That afternoon, warm sunlight spilled into the Black Bureau. Deep within it, the dragon-and-phoenix-carved eaves of the five-story Jade Resonance Tower gleamed in the sun.
Black Bureau personnel in constables' robes came and went through the main entrance, while in an alley nearby, a scene of a kindly master and filial disciple was unfolding.
The alley stood right beside the Black Bureau. Qiu Tianhe had settled there after his release. Though Ye Jingtang's guarantee had restored his freedom, the little courtyard had no other occupants, so it remained his temporary accommodation.
At that moment, A Lan stood in the alley doorway with her little daughter in her arms, peering out.
Dressed in white, Xue Baijin stood with one hand behind her back, looking every inch a stern teacher as she frowned at the two little constables before her.
Zhe Yunli wore a black-and-green robe, with a badge bearing the character for "constable" and a saber hanging at her waist. She cut a dashing figure, but looked rather cowed, her head lowered as she dared not speak.
Round-faced Ping'er had also dressed as her constable partner. Standing behind her, she muttered:
"My young lady has practiced martial arts since childhood and upheld the chivalrous way. She took this job to rid the people of scourges, not for a few hundred taels in salary..."
As a diehard loyalist of the Former Dynasty and leader of the Sky-Pacifying Sect's rebels, Xue Baijin had never bowed to the Empress, even though she was already betrothed to Ye Jingtang.
She had originally come to check on Qiu Tianhe today and ask A Lan, who was already a mother, a few questions along the way. Yet barely had she sat down in the courtyard when she spotted Yunli skipping back from the street in the garb