Night deepened at the Wan'an Thousand-Household Office.
More than a dozen Scarlet Qilin Guards in red robes stood in two rows, hands on their sabers, with a carved carrying chair between them.
Cao Fo'er, his hair graying beneath a tall hat, sat in the chair with a white porcelain teacup in hand, leisurely nudging aside the floating leaves. His crow's-footed eyes looked drowsy.
Pacification Commissioner Cao Huai'an knelt on one knee, four bodies covered in white cloth behind him. Though the Capital City's officials regarded him as a living King of Hell, fine beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and a measure of nervousness crept into his voice:
"Forgive me, Lord Cao. This happened because your son failed in his oversight. Within three days, I will uncover the full story and give you an accounting..."
Chief Eunuch Cao Fo'er had been Emperor Qian's childhood companion. After helping him claim the throne during the Jian'an Rebellion, Emperor Qian had poured the resources of the entire nation into forcibly raising him to the Transcendent Grade of the Buddhist Dao, keeping him as a trusted bodyguard.
Though he was one of only two Transcendent Grade experts in the Capital City, Cao Fo'er's rank was somewhat watered down. Nor did he possess the heaven-reaching aura of "who else but me?" that ordinary patriarchs had.
Instead, Cao Fo'er looked more like a kindly, plump old man, and even spoke with a slightly effeminate air:
"It isn't your father you owe an accounting. It's the heir.
"Just now, the Pill King's Heir was bawling outside the palace gates, claiming the Scarlet Qilin Guard harbored disloyal intentions and had plotted to assassinate him, sowing discord between His Majesty and his brother, the Pill King. He even startled His Majesty out of bed.
"The heir may be disliked