The docks had already begun stirring with life in the early morning. Unlike the young gentlemen who boarded pleasure boats at night, the canal workers had entered the docks and started working at the first hint of dawn.
The pleasure boats lay lazily moored at the docks, quiet aboard except for the occasional servant cleaning the decks.
Just then, however, a group of constables with iron rulers hanging at their waists hurried toward the docks, their footsteps making the planks creak.
There was no need for a word or a gesture. The canal workers along the way quickly stepped aside, afraid of blocking the officers' path and offending them.
The officers wore rather grave expressions as they walked. Some even carried capture nets fitted with inverted triangular blades that clinked against one another.
Several men in fitted martial attire rather than constable uniforms accompanied them, their expressions seemingly grim as well.
"Six Fan Gate business."
The head constable leading them boarded the pleasure boat. Those words alone made the guards step aside and cooperate. A madam who still retained her charms hurried over to greet them. "Oh, officers, this is a Spring Full House boat. Everyone aboard is a decent, respectable person-"
Officers boarding to make arrests would seriously damage their reputation.
"No need to say more, Chunniang. Just cooperate."
One of the middle-aged men in martial attire following them spoke in a low voice. The madam saw his face, and her heart jolted.
"Third Master-"
He was one of the Cui Family's pillars, a master of the family who had passed the Martial Examination but never taken office. Not yet forty, he was already a transforming force master. With the Cui Family's accumulated marrow training resources, he had prospects of reaching embrace the elixir.
A powerful local family like