Imperial henchmen? My divine skills are all hacked versions.

The fourth young master looked at the man in black and sneered, "Which of the three dukes and four marquises in the capital is easy to deal with? Is the Crown Prince sending me to my death?"

The man in black smiled slightly.

"Fourth Young Master, rest assured. On the day we take action, at most only one of the Three Dukes will remain in the capital, or perhaps none of them will be there. Moreover, we have other helpers, so you won't be left to fight alone..."

The fourth young master remained silent for a moment, then got up and paced back and forth.

"This is difficult, extremely difficult... The old eunuch is a fourth-rank official, protected by the Imperial Guards, and the emperor knows nothing about him. It's as difficult as ascending to heaven!"

"...But since you dare to do it, you must have some reason to be confident. It's not just empty talk. What if you actually succeed..."

His gaze sharpened as he looked at the man in black. "I can consider it. Is there anything else?"

"Your Highness requires the Fourth Prince to swear an oath to Heaven guaranteeing the return of the item. Your Highness and I will also swear an oath to Heaven guaranteeing to keep our promise. Once the matter is resolved, we will give the Prince the imperial seal!"

"I swear to Heaven—"

The fourth young master's pupils contracted sharply, and he fell into a long silence.

A vow made to Heaven is not something to be taken lightly.

Other people's oaths are like farts, but swearing to God... God really will take you away, and he will take you away immediately!

He has lived for so long and has seen many who did not believe in the superstitions, but in the end, they were all taken away by Heaven.

Therefore, he rarely made oaths; every oath he made was a shackle he put on himself.

But he hesitated, weighing the cost of the oath and the weight of the nine seals on both sides of the scale.

"gentlemen..."

He sat down and thought for a long time before finally speaking, his voice a few decibels lower than before.

  Find great books on 101 Reading website, 101read.com. Super convenient, all-hand-typed and error-free site.

"You're putting me in a difficult position. If I don't get my hands on the Jingguo Seal, I won't be able to eat or drink for the rest of my life. But if you ask me to swear an oath to return it, I really don't want to. Heh heh... those are nine seals. Who would want to return one once they've got it?"

"But if I don't return it, Heaven will surely punish me. This is a real headache..."

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, remained silent for a moment, and then gently slammed the teacup down on the table.

"Deal made. I swear to God that I will borrow the seal for one month and return it on the due date. If I break this oath, may God take my soul."

The man in black looked surprised and raised his right hand as well.

"I swear to Heaven that after this is accomplished, I will lend the Seal of Jingguo to the Fourth Prince for one month. If I break this oath, may Heaven take my life!"

The man in black picked up the now-cold cup of tea on the table, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp. He then stood up and straightened his robes.

"It's a deal. I'll wait for your good news, Fourth Young Master, in two months."

He turned and pushed open the door to the private room, his steps light and quick, and soon disappeared at the end of the corridor.

The fourth young master sat alone by the window, picked up the copper kettle, and poured himself another cup of tea.

He looked at the bustling pedestrians on the street and muttered to himself.

"A seal is a good thing; I hope it doesn't cost me half my life this time..."

The fourth young master picked up a pen and wrote a few words on a piece of paper, folded it, and stuffed it into an envelope. He wrote "To my sixth brother" on the envelope and then clapped his hands lightly.

A waiter silently emerged from behind the screen, took the letter, stuffed it into his pocket, and disappeared into the stairwell.

...

The next morning, when Xu opened his eyes, he found a fair and tender thigh straddling him.

He gently moved the leg off him and got out of bed.

The courtesan on the bed groaned and woke up, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. Seeing Xu Xian standing shirtless beside the bed, her face flushed, and she unconsciously squeezed her legs together...

She hurriedly rolled out of bed to help Xu Xian change his clothes, but because she had been so rough last night, her legs gave way and she fell forward.

Xu Xian reacted quickly, grabbing her by the chest and pulling her back onto the bed with his other arm around her waist. He then gave her a quick squeeze and chuckled.

"You didn't get much sleep last night, so don't move, just rest and catch up on some sleep."

The courtesan's face flushed red all the way to the roots of her neck. She pinched the corner of the blanket and pulled it up a little, then nodded without saying anything more.

Xu Xian put on his clothes and tied his belt. Before leaving, he glanced back at her. She was already huddled under the covers, with only half her face and a pair of bright eyes showing.

