In tis of strife, the wise warrior watches for the jester’s blade. For while a fool may dance and prate, his movents often mask deeper purpose, and his words may hold encrypted aning. The greatest deceptions often wear the mask of incompetence.
—Master Wu Zhi, Commander of Ten Thousand
Xiulan pressed the double doors open and strode into the lord’s hall. The sight before her stopped her dead—the house manager lounged upon the throne, surrounded by a dozen servants engaged in hushed discussion.
"What is the aning of this disrespect and usurpation?" Her words thundered through the chamber.
The whispered conversations died instantly. Faces snapped toward her, eyes widening in shock. The servants scattered like startled birds, and the officials backed away from the throne as Xiulan’s guards filed into the room behind her.
The house manager’s face drained of color. "Who dares break into the Lin Family’s city manor? You’ll be arrested!"
His body was responding before his brain, apparently.
"Hah?" Xiulan barked out a laugh. "I am Lord Lin’s sister, and this is my family’s house." She took a step forward. "It seems you believe it belongs to you now that my father has passed?"
A glint of gold caught her attention. The house manager’s hand trembled, and there on his finger sat the golden signet ring of the city manor—her family’s ring.
Qi surged through her ridians like a broken dam, flooding her system with raw power. Another corrupt bastard was stealing from her family.
In one fluid motion, Xiulan reached over and yanked Instructor Han’s sword from its scabbard. The steel sang as she advanced toward the throne.
The house manager stumbled as he stood, nearly falling in his haste to escape the seat he’d stolen. "Guards! Guards!"
Xiulan’s blade whistled through the air. A spray of arterial blood painted the walls crimson as the house manager’s head separated from his shoulders.
She knelt beside the headless corpse and pried the golden signet ring from its stiffening fingers. The tal felt warm against her skin—a warmth that belonged to her family, not this thief.
She stood and wiped the ring clean on her sleeve before shoving the corpse off the throne’s raised dais with a kick. The body rolled out into the hall, coming to a stop in front of the terrified officials.
The wooden throne creaked under her weight as she settled into its curves. Blood dripped steadily onto the polished floor while her guards maintained their positions.
The remaining officials huddled together like frightened sheep, sweat gleaming on their faces.
"You." Xiulan pointed at a trembling servant. "Get so others, clean this ss, and bring a velvet box for the ring. Now."
The servant bolted from the room. Others scrambled to gather cleaning supplies, their movents frantic.
"Listen well." Xiulan’s words cut through the panicked atmosphere. "I am Lin Xiulan, daughter of your previous lord. My brother Zhang Wei now leads House Lin, with our mother, Lady Zhao Lian, serving as regent. They have granted authority to act on behalf of our family when needed."
The officials dropped to their knees in perfect unison, foreheads pressed against the blood-spattered floor.
"We pledge our undying loyalty to Miss Lin and House Lin!" Their voices echoed through the chamber.
Snakes, the lot of them. Xiulan watched their display of submission with cold calculation. She’d need to root them out, replace them—but that would co later.
"Instructor Han Shun, present yourself!"
Instructor Han stepped forward and dropped into a formal bow. "This humble servant awaits the decree of Lord Lin’s Honored Sister."
Xiulan rose from the throne, each step deliberate across the blood-stained marble. The sword glead in her grip as she extended it toward him. He accepted the blade with steady hands, his weathered face betraying no emotion.
"From this mont forward, you will serve as house manager of the Lin city manor."
The proclamation echoed through the silent chamber. Not a single breath disturbed the stillness—even the cowering officials dared not twitch.
"Miss Lin, I—" Han Shun straightened. "I have no experience as an official."
"You do now." Xiulan lifted her chin. "There’s no one I trust more for this position, and no other candidate would be acceptable. You’ll adapt."
Han Shun’s sword slid ho into its scabbard with a crisp snap. He dropped into another formal salute. "I am honored to serve."
Xiulan returned to the throne, settling back against the carved wood. Her gaze swept over the officials still prostrated before her, their fine robes soaking up the cooling blood on the floor.
"Now then." She drumd her fingers against the armrest. "Who would like to explain the treason I witnessed earlier?"
The officials scrambled up like desperate puppies, each trying to speak over the others in their haste to confess.
Xiulan pulled i Chen’s chamber door shut with a soft click. The second qi transfer had worked—the supernatural cold retreated from the girl’s body, buying precious ti to handle other matters.
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"No one enters without a good reason." Xiulan addressed the servant who stood rigid beside the doorfra.
She turned to the two guards flanking the entrance. "Watch anyone who enters the chamber. Have soone stay present at all tis. No one is to be left alone in there."
"Yes, Miss Lin." The guards thumped their fists against their chests in salute.
The wooden stairs creaked under her feet as she descended. Halfway down, Xiulan paused to examine her robes. Blood soaked the bottom hem, with arterial spray decorating the front in dark patches against the black fabric. The red sash highlighted the macabre pattern.
Change, or go straight to the magistrate?
The blood would send a ssage. If the city magistrate shared the house manager’s corruption—and Xiulan suspected he did—seeing the consequences of betrayal might loosen his tongue.
