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Chapter 53 The New Prison Warden

After his ministers knelt outside the palace for several days, Emperor Xuanwu finally relented.

Emperor Xuanwu released Grand Tutor Wang Yuan, who was also his teacher, because he was afraid of being branded as a murderer of his teacher.

However, there was no room for negotiation regarding the matter of deposing the crown prince.

He did not mention which prince he favored, and for a time the courtiers were unsure of whom to serve.

Bianjing, the Prince Ping's residence.

It was already very late at night, and Li Chengde looked at the empty space below, his face grim.

"Where are they?! Lord Yuan from the Censorate, Lord Yan from the Ministry of Works, and Lord Ding from the Ministry of Justice—where are they?!"

As in the previous month, Li Chengde would host a banquet for some officials at his residence on the 25th of each month.

On the one hand, it was to win over people's hearts, and on the other hand, it was to satisfy his own fantasy of being an emperor.

In order not to miss the banquet this month, Li Chengde began hosting guests even before he had fully recovered.

Those seated in twos and threes were mostly minor officials; most of the more influential ones were nowhere to be seen.

How could my complexion look good? I was so angry that my face turned red. I didn't know if it was from anger or shame.

However, to maintain his composure, he sat down and continued the banquet.

He kept a gloomy face throughout the meal, and the officials present knew he was in a bad mood, so they didn't dare to say anything for fear of upsetting him.

The food and wine were clearly all fine wines and delicacies, but they tasted bland and tasteless when they were eaten.

……

……

In the imperial prison.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Justice suddenly sent an official document stating that a new prison warden would be appointed today.

With the new prison warden taking office, the prison guards naturally dared not be absent today, as they could not miss their first meeting with their new superior.

Shen Yan was no exception.

yesterday.

Sun Fugui and Ma Danian, the prison guards who had some connection with Shen Yan, had already privately congratulated him.

Shen Yan was also somewhat helpless, and said frankly that he was not the prison warden, but someone else.

After all, if Shen Yan were truly the new prison warden, he couldn't possibly be taking office tomorrow; we haven't received any news about it yet.

In addition, some things are not dignified to talk about, and hearing the jailers' congratulations made him feel a little annoyed.

It's not that he didn't want to be a prison warden.

Shen Yan also asked someone to pull strings at the Ministry of Justice, but to his surprise, an official there told him that the position of prison warden had already been filled.

Considering his past relationship with Yang Wanli, he didn't dare to cheat him out of his money and told him the truth.

If we want to change the person now, it's impossible unless we ask Yang Wanli or the Duke's Mansion to intervene.

This time, the person who spoke was a big shot, someone they couldn't afford to offend.

Shen Yan couldn't bring himself to ask Yang Wanli and Shen Rong for help; the debts of gratitude are the hardest to repay in this world.

We already owe them a lot, and if we keep pestering them like this, we'll inevitably be looked down upon by others.

until today.

People only began to believe it when they saw Shen Yan standing with them in the crowd.

He dared not approach Shen Yan again to offer his congratulations.

Seeing that Shen Yan's expression remained unchanged, Sun Fugui couldn't help but say awkwardly, "Brother Shen, I didn't mean to."

"Never mind, it's alright, it's not your fault."

After the Ministry of Justice sent someone yesterday, Sun Fugui assumed it was most likely Shen Yan.

So he began to boast in the jailer's office about how good his relationship with Shen Yan was.

It is also said that the prison guards in Prison A have a very comfortable life, all because of Shen Yan.

If he becomes the prison warden, the lives of the prison guards will definitely be much better.

Although the jailers knew that Sun Fugui was exaggerating to some extent, they still played along.

They certainly hoped that Shen Yan would become the prison warden. Shen Yan's character was evident to all; he was generous and never deducted his subordinates' share of the profits, making him far better than other prison officials.

He often helped the prison guards through difficult times.

With a new prison warden in office, no one knows what will happen.

I just hope we don't encounter those old-fashioned, supposedly incorruptible officials who cut off the jailers' source of income.

By the time the sun was high in the sky, it was already noon.

The new prison warden still hasn't arrived at the prison.

The jailers looked at each other, wondering what the new jailer meant.

Shen Yan and the two jailers had long since returned to their cell to drink and warm up.

The biting winter wind felt like a knife cutting into my skin.

The prison guards, who worked year-round in the damp and cold dungeon and were not skilled in martial arts, were addicted to wine, women, and gambling, and had long since ruined their health.

The wind blew, making them shiver with cold, and the sun shining on them offered no warmth whatsoever.

"What's the deal with this new prison warden? Is he trying to intimidate us?"

"He was supposed to take office today, but he's nowhere to be seen even when the sun is high in the sky. It seems this new prison warden is not to be trifled with!"

"Who can argue with that! I just hope this new warden isn't too ruthless."

Generally, when a new official takes office, a time is set for his subordinates to greet him. This is why the Ministry of Justice's documents are prepared a day in advance.

The purpose was to make a grand reception so as not to neglect the superior.

The prison guards had served in the imperial prison for generations, and they were all seasoned veterans.

They had long understood the new prison warden's dismissive attitude.

Although Shen Yan and the others had already left, the jailer didn't have the guts.

While the discussion outside was in full swing, the jailers in cell A were also busy.

Lu Youcai spoke up, "Chief Shen, do you have any information about this new prison warden?"

Shen Yan shook his head: "I don't know who they are, but they must be someone of great importance."

Ma Danian quickly asked, "It seems that Chief Shen has heard some rumors. Tell us quickly."

Shen Yan didn't really want to talk about this, and seeing the expectant faces of the two men, his eyebrows twitched slightly.

He had no choice but to speak up and share some of the information he had received.

"I went to the Ministry of Justice a few days ago to pull some strings, hoping to compete for the position of prison warden, but unfortunately Doctor Ye told me that the position had already been decided by a certain lord."

Lü Youcai asked, "Could it be Ye Zhou, the physician under Minister Yang?"

Ma Danian asked, "Which official is it?"

Shen Yan shook his head and said, "It was indeed Ye Zhou. He didn't specify which official it was, but only told me that if this matter could be accomplished, we would need Lord Yang's help, so I gave up on the idea."

Ma Danian and Lü Youcai sat there, their faces filled with worry.

The two men had little ambition; they were neither good at academics nor martial arts, and they didn't have much of a background.

He just wanted to make as much money as possible while he was still in prison.

When the time comes for the transition between the old and new generations, it will be easier to take out money to bribe the son.

Although the prison guards were lowly and unsavory, they were quite well-paid.

There's enough for my whole family to live comfortably in Bianjing.

What we fear most is a hotheaded prison warden coming up and cutting off everyone's source of income.

It's not that I'm afraid of new officials being corrupt, it's that I'm afraid of new officials not being corrupt. If the higher-ups don't take bribes, how will the lower-ups take them?

The prison warden may have other businesses outside and wouldn't be interested in the lucrative opportunities in the prison.

But the jailers all depended on this for their livelihood.

If they relied on the government's salary, they would probably have starved to death long ago.

Shen Yan naturally understood that he also lived off the profits from the prison's share of the loot.

The last time the imperial court distributed salaries was two years ago.

Getting paid is much harder than it was in my previous life working on construction sites.

If you're demanding unpaid wages at a construction site, you can put up banners and surround the project office. If you make a big scene, they'll probably get some of it resolved for you.

If you were to surround the Ministry of Justice here...

He would probably be dragged out and beaten to death on the spot.

After discussing it, the three of them finally dismissed the jailers.

The jailers didn't work for half a day while waiting for the new jailer.

There are hundreds of prisoners in the dungeon, all waiting.