...

Only the same servant from last night was wiping the tables in the lobby.

Xu Xianchong waved to him.

"Go to the kitchen and get me two jugs of wine. Pick the best Shaoxing wine you have here, the kind tied with red string, aged for ten years. Don't get the wrong one."

"Okay, please wait a moment."

The servant grinned, ran into the kitchen, and soon came out with two jugs of Shaoxing wine tied with red rope and a small jug of loose wine. He wiped the dust off the jugs with his sleeve and handed them over.

Xu Xian accepted the wine, then took out a copper coin from his sleeve and slapped it into the other man's palm.

"You served me well last night. Don't tell your boss that I gave it to you. If she finds out, she'll start nagging me again."

The servant looked down at the few copper coins in his palm, paused for a moment, then chuckled.

"Mr. Xu is so generous. Next time you come, I'll reserve the best private room for you."

Xu Xian waved his hand, picked up the wine pot, and left Taibai Tower.

As soon as the door opened, he stood there stunned for a moment.

Snowflakes fell thick and fast, covering the streets with a layer of white that was already half an inch thick.

The bare branches of the roadside trees were covered with frost, and the glazed tiles of the palace wall in the distance were half covered by snow, revealing the golden edges underneath.

He switched the wine jug to his left hand, reached out his right hand and caught a snowflake, which landed in his palm.

The year has passed.

He spent the New Year on his way to Qingzhou.

The mission case, the tax silver case, the children's case, the cold iron case—one case after another—were investigated from autumn to winter, and from winter to spring.

This was the first snow he had ever seen in the world.

He lifted the wine jug in his hand and walked towards the Inspection Bureau through the snow.

...

Pushing open the wooden door to the backyard, the large locust tree that he had uprooted had been replanted.

The soil around the tree roots was neatly piled up, and two wooden stakes were placed next to it to secure the trunk.

Qi Sheng, the old gatekeeper, was sitting under the eaves, smoking a pipe, holding a cup of hot tea, with an old blanket covering his legs, squinting at the snow.

Xu Xian shoved the two pots of Shaoxing wine into his arms.

"Uncle Qi, I had a good drink at Taibai Tower last night. I'll bring you two jugs on my way."

The wine jar rolled twice on the blanket, and Qi Sheng quickly reached out and pressed it down.

He glanced down at the stamp at the bottom of the jar, took the pipe out of his mouth, and tapped the ash on a pillar.

"Taibailou's Shaoxing wine... Commander Xu, you're giving this to an old gatekeeper? One pot of this wine is worth half a month's wages for me. I just casually mentioned it the other day, and you actually took it to heart."

Xu Xian sat down on the steps next to Qi Sheng, unscrewed his flask of cheap liquor, and took a sip.

"The wine is to thank you for last time. If it weren't for you helping me hold onto that locust tree last time, Lord Mo would have hung me up from the tree and whipped me."

Qi Sheng placed the two pots of Shaoxing wine at his feet and pulled the blanket covering his legs up a little.

He put the pipe back in his mouth, took a drag, and smoke slowly billowed from his nostrils.

"I don't drink alcohol, but I like smoking. If you have time, just get me some good tobacco leaves."

smoke.

Upon hearing this word, Xu Xian's heart skipped a beat.

In his past life, when he was working late into the night reviewing case files in the criminal investigation team, there was always a cup of strong tea and a pack of cigarettes on his table.

Having transmigrated for more than half a year, I fought my way from death row to the position of centurion in the Chief Inspector, so busy that I didn't even think about the word "smoke".

Now, sitting under the eaves, looking at the pipe in Qi Sheng's mouth, I suddenly felt a slight tickle in my throat.

"Where did you buy your tobacco leaves? Are there any tobacco shops in Kyoto?"

"There's a tobacco shop called Yunji in the west of the city. It's been in business for generations, and their tobacco leaves are the best in Jingguo. But they're expensive; one ounce of tobacco leaves costs as much as half a month's wages for me."

Xu Xian memorized the four characters "Yunji Tobacco Shop" in his mind. "I remember, old man. I'll bring you some next time."

Just then, the sound of a sword cutting through the air came from inside the courtyard. His ears twitched, he screwed the lid on the wine pot, and pushed the door open to go inside.