We made you practice martial arts, and you've mastered the Great Golden Body?

At the break of dawn.

With a cry of "waa," the first rays of morning sunlight peeked over the mountain and shone into the courtyard.

"Congratulations, congratulations, Mr. Xu!" A plump midwife, beaming, was the first to emerge from the room, her voice high-pitched.
"He's a chubby, fair-skinned boy, and he's got a penis."

"Wang Po, is it true?" Xu Xian was overjoyed and asked again to confirm. Although it was a question, his eyes were full of anticipation.

After all, having a child is like winning the lottery, especially in this day and age, where you have no idea whether the baby is a boy or a girl until it is born.

Although Xu Xian could treat even a girl with a normal attitude, it would be better if it were a boy.

In such an era, the importance of carrying on the family line was paramount. Those who could not produce a son to continue the family line were considered useless. If the first child was not a boy, one would be inferior to others in the future.

Although no one will say it out loud, they might say something behind the scenes.

Xu Xian was someone who had been through this. His parents' first child was his older sister, which led to years of gossip in the village.

This situation only reversed after Xu Xian was born.

However, in Xu Xian's eyes, whether it is a boy or a girl, they are all his children. Now that he has some wealth and property, he doesn't want his children to experience the kind of childhood he had before.

This is double the joy.

"Really, of course it's true." The midwife had done this many times and had a wealth of experience. She knew what answer Xu Xian wanted. She rubbed her hands together and said somewhat shyly, "Master Xu, would you mind sharing some of the joy? Let us also share in your happiness."

According to traditional customs, childbirth is usually handled by professional midwives with experience in childbirth and delivery, and they typically live off tips from the client's family.

When Granny Wang was woken up in the middle of the night to help with the delivery, she naturally wanted some reward money to share in the joy.

However, she didn't know that Xu Xian was completely clueless and stubborn about this.

"Huh?" Xu Xian was a little confused.

Because this was his first time becoming a father, he was a little too happy, so he didn't react immediately and didn't know what the midwife meant.

Want to share in the joy? How?
Li Gongfu was drinking yesterday and isn't here now, so we've lost an experienced person who's been through this before.

At this moment, because of Xu Xian's indifference, the midwife's smile also froze, and the originally festive atmosphere turned cold.

suddenly.

With a creaking, ear-piercing sound as the door was pushed open, a young man nine feet tall strode in, followed by several servants carrying wooden trays covered with red cloth.

"Everyone did a good job today, so each of you will be rewarded with ten taels of silver."

"What's this?" The midwife was stunned by the sight. She looked at the young nobleman dressed in fine silks and satins who had entered, then at Xu Xian beside him. Her expression turned strange, and she asked in a low voice:
"Master Xu, who is this gentleman?"

Ten taels of silver—what does that mean? It's roughly equivalent to two or three years' income for an average family, and it's just given out so casually?

And it's ten taels of silver per person!
What an incredibly stupid thing to do!
She felt like she was caught up in some kind of love triangle. Could it be that the child wasn't Xu Xian's, but the young man's?
illegitimate child?!

The plump midwife immediately shut her mouth, her joy turning to coldness.

"Officer Shen, don't you know him?" Xu Xian scratched his head and looked at the midwife with great curiosity. He suspected that she was from out of town and didn't even know Shen Bailian or Officer Shen.

"Oh my!" Upon hearing this, the midwife suddenly realized something, slapped her thigh, and exclaimed:

"This must be Officer Shen! I've heard so much about you, but I was so blind to your greatness. I just got back from visiting relatives back home, and look at this... this is quite a blunder!"

As he spoke, he even smiled ingratiatingly.

She secretly blamed her neighbor for being unreliable, waking her up in the middle of the night without even explaining what Officer Shen looked like or how close Officer Shen and Xu Xian were.

The reward money was given by Constable Shen, and it was ten taels of silver per person.

Even before today, the midwife had often heard about how incredibly generous Shen Bailian was, but hearing about it a hundred times was nothing compared to seeing it for herself.

