Xuanqing Guard

Chapter 341: Chapter 341: The New Official

Wang Yiming was stunned for a moment. He had almost forgotten how long it had been since he personally took charge of an investigative case.

In the Thousand Households Station, the work was mostly about coordinating affairs in the subordinate cities, or providing martial force reinforcements. Sometimes, it was about assisting with investigations or acting as inspectors.

For him to be the principal investigator was rare in the Black Banner Battalion of the Thousand Households Station—at least, for Wang Yiming, it had been ages. What’s more, for it to be such an obviously targeted "case" made Wang Yiming feel inexplicably invigorated.

"I will handle this perfectly, without fail!"

"Go. Remember, anyone who’s not polite to you, you don’t need to be polite to them either."

"Understood."

Wang Yiming was no pushover. Sure, he usually smiled and didn’t talk much, but he was actually from a prestigious family in the Imperial City. Pride ran in his bones—his restraint and shrewdness kept his temper in check most days, but give him a real chance and he could be a ruthless man, too.

Shen Hao waved his hand, and Wang Yiming went out to carry out his orders. Soon after, the previously rowdy sounds outside vanished quickly.

The Deputy of Black Banner Battalion coming around with a little notebook to take everyone’s names? What’s that about? Just looking at it was alarming!

But at that moment, even though most people kept quiet, in their hearts they were even more dismissive, thinking the Black Banner Battalion was just putting on a show to scare people. They ate the most, yet had the least seniority. The higher-ups were being unfair—this wasn’t over yet.

So, after the Black Banner Battalion’s garrison quieted down, the new Households Officer Kuang Shengyuan’s Public Office was suddenly packed with people.

...

After his shift, Shen Hao left the Public Office with a smile. All along the way, quite a few people proactively saluted him with cupped fists, and even the ones who didn’t greet him would bow slightly and step aside to let him pass first. You’d never guess that just this morning, a bunch of people had been making a racket outside the Black Banner Battalion’s gate.

Now in Fengri City, who would dare show Shen Hao an ugly face to his face?

The new Households Officer, Kuang Shengyuan? Tonight, Shen Hao had arranged dinner at a restaurant and invited Kuang Shengyuan. Zhang Qian and Gan Lin were to accompany, along with Tang Qingyuan.

They didn’t choose the Flower House mainly because they wanted to talk openly and build connections. There’d be plenty of chances for festivities later.

Zhang Qian and Gan Lin, like Shen Hao, were both on the same boat as Jiang Cheng, and Kuang Shengyuan’s successful appointment as the Chief Officer of Fengri City Xuanqing Guard was surely due to Jiang Cheng’s hand—count him on the same boat, too.

As for Tang Qingyuan, that was Shen Hao’s little selfishness—giving Tang a boost, while also finding a helper for himself.

The restaurant was arranged by Tang Qingyuan. When Shen Hao arrived, Zhang and Gan were already waiting in the private room, and as soon as he entered, they urged him to join them in tossing seeds and gambling for fun.

But for cultivators, gambling was boring—it was too easy to cheat, especially for those with high cultivation. No matter how you guarded against it, you’d still lose out. Back in the day, Shen Hao had always lost gambling with these two, dropping at least twenty or thirty thousand in total. But today, just in the time waiting for Kuang Shengyuan—the time it took to burn an incense stick—not once did Shen let Zhang and Gan win.

"Well, well! Shen! Fishing for a win, are you?"

"Didn’t notice your cultivation improved again! You sneakily crept up and did us dirty!"

"Pay up! Pay up! Doesn’t count—you cheated!"

Shen Hao burst out laughing—how could he possibly return the money he’d won? With a flip of his hand, he stashed the thick pile of silver notes straight into his Storage Bag. Zhang and Gan both curled their lips helplessly—another money bag had flown away. In the future, they’d never gamble with this Shen again—he was way too good at playing the fool.

But even so, they had to admit, everyone wasn’t built the same. They were old enough to be Shen Hao’s seniors, and their cultivation at Gathering Spirit Fourth Layer just wouldn’t rise any further. If they got lucky, they might make another advance before dying; if not, that was all their life would amount to. Look at Shen Hao—cultivation and officialdom, he was flying up the ladder like it was child’s play.

No use being jealous, no use at all!

"Where is he? Why isn’t he here yet?" Zhang Qian, seeing that collecting his debts was hopeless, could only give up, pouting as he took a sip of tea from his cup.

"He should be here soon," Shen Hao replied. Then he said, "There they are." Looking out the window, he spotted Tang Qingyuan and Kuang Shengyuan getting down from a carriage together.

"You invited Tang again?" Gan Lin was a bit puzzled.

"Yeah, old acquaintance, more connections. Later, you two big brothers help me feel things out—we still don’t know what kind of temper this new Lord Thousand Households has."

Zhang Qian and Gan Lin exchanged a smile. Zhang continued, "What temper can he have? The man Jiang sent up—surely he knows exactly where you, Shen Hao, stand. Don’t worry, Old Gan and I have always been on your side."

After a few more words, footsteps sounded outside. Zhang Qian and Gan Lin stood up with Shen Hao, heading to the private room’s door to greet them.

"Lord Kuang!"

"Haha, Shen! I’ve been waiting for your dinner for ages, worried you’d forget about it! As soon as I finished my shift, I dragged Lord Tang along. Didn’t expect Households Commander Zhang and Households Commander Gan to be here too! Haven’t kept you waiting long, have I?"

"No, no—just arrived a bit earlier, that’s all."

All social pleasantries. If they really couldn’t wait, they wouldn’t have dawdled so long. Still, the tone was on point—at least there was goodwill in it. Shen Hao took note.

With everyone present, they began the meal. After three rounds of drinks, they started talking business.

At first, it was just idle chatter—after all, none of those present were total strangers. Shen Hao hadn’t dealt much with Kuang Shengyuan before, but they knew each other’s faces. Zhang and Gan too.

"Still the most comfortable is you, Shen! After today’s announcement, the Black Banner Battalion’s authority is on the rise again. Not just extra powers—just the resource tilt alone is enough to make people green with envy. Honestly, at first I didn’t believe it, but turns out it’s true. The attention the higher-ups are giving the Black Banner Battalion is... truly unexpected!"

"Hehe, Lord Kuang speaks the truth. But with this trust comes great pressure too. I’ll rely on your guidance, Lord Kuang, otherwise I might not be able to bear it."

"No, no! Shen, you’re capable and hard-working. You’ve always been the one handling Black Banner Battalion’s matters—even when Wu Changhe was around. It’s best to keep things as they are. Besides, Lord Jiang specifically told me that the Black Banner Battalion needs space. As Chief Officer of Fengri City Thousand Households Station, I can show that much magnanimity. So go ahead and take charge, Shen—if you need anything coordinated, just let me know. I’ll never shirk it!"

The words were beautiful. But talk raised this high always had a turn coming. Shen Hao kept smiling and listened, not responding right away.

Sure enough, Kuang Shengyuan continued, "But Shen, I heard today that you’re planning an internal investigation against some people in our Thousand Households Station, just because they made a scene at the Black Banner Battalion? Isn’t that a bit much?"

Shen Hao grinned, "It might be a bit much, but the trial document just came down. I’m just treating those tactless fellows like children—some spanking can’t hurt. Lord, if you’d rather..."

"No, no, Shen, as I just said, I won’t interfere in your Black Banner Battalion’s affairs. I just hope that when you’re investigating internal matters in the Thousand Households Station, you’ll coordinate our goals and actions—how about it?"