My daily cultivation progress is calculated.

Chapter 9 Young Master Nongyu

At dawn, the power within the Dao Fruit arrived as expected.

Shen Yan felt that he had become stronger again, and the ninth rank seemed to be within reach.

A faint golden light emanated from his body, but it quickly disappeared.

This is a characteristic of the Golden Body Technique.

Breaking through to the ninth rank should be a matter of time, and Shen Yan is not in a hurry. He has plenty of time; he is still young.

After checking the outside and the yard and confirming that no traces had been left, Shen Yan went to work in the imperial prison.

They brought some food for Zhu Zhengyang and Lin Changfu and delivered it to them during their patrols.

As for Li Wu in cell number 22, Shen Yan chose not to see him and instead had Sun Fugui bring him food.

To avoid hearing things you shouldn't and getting into trouble.

Shen Yan told Zhu Zhengyang about the situation of his wife and children.

Upon hearing that it was the leader of the Giant Whale Gang who had taken in his wife and children, Zhu Zhengyang looked up to the sky and wept bitterly, repeatedly kowtowing towards the outside of the prison.

"Shen Yan, thank you so much. I will repay this great kindness in the next life."

"It's nothing, just a small favor."

Zhu Zhengyang only has a few days left to live, and the day of his execution is drawing ever closer.

The introduction to the Golden Body Technique gave Shen Yan ideas about internal energy cultivation methods.

External training is ultimately a minor path; in novels and movies of my past life, true masters cultivated both internal and external skills.

"Old Zhu, don't seek revenge in the next life. Do you have any internal cultivation techniques? You're going to die soon anyway, so pass them on to me."

"Shen Yan, you think too highly of me. Internal cultivation techniques are extremely precious, how could someone like me from the Canal Gang possibly possess them? At your age, your physical constitution has already closed off, so even if you truly possess extraordinary skills, it would be difficult for you to achieve anything."

"Take my advice: save your money and get married as soon as possible; that's the right thing to do."

Shen Yan was somewhat disappointed; it seemed that Zhu Zhengyang really didn't know.

When they arrived at Lin Changfu's cell, his injuries had healed considerably after being treated with medicine, and he was able to stand up and move around.

Upon seeing Shen Yan's arrival, Lin Changfu showed gratitude, but suddenly his expression changed, as if he had made a decision.

"Shen Yan, thank you for inviting the doctor. I have another request."

Upon hearing Lin Changfu's words, Shen Yan immediately became wary.

"Manager Lin, I can't handle anything too difficult. I'm just a jailer."

Lin Changfu said softly to him, "I want you to help me have an heir."

Shen Yan frowned slightly: "Your wife and children are all on the list, and they will be executed in three days. You should know that this is impossible."

"I also have a mistress who is pregnant and about to give birth. I hope you can help me out."

Upon hearing the explanation, Shen Yan fell into deep thought.

"I won't let you work for nothing. I have some money hidden somewhere, at least several thousand taels. You'll take 70%, and the other 30% will go to the mother and daughter. How about that?"

Shen Yan was tempted. Several thousand taels of silver! He knew Lin Changfu was rich, but he didn't expect him to be this rich.

"Don't you like practicing martial arts? Without a lot of money to buy medicinal herbs, how can you achieve anything?"

"Alright, shopkeeper, I'll help you this time."

Upon hearing Shen Yan's answer, Lin Changfu's face lit up with a smile, and he told him the location of the hidden treasure.

He had no other choice. Lin Changfu's accident happened too suddenly, leaving no way out, and his mistress didn't have much money.

In order to ensure his own future, he had no choice but to go all out and choose to trust Shen Yan.

Lin Changfu had some reservations before, but after Shen Yan invited a doctor, he was convinced that Shen Yan was a good person.

Shen Yan was in a good mood upon receiving this news.

However, he did not intend to retrieve it immediately. Lin Changfu was still alive, and he did not know if there were still Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) watching him.

