Chapter 731 unedited unmemed

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ysw5DmQUv_lQ1u6eC9S-EA-0DjVt75Aj3PGbU-Yg3Lk/edit?usp=sharing

Having been raised from birth at the Imperial Academy, Luo-Luo’s education was both extensive and comprehensive, far beyond that which even the wealthiest nobles of the outer provinces had access to.

Becoming an Imperial Servant wasn’t just about looking pretty and playing music, for one could never know what one’s Patron would require of them. There were plenty of Luo-Luo’s peers serving in less intimate roles, from nannies and tutors for children of high Peerage to accountants and quartermasters for more militaristic minded masters. Still others served as advisors or confidants, a friendly ear to listen and offer advice without fear of judgment or betrayal, unless of course said Patron intended to rebel against the Emperor. Luo-Luo had once dreamed of serving in the role of a performance artist, playing music for her Patron’s guests and creating all manner of artwork to decorate his or her household, but of course, the final say would have always belonged to her Patron.

That being said, though she loved the arts and music in particular, her other subjects did not suffer for her lack of affection. Though they were graded through written exams alone, Luo-Luo received top or close to the top marks in every class of every year. She excelled in the fields of arithmetic, finance, subterfuge, and business management, and while child care, communication, and espionage were her lowest scoring subjects, even then she scored in the top ten of her class. It wasn’t that her peers lacked talent or ambition either, for they were an exceedingly competitive group of overachieving individuals when compared to the classes that came after. It was strange to see so many younger Imperial Servants working together and celebrating the victories of their peers, for Luo-Luo’s class lacked any and all such camaraderie. Instead, every last one of her fellow students had made her their target instead, a rival to surpass and overcome . Not without good reason, for every single one of her peers had been aware of her status as a first generation Imperial Scion, mostly because her tutors were always quick to point it out whenever she made any sort of achievement. As a child, Luo-Luo simply believed her talent was due to her close relation to the Emperor, a true dragon among men who surely had Divine blood running through his veins, so of course she too would have benefited from close association. Looking back on it now with the benefit of hindsight however, she realized her tutors had brought this up time and time again to incite rivalry and competition among the students, a tactic she agreed with, but thought was a bit cruel to start using on a class of five year old children.

Still, despite all the odds stacked against her, Luo-Luo overcame the trials and tribulations before her to graduate as the undisputed number one student of her class, though at great cost. One she was all too happy to bear now that she’d seen where her Path brought her, but those joyless years of schooling followed by the lonely years spent waiting for her fate to arrive had been difficult to say the least. The initial shock of being gifted as a concubine to an ‘outlander savage’ had not made it any easier to accept her new lot in life, especially since she still had her aspirations of being more than a mere bed-warmer and child-bearer, but at that point, she’d been already six years graduated and twenty four years old, and thus was relieved to serve in any capacity at all.

Which of course made it all the more heart-breaking when her new Lord Husband ‘absolved’ Luo-Luo of all her ‘concubinely duties’ within seconds of their first meeting.

That had been a grievous blow to her pride, and what followed after stomped it flat into the ground. In return for misappropriating her 360 Death Corps Honour Guard, Lord Husband offered her fifteen percent of his personal business holdings, a pittance she scorned before learning the full value of his financial portfolio. Back then, Lord Husband could not have been considered particularly wealthy, but only because he grossly ‘mismanaged’ his businesses until they were barely even profitable. He set wages too high and offered all manner of additional securities, such as a pension for his caravan guards and an annuity for the families of fallen Warriors. In Luo-Luo’s eyes, he was taking on too much risk for too little profit, and tying up much of his wealth in long term, low interest investments to ensure he would always have funds available for any unexpected payouts. If he were to instead put that coin to good use, he would earn even more coin and see an exponential growth in wealth within a matter of years, all of which he’d earned through his own efforts. As far as she could tell, he received no seed money from his parents, because the Bekhai put minimal value on coin when making trades among their own people, and generally only needed it to trade with outsiders from the nearby cities.

This was changing now all thanks to Lord Husband, whose initial ventures in medicines had earned him a tidy profit, most of which he invested back into his hometown. Though not optimal for the growth of his personal wealth, it showed an entrepreneurial and philanthropic spirit that suited him well, and Luo-Luo sought to match it, but despite her having received one of the finest educations available to anyone below an illustrious Royal Scion, she found that she was sorely lacking in comparison to Lord Husband’s magnificent genius. A brilliant mind to match a brilliant Warrior, he had a unique way of approaching business and finance that put all of Luo-Luo’s teachings to shame, for it was easy to see just how superior his methodology proved to be.

