Savage Divinity

Luo-Luo had much to be aggrieved about, but after so many months of near constant practice, she was well-versed in hiding disappointment.

Not an easy task when faced with Lord Husband’s flagrant displays of favouritism, but such was life. For weeks now, Luo-Luo had been toiling day and night to help fulfill the obligations of his office while also treading the Martial Path, but still their relationship was as tepid as ever. To date, his most intimate voluntary gesture towards her was a warm smile accompanied by a brief and gentle touch of her arm, which was no different from how he treated his horses. In contrast, Sister Mila spent the last three and a half months adrift in Insight, and not only did Lord Husband tend to her needs with gentle affection, their reunion just now revealed the depths of his love and devotion for his red-haired beloved. Luo-Luo could only imagine what a kiss might feel like, much less one as ravenous and passionate as the two Mila and Lord Husband just shared, but then he did something Luo-Luo never even imagined was possible: he dropped to one knee and asked his beloved Mila to marry him.

Even though they were already promised to one another, betrothed by their parents long ago. Giving her this chance to refuse was so romantic, like something plucked from the pages of a whimsical drama, and Luo-Luo could do naught but seethe in jealousy.

“Sorry for the interruption,” Lord Husband said once Sister Mila was gone and he’d returned from checking on the poor Death Corps guards. “We were supposed to be married this past spring, but then the banquet and other things happened, so... yea.”

“No need for apologies,” Liang Yin Hang said, fake smiling as he clasped his hands in a cursory salute, “But it appears congratulations are in order, Minister Rain. May you have a harmonious union that lasts one hundred years.”

“Thank you, Administrator Hang. As you just saw, we haven’t nailed down a date yet, but I’ll have to trouble you to raise a toast at my wedding.”

While the two of them traded smiles and courtesies, Luo-Luo marvelled at how far Lord Husband had come in such a short time, to the point where his tone even sounded believable. A stuffy, forty-something year old wastrel of an Imperial Scion, Administrator Hang was here at the Citadel to supervise Lord Husband, and thus far had proven more hindrance than help. A small-minded official working under the Master of Coin, he clearly resented his posting here in the Northern Citadel and rushed through this War Bond endeavour as quickly as he could so he could return home to the East. Unfortunately, the pinched-face minor Scion also controlled the purse-strings in this joint endeavour, which meant that in order to do anything, they first had to convince him it was worth the investment, and Administrator Hang was stubborn to a fault. More than once, Lord Husband had privately railed about the man’s tenacious stupidity and made empty threats to have him pulled apart by quins or worse, but Lord Husband still managed to keep their working relationship relatively cordial, or as cordial as possible given the antagonistic circumstances.

Truth be told, Luo-Luo would be happy to take up her Sceptre and give Administrator Hang a good thrashing, but as he was so quick to declare at every given opportunity, he was first-cousin once removed to the Grand Marshal, and second cousin to Shen Zhen Wu, and therefore far above Lord Husband’s unreliable status.

Given his family connections, it came as a surprise to learn Liang Yin Hang was merely a lowly Administrator, which was little more than a glorified clerk, but it all became clear the moment he opened his mouth to speak. With a poor grasp of economics, he cared for nothing besides cutting costs and couldn’t retain too much information, no matter how many times Luo-Luo repeated herself. Couple this with an aversion to reading anything she or Lord Husband sent him, their work was slow going, to say the least.

Three months of long days and sleepless nights, and all they had to show for it was a single mock-up of a paper War Bond, sitting on the table before them. It was a splendid War Bond of course, dyed green and depicting a large label denoting its value of ten-thousand gold coins, as well as a dignified portrait of the Divine Turtle outlined in black stamped in the lower left corner, courtesy of Brother-in-Law Charok’s beautiful handiwork. If things went well, the turtle stamp would soon be made an Official Seal by the Emperor Himself, one wielded by the Minister of Finance, no less, which was a great honour since not all Offices bore an official seal, and used personal ones instead.

“Now where were we?” Lord Husband asked, though Luo-Luo knew it was solely to remind Administrator Hang of the work at hand. “Right, I was asking about the ink. You’re sure it won’t run?”