Is this considered extravagant?
That's incredibly extravagant!
"It's alright." Shen Bailian waved his hand calmly, gesturing to the servants behind him, and then the red cloth on the wooden plate was immediately removed.

The sight of the gleaming silver below caused the midwife to feel dizzy and almost lose her balance.

Is this the strength of Officer Shen?

She had never seen so much silver in her entire life.

"Alright, you can go ahead and get busy. Take care to keep warm. If you do a good job, you'll get a good reward; otherwise, you know what will happen." Shen Bailian waved his hand dismissively, signaling the midwife to continue her work.

After the midwife left.

"Thanks to Brother Shen today." Xu Xian blushed and bowed respectfully to Shen Bailian with his fists clasped before straightening up.

If Shen Bailian hadn't arrived in time today, who knows what other trouble he might have caused.

I completely forgot about this; otherwise, who knows what kind of rumors would have spread from the midwife after the child was born.

"It's alright." Shen Bailian shook his head calmly. He had anticipated this situation, after all, Xu Xian was just an ignorant scholar. So, the moment he received the news, he began to make preparations: "Besides, this child is still my adopted son, right?"

"Yes!" Xu Xian replied with a smile.

He was surprised and puzzled when he first heard that Shen Bailian wanted to adopt his unborn son as his godson.

Given Shen Bailian's family background and connections, not only would he have an unborn adopted son, but even adopted sons in their mid-twenties would be eager to become his adopted sons.

However, having more roads means having more options, especially on the broad avenue where Shen Bailian is located.
Therefore, after being persuaded by Bai Suzhen, Xu Xian agreed to Shen Bailian's seemingly absurd request without hesitation.

After all, even his current fortune was partly given to him by Shen Bailian.

It won’t work if you don’t agree.

"Oh, right." Shen Bailian asked as if he had suddenly remembered something, "Have you prepared the calming herbs I mentioned before?"

“I have prepared it, but isn’t the medicine a bit too strong? It’s not suitable for my wife, especially since she’s just given birth and her body is very weak.”

"Don't worry, your wife is skilled in martial arts too, she's not as weak as you think." Shen Bailian casually offered a plausible excuse to Xu Xian. After all, he certainly couldn't tell Xu Xian the real reason.

Shen Bailian couldn't possibly say that his wife was a thousand-year-old snake demon who could give birth to dozens or hundreds of mortal children without any problems, could he?

Yes, he is just an ordinary person.

After all, Wenquxing (the God of Literature) descended to earth to face tribulations, not to enjoy life. Apart from having a tiny bit of learning talent, he has no other extraordinary abilities.

Bai Suzhen, being a thousand-year-old snake demon, would certainly not suffer a significant loss of vitality because of this; otherwise, the value of a thousand-year-old snake demon would be far too low.

The painful screams coming from inside the room were, of course, feigned by her.

“You’re right.” Xu Xian nodded in agreement. Even Xiaoqing, his younger sister, had some martial arts skills, let alone Bai Suzhen, who seemed to have a lot of opinions.

But upon closer reflection, things do seem a bit strange.

On that day, he "dreamed" that he encountered a terrifying and enormous white snake on the shore of West Lake not far from his backyard. A few days later, while he was taking a walk with Bai Suzhen, he encountered another large snake, the same one he had met in his "dream".

But the snake demon was cut in two by Xiao Qing's sword in just over ten seconds after it appeared, and then strangely turned into ashes.

The whole thing felt like a makeshift operation.

If Bai Suzhen possessed martial arts skills, why did she show such fear and hide behind him? Could it be...?

Thinking of this, Xu Xian quickly stopped the car, not daring to think about it any further.

Regardless, the fact that he and Bai Suzhen had a child together proves their love.

"Would you like some water?" Xu Xian stopped the mental turmoil that had been raging in his mind. The wailing in the room had gradually subsided. He then looked at the servants behind Shen Bailian and said softly:

"Please have a seat, everyone. The space is a bit small, please bear with us."

"It's alright, Master Xu, please go ahead and do what you need to do."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

"..."

Upon hearing this, the servants following Shen Bailian immediately responded politely, not daring to be negligent in the slightest. After all, everyone in the Shen family knew that Shen Bailian was going to adopt Xu Xian's newborn child as his godson.

