Chapter 135: Decay Beneath Prosperity, Don’t Waste Your Life

Lu Yang did not immediately respond.

He originally wanted to tell her about the general amnesty just because he thought she would want to know, not expecting her to reveal so much.

For a moment, he did not know what to say.

He could tell her that not every official was corrupt.

He could point to his father, who had worked diligently to improve the lives of ordinary people in Xihe County and continued doing so in Canglan Prefecture, and he could mention the countless officials who genuinely wished to serve the people.

But would any of that change what had happened to her?

Would the existence of honest officials restore her father to life?

Would it return the years she had lost?

The answer was obviously no.

Even if the County Magistrate was eventually punished, the damage would not simply disappear.

Justice could prevent future tragedies, but it could not always undo those that had already occurred.

He lowered his chopsticks slightly.

"You’re right about one thing."

Song Fuyao looked at him suspiciously.

"What?"

"A new Emperor cannot change everything just by ascending the throne."

Hearing these words, she was somewhat surprised.

Was this dog official agreeing with her?

Lu Yang continued, "Even if he intends to govern well, he cannot personally oversee every county, investigate every official, or resolve every grievance. The dynasty is too large, and the people serving it are too numerous."

He paused before adding.

"But that doesn’t mean nothing can change."

Song Fuyao snorted.

"Here we go again, another profound lesson from a dog official."

Lu Yang ignored her.

"If the new Emperor is willing to investigate corruption and punish those responsible, some people may receive justice, and some may be prevented from suffering what you did."

He looked at her calmly.

"That won’t bring your father back, but it might prevent another family from being destroyed in the same way."

Song Fuyao stared at him for a long time before she lowered her head.

"You really are a dog official."

Lu Yang sighed, but did not argue with her. Instead, he resumed eating.

After a while, Song Fuyao spoke again, her voice quieter than before.

"Do you really believe that?"

Lu Yang paused briefly, the face of his father flashing through his mind.

Lu Shishui had spent years governing Xihe County, reducing unnecessary burdens on the people, reforming tax collection, and confronting powerful clans that evaded their obligations.

He had done so without expecting everyone to praise him, just because he believed that an official should fulfill his responsibilities.

Lu Yang also thought of his grandfather, who had spent decades serving in the Imperial Prison, and Wen Fanghong, who had worked his way up from a destitute Rogue Cultivator through years of effort.

Not everyone within the Imperial Court was the same.

Yet, he also remembered the assassins who had attempted to kill his family.

Someone had paid a thousand taels of silver to arrange the deaths of a government official and his entire household, and the identity of that person remained unknown even now.

Lu Yang slowly set down his chopsticks.

"I don’t know."

Song Fuyao raised her head as he continued calmly.

"I have seen people who genuinely want to help others, and I have seen people who would destroy an entire family for their own benefit. Both exist within this world."

He looked towards her through the iron bars.

"I cannot promise that the dynasty will improve, nor can I promise that the new Emperor will be different from the old one."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"But I can choose what I do, and you can too."

Song Fuyao fell silent, looking down at the food in her hands.

Lu Yang did not disturb her thoughts.

He could not tell Song Fuyao that her hatred was meaningless, nor could he tell her that the dynasty would inevitably collapse.

But as he sat in the Imperial Prison, listening to the distant footsteps of guards, he found himself remembering the rainy day when his mother died giving birth to him due to cultivator bandits.

He remembered the night those five assassins attempted to slaughter his entire family.

His father was a diligent official, his grandfather had served the Imperial Court for decades, and his stepmother’s family also possessed considerable influence.

Yet, none of those things could prevent someone from deciding that their lives were worth less than a thousand taels of silver.

Had Lu Yang not happened to be there, the result might have been entirely different.

Lu Yang slowly took in a deep breath.

Song Fuyao’s experience was probably not an isolated incident.

Perhaps countless other families had suffered similar injustices without ever having the strength or opportunity to make their grievances known.

One case might be dismissed as an unfortunate event, a hundred cases might be treated as separate incidents, but when such things accumulated over the years, they became something far more serious.

A dynasty could appear prosperous on the surface while the foundations beneath it gradually weakened.

The Great Qian Dynasty had existed for centuries.

Its territory was vast, its Imperial Capital prosperous, and its powerful cultivators numerous.

Yet, beneath that prosperity, corruption and disorder had begun to spread long ago.

Lu Yang had noticed these signs the day he learned about the circumstances surrounding his mother’s death.

Now, sitting across from a woman whose life was destroyed by an official’s abuse of power, he found it increasingly difficult to dismiss them as isolated incidents.

Perhaps Song Fuyao was wrong to believe that every person supporting the dynasty was equally guilty, but the suffering that led her to that conclusion was undoubtedly real.

The resentment she carried would not disappear merely because a new Emperor had ascended the throne.

Lu Yang stood up and collected the empty dishes.

Song Fuyao watched him for a moment before speaking.

"Dog official."

Lu Yang glanced at her, "What now?"

"When I get out, don’t expect me to suddenly become a good citizen."

She said disdainfully.

Lu Yang shook his head.

"I never expected that."

Song Fuyao looked at him questioningly.

"Then what do you expect?"

Lu Yang considered the question briefly before replying.

"That you don’t waste the rest of your life trying to destroy yourself alongside the people you hate."

Dropping these words, Lu Yang walked away, not giving her a chance to retort.