“Why does it matter?” The petulant tone was answer enough, meaning the good Administrator either didn’t know or was sure the ink would run. “It’s paper. Water will ruin it regardless if the ink runs or not, and non-staining ink would raise costs significantly. Three-hundred and eighty seven percent per War Bond, as shown here, and that is without accounting for the investment required to produce the ink ourselves, which you insist must be done.”

Meaning it would cost thirty one coppers to produce this ten-thousand gold War Bond instead of eight. Ridiculous.

Seeing Lord Husband struggling to keep his temper, Luo-Luo stepped in to explain. “The paper is not as fragile as you believe, Administrator Hang,” she said, leaning over to touch the mock up and distract him with her body. “Rather than wood pulp, this is made from an amalgam of cotton and silk which gives it more strength and durability.”

“I know.” Curt and snippy as per usual whenever he thought himself being particularly clever, Administrator Hang curled his lip while ignoring her attempts to distract him with her womanly charms. This, along with Lord Husband’s indifference towards their marital life, had led Luo-Luo to suspect she was not as beautiful as she once believed, but thus far, she had yet to be convinced. “I intended to bring this matter up soon enough, as it is yet another egregious cost which we can do without. Minister Rain himself introduced a method to create cheap paper, so why must we use this amalgam which is so much more expensive than what we had before?” Turning to his favoured stack of documents, Administrator Hang riffled through it in search of one particular sheet which would no doubt be covered in lengthy calculations denoting the exact figures. Imperial characters of course, because he refused to learn Lord Husband’s system of numerals. “Production facilities, work force, security measures, and more, this would require considerable financing from the Master of Coin, financing which is simply not available due to the ongoing war efforts.”

Or so he would have them believe, but Luo-Luo suspected it was because the Master of Coin did not believe in Lord Husband’s vision of investment tools and paper money, and was only following orders. Regardless, Luo-Luo patiently laid out the same tired arguments once more. Aside from strength, durability, and resistance to water damage, making War Bonds and Treasure Notes from silk ensured the means of production remained within the Imperial Clan, since only a select few were privy to the secrets of silk. What’s more, a resilient War Bond would inspire more confidence in their use, as a ten-thousand gold was too significant to consign onto a flimsy piece of easily torn paper. Regarding water-resistant ink, this was a matter even more vital than Administrator Hang knew, but it was not something they could easily share because it would do nothing to sway the stubborn man’s mind.

In the future, once these ten-thousand gold War Bond were introduced, accepted, and circulated, Lord Husband planned to introduce paper currency, or Treasure Notes as he called them, in smaller denominations, from five thousand, one thousand, and possibly even a hundred or less, all without the need for auctions or fundraising. The goal was to reduce fiscal reliance on a handful of rare metals and give the Emperor even more control of the economy than He already enjoyed, but to do so, Lord Husband needed to think far in advance. As such, he already planned out how different Treasure Notes would be dyed in different coloured inks so they couldn’t be arbitrarily altered to represent a higher value, and a water-resistant ink made it all the more difficult to ‘wash’ the paper notes to be used in forgeries, so he was using War Bonds to pave the way for his future Treasure Notes.

Truly, Lord Husband was brilliant and forward thinking, but alas, the Master of Coin did not see the value in creating gold out of thin air. Or perhaps he did see the value and feared for the future of his Office, for what use was there for a Master of Coin if there were no longer any coins?

In truth, War Bonds were a compromise to Lord Husband’s dream of paper currency, since War Bonds were more familiar and easier for everyone involved to accept, especially given the nuanced circumstances. Although every merchant and noble in the Empire was well used to working with debt and credit, things were different when working with the Imperial Clan. The balance of power was skewed too far in the Imperial Clan’s favour, so any loan was essentially a gift in everything but name. It was standard practice for the Imperial Clan to pay upfront, otherwise the only option was to carry out their will and hope for the best. Who would dare present an Imperial Scion with a bill for services owed, or venture into the Eastern Province to splash red paint on their doors when the Scion failed to pay? Reneging on a debt was shameful, but the Imperial Clan did not go into debt, for they were only graciously accepting their due in the form of goods and services.

