Draped in Brocade Robes

Li Qingxian said, "I just came back from Lord Zhou's place. He said that was the case."

Han Anbo and Yu Ping nodded.

The Jia-Nine Office, once filled with constant noise, had grown unusually cold.

Li Qingxian asked, "Should we go see Captain Zheng today?"

Han Anbo said softly, "Brother Zheng is feeling stifled right now. Let's wait a few days before going."

Li Qingxian silently nodded. Zheng Hui had lost his True Essence, while he himself had been promoted to Tenth Rank and taken over as captain. Going now would be no different from provoking him.

Han Anbo smiled, his short brows and narrow eyes relaxing. "Don't overthink it. You taking over as captain is a good thing! If someone else came in, who knew how they'd toss us around? With you as captain, Yu Ping and I can still have good days ahead. There's no need to rush Brother Zheng's matter. We'll talk about it in a few days."

"Yeah, it's better than having an outsider take the post," Yu Ping said.

"Normally, a promotion to Tenth Rank calls for a grand celebration. But I can see you're not in the mood. We'll wait a while, then invite Brother Zheng along. Don't forget the Flower Sea Strong Brew!" Han Anbo said.

"Sure!" Li Qingxian said.

"Oh, right. Is it true they're replacing the deputy captain?" Han Anbo asked tentatively.

Li Qingxian snorted. "Lord Zhou said the Finance Office Director Wei Yong was making trouble behind the scenes. But Lord Zhou didn't seem particularly concerned. I couldn't figure it out."

"Tell me the details. I'll help you think it through," Han Anbo said.

Li Qingxian told him what had happened.

When Han Anbo finished listening, he smiled. "Lord Zhou isn't refusing to help you. He's testing you. That's what an uncle ought to do. He can't protect you forever. A Subordinate Tenth Rank deputy captain is neither too high nor too low—just right to serve as your whetstone."

"So that was it." Li Qingxian suddenly saw the light.

"So you must not let down Lord Zhou's favor. Whatever you do, don't act on impulse," Han Anbo advised.

Yu Ping glanced at Han Anbo, then lowered his head and ate his glutinous rice cake.

Li Qingxian paused, then asked, "A squad can only have one deputy captain. What will you do?"

"Ah, I haven't reached Entry Rank. Whether I'm deputy captain or not doesn't matter." Han Anbo looked completely at ease.

Li Qingxian kept a blank face and lowered his head, turning it over in his mind.

"Qingxian, you absolutely mustn't act rashly this time. You're Night Guard, so you have to follow the Night Guard's rules. Your performance will determine whether Lord Zhou can entrust you with greater responsibility. Officialdom isn't like scrambling about in the streets. In officialdom, rules matter, interests are calculated, compromise is discussed, harmony is sought, positions are fought over, and power is contested. But at the end of the day, either you don't draw a blade, or blood must be shed once you do. As for the conflicts among the major powers, they've long been impossible to conceal. Blades have been drawn and blood has been flowing all along. But we're in the same yamen, so we can't do things that way."

"If that's all people talk about, then what about fairness and justice?" Li Qingxian retorted.

Yu Ping suddenly said, "Stop talking. If you keep going, I'll laugh so hard I spray food everywhere. Wasting grain isn't good."

"No wonder Captain Zheng always scolds you. You deserve it!" Li Qingxian said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Han Anbo analyzed, "Pang Mingjing entered the Imperial Prison, and Wei Yong, as his direct superior, naturally couldn't accept that. Since the hard way didn't work, he took a crooked path. By their usual tricks, they'll deliberately find fault, anger you, pick at your flaws, and ruin your reputation. The blade has already left its sheath. If it doesn't draw blood, it can only keep chopping. So you must keep your composure."

Li Qingxian remained silent.

"But don't be too afraid," Han Anbo said. "Over the next few days, I'll help you familiarize yourself with a captain's duties, so others can't find faults to exploit. I've served in several Night Guard offices. I'm not much in a fight, but I've got decent experience."

"Brother Han, you'll have to help me properly from now on," Li Qingxian said. "I truly don't understand all these twists and turns, and I can't be bothered to."

"You can't afford not to understand. If you want to rise, you need to understand everything. Why do Confucians, Daoists, martial artists, demons, heretics, and puppeteers smash their heads bloody trying to squeeze into the imperial court? Isn't it all to fight for a share of Fortune and strengthen themselves? The higher your rank, the more Fortune protects you, and the steadier you'll be in these chaotic times. Cow... the Chief Guard Envoy is such a cautious man, and he's never lost a battle in his life... Well, he's never won one either. Yet doesn't he still sell his life to the court for High Rank? If you ask me, the Chief Guard Envoy is the smartest man under heaven." Han Anbo spoke earnestly.

