The Six Ministries were located adjacent to the Imperial City, just outside Chengtian Gate.

The Imperial Clan Court, Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Works, Ministry of War, Ministry of Justice, Imperial Observatory, Imperial Academy, Court of State Ceremonials, and Imperial Hospital were all clustered together.

In front of each ministry’s yamen, carters and sedan bearers, all dressed in grey cloth, were also crowded together. They chatted, joked, and gambled, each waiting for their masters.

By the time Chen Ji emerged from the Ministry of Personnel, the sun was already high in the sky.

A Ministry of Personnel official, dressed in a blue robe, personally escorted him out of the yamen and patiently advised him, “The Imperial Guard Commander’s Office is just opposite. Cross this road, and you’ll see the building with the ‘Imperial Guard Commander’s Office’ plaque hanging above its main gate. Also, I should explain the situation of the Imperial Guard, so you know how to conduct yourself there.”

Chen Ji cupped his hands and said, “Please guide me, sir.”

The Ministry of Personnel official kindly replied, “We’re all on the same side; no need for formalities. In earlier years, the Imperial Guard was organized into five battalions, with one Commander and five Commanding Officers under him, totaling 5,600 men. However, later the Imperial Guard was only responsible for imperial ceremonies, used for occasions like sacrificial rituals to Heaven and ancestors, and receiving foreign envoys. Consequently, it gradually reduced to two battalions, with only two fourth-rank Commanding Officers. Even the position of Commander has remained vacant. Each Commanding Officer commands five hundred men, for a total of one thousand men.”

The official continued, “Currently, Commanding Officer Li Xuan’s unit is short-staffed. The Ministry of War plans to recruit locally from the capital, but it certainly won’t be fully staffed anytime soon. The other Commanding Officer is also an old acquaintance of yours, so I don’t need to introduce him. Once you’re in the Imperial Guard, just follow his lead; you won’t run into any trouble.”

An old acquaintance?

Chen Ji’s heart tightened.

The first challenge he faced upon returning to the capital was not enemies, but acquaintances.

And the place he was assigned to happened to be the Imperial Guard, a unit notoriously filled with idle dandies.

Chen Ji’s mind raced. He had once been merely an obscure illegitimate son of the Chen family, so naturally, he wouldn’t have any widely known old acquaintances. There was only one possibility: this Commanding Officer was a member of the Chen family, which is why outsiders would assume they were acquainted.

Who could it be?

Chen Lizun, the head of the First Branch, had no children, so it couldn’t be someone from that branch.

Chen Lizhi, the head of the Second Branch, had two sons: the eldest legitimate son, Chen Wende, held the official position of Vice Minister of Rites and wouldn’t be assigned to the Imperial Guard. The second legitimate son, Chen Wenren, had once held the rank of Company Commander in the Elite Guard… It must be him.

He wondered if there were any other acquaintances among the dandies of the Imperial Guard.

At this moment, the Ministry of Personnel official in front of him smiled and said, “Next spring will be the ‘Capital Review,’ held once every six years. Minister Zhang is extremely busy and often not in the yamen. I am Zhou Xingwen, a Director in the Ministry of Personnel’s Bureau of Appointments. If you need anything from the Ministry of Personnel and Minister Zhang isn’t available, you can come directly to me.”

The Director of the Bureau of Appointments, responsible for official appointments and position transfers, truly held the title of ‘foremost Director in the realm’ and wielded great power. However, this ‘foremost Director’ was more amiable than expected.

Chen Ji cupped his hands again and said, “Thank you for your trouble.”

After Chen Ji left, Zhou Xingwen let out a long breath and turned to return to the Ministry of Personnel’s office.

Inside the office, someone said without looking up, “Old Zhou, I’ve never seen you so diligent. A mere Imperial Guard junior officer had you personally escort him out? Whose young master is this?”

Zhou Xingwen chuckled without answering.

Then an official behind another desk teased, “No wonder your promotion speed, you bookworm, isn’t as fast as Old Zhou’s. You both passed the imperial examination in the same year, but he’s already a fifth-rank Director, while you’re still a sixth-rank Section Chief.”

The official who had asked the question earlier looked up in astonishment. “What are you talking about?” he exclaimed. “Praise him if you want, but why insult me!”

The official who had teased him smiled and said, “That young man just now isn’t a simple junior officer. He’s a meritorious official who just returned from Guyuan, with over a hundred lives of Jing Dynasty rebels on his hands. But that’s not the key. The key is that news came from the palace eunuchs that when this junior officer had an audience with His Majesty, our Minister Zhang spoke up twice to ask for an official position for him.”

“Then why is he still only a junior officer? With his merits and Minister Zhang’s intervention, it wouldn’t be hard to secure him a position as a Company Commander or a Battalion Commander.”

