My daily cultivation progress is calculated.

Chapter 55 Countermeasures?! No need for countermeasures! Just let nature take its course!

Shen Yan returned to his cell.

He saw that Ma Danian and Lü Youcai had been waiting for a long time.

Upon seeing Shen Yan arrive, Lü Youcai quickly stood up and asked:

"This matter concerning Head Shen should be handled in this way: Is Warden Zeng truly incorruptible, or is he merely feigning incorruptibility?"

Ma Danian also chimed in:

"Yes! Are we still going to hold the welcome banquet at Chunfeng Tower tonight? And are we still going to give them the money we prepared?"

Shen Yan teased, "Why don't you guys give it a try?"

Ma Danian shook his head: "His surname is Zeng. I might dare to try if it were anyone else, but him? I wouldn't dare."

"Yes! His surname is Zeng, so he must be a relative of Prime Minister Zeng. Who would dare to test him with money? So the important person you were talking about is this one."

Shen Yan sighed.

They couldn't quite figure out Zeng Wenyuan's intentions either. There were one or two hundred jailers and servants in the prison.

They relied entirely on bribes from prisoners to survive, and he cut off their lives with just a few words. How could these prison guards not rebel?

Lu Youcai spoke up, "So, are we still going to pay?"

Ma Danian said, "I won't fight! If I offend him now that I've just taken office, it will be even more difficult in the future."

Lu Youcai, his face full of worry, suddenly said sternly:

"How are we going to pay our monthly wages if the prison charges are so high? Damn it, I don't believe he'd dare kill us all."

Shen Yan knew that Lü Youcai was being pushed to the limit, and most of the prison guards probably thought the same way.

Ma Danian will be retiring in a few years, and since he doesn't gamble and has savings, he's probably looking for a more stable life now.

The other prison guards had no habit of saving money and were always extravagant; cutting off their income was like taking their lives.

Lu Youcai glared at Ma Danian, then looked at Shen Yan, waiting for him to speak.

Seeing the two arguing, Shen Yan laughed and said:

"Just do your job properly, what's there to argue about? Isn't the prison's food shortage a concern for the warden?"

Lu Youcai suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed:

"That's right! Why should we worry? Just do our job well. It's freezing cold here, and the prisoners have no way to keep warm. It wouldn't be surprising if a few death row inmates froze to death."

Shen Yan thought to himself, "This Lü Youcai is ruthless; he actually wants to make things even bigger."

He stopped Lü Youcai from doing so, as it could easily get him into trouble as well.

Ma Danian didn't understand what the two were saying, so he quickly pressed for an explanation.

Lü Youcai replied with a smile:

"We're not the only ones worried about not being able to pay into the prison; even the officials in the Ministry of Justice rely on bribes from the prison to make a living. If they won't let us pay, we won't. In a few days, it'll be time to hand over the money, let's see how they explain themselves then."

The gloom on Lü Youcai and Ma Danian's faces vanished instantly.

The prison guards' salaries and the expenses of the imperial prison should be reported directly to Zeng Wenyuan, giving him a headache.

They knew this was a last resort, since Zeng Wenyuan was their superior.

In officialdom, many things cannot be resolved through fighting and killing.

Ma Danian and Lü Youcai were about to go down and make arrangements.

Shen Yan said, "During this time, make sure the jailers behave themselves and don't stand out, otherwise no one can protect them."

The next few days.

Zeng Wenyuan observed that the prison guards were all performing their duties diligently, and he did not see any instances of them accepting bribes from the prisoners' families.

He felt extremely pleased: "The previous prison wardens were simply incompetent; they couldn't even handle this simple task."

The inability to accept money was causing anxiety not only for the prison guards and officials, but also for the prisoners' families. None of the guards dared to accept the money.

Fearing that his family would suffer in prison, he had no choice but to offer an even higher price to bribe the prison guards.

Shen Yan, however, had no time to deal with these matters. He had already instructed the guards of Prison A not to get involved.

These past few days, I've been completely immersed in practicing martial arts.

After several days of arduous practice, he finally mastered the "Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique".

As consciousness sank into his mind, he could already see a bronze-colored figure on the Golden Body Dao Fruit, constantly pounding his physical body.

