SBTW 6

 Chapter 6: Huangfu Ye Waited Half an Hour at the Court of Judicial Review

The wall clock had already ticked past midnight-ten.

She only had twelve hours in the modern world. Within these twelve hours, she not only had to reply to customers, organize orders, and pack items for shipping, but she also had to prepare more practical tools for tomorrow noon's workday at the Court of Judicial Review.

Tian Qiqi raised a hand to pat her face, shaking off her exhaustion to perk right up. "Since His Lordship Huangfu agreed to pay a consultation fee, I have to act like a proper consultant."

She sat down at her computer and opened the e-commerce backend. The chat window instantly popped up with a row of unread messages, pinging and dinging incessantly.

Tian Qiqi glanced at them and expertly began to reply.

[Buyer A]: Boss, that self-defense stun gun you sell—if I use it to shock the noisy guard dog next door, is that illegal?

Tian Qiqi's fingers flew across the keyboard.

[Tian Qiqi's Reply]: Dear, using it on animals is not recommended, oh. Self-defense gear is primarily for protecting yourself; it's much better suited for encountering dangerous individuals. Thank you.

She hit send and clicked on the next message.

[Buyer B]: Boss lady, is the ultraviolet forensic lamp you sell real? Can I use it to check clothes for evidence?

Tian Qiqi recalled the trail of glowing green footprints in the morgue of the Court of Judicial Review tonight, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.

[Tian Qiqi's Reply]: Hello, the UV lamp can assist in viewing certain traces that aren't obvious to the naked eye, but the actual effect will be affected by the material and the environment. It is recommended to use it alongside normal evidence collection, oh.

While replying to her modern customers, she pulled open the large shelving unit deep inside her warehouse.

Tomorrow, the Court of Judicial Review would be trying the Du Family treason case. The interrogation methods in ancient yamens were either beating with boards or torturing with instruments; efficiency wasn't necessarily high, and the scenes tended to get messy and bloody.

Given Huangfu Ye's severe germaphobe tendencies, after looking at it he would probably frown for a whole day.

Tian Qiqi crossed her arms and thought for a moment, her eyes suddenly lighting up. "If we can't have blood, let's switch to a psychological shock route."

She snapped her fingers and immediately opened the wholesale system to start searching. Various product names quickly popped up in rows: high-decibel personal alarms, portable megaphone speakers, high-powered flashlights, voice recorders, and solar-rechargeable LED desk lamps were all tossed straight into her shopping cart.

While placing her order, she didn't forget to mutter softly under her breath, "The Court of Judicial Review relies entirely on oil lamps at night to read case files. No wonder Huangfu Ye looks like his brows are about to break from frowning at such a young age."

As she spoke, she clicked on the desk lamp's product description. Seeing it stated that it could charge by day and provide continuous lighting for twelve hours at night, she clicked "Add to Cart" without the slightest hesitation.

"This is good. No plugging in required—soak up the sun by day, and it's just right for handling cases at night."

After finishing purchasing supplies for the Court of Judicial Review, Tian Qiqi's movements finally slowed down, and her mind suddenly conjured up Little Bean's thin, pinched little face.

That child was now considered her little sidekick in the ancient world. Since she had taken him under her wing, naturally she couldn't keep letting him go hungry.

Tian Qiqi walked over to the snack aisle, hauled out two boxes of White Rabbit creamy candies, and also grabbed some I-Mei puffs, high-calcium milk tablets, and a few bottles of probiotics.

"Little Bean, just you wait," she muttered while organizing, a smile on her face. "Big sister's going to fatten you up nice and round."

By the time she finished replying to her modern e-commerce orders, packed over thirty packages, and dragged them to the convenience store for shipping, it was already 10:30 AM.

Tian Qiqi went back to the warehouse to take a hot shower.

When she came out, she had already changed into an easy-to-move black-and-white color-blocked athletic outfit, her high ponytail tied up neatly and briskly. She looked much more energetic than she had in last night's Crayon Shin-chan pajamas.

Her Bluetooth earphones were fully charged, and her high-voltage stun gun was tucked into a hidden pocket.

The megaphone, solar desk lamp, high-powered flashlight, snacks, and small tools were all stuffed into her oversized pink hiking backpack.

The pack was stuffed so full it looked almost like an impending pink bomb.

[Countdown: 00:00:01]

Carrying the shockingly heavy hiking backpack and holding a cup of half-sweet, ice-free iced latte just bought from the convenience store, Tian Qiqi stood in the center of her bedroom waiting for the countdown.

She looked at herself in the mirror and slowly smiled. "Lord Huangfu, your e-commerce consultant has prepared very thoroughly today, oh."

