Only after seeing Ashu walk in did he wave his sleeve, rise from his chair, and head straight for the door. “I’m going to the Ministry of Justice. While I’m away, increase the Embroidered Uniform Guard presence to secure Frost Chill Pavilion.”
Ashu: “Yes!”
Just as Xu Ge reached the doorway, his footsteps abruptly halted. His tall, upright figure blocked the entire doorframe.
In the end, he couldn’t resist turning back for one last look at the exquisite gemstone box on the table, which stood out so starkly from the other furnishings.
He lingered for a full three seconds before finally withdrawing his gaze and stepping outside.
At this hour, that old dog Duan Qianren was sure to be drowning in a pile of foul, lengthy cases.
Xu Ge wasn’t worried about finding him at the Ministry of Justice.
His horse was always galloping at full speed, and no one on the streets dared to obstruct him.
The name of Xu Ge, Commander of the Imperial Guards, was thunderous—so fearsome it could silence a crying child at night.
Moreover, only a day had passed since the incident involving Yan Kaiji. Everyone passing by the Yan residence had witnessed the river-like flow of blood and heard the unending, piercing screams.
This fearsome deity was best avoided whenever possible.
Even at the main entrance of the Ministry of Justice, the guards stationed on either side dared not make a sound upon seeing Xu Ge on horseback, let alone attempt to stop him.
No one could have imagined that this Cold-Faced King of Hell was actually close friends with the gentle and refined Minister of Justice, Lord Duan.
The two had met at the Imperial Academy. Outsiders assumed their bond formed simply because they had been classmates for many years.
But only Xu Ge knew how clingy and nagging that old fox Duan Qianren could be.
If Xu Ge ignored him, Duan Qianren would still chatter away by his ear, following him to and from the academy.
Xu Ge once asked him why he insisted on sticking around.
Duan Qianren merely shrugged, raised an eyebrow, and patted the muscles on Xu Ge’s back. “The Imperial Academy is dreadfully dull. I wanted to learn martial arts from you.”
The young Xu Ge had actually taken this explanation at face value. It wasn’t until later, as he approached adulthood, that he came to understand the Duan family’s position in the imperial court.
With his own ideas forming, Xu Ge finally realized that Duan Qianren hadn’t genuinely wanted to befriend him from the start—it was for the sake of the man in the Dragon Robe behind him.
Though the initial intent was impure, after so many years of companionship, Duan Qianren had long set aside that unsavory motive and treated Xu Ge sincerely.
Xu Ge pretended not to know, and both of them tacitly avoided ever mentioning the matter.
Now, Duan Qianren was the gentle and refined Minister of Justice, while Xu Ge had become the bloodthirsty Commander of the Imperial Guards.
Despite their vastly different statuses, their friendship had remained unbroken for many years.
Including the previous case of Yan Kaiji, Duan Qianren had stepped in to help Xu Ge, giving the matter an extra push.
With his agile physique and long legs, Xu Ge crossed the stone steps of the Ministry of Justice in just a few strides, arriving before the central red-brick, yellow-tiled building.
Without so much as a greeting, he abruptly pushed open the tightly shut door.
The person seated at the highest position in the main hall was startled. Upon looking up and seeing it was Xu Ge, the flicker of anger instantly vanished.
He set down the case file in his hand and teased the man slowly approaching from the doorway, “What wind has blown Commander Xu here?”
Duan Qianren was dressed in a red official robe, his hair tied up and topped with a black gauze cap.
At the center of his forehead, right on the black gauze cap, was an oval piece of warm jade.
His brow carried a gentle radiance, like the world’s most exquisite warm jade. His nose was high and straight, and a soft light glimmered between his eyes.
His pale pink lips were pressed into a faint, gentle smile, as soothing as a spring breeze.
Xu Ge wore a cold expression and did not respond to Duan Qianren’s words. Instead, he swaggered inside and took a seat on the chair beside him.
Waving away the servant’s hand offering tea, he picked up the teapot on the table himself, poured a cup, and took a light sip.
“Ashu listens to you so well that the other day, he even dared to contradict me,” Xu Ge immediately began to criticize Duan Qianren.
Yet even Xu Ge himself wasn’t sure whether this inexplicable anger stemmed from Ashu’s defiance or Tang Zhiwu’s cold, unresponsive silence.
But this pent-up frustration in his heart had to be vented on someone.
And that unlucky person happened to be Duan Qianren.
“That’s excellent. The Dali Temple happens to be short of a vice minister. I’ve always trusted Ashu’s abilities—let him come to the Dali Temple to take up the post tomorrow.”
As longtime friends, Duan Qianren could easily see Xu Ge’s current agitation and playfully continued the conversation.
Duan Qianren beckoned a few clerks, pointed to the neatly stacked case files on the table, and signaled for them to clear away the documents.
While they tidied up, Duan Qianren extricated himself from the desk and walked straight over to sit in the chair next to Xu Ge.
He also picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea.
“Your mood is off.”
Only after everyone had left and the hall contained just the two of them did Duan Qianren speak up with a faint smile.
Xu Ge’s gaze remained fixed ahead, his fingers slowly tracing the porcelain cup in his hand. Instead of answering the question, he countered with one of his own:
“I heard you’ve gained a fiancée?”
Surprised that Xu Ge was asking about him, Duan Qianren paused briefly before smiling again. “As expected of the Commander of the Imperial Guards—your information is quite sharp.”
Clink.
Xu Ge turned slightly and placed the porcelain cup in his hand on the table.
Seemingly puzzled, Xu Ge’s brows furrowed lightly. “Where did this fiancée come from? I remember the Duan family was always introducing you to noble ladies from the imperial city.”
“When my parents were young, they traveled to Jiangnan. During that time, they met a rare kindred spirit and exchanged jade rings as betrothal tokens,” Duan Qianren explained unhurriedly.
“However, after all these years, both of those elders who were close to my parents have passed away, leaving only a young girl in this world.”
As if recalling the pitiful sight of the young girl trembling as she arrived alone at the Duan residence with a jade ring, Duan Qianren couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
It was clear he was quite satisfied with this fiancée. His gentle gaze prompted Xu Ge to scoff lightly. “So, you’ll marry her?”
“Probably, but that’s a matter for the distant future,” Duan Qianren replied, lowering his head to glance at the jade ring on his finger and nodding.
“Although she has already come of age and is in the prime of her youth, there’s still a significant age gap between us. I plan to send her to the Imperial Academy to study for a while.”
Xu Ge felt even more unsettled. This smiling tiger Duan Qianren had quietly acquired a fiancée without a word.
In contrast, I couldn’t even wait for a single message.