The sun was already high.
"Master, wake up." Caiyun leaned her little face close.
"Stop fussing." Jia Huan rolled over.
Caiyun stamped her foot.
"So many guests have come to the manor! It would be rude to keep sleeping, Master!"
Hearing this, Jia Huan had no choice but to get up and wash.
In the Xiangnan Reception Hall, servants poured tea and water. The visitors included not only several officials from the Southern Commandant Office and Hundred-Household Commander Yan Pu, but also officials from the Shenjing Prefectural Court.
Outside the ceremonial gate, Jia Zheng paced back and forth, then stopped a servant to ask:
"Who has caused trouble this time? Why have both the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Shenjing Prefectural Court been alerted?"
The servant answered respectfully:
"Master, Third Master Huan has rendered a great service!"
"This..." Jia Zheng was filled with conflicting emotions.
Though he considered himself one of the court's upright scholars and despised the filthy, scheming Embroidered Uniform Guard, he had to admit that this son of his concubine was quite capable. He was thriving at the office-enough to make so many officials patiently wait half an hour for him?
"Father."
The voice came from behind him.
"Mm." Jia Zheng turned to stare at his concubine-born son and lectured him:
"Though you have grown steadier by the day, can stand on your own, and even have officials visiting you, only if you devoted your mind to your studies would I be proud of you. No matter how much you achieve in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, I will regard it with nothing but contempt."
Jia Huan nodded and entered the reception hall.
There was no need to argue with a hidebound pedant. He could simply let those words blow past his ears.
"Brother Huan!" Yan Pu was visibly stirred, admiration nearly spilling from his eyes as he exclaimed:
"You single-handedly slew two vicious fiends ranked among the Dragon-Tiger Ranking's top hundred! I was a frog at the bottom of a well, blind to the blazing sun beside me. Who could have imagined that my young brother Huan possessed such peerless brilliance!"
"You flatter me, Brother Yan," Jia Huan replied modestly.
An official from the Shenjing Prefectural Court stepped forward and said with a hearty laugh:
"General Banner Jia, that couple committed countless atrocities. Wanted notices for them were posted throughout Great Qian's Ten Prefectures. You have rid the State and Altars of two scourges. The prefect was delighted to hear it and specifically sent us to express his thanks."
Jia Huan cupped his fist in salute.
"Rooting out villains and eliminating evil is my duty!"
The Shenjing Prefectural Court official nodded approvingly. "Then we shall trouble you no further, General Banner Jia."
After they left, an official from the Southern Commandant Office declared forcefully:
"Jia Huan, well done!"
"You not only eliminated those fiends, but upheld the Embroidered Uniform Guard's authority and delivered a powerful warning to the martial world of the Jianghu."
"No matter how domineering or arrogant they are, they had better lie low when they encounter the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Anyone who dares bark madly in the capital will be crushed with thunderous force!"
"By decision of the responsible authorities, you are hereby awarded one hundred taels of silver and expanded authority. As General Banner, you will command twenty-six Strongmen, in recognition of your achievements in this case!"
As he finished speaking, a clerk presented a box and lifted its red cloth covering, revealing ten neatly arranged ingots of Official Silver.
Unexpectedly-
Jia Huan declined.
"Sir, this humble subordinate is still inexperienced. Commanding six brothers will suffice for now."
Twenty more subordinates would greatly increase his power, but his rank would still be General Banner. Better to accumulate merit and rise straight to Hundred-Household Commander in one step.
If he accepted now, the Southern Office would hold him back next time on the grounds that he should not be promoted too quickly.
The official saw through his thinking. Ambition paired with ability was no bad thing.
Ambitious, driven, brave, and fearless-such a man belonged in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The office needed outstanding men like him all the more!
"As you wish." The official nodded, offered a few more words of encouragement, then took his leave.
"Drinks at the brothel this afternoon. I'll be waiting." Yan Pu gave Jia Huan's shoulder an affectionate pat, then accompanied the Southern Office officials back to the office.
"Brother Huan?"
Once everyone had left, Xue Pan, who had been waiting in the corridor for some time, hurried inside.
