“Come in, come in!” The same portly attendant greets Xin Fengxian upon his arrival at Governor Chen’s estate. “I hope that you have been well, your highness. Anyi is a wonderful city, is it not?”

  Fengxian pauses just long enough to get a sense of the man. He’s now walking with a limp and favoring his left arm. “I have learned a lot during my stay. It has kept me distracted from just how thin my patience has become.”

  The man trembles and shies away like he is expecting another beating. “You are not at fault. Now, announce my arrival.”

  Fengxian straightens up and clasps his arms behind his back while the governor’s attendant opens the door and lets all know that Prince Lanxi has arrived. As soon as the way is clear, Fengxian marches in with his retainers and Administrator Hua trailing close behind.

  “Welcome, your highness,” Governor Chen spreads his flabby arms wide, but does not rise from his seat as he should. Considering his bulk, it might be something he’d consider only once he is under duress. He also eyes Administrator Hua with suspicion and contempt. “I heard you wished to see me, so I rushed back as soon as I could.”

  ‘I’m sure you did.’

  Fengxian takes in his surroundings. A bit has changed, but the reception hall is still much as he remembers. It is richly decorated and suffused with excess wealth meant to convey the governor’s standing and ensure that everyone understands who is in charge. The dozen heavily armored guards in plain sight, and the the other dozen or so hidden about the hall, are certainly meant to intimidate.

  “We have much to discuss, governor.”

  “I expected no less. Where do we begin?”

  Fengxian tips his chin back slightly, emulating the haughty nature of his younger brother, Xin Jie. “How about some wine? I do not care to speak at length without a good drink at hand.”

  Governor Chen sniffs in amusement. “Hah! I like it! Someone — bring us wine. A lot of it.”

  It takes no more than ten seconds before servants arrive with wine and serving wares. One even brings a chair and small round table for him to sit at while they talk. Fengxian thanks them for their efforts, but remains standing for the time being.

  “I have some questions, governor,” Fengxian begins while observing the servant pouring his wine. He doesn’t expect anything untoward at this time, but such habits don’t fade easily. “I hear you enjoy traveling. As you know, I am on a journey of my own. Perhaps you have some recommendations for me?”

  Governor Chen doesn’t answer until he’s drained his first glass of wine. “No where a man of your status would care to be. I travel to visit my family in the north, but it is not for excitement. If we spend enough time away from our loved ones, they have a habit of… disappearing.”

  ‘What an odd thing to say…’

  Fengxian sets his wine glass on the little round table and never touches it again. It was never about the wine, but about establishing a semblance of authority. The governor refused to offer it freely, likely to slight him, so he subtly flexed his authority and now the wine flows freely. If Governor Chen drinks a little too much, then that is a nice bonus.

  “I do miss my wife, but I will return to her side soon enough.”

  “Mmm… let’s cut to the chase, your highness,” Governor Chen’s demeanor shifts from that of a welcoming host to one who is annoyed by his guests. “I’m not one for small talk.”

  “Very well. You’ve been mismanaging Fuzhou, and it is plain to see. Every day I spend here in Anyi reveals more ways you are complicit in the mounting failures your people are beginning to struggle with.”

  “Hah! Hah! Hah!” Governor Chen’s laughter is slow and deliberate. “But Fuzhou prospers! The taxes are collected, the provisions are provided, and there is more surplus than ever before. How can I be mismanaging Fuzhou if this is true? Administrator Hua must have told you how wonderful it is here!”

  Fengxian narrows his eyes while the administrator shies away. The governor’s words are hollow. He does not believe what he says, yet he is not entirely wrong. “Plundering your own people for personal gain and acclaim is hardly success.”

  “And what does a prince know of success?” Governor Chen grumbles furiously. He shoves his empty glass into the chest of his servant who hastily scrambles to refill it. “Born to lavish luxury, given all you could ever imagine, and none of the responsibility to go with it. Have you ever worked for anything in your life? Hm?”

  Fengxian allows the governor’s words to hang in the air for a moment before he scoffs. “I have. But have I worked in a field? Plied a trade? No, I’ve not. I do not know the struggles of the peasants, nor even the officials beyond the palaces. I’ve only recently been granted my title in Lanxi, and it was successful before I took over — and has been since. I credit it to those who work the land and supervise on my behalf as much as anything I could ever do myself.

