My daily cultivation progress is calculated.

Chapter 60 A mountain of official documents! Shen Yan: I desperately need a secretary.

After Ye Zhou left.

Lü Youcai and Ma Danian came over and eagerly said:

"Lord Shen, please open it and take a look."

Although the jailers around didn't speak, their eyes were full of curiosity.

Shen Yan opened the appointment letter, which clearly stated: Shen Yan is appointed as the Deputy Warden of the Imperial Prison of the Ministry of Justice and concurrently as the prison clerk of Prison No. 1, with an official rank of the ninth grade.

"Deputy Warden?! Has the Imperial Prison ever held such a position?"

Lu Youcai and Ma Danian also looked completely bewildered. They had never heard of the position of Deputy Warden in the Imperial Prison.

Sun Fugui quickly realized what was happening and said:

"Whether it's the chief or the deputy, they're all prison officials, just ninth-rank officials. What's there to say?"

Lü Youcai, Ma Danian, and the other jailers echoed:

"Yes, Lord Shen is our prison warden."

Shen Yan was puzzled as to why he had been promoted.

However, since the official document had already been issued and the matter was settled, he could only accept it.

He thought to himself, "I really don't understand what these officials are thinking."

Suddenly.

The elated jailer suddenly fell silent.

It turned out that Zeng Wenyuan and Yao Jing had come to the prison.

This was their first public appearance in the imperial prison since the end of the national mourning period.

Zeng Wenyuan already knew that the Ministry of Justice had given Shen Yan the position of deputy prison warden, but he didn't care.

Upon seeing Shen Yan, he instead offered his congratulations:

"Congratulations on your promotion, Lord Shen!"

Yao Jing's expression wasn't very good, but since Zeng Wenyuan didn't say anything, it was even more difficult for him, as a mere advisor, to speak up.

The two returned to their cell.

Yao Jing, who had been holding back all the way, finally spoke:

"Master Dong, Shen Yan is currently the deputy prison warden, but who knows when he might become the head of the prison."

Zeng Wenyuan understood the implication in his words and said calmly:

"Isn't this great? With him as the deputy warden, if the prison fails, it's because of his incompetence. If he does a good job, I, as his superior, will also have face to save."

He saw that Yao Jing still looked sullen and laughed:

"Shen Yan wants to stay in the Heavenly Prison for the rest of his life, but I, Zeng Wenyuan, have no such desire. I am but a passerby in the Heavenly Prison; our goal is the wider world beyond."

Upon hearing this, Yao Jing's gloomy expression dissipated.

"What you say is absolutely right, that's exactly what I was thinking. Our target is not the Heavenly Prison."

Zeng Wenyuan did not appear in the prison during the national mourning period, which naturally meant he had more important matters to attend to.

Crown Prince Li Chengde was Zeng Shihong's son-in-law, and his death was a huge blow to the Zeng family.

It is also an opportunity.

Because the Crown Prince's eldest son, Li Xuanye, was Zeng Shihong's grandson.

If they could help Li Xuanye ascend to the throne, the Zeng family's status would be incomparable.

However, Li Xuanye still has a long way to go if he wants to become the crown prince.

Although he had the advantage of being the eldest son and grandson of the legitimate heir, his strength was too weak.

The difference between him and his uncles is too great.

Therefore, Zeng Shihong will definitely take some action to cultivate and strengthen Li Xuanye's power.

Zeng Wenyuan's opportunity then came.

He knew who he relied on, so he stayed at the Zeng family's house during this time and didn't go anywhere else.

The purpose was to make more appearances in front of Zeng Shihong, so that if there were any vacancies, he would remember him.

Now that Shen Yan is the deputy warden of the Heavenly Prison, it suits his wishes perfectly.

Although he looked down on Shen Yan, he knew that Shen Yan was definitely more thorough in managing the prison than he was.

This gives Zeng Wenyuan more time to work with the clan.

He found Shen Yan.

Seeing that Shen Yan was surrounded by prison guards, he felt no emotion.

He opened his mouth and said:

"Lord Shen, will the prison be in your hands from now on?"

