Imperial henchmen? My divine skills are all hacked versions.

The madam swayed as she approached, "Sir, what are your orders..."

Xu Xian sat sprawled out in the chair, chuckled softly.

"Go, bring all the girls resting here up, we'll pick one..."

The madam was stunned. "Sir, how can you sell things like this? We've never sold them like this before..."

"That's because I wasn't here! If I had been here, you would have been selling them already!"

As he spoke, he pulled something out of his pocket and threw it over.

The madam hurriedly caught it and saw a flash of golden light; a smile instantly bloomed on her face.

"Please wait a moment, sir! I'll call all the girls in the building right away!"

Xu Xian turned around, leaned against the railing, and clapped his hands at his brothers in the private room.

"The girls will be here soon. Today, we'll each choose our own partners. Once you've picked, go back to your rooms. I'll pay for the rooms."

Old Feng almost spat out the mouthful of wine he had just taken a sip of.

"Xu Xiaoqi, you're too generous! You just casually throw out a gold ingot; that's almost a year's salary for us!"

Xu Xian chuckled and filled the empty wine glass.

"This is called taking from the people and using it for the people. This gold was a reward from His Majesty. It is the tax money collected from the people. It is only right and proper for me to return the tax money to the daughter of the people."

  

Yang Xu paused for a moment, then stood up and gave Xu Xian a thumbs up.

"Tsk! I've lived most of my life, and this is the first time I've heard someone talk about visiting brothels with such awareness!"

Lu Jing silently took a sip of his drink. "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant."

Old Feng looked at Yang Xu and then at Xu Xian, shook his head, and began to check if his hair was messy.

...

The girls filed in and lined up in the private room.

Xu glanced at it, shook his head, and the madam quickly replaced it with a new batch.

I looked at it again, and still shook my head.

When the third batch came in, Yang Xu's eyes widened. A round-faced girl stood at the end of the line, with two dimples when she smiled.

Yang Xu beckoned to her, "Come and sit down."

Zhang Hu chose a tall and thin one, Zhao Bao picked one with long hair, and Lao Feng took a liking to a dignified one who sat quietly in the corner like a cat.

After everyone made their choices, they took their rooms back to their respective rooms, except for Lu Jing, who hadn't made a choice yet.

Xu noticed that the girls in that row were scanned several times, but each time he would only glance at them twice before looking away, as if he hadn't found anyone he liked.

"Brother Lu, why aren't you choosing? Is it because there aren't any you like in this batch?"

The madam was getting a little anxious and stood by with a forced smile.

"Master Xu, Master Lu, these are the best girls in our building. If we change them again, we'll have to go to the backyard to find some. There's really no one else left."

Lu Jing hesitated for a moment, glanced at Xu Xian, then at the madam, and coughed lightly twice.

"Um... I think Mom is... still very attractive!"

The private room fell silent. Xu Xian paused, his wine glass hovering near his lips. His gaze lingered on the madam's face for a moment before slowly shifting to Lu Jing's. The commander's expression was serious, his eyes resolute.

Xu Xian shifted his gaze back to the madam and looked her up and down.

She was indeed very voluptuous—in her early thirties, with a curvaceous figure and a slender waist. She was better maintained than many of the girls in the building, with skin so white it looked like you could pinch water out of it, and the fine lines around her eyes only added to her mature charm.

My mother is used to big occasions and has heard all kinds of comments and greeted all kinds of guests, but she clearly hasn't heard anything like this before.

She opened her mouth, then closed it again, and two blushes appeared on her face.

"Master Lu, you...you must be joking. I'm already quite old, this isn't appropriate..."

Xu put down his wine glass and gave Lu Jing a thumbs up, "Brother Lu, you're a true connoisseur."

...

Meanwhile, in a courtyard on the outskirts of Beijing, covered with withered vines, moonlight shone on the bluestone slabs, and two people sat on either side of a stone table.

A man dressed in fine clothes sat on a stone bench and, by the moonlight, picked up a white chess piece and placed it on the chessboard.

He was sitting in a slightly crooked posture, and his right leg seemed to be not very flexible, with his legs dragging below the knee on the outside of the stone bench.

The man in black opposite him was completely shrouded in a black robe, with only a withered hand showing, which pressed down a black piece.

"You've thought of everything; you were prepared in advance."

The man in fine clothes looked at the chessboard. "Otherwise, I would have been in deep trouble this time. That hateful Xu Xian has ruined my plans time and time again. First he solved the mission case, then the tax silver case, and he even managed to find the dyehouse."

"Those children were the ones I'd spent two years gathering, and they were almost ready to be trained, but now he's wiped them all out. Master, do you think we should move our outposts to other locations?"

"Your Highness is overthinking it. Xu Xian is indeed clever, but he is only one person, and his influence cannot extend to other states..."

The man in black placed another piece, chuckled,

"Let's stop taking in children for now. That's about enough. In the six prefectures and twenty-seven counties of Jing Kingdom, His Highness already has more than three thousand Gu soldiers. Three thousand Gu soldiers are enough to fight against thirty thousand elite soldiers. If we continue to refine them, they will be harder to control."

"Besides, with that person's help, great things can be accomplished!"

The richly dressed man's eyes gleamed. "Master, you mentioned that matter..."