Take cast iron for example, his first large-scale commercial success. Though Luo-Luo had been the first to bring up the potential profits to be had, Lord Husband was the one who led them to success, not by making deals to supply a certain product or undercutting the competition, but by insisting on a partnership with an already established merchant and ensuring said partner held the majority stake. While most would have struggled to get a meeting with the younger brother of Central’s Marshal much less enter into a partnership with him, Lord Husband’s tactic of profiting with minimal effort paid off in spades, because by operating as a lesser stakeholder, he also minimized his risks and ensured that his partner stood to lose more should their joint venture fall through.

A simple, yet effective tactic to put others to work for him, this was a style which perfectly suited Lord Husband’s hands off personality, but Luo-Luo saw in this the future of financial prosperity. Currently, most merchant families earned their fortunes through establishing local monopolies, but Lord Husband wasn’t interested in so narrow an approach. Instead, he preferred to diversify his investments and own a small portion of many industries, which afforded him a degree of freedom that few other merchant families enjoyed. Their fortunes rose and fell based on the price of base materials, which was why their rivals in the cast iron business banded together to price him out of the business, but they failed dearly in the end. Lord Husband prepared for such an attack by purchasing iron ore mines and futures, outlasting his rivals and eventually even purchasing their hoarded iron ore for a pittance of what they paid for, but he also knew when to divest himself of his cast iron properties and earned himself yet another fortune before the earning potential of said properties plummeted due to the naturally climbing price of iron ore.

There was more to it than that, as Lord Husband insisted on paying higher wages which he said would return to their pockets, and he was absolutely correct, an economic concept that went above and beyond the simplicity of maximizing profits. Luo-Luo imagined her teachers back at the Academy would be exceedingly interested in hearing a first-hand account of the entire journey, but this was merely one of many business ventures Lord Husband had her manage on his behalf, and though it was the most profitable to date, it was far from the most impactful. Supply and demand was a basic concept of mercantile enterprise, but whereas most sought to compete in areas other were already working in, Lord Husband went to great efforts to monopolize supply before creating a new demand, and this was best seen in his concrete ventures. Through the Spring and Autumn Consortium, Lord Husband was now earning himself coin hand over fist by severely underbidding other construction companies in both cost and time, while providing a superior product at a laughably low cost. The lion’s share of the expenses went towards labour, unlike with other construction companies who spent most of their budget on materials, but with Lord Husband’s diverse holdings combined with the Spring and Autumn Consortium’s vast wealth of talent, he was able to supply his own companies at cost and make even more profit than any one of those holdings could on their own.

Since coming into Lord Husband’s employ, Luo-Luo had watched his personal wealth grow at a near unbelievable rate, but all that was merely a drop in the well compared to the vast fortunes he spent now. As Legate of the Outer Provinces, he went to great efforts to ensure the provinces were run using the same principles as his personal businesses, by offering the merchants and nobles involved the lion’s share of the profit in each and every venture, often at great cost to the provinces themselves. “Running the province based on profit is stupid,” he once declared, when Luo-Luo brought up Marshal Yuzhen’s concerns regarding her growing debts during one of their many private meetings. “So what if we owe people money? What are they gonna do if we don’t pay on time? Replace us? Go right ahead. The debt belongs to the province and Empire, so I doubt the next person in line will be eager to pay what’s owed. Hell, they’ll be lucky if our replacement even cares to acknowledge the debt as legitimate, so it’s actually in our best interest to owe more people money, as it means they have a vested interest in keeping us in power.”

Another simple yet profound truth. The best way to rope people in was not to offer them benefits, but rather through ties of debt. Lord Husband was also completely correct in pointing out that neither he nor his Marshals were personally taking on the debt, and thus should not be incentivized by profits or scared to take on debts. Lord Husband took this concept to another level using War Bonds to raise enormous amounts of coin, essentially convincing nobles to hand him cold hard coin in return for paper. More surprising was how the financial theory behind his War Bonds was perfectly sound and not at all the scam it appeared to be at first glance, because now those bonds were worth far more than what the initial investors paid for. Though he’d lost the means to legally produce more War Bonds due to his agreements with the offices of the Prime Minister and Grand Marshal, this was less of a barrier and more of a stepping stone for Lord Husband to introduce his Treasure Notes, which thus far were completely under the purview of the Minister of Finance and stamped solely by his Divine Turtle Seal. With this added tool in her prodigious arsenal of weapons, Luo-Luo soon discovered she had near unlimited coin to work with while carrying out Lord Husband’s official duties, because if she ever ran low on coin, she only needed to get in touch with her Treasury Officer and have him print more Treasure Notes.

