In contrast to the southern district of the capital, the western district presented a strikingly different picture.
While the southern district was lined with uniform high-walled mansions, the western district was filled with haphazardly arranged single-story houses. Here lived the poorest people—menial servants, petty merchants, and laborers who performed the lowliest work. There were also idlers and vagrants who did nothing at all, as well as down-on-their-luck families who had moved in from other parts of the city.
Far across the city in the eastern district lived the wealthy merchant families.
Though they held no official positions and thus could not reside in the southern district, these families built their mansions and courtyards to be more opulent and extravagant than one another, spending lavishly to outshine their neighbors.
Of course, there were a few households whose names and status were so illustrious that no one even dared to compete with them. Their estates not only occupied vastly more land and radiated an atmosphere of wealth far beyond the others, but the families themselves were magnates worth countless fortunes.
The enormous estate occupying one corner of the eastern district—the Qin residence—was precisely such a powerful household.
Its grounds spanned several dozen mu, a fact that left anyone familiar with the capital's property prices gaping in astonishment.
The Qin family was not only wealthy enough to rival a kingdom, monopolizing a quarter of all copper mine operations in the Kingdom of Yue, but it was also rumored that the head of the household possessed extraordinary connections, with high-ranking officials in the imperial court speaking up on their behalf.
The servants of such a prestigious household naturally carried themselves with great confidence, speaking far more loudly and boldly than the servants of other residences.
Qin Gui, the gatekeeper of the Qin residence, was exactly this kind of man.
Every time someone came to the Qin residence seeking an audience with the head of the household—regardless of their identity, background, or official rank—they treated this lowly servant with extreme courtesy, not daring to offend him in the slightest.
Over time, this treatment had given Qin Gui nearly the impression that he himself was a person of importance.
As a result, whenever someone delivered a visiting card requesting to see someone in the Qin family, a little gratuity was naturally expected. Otherwise, Qin Gui would certainly not give them a pleasant look, and might even delay relaying the message for three or four days before bothering to announce it.
Of course, when truly important people came calling, Qin Gui behaved himself perfectly, performing the role of a diligent and loyal servant to the fullest.
He was especially attentive and fawning toward the young masters and mistresses who came and went regularly.
It must be said, this behavior had earned him considerable satisfaction from many of his masters. There were even rumors that he would soon be promoted to an external affairs steward, placed in charge of managing some branch of the family's business. Upon learning this, Qin Gui's heart swelled with even greater delight. For the past few days, he had been walking on air.
Now, Master Qin Gui had brought out a long bench and was lying on it in the shade at the front gate, escaping the summer heat. Early that morning, the head of the household had gone out to discuss business, and several of the young masters and mistresses had gone sightseeing at nearby Chongshan Temple with their friends. The only people left in the residence were a few of the wives and the widowed cousin who was visiting.
This allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief and relax in peace.
Just as the gentle, cool breeze was lulling Qin Gui into a drowsy haze, a timid young man's voice suddenly came from in front of him.
"Excuse me. Is this the Qin residence?"
The sleepiness Qin Gui had just felt was instantly scattered by this voice, leaving him feeling miserable. Without even opening his eyes, he erupted in angry shouts:
"What are you shouting for! Are you mourning someone! Can't you see your Master Gui just lay down!"
Having said this, Qin Gui opened his eyes with extreme reluctance, his face full of irritation.
This was because he had already judged the speaker to be someone of no importance based on the timidity of his voice, which emboldened him to act with such arrogance.
Qin Gui finally got a clear look at the person who had spoken. He was a young man of about twenty-four or twenty-five, dressed in rough, coarse clothing. His appearance was utterly ordinary and unremarkable, and he emanated a rustic, countrified air from the inside out—he was obviously some bumpkin fresh from the countryside!
Seeing this, Qin Gui felt even more assured of himself.
He sat up and, without a word, launched into a torrent of scolding, as if the young man had committed an unforgivable crime by disturbing his rest!
This lecture lasted for the time it takes to drink a full cup of tea, with Qin Gui spitting and sputtering the entire time, and he still showed no signs of stopping. The rustic-looking young man seemed completely overwhelmed by Master Qin's tirade, standing there with his mouth agape and hands and feet in disarray, only knowing to foolishly listen to Qin Gui's reprimands!
After a good while, Qin Gui had finally vented all his pent-up frustration, and only then did he reluctantly cease his verbal assault.
He then glanced sideways at the young man, seeming to recall his initial question, and asked casually:
"What business do you have at our Qin residence? We don't need any menial servants or helpers here. You'd best leave quickly! It's not easy to become a servant in this household! We don't just take in anyone of unknown origin. Go find yourself a guarantor first before you come back!"
Drawing on his past experience, Qin Gui immediately concluded that this young man, who still hadn't shed his country ways, must be delusional enough to think he could find work at the Qin residence. He had seen plenty of people like this before!
"I'm not looking for work... Qin Yan is my uncle. My family asked me to deliver a letter to Uncle Qin!" The young man seemed to have finally recovered from the verbal storm. After hearing Qin Gui's words, he hurriedly pulled a crumpled letter from inside his robe and stammered an explanation.
"What? The Master is your uncle?!"
Qin Gui had just been feeling thirsty and was about to pick up a nearby teapot for a few sips, but this young man's words startled him so badly that he sprayed the tea right back out of his mouth, his face turning pale with shock.
"This... I'm not entirely sure, but my family told me to call him Uncle Qin!" The young man scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.
But this time, Qin Gui no longer dared to mock the young man so freely. If this person really did have some connection to the Master, he would certainly not have a pleasant time of it.
So he hesitated, then asked carefully:
"Could this humble one take a look at the letter? Please rest assured, I would never dare to open it—I only wish to see the envelope!"
