The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

The summer solstice in the twenty-fourth year of Yonghe.

The duty rooms of the Imperial Guard Battalion were located in a side hall to the west of the Qianyuan Hall.

The house is made of blue bricks and gray tiles, and two old locust trees in front of the door provide shade, blocking most of the sunlight from the windows of the guardhouse.

Xu Chu sat behind a desk in the center of the duty room, with a patrol roster spread out in front of him.

Holding a vermilion pen in his right hand, he was checking the guard post assignments for each gate of the palace tomorrow, line by line.

He is in his early thirties and has served in the Imperial Guard for nearly five years.

He rose from centurion to deputy commander, steadily progressing from the seventh rank to the peak of the seventh rank.

The vermilion pen stopped at a mark indicating the change of shifts, and the brow furrowed slightly.

There is a gap of about half a cup of tea between the changing of the guard at the South Gate and the East Gate; this is a loophole deliberately left by someone.

He circled the gap with his pen and wrote a line next to it: "The changing of the guard at the South Gate will be delayed by half a cup of tea, in sync with the East Gate."

As I put down my pen, the door to the duty room was pushed open from the outside.

Dian Wei strode in, the pair of short halberds at his waist tapping lightly against the door frame with a muffled thud.

He is now a centurion in the Imperial Guard Battalion, with a cultivation level of seventh rank.

Xu Chu looked up at him, his gaze lingering for a moment on the pair of short halberds at his waist.

There was a thin notch on the halberd blade, which was cleaved by Zhan Zhao's sword yesterday in the training ground.

The two practiced on the training ground for half an hour, their fight sparking fiercely.

"Everything was normal at the South Gate today. At the handover time at 5 a.m., a young eunuch was peeking around in the gate. I stopped him and questioned him for a few minutes. He said he was a newcomer from the Imperial Household Department and had taken the wrong route."

"This subordinate told him to leave his waist token behind, and that someone from the Imperial Household Department would come and collect it later."

As Dian Wei spoke, he sat down opposite him, took out the water pouch from his waist, took two gulps, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Xu Chu nodded and then asked him if the gap in the short halberd had been repaired.

Dian Wei glanced down at the halberd blade and said he hadn't had time yet; he'd go to Old Zhao at the Armory Bureau to get it fixed after his shift today.

Xu Chu placed the vermilion brush on the brush holder, took out a short knife from the drawer, put it on the table, and pushed it to Dian Wei, saying that the knife had been sharpened and that he should take it and use it first.

The two were silent for a moment, then suddenly heard light footsteps outside the door.

Zhan Zhao pushed open the door and came in, with the long sword that had never been drawn hanging at his waist and two documents in his hand.

He walked to the desk and handed one of the documents to Xu Chu, saying with a smile, "Deputy Commander Xu, congratulations on your promotion. The Ministry of War just issued the transfer order this morning. Take a look for yourself."

Xu Chu took the document, opened it, and slowly scanned the paper with his eyes.

The transfer order was personally signed by Sima Lie, the Minister of War, and was brief and forceful in its wording.

"Xu Chu, deputy commander of the Imperial Guard Battalion, was dedicated to his duties and repeatedly made meritorious contributions in battle."

"He is hereby promoted to Left Battalion Commandant of the Imperial Guard Tiger Guard, a fifth-rank official, and is required to report to the Tiger Guard within ten days."

Dian Wei put down his water pouch, leaned over to take a look, and patted Xu Chu's shoulder heavily with his large, fan-like hand, saying "Congratulations."

Xu Chu carefully folded the document and put it back in the envelope, then looked up and asked Zhan Zhao what the other document was.

Zhan Zhao handed the second document to Dian Wei, saying it was for him.

Dian Wei took the document, opened it, and glanced at the paper, his thick eyebrows slightly raised.

He was promoted to deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, a sixth-rank official, succeeding Xu Chu.

He turned to look at Xu Chu, who said that this responsibility should have been his from the start, patted him on the shoulder, and congratulated him.

Zhan Zhao leaned against the side, smiling as he watched them, saying that he really couldn't bear to be transferred away after being in the Imperial Guard for the past few years.

The two of them were great when they worked together.

Xu Chu pushed the approved patrol roster on the table in front of Dian Wei.

He had already marked out the shift changes between the South Gate and the East Gate, and instructed Dian Wei to follow this arrangement tomorrow.

Dian Wei took the duty roster and nodded.

As the three were talking, a very faint sound of clothes rustling in the wind suddenly came from outside the window.

Zhan Zhao didn't even turn his head, but simply gestured with his chin towards the window: "Yuanfang is here."

Before the words were finished, a green shadow silently descended from the old locust tree outside the window and landed steadily at the door of the duty room.

Li Yuanfang was dressed in an indigo-blue camouflage outfit, with a few locust leaves still stuck to his shoulder.

He still had that elusive appearance, but his face looked a bit more mature than a few years ago, and his jawline was more defined.

His eyes have also changed from sharp to reserved, like a knife that has been repeatedly tempered, its sharpness concealed, yet colder and sharper.

He walked into the duty room and placed a document on the table, his voice neither loud nor soft: "The transfer orders for the three of you have arrived."

"I also have one, the commander of the Imperial Guard's secret sentries, a sixth-rank official."

"Specializing in night patrols of the palace and the deployment of hidden sentries, reporting directly to His Majesty."

Zhan Zhao laughed and said that from tonight onwards he would have to call Yuan Fang Commander Li.

Li Yuanfang glanced at him and said that Instructor Zhan had also been promoted.

The Imperial Guard Tiger Guard Light Cavalry Battalion Commandant, a sixth-rank official, happened to run into the person delivering documents at the Ministry of War, so he brought him along.

Zhan Zhao took the document, opened it, glanced at it, and a smile appeared on his lips.

They said they were going to send him to the Tiger Guard, where he would work under Xu Chu.

The four men stood in the duty room, each holding a transfer order.

Four years ago, they first showed their talent in the Imperial Guard competition, and were scrutinized by the entire court.

Now, Xu Chu has risen from a centurion to a fifth-rank military officer, the Left Battalion Commandant of the Tiger Guard, through his military achievements.

Dian Wei stood guard at the palace gate for countless days and nights with his pair of short halberds, rising from an ordinary guard to deputy commander.

With his exceptional lightness skill and the sword that was never drawn, Zhan Zhao rose from a lightness skill instructor to a cavalry captain.

Li Yuanfang spent countless nights in the shadows, unseen by anyone, rising from a sentry to the commander of the sentries.

Xu Chu put away the transfer order, looked up at the three people in front of him, and said in a deep voice, "I'll treat you to a drink tonight."