Of course, this didn’t mean she could spend it all without a care in the world, for Lord Husband warned her that Treasure Notes only held value because others perceived them as such. Thus, if his office treated Treasury Notes like paper garbage and threw it about without restraint, others would see this and their perceived value would plummet, so Luo-Luo treated Treasury Notes like they were worth more than coin. Partial payment in gold up front and lump sum in paper on delivery, that was her standard operating procedure for two reasons. First, it kept her spending in check proportional to how much coin she had on hand, and secondly, it made others work hard to earn those Treasure Notes, again raising the perceived value of what was essentially worthless paper. Lord Husband wasn’t even using the silk paper War Bonds were printed on, as he lacked access to the means of production, but that mattered little in the grand scheme of things. Though others could try and counterfeit his Treasury Notes, they were currently only issued in denominations of a hundred-thousand gold at a minimum, meaning that any transactions using said notes would undergo close scrutiny, and Lord Husband went a step further and publicized all his Official transactions so everyone could see where those Treasury Notes went.

Which had the added benefit of showing he was truly accepting the lowest bid, rather than enriching his allies by presenting them with all-too profitable contracts. Of course, most missed out on the fact that Lord Husband was not above letting his allies know exactly how low to bid on a contract in order to secure it, not to mention how he could hide his less than immaculate dealings by paying in coin alone, which he had a surplus of now that he could pay 90% of his large transactions using Treasury Notes alone.

Of course, Luo-Luo lived in terror that the nobles of the outer provinces would band together to demand the Legate’s Office honour all of their Treasury Notes at the same time. Though yet to grow so large as to beggar the Empire, Lord Husband would find it impossible to match the vast sums using only what coin was available to him, even if his considerable personal wealth was added into the equation. Why Lord Husband’s enemies didn’t do so was a mystery to her, right up until she found the courage to ask. “If anyone dares demands my Office pay equal value to the Treasury Notes,” Lord Husband wrote, in the neat, mechanical, and boring characters etched out by his steel pen, “Then tell them that neither the Legate nor the Minister of Finance are banking institutions, and they’ll have to make change elsewhere. If they insist on exchanging their Notes for coin, explain to them how the concept differs from War Bonds. The latter was an investment device which the Empire is obligated to repay, while Treasury Notes are paper currency, meaning they differ greatly in purpose. When issued by the Minster of Finance, a Treasury Note is analogous to a gold coin, in that even though the buying power of a single gold coin might change, it will always be worth exactly one gold coin, and the same can be said for Treasury Notes. If anyone demands we honour the value of their notes, at most you can smile, accept the notes, and hand them back those same notes as equal value. Or hand them a different stack of equal value notes, but not new ones because that would send the wrong message. One Treasury Note worth ten-thousand gold is equivalent in value to another Treasury Note worth ten-thousand gold, and that’s that.”

Though technically correct, it was a solution that was legal and permissible, but lacking in tact. This was a growing trend with Lord Husband, for even though he’d always been aggressive and disrespectful in his approach, he almost always favoured the carrot over the stick, and thus his aggression was received more kindly by his targets. Now, as the deadline for his western offensive drew close, he grew increasingly frustrated with his allies and enemies alike and had taken to browbeating everyone into submission. Either do things his way, or not at all, an approach which saw Lord Husband ready to assassinate the Commander General if Shuai Jiao didn’t see things his way, an increasingly aggressive stance which was worrying to behold. Although the Bekhai and Lord Husband’s family in particular saw nothing wrong with his behaviour, Luo-Luo sensed a growing dissatisfaction amongst his supporters and detractors alike, especially in Central and South. After being forced to rein them in by coming to the Central Citadel and winning over the Commander General, Lord Husband had wholly abandoned his tried and true approach of mutual benefit and now relied solely on the whip to get everyone in line.