It's not too late to make it after the storm has passed.

Back in his office, he began to listen to the jailers chatting.

I wanted to know if there was any news about the man in black last night, but unfortunately, the guards didn't talk about it.

Shen Yan deliberately steered the conversation toward whether anything major had happened in Bianjing last night, but no one knew the answer.

He thought to himself, "It seems they really don't know."

He hadn't heard any news about the capture of the thieves last night either. In Shen Yan's mind, there were only two possibilities for such a secret matter.

Either the matter is too trivial to be mentioned, or it's too serious to be discussed publicly.

Shen Yan naturally hoped it was a small matter, but the man in black last night was a rank-1 martial artist, so the latter was obviously much more likely.

I thought I had handled it fairly cleanly, and the man in black didn't have anything else on him, so I figured no one would come looking for me.

……

……

A new prisoner has arrived at the imperial jail. He is a notorious womanizer known in the martial arts world as the Jade-Playing Young Master.

He was assigned to a cell under Shen Yan's jurisdiction.

Shen Yan had seen Nongyu Gongzi's face when he delivered the food, and he had to admit that he was good-looking and had a handsome face.

If he weren't imprisoned, anyone who saw him would call him a refined gentleman.

This man acts peculiarly, claiming to steal hearts and then steal women, and his targets are always women who are already engaged.

Shen Yan looked at his file and sighed inwardly.

"It has a style reminiscent of Cao Cao."

The reason he was imprisoned this time was because he had run into a tough nut to crack: he had gotten involved with the daughter of Yuan Qingshi, the Left Vice Censor of the Censorate.

The two were caught red-handed by Yuan Qingshi during their tryst, and he originally intended to beat Nongyu Gongzi to death on the spot.

However, Yuan Qingshi's daughter, Yuan Huamei, threatened to commit suicide, leaving him with no choice but to have her imprisoned in the Dali Temple.

Somehow the news leaked out and became known throughout the city, naturally not hiding it from her husband's family. It also reached the ears of Yan Zhun'an, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, who was also a member of the Qingliu faction.

Civil officials value their reputation above all else. How could he tolerate his fiancée having an affair with a womanizer? Naturally, he broke off the engagement.

They demanded that the Dali Temple kill Nongyu Gongzi, but Yuan Huamei couldn't bear to part with her lover and threatened to kill herself to force her father to protect him.

The Court of Judicial Review was caught in a dilemma, so it simply threw this hot potato into the Ministry of Justice's prison.

Shen Yan touched his face.

"I'm not bad-looking at all, so why don't any girls like me?"

He was genuinely envious of Nongyu Gongzi's skills in picking up girls, so he decided to starve him for a day to avenge those innocent women.

Soon someone contacted him and asked him to pass on a message.

The visitor was Yuan Qingshi's steward.

He didn't take Shen Yan seriously in his words. Even a seventh-rank official is no match for a prime minister, let alone a steward in the household of a third-rank official.

How could Shen Yan, a lowly prison official, possibly be of any interest to him?

"Hand this note to Young Master Nongyu, and this silver note is yours."

Seeing the fifty-tael silver note in his hand, Shen Yan pondered for a moment and then agreed.

It wasn't a big deal anyway, but as for rejecting him, Shen Yan was afraid he wouldn't see the sun rise the next day.

After the butler left, Shen Yan opened the note and read its contents.

These were merely words used to persuade Young Master Nongyu to comply.

Feeling reassured, he returned to the prison and handed the note to Young Master Nongyu.

To everyone's surprise, the young master Nongyu flew into a rage.

"This is outrageous! This old scoundrel, tell him to give up on that idea."

This puzzled Shen Yan greatly.

He'd won over a beautiful woman and snagged a powerful patron; what did he have to be angry about?

Surely Yuan Huamei isn't ugly, is she?

Then why would he go and flirt with her? Does he have a collecting fetish?

There must be something hidden behind this.