My daily cultivation progress is calculated.

Chapter 27 The Duke's Family Affairs, Entrusted by Shen Rongzhi

Master Qi picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and seeing Shen Yan's anxious expression, spoke up.

"What you said is true. When Second Grandmother heard that I was going to quit my job, she asked me why, and I told her what you said."

"Guess what?"

Shen Yan curled his lip in disdain.

"What else could it be? Of course they're angry. Second Master and the others have slapped the Duke in the face. It's no wonder Second Madam is furious."

Master Qi said with some pride.

"Hehe, that's right. Second Madam was furious and told me to work hard and no one could fire me. She even brought Shen Yun to Second Master's mansion and made a scene. If it weren't for the old lady's intervention, I don't know how this would have ended."

After several days of pent-up frustration dissipated, Master Qi became more talkative.

The news that Second Madam stood up for Shen Yun also reached Shen Jianxin's ears.

Upon hearing that his younger sister had been bullied at school, he grabbed his weapon and went to his second uncle's house without saying a word.

Shen Jianxin is a mid-level third-grade expert; who could stop him from coming to their residence?

Shen Jingzhao and his men were unable to escape. Even with the help of servants and martial arts guards, they were beaten so badly by Shen Jianxin that they couldn't get out of bed for at least two months.

Master Qi spoke of these things with a satisfied expression, which could be considered as him venting his anger.

It was originally just a minor dispute between younger people, and it wouldn't have caused such a commotion.

But when the Second Master and his wife got involved, the situation changed.

If the Second Madam doesn't take some action, what prestige will the Duke's Mansion have left? No matter what, they can't afford to embarrass the Duke.

After chatting for a long time, Shen Yan took out his oracle bone script again, which Master Qi was already used to.

Shen Yan didn't leave until late at night.

When they arrived at their doorstep, they found a horse-drawn carriage parked in front of their house, and someone was waiting for them.

I couldn't help but be a little surprised.

"Who's waiting for me at my door in the middle of the night?"

Upon seeing Shen Yan, the man exclaimed with delight.

"Yan-ge'er, you're finally back! I've been waiting for you for ages."

Shen Yan asked somewhat uncertainly, "You are... Xiaoyu?"

"It is indeed me. Butler Shen asked me to invite you to his residence for a chat."

He was a little puzzled. Why did Shen Rong want to see him? And why did he even send a carriage to pick him up?

This was a treatment that even his father had never experienced. Shen Yan couldn't refuse Shen Rong's courteous treatment.

After boarding the carriage, Xiaoyu and I headed to Shen Rong's house.

When we arrived at his house, we waited for Xiaoyu to go in and announce our arrival.

Shen Yan saw a middle-aged man come out very enthusiastically.

It was Shen Rong, a stark contrast to his indifferent demeanor when they met in front of Widow Wang's door last time.

Enter the mansion.

They walked along a bluestone path several dozen meters long, with neatly trimmed pine and bamboo groves on both sides.

The courtyard was extremely elegant; if one knew Shen Rong's identity, one would think it was the residence of some civil official.

Once inside the house...

Shen Rong got straight to the point.

"I invited you to my residence this time because I need your help with something."

"Help!? Please tell me what it is, Steward. I will do my best to help."

Shen Yan had some doubts.

"I knew Yan-ge was a straightforward person. Recently, the newly appointed top scholar, Song Mingli, was imprisoned for making a slip of the tongue. I'd like to ask you to look after him."

"It's nothing, Steward, please rest assured. I feel a connection with Brother Song."

As she spoke, a beautiful young woman walked towards them. She was dressed in a light gauze, her figure appearing and disappearing in the shadows. Shen Yan quickly lowered his eyes, not daring to look directly at her.

The young woman in front of me was Shen Rong's wife, who walked over gracefully with a cup of tea in her hand.

He placed the teacup next to Shen Yan, his fingertips unintentionally brushing against the back of Shen Yan's hand.

"Young Master Shen, please have some tea."

Thank you.

Shen Yan felt a chill run down his spine, completely clueless about what Shen Rong's wife was up to.

Shen Rong was right there beside him, and despite her unintentional flirting, Shen Yan felt no romantic feelings whatsoever.

"This woman wants to die, don't drag me down with her."

However, Shen Rong seemed oblivious to his wife's unusual behavior, his expression unchanged, and he continued chatting and laughing with Shen Yan.

Most of the conversations revolved around his father, Shen Changqing, and he sensed that Shen Rong seemed to be intentionally trying to get closer to him.

This left Shen Yan somewhat bewildered. A few days ago, he met Shen Rong at Widow Wang's door. At that time, Shen Rong's expression was indifferent, and his eyes completely ignored Shen Yan's presence. Now, however, he was being so enthusiastic, which made Shen Yan feel a little uncomfortable.

I kept reviewing the events that had happened during this period in my mind.

"Could it be because of my breakthrough to the ninth rank?"

He understood that it was merely a matter of looking after Song Mingli, and there was no need for him to come over for a chat.

Shen Yan had been in the prison for quite some time, and this wasn't the first time he had encountered such a situation involving family members making arrangements.

The servants could have simply delivered the money; there was no need to act so friendly.

Soon.

Shen Rong ordered someone to bring a thousand taels of silver notes and handed them to Shen Yan.

"Brother Yan, I'm entrusting this matter to you. This five hundred taels is the prison's allowance, and the rest is for your drinking money."

Shen Yan was somewhat surprised by the amount; there was no reason to refuse money that was offered to him so readily.

He readily accepted.

It was already late at night, and Shen Rong had no intention of letting him stay overnight.

Shen Yan then took his leave and went home.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mrs. Shen Rong standing with Shen Rong.

They don't look like a couple at all; they look more like a father and daughter.

Shen Yan sighed inwardly, "There's nothing I can do when I reach middle age! I'm incompetent, and even marrying a young and beautiful wife is a source of constant anxiety."

Shen Rong watched Shen Yan leave, his face deep in thought, lost in thought.

Shen Rong's wife moved closer to him and asked softly.

"Master, isn't Shen Yan just a jailer in the imperial prison? Is it really necessary to be so polite?"

Shen Rong looked at her, somewhat displeased.

"snort!"

"What a woman's view! Even Lord Yang praises him highly; what do a little respect and petty gain matter!"

"Turn off your seductive charm! Don't pounce on every pretty boy you see. Otherwise, you'll regret it."

……

……

The next day, early in the morning.

Shen Yan woke up at his usual time. After reaching the eighth rank, the Golden Body Technique could no longer provide him with much improvement.

According to Zhu Zhengyang, the Golden Body Technique has reached its limit at the seventh grade.

He had to find a new cultivation method to practice, even though an eighth-rank martial artist was already far beyond the level of a prison guard in the Heavenly Prison.

Shen Yan was clearly not satisfied with this, after all, the Xuan Tian Dao Fruit was already extremely miraculous.

How could we possibly become complacent and stop?

Fortunately, the ancient scrolls we obtained last time have been basically translated.

If it's not a cultivation method, then we'll have to find another way.

"The Duke of Dingguo's mansion might be one path, but I heard from Master Qi that if one wants to obtain the cultivation techniques from it, one must sign a long-term contract with the Duke's mansion and will not be free to do so."

"We can only take it one step at a time."

Signing a contract with the Duke's mansion is tantamount to selling oneself into servitude, only with a higher status.

They were like Shen Rong, but different from real slaves.

Many members of the Shen clan worked for the Duke's mansion, and the Duke was happy to take in these people with the surname Shen.

Brothers fight tigers together, fathers and sons go to war together.

That's the logic, and no one would find it distasteful; in fact, others might even envy it.