Inspector Geng and Yuanfang
At the same time, in the rear hall of the Yangzhou government office, thousands of miles away.
The sunlight outside streamed through the white gauze curtains over the carved windows, spilling across the carpeted floor of the inner chamber and filling it with warmth.
It was just the right time for a midday nap.
Though the inner chamber in the rear hall was neither as imposing nor as luxurious as the front offices, it was still tastefully furnished. There was a sandalwood desk, the Four Treasures of the Study, an exquisite Jiangnan landscape screen, and a Boshan incense burner in the corner, where fine agarwood that soothed the mind and calmed the spirit smoldered. It had everything one could need.
In short!
With the curling smoke from the incense burner and the sunlight, the place seemed to lend the government office an air of quiet elegance.
"..."
At that moment, Inspector Geng of the Heavenly Court Inspection Bureau was reclining in the grand chair behind the desk.
A cup of spirit tea sat beside him. Its steam had faded, showing that it had been there for some time; the tea was almost cold.
But he didn't seem to mind. His eyes were half-closed, as if dozing or lost in thought, and he reclined at his leisure, looking utterly comfortable.
He appeared to be around forty, with fair skin and three neat strands of dark beard falling over his chest. He wore a plain, dark blue-green official robe, and a jade plaque carved with a coiling dragon—the badge of the Inspectorate—hung at his waist. His presence was restrained, yet his brow carried the composure and shrewdness of someone seasoned by years in officialdom.
This man was none other than the Heavenly Court Inspection Bureau inspector recently dispatched