Which had brought them here, to this turning point which left Luo-Luo unsure as to how to proceed.

After sharing Lord Husband’s Sent commands with Mother-in-Law Sarnai, Luo-Luo simply sat idly by and waited for the other woman to weigh in, unable to process the abrupt shift in emotions. It was irksome to know that he was present in the Citadel and yet still unwilling to discuss these matters in person, instead frittering his time away in the markets with Mila, Yan, and Lin-Lin while conversing with Luo-Luo through Sending. Luo-Luo had so desperately wanted to join them, and while Lord Husband stopped by to ask if she wanted to come along, he’d been unable to look her in the eye when he asked and immediately left upon accepting her polite refusal. Truth be told, though there was still much to do to prepare for Lord Husband’s campaign, only a few select items required her direct attention, and she could have easily overseen things from the market or the district fields. Alas, Lord Husband’s offer didn’t seem all too genuine given how he didn’t insist she come along, more of a polite suggestion in an attempt to spare her feelings.

Despite her confession some weeks ago just before Lin-Lin’s wedding, nothing had changed with regards to Luo-Luo’s relationship with Lord Husband. He was still politely distant and spent even less time in her company now, but mostly because she remained here in Central while he preferred to live close to his family off in the Northern Citadel. He still dropped by once every week to visit his mother, who kept Luo-Luo company all these lonely weeks and more importantly, safe. Unfortunately, not only was she unable to keep Central and South in line, she failed so spectacularly that Lord Husband was forced to come down to in person and almost murder the highest ranking military commander to get things done.

All that aside, Lord Husband’s letters had improved greatly ever since he took to using his metal pen, but he’d also gotten plenty of practice now that their primary method of communication was through correspondence. Ones that would now be delivered solely through trusted Bekhai Warriors, as civilian and military couriers could no longer be trusted, as evidenced by Lady Jeong’s ability to manipulate and withhold messages from Grandpa Du, Fung, BoShui, and so many of Lord Husband’s other allies, though it was possible some like Ishin Ken Shibu were just using her as an excuse. Lord Husband never trusted Imperial Messengers, Royal Guardians, or even the Death Corps Guards, because he knew their first loyalty was to the Emperor. A terrifying thought that dwarfed all other horrors, to guard oneself against the Emperor, but Lord Husband was determined to walk his own Path, which was why he butted heads with his Patron, Shen ZhenWu.

Mother knows the Emperor might not take so kindly to Lord Husband’s refusal to bend the knee, so it was best that they just never meet, though that was looking more and more unlikely with each passing day.

“So,” Mother-in-Law Sarnai began, folding her hands together in what Luo-Luo suspected was passive aggression. “What are your thoughts on this matter, girl? Be honest, no one short of a Divinity can listen in on us here, and not without escaping notice.”

“It’s a mistake.”

Having worked together for many weeks now, Luo-Luo had grown close to the sharp-tongued woman, and though lacking in traditional business acumen, she possessed a wealth of knowledge and experience regarding what she called ‘people wrangling’ which Luo-Luo had come to rely on. What’s more, even though she had a gruff exterior, Mother-in-Law Sarnai was warm and affectionate to those she cared for, and Luo-Luo was no exception. There were even times when Mother-in-Law came to her with complaints about Lord Husband’s wives, muttering about how they all let him do as he pleased and were unable to rein him in as they should. Not that Luo-Luo could do any better, but she simply nodded along with her mother-in-law and prayed she would not be subject to such criticism in the future.

Sipping her BoHe tea, a leaf she’d once scorned for being too extravagant yet had fallen in love with since, Mother-in-Law Sarnai stopped to consider her next words carefully. “Why? The merchant failed to fulfill his contractual obligations, and military law states that such failures are punishable by seizure of property and possibly even death.”

“True, in the event of malfeasance or fraud.” Glancing at the letter in question, Luo-Luo wrung her fingers and sighed. “But even though Lord Husband is well within his rights to punish Merchant Kung harshly for his failure to deliver the promised military rations, it still would not be right to do so. It sets a dangerous precedent going forward considering the spoilage was due to factors outside Merchant Kung’s control, and others will be less willing to do business with Lord Husband without significant profit to be had.”

