The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Chapter 363: Chapter 357: The Coldness and the Warmth

"Master, is this our house?!"

Fang E cried out, running joyfully through the main gate. She had lived with Bai Yuan in a mansion in Huanglong Prefecture before, but it paled in comparison to this grand estate in the Capital City.

Bai Yuan looked up at the flamboyant calligraphy of the two words "Bai Mansion" and couldn’t help but marvel as well.

The house Guo Yingru had assigned him was right next to Black Tortoise Great Path. This was the best real estate in the Capital City; it was no exaggeration to say every inch of land was worth a fortune.

The residents here were third-grade officials at a minimum. In fact, many officials of that rank failed to secure a residence on Black Tortoise Great Path. Stepping outside meant running into the most influential figures in all of Xuan Yang.

As it happened, Bai Yuan knew the people living on both sides of him.

On his left lived Guo Yingru, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. On his right was Yang Ting, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works and Yang Fangyu’s third uncle.

The eight-courtyard estate was truly massive; to Fang E, it was practically a maze.

A residence this large was actually meant to house an entire clan.

Bai Yuan had only just arrived in the Capital City and hadn’t yet had time to purchase servants. With only three people, the mansion naturally felt cavernous.

That’s right, three people.

Besides himself and Fang E, there was one other person: Yue Xiaobai.

When Bai Yuan had walked out of the Imperial Inspection Office, Yue Xiaobai had been waiting at the entrance. Without a word, he had simply followed him to the new residence.

Bai Yuan, for his part, had no objections.

Having the Xiyue Divine Sword himself to guard the residence was a huge blessing. He certainly had no reason to refuse.

Besides, he was more than willing to spar with Yue Xiaobai and exchange insights on the Martial Dao.

The estate was vast, and all three of them chose their own rooms.

Bai Yuan planned to buy some servants in a few days. If nothing else, it would be good to have more life in the house.

But just as he had this thought, a visitor arrived the very next day.

It was a lavishly dressed middle-aged man, with a line of people standing behind him.

Yes, a whole line of people...

Men and women, old and young.

"This humble official, Zhou Minghan, greets Lord Bai."

Upon hearing the name Zhou Minghan, Bai Yuan instantly understood the middle-aged man’s identity: the Left Assistant Chief Imperial Censor of the Imperial Inspection Office.

"So, it is Lord Zhou."

Zhou Minghan chuckled. "This humble official heard that Lord Bai had just moved into his new residence and likely hasn’t acquired any servants yet. I took the liberty of bringing over a few reliable retainers from my own household."

Bai Yuan smiled faintly.

Zhou Minghan had chosen his words cleverly.

It was perfectly normal for an official’s household to have a hundred or more servants, and in the Capital City, the practice of officials gifting beautiful serving girls to one another was common.

The men and women of all ages behind Zhou Minghan had clearly been carefully selected and purchased by him. By claiming they were ’old retainers’ from his own household, he created the pretext that no money had changed hands. This way, it wouldn’t constitute a bribe—at most, it was a ’loan.’

This made it easier for Bai Yuan to accept the gift.

Of course, he had no intention of ever taking these ’loaned’ people back.

Bai Yuan said, "You are too kind, Lord Zhou. Let those two young girls stay as companions for my disciple. I prefer my peace and quiet, so the rest will not be necessary."

Zhou Minghan’s smile grew even wider.

"Then it shall be as Lord Bai wishes."

He waved his hand, and the line of people behind him discreetly withdrew, leaving only a pair of lovely girls who were about the same age as Fang E.

Only then did Bai Yuan lead Zhou Minghan into the mansion.

He hadn’t accepted all the people Zhou Minghan brought.

It was because he had too many secrets he couldn’t afford to have exposed. There was no telling if Zhou Minghan had planted spies among the group.

He had to be cautious.

That was why he only accepted two young, easily managed maids. This way, he avoided offending Zhou Minghan without creating any major potential problems for himself.

Zhou Minghan and Bai Yuan sat in the main hall.

"Lord Bai, as a peerless talent on the Latent Dragon List and a hero of our generation, you have long had this humble official’s admiration."

"These are merely empty titles."

Once seated, Zhou Minghan discreetly sized up Bai Yuan.