  “My obligations are different than theirs are, governor. I must learn to lead a nation on the chance that I inherit my father’s throne some day. I must learn to lead the armies of our people in case we are some day threatened by nefarious forces. I must refine my wisdom, my generosity, my humility, and my benevolence, so that our people — including you, Governor Chen — have someone to look to when they need someone the most.

  “I take my obligations seriously,” Fengxian’s tone darkens, almost to a growl. “So, when I find someone like you, growing fat — in more ways than one, off the backs of his people, while their suffering multiplies, I begin to ask questions. Chief among them: why do I not remove you from office this instant?”

  “Pfah!” Governor Chen practically spits vitriol in response. “Do they teach you those pretty words and kind phrases in Tiansheng? Is that how you get those robes? If so, I would like mine. I can speak platitudes as well as any!”

  Fengxian holds a hand out as Bai Chuanyun takes a hasty step forward. The guards react similarly, and a plethora of hands go to their respective weapons. “Yes, it is something I have been taught by a man wiser than either of us could ever hope to be. I can only aspire to live up to his example, so, governor, unless you are willing to enact changes going forward, I will be nominating your successor in short order.”

  Governor Chen’s grip tightens around his wine glass until it crumples. “You dare threaten me? In my own home? This is my city! My land! I’ll do what I please with it!”

  Fengxian rests his palm atop the hilt of his own sword and bows his head. “I had hoped to find you more open to change. However, I will give you a chance to cool your temper while I draft my list of suggestions. So long as you are willing to discuss them and act upon a solution, I am sure we can find common ground.”

  “Common ground? With you? I would not count on it, your highness.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “I will have my personal servant deliver my suggestions by tomorrow evening. I will return a day later to get your thoughts on the matter.”

  “Heh… It will go nicely with the rest of my trash.”

  Fengxian shakes his head and turns to leave.

  “Ah, your highness. Do think of your loved ones. You never know how long you’ll have them in this world as something more than just a memory,” Governor Chen veils his threat under a mockingly sympathetic tone. “Oh, and be on your guard. I’ve heard bandits are growing bold these days, so the streets of Anyi might not be as safe as they once were.”

  Fengxian pauses long enough to bow in thanks for the advice, then storms out. By the time he steps foot into the street his teeth hurt from clenching his jaw. The Bai twins, ever observant, notice immediately. They are just as on edge as he is. After all, they were certain they would be fighting to the death in that hall a moment ago.

  The Prince of Lanxi takes a deep breath. “Haahhhh…. that’s better. Well! We have a serious problem and sorting it out is going to be a mess of a job.”

  “Everyone is in position.”

  Cao Rang barely acknowledges the whispers of his subordinate while pulling a cloth mask up over his nose to obscure his identity. Even though night falls in Tiansheng, the streets are far from empty, let alone dark. The chances of anyone recognizing him or any of his accomplices is extremely low, but even a stumbling drunk can provide a description for a sketch that gets his face plastered all across the city. Such a thing might be disastrous for his professional career.

  “There’s been signs of only two guards on the perimeter. We deal with them quietly, and then get inside,” Cao Rang instructs. “Keep it simple.”

  “Yes, sir!”

  Twenty men. Cao Rang has twenty men at his disposal to break in and kidnap one girl. He is accustomed to relying on only himself, maybe one or two others at most, but this patron says it needs to be done properly. There can be no risk of failure. He habitually taps his knives to make sure they are still there and then darts across the street to the estate bearing the name of Fengxian.

  Others follow on his tail, primed and ready to deal with the two men on patrol, but they are suspiciously absent once they close in. Cao Rang takes a few tentative steps forward and looks about.

  “Heh… should have paid for better guards,” he mutters.

  Cao Rang puts his amusement aside and crosses the small courtyard to the door. The light within is dim, suggesting the lady is home, but not using the antechambers, much as he suspected when laying out his plan.

  He slowly and carefully slides the door open and peeks inside. There is no sign of anyone. No guards, no servants, not even the lady herself. However, light shines through the door at the opposite end of the foyer. Cao Rang draws his knives in preparation, then leads his cohort of thugs and thieves forward.

  He presses his ear up against the door and waits. Soon enough, Cao Rang hears the hushed chatter of two women who seem to be giggling over the evening’s topic. He hears no other voices, and no footsteps indicating the presence of others moving about. It is never a guarantee, but in his experience, people rarely sit still for long. They struggle even more with keeping their mouths shut.

