On the third day of the ninth month, an Order was issued from the Xuanqing Guard Commander’s Office. It was transmitted under the highest secrecy and delivered to the Western Town Governor’s Office of the Xuanqing Guard. Liao Chengfeng followed protocol, verifying the Order three times before opening and reading it.

That same evening, the highest-level secret Order from the Western Town Governor’s Office was delivered into the hands of Jiang Cheng, the Households Officer at the Fengri City Thousand Households Station. After personally signing for it, Jiang Cheng dismissed his attendants to examine it alone, and at last, a trace of a smile appeared on his face.

The directives had finally aligned.

On the fifth day of the ninth month, Commander Pang Ban of the Xuanqing Guard issued rotation orders to all the Military Inspectors throughout the Dynasty, rotating any Inspector who had been stationed in one place for three years to a new post, and required all rotations be completed within half a month.

On the tenth day of the ninth month, news came from the palace: this year marks the Empress’s seventieth birthday, and the Emperor plans a grand celebration, preparations to begin a full month in advance. On her birthday, the Ten Thousand People Hall will be opened for a great banquet at which all the officials will gather to honor the Empress.

The moment the news broke, the whole Dynasty rejoiced and sent congratulations.

All the high-ranked Nobles and officials—even the Sects—sent Messengers to say they would certainly come to the Imperial City to celebrate the Empress’s birthday.

The Emperors of the Jingjiu Dynasty had always been "reserved," seldom holding large public celebrations for any reason. This grand celebration for the Empress was only the second such banquet since the Emperor’s accession, so all parties paid close attention. And now, the birthday was a mere month away.

Beginning on the eleventh day of the ninth month, the price of Rare Treasures and Treasure Pills soared wildly at major auction houses, especially youth-preserving Treasure Pills, whose price shot up three or four times higher than usual, frightening many people.

Only Fengri City had auction houses, and business in recent days was booming. Many of the most prominent Nobles from Li City brought out their family’s hidden treasures hoping for luck at the auctions—these, of course, were all high-ranking Nobles who were eligible to attend the Imperial banquet on the eleventh of October.

But ordinary commoners received real benefits too. Every household could go to the local Government Office and collect two jin of refined flour or an equivalent amount of rice. Such welfare was extended throughout the Dynasty; any Government Office that dared not distribute it would be seen as slighting the Empress and unfit for office. Besides, in recent years the Dynasty had carefully nurtured recovery and rest, and official granaries everywhere were full—no one was going to criticize the distribution of such a small amount of grain.

Take the common people of Li City, for instance. When they heard the Government Office would give out grain, two jin per person—though it wasn’t much, it was still rare! Ordinary folk paid taxes, but when had they ever gotten anything back? Remarkable!

No matter how remarkable, no one dared shout about it in the streets; at most, a few friends or neighbors would gather to whisper quietly. When they went to collect their rewards, they moved quickly and did not dare look about too much.

Everyone was afraid!

For nearly half a month, there had been executions in East Market every day—mostly the "big brothers" of the streets or the "bosses" of the produce market, all taken to prison overnight for a few harsh words and then beheaded in the market the next day.

The first time someone was beheaded, people gloated: "Yo, isn’t that Brother Longhair from West City? Usually strutted around, squeezing the fat off everyone—tsk tsk! What did he do to deserve this?"

This time, however, no detailed list of crimes was read—as in the past. Only a single unfamiliar term: ’causing a public disturbance.’

To put it plainly: a second-rate hoodlum, a common street thug.

The second, the third...the petty thieves and pickpockets were all beheaded, and now, all the ordinary people in Li City’s jurisdiction were uneasy. Who hasn’t made a mistake? Who hasn’t quarreled with someone? Has the threshold for beheading fallen so low? I argued with Old Zhang next door just yesterday—will he denounce me to the officials?

This was the crack-down. In the Xuanqing Guard jurisdiction spanning more than ten towns, not to mention thieves—even if a gold coin dropped to the ground, no one dared pick it up, afraid it was a setup or a trap. Seven or eight people would rush to report to the Government Office, and not a soul would approach it before the governmental officials arrived.

Yet, despite all the arrests and executions, the Xuanqing Guard’s Evil Qi did not diminish; on the contrary, their faces bore an even more menacing arrogance.

"I heard the Li City Hundred Households Station was attacked by bandits!"

"Pfft! No way! Who would dare do that?!"

"No idea. Anyway, they’ve been searching everywhere the last few days, just trying to catch those people."

"Did they catch them? If those bandits get away, it’s us common folk who’ll suffer next time!"

"If they’d caught them, would those Xuanqing Guard bullies still be this fierce? Obviously, they got away." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Hey, if they escaped, will these Xuanqing Guard brutes keep being this strict? I don’t even dare look around when I walk the streets now."

"I actually don’t mind it—sleeps easy at night, no fear of thieves, and no one dares act up in the streets."

...

North City Inn.

Nearly a month now, and the inn’s business had not improved in the slightest. The Shopkeeper stubbornly kept operations going, but who could say how much longer he could last? Aside from a handful of regular diners by day, and the same pair of guests who rented rooms, there was no one else staying.

A few days earlier, Qin Yurou received news from the Li City Hundred Households Station, sent by a certain Trial Hundred Households surnamed Wang. Though the news was delayed, it was understandable: after the incident, the Black Banner Battalion’s station was instantly sealed off—no entry or exit allowed until just recently.

The news stated: many corpses had indeed been uncovered in the ruins of the Black Banner Battalion prison, all mangled beyond recognition from being crushed together. One body was found fused with a Cross Pillar—it must have been a prisoner locked inside at the time. And the only living prisoner in the Black Banner Battalion prison at the time had been Wen Renhai. So, Wen Renhai was confirmed dead.

When Wen Shiliu first heard this, he worried that his mistress would not be able to bear it, but she showed no sign of collapse. On the contrary, the once anxious Qin Yurou suddenly seemed invigorated: she ate on her own initiative, and even went out of her way to fetch two sets of medicine to restore her strength. Only, she never mentioned the Wen Family’s request for her to return to Bai Dang Mountain.

Wen Shiliu attended to Qin Yurou with utmost diligence as she slowly recovered, and daily noticed the sudden cold frost in her eyes; she would often sit in silence for most of the day, lost in thought.

In a flash, three days passed.

That day, the North City Inn’s Shopkeeper wept again; this time, tears of joy—for, at last, the Xuanqing Guard who had been standing post for nearly a month had withdrawn. The Government Office also sent notice that there would be no further daily inspections, and he could resume normal business.

Thank heaven—the ordeal was finally over.

At once, he bought two strings of firecrackers and set them off to chase away the bad luck. Little did he know the real source of misfortune had already lodged beneath his own roof for a whole month.

It wasn’t just the staff of the East City Inn who were withdrawn; across the entire jurisdiction of the Li City Xuanqing Guard, all investigations began to scale down. After a month of severe crackdowns with no leads at all, continuing such methods was unsustainable; if they didn’t pull back, something would surely go wrong. Prolong it any longer, and problems were guaranteed.

Just as the inn’s firecrackers finished, the pair who’d been staying for a month—Qin Yurou and her servant—came down to check out.

"Madam, are you returning home?"

"Yes, home—but to the Qin Mansion in the Imperial City."