My daily cultivation progress is calculated.

Chapter 34 Su Lingfeng

It turned out that a new prisoner had arrived in cell A.

Shen Yan went to receive the person; this time, the person arrested was an imperial censor from the Censorate.

It was a rare occurrence for an imperial censor to be imprisoned; offending a censor was as unlucky as having dog poop stuck to your shoe.

According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, officials who speak out should not be punished for their words.

This leads them to speak without restraint, daring to curse anyone, and the more you get angry, the happier they are.

Shen Yan opened his file.

"Su Lingfeng, an imperial censor, has been accused of embezzling and accepting bribes, amounting to fifty taels?"

He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

Although everyone in the Great Zhou Dynasty was corrupt, the punishments for embezzlement and bribery were extremely severe.

Fifty taels, no more, no less, just enough to skin someone alive and burn them like a sky lantern.

Although nobody takes this seriously anymore, if someone were to delve into it, they could really get into serious trouble.

Shen Yan knew in his heart that Su Lingfeng must have been tricked.

"How pitiful. I wonder who he offended to deserve this treatment."

No official is immune to corruption, so people generally won't expose others for such a small amount.

Just as officials often choose to engage in open and covert struggles in the imperial court rather than assassination when scheming against each other.

The last time Song Mingli was poisoned, it was precisely because he broke a taboo. If everyone did the same, wouldn't the officialdom be in chaos?

Just as Shen Yan was drinking tea in the office, Wei Shitou rushed in.

"Chief Shen, someone outside the prison asked me to give you this."

Shen Yan looked at the rectangular wooden box in front of him with some curiosity.

Did they say who it was?

He said his surname is Shen and that he's a relative of yours.

"relative?"

Open the wooden box; inside is a five-hundred-tael silver note and a slip of paper.

"The person has been delivered. Please treat him well, Brother Yan."

Upon seeing the note, Shen Yan immediately realized that it was Su Lingfeng who had poisoned Song Mingli.

"Heh! He just accepted a bribe of fifty taels, he deserves to die."

"Wei Shitou, take Su Lingfeng to the torture chamber. I want to personally explain the rules of the Heavenly Prison to him."

Wei Shitou hesitated for a moment: "Shen Tou, he's an official. He only embezzled fifty taels. Who knows when he'll be out of office? Isn't that a bad thing?"

"Go out? Don't worry, he can't get out. Go quickly."

Although Wei Shitou wasn't as quick-witted as Chen Xiaoshuan, he wasn't stupid either.

He immediately realized that there was more to the story than he could know.

After bringing the person to the torture chamber, Shen Yan told everyone inside to leave first.

Why would an imperial censor risk poisoning Song Mingli?

Although Su Lingfeng had never been to a prison cell, he knew that he was in a torture chamber.

"What are you trying to do, you lowly official? You're torturing me now, but once I get out, I won't let you off the hook."

He looked at the torture instruments filling the room, his face filled with panic. The torture chamber smelled unpleasant, filled with a faint stench of decay and blood.

Su Lingfeng couldn't remember the last time he had been to such a harsh environment.

"Don't worry, Imperial Censor Su, you won't get out."

"I only embezzled fifty taels of silver, and I will be reinstated soon. I advise you not to do this."

"Just a heads-up, the previous inmate in your cell was Song Mingli."

A flicker of panic crossed Su Lingfeng's face, but he quickly regained his composure.

"So what... I'm not familiar with Song Mingli."

"Not familiar with him? Then why did you have someone drug him?"

Su Lingfeng remained calm and spoke with unwavering resolve.

"That's not true, you lowly official, don't spread dirty water."

It must be said that Su Lingfeng's face is quite dignified, which is further enhanced by this expression.

If it weren't for Shen Rong, Shen Yan might have actually hesitated.

Few officials in the Great Zhou Dynasty were ugly, since appearance was a factor in entering officialdom.

Those who are not upright or decent enough cannot become officials.

Shen Yan didn't waste any more words with him. He picked up the torture instruments and immediately began to use them.

After nearly half an hour, Su Lingfeng was barely breathing.

Shen Yan asked again.

"Tell me, why did you drug me?"

"What exactly is your relationship with Song Mingli that you treat me like this?"

"I'm being paid to do favors, and your behavior has made me very unhappy, so I want to make you feel bad too."

"Aren't you afraid I'll have someone retaliate against you?"

"Wait until you get out of here alive before you say that!"

Su Lingfeng knew this hurdle would be difficult to overcome, so in order to suffer less, he had no choice but to tell the truth.

It turns out that Su Lingfeng belonged to the Qingliu faction, while Song Mingli was a relative of the Duke's family, so he was naturally classified as a meritorious official.

Wen and Wu were mortal enemies. Su Lingfeng overheard that Song Mingli was going to take up an official post in the Censorate.

Yuan Qingshi was troubled by this matter.

Coincidentally, Song Mingli was convicted of a crime for his words and is currently in prison.

Su Lingfeng believed his opportunity had arrived.

If he could bribe the jailer to die in the prison, and if it actually worked, it might open up a future for him.

Unfortunately, he didn't win.

When Shen Yan mentioned Song Mingli, he knew that his plan had been exposed.

He also understood why Shen Yan said he couldn't get out of the prison.

The physical torture, coupled with the loss of his mental fortitude, caused him to faint.

Upon seeing this, Shen Yan immediately called Li Jianzhong to treat his injuries.

"We can't let him die; it would be too easy for him if he died like that."

Li Jianzhong was woken up by Shen Yan in the middle of the night, and he was resentful.

"Then why did you hit him so hard? This official is like a clay Buddha statue, do you think he's some kind of gangster? Why were you so ruthless?"

Shen Yan could only scratch his head and remain silent after hearing this. He was used to Li Jianzhong daring to curse anyone in prison.

There's no way around it; that's what happens when you have a special skill.

Having calmed down considerably, Shen Yan had no intention of tormenting him any further.

He instructed the jailers in the torture chamber to have Su Lingfeng come every three to five days.

When I got home, the new moon was high in the sky.

Shen Yan went to the courtyard to continue practicing his skills.

"I didn't expect the effects of practicing under the new moon and the full moon to be so different."

During this period, he practiced his skills day and night and hardly slept.

Since learning the techniques from the ancient scroll, his spirits have improved significantly.

The changes brought about by cultivating the Golden Body Technique have begun to slowly dissipate.

His skin became smoother and fairer, truly resembling the former charm of the young master Nongyu.

When he arrived at Chunfeng Tower, the girls would tease him whenever they saw him.

Shen Yan was a little annoyed. He was always the one teasing others, but he never expected to be teased instead when he went to a brothel.

As the internal energy in his meridians grew stronger, he found himself becoming more and more like an ordinary person.

It seems that, just as the ancient scrolls say, the inner and outer worlds are united as one.

Every move and stance aligns with the principles of nature and blends seamlessly into the universe.

At dawn, the power of the Dao Fruit surged forth, and Shen Yan could now receive the energy with ease.

After fully understanding and applying the knowledge, Shen Yan opened his eyes.

I'm preparing to serve in the imperial prison.

Winter has begun, but the weather in Bianjing this year is quite unusual; not a single snowflake has fallen.

Pedestrians and vendors on the street were already wearing thick cotton-padded coats.

On his way to the prison, a commotion suddenly broke out.

It turned out that the Imperial Guards were clearing the way, driving away civilians and vendors, and emptying the streets.