A leaky roof in one of Merchant Kung’s storehouses managed to ruin a considerable stockpile of travel rations, but there was no sign of foul play afoot, nor any reason to suspect it. As such, seizing his property seemed too severe a reaction, especially considering the comparatively minor cost of the contract. Merchant Kung was not someone of great importance, a mid-sized family merchant only loosely affiliated with the Shingen Mercantile group, which was the sole reason Lord Husband wanted him executed. The Shingens were a Central Clan in firm opposition to Lord Husband’s business interests, but they had no vested political power to speak of anymore after Mitsue Juichi retreated from the public eye. That being said, the Shingens were a stubborn bunch who continued to butt heads with Lord Husband, and even recently colluded with several other merchant groups to renegotiate their military contracts by fabricating bandit attacks on their caravans.

To which Lord Husband responded with unchecked aggression by sending his Death Corps to ‘inspect’ local warehouses and seizing everything that lacked proper documentation. His justification was that if something lacked proper documentation, it had been smuggled into the Citadel to avoid discovery and taxes, and thus must have been brought in by said imaginary bandits. A move which again, was wholly within his legal rights, but Luo-Luo disagreed with. People die for wealth just as birds die for food, and placating the merchants with some slightly higher profit margins was not entirely unjustified considering the extensive disruption Lord Husband’s own Districts had on local markets. Many of those mercantile groups were hard hit by the changes, and while they would not be begging in the streets any time soon, lower profits and losses were always difficult to swallow.

And now Lord Husband wanted to seize a man’s manor over a late shipment of rations worth less than ten-thousand gold. Legal and justified? Absolutely. Proportional? Hardly.

Luo-Luo explained it all to Mother-in-Law Sarnai, half expecting her to suck her teeth and defend her son’s decision, but the lovely woman batted her curled eyelashes and simply asked, “Since you have a valid concern, why do you not argue your case with him? This old woman only knows that this mistake must be rectified, for hungry soldiers do not fight. It matters not if it’s ten or ten-thousand gold short, a hungry soldier is either destined to die or defect, and there are no two ways about it.”

This was also true, so Luo-Luo revised her earlier attitude regarding the missing rations, as Lord Husband no doubt saw them as important as spears and armour, if not more so. “Even then, seizing the man’s property will not make more rations appear,” Luo-Luo replied, avoiding the actual question of speaking to Lord Husband herself. She’d already failed him thus far, and the last thing she wanted was to go against his wishes now, especially given his newfangled fondness for harsh measures. Then again, having seen Mila feign helplessness to entice Lord Husband to ‘attack’, Luo-Luo wasn’t sure if his ire was something to avoid or attract, but that was a matter for later. Right now, a decision had to be made, and Mother-in-Law Sarnai clearly wasn’t going to bring Luo-Luo’s concerns to Lord Husband, not without prompting. Unfortunately, Luo-Luo had also learned how to Send and could not ask her mother-in-law to pass word along for her, though the contrary woman would’ve likely just asked Lord Husband to come pay a visit in person if that were the case.

There was no choice for it... except to abandon her dignity and plead. “Mother-in-Law,” Luo-Luo began, affecting a helpless pout that was in no way feigned, “I am at a loss on how to deal with Lord Husband. I’ve spent the last two months arguing against most of his actions, and every time, he forges ahead with his initial decision regardless of what I say. What happened to the man who knew how to accept small losses now in favour for greater returns later? The one who roped in his allies and enemies alike through mutual benefit and understood how to manipulate the hearts of men? He was rarely subtle, but frighteningly effective when he put his mind to it, but now, he refuses to give ground and presses forward without caring about the danger on all sides. It’s like he’s become a different man these last few weeks, a stubborn, bloodthirsty bully who tramples over everyone in his path, and his behaviour is that of a... of a...”

“Of a savage?” Cheeks flushing at having been caught out, Luo-Luo heaved a sigh of relief as Mother-in-Law Sarnai chuckled at her blunder. “Silly girl,” she said, patting Luo-Luo’s cheek fondly, with a glint in her eye. “I sometimes forget how little you truly know about my boy, and how much you still have yet to learn. You see business and military command as two sides of the same coin, and since you have seen him excel in one facet, you expect to see the same in the other, correct?” Luo-Luo nodded, and even Mother-in-Law Sarnai’s tastefully subtle makeup couldn’t hide her sorrow. “Alas, you failed to account for one important difference. When it comes to coin, Rain cares not for the outcome, because he believes that any wealth lost can be earned again later. Despite his prodigious talents with regards to earning and spending coin, it is only a means to an end for little Rain, unlike most merchants who spend their lives in pursuit of ‘more’.”

