My daily cultivation progress is calculated.

Chapter 59 Mysterious Skill, First Transformation, From a Rank 9 Official

Bianjing, the Ministry of Justice.

The prison warden was merely a low-ranking official of the ninth grade, and would not normally have attracted Ding Anzhi's attention.

However, the prison warden's identity was somewhat special, so he had to say a few words on his behalf.

He gave Fang Jingxing a wink, and Fang immediately understood, saying:

"It is normal for Zeng Wenyuan to have some shortcomings in handling affairs when he first arrived at the prison."

Seeing his bias, Ye Zhou glanced at Yang Wanli and said bluntly:

"Heh! There are far too many shortcomings. During the national mourning period, you never even appeared in the imperial prison."

Fang Jingxing wanted to say a few more words in defense of Zeng Wenyuan, but Ye Zhou spoke up again.

"In my opinion, since there are so many shortcomings, it is better to go back and reflect for a few more years. Although the prison magistrate is a low-ranking official, the imperial prison is extremely important and cannot tolerate the slightest mistake."

Fang Jingxing said, "The Heavenly Prison has had its share of troubles over the years, but it's all been fine."

Ye Zhou said with a hint of mockery, "Yes! That's all thanks to Lord Fang's excellent leadership."

"you……"

"Anyway, I don't agree with changing the prison warden. He's only been in office for less than a month, and you're already replacing him? Doesn't that mean our Ministry of Justice is bad at judging people?"

Ye Zhou sneered, "Zeng Wenyuan was recommended by Lord Fang, wasn't he? How does he have anything to do with our Ministry of Justice?"

……

Fang Jingxing was furious. How could Ye Zhou and the others not know what was going on with Zeng Wenyuan?

They were clearly pretending to be ignorant, avoiding the question of Zeng Wenyuan's true identity.

Yang Wanli calmly picked up his teacup and drank his tea, as if the argument had nothing to do with him.

Ding Anzhi cursed Yang Wanli inwardly: "Although Ye Zhou's words do not mention me at all, they are all about me."

His face flushed slightly, and he quickly picked up the tea and drank it all in one gulp.

Ye Zhou understood that this was not just due to a prison warden.

The imperial prison was unimportant to the officials of the Ministry of Justice, let alone the people working inside.

Yang Wanli represented a noble and aristocratic family, while Ding Anzhi belonged to the Qingliu faction led by Zeng Shihong.

The two sides had always been at odds, and although some scholars were naturally convinced of their superiority, it was also Emperor Xuanwu who caused this conflict.

The purpose was to maintain a balance of power among the various factions within the imperial court.

The two argued endlessly, both vying for the face of their respective parties.

Zeng Wenyuan's actions this time were indeed highly criticized, and even Fang Jingxing, who had been cultivating his political career for many years, couldn't help but blush when defending him.

Their argument quickly spread throughout the entire Ministry of Justice, and Feng Xiu frowned upon hearing it.

"They're all fifth-rank officials, yet they're making such a racket like street vendors. It's truly shameful."

When Ye Zhou and Fang Jingxing saw Feng Xiu arrive, they immediately stopped arguing.

Yang Wanli and Ding Anzhi also stood up.

Feng Xiu was also very troubled to see the two groups of people standing clearly separated.

Ever since Yang Wanli arrived at the Ministry of Justice, their open and covert struggles have never stopped.

Feng Xiu looked at them with a worried expression:

"Tell me what's going on! The argument is so loud, I could hear it all from outside the yamen."

The two immediately began to speak, each trying to outdo the other in volume.

Feng Zheng said in a clear voice, "Alright! Let's go one by one. Ye Zhou, you go first."

After listening to their conversation, he felt a mix of amusement and exasperation, having initially thought it would be something serious.

Unexpectedly, it was just a prison warden position, a position that was only a ninth-rank official.

The Ministry of Justice could appoint and dismiss officials without the need for official documents from the Ministry of Personnel.

