The Administrative Affairs Division was the largest department among the Six Ministries, and even its location was the most luxurious and immense. Its carved beams and painted rafters went without saying; the main hall alone looked like an imperial palace. Various landmark buildings stood scattered before it, and it also had the heaviest foot traffic. Outside the hall, officials and guardians passed by every three or five steps. Before I had even entered, a grand and imposing aura had already surged toward me.
Compared to the gloom and desolation of the Hall of Penal Law where I served, this place was simply heaven and hell. After seeing the Administrative Affairs Division, the Hall of Penal Law was practically unfit for habitation!
As soon as we entered the realm dock, guards came to ask Chen Teng and me what we were doing there. We explained our purpose, but the guards merely said, "Go in," before losing interest in us. Clearly, they did not even take a fifth-rank and a sixth-rank minor official like us seriously.
"Haha, every time I come to the Administrative Affairs Division, I feel this sort of oppressive grandeur. I feel it's far more imposing than our Hall of Penal Law. At most, we can suppress convicted officials, but they suppress all the officials under Heaven. Practically nothing can be done without passing through the Administrative Affairs Division." Chen Teng laughed with some emotion.
"Indeed. The Administrative Affairs Division always seems a cut above the rest. They're even more arrogant than military officials. Look at those officials from the Administrative Affairs Division over there. Aren't they the same?" I pointed toward several people wearing Administrative Affairs Division robes. They were glaring furiously at a group of guardians and cursing without pause, which made me rather annoyed with the