After washing up and soaking in the bathtub, Li Xuan pondered his own affairs.
The two tasks on the system had not made any progress so far.
He had harassed the system several times, but it remained silent. He wasn’t sure whether he should be grateful for its lack of intelligence or lament the absence of detailed explanations.
His uncle, Li Shouzhong, had wanted to write several letters to his old friends in the capital to ask for their help, but he was the highly esteemed National Academy’s Grand Sacrificer, associating with only upright officials.
Li Xuan, however, inherited a military position at the Northern Town Guard Command.
After exhausting his connections, he found no one who could help him.
Out of desperation, he was allowed to enter the Rongguo Duke’s Mansion, a family of titled nobility he looked down upon.
With the Rongguo Duke's influence, Li Xuan's career advancement was assured.
As for the position in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
The fourteen divisions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard could be broadly divided into three categories: five ceremonial divisions, six guarding divisions, and three functional divisions.
The five ceremonial divisions were actually the predecessor of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the “Yiluan Division,” responsible for ceremonial duties during imperial court gatherings, royal outings, and sacrifices.
The six guarding divisions managed the generals, strongmen, and artisans of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, responsible for the imperial bodyguards, personal army, and the ceremonial guards and escorts for princes stationed in their fiefdoms.
At the same time, the six guarding divisions were also known as the “Noble Adoption Center”
When they were unsure of what to grant as a reward, they would bestow an honorary title within the Embroidered Uniform Guard upon the recipient or their son.
The “three functional divisions” were the Elephant Training Division, the Farming Division, and the Mounted Division.
In addition to the fourteen divisions, the Embroidered Uniform Guard also had, like other military units, a Department of Records and a Town Guard Command.
The Department of Records was on the same level as the fourteen divisions, directly under the command of the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. It was responsible for the daily management of official documents, their distribution, archiving, and so on.
The Town Guard Command was where the Embroidered Uniform Guard differed from other military units.
The Southern Town Guard Command held the same responsibilities as those in other military units, overseeing the internal punishments and military registration records of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
The newly established Northern Town Guard Command was primarily responsible for patrols, investigations, and imperial prisons.
This was where things started to differ from history, becoming closer to their depiction in movies.
For example, the patrols.
Every day, the Northern Town Guard Command would send personnel to patrol with the Five City Military Commission (mainly at night) to maintain order, arrest thieves, and so on.
During special periods (such as the emperor’s death, accession, or wedding), the Embroidered Uniform Guard served as the main force for the city’s lockdown.
Besides patrolling the streets, the Embroidered Uniform Guard also had the daily task of cleaning the city's streets and dredging canals, even dirty jobs.
In history, in March of the fourth year of the Chenghua reign, Emperor Xianzong had the guards on patrol duty that month imprisoned for the “filthy and clogged” streets and canals of the capital.
But for Li Xuan, the Embroidered Uniform Guard he knew was—老子不吃牛肉！ (Laozi doesn’t eat beef!)
They were agents who suppressed the hearts of people, rode fine horses in anger, monitored everything arbitrarily, trampled over justice, carried out the emperor's orders, directly reported to the emperor! They were special agents!
He was a special agent!
Fantasizing about his future life of carefree money-making, using the System of Related People to become immortal and a great ancestor, Li Xuan almost laughed out loud.
Then, his laughter was interrupted by a voice.
“Young Master, everything has been delivered. Do you need some more hot water?”
Apart from the term “Young Master.”
Just hearing the familiar voice, Li Xuan knew it was Xiangling and the others who had returned.
They were quite quick.
He raised his voice and said: “No need, I’ll be out soon.”
He got up, wiped himself clean, changed his clothes, and walked from the inner room to the living room, saying: “Let Yangliu and Ruyuan tidy up.”
“You two tell me, is there anything special about each room?”
Xiangling was stunned, looking at Qingwen in a daze.
Qingwen closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She finally accepted reality.
Opening her eyes, she calmly said: “The items are plentiful, everyone is very happy.”
“But they all have strange expressions, looking like they want to laugh but dare not.”
“Before we came back, I inquired a little. Apparently, it’s because Second Master Bao accidentally dropped his jade again at dinner, and seeing that you sent some jade in your gift, everyone couldn’t help but smile a little.”
“Well done,” Li Xuan nodded, then brought up the next thing he was more concerned about, “How is everyone eating in the mansion?”
It was almost dark, and his stomach hadn’t been fed yet.
“The mansion operates on a two-meal, three-snack system. At set times, you go to the main kitchen to collect breakfast, dinner, morning snack, afternoon snack (afternoon tea), and evening snack (night snack).”
“I and Xiangling collected the dinner when we returned.”
Qingwen stepped aside, allowing Li Xuan to see the food box on the table.
Then, she took the initiative to arrange the food, saying as she did so: “Fourth Master Xuan, the kitchen staff are always quick to flatter the powerful and belittle the weak.”
“You’ve just arrived today, they’re not sure about your standing with Old Madam yet, so they won’t do anything. But after a few days, they’ll learn that you are only the cousin of the First Wife…”
Seeing her hesitation, Li Xuan didn’t urge her, simply enjoying his meal.
Qingwen, seeing this, continued: “They will secretly deduct the quality of your food then.”
“For example, this minced meat chicken cake, the next time those shameless people might say it’s simply gone, or the ingredients are not right, they just won’t give it to you.”
“Unless you bribe the kitchen staff.”
Li Xuan waved his hand nonchalantly, saying: “It doesn’t matter.”
“I see you’re quite meticulous in handling things. You’ll be in charge of the money for the room from now on. Just keep a good account and come to me for two hundred taels later.”
“Follow the old rules of the mansion for everything else, don’t stand out. But use money where you can in the kitchen. I practice martial arts, my current appetite is three times that of ordinary people, I can’t go hungry.”
Don’t ask Li Xuan how much money he had.
Just know that in ancient times, they knew how to make glass and glazed pottery, so he wouldn’t lack money.
If he wasn’t afraid of a mere scholar making too much noise in Jinling and attracting attention from prominent families, preventing him from reaching the capital, Li Xuan could even buy the entire city!
Just from selling a glazed ornament, he had already earned seven thousand taels, which was enough to live on.
Moreover, now he was in the Rongguo Duke’s Mansion and would soon be an Embroidered Uniform Guard, with two layers of protection.
As long as he didn’t go overboard, he would never be short of money.