To Qin Gui's surprise, the young man actually nodded in agreement, and as he handed over the letter, he muttered:
"I originally intended to give this letter to you, so you could help pass it along to Uncle Qin!"
Qin Gui took the thoroughly crumpled letter and quickly glanced at it several times.
Though most servants were illiterate, Qin Gui had actually attended a private school for half a year in his youth and could read and write to some extent. It was precisely because of this that the coveted position of gatekeeper had fallen to him.
"Dear Nephew Qin Yan, please open personally!"
The large, ink-black characters on the envelope made Qin Gui's heart skip a beat. The tone suggested this was an elder of the Master's.
Thinking of this, Qin Gui's expression changed immediately. He forced out a few smiles and said to the young man:
"Young sir, the Master is not home at the moment, but several of the wives are inside. Shall I pass this letter along to them?" His attitude had transformed completely, even the form of address instantly upgraded.
"I don't think that would be good! This letter must be opened by Uncle Qin himself!" The young man hesitated, then firmly shook his head.
"In that case, how about I first report to one of the wives and see what she says?"
Qin Gui dared not simply let the young man leave. If there was truly some important matter that he had delayed, he would be in deep trouble later. But if he handed the matter over to the wives, it would no longer be his responsibility. Having served as a servant for so long, Qin Gui was no stranger to this kind of scheming.
This time, the young man agreed readily.
Qin Gui breathed a sigh of relief and quickly called over a passing servant to watch the young man while he ran into the residence.
The other servants he encountered were somewhat surprised to see him dashing about as if his pants were on fire!
Qin Gui ran straight to the rear courtyard, said a few words to a big-footed maidservant who was watching over the gardens, and then returned with peace of mind to the front gate to await a reply.
Just as Qin Gui had returned to the gate and exchanged a few apologetic smiles with the young man, a pretty little maidservant came trotting over.
When she approached the two, she looked over the rustic-looking young man with some curiosity, then delivered a message from one of the wives: the young man was to be taken to a side room to rest for the time being. The Master would decide the truth of his identity after his return—after all, the Qin clan was very large, and it was entirely possible that some branch elder had truly come seeking them out with a matter!
Since instructions had come down from above to handle the matter this way, Qin Gui felt at ease and resumed his post at the gate.
The little maidservant then led the young man toward a side room used for temporary guests.
Along the way, many people saw the young man's rustic appearance and looked at him with mild surprise, which seemed to make the young man very uneasy. He simply lowered his head and followed the maidservant in silence, staring only at the ground.
When the maidservant glanced back and saw the young man behaving so oddly, she couldn't help but burst out laughing. She then looked him over again with a smile, finding him quite amusing.
After settling the young man in a side room in the front part of the residence, the little maidservant told him not to wander off and then left, giggling, to report back.
As soon as the maidservant had left the room, the young man—who moments ago had been the very picture of clumsiness and dullness—suddenly straightened up. The vacant look in his eyes vanished in an instant, and a faint, carefree air emanated from his entire being. There was no trace of rusticity left about him.
"Who would have thought the Qin family was so famous! It seems the Demonic faction couldn't possibly overlook such an obvious target." The young man gazed toward the direction outside the window, furrowed his brow slightly, and muttered to himself.
This was Han Li, who had been flying on his artifact at full speed for over ten grueling days to finally reach the Yue capital. The Qin residence was precisely the place Li Huayuan had tasked him with protecting.
However, when Han Li recalled the identity Li Huayuan had assigned him, he couldn't help but feel quite vexed.
The letter had actually instructed the head of the Qin household to arrange for Han Li to pose as a distant relative from a branch of the family—a poor cousin from the countryside—so that he could stay at the Qin residence for an extended period without arousing suspicion.
The identity of a poor country bumpkin was somewhat unpleasant for Han Li, but playing the part required no effort at all. After all, Han Li had genuinely grown up as a farm boy from a remote village in his childhood. As for how to speak and conduct himself to fit the role perfectly, he didn't need to think too hard about it.
Han Li closed the door firmly, then sat cross-legged on the bed to cultivate, hoping to make some small progress in his cultivation during his time guarding the Qin residence.
Unconsciously, after completing one full cycle, Han Li opened his eyes to find that evening had already fallen. Just then, someone finally knocked on the door.
Han Li perked up, but then the light in his eyes instantly vanished, and he immediately resumed the appearance of a dull, rustic country boy.
When he opened the door, a servant dressed in attendant's garb stood outside.
"The Master has returned. One of the wives wishes to see you now. Follow me!" the servant said to Han Li with no courtesy whatsoever, then turned and left, apparently not considering Han Li worth much attention at all.
This was hardly surprising—this servant was different from Qin Gui, the gatekeeper.
As a trusted aide to one of the wives, he had seen plenty of poor Qin relatives coming to the residence looking for handouts over the years, and naturally didn't take such people very seriously.
In this servant's view, the Master would most likely just give the bumpkin a brief audience, toss him some silver to send him away, and never let him stay in the residence a moment longer!
Han Li meekly agreed and followed the servant out of the side room, heading straight for the main hall of the Qin residence.
At that moment, in the main hall, a woman in her forties dressed in elegant, luxurious robes was speaking to the head of the Qin household, Qin Yan, who sat in the seat of honor. She was mentioning Han Li's arrival.
"Since he dares to come bearing a letter, it's most likely genuine. It seems some elder from our branch of the family really has found someone to seek us out."
"Let's see what he asks for. If it's not too much, try to accommodate him. We don't want our branch of the family to gain a reputation for mistreating poor relatives."
Qin Yan was over fifty years old, but because he had been so well taken care of, he appeared to be around forty, showing no signs of age. He took a sip of bird's nest tea to moisten his throat, then spoke slowly.