"Why do you say that, Lord Zeng?"

"I've been busy with family matters lately, so I'll leave all the decisions regarding the prison to you."

Zeng Wenyuan took his leave without waiting for Shen Yan's reply.

Shen Yan listened with genuine emotion, seemingly without pretense, and couldn't understand why Zeng Wenyuan had changed like this.

"Could it be something that happened recently, that it was such a shock?"

The jailers also heard Zeng Wenyuan's words and couldn't help but let their imaginations run wild.

As they watched him walk away, they all began to flatter Shen Yan.

"They must be afraid of Lord Shen."

"The prison warden should be someone from the prison itself."

……

Even Sun Fugui, who was usually very close to Sun Fugui, no longer dared to be so playful.

Seeing them surrounding Shen Yan, Ma Danian and Lü Youcai spoke up to drive them away:

"Everyone get back to work. Tonight we'll celebrate Lord Shen's promotion properly at Chunfeng Tower."

After the jailers left.

Ma Danian couldn't help but sigh.

"When I first met you, I felt that you were different from ordinary people. I never expected that in just a few months, you would have already put on an official robe."

"I was really grateful to Uncle Ma for taking care of me back then."

When Ma Danian heard Shen Yan address him as "Uncle Ma," his old face lit up with a bright smile, and he laughed heartily.

Lu Youcai, standing to the side, felt envious: "If only I had known, I should have put Shen Yan in the B prison to work. Now we have a connection with him."

Of course, that was all he thought. When Shen's father died, he didn't even go to pay his respects.

How could they possibly risk offending Hu Youtian to protect Shen Yan?

"To be honest, Shen Yan is quite sinister. It seems that few people who cross him have a good ending. Could he really be a reincarnation of a jinx?"

Thinking of this, Lü Youcai couldn't help but shudder.

That evening, to celebrate Shen Yan's promotion, the jailers came to Chunfeng Tower.

Not long after the national mourning period ended, Chunfeng Tower secretly opened its doors.

They all entered through the back door; the red lanterns at the main entrance were not yet hung up.

This time, the jailers really went all out, not only serving fine wine and food, but also bringing in girls.

During the banquet, Shen Yan also received a considerable amount of congratulatory gifts.

Although there are no detailed breakdowns, roughly speaking, it would amount to several thousand taels of silver.

Shen Yan did not refuse and accepted them all.

This has always been the rule in the prison; if he doesn't accept it, the jailers will feel uneasy.

If Zeng Wenyuan hadn't been so radical when he arrived, the prison guards would have offered him a portion as well.

Even Shen Yan himself prepared a portion to present.

Bianjing has been rather unsettled lately, so Shen Yan didn't dare to stay out too late.

They were sent back long ago.

The next day, early in the morning.

It finally snowed in Bianjing.

This year's snow came exceptionally late, a lateness that makes one uneasy.

Emperor Xuanwu was still refining elixirs in the Western Garden when he heard Wang Xi's voice coming from outside.

"Your Majesty, it's snowing! It's snowing heavily."

He opened his eyes, a look of joy on his face.

As he walked out of the West Garden and saw the heavy snow falling from the sky, he finally managed a smile.

"Good, this snow is just in time."

If it doesn't snow before the New Year, he'll have to write a self-criticism, admitting that he has lost his virtue.

The snow relieved his immediate crisis.

In the imperial prison.

It was snowing heavily outside, but Shen Yan's cell was warm with a charcoal stove burning.

But his mood was as gloomy as the sky outside the window, and looking at the official documents in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a headache.

These are all matters concerning the imperial prison; some require him to submit a memorial to the Ministry of Justice, while others require his approval.

Previously, these tasks were done by Xu Shaogong's advisor, and Zeng Wenyuan had rarely visited the prison since taking office.

The official documents piled up more and more, giving Shen Yan a headache.

Although he had studied for a few years, he was not good at reviewing official documents.

He simply threw himself down, lay on the chair, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

"No, I need to find a clerk too, otherwise someone might really die."