Dawn broke over the Bai ancestral hall with a pale, uncertain light.
Twenty-three elders took their seats in silence.
The air carried the weight of inheritance, pride, and fear of decline.
On paper, the numbers were already known.
Ten elders leaned toward Uncle Bai.
Eight favored the Eldest Son.
Five stood firmly behind Su Bai.
Five.
A minority.
A fragile position.
Uncle Bai sat with visible confidence. His faction had the largest block. He believed hesitation would divide the remaining votes further in his favor.
Su Bai's brother, however, did not look as certain as the previous day. His fingers tapped restlessly against the armrest. His eyes shifted more than usual.
Because something had changed overnight.
---
The Silent Conversations
Before the formal voting began, something subtle had occurred.
One by one—
Elders had requested private meetings.
Not in the hall.
Not publicly.
But in quiet side chambers.
And each time—
Su Bai entered with Li Tian.
No raised voices.
No threats.
Only discussion.
Figures were presented.
Projected silk demand across three empires.
Logistics integration through Li delivery routes.
Coal supply priority for silk dye workshops.
And then—
The final promise.
"If Su Bai becomes leader," Li Tian had said calmly,
"I will provide the Bai Family with the Heavenly Silk Method."
A revolutionary weaving technique capable of producing lighter, stronger, higher-value silk.
And more importantly—
He would invest personally.
Financial backing.
Emergency liquidity.
Expansion capital.
The elders listened carefully.
Because families did not survive on pride.
They survived on advantage.
By the time the sun rose fully—
Doubt had entered every faction.
---
The Hall of Decision
The voting ritual began.
Names were called one by one.
Each elder would step forward and place a jade token into one of three carved boxes.
Uncle Bai maintained a composed smile.
His son stared forward rigidly.
Su Bai stood straight, neither hopeful nor afraid.
Li Tian stood slightly behind her.
Not as a speaker.
Not as a family member.
But as something far more powerful—
A future.
---
The first elder approached.
He had been publicly aligned with Uncle Bai.
He dropped his token.
The sound echoed.
No one could see which box.
The second elder.
Aligned with the eldest son.
Token dropped.
The third.
Another known supporter of Uncle Bai.
Token dropped.
Murmurs began.
Uncle Bai's smile widened slightly.
But Li Tian's expression did not change.
Because he understood something critical.
Elders did not vote for loyalty.
They voted for survival.
---
One by one—
All twenty-three tokens were placed.
The final elder, the oldest among them, stepped forward slowly.
Before dropping his token, he turned to Su Bai.
"You carry your father's eyes."
Then the token fell.
---
The Count
The hall fell into suffocating silence as the head elder opened the first box.
He counted quietly.
Then frowned.
He opened the second.
Counted again.
His expression shifted.
Finally—
He opened the third box.
His hand paused mid-count.
Uncle Bai's confident posture slowly stiffened.
Su Bai's brother stopped breathing.
The head elder stood.
"All twenty-three votes…"
He paused deliberately.
"…have been cast for Su Bai."
The words struck like thunder.
Uncle Bai's face drained of color.
The eldest son staggered back a step.
Impossible.
Mathematically impossible.
Ten. Eight. Five.
Yet here they stood—
Zero.
Zero.
Twenty-three.
---
The Truth Behind the Shift
No elder spoke openly of the meetings.
No one admitted changing sides.
But each had calculated the same equation.
Without reform—
The Bai Family would decline.
With Su Bai—
They gained access to Li Tian's trade web.
To imperial-level networks.
To future technologies.
And to the Heavenly Silk Method.
Pride could not compete with progress.
Uncle Bai slammed his hand against the table.
"This is manipulation!"
"No," the head elder replied calmly.
"This is foresight."
Su Bai's brother clenched his fists in frustration.
"You all betray blood for coin!"
One elder answered him quietly—
"We choose growth over ego."
---
Aftermath
The ancestral seal was brought forward.
Placed in Su Bai's hands.
In that moment—
She was no longer a faction candidate.
She was the Leader of the Bai Family.
Uncle Bai turned away without another word.
Her brother's expression burned with resentment.
But the result was irreversible.
Authority had shifted.
Alignment had been chosen.
And behind that alignment—
Stood the Youngest Merchant Dragon.
---
As the hall emptied, Su Bai looked at Li Tian.
"You promised them Heavenly Silk."
"Yes."
"You promised financial support."
"Yes."
She studied him carefully.
"And you are certain this investment is worth it?"
Li Tian's gaze remained calm.
"A strong ally is more valuable than temporary profit."
Outside, news began spreading across the capital.
The Bai Family had unified.
Under Su Bai.
Supported by Li Tian.
Two rising forces—
Now moving together.
And when silk and glass walk side by side—
Even empires begin to pay attention.
---
End of Chapter 40