Xiulan strode through the manor’s corridors toward the city court. In the courtyard, Han Shun stood between two officials, their heated discussion cutting off at her approach. All three n dropped into hasty bows.
"Miss Lin!"
"What brings such heated debate?" Xiulan kept her blood-stained robes visible as she addressed the n.
Han Shun straightened. "The city borrowed half our guard force for security duties. There is resistance in the thought of recalling them."
Xiulan turned toward the shorter official. His ornate blue robes marked him as a mber of the treasury departnt. "You object to the return of our guards?"
"Miss Lin." The official bowed low. "The guard deploynt ca with substantial paynts to the manor treasury."
A cold weight settled in Xiulan’s stomach. "And the funds are missing to cancel this agreent?"
Sweat beaded on the official’s forehead. He dabbed at it with an embroidered handkerchief. "The treasury maintains its reserves, but losing this inco would strain our business operations."
"Explain how our family enterprises beca so fragile that a single setback threatens ruin." Xiulan glared. He couldn’t even look her in the face.
His shoulders slumped as he stared at the courtyard stones. "The... the loan for the soldiers totaled five hundred thousand taels."
That much? It was far more than she had expected. She shook her head. "How long was this contract arranged for?"
The man dabbed fresh sweat from his brow. "Two years, Miss Lin. Lord Lin authorized the agreent roughly six months ago."
The tension eased from Xiulan’s shoulders. Father arranged this before the current troubles. Not part of the usurpation, after all. The knowledge settled so of the rage burning in her chest.
"We should recall our n, regardless. Recent events demand a full complent of guards." Xiulan turned to Manager Han. "I’ll discuss the matter with the city magistrate during my visit."
The officials bowed deeply. "As you command, Miss Lin."
"Han." Xiulan adjusted the blood-stained sleeve of her robe. "I will require a replacent for the captain of my personal guard. You can’t manage both sets of duties at the sa ti."
"I know of several candidates that would show promise." Han Shun straightened. "Would you prefer selections from the manor guard or the city contingent?"
She really didn’t have much to go on to have a preference. "Either. Review their capabilities. Present with the three most promising for evaluation."
"At once, Miss Lin." Han Shun thumped his fist against his chest.
Xiulan nodded and then strode toward the main entrance.
The rhythmic bang of hamrs echoed through the courtyard as workers struggled to repair the postern gate. tal groaned as they wrestled with the bent fra, preparing to mount a new door reinforced with iron bands.
Xiulan scanned the courtyard, settling on two guards who stood straighter than their companions. "You two, with ." She pointed at them directly. Their weapons clinked as they fell into step behind her.
The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the cobblestone streets as she navigated through the city’s winding paths.
rchants hawked their wares from wooden stalls, their voices competing with the clatter of cart wheels and the bleating of livestock. The familiar scent of roasted sweet potatoes wafted from a nearby vendor.
It was better than when they had arrived and the streets had been deserted.
The magistrate’s pavilion pierced the sky ahead—a five-story dedication to bureaucratic authority. Though it fell short of Lin Manor’s grandeur, its green-tiled roof caught the sunlight, marking it as one of the city’s three primary landmarks along with the treasure pavilion and religious temple.
Xiulan rounded the final corner and stopped. A wall of shields blocked the pavilion’s entrance. Spearheads glinted above the barrier as a full platoon of city guards stood ready, their armor gleaming with fresh polish. The blood on Xiulan’s robes seed to harden their response.
"Wait by the wall." Xiulan gestured to her guards without looking back. Their boots scuffed against stone as they retreated, eager to distance themselves from whatever was about to unfold.
A figure in polished armor stepped through the shield wall. The city guard captain’s cape snapped in the morning breeze as he approached, hand resting on his sword hilt. It was a different man than had manned the gate.
Xiulan pulled her mother’s scroll case into view. "I bring an official ssage for the city magistrate."
"For breaking city law, you’re under arrest!" The captain’s shout echoed across the courtyard.
Xiulan exhaled slowly. Of course they’d abandon subtlety now. The direct approach would simplify matters. "Neither you nor the magistrate possess authority to arrest ."
tal scraped against leather as the captain drew his sword, pointing the polished blade at her chest. "Lin Xiulan! We’ll take you into custody here and now!"
A sharp clatter drew Xiulan’s attention upward. Sunlight glinted off blue silk as a figure launched from the nearby rooftop. The man spun through the air in an elaborate sorsault before landing—with impossible precision—atop the captain’s extended blade. The captain crumpled under the sudden weight.
The newcor struck an exaggerated pose, his embroidered martial arts outfit rippling in the morning breeze. "I, Ren Chun, disciple of the great Hong Bi, shall prevent today’s massacre!"
He drew his sword with unnecessary flourish, the blade describing elaborate patterns in the air before settling into a formal salute. "Draw your weapon, villain! I’ll protect the city and capture the rogue cultivator who slaughtered the county lord and claim eternal glory!"
Xiulan stared at the posturing figure.
Who is this idiot?
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