Shen Bailian made no attempt to hide this matter.

Not only will they not hide it, but they will also publicize it widely, making sure that not only all the residents of Lin'an City know about it, but also the residents of several nearby cities.

The more people who know about this, the more Heavenly Merit Points Shen Bailian will be able to obtain afterward.

"I'm sorry, Brother Xu Xian." Shen Bailian glanced at Xu Xian, who was busy serving tea and water, and thought to himself:
“I know you are Xu Shilin’s biological father, but my title as his godfather will definitely surpass yours.”

As for any apology, of course there is none. According to the original plot, Xu Xian's fate was not exactly dramatic, but it was full of twists and turns, and in the end he almost died.

Therefore, in a sense, Shen Bailian's actions were almost equivalent to helping Xu Xian bear part of the calamity.

Taking a portion of the merits bestowed by Heaven is naturally a reasonable thing to do.

This is called earned income!
Lin'an County Government Office.

"Your Excellency, are you sure you don't need to go in and take a look?" The registrar of Lin'an County Government bowed and asked cautiously, looking up at the county magistrate who was leisurely enjoying the service of beautiful women.

"This Master Fahai has been in that room for a full month. Has he already starved to death?"

"Don't talk nonsense." The magistrate of Lin'an City glared at the registrar with a slight smile, then, reclining in his armchair and enjoying a massage from a beautiful woman, said rather leisurely:
"That's Master Fahai from Jinshan Temple, what could possibly happen to him? Besides, even if something did happen, what would it have to do with you and me? After all, it wasn't me who imprisoned him there..."

As the magistrate of Lin'an was speaking, a pawn suddenly rushed in.

"Report!"

"What are you reporting? Can't you see the magistrate is busy?" Before the magistrate of Lin'an City could even speak, the registrar had already given the junior constable a good scolding.

He vented all the anger he had been holding in on the young constable.

'Busy? Busy enjoying himself on women's bellies, huh...' The constable looked at the maids walking away one by one, and at the glimpses of spring light and fair skin, and couldn't help but swallow hard. He didn't dare to say it out loud, but could only mutter it to himself.

"What are you being so fierce about? Do you even have the right to speak here?" The magistrate of Lin'an City said this not to the junior constable, but to the chief clerk, and glared at him fiercely, causing the chief clerk to shiver uncontrollably.

Upon seeing this, the young constable's resentment towards the magistrate of Lin'an City vanished instantly.

Seeing the change in the constable's expression, the magistrate of Lin'an was extremely pleased. His philosophy in dealing with his subordinates was to befriend distant states while attacking nearby ones.

After all, it's not the ruthless that's scary, it's the reckless who don't value their lives

This registrar was well-versed in the ways of officialdom. No matter how much he was scolded, he would not easily break off relations with him, nor would he resort to extreme measures like exchanging one for another over a trivial matter.

But these ordinary people are different.

He had nothing to begin with, and as the magistrate of Lin'an City, he was powerless. If such a small person held a grudge, he might fly into a rage when he could no longer tolerate it.

Of course, this kind of distant friendship is only superficial, as long as it does not involve his interests or needs.

"Get up and speak. Why did you rush here so urgently? Is there something you need to report?"

"Yes, thank you, Magistrate." The young constable looked at the magistrate of Lin'an City with deep gratitude in his eyes. Without wasting any time, he said directly, "Master Fahai has come out of seclusion and said he wants to see you, sir."

"Seeing me again? Is this monk planning to build a branch temple of Jinshan Temple here?" The magistrate of Lin'an City murmured softly upon hearing this.

For more than a month, due to Fahai's presence, he even became much more restrained in his daily enjoyment, like a thief.

He was terrified that Fahai would discover his true colors and then say a few good words for him in front of the emperor, which would be a real disaster.

"Sir, is that...?"

"I'll see him!" The magistrate of Lin'an City had no reason not to see him. He stretched his limbs, stood up, and said, "Please ask Master Fahai to wait a moment. I'll go change into my official robes and fetch them." (End of Chapter)