News that a prodigy from the Latent Dragon List had joined the Imperial Inspection Office had long since spread throughout the Capital City.

When Bai Yuan first came to the capital, everyone had speculated that he would be appointed Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, allowing Xu Dingchun to seize complete control of the ministry. The actual outcome, however, had been a huge surprise to everyone.

Zhou Minghan was quite the conversationalist.

Once they were in the main hall, he stopped discussing official matters and spoke only of amusing anecdotes.

This greatly changed Bai Yuan’s impression of Imperial Censors.

As the empire’s supervisory agency, the Imperial Inspection Office’s intelligence-gathering was naturally first-rate. Its officials often knew secrets no one else had ever heard.

Juicy tidbits, like the old patriarch of the Chai Family, despite being over a hundred, still entertaining sixteen women in one night, or Vice Minister Zhu having an illegitimate son show up at his doorstep.

It seemed there were truly no secrets in the Capital City.

Zhou Minghan spoke with gusto, and Bai Yuan found it all rather interesting.

Of course, the Imperial Censors of the Imperial Inspection Office weren’t all unfeeling, impartial automatons. In reality, the act of impeachment required a great deal of tact.

At the end of the day, the Imperial Inspection Office belonged to the Emperor. Whomever the Emperor wanted investigated was whomever the Imperial Censors had to impeach.

Anyone who failed to grasp the Emperor’s intent would find disaster swiftly befalling them.

Take Elder Imperial Censor Zhang, for example. He might seem to slack off all day, but he had never once misread the Emperor’s mind. That was the real reason he held his position as Right Chief Imperial Censor so securely.

The two chatted for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Zhou Minghan, knowing he shouldn’t overstay his welcome, soon found an excuse to depart.

The greatest taboo in social interactions is speaking of deep matters with a new acquaintance.

This was his first meeting with Bai Yuan. The kind of behavior where people talk by candlelight all night upon first meeting was, for the most part, just putting on a show.

Zhou Minghan was well-versed in the ways of officialdom; he understood the importance of patience and playing the long game.

Zhang Songtao was getting on in years and would soon vacate the position of Right Chief Imperial Censor.

At that time, both of the Imperial Inspection Office’s chief official positions would be vacant.

As a prodigy from the Latent Dragon List and a guaranteed second-grade official, Bai Yuan’s chances of becoming a Chief Imperial Censor were extremely high.

Naturally, Zhou Minghan had to get on good terms with his potential future superior ahead of time.

After seeing Zhou Minghan off, only a handful of other officials came to offer congratulations—people like Guo Yingru and Yang Ting, with whom Bai Yuan already had some friendly history.

For a third-grade official, such a turnout was rather unimpressive.

This was how the Imperial Inspection Office differed from the Six Ministries.

Had he been one of the Six Ministry Vice Ministers, also a third-grade official, his home would have been packed with distinguished guests for a banquet lasting three days.

The path of an official is like drinking water—only the one who drinks it knows if it is cold or warm.

As the second-highest-ranking official in the Imperial Inspection Office, Bai Yuan wasn’t required to report for daily roll call and enjoyed a great deal of freedom.

He spent the first few days settling into his new residence.

Only after he had gathered enough information about the Inner Treasury did he set out for the Ministry of Revenue.

After all, the whole reason he had joined the Imperial Inspection Office was for the Cultivation Technique hidden within the Heavenly No. 1 Inner Treasury.

...

The Ministry of Revenue Office was located on the third row of buildings along Black Tortoise Great Path.

The Ministry of Revenue controlled the empire’s finances, its authority second only to the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites.

They were, without a doubt, the God of Wealth.

Since Bai Yuan’s mansion was on Black Tortoise Great Path, he only had to leave, turn left, and walk for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn before he reached the Ministry of Revenue.

After presenting his credentials as the Left Deputy Chief Imperial Censor of the Imperial Inspection Office, he was led smoothly into a side hall of the Ministry of Revenue.

It was true that no one sought to befriend the officials of the Imperial Inspection Office, but it was just as true that no one dared to offend them.

Wielding the immense power of imperial inspection, no official who valued their life would dare to casually provoke an Imperial Censor.

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