However, an issue had arisen when Shen Zhen Wu invoked the Imperial Sigil and publicly pledged to pay for the costs of building the new Western Wall, the Citadels, fortresses, and other defences involved. This was a massive undertaking involving thousands of millions of gold coins moving from East to Central, so it should come as no surprise to learn that the Eastern Province was running low on liquid funds. There were only so many gold coins, bars, and plates in circulation, and even though the Eastern Province was by far the wealthiest province of all, not all of their wealth could be measured in coin alone. From what Luo-Luo could tell, the Imperial Treasury was probably already running low on funds, else Administrator Hang would not be so tightfisted with his purse strings.

This meant it was only a matter of time before the Imperial Clan went into verifiable debt and the Emperor publicly lost face over failing to uphold His pledge. Heads would roll if matters progressed that far, starting with the Master of Coin and possibly even affecting Shen Zhen Wu and his Honoured Uncle, Grand Marshal of the Empire, Liang Bao Zheng.

Unfortunately, Lord Husband was still unaware that the ‘Honoured Uncle’ he met had such a lofty status, and Luo-Luo was unable to tell him because doing so would violate Shen Zhen Wu’s order that she keep his true identity a secret.

So, unbeknownst to him, Lord Husband’s idea for War Bonds presented a timely and ingenious solution to a looming financial problem. Debt by another name, only dressed in a prettier package, it was so beautifully simplistic Luo-Luo marvelled that no one else had ever thought to try it. It was all a matter of perception. Lord Husband framed it best himself, calling his War Bonds an investment tool rather than a form of debt, an investment into the physical and financial security of the Azure Empire itself. A guaranteed return on investment wasn’t even necessary, but it allowed the Emperor to retain face while selling these War Bonds, because this meant the Imperial Clan was entering a contract to reward their investors, even if those bonds were unlikely to ever be redeemed. Not for coin at least, because single-digit percentage return was nothing compared to a favour from the Emperor Himself, which was exactly what these War Bonds promised. They were a means for the outer-provinces to do a favour for the Imperial Emperor by ‘lending’ him coin, a favour which would not be forgotten when it came time for issuing contracts, permits, rewards, titles, and almost every other facet of Imperial agency in the Empire.

There was also the matter of face to be gained from purchasing more War Bonds than one’s associates, which was sure to be a topic of contention in public events for months to come.

Truth be told, Luo-Luo wasn’t certain if Lord Husband foresaw all these possibilities in advance, but it mattered little. The Grand Marshal saw the tremendous value of War Bonds, and were it not for Lord Husband’s insistence that the War Bonds remain transferable and Shen Zhen Wu’s support, this project would have long since been removed from Lord Husband’s control. At first, Luo-Luo believed it was because the Grand Marshal was worried Lord Husband’s office would come into question if Treasure Notes were his sole purview, but after three months of working on this endeavour, she now knew it was because Grand Marshal Liang Bao Zheng was right to have faith in Lord Husband’s talents.

While Luo-Luo, Administrator Hang, the Master of Coin, and everyone else thought to issue as many War Bonds as possible, Lord Husband insisted they limit them instead, and he was right to. At a measly half-percent of interest and a one year term, a ten-thousand gold War Bond was worth 9,950 gold and change, but by promising such a pitiful return, everyone involved would see through the ruse and know this for what it was: payment in exchange for a future favour. However, by limiting the total number of War Bonds sold, this allowed Lord Husband to offer a much more generous return, which they tentatively set at five percent on a one year term. While this meant the War Bond was technically worth marginally less (only 9,523 gold versus 9,950), limiting the number of War Bonds issued increased their perceived value. Instead of looking at the return on investment, the nobles of the Empire would instead be forced to place a value to what they felt a favour from the Imperial Clan was worth. So long as Shen Zhen Wu was quick to reward the first few nobles to purchase Lord Husband’s War Bonds, then a ten-thousand gold War Bond at a five percent return would easily sell for more than it was worth on paper, based on the perceived value of the favour alone. Add to this Lord Husband’s devious suggestion to issue War Bonds in scheduled batches sold to the highest bidder at blind, silent auction, and Luo-Luo foresaw them being purchased at two to three times their actual value, if not more, and all without the inevitable posturing and bloodshed which bidding wars generally invited. Best of all, even if some well-to-do family should find themselves strapped for coin and forced to sell their War Bonds, they would be worth more if sold to other nobles or merchants as opposed to redeeming them with the Imperial Treasury.

