On a bleak autumn day, the withered leaves had all fallen, and heavy clouds loomed overhead.
There were no special markings outside the Qin residence, only two white lanterns hanging by the entrance.
Shi Wen, standing guard at the entrance, exhaled a breath of stale air. As his teacher liked to say, having to work or attend school in weather like this was truly miserable.
"Old Wen, you're the one assigned to guard this place?" Dan Chixia approached in a plain white robe and greeted him. "I thought the Golden Crow Guard would be handling security here. After all, Her Majesty is here too..."
"The Golden Crow Guard is inside. Walk in and you'll see their commander receiving guests—but he's treated better than I am. At least he has a chair to sit on." Shi Wen folded his arms. "Do you have an invitation? If not, roll away. Roll, roll, roll."
"Why are you still so foul-tempered..." Dan Chixia sighed, then took out a black invitation with a gold border and handed it to the Patrol and Punishment Department agent at the entrance for registration.
He had only taken two steps inside when he hesitated and turned back. Leaning close to Shi Wen, he lowered his voice. "A lot of important figures will be coming later. Some of them might bring their families... Take my advice. You'd better turn a blind eye."
"I'm not Lai Ya. If it were her, she could close both eyes and it wouldn't matter. She can't see anyway." Shi Wen sneered. "The thing I like doing most is enforcing the law impartially, using power and reason to trample those arrogant scum of humanity beneath my feet, so they know what an iron wall is, and what it means to run headfirst into a dead end!"