Realizing what Mother-in-Law was hinting at, Luo-Luo straightened up with a gasp. “But things are different when the price paid is in human lives.” Eyes widening in surprise, she hesitated to give voice to her next thoughts, but Mother-in-Law Sarnai saw through her with a glance.

“Yes,” she said, nodding sagely as she stroked Luo-Luo’s hair. “My son is afraid, because he knows that men and women will die regardless of the decisions he makes, and even more will suffer if he makes the wrong ones. Alas, he has grown accustomed to fighting fear with anger, and while this serves him well on the battlefield, it might well have become a hindrance on these matters.”

“Might?”

“Yes girl, might.” Swatting Luo-Luo lightly on the forehead, Mother-in-Law Sarnai uttered a dainty snort and said, “You, on the other hand, are too lenient and merciful. You run the province similar to how one would run a business, but profits alone are not what drives little Rain’s political opponents. You claim the spoilage of Merchant Kung’s rations were due to factors outside his control, but I ask you this; why were said rations sitting in a leaky warehouse long enough to mold instead of sitting on ship bound for SuiHua to make good on delivery as promised? Don’t tell me you believe his malarkey about fulfilling the order all at once. I’ve never met a merchant who would turn down extra warehouse space.”

Blinking in surprise, Luo-Luo saw the gaping hole in her own logic now that it’d been pointed out to her, and she felt her cheeks flush once again. “Because he was waiting to see if Lord Husband and the Commander General would have a falling out.” Even though Lord Husband’s orders to muster in SuiHua were given in secret, it was difficult to hide something so large as a military campaign to retake the West. Merchants traded information as readily as they traded goods, and a conglomerate as large as the Shingen Mercantile group would easily notice the sheer scale of orders involved with such a move. Add in the fact that Central and South had yet to move any soldiers, and even the most foolish of wastrels would know something was afoot, to say nothing of the cunning merchant lords of the land.

“So you think Lord Husband is right to seize Merchant Kung’s property?”

“Difficult to say.” Such was the way with Mother-in-Law Sarnai, who was always careful to only advise rather than give Luo-Luo an easy way out by making the decisions for her. “On the one hand, seizing this merchant’s goods and threatening to hang him sends the message that there will be a steep price to pay for playing games of politics while the lives of soldiers are on the line. On the other, you make a good argument regarding precedent and how other merchants will be reluctant to work with the military going forwards.” Shrugging, the clever older woman offered a sly smile and said, “So if you are still not convinced by his decision, then the only thing left to do is to bring it up with your beloved Lord Husband. As luck would have it, they’re on their way over as we speak for a little afternoon tea and snacks, so you might as well wait until he arrives to discuss the matter in person. Craving anything in particular? Those egg waffles perhaps?”

Luo-Luo wasn’t sure if she should be grateful or resentful for this opportunity, because as much as she wanted to spend more time with Lord Husband, she also hated how she disappointed him with her poor read of the political landscape and didn’t know how to face him. He had yet to bring it up, though Luo-Luo assumed it was because he’d been too tired from butting heads with the Commander General, but after the issue was resolved, he’d had the whole night to think things through. Perhaps he intended to make some changes and have Luo-Luo replaced as his Secretary of Office, a position that would win him much favour if bestowed upon one of his other, more competent allies. Granted, he would then have to guard against them misusing his Seal, but the simplest solution would be to keep the physical Seal with Luo-Luo who would then have final say on all decisions, a more stressful, but less impactful role she could easily serve. Then again, why even bother with her at all? Lord Husband could just keep the Seal himself and authorize orders from afar, though things would get tricky once he left for the Western Province. Regardless of what may come, there was little Luo-Luo could do to change things now, so she requested a serving of egg waffles and a spicy lamb skewer before making a fresh pot of tea whilst playing with Noodle.