This was truly printing money, for now they could finally put a value on face. Have you purchased more War Bonds than me? No? Then clearly I have more face!

Lord Husband and Administrator Hang continued their heated discussion regarding expensive ink for some time, with neither side willing to back down until Lord Husband took up his brush and added a single stroke to the War Bond. Instead of ‘ten-thousand’, it now read ‘one-hundred thousand’, increasing its value ten-fold with no effort whatsoever. Only then did the stubborn bean-counter relent, but Lord Husband was not yet done. Prior to today, he argued that the means of production for Treasure Notes and War Bonds must solely remain with the Imperial Clan. Another clever move on his part, because this meant Lord Husband was insulated from blame. If an Imperial Scion should take advantage and create War Bonds or Treasure Notes without permission, then the fault lay with the Imperial Clan, because Lord Husband had no say in the means of production, only the distribution. Administrator Hang and the Master of Coin had leaped at this suggestion, no doubt because they intended to take advantage themselves, but now Lord Husband meant to deal those plans a death blow.

“This is outrageous!” Administrator Hang sputtered, feigning shock and indignity at Lord Husband’s suggestion. “I, Liang Yin Hang, am a loyal official of the Emperor, and I would never stoop so low as to commit fraud by selling fake War Bonds!”

“Of course not,” Lord Husband replied, and to Luo-Luo’s surprise, he actually sounded like he meant it. “However, not all officials are as moral and upright as you, Administrator Hang. Why, I bet you could name any number of your rivals who would leap at the chance to exploit our good work here for their own personal gain. Once word of this spreads, they will set their sights on your assignment here, which will be a tempting prize indeed. Why, I bet they’ll dig into everything you’ve ever done in hopes of uncovering something to blackmail you with, and when they inevitably fail to find anything, they’ll no doubt resort to fabricating false evidence.”

Seeing the pasty, gaunt Scion’s eyes go wide with alarm while tallying up his past indiscretions was almost too much for Luo-Luo to bear. “...Y-you’re right,” he stammered, mopping away at his sweaty brow. “I’ve many enemies who will stop at n-nothing t-to see me disgraced. Unscrupulous bastards the lot of them.”

“Such greed, such sin.” Patting the Administrator’s arm in sympathy, Lord Husband continued, “That is why good men like you and I must ensure there is no room for exploitation, so even if someone of low moral fibre takes our place, they will be kept in line by a system of checks and balances. Division of power is key here, because that will mean our work is beyond reproach. That’s why I suggest each Treasure Note and War Bond require three separate stamped seals before they are considered legal tender. One from the Master of Coin, one from The Grand Marshal, and one from the Chief Justicar of Fraud.”

Even though Lord Husband already discussed this with Luo-Luo beforehand, she couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer ingenuity of his plan. Administrator Hang didn’t see it yet, but he would have no choice but to eventually agree, because Shen Zhen Wu was the one who suggested the solution when Lord Husband brought up the issue during their last meeting. The distribution of power through the Grand Marshal, Prime Minister, and Royal General was already tenuous at best, and the introduction of Treasure Notes threatened to overturn it all. Given the ability to create gold out of thin air, the Grand Marshal’s office would hold too much power if left unchecked, so including the Head Justicar from the Department of Fraud in the creation process was the best solution available. This kept the Grand Marshal from printing an unlimited amount of War Bonds and Treasure Notes whenever he so pleased, and gave the creation process a much needed autonomous third party to handle quality control. Best of all, this move meant the Chief Justicar of Fraud and the Disciplinary Corps were responsible for ensuring the authenticity of War Bonds and Treasure Notes, which in turn meant the Prime Minister, whose responsibilities include managing the affairs of the Disciplinary Corps, would share equal, if not greater responsibility if a prolific counterfeiter should appear sometime in the future.