It can only be said that Zeng Wenyuan's actions were indeed somewhat outrageous, causing such unrest in the small prison.

Even officials in the Ministry of Justice had many complaints about this, which was unprecedented.

After a moment's thought, Feng Xiu spoke:

"Zeng Wenyuan isn't very familiar with the affairs of the Heavenly Prison, so let's have someone help him. I remember there's a young man from the Shen family in the Heavenly Prison, isn't he a seventh-rank martial artist? Promote him to deputy prison warden and give him a ninth-rank official position."

Ding Anzhi was clearly not satisfied with the result and really wanted to speak up.

However, Feng Xiu's face had darkened, and his aura was now surging.

Ding Anzhi swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

He thought to himself, "That old man Feng Xiu is truly unfathomable. It looks like he could hold out for another ten years or so."

Many of the civil officials in the Great Zhou Dynasty came from Jinghu Academy, and they were not only well-versed in poetry and literature, but also cultivated their inner strength.

Ding Anzhi himself was also a seventh-rank master, back when Emperor Xuanwu used to attend the morning court.

There was an open space outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony. When the nobles and civil officials argued heatedly, they would even fight outside.

Of course, in terms of fighting, military officers generally win more often, but in terms of verbal skills, they are far inferior to civil officers.

The rising sun broke through the thin mist.

Shen Yan stood in the courtyard, his upper body half-naked, his skin glowing faintly with golden light under the sunlight.

"Phew! The first revolution of the Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique is finally complete!"

After getting dressed, the ground not far away was covered with freshly turned soil.

He stepped forward and stomped on it a few times to compact it, then left the house.

"The area around this prison is becoming increasingly unsettling. Could it be that there really is some kind of immortal cultivation technique here?"

Walking down the street, I saw that Bianjing City was full of strangely dressed martial arts figures.

Shen Yan sighed inwardly, "The allure of immortality and the pursuit of immortality is simply too great."

He had long since hidden the "Longevity Manual" in his possession, not daring to keep it at home.

A commotion broke out ahead.

Shen Yan leaned closer and saw that it was a bald, burly man and a one-eyed old man fighting each other.

The surrounding vendors and residents quickly moved away, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire.

Soon, several Imperial Guards rushed out of the alley.

Shen Yan vaguely saw a familiar figure.

He was dressed in a flying fish robe, with a strange iron rod hanging from his waist.

His expression was cold and calm, but a cold glint flashed in his hand.

A red stain appeared on their necks, followed by a gush of blood.

Shen Yan saw him draw his sword this time, and even though it was their second meeting, Shen Yan was still amazed by his skill.

He realized: "No wonder he was so calm at the tavern last time, he was a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Ah Si put away the strange sword, saw Shen Yan not far away, and walked over.

Ah Si said, "You've changed. I feel a little dangerous."

"Danger?!"

Ah Si realized his words had been misinterpreted and quickly explained, "I meant you've gotten stronger, let's drink together next time."

Shen Yan was startled: "I didn't expect his intuition to be so sharp."

Similar incidents frequently occurred in Bianjing during this period.

Originally, the Embroidered Uniform Guard mainly focused on arresting people, but later on, there were simply too many people from the martial arts world.

When troublemakers are encountered, they can only be suppressed with iron-fisted methods. These roughnecks roam the world doing whatever they want, so they don't care about any rules.

They would start fighting at the slightest disagreement, and many civilians suffered as a result.

When Shen Yan arrived at the Heavenly Prison, he was surprised to find Ye Zhou there as well.

When he saw Shen Yan, he said with a smile, "Congratulations on your promotion, Prison Warden Shen."

The jailers present were quite surprised upon hearing this.

"Shen Yusi?!"

"What about the former prison warden Zeng?! I've never heard of him being dismissed. How did Shen Yan rise to power?"

After handing the letter of appointment to Shen Yan, Ye Zhou didn't say much, just smiled mysteriously, and left the prison.