Indeed, the images condensed from superior kung fu are different.

"I've finally gotten the hang of it, but I wonder when I'll be able to complete the third stage."

Internal energy cultivation is still too slow. Although the "Longevity Manual" is a peerless skill, it is extremely difficult to cultivate.

Shen Yan sighed inwardly:

"No wonder this internal energy can prolong life; if you don't live a long time, you won't see the day you reach your full potential."

With the Dao Fruit within him, his talent was no less than that of ordinary geniuses, and he broke through without any bottlenecks, putting him ahead of others.

Even so, he's only at the eighth rank. I wonder what level Li Wu has reached in his cultivation.

These past few days, Zeng Wenyuan has had no interest in causing trouble for Shen Yan; he has been overwhelmed by the various reports from the prison guards.

[Cell No. C is in dire need of repair; if it is not repaired in time, the prisoners may not be able to survive the harsh winter.]

The logistics department is running low on food and needs to make purchases; otherwise, the prisoners won't even have rice gruel to drink tomorrow.

The prison guards have not received their pay for two years and are starving. They implore the prison magistrate to petition the Ministry of Justice for a grant.

……

Zeng Wenyuan threw the report brought by the jailer onto the ground while he was in the cell.

"These lowly officials have really gone too far!"

"Old Master, don't be angry. It's not worth ruining your health."

These past few days, the prison guards haven't found anything wrong with the reports; they've all been just routine, everyday matters.

However, Zeng Wenyuan saw this as deliberately making things difficult for him, as the words were all about money.

This was clearly an order to him not to accept bribes, a form of resistance.

The case of Prison A is even more difficult to handle, as it involves convicted officials, all of whom have impressive backgrounds.

Ever since Zeng Wenyuan waved his hand and cut off the prison guards' source of income, preventing them from accepting bribes from the prisoners' families.

The food for these convicted officials became the same as that for the common people in the third prison, while these officials were used to living in luxury.

How could they possibly stomach this rice gruel, which is worse than swill?

For a time, complaints filled the prison.

Yao Jing and Zeng Wenyuan had never dealt with these kinds of things before. They usually spent most of their time attending poetry gatherings and discussing national affairs with literary figures.

He commented on the court officials, and incidentally belittled the Yan faction and Xun Gui.

They were overwhelmed with problems and had no idea where to begin.

Yao Jing could only ask Ma Danian, who was gentle and easy to manipulate.

pity.

He was disappointed. Ma Danian knew nothing when asked, and kept saying that the prison warden had always handled things, and that they, as subordinates, should just do their jobs.

soon.

An incident occurred in the prison. A prisoner in cell A drank coarse rice soup and suffered from indigestion, vomiting, and diarrhea.

In addition, he was quite old and almost died in prison.

Although Zeng Wenyuan had a powerful background, it's impossible for someone who can become an official not to have some kind of powerful backer.

In addition, he has now incurred the wrath of the public, and many family members of convicted officials have sent messages to the Ministry of Justice through various intermediaries.

It even reached Feng Xiu's ears. As the Minister of Justice, he naturally couldn't possibly pay attention to the imperial prison.

When Ding Anzhi was summoned for questioning, it was learned that the Imperial Prison had recently been given a new warden.

Ding Anzhi was also unaware of the details, so he could only agree first and then find Fang Jingxing.

Fang Jingxing looked confused and said:

"What could possibly happen in this prison? The Grand Tutor has been released long ago, and there aren't any important figures in the prison."

"You really don't know? I've heard that the prison is in complete chaos, and the news has even reached the ears of the Minister."

Fang Jingxing frowned slightly and said:

"The Imperial Prison is a place rife with corruption and chaos, so it shouldn't be surprising! The new prison warden is a distant relative of the Prime Minister, so what kind of trouble could possibly arise from managing a small prison?"

Ding Anzhi waved his hand and said:

"Go and find out the details, and while you're at it, collect this month's share of the profits. The year-end is approaching, so a day or two won't make a difference."

Upon hearing Ding Anzhi's words, Fang Jingxing had no choice but to obey and leave.

He thought to himself, "Isn't Lord Ding being a bit too sensitive? The imperial prison is already rotten to the core, how much worse can it get?"