No, it was hardly a matter of if, but when...

A cunning move from Shen Zhen Wu, which reminded Luo-Luo to be wary of his schemes, but Lord Husband was not to be outdone either. Their meeting took place two weeks ago, but Lord Husband was only bringing this matter to Administrator Hang’s attention now, after he finished corresponding with the Chief Justicar of Fraud himself. It seemed strange for Lord Husband to personally see to this matter instead of telling Administrator Hang to notify the Minister of Coin and leave things to them. Why be so hands on after insisting he had no part in the production of War Bonds or Treasure Notes?

It didn’t make sense, unless Lord Husband specifically wanted to know about the anti-fraud measures, which was simply... ingenious. War Bonds would be almost impossible to fabricate without eventually getting caught, because the limited number and public sale meant it was a simple matter of numbering each War Bond and making all transactions a matter of public record. War Bonds could be traded and sold, so long as formal notice was given and a nominal fee paid to the Office of the Prime Minister and collected by the Magistrates of each Imperial City. This was a countermeasure Lord Husband himself insisted on for War Bonds, as they were a matter of Imperial Debt and therefore of grave concern, but he was much more lax regarding safety measures for Treasure Notes, and now Luo-Luo understood why.

As she noted earlier, War Bonds were a compromise, but Lord Husband had great faith in his Treasure Note scheme, and for good reason. Between bidding for War Bonds and paying for the war efforts, the outer province nobles would soon find themselves strapped for coin, and with no choice but to use their War Bonds as barter. Then, once the idea of transferable paper debt became common-place, the nobles would rail at the inconvenience of Lord Husband’s ‘nominal fee’, because one could hardly hide their dirty deals while reporting every War Bond trade to the Magistrate’s Office. Then, Lord Husband would be free to introduce Treasure Notes, which the mercantile world would be quick to snap up, allowing the Grand Marshal to print as much gold as they needed, so long as the Chief Justicar of Fraud’s approval was given.

Which they would have so long as the Emperor Himself approved and commanded it, because why wouldn’t He?

This was not the end of Lord Husband’s brilliance either, for now she saw he was planning for his inevitable displacement. Minister of Finance was a new Imperial Office created solely for the Legate’s purposes, but once word spread of how lucrative the position would be, Lord Husband fully expected to be replaced. Was planning on it, in fact, by giving Administrator Hang and the Master of Coin just enough rope to hang themselves with. Should they fail to take the proper precautions when introducing Treasure Notes, then Lord Husband intended to exploit the system to his own benefit, which would be much easier to do with Treasure Notes than War Bonds because he himself suggested they be made in smaller denominations to encourage more widespread daily use.

Thus, Luo-Luo had her answer to why he handled matters with the Disciplinary Corps himself. It was so he would be privy to their future countermeasures. With this information in hand, Lord Husband would turn to making counterfeits once his Office was taken away, thus ensuring his successor would be beset upon by calamity. Lord Husband’s plans were so insidiously deceitful, Luo-Luo couldn’t help but see him in a new light. Not only was he anticipating his foes moves, he was preparing countermeasures against them by introducing a problem he himself would later solve, thereby raising his status and dealing a blow to his enemies in one fell swoop. Lord Husband was sure his endeavours would be massively successful and he knew just how to take advantage of them, but the scariest part was, it seemed like he still had so many more ideas in store.

Falling Rain was truly a dragon among men, not only in battle, but in matters of business, finance, and politics as well.

It took the better part of an hour to convince Administrator Hang to bring Lord Husband’s triple-seal proposal to the Master of Coin, and with their work done for the day, Lord Husband brought his pets out to the pond where he immediately settled in for a nap with the Guardian Turtle. He napped quite often lately, going to bed early and woke late as well, but he still put in more work at the office than most, and even spent three days a week offering Martial advice to his soldiers and Khishigs on the training grounds. The last three months had been good to him, in more ways than one. His health was on the mend and his body was putting on weight, not to mention how his venture into sugar beets proved fruitful and he stood to make a vast fortune in processed sugar, on top of so many other of his endeavours which continued to rake in massive profits. All this on top of having his reputation cleared the moment he entered Imperial Office and received his title, proved that even crippled, Falling Rain’s accomplishments were worthy of respect.

