strictlysupreme Chapter 86 Even going to jail requires payment! That's the source of their confidence.
Chapter 86 Even going to jail requires payment! That's the source of their confidence.
Chapter 88 Even going to jail requires payment! That's the source of their confidence.
Last night, the jailers of the imperial prison had just enjoyed themselves at the Spring Breeze Pavilion.
Today, everyone on duty had rosy cheeks and was yawning constantly.
The prison wardens used to be quite unfriendly to them when they took office.
They eat what they're entitled to, take what they're entitled to, and never miss a thing. Sometimes, if they don't give them enough, it can cause dissatisfaction.
Unlike Shen Yan, who is so generous.
It's not that Shen Yan doesn't love money; he loves money more than anyone else.
Therefore, they understand even better that if they want others to work, they must pay them.
Just as if someone wants to live a good life in prison, their family members must make bribes.
Even before Zeng Wenyuan left, Shen Yan had already established many rules for the Heavenly Prison.
Shen Yan and Qi Xuan were still organizing these things in the cell, hoping to improve the rules of the prison.
This approach neither affects the prison's revenue nor avoids the previous situation where the same item had several different prices quoted by the jailers.
At this time.
Lu Youcai rushed in, his face covered in cold sweat despite the freezing winter, as if he had been frightened.
"Lord Shen, something terrible has happened! Lord Yang has arrested many prisoners and brought them to the imperial prison. You must go out and see what's going on!"
"Bringing criminals to the prison isn't a regular occurrence, what are you panicking about?"
"My lord, this time is different. You should go and take a look!"
Hearing Lü Youcai's words, Shen Yan felt a little puzzled.
However, since Yang Wanli had come to the prison and had promoted him, it was only right and proper for him to go out and welcome him.
Upon arriving outside the prison, Yang Wanli's face was flushed, and he seemed somewhat excited, with a squad of constables following behind him.
Two people were escorting one prisoner.
Looking around, Shen Yan noticed that some of these people were dressed in luxurious clothes, unlike ordinary people.
Some of them were dressed plainly, with nothing particularly outstanding, like servants working in some aristocratic family.
However, he didn't recognize any of them, and now wasn't a good time to ask.
He thought to himself, "Who has made Lü Youcai so panicked?"
Yang Wanli smiled and walked over when he saw Shen Yan.
"Shen Yan, you've come at the right time. Take these people into the prison for me! I'll come back to interrogate them another day."
"Yes, sir."
"I have to go now, I haven't finished arresting everyone."
After finishing his sentence, Yang Wanli didn't linger. He handed the man over to the prison and left.
Seeing the bitter expressions on Lü Youcai and Ma Danian's faces, he frowned and asked, "Who's the important figure here?"
It's no wonder Shen Yan didn't know; in the past, when prisoners entered the Heavenly Prison, they had basically already been to court and their files were on file.
However, the people Yang Wanli sent this time were all newly arrested and had not yet been brought to trial, so there were no case files to review.
"Your Excellency, half of these people are surnamed Zeng, and the other half are surnamed Yan. Which important family do you think they belong to?"
Lu Youcai had a long face, and Ma Danian's expression was also not good.
Only Chen Xiaoshuan stood to the side with a calm expression.
Upon hearing this, Shen Yan immediately understood that the people surnamed Yan and Zeng in Bianjing were the most difficult to deal with.
The root cause was Emperor Xuanwu's emphasis on civil officials over military ones, which led to the powerful civil officials controlling the government.
Those who served in the same court were either classmates or relatives, their relationships were intricate and intertwined, like an unbreakable net.
If it weren't for the barbarians to the north and the occasional rebellions, military officers would probably have no place to stand long ago.
With Shen Yan promoted to prison warden, it was naturally impossible for him to continue serving as a jailer in Shenhao Prison.
Instead of putting the position up for auction, he directly assigned it to Chen Xiaoshuan.
Shen Yan assigned the prisoners to the three of them.
The servants and stewards of the Zeng and Yan families were handed over to Lü Youcai and imprisoned in cell B.
The members of those two families were imprisoned in cell number A.
He handed over some of the accomplices and thugs under him to Ma Danian.
After Ma Danian and Lü Youcai left the cell, Chen Xiaoshuan whispered to Shen Yan, "Sir, I think I saw the young master of the Zeng family among the prisoners just now."