  A simple nod to the others is enough to signal he is ready. Cao Rang throws the door open and rushes in, weapons drawn and prepared to deal with any guards. Their target, Bai Xiyun, is playing a game with her maid, whose name he did not bother learning. They look up in shock at the armed men intruding in their home.

  “Keep quiet, lady Bai,” Cao Rang stalks forward with an abundance of caution, but there is no immediate threat. No guards of any sort. Just the two women. “You’ll be coming with me. I don’t wish to be rude, but if you struggle… you’ll leave me no choice.”

  “Ah, Huan Niang, it seems our guests have made a mistake,” Bai Xiyun half turns to Cao Rang and smiles while holding up a white go stone. “Are you sure you have the right place? There’s a lot of Bai’s in the city, after all.”

  “I am certain,” he points a knife at her for emphasis. “I do apologize, but I have a job to do, and my employer won’t be pleased if I delay too long.”

  “You chose the wrong job.”

  Cao Rang blinks. The voice did not belong to either of the women. It is a man’s deeper timbre. He tenses up, then whirls around to stare straight into… a chest? He cranes his neck back and looks up at a mountain of a man, taller than any he has ever seen, and so broad in the shoulder that even the strongest ox might feel a pang of envy. However, Cao Rang does not feel envy at this moment.

  He reacts before any of his men have a chance to register the stranger’s presence and swings his knives, only to watch the man vanish before his very eyes. Cao Rang’s blades slice through the air as panic begins spreading through his comrades.

  Was it an illusion?

  “Who sent you?” the man asks.

  Cao Rang whirls around again, but there is no one there. “Find him!”

  “Wrong answer.”

  Blood splatters across the floor to his left, so he scrambles the opposite direction to get to safety. Cao Rang knows danger when he sees it. After all, danger is his job. However, he is rarely the one in danger.

  A body hits the floor with a disheartening thud. The man’s head has been crushed like a rotten melon. Upon seeing the fate of their comrade, two other men rush to the door, only to be intercepted by the immense man. They lash out in desperation, but the man — no, the monster, shears the arm off one with a swipe of his hand and crushes the other’s spine with a powerful kick that sends his body tumbling across the floor.

  “When I ask a question, I expect an answer.”

  Cao Rang takes a hesitant step back, then glances towards the two ladies. His heart sinks. They have disappeared! He hoped to use them as hostages, but that plan is no longer viable.

  “I don’t know the name!”

  The monster slowly turns his head and locks eyes with another of Cao Rang’s subordinates who immediately drops his saber and falls to the ground, begging for his life.

  His head is crushed under heel without a shred of mercy.

  “One of you will know.”

  Cao Rang tightens his grip on his knife. “Together! We can take him together!”

  He has lied many times in his life, but no lie has felt as empty as this one.

  His words galvanize the courage of a handful of dead men who rush in to attack. Cao Rang silently thanks them for their sacrifice and scrambles for the exit. Those poor fools are pitilessly crushed or broken beneath the immeasurably powerful blows of the monster’s bare hands. Their knives and sabers barely twitch before they perish without uttering a sound.

  Cao Rang slams the door shut behind him and comes to an immediate halt as he finds himself face-to-face with Bai Xiyun and a handful of her household guards. He opens his mouth to surrender, but the sound of the door sliding open behind him causes his voice to catch in his throat.

  “Let’s keep this one alive,” Bai Xiyun suggests.

  “I understand. He seemed to be in charge, so if any of them knows something, it is him.”

  “And the others?”

  Cao Rang drops his knives and feels every bit of resistance fade as the monster answers.

  “Dealt with.”

  Twenty men… it couldn’t have been twenty seconds…

  He slumps down to the ground and stares at his trembling hands through watery eyes. “I…. I don’t know how much I know, but I’ll tell you everything I can! Just spare me!”

  Bai Xiyun crosses her arms and looks up at her protector looming over her would-be kidnapper. Her husband, or more precisely, his mentor, had chosen well. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect Master Zhou would introduce them to the empire’s strongest warrior, Xiang Wanyin. It proved to be only the first surprise in a long list since then.

  “Huan Niang.”

  “Yes, my lady?”

  “I think I will be staying with my parents for a few days while this mess is cleaned up.”

  “Oh, of course. That is a good idea.”

  Xiang Wanyin places his hand atop the kidnapper’s head. “I’ll take care of your guest. We’ll have answers soon enough.”

  “Thank you, Master Xiang.”

  Bai Xiyun looks up to the night sky and sighs. ‘Hopefully your nights are less exciting than mine, my love.’