Li Qingxian said nothing.

"So, for the deputy captain matter, endure it for a while first," Han Anbo said.

Yet Li Qingxian smiled. "Don't worry. I'll think it over some more and make sure it's handled properly."

"That's good!"

"Oh, right, Brother Han. First tell me how I should be a captain, and what I should watch out for. I don't want to charge about recklessly and ruin things when the time comes."

"Whether or not Lord Zhou stands behind you, the most important person is your direct superior—the Street Patrol Office Chief, Lord He Lei. You also need to gradually get acquainted with the chiefs of offices like the Accounts Office, Clerks' Office, Investigation Office, Mounted Patrol Office, and so on. Next come the Eighth Rank and Ninth Rank officers in each office..."

Han Anbo spoke slowly, and Li Qingxian listened slowly.

As he listened, Li Qingxian pondered. Whenever he did not understand something, he asked directly.

From beginning to end, Han Anbo's tone remained mild, without the slightest air of flaunting his seniority.

After Yu Ping finished the pastries, he listened until his head swam. He rinsed his mouth, lay down on the bed, and went to sleep. He would eat again after waking.

Li Qingxian spent the entire day learning how to be a captain.

That night, Zhou Chunfeng's guard delivered a brand-new Subordinate Tenth Rank official uniform and the promotion document.

Li Qingxian put on the new official uniform to try it on, and Han Anbo and Yu Ping smiled as they praised him.

When the second watch sounded, the captains from every office called for lights out and bed.

Before long, thunderous snores rose from next door, one after another.

Li Qingxian lay in bed, his mind full of how to be a Tenth Rank captain, how to become a Destiny Arts Master. No matter what, he could not fall asleep.

"Why not begin formally cultivating Fate Arts?"

Li Qingxian carefully considered the methods of Fate Arts cultivation.

Before reaching Entry Rank, the Fate Measuring Sect's Book of Fate had been like a heavenly scripture to him—utterly incomprehensible.

After reaching Entry Rank, the profound Fate Arts knowledge slowly melted away like solid ice over fire.

The core ability of a Destiny Arts Master was not reading Fortune, not knowing auspiciousness or misfortune, not telling fortunes. It was using one's own strength to analyze the relationships within Destiny Molds, clarify Heaven's Mandate and human fate, and influence—or even completely change—a person's destiny.

They were not those who knew fate, but those who set fate.

Observing qi and reading Fortune were merely the most basic abilities.

Every High Rank individual was protected by the court's Fortune and their own Destiny Mold. Only after first conducting Fate Reading and calculating a relatively clear Destiny Mold could one determine their Fortune.

He had been able to see Dong Ying's Fate Projection because Dong Ying's Destiny Mold and Destiny Mansion were not powerful. Even so, he had suffered a slight backlash.

More importantly, Dong Ying was only Tenth Rank, beneath notice, without even an official seal, and had not received the court's Fortune protection.

He had been able to see Ye Han's Fate Projection entirely because the Heaven's Mandate Instrument had acted of its own accord. Even then, Ye Han's Destiny Mansion had resisted, preventing him from probing deeper.

After pondering for a long while, Li Qingxian decided to enter the gate first and worry about the rest later.

To begin Fate Measuring Sect Fate Arts, one first had to spend a great sum to forge a Fortune Measuring Ruler and a Destiny-Setting Scale.

A thousand taels of gold.

Li Qingxian froze. That was ten thousand taels of silver. His maternal grandfather's family had been ordinary, and in the end had only reached Ninth Rank. Where could they have gotten ten thousand taels of silver?

"Could it be that they used the Li Family's assets? Then Mother couldn't afford good medicine..."

Li Qingxian temporarily set that thought aside.

"The Fortune Measuring Ruler measures Fortune, while the Destiny-Setting Scale determines Destiny Stars. It is also one of the rare Destiny Artifacts capable of testing whether a Destiny Star is real or empty. But... why did the Book of Fate say that the Fate Measuring Sect's tools were inaccurate? Not only the Fate Measuring Sect—even all Fate Arts schools, including the Heaven's Mandate Sect, are not one hundred percent accurate."

Li Qingxian was bewildered for a moment, then realized this was one of the Fundamental Grand Laws of Fate Arts.