The snake sat heavy on Luo-Luo’s shoulder now that she’d grown so large, almost as long as her arm and about half as thick. Not exactly a heavy burden, but not a negligible one either, and the little darling made things awkward when she shifted around from inside Luo-Luo’s dress. No longer was she able to wear those tight, formfitting outfits that so often caught Lord Husband’s eye, and instead switched to lighter, more airy outfits that were multi-layered to combat the sheer transparency of the silk. Of course, Noodle’s emerald green and bright yellow often shone through, and now Luo-Luo had even more people staring at her body for all the wrong reasons, but the sweet girl simply refused to stay away from Luo-Luo’s side. Lord Husband even brought Noodle a new, larger glass enclosure to stay in, but come morning, Luo-Luo found her tapping at the roof in a plea to be let out.

A thoughtful gesture which was much appreciated, but Luo-Luo was mildly resentful to see Lord Husband be affectionate to everyone besides her.

“Knock Knock,” he said, but only because the Death Corps Guards opened the door for him as he arrived. “I got an order of lamb skewers and egg waffles here, get ‘em while they’re hot.”

A novel sight, the most politically powerful man in the outer provinces bringing street food to his mother, but Luo-Luo’s heart warmed to see it. No matter how much power he wielded, he was still the same kind and gentle man when facing his family, and it made his ruthless actions these past two months all the more jarring to behold. Accepting her share of the snacks with a smile, Luo-Luo poured tea and sat silently to one side as Lord Husband laughed and joked with his wives and Mother while reacquainting himself with Noodle. Even though she paid him no mind at all, poor Blackjack was absolutely terrified of the snake and constantly hopping about to get away, but eventually Lord Husband managed to get the hare to settle down and eat, which was always unsettling to see. Blackjack was so small and fluffy, it was difficult to imagine him hunting down birds in the wild, but after stripping the meat clean from the bone, he gnawed on his duck drumstick until it snapped in two and devoured shards and marrow both.

“So,” Lord Husband began, once tea time came to an end. “How’d the thing go with Merchant Kung? Anyone make any demands yet? I would love an excuse to make a second example.”

From sweet and lovable to angry and aggressive, it was shocking how abrupt the change was, especially in light of his inability to restrain his emotional Aura. Hesitating only for an instant, Luo-Luo found her courage inside his beautiful amber eyes, because no matter how ruthless he might be, he would never treat her harshly without good reason. “Apologies Lord Husband, but I have yet to order his arrest.”

“Why not?”

There was no annoyance directed towards her, only impatience and confusion at the delay, which did much to bolster Luo-Luo’s confidence. “Because I do not believe it is the right move.” There was the annoyance now, so she quickly added, “I intended to discuss the matter through Sending, but Mother-in-Law mentioned you would be here soon, and I thought it better if we spoke in person.”

“Okay. Then speak.”

Curt and concise. A bad sign, all things considered, but at least – no, and now he was crossing his arms, showing he already disagreed with her stance. Wishing she still had more tea to wet her mysteriously dry lips, Luo-Luo repeated the same explanation she gave Mother-in-Law Sarnai and tried to emphasize the key points as much as possible. “There must be give and take in any partnership,” Luo-Luo concluded, hoping she pleaded her case well. “You are well within your right to demand a punishment, but even the most pliant donkey will learn fear if it sees its brothers whipped too often.”

Lord Husband’s lip’s didn’t even twitch at the comparison of the nobles of the Empire to mere donkeys, a bad sign if there ever were one, and instead he shook his head in stubborn, unspoken denial. “Were this anything other than rations, I would agree with you, but I’m almost completely sure this shipment was withheld with malicious intent. If civil war broke out, the Shingen Mercantile group would have wanted those rations feeding ‘loyalists’ allied to Shuai Jiao. That sort of divisive thinking must be removed root and stem in order for this war to be won, because the last thing I need is for merchants to hold their goods hostage for some political reason or the other while my soldiers are fighting and dying to keep them safe.”

“That’s just it though,” Luo-Luo retorted, without taking the time to think things through. “You worry about divisive actions and talk of uniting the provinces, but you yourself are the reason why the people are so divided.” That caught his attention, as well as the attention of everyone else in the room, but Luo-Luo’s attention was wholly fixated on Lord Husband. A good thing too, else she would’ve missed the flash of surprise and hurt in his expression, one which disappeared as quickly as it arrived.

“Explain.”

