian to say something.

"As their superior, you failed to properly train your subordinates, so you're being punished by having your share of the profits reduced by one month. Are you satisfied with that?"

Looking into his eyes, Hu Youtian dared not say no, and could only bow and thank him.

Having achieved his goal, Xu Shaogong ordered everyone back to their posts, leaving only himself and his advisor in the cell.