"That person has already agreed to cooperate with Your Highness..."

The man in black nodded slightly. "We'll just have to wait until next spring."

The man in fine clothes suddenly stood up, dragging his right leg on the ground, and limped a few steps.

He looked up at the cold moon on the horizon, then suddenly laughed, his laughter barely audible.

"Finally! After so many years of planning, it's finally going to happen! Next spring, after next spring, this Yasukuni will be mine!"

The man in black sat on a stone bench and placed a black piece in the center of the chessboard with a soft thud.

The large group of white stones on the chessboard was broken in two by this black stone, which struck the only gap in the group.

...

The next morning, at Taibai Tower.

When Xu Xian pushed open the door to come out, the door directly opposite him also opened.

The madam came out of Lu Jing's room, wearing a light green jacket, her hair loosely tied up, and her face glowing despite the lack of makeup.

When she saw Xu Xian, she paused, her face flushed red, and she covered her face with her fan, lowered her head and walked quickly past him, her embroidered shoes making a clattering sound on the stairs.

Lu Jing followed Xu Xian out of the house and stood next to him. The two of them watched the madam's hurried figure as she fled down the stairs.

Xu Xian turned to look at Lu Jing. Lu Jing straightened his collar and stared straight ahead. Xu Xian clasped his hands in a fist salute and bowed.

"A role model for us all!"

Lu Jing's ears turned even redder.

...

Early in the morning, still feeling a bit hungover, Xu returned home. The gate to the courtyard was ajar, and Hua Xi had disappeared to play somewhere.

He poured a bowl of cold water in the kitchen and gulped it down. He wiped his mouth, kicked off his boots, flopped onto the bed, closed his eyes, pulled the blanket up, and fell into a deep sleep in less than three breaths.

...

Meanwhile, in the backyard of the Inspection Department.

Mo Feichang sat under the old locust tree, a sheet of Xuan paper spread out in front of him, and he was writing a new poem with a sheep's hair brush in his hand.

Shen Weiya was practicing her swordplay in the courtyard, the sword light drawing silver arcs in the morning light. Mo Feichang didn't even look up, "Your wrist is too stiff, relax."

"I'm already very relaxed!"

Despite her verbal protests, Shen Weiya adjusted her wrist strength as instructed, and her swordplay indeed became smoother.

She sheathed her sword, walked to the stone table, and leaned closer to look at the poem Mo Feichang had written. She frowned after just one glance.

"Master, your line 'The glint of the sword shines like snow over the border town' is too straightforward. Why is the glint of the sword like snow? Snow is white, and so is the sword? It's too obvious."

"That's called imagery."

"That's called being lazy! Last time you wrote about swords, it was 'The sword is like a rainbow piercing the sun and moon,' and this time you wrote about sabers, it's 'The saber's light shines like snow illuminating the border city.' Master, do you have a template? You just change the name of whatever weapon you're writing about and fit it into it?"

Mo Feichang put down his brush, about to scold her, when Lu Jing walked in from the other end of the corridor.

"Your Highness..."

He clasped his hands in a respectful greeting to Shen Weiya, then handed a long sword wrapped in coarse cloth to Mo Feichang with both hands.

"Chief Si, it's done."

Mo took the sword and untied the coarse cloth layer by layer.

The sword is entirely jet black, with a straight spine and narrow blade. The tip is slightly upturned, and the blade pattern is like flowing water. It is quite nice.

He casually swung his sword twice, the blade cutting through the air silently, only a very faint hum could be heard, and he nodded in satisfaction.

Shen Weiya ran over,

"Master, did you prepare this for me?"

Mo chuckled softly.

"You can't use it. This is for Xu Xian. That kid has done a lot of good deeds recently, so he deserves a reward."

Shen Weiya took the sword and tried to lift it to feel its weight—the sword didn't budge.

Her face flushed red, she gripped the hilt of the sword with both hands and pulled hard, finally managing to lift it up, but the sword tip only hovered in the air for a breath before it began to fall!

She quickly put the sword back on the table, which made a heavy thud when it hit the stone table, and the teacup on the table shook slightly.

"Cold Iron Elite!"

Shen Weiya stared blankly for a moment, rubbing her reddened fingers as she looked at the dark, heavy sword on the table.

"Isn't this something for someone in the Bone Tempering Realm? Forging a sword like this could be exchanged for a three-courtyard house in the capital, probably worth more than ten thousand gold pieces. Even the Inspection Department doesn't have many pieces like this, right? Master, you're too generous."

Mo Feichang picked up his teacup and took a sip. "What's there to be reluctant about? Things are meant to be used. Instead of keeping them in the storeroom, it's better to hand them over to people who can use them."

Lu Jing muttered to himself, "The master is treating Xu Xian so well, anyone who didn't know better would think Xu Xian is your son."

Mo glanced at him and said, "If you can also solve two major cases, I'll give you one too."

Lu Jingqian chuckled twice, clasped his hands in farewell, and took his leave.

As he turned around, a neatly folded piece of paper slipped from his sleeve and floated gently to Mo Feichang's feet.

Mo Feichang bent down to pick it up and was about to call out to Lu Jing when his gaze swept over the crooked handwriting on the paper and he suddenly stopped.