Inside the palace were the Left and Right Feathered Forest, Divine Pivot, and Divine Wu Six Armies, specifically responsible for protection, known as the “Northern Six Armies”. Additionally, the Flying Dragon Guard was set up to supervise officials and patrol the four borders, with the chief being a third-rank Qin Cha official who had the right to submit secret reports directly to the emperor.
All generals of the Northern Armies were part of the Flying Dragon Guard. Yan Xiaohan held the position of Qin Cha official, ranking above all other generals, effectively the commander of the Northern Forbidden Armies.
Delivering the message was Left Divine Pivot Army General Wei Xuzhou. General Wei was uniquely blessed; in the entire Northern Forbidden Armies, no one was more enthusiastic about matchmaking and spreading gossip.
Yan Xiaohan and Fu Shen’s discord in the Flying Dragon Guard was well-known. Wei Xuzhou said gleefully, “The rumor-monger is really good at being nasty. Look at Jing Ning Marquis’s usual high-and-mighty attitude. I thought he’d be stuck with his right-hand man for life, hahaha…”
Yan Xiaohan frowned deeply, “Where did this rumor come from?”
General Wei said, “My second aunt’s sister’s husband’s cousin… who is the wife of the Marquis of Liu’en. His family has an unmarried daughter who took a fancy to the Jing Ning Marquis.”
After private inquiries, they discovered such a hidden story.
Yan Xiaohan put his hand to his forehead, completely unwilling to speak to him.
“Sir,” Wei Xuzhou circled around him, oddly asking, “The Jing Ning Marquis has such a preference, and he’s not worried, so why are you worried for him?”
Strange, too strange. Someone who hadn’t been unlucky for years suddenly becoming so unfortunate that even drinking cold water gets stuck—what outrageous thing had Fu Shen done to have all sorts of demons and monsters plotting against him?
“Something’s not right… Brother Wei, please investigate where this rumor about the Jing Ning Marquis’s broken sleeve actually came from—” Before he could finish, a blue-robed young eunuch from the outer hall entered. They quickly stopped talking and paid their respects. The young eunuch said, “His Majesty summons Sir Yan to the Hall of Nurturing Heart.”