Zhou Xingwen sat behind his desk, took a sip of hot tea, and slowly said, “His Majesty said to first put him in the Imperial Guard to temper his character. How many people in recent years have managed to get His Majesty to say such a thing? Only Minister Zhang Zhuo and Minister Wang Daosheng.”

“Wang Daosheng hasn’t been reinstated yet, has he? His Majesty saying this doesn’t mean much then.”

Someone else sitting behind a desk scoffed, “Why doesn’t His Majesty say he wants to temper you? Does His Majesty even know who you are?”

The bookish official, who was being teased, frowned. “You can’t even do your job properly, spending all day speculating on these things,” he retorted.

Zhou Xingwen shook his head, knowing that debating was useless.

But another official didn’t let the bookworm off the hook. “You really can’t deny Old Zhou’s capability. Back when Minister Zhang’s promotion papers came down, all of you made excuses that Luocheng was too far and didn’t want to deliver them. It was Old Zhou who volunteered to go. Now look, he’s Minister Zhang’s favorite, the foremost Director.”

The bookworm mumbled, “Dumb luck.”

Someone else cast him a sidelong glance. “This ‘Capital Review,’ held once every six years, covers all officials below the fourth rank in the capital and Jinling. During the last ‘Capital Review,’ 197 officials were dismissed and 67 were demoted. Now, when officials in both capitals mention the ‘Capital Review,’ everyone’s expression changes, isn’t that right?”

The bookworm asked, puzzled, “Yes, what about it?”

The other person continued, “The timing of Minister Zhang’s promotion to Vice Minister of Personnel was just so coincidental, right before the ‘Capital Review.’ It’s clear His Majesty wants him to return to the capital to oversee the ‘Capital Review’ affair. Think about it: who used to oversee the ‘Capital Review’? The Minister of Personnel and the Censor-in-Chief!”

Even before Zhang Zhuo returned to the capital, his appointment to the Grand Secretariat was already a certainty.

The bookworm still argued stubbornly, “Minister Zhang has an unlimited future, but what does that have to do with that junior officer?”

Zhou Xingwen put down his teacup and looked out the window. Only a few people noticed that Zhang Zhuo’s legitimate son and daughter had returned from Guyuan with that junior officer.

Under the warm sunlight, Chen Ji dodged carriages and horses as he crossed the long street.

Upon arriving at the gate of the Imperial Guard Commander’s Office, he saw that the main gate was wide open.

On the parade ground, over thirty Imperial Guards who had returned from Guyuan with him were practicing with spears.

Further away, some other Imperial Guards were sitting in groups of two or three in the shade, chatting. He didn’t know what topic they were discussing, but they burst into unrestrained laughter together.

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, then stepped inside.

An Imperial Guard by the stables stood up, patted his rear, and casually walked over to greet him. Someone shouted from a distance, “Hey, Chen boy, remember me? Hahaha, Jianyuan twenty-six, the Xiaoyingzhou literary gathering, remember that?”

Chen Ji frowned; this person had clearly seen him before.

But he had no idea who the other person was.

Just as he was at a loss, he saw Qi Zhenzhuo rush out of the two-story tower at the edge of the parade ground, waving excitedly, “Master, Master!”

Chen Ji paused and turned to look.

Qi Zhenzhuo jogged over and pulled him towards the tower.

Chen Ji instinctively wanted to pull away, but seeing those ‘acquaintances’ nearby, he immediately let Qi Zhenzhuo lead him away.

As they walked, Qi Zhenzhuo said, “Master, I’ve been waiting for you at the main gate since early morning. You arrived just as I stepped inside for a cup of tea; it makes it seem like I was deceiving you. Brother-in-law is here too; he can testify for me that I really just stepped inside for a cup of tea.”

However, before they had gone far, they heard those Imperial Guards from earlier speak up, “Qi Zhenzhuo, he’s one of us. Why are you pulling him away?”

Qi Zhenzhuo stopped. “Your man?” he retorted. “Zhao Zhuofan, we shared life and death in Guyuan! How did my Master become your man?”

Zhao Zhuofan sneered, “He’s a member of the Chen family. Our battalion’s Commanding Officer is Chen Wenren. If he’s not one of us, whose man is he? Let him say it himself: whose man is he?”

Everyone looked at Chen Ji, their gazes intense.

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, then turned to Qi Zhenzhuo and said, “Where is Commander Li? Take me to him.”

Qi Zhenzhuo’s eyes lit up. “Let’s go, let’s go! Brother-in-law is in the Commander’s Office.”

Zhao Zhuofan’s expression darkened. “If you side with Li Xuan today, I’m afraid there’ll be no place for you in the Chen family.”

Chen Ji paid him no mind and quietly asked Qi Zhenzhuo, “What does the Imperial Guard usually do? Why are there so few people in the Commander’s Office?”