Not even the hint of courtesy anymore, just curt demands, which meant his temper was close to erupting. “You’ve taken a group of low-born merchants under your wing and raised them to become wealthy and influential nobles beholden only to you. You accepted a group of common born Warriors who only recently succeeded at Core Formation as your personal guards, after refusing to accept any Warriors into your personal retinue due to your ‘lacking rank’. You honoured the dead with your words and monuments, and in doing so have given those families with fallen soldiers a nigh unshakable position, most of whom are now firmly in your camp.” Crossing her own arms to match him, Luo-Luo wasn’t even upset by his lack of interest in her bosom this time, because she was too heated to care. “Your words speak of unity, but your actions tell a different story. You clear away the old to make room for the new, while sparing those who serve you well. That is how many have interpreted your actions, and though you and I know this to be false, mere words will not be enough to assuage their fears, and your harsh measures will only stoke them.”

“Huh.” Arms still crossed in pique, Lord Husband sank back into his chair to think, which was neither good nor bad. Long seconds passed in silence save for Blackjack’s noisy crunching, interspersed with plaintive squeaks in demand for more as the growing, greedy, and gluttonous hare was always hungry these days. “So what do you suggest we do?”

“Fine him,” Luo-Luo said, so relieved she already had an answer. “A harsh one, while refusing to let him out of his contract, for which the penalties are severe.”

“But all he will lose is coin.”

Proving Mother-in-Law Sarnai correct. Rain truly placed no value on coin, and thus saw it as no real punishment, but the wealthiest merchants tended to be the greediest as well, and even losing a copper more than they needed to would pain them to some extent. “True, which is why you should also send a message by cancelling all future contracts with Merchant Kung and refusing to do business any further.” Thereby dooming the man to mediocrity, as he was no longer eligible for the most lucrative contracts given by the Legate’s Office, the Imperial Army, and the Marshal’s Office.

“Still don’t love it.” Brooding on the decision a few seconds longer, he tapped Blackjack’s nose to get him to stop whining, though the adorable hare simply begged a little more quietly. A good sign, as his arms were finally uncrossed. “You sure it’s harsh enough?”

“It sends the right message,” Luo-Luo replied, “That such games of politics will not be tolerated if they care to do business.”

Taking a deep breath, Lord Husband’s nodded with obvious reluctance and said, “Fine. We’ll do as you suggest. You haven’t steered me wrong yet, so I’d be an idiot to ignore your advice.”

“But...” Hesitant to point out her own flaws, Luo-Luo nonetheless could not contain her disbelief. “The matter between you and the Commander General... do you not hold me responsible?”

“Uh, no? Why would I?” Eyes widening in surprise, Lord Husband sat up and cocked his head in an adorably youthful manner. “Is that why you didn’t want to come shopping? Because you thought I was angry? No, never. You did great, but Shuai Jiao was never going to come along quietly. I uh... forgot I was keeping so much vital information to myself. Happens when you just get used to keeping so many secrets.”

...What other secrets was Lord Husband keeping then? Something more than being able to Cleanse the Father’s contagion from loyal Imperial citizens? Luo-Luo couldn’t even imagine what such a secret might be, but Lord Husband quickly caught himself and changed the subject, a ploy which no one in the room fell for, but went along with regardless. “Anyway, now that that’s been cleared up, how about you and mom join us for a lazy afternoon in the basin? They have these lovely little boats that are so steady even Mila’s delicate stomach should handle them fine, and I’d love to take a little trip out to the monument.”

“I think I’ll go find your father instead,” Mother-in-Law Sarnai said, going on out loud about something or the other while Sending to Luo-Luo, “Do not refuse him this time. He is marching to war and knows that he might not return, so strike while the iron is hot and make a memory to remember him by.”

Warmed by the sentiment for two differing reasons, Luo-Luo accepted his offer and was delighted to see his face light up with joy, mirrored by his Aura which filled her with warmth. Much as she yearned to always be at his side, the prospect of marching into the Defiled infested west filled her with terror beyond what she could describe, and she could do so much more for him from here in Central. A shame considering how much her Martial skills had improved since her last run in with the Enemy, most of which was due to Mother-in-Law Sarnai’s helpful suggestions disguised as harsh criticism, and partly due to her burning desire for vengeance against Mitsue Hideo.

A shame. Luo-Luo had crushed his manhood the last time they met, and had since dreamt of taking his life, but she would be more than happy to let another Warrior claim that honour, so long as the cretin died. For now though, she put aside all thoughts of vengeance and set her charms to work on winning over Lord Husband, because if the Heavens were generous, there was a possibility that Luo-Luo might have more than a mere memory if she were to find success this night.

One could only hope...

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