Chapter 22: The Vacant Throne and the Vanishing Husband
The ink on the peace treaty was barely dry when the whispers began. Jianghe City, once a bustling trade hub, was now a headless beast. With the City Lord dead in the crossfire of the regional war and no successor named, the city was eating itself. The city guards had traded their badges for masks, looting the very shops they were paid to protect.
Wei'an stood on the battlements, staring toward the horizon where the city's smoke stained the stars.
"Master Li!" A shadow detached itself from the wall. It was a messenger from the Jade Pavilion, holding a rain-dampened note.
Wei'an opened it. His eyes widened.
"The City Lord of the neighboring province, Master Cao, has arrived to pick the city's bones. He has set his sights on the Pavilion. My contract is being auctioned tonight to settle the late Lord's 'debts.' He is a man of cruel appetites. Save me, or lose your informant forever. — L."
"By midnight?" Wei'an checked the hourglass. "That gives me four hours to commit grand larceny or a political coup."
The Accountant's Bliss
While Wei'an was plotting his midnight exit, the strategy room was glowing with candlelight. Shen Yao and Shen Mu were hunched over the new ledgers, their eyes bloodshot but sparkling with something that looked suspiciously like greed.
"Mu, look at this," Yao'er whispered, pointing at a column. "The Count's reparations alone cover our interest payments for the next two years. If we factor in the trade concessions from Blue-Stone City..."
"We aren't just solvent," Mu gasped, his scholarly dignity forgotten as he did rapid mental math. "We're... we're liquid. We went from 'Selling the Curtains to Pay for Bread' to 'Buying the Whole Bakery'."
He looked at the comparison charts.
* Pre-War: 850,000 Debt | 2 Districts | 800 Starving Troops.
* Post-War: 730,000 Debt (Structured) | 4 Districts | 1,000 Fed Veterans | 120,000 in Reparations.
"It's a miracle," Mu muttered. "A disgusting, shameless, merchant-flavored miracle."
"Don't give that scoundrel too much credit," Yao'er said, though she couldn't stop herself from smiling. "He probably only did it so he'd have enough silver to buy more jasmine perfume."
She looked around the room. "Speaking of the scoundrel... where is he? He's been suspiciously quiet for ten minutes."
The Midnight Auction
At the Jade Pavilion, the atmosphere was far from musical. The zithers were silent. The air was thick with the smell of cheap wine and the heavy footsteps of Master Cao's thugs.
In the center of the hall, Lian'er sat on a raised platform. Her usual mask of playful mystery was gone, replaced by a cold, trembling fear.
"One thousand silvers!" Master Cao bellowed, a portly man with jewels on every finger that sparkled like a vulture's eyes. "A pittance to pay for the finest bird in this dying cage. Wrap her up. I want her in my carriage before dawn."
Lian'er looked at the door. Nothing. She felt a tear prick the corner of her eye. He's a merchant, she thought bitterly. He saw the Shen family's debt and realized I was a bad investment.
"Sold!" the auctioneer shouted.
"Not quite," a voice drifted from the balcony.
Master Cao spun around. Standing by the railing, looking like he'd just stepped out of a high-end tailor shop despite the mud on his boots, was Li Wei'an. Behind him stood Commander Sang and twenty-five mercenaries who looked very, very bored of killing people.
"Master Cao," Wei'an drawled, leaning over the rail. "I'm afraid that 'bird' has a pre-existing lien on her. You see, the Jade Pavilion is a local asset of Jianghe City. And since the city is currently without a Lord, I've decided to take over the... management of its outstanding contracts."
"Who the hell are you?" Cao snarled.
"I'm the man who just bought your debt from the Blue-Stone banks thirty minutes ago," Wei'an said, tossing a bundle of papers onto the floor. "And as your primary creditor, I'm calling in your loans. Immediately."
The Return of the Husband
Back at the Shen Estate, Yao'er and Mu had finally realized the courtyard was missing twenty-five mercenaries and one husband.
"He went to the city," Yao'er hissed, grabbing her cloak. "He went to that pavilion. I am going to kill him. I am going to kill him, then resurrect him, then kill him again."
"Wait!" Mu shouted, running after her. "The budget! We haven't finished the tax projections for the third district!"
"THE BUDGET CAN WAIT!"
As they reached the gates, they saw a familiar wagon rolling toward them. Wei'an was sitting on the driver's seat, looking exhausted. Behind him, a silk-curtained carriage followed.
Wei'an hopped down, seeing his wife's murderous expression.
"Now, Yao'er, before you use that dagger," Wei'an began, raising his hands. "I have something to tell you."
"Is she in there?" Yao'er pointed at the carriage, her voice trembling with rage. "Did you use the reparation money to buy a courtesan?!"
"Technically," Wei'an said, a slow, dangerous grin spreading across his face, "I didn't just buy a courtesan. I bought the Pavilion. And the market square. And the guard barracks."
He stepped closer, his eyes reflecting the torches. "The city needs a Lord, Yao'er. And the people just signed a petition. Well, they signed it after I gave them free grain, but a signature is a signature."
He bowed low, the playful merchant replaced by a man claiming his kingdom. "Meet the new candidate for the City Lordship. We have a city to rebuild... and a rival merchant is already moving his army to stop me."
Next Chapter Hook:
The rival merchant, Master Zhou—the man Wei'an bankrupted earlier—has returned with the backing of a Great City Lord. He has declared Wei'an's "Lordship" illegal and has started an economic blockade. Wei'an's first act as "Lord"? He declares the city a Tax-Free Haven, causing every merchant in the region to desert Zhou in a single night.