Qi Zhenzhuo beamed and said, “There’s usually nothing serious to do on normal days. For dandies like me… Master, I’m not a dandy anymore, by the way! We used to just have our names on the Imperial Guard roster, show up for roll call, and then go wandering off, either to the Eight Great Alleys or to drink tea and play chess.”

Chen Ji asked, puzzled, “What if His Majesty needs the Imperial Guard?”

Qi Zhenzhuo explained, “Sacrifices to Heaven and ancestors have fixed times. His Majesty lives secluded in Renshou Palace and doesn’t require ceremonial escorts, and Her Majesty the Empress never leaves the palace. Even if they do need to leave the palace, the Imperial Clan Court, Court of State Ceremonials, and Ministry of Rites will start preparations over ten days in advance. We’d still have enough time to assemble then. It’s very rare for any urgent matter to require the Imperial Guard. Look, Chen Wenren isn’t even here today; I heard he went to a literary gathering.”

Qi Zhenzhuo mocked quietly, “With his limited talent, he clearly went to the literary gathering to flirt with women from minor families, yet he actually pretended to be cultured.”

Chen Ji asked curiously, “If everyone’s gone, who handles the daily affairs?”

Qi Zhenzhuo laughed, “Those from humble families do it. We don’t need this post, but they’re afraid of losing their Imperial Guard stipend, so they naturally work diligently.”

Chen Ji looked towards the stables, where over ten Imperial Guards were silently feeding horses, standing out from the rest.

Qi Zhenzhuo continued, “I wanted to tell you yesterday that being a junior officer is truly an injustice to you. But don’t worry, once you’re in the Imperial Guard, just consider yourself a Deputy Commanding Officer. I’ll even be your Deputy Commanding Officer, that’s fine.”

Chen Ji turned to examine Qi Zhenzhuo. He wondered if the man had already died once in Guyuan and been taken over by some grand figure from the forty-ninth heaven.

Just then, someone suddenly rushed into the main gate, shouting loudly, “Where is the Imperial Guard?”

Chen Ji and Qi Zhenzhuo turned to look together. It was a young eunuch in a green, round-collar robe, jogging quickly and holding a yellowish-brown imperial decree in his hand. He shouted, “By the Grand Secretary’s order! His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress will receive the Goryeo Crown Prince at Shenshi. Jianji Hall is to be opened, and the Imperial Guard is to form an honor guard!”

Qi Zhenzhuo was startled and exclaimed in surprise, “Why so sudden?”

He had just boasted to Chen Ji that not being on duty wouldn’t matter, and karma had immediately caught up!

Chen Ji asked in a low voice, “How many men are needed for the honor guard for foreign envoys?”

Qi Zhenzhuo mumbled, “Goryeo is a small country; 360 men should be enough… But the Commander’s Office doesn’t even have 200 men right now.”

Chen Ji thought for a moment. “Send a fast horse to find Chen Wenren,” he said. “Where is the literary gathering he attended?”

Qi Zhenzhuo said frantically, “There’s only half an hour left; it’s too late.”

However, he suddenly had another thought and began to gloat. “Wait, the Grand Secretary must know that our battalion currently only has thirty-seven men, and they’re all here. Furthermore, we just returned to the capital, and it’s supposed to be our day off. If Master hadn’t decided to come, we wouldn’t have even shown up for duty at the Commander’s Office. So, if there are any penalties, they won’t fall on us. If blame truly comes down, it will only be Chen Wenren and his group who suffer… Strange, why is it so sudden this time?”

At this moment, Li Xuan emerged from the tower, clad in silver armor, and said softly, “The Grand Secretary’s blade is still as sharp as ever, killing without drawing blood.”

Qi Zhenzhuo paused. “What do you mean?” he asked.

Li Xuan glanced at him. “The Grand Secretary holds grudges and always seeks revenge,” he explained. “The Directorate of Ceremonial lost a ‘Sick Tiger,’ one of its top three zodiac agents, yesterday. Someone has to pay the price.”

On the parade ground, Zhao Zhuofan was seen shouting everywhere, “Assemble, don your armor!”

The Imperial Guards scattered throughout the Commander’s Office quickly gathered, but there were only a little over 160 men, far short of the 360 required.

Just as Zhao Zhuofan was at a loss, another young eunuch in a green robe ran over, holding up the Grand Secretary’s imperial decree and urging them, “Where is the Imperial Guard? Hurry to Wumen Gate to await the decree… Why are there so few of you? Where are the rest?”

Qi Zhenzhuo asked Li Xuan, “Brother-in-law, should we go? Or should we just go home for our day off and let Chen Wenren and Zhao Zhuofan suffer a swift downfall?”

Li Xuan shook his head. “It’s our duty,” he said. “Don your armor, assemble the troops! I don’t care about the others, but we cannot let foreign envoys see us as a joke!”

Chen Ji suddenly said, “Find me a set of armor too. I’ll help make up the numbers.”