[Countdown: 00:00:00]

Hum—

The familiar spatial distortion sensation washed over her.

The air conditioning, fluorescent lights, and the scent of cardboard boxes in the warehouse rapidly receded.

When the scorching sunlight smashed down face-first, Tian Qiqi instinctively squinted, the iced latte in her hand still venting wisps of cool air.

This time, she didn't fall into a chicken coop, nor did she land on a mortuary slab; the transmission point was normal enough to be somewhat unexpected.

Right at the main entrance of the Court of Judicial Review yamen, the midday sun hung high, and two rows of on-duty bailiffs holding long spears stood at attention on the steps with stern expressions.

At the very front of the crowd, Huangfu Ye stood tall and elegant in a suit of ink-black woven brocade official robes right under the blazing sun.

He had already been waiting here for half an hour.

Everyone up and down the Court of Judicial Review had been quietly whispering since morning about how His Royal Highness the Heir had inexplicably canceled all official business today, personally guarding the entrance with an expression cold enough to terrify people, yet looking as though he were waiting for someone of utmost importance.

Huangfu Ye’s fingers gripped the dark iron token at his waist, his expression still revealing very little emotion.

Yet as the sun's shadow shrank inch by inch, the underlying anxiety in his chest grew more pronounced. He didn't believe in ghosts or deities, nor did he ever rely on illusory, ethereal promises.

At this moment, he was truly waiting for a girl who had vanished into thin air, waiting for her to return from another realm he couldn't comprehend right before his eyes.

"Your... Your Highness!" a bailiff nearby suddenly called out in a low voice. "Over there!"

Huangfu Ye snapped his gaze upward.

Right in the middle of the stairs where no one had been standing a moment ago, a faint white light flickered into existence.

Carrying a pink backpack of absurdly large proportions, her high ponytail swaying gently in the sunlight, Tian Qiqi wore a clean, crisp black-and-white athletic outfit and held a cup of strange, mist-covered cold beverage, appearing alive and breathing right in front of everyone.

The two rows of bailiffs collectively sucked in a sharp breath; someone almost lost their grip on their spear.

Tian Qiqi, however, acted as though she hadn't noticed the shock of the crowd at all, raising a hand to wave a greeting at Huangfu Ye standing on the steps.

"Lord Huangfu," she greeted, smiling brightly and candidly. "Twelve o'clock sharp, I've come to the Court of Judicial Review to clock in for work."

Huangfu Ye looked at her, and that heart which had been strung taut for a full twelve hours finally dropped heavily back into his chest, only to be struck by her smile and beat even more erratically than before.

She really had come. She hadn't broken her word, nor had she vanished without a trace.

Huangfu Ye strode down the steps, his ink-black robes sweeping a cold shadow through the sunlight.

He stopped right in front of Tian Qiqi, his gaze shifting from her bright eyes to her shoulders weighed down slightly backward by the pack, and then down to the mist-shrouded cold drink in her hand.

A moment later, he spoke in a low voice, "You are late by one breath."

Tian Qiqi blinked, then burst out laughing. "We're counting that too? I was very punctual, alright."

Huangfu Ye didn't refute her.

Instead, he reached out and naturally took the backpack straps off her shoulders, relieving her of the ridiculously heavy pink bag.

Tian Qiqi paused. "Hey, it's heavy."

Huangfu Ye single-handedly hoisted that exaggerated backpack, his brow twitching imperceptibly.

It was indeed heavy; just how much stuff had this girl brought over? But he didn't ask a single question, merely reaching out to take her by the wrist.

The grip wasn't heavy, feeling more like he was confirming she was truly standing there.

Tian Qiqi glanced down at his hand, and when she looked back up, she ran straight into those eyes of his—eyes that were much steadier than last night's, yet still deep enough to make her heart heat up.

Huangfu Ye gazed down at her, his voice dropping a few degrees lower. "Let's go inside. The Court of Judicial Review happens to need your expertise as a consultant today."

Tian Qiqi blinked, then quickly smiled again. "Alright."

She raised the iced latte in her hand, her smile brighter than the noon sun. "Then let's officially kick off the Modernization Renovation Project of the Court of Judicial Review today."

The two rows of bailiffs stood frozen in place, watching their usually ice-mountain-cold Highness personally carry the bag for that mysterious girl who had appeared out of nowhere.

He was even holding her hand as they walked into the yamen, leaving them all so shocked they forgot how to breathe.

Meanwhile, Tian Qiqi remained entirely oblivious to the chaos she had once again stirred up at the Court of Judicial Review.

She simply patted her pink backpack excitedly as she followed Huangfu Ye inside.

With so many things brought along today, life at the Court of Judicial Review was bound to get a whole lot more interesting.

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