Ji Li went through the whole mansion without looking to deeply at the things before he went up the stairs and stopped at third floor, the highest and also the residency of the occupying eunuch, so it perfectly fulfilled all his needs when he stayed in the town. Stone and Monkey followed him in, before they closed the door, the guards staying still outside without any sound.
The steward came up with a few servants after a few minutes and stood there for several minutes, not making any moves seeing that the guards didn't react.
Inside, Ji Li looked at Shixuan who took out the jade once again. Usually for such a residency, they'd have basic measures that could even be better than the jade, but just to be sure, Ji Li didn't want to take any risks to his image that he builds for quite a few years.
When the formation finished building, Ji Li was the first to talk "Qianyu, go outside in half an hour and without looking at the food, tell them to prepare new one. Let them think it's a punishment, but also make sure that the guards receive the food, at least they'll eat something better than what they'd usually eat. Shixuan, I want you to go out and check out whether they put away the horses properly and tell them to make arrangements for me.
I want at least a full map of the city with each and every workshop marked, tell them we have absolute authority during our stay here. The town chief should probably be a bit hesitant, so go with the steward and invite him to me, don't talk with him and just give him the letter I'll write.
I want some quiet for now, I'll go cultivate and don't want to be disturbed till the food is finished. So, Qianyu you can eat the fresh food and test out whether it's good and make sure that Shixuan can eat some too. Today we will just rest and make sure that all the guards are fully healthy, for tomorrow I want to meet the town chief and make sure he knows his position when we operate in the city.
The plan is to recruit at least five weaponsmiths, three tool smiths and one or two jewellers. I need to know how the town is divided so we don't wate too much time and I also don't want to be hanging around with the town chief for too long, so just serve one tea with some laxatives and then send him away. He'll know that the tea is poisoned probably, but that's not a problem, he's in the heart region of the empire and is talking with an Intermediate Eunuch. Remember to put the tea at the corner so he doesn't directly take it, and I'll just advise him to take it when he's staying too much.
Go out and finish your jobs quickly! Take the side room and the guard should take some rooms on the same floor, some rooms assigned to the cleaning servants will do, as long as they don't leave the room. For the two rank seven guards, just give them a seating cushion and tell them, don't talk to them, let's see if they'll cultivate or dare stay awake to keep their image. Remember that I don't care how they behave off-work as long as they can properly work when it's needed."
Shixuan and Qianyu did as they were told. Both of them went out, and both of them had two guards following their every step, even though Qianyu didn't really move much, he knew that his brother wanted him to actually listen to what the servants are talking about and doing, not just ask them to cook. Shixuan also only looked briefly at the horses and then menacingly at the servants before he went out. The steward guessed that he had arrangements and followed him to the gate, where Shixuan stopped shortly to look back.
"Take me to the town chief's residence." Shixuan didn't keep talking with the steward, not really being interested after his own temperament changed according to his big brothers, only being curious about stronger people and having a passion to better himself so he can follow his brother. As of people such as the steward and the guards, he really didn't know what to do with them. They were clearly as strong as his older brother but had such different standings and behaviour, additionally to their pretty advanced age. He knew that he would surpass them and didn't see them as concurrence.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
…
Shixuan arrived shortly at a relatively open space with a clean stone ground, something that was the same all around the town, apparently for safety reasons or such, he wasn't very interested in that when the steward explained to win some favour and attention.
He just went to the hall in the centre of this clear space where there stood a small palace in grey, supported by iron pillars, seemingly very expensive but a showcase of the nature of the town. At the entrance were some guards that wanted to stop Shixuan but stopped when they saw the steward and the guards behind Shixuan. The more important reason was that Shixuan had a pure white robe with a small jade on which was a white figure bowing to a large tree, the symbol of the eunuchs.
Shixuan just went through the hallway inside till he was in the main hall, which was mainly made of grey stone. On the sides were many tables and cushions on which some older men sat. The older man had bears but all of them were pretty muscly with some tools besides them, apparently being the blacksmiths of the town. They were currently in a meeting when they saw a troupe of four with one in the front, one to the side but slightly behind and two others in the back with armours. The steward positioned himself there, and after looking at the behaviour and attitude of the eunuch, he fixed himself and acted just like the guards.
Shixuan stepped forward till he was at the last table in the middle of the room, just a step higher than the other tables, showing the rank of the person but also his humbleness. When he walked just a few meters in front, some of the older men who were already ready to stand up sat down again, while the guards in the room also put their hands away from the handle.
The man in the middle was a middle-aged muscly man with a brown beard, hair and eyes. He looked pretty average besides that he was the height of half a human, just like all the other men in the hall. Even the guards didn't look much taller, the only people that were truly humans in the whole town were the guards at the entrance and the people at the eunuch's branch yard that were assigned from outside. The people of this town weren't human but dwarfs!
The dwarfs were one of the races that inhabited the Emerald Brilliance Empire. As the empire was very nature bound and generally friendlier and safe, many races joined their ranks. During past wars to expand the country, there were also many that joined the empire. As the empire strictly forbade any and all kinds of slavery, the many races who were at first reluctant gradually made their place among the previous empire, making it a multiracial country after centuries upon centuries.
The different races were all treated just the same as humans, but there was still a difference. The officials could all be of any race, but the imperial family would always be of human descent, and even if they ever married other races, the imperial families' genes were stronger and their bloodline always remained purely human, which also enabled interracial marriages in the country. Even the eunuchs had many that weren't of the human race, but they still remained in the minority, because it was rarer for the races to lose their children or send them to the imperial palace to become eunuch. Still, there were cases, such as Shixuan who was of the Earth Giant race that were known for their sturdy bodies and connection to the earth element and Qianyu who was of the Wind-Elven race, which were also renown for their quick-wittedness and love for the wind element.
Seeing that the one that came wasn't human but just a young giant, the dwarfs somehow relaxed. Even if the empire was harmonious, there was still a majority of humans and the races only being in the minority. Because of this, they preferred to live with each other in their own regions and towns, the dwarfs being the ones that preferred to live in several towns and cities all around the empire while some other races lived in regions, with the highest person in charge being of king rank, only below the emperor.