"First thing this morning, I heard from our family's martial instructor that the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Little Butcher used just two moves! As casually as strolling through a quiet courtyard, with effortless ease, he sent two young martial artists renowned throughout the Jianghu to the Yellow Springs!"
"Before you, they were like little children without the strength to truss a chicken. They couldn't resist in the slightest."
"You came without hesitation and left with such ease. That dashing, heroic bearing..."
His face flushed crimson, Xue Pan gesticulated wildly with excitement. Sadly, he had not witnessed it himself and could only imagine the scene.
Jia Huan's face remained expressionless as he warned coldly:
"From now on, don't go shouting about outside affairs in the manor!"
Those few things this fellow had shouted had frightened Qingwen so badly that she had lain awake all night and cried several times.
"Yes, yes, yes." Xue Pan nodded like a chick pecking grain, his eyes brimming with worship. He wished he could cling tightly to Jia Huan's thigh and swagger through the Jianghu himself.
"Enjoy yourself." Jia Huan walked away, uninterested in entertaining him any further.
Xue Pan paced back and forth, cursing:
"My hidebound, prejudiced mother, you have no idea what Brother Huan is capable of!"
"No... I still have another cousin, Xue Baoqin. She's educated and well-mannered, exquisitely beautiful and innocent, and every bit as lovely as Baochai. I must think of something. Either way, he'll be my brother-in-law."
Friendship was unreliable, but as the elder brother-in-law who arranged the marriage, his connection would be secure.
When he traveled the Jianghu in the future, striding grandly with a sharp sword at his waist-
I, Xue Pan, am the Little Butcher's elder brother-in-law! Every sect in the Martial World will have to honor me as a distinguished guest!
At that thought, Xue Pan made up his mind.
Either Baochai or Baoqin has to marry him. I'm going to be his elder brother-in-law, no matter what!
The Geng-Character Office.
"Boss, you're mighty!"
"Boss, you're formidable!"
Fathead Fish, Twin Whips, and the others stood ramrod straight, their faces brimming with pride. Serving under such a superior gave them no end of prestige. Many colleagues at the office wanted to invite them for drinks to cultivate connections.
"Enough flattery." Jia Huan returned to his seat. His desk was covered with visiting cards.
Scholar said with a smile:
"Boss, at dawn, the Misty Rain Tower released the news. Guess where you placed on the Dragon-Tiger Ranking?"
"I don't care," Jia Huan said indifferently.
"If an ant like Scarface Fiend could rank ninety-first, I have no expectations whatsoever for that blasted list."
"Scarface Fiend genuinely killed their way up the ranks. Their feats are known throughout the Jianghu-they were simply dog-eyed fools to cross you, Boss!" Scholar praised him sincerely, then stopped keeping him in suspense.
"Little Butcher, seventy-ninth place!"
Jia Huan remained unmoved, though he asked with some curiosity:
"Scholar, you're well informed. How many outstanding talents from the Embroidered Uniform Guard Office are on the Dragon-Tiger Ranking?"
Scholar counted on his fingers. "Seventeen or eighteen. Most are between twenty-four and twenty-eight. You're the youngest of them all, Boss."
"And the standouts?" Jia Huan asked.
Scholar recited them as readily as counting his own treasures:
"One is nicknamed Cold-Blooded Chasing Life, a Hundred-Household Commander at the capital's Tianquanfang Guard Station. Ranked twelfth."
"Then there's Ruthless Iron Hand, stationed in Jinling. Also a Hundred-Household Commander, ranked eighteenth."
After a brief pause, he lowered his voice:
"There's someone nicknamed Flower Devotee, a man with a woman's features who loves flowers as dearly as life itself. He holds third place on the Dragon-Tiger Ranking! He serves as a Hundred-Household Commander in Jiangnan, has powerful backing, and enjoys considerable standing in the Jianghu. They say he's an heir to the Shifting Flower Palace."
"Those are the only three in the top twenty."
"Mm." Jia Huan nodded.
He had no desire to compete with them, but since they were all Hundred-Household Commanders, he needed to work harder himself.
He took the Case Files from his drawer and ordered loudly:
"Let's head out and work some cases!"
He would arrest a few more people to build up his experience points. Even the smallest fly was still meat.
Before you continue