Chapter 89: Civil Officials and Martial Officials, Intricate Connections

For a moment, Lu Shishui fell silent.

Wen Fanghong’s words were not particularly pleasant to hear, especially not to someone like him.

He had spent more than a decade preparing for the Imperial Examination.

From the age of twenty until now, nearly ten years had passed since he first became a Xiucai.

He had failed twice at the Provincial Examination before finally succeeding, and now, after another year of preparation, he had finally passed the Imperial Examination.

To hear that his son should simply abandon the path of becoming a scholar and instead enter the Imperial Prison naturally made his heart feel somewhat complicated.

Yet, at the same time, Lu Shishui understood that Wen Fanghong wasn’t belittling him.

He was simply speaking the truth.

If he had possessed better cultivation talent, perhaps he wouldn’t have needed to spend so many years studying.

Had he been born into a powerful cultivation family, he wouldn’t have needed to rely on the Imperial Examination to change his fate.

If he had a stronger background, maybe he could have walked a completely different path.

But he didn’t, and that was reality.

Lu Shishui looked at Wen Fanghong.

"Uncle Wen, I understand what you mean."

Wen Fanghong nodded, not surprised.

As the Prison Supervisor of the Imperial Prison, he had dealt with countless people over the years.

He naturally knew that words like these could easily offend scholars, but he wasn’t trying to offend Lu Shishui, he was thinking about Lu Yang.

That child’s cultivation talent was genuinely excellent in his eyes.

If he was allowed to follow the path of ordinary scholars, perhaps he could still become an official.

But why?

What was the point of forcing a child with extraordinary cultivation talent to spend decades studying if he didn’t truly want to?

Civil officials were powerful, there was no doubt about that.

Great Qian was a cultivation dynasty, and even its scholars cultivated.

The higher ranking civil officials were often powerful cultivators themselves, and the Grand Tutor and Prime Minister were rumored to be Qi Sea Realm experts.

But... were cultivation forces any weaker?

Were military officials any weaker?

Of course not, and they were even vastly stronger in terms of pure cultivation realms and combat power.

A Spirit Awakening cultivator holding a military position was still a Spirit Awakening cultivator.

In some circumstances, they might even possess more direct authority than an ordinary civil official.

The Prison Supervisor of the Imperial Prison was only a Ninth-Rank Official.

In terms of rank, it sounded extremely low, yet this Ninth-Rank Official was still a Spirit Awakening Realm cultivator.

Ordinary Sixth-Rank civil officials weren’t necessarily Spirit Awakening cultivators.

Even if they were, an ordinary civil official wouldn’t casually extend their authority over a Spirit Awakening cultivator without a proper reason.

And military officials were even more direct, with their authority stemming from strength.

Wen Fanghong looked at Lu Yang again.

"If Yang’er enters the Imperial Prison, he won’t be treated like an ordinary guard. I will personally guide him. With his talent, he can cultivate while learning how the Imperial Prison operates, and once he grows up, there will naturally be opportunities for him."

He paused for a brief moment before continuing.

"Even the Four Great Guards may not be impossible."

Lu Shishui fell silent again.

He also knew that the Imperial Prison wasn’t just any ordinary prison.

Behind it stood the Heavenly Prison, and behind the Heavenly Prison stood the Heavenly Guards, one of the Four Great Guards of Great Qian.

There were also countless connections and intricate ties with the Ministry of Justice.

Although the Imperial Prison itself dealt mostly with matters beneath the level of the Heavenly Prison, its position within the Imperial Capital was still special.

Not to mention, it was an extremely lucrative position.

Convicted officials, rich cultivators, wealthy merchants, powerful families, and people who had committed crimes but didn’t want to suffer unnecessarily while imprisoned.

There were countless people willing to spend money to make their imprisonment more comfortable.

Naturally, not all of it could be called bribery; some things were simply the so-called "unspoken rules" of the Imperial Prison.

The Imperial Prison had existed for hundreds of years, and its network of connections and interests had long since become complicated beyond imagination.

There were even people who would break their heads trying to obtain a position within it.

A Ninth-Rank military official who was also a Spirit Awakening cultivator in the Imperial Capital could live much better than an ordinary Seventh-Rank civil official in any part of Great Qian.

Wen Fanghong was now offering Lu Yang a direct path into that exact position.

However, none of that was the most important thing.

Lu Shishui turned his gaze towards his son.

"Yang’er."

Lu Yang raised his head.

"Yes, father?"

"What do you want to do?"

The moment those words were spoken by Lu Shishui, Lu Yang fell silent.

He knew that his father wasn’t simply asking for the sake of conversation, he genuinely wanted to hear his answer.

Lu Yang looked at the three people surrounding him and couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

To an outsider, he was just a six year old child being asked to choose between two completely different futures.

But within his mind, Lu Yang had already made his decision.

It was perfect.

He didn’t want to become some famous legendary figure whose name spread throughout Great Qian in this life.

He had already experienced all of what the Great Qian Dynasty cultivation world could offer in his previous two lives.

This fourth life was different.

In this life, he wanted peace, to cultivate quietly, search for opportunities, explore the Great Qian, and see how far he could go without repeating the same mistakes while hiding himself as much as possible.

The Imperial Prison was almost perfect for that.

It was located in the Imperial Capital, where powerful people were everywhere, yet its actual position was relatively obscure, thus even an extraordinary individual in other places couldn’t attract much attention here.

Most people wouldn’t pay attention to an ordinary guard, and even if Lu Yang eventually became a Spirit Awakening or even Essence Gathering cultivator, he could hide inside the Imperial Prison without attracting too much attention.

