"No one else knows about this matter, right?"
"Rest assured, sir, I handled it with utmost secrecy. Absolutely no one else will find out."
"Good."
One hand resting on Si Nan's shoulder, Ye Liuyun spoke in a low tone.
"If anyone else finds out, you know what the consequences will be."
"I wouldn't dare, sir!"
Si Nan knelt at once. He didn't know why, but today Ye Liufeng seemed especially authoritative.
"Get up!"
Just needed to scare him a little—after all, he did need someone useful in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Cashing in on the moment, Ye Liuyun drew a hundred-tael silver note from a stack and handed it over.
"Sir, this is...?"
"Work for me, do your job well, and you'll never run short of benefits."
Hit them first, then sweeten them up—a big promise in an instant.
He'd experienced this enough from his boss in his old corporate life—he'd picked it up just by watching.
The old Ye Liufeng gave out perks too, but only a couple of taels here and there. Giving a whole hundred at once? That was a first.
After a brief daze, Si Nan quickly accepted it.
"Don't worry, sir, I'll do my utmost, lay down my life for you if I must."
Words like these were just for show. Ye Liuyun didn't take them seriously and waved his hand to dismiss him.
"Alright, you can go now. Inform me if anything comes up."
"Yes, sir!"
After tucking away the silver note, Si Nan bowed and retreated, even closing the door thoughtfully behind Ye Liuyun.
He patted the spot where he'd hidden the silver, still feeling it was unreal.
"It really does feel like the boss is different today."
But for now, he couldn't figure out what was off. Still, a hundred taels was a hundred taels.
,,,
This was just the first day. Ye Liuyun didn't run around like an idiot, trying to sniff out the Embroidered Uniform Guard's internal workings.
Otherwise, wouldn't that be telling everyone: I'm a fake, I don't know a thing about this place?
Might as well take the opportunity to check the files on the bookshelf. The Embroidered Uniform Guard had quite a bit of power—basically every case in the Imperial City was under their jurisdiction.
At first he didn't notice anything.
But after a while, Ye Liuyun suddenly realized the files were organized—but not by how serious the cases were.
"Noble's son smashes up a tavern?"
"General's heir eats and doesn't pay?"
"Ministry of Revenue Assistant Minister's son gets into a fight in a brothel and breaks a scholar's leg?"
After paging through this stack, Ye Liuyun got it—they were sorted by who you could cross, and who you absolutely could not.
No need to check the rest. He could guess that most of the people involved had some serious background.
Either noble scions or offspring of high officials.
The rest, piled to the sides, were the ordinary cases—but even then, there were the wealthy and the penniless ones.
"My dear elder brother really does have the art of officialdom down cold."
Putting down the file, Ye Liuyun couldn't help but start laughing.
Used to act all lofty in front of people, as if he was some moral paragon, but behind the scenes? Just another penny-pinching bureaucrat.
Still, it did serve as a wake-up call.
In a place this rotten, if you act too upright, you're just asking to be singled out.
The morning slipped by in a flash.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard clocked in early, but also got off work early. By noon, they could leave.
"Sir, are you going out on patrol?"
As Ye Liuyun came out, Si Nan hurried over.
Normally, in the afternoon you'd either patrol the streets or round up troublemakers.
But right now Ye Liuyun had zero interest in either.
"Maybe later. I'm tired today, I'll head home first."
Si Nan's expression froze, as if he hadn't expected Ye Liuyun to just leave.
But he didn't overthink it, quietly following Ye Liuyun's side.
"Let me see you out, sir!"
"Mm."
Just as they were about to leave, a group approached from the front. Leading them was a tall, broad-shouldered, honest-faced man.
When he saw Ye Liuyun, the man snorted heavily.
"Hmph!"
Clearly, they had a grudge.
Might as well have written "loathing" right on his face.
Then, with his own people, he strode right past Ye Liuyun.
"Target: Shi Sheng!
Realm: Second-class Martial Artist!
Talent Entries: Thick-Skinned (Blue), Valor (Blue),"
"Thick-Skinned (Blue): Naturally resilient—has an exceptional advantage when cultivating body-protection techniques."
"Valor (Blue): If forced into a fight to the death, can sacrifice reason to increase strength."
A double blue talent, huh.
Both talents were for fighting—no wonder he gave off such a tough vibe.
But that look in his eye... did he have a grudge with the previous Ye Liufeng?
"Don't take it to heart, sir."
Seeing Ye Liuyun's gaze following Shi Sheng's retreating back, Si Nan spoke promptly.
"Shi Sheng may be a Commander, but he's way too inflexible—doesn't know how to adapt. He's got no one to rely on in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If it weren't for his Second-class Martial Artist ranking and accumulated merits, he wouldn't even hold the Commander position!"
Si Nan's tone was full of scorn as he spoke.
Guys like Shi Sheng, who only know how to chase crooks, are destined to get nowhere.
You might scrape up enough achievements to make Commander, but going any further, like becoming a Centurion? Not a chance.
"Really? Then why did he look at me like he wanted to kill me?"
"Uh!" That made Si Nan laugh awkwardly.
"You might have forgotten, sir, but not long ago Commander Shi Sheng arrested some Ministry of Personnel men, and you're the one who got them released."
No wonder. That explained it.
According to the old Ye Liufeng's style, once he knew the people in trouble had connections, he'd definitely make an appearance to curry favor.
And the old Ye Liufeng probably despised rule-sticklers like Shi Sheng, so of course there'd be bad blood.
Thinking it all through, Ye Liuyun smiled, unconcerned.
"Oh, that? I'd almost forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it. Shi Sheng is really petty, still holding a grudge after all this time."
"Uh—yeah, exactly!"
Si Nan echoed the awkward smile.
Though inside, he felt helpless. It hadn't actually been that long, just a few days at most.
And who in the Embroidered Uniform Guard didn't know Shi Sheng was famous for hating evil. Forgetting? Not likely.
,,,,,,,