2025-02-21 08:31:34
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The Weight of Compensation
Wang Dewu remained seated after Guo Jiang announced the need for compensation, considering what acceptance would mean for his household and reputation.The patriarch had lost his only son, yet he also understood that the Eastern Demigods possessed authority beyond any single Jinhung clan."Your Excellency, I will accept responsibility for my retainers' actions, but I ask that my son's murder remain part of your investigation."Guo Jiang nodded, recognizing that compensation should not be presented as an exchange for abandoning the search for Wang Ding's killer."The assassination remains unresolved, Patriarch Wang, and I intend to investigate the foreign forces connected with the disturbances in eastern Logun."Madam Lily listened without interruption, grateful that the judgment did not treat her employees' deaths as an insignificant extension of a commercial loss.<
Justice Above Clan Pride
Wang Dewu received Guo Jiang's question without attempting to conceal the grief that had followed the death of his only son."I understand your concern, Your Excellency, but I hope you also understand what Wang Ding's murder has done to my household."Guo Jiang nodded and allowed the patriarch to continue, because a grieving father deserved acknowledgment before his decisions were examined."Wang Ding entered Autumn Memory Pavilion as a customer, trusting that a prestigious establishment would provide safety and discretion."Wang Dewu glanced briefly toward Madam Lily, who remained seated with her hands folded according to Guo Jiang's instructions."Instead, the Pavilion employed an assassin disguised as a performer, and my son never returned alive from the room prepared for him."Madam Lily wanted to answer immediately, but she remembered that Guo Jiang had
The Manor of the Wang Clan
The carriage traveled through Jinhung City toward Wang Clan Manor, passing streets where merchants had already begun discussing Autumn Memory Pavilion's destruction.Madam Lily remained quiet beside Guo Jiang, although her hands tightened whenever she remembered the people who had died inside the establishment.The six major clans held considerable influence over Jinhung's commerce, employment, transportation, and the movement of valuable resources.Their economic strength allowed them to maintain armed retainers and extensive estates, giving their patriarchs authority beyond ordinary wealthy households.Guo Jiang understood that influence because he had inherited responsibility for a region whose stability depended partly upon those established families.His position as Eastern Demigods stood above local clan authority, yet ruling did not require interfering in every merchant di
What Remained of Autumn Memory
By the time Madam Lily's carriage returned to Autumn Memory Pavilion, the fire had consumed nearly everything she had spent decades building.Blackened beams lay across the courtyard, while thin smoke rose from broken galleries where musicians and wealthy guests had gathered only yesterday.The horses slowed as the driver approached the ruined entrance, uncertain whether the woman inside would recognize what remained of her establishment.Madam Lily pushed aside the carriage curtain and stared at the destruction, unable to reconcile the sight with the Pavilion she had left that morning."No, this cannot be Autumn Memory Pavilion, because there were people working here when I went to seek help."Her voice sounded strained, and she leaned forward as though a closer view might reveal that she had mistaken another building for her own.Guo Jiang sat opposite her,
Ashes of Autumn Memory
The Wang Clan fighters advanced through the front courtyard while the remaining Pavilion workers retreated from their weapons toward the burning galleries.Spears extended ahead of the soldiers, forcing frightened women and attendants into spaces where smoke and heat made breathing increasingly difficult.One worker raised both hands and pleaded, “We never harmed Young Master Wang, so please do not punish us for another person’s crime.”The nearest fighter continued forward without answering, maintaining the formation that his commanding officer had already ordered him to preserve.A Pavilion guard tried guiding several workers toward a clearer passage, but Wang soldiers blocked the route before they could reach it.He looked at their weapons and said, “These people have no means of fighting you, so allowing them through cannot threaten your clan.”
The Choice of Song Chun
Mo Lian stood with her eyes closed before Song Chun’s sword, while heat from Autumn Memory Pavilion pressed against everyone near the gate.The blade hovered a short distance from her throat, close enough that one forward movement could end the confrontation.Song Chun’s wrist trembled as he watched the woman who had once listened patiently to his disappointments and private regrets.Her face resembled the first woman he had loved and lost, a resemblance that had initially drawn him back to Autumn Memory Pavilion.But the attachment had grown beyond appearance, and he remembered promising Mo Lian a future outside the establishment.He had spoken about marriage during moments when her company seemed more comforting than returning to his troubled household.Song Chun thought, “I made that promise willingly, so why am I standing here threatenin
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