Wei Mansion.
The study.
An elderly man in everyday clothes sat upright behind the desk, holding an old, yellowed book in one hand. His expression was composed.
His hair and beard were white. Though his face was aged, he still commanded awe without having to show anger.
He was the master of the Wei Mansion, the current Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Duke Wei—Wei Wenda.
"My lord."
A soft call came from outside the door.
Duke Wei did not even raise his head. He turned a page and said calmly, "Come in."
The door opened a crack, and the old steward came in, stooped beneath the chill clinging to him.
He carefully closed the door behind him, then hurried over to the desk and said in a low voice, "My lord, there was a bit of a commotion over at Miss's place just now."
"A commotion?"
"Y-yes... a guest arrived."
Duke Wei furrowed his brow and set down the book.
"Who would come visiting in the middle of the night?"
Yongxing Ward lay right at the foot of the Imperial City. At this hour, who would come calling besides the Martial Patrol out on their rounds?
The steward swallowed and chose his words carefully. "It was... a young woman, dressed in the uniform of the Demon Suppression Bureau. But from the look of her... she was in a terrible state, covered in blood. You'd think she'd crawled out of a pile of corpses. She said... she was an old acquaintance of Miss's from when she was in Liangzhou."
"If she's Qing'er's friend and a member of the Demon Suppression Bureau, then make sure she's well looked after."
"She's just a junior. There's no need to report this to me in particular. Just tell the servants to be