"Young master?! Surely he can't be the grandson of Prime Minister Zeng?"
Chen Xiaoshuan nodded.
"What?!"
Shen Yan hadn't expected Yang Wanli to arrest Zeng Shihong's grandson, whom Shen Yan had killed not long ago.
He couldn't help but wonder to himself, "Could I be at odds with the Zeng family?"
Chen Xiaoshuan only recognized the face, but knew nothing about the Zeng family.
Shen Yan summoned Sun Fugui, who was very knowledgeable about the affairs of these prominent families.
"Brother Shen, did you call me?"
"Come with me to the jail cell and help me identify a few people."
"Okay!"
He took Sun Fugui on a tour of the prison cells and then returned to his cell.
Sun Fugui clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Among these people, there are quite a few important figures. The one imprisoned in cell number 15 is Zeng Huaijin, the grandson of Prime Minister Zeng."
"A grandson born out of wedlock?"
Sun Fugui shook his head.
"Brother Shen, this man is different. He is the eldest grandson of the emperor. His mother is Princess Changping, the daughter of the Prince of Pingxi. His status is noble, far beyond what Zeng Lingchen can compare to."
Shen Yan nodded. The Prince of Pingxi was Emperor Xuanwu's third brother, a full brother of Emperor Xuanwu, and the uncle of Crown Prince Li Chengde.
The two had a close relationship, and the Prince of Pingxi contributed significantly to Li Chengde's ascension to the position of Crown Prince.
However, the Prince of Pingxi passed away more than a decade ago.
Shen Yan continued, "Is there anything else?"
"The prisoner in cell number 21, Yan Yun, is said to be the illegitimate grandson of Prime Minister Yan."
"I heard?! What's going on?"
Sun Fugui laughed and said, "Hey, isn't that because Yan Shi'an has a shrewish wife? You may not know, but Lord Yan doesn't even have a concubine. He doesn't even dare to go to Chunfeng Tower."
Shen Yan then understood; so that's how it was. No wonder he secretly kept a mistress.
This was truly rare in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
He thought to himself, "Yang Wanli has just become the Minister of Justice, and he's already making such a big move. He's offended every civil official! Does he not know how to live his life?"
Shen Yan didn't know what Yang Wanli's purpose was in doing this, but he was certain that the people arrested were innocent.
He knew these young masters too well; it was absolutely impossible for them not to have something going on.
Although not all descendants of officials will do this, the proportion is certainly not small.
In the class-divided society of the Great Zhou Dynasty, human life was sometimes worthless.
Soon, Chen Xiaoshuan, Ma Danian, and Lü Youcai came to the jail together to find him.
Their coming together must mean something bad is going on.
Shen Yan asked, "What's wrong? What happened again? Did Lord Yang arrest another group of people?"
At this moment, Chen Xiaoshuan spoke up and said, "Sir, it's about these newly arrived prisoners in the prison. No one has come to take care of them yet."
Shen Yan frowned.
"Half a day has passed, and not a single family member has come. How ungrateful!"
He didn't expect that not only did no one come to inform Zeng Huaijin and Yan Yun, but even the servants and the family members of the stewards didn't come.
"Sir, what should we do?"
Shen Yan sneered, "What are we going to do?! Do whatever you have to do. If no one comes to bribe us by today, send them all to the torture chamber. This is the Imperial Prison. I don't care if your surname is Yan or Zeng. Once you enter this gate, you have to pay me money."
Lu Youcai asked cautiously, "Sir, should we send someone to the residence to inform them?"
"No need! This prison is a sieve, leaking air everywhere. How could they not know?"
He knew in his heart that these people must have done it on purpose. It was impossible for the Zeng and Yan families not to resent Yang Wanli's visit to arrest people.
People are arrested so easily, and then they rush to give money away. What will others think?
Heavenly Prison?
They wouldn't even give it a second glance; the Ministry of Justice only had Yang Wanli, so they might pay him a second look.
However, since Shen Yan had become the prison warden of the Heavenly Prison, he naturally could not be looked down upon.
The purpose of diligently cultivating and breaking through realms is precisely to gain the confidence to do whatever one pleases.
Shen Yan suddenly thought: "Let's throw the two young masters in cell A into cell C and let them suffer first."
Upon hearing Shen Yan's words, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.
They certainly didn't have the guts to take action against Zeng Huaijin and Yan Yun.