There was also another advantage.

Wen Fanghong was a Spirit Awakening cultivator, his grandfather’s sworn brother and the Prison Supervisor.

As long as Lu Yang didn’t reveal anything outrageous, he could rely on this relationship for decades, perhaps even for a century, long after the other party passed away, to get by.

And unlike joining some cultivation sect where he had to compete with others to fight for resources and make contributions, the Imperial Prison wouldn’t interfere too much with his cultivation.

He would have freedom, resources, connections, protection, and a place to hide.

It was almost tailor made for his current plans.

Lu Yang didn’t hesitate any longer and looked at Lu Shishui.

"I want to follow grandpa."

His voice was soft and childish, but there was a faint hint of determination in it.

Lu Shishui was slightly startled before smiling as he asked again.

"Are you sure?"

Lu Yang nodded, "Yes."

Wen Fanghong immediately laughed.

"Hahaha!"

His laughter attracted the attention of several people nearby, but he didn’t seem to care, reaching out to pat Lu Yang’s head.

"Good child! You made the right choice."

Lu Yang smiled innocently.

"Thank you, Grandpa Wen."

Wen Fanghong’s smile became even wider.

Lu Shishui watched the scene before him, a complicated emotion in his eyes.

Part of him had hoped that his son would eventually follow his own path, perhaps study to become a scholar and enter the Imperial Court, but he also knew that this was Lu Yang’s life.

He had no right to decide everything for him, especially when Lu Yang himself was already so intelligent.

"Since you’ve decided, then follow your heart."

Lu Shishui smiled as he spoke.

"I won’t interfere."

Lu Hai walked over and placed his hand on Lu Yang’s shoulder.

"Then I’ll take you to the Imperial Prison after the Palace Examination. At first, you will follow us around for a few years, focusing on your cultivation, and when you are old enough, you can officially join the Imperial Prison."

Lu Yang nodded.

"Alright, grandfather."

Wen Fanghong smiled.

"I’ll make arrangements beforehand."

The matter was settled just like that.

...

The following month passed quickly.

During this month, the Lu residence was extremely lively.

Invitations arrived one after another, from scholars, merchants, aristocratic clans, noble families, and even envoys sent by officials within the Imperial Court.

Everyone wanted to meet Lu Shishui.

A newly successful Jinshi was already worth forming connections with, especially a young Jinshi who had passed both the Provincial Examination and Imperial Examination in consecutive years.

His future was still uncertain, but precisely because it was uncertain, there was enormous potential.

If he was assigned a good position after the Palace Examination and performed well in the coming years, he could climb up rapidly.

Some people wanted friendship and some alliances, some wanted to recruit him and some simply wanted to leave an impression.

There had even been a not so small number of marriage alliances from prominent figures and factions.

Lu Shishui himself was somewhat overwhelmed. He had never experienced anything like this.

During the years when he was a mere Xiucai, no one cared about him, and even after becoming a Juren, although people had begun paying attention, it was nothing like this, he had passed on his third attempt, after all.

Now, he was a Jinshi, and one who passed on his first attempt.

The difference between the two seemed only one examination, but socially, it was enormous.

Lu Yang watched all of this quietly, unable to help but compare it to his past life.

After he reached the Spirit Awakening Realm at twenty-nine and was known as the once in a century genius of Canglan Prefecture, he had also experienced something similar.

At that time, countless cultivation forces had come to establish relationships with the Lu Family, sending gifts, invitations, precious resources, and even wanting to forge marriage alliances.

He even got married to Bai Qinglan because of that.

At the time, Lu Yang had thought that was already quite exaggerated, but now, the attention surrounding his father wasn’t much less.

In fact, in terms of sheer number, it might have been even greater.

After all, Lu Shishui’s position was within the secular world of Great Qian.

The Imperial Court governed countless cities, innumerable people, and vast territories.

A Jinshi represented an official within that enormous system, one who would directly start as a County Magistrate, a Seventh-Rank Official, at the very least.

Naturally, countless people wanted a connection.

Lu Yang sat quietly beside the window one afternoon, watching another carriage leave the Lu residence.

A gift had been delivered again, containing some specialties of the western regions of Great Qian not easy to come across in the capital.

He couldn’t help shaking his head slightly.

His father looked somewhat exhausted.

"I didn’t expect becoming a Jinshi would cause this much trouble."

Lu Yang glanced at him, speaking bluntly.

"Father, you can refuse them."

Lu Shishui smiled bitterly, "Some can be refused, but not everyone."

There were people he could offend and people he couldn’t.

Likewise, there were invitations that could be ignored and invitations that required at least a polite response.

This was the Imperial Capital, where the web of network spanned all aspects of life.

Lu Yang nodded, understanding his dilemma.

This was precisely how aristocratic clans and noble families accumulated influence.

Perhaps this was also why Great Qian had been able to remain stable for hundreds of years.

The Imperial Court wasn’t simply supported by the Emperor and the Imperial Family, but also required cooperation and support by countless families, officials, cultivators, merchants, scholars, and many other invisible relationships.

As long as those relationships remained intact, the dynasty could continue, lasting more than the lifespan of powerful cultivators.

But such a system also had a fatal weakness.

The more complicated the network became, the harder it was to repair once something went wrong.

One mistake, and the chain reaction could engulf the entire dynasty.

Though Lu Yang didn’t think too much about it.

He wasn’t a part of the Imperial Family and had no intentions of meddling in affairs not concering him or the people around him.

Besides, the collapse of Great Qian was still far into the future.