A shame his discussions with Broken Blade Pichai had yet to show progresses. Though not privy to the details, it seemed Lord Husband’s Core was still a long ways from mending, but no matter. Martial Warriors liked to believe they held all the power, but Luo-Luo knew wealth was a power unto itself...

After his short nap, Lord Husband and Luo-Luo headed home for dinner, which turned out to be a joyous affair thanks to his earlier proposal. Amidst much cheer and many toasts, they decided midsummer was an auspicious date for the wedding, though it left precious little time to plan as it was just under a week away. Knowing time would be of the essence, Luo-Luo put on her best smile and offering to do anything she could to help with the festivities.

Even though she would much rather go back to her room to cry instead...

Once dinner was done, they gathered in the courtyard to relax, where Luo-Luo spent time teaching Tali, Anrhi, and Sorya how to play the pipa. They were all coming along well, even sweet, tone-deaf Tali, who could play a tune well enough once she memorized the notes, provided Luo-Luo tuned the instrument for her. The time passed quickly, and as everyone was heading off to bed, Lord Husband pulled Luo-Luo aside to talk. “I’m going to walk Mila home and say goodnight to Ping Ping,” he began, driving the dagger deeper into Luo-Luo’s heart. She herself slept two doors down from him, but not once did he ever walk her to her room. “It shouldn’t take too long, so could you wait up for me? I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Of course, Lord Husband.” More work talk most likely, perhaps another idea of his to puzzle through, as if she didn’t already have enough to deal with, or maybe it was something to do with the wedding. Still, Luo-Luo put on a brave face and settled down in the living room with Jimjam at her feet and Roc in her lap to keep her company. The Laughing Bird had taken a shine to her after their time together at the Central Citadel, and she often went up to his roost to see the baby fledglings, who were already flying now that their feathers had finally come in, and they were an adorable, well-behaved bunch who were simply too darling not to love.

True to his word, Lord Husband was quick to return, though Luo-Luo had half expected him to be late from chatting with his beloved Mila as if no one else existed. No, that wasn’t fair, it’d been three months since they talked, and Sister Mila had so much to say regarding her time spent adrift in Insight. Sister Yan and Sister-in-Law Alsantset didn’t have much to share besides general Insights into the Martial Dao, but Sister Mila was given a glimpse into the inner workings of the world itself as she joined the ranks of Imperial Experts. It was all very fascinating, but far beyond Luo-Luo’s comprehension, so she simply put aside everything she heard for when she would need it in the future.

Regardless of her misgivings, Lord Husband only spent the bare minimum of time greeting his pets before turning to Luo-Luo with a strained smile. Moving to sit beside her, he awkwardly changed his mind and stood instead, all the while looking as if he didn’t want to be here. Was she really so unattractive and terrible to be around? Even Roc was bored of sitting in her lap, having slipped free to return to his roost. “The wedding with Mila is going to be soon,” Lord Husband began, unable to look her in the eyes. “A quiet ceremony with family only, followed by a big banquet for... everyone else.”

Oh of course, he wanted her help planning the guest list. “We will require a large venue, one befitting your status as well as Sister Mila’s. As Minister of Finance, it would serve you well to use this as an opportunity to reconcile with old rivals and encourage new friendships.”

“Uh...Right.”

“Without a full list, Lord Husband should prepare to accommodate at least one-thousand guests, perhaps even double that. At the wedding, it might benefit us if you quietly informed a select few friends about the imminent arrival of War Bonds. The Master of Coin seems eager to introduce them, and those forewarned will be better poised to purchase the first batch.”

“Ya, sure. A thousand guests. Wow.”

“Two thousand would be safest. One more thing to note: it is customary for all Imperial Scions to invite the Emperor to their wedding banquets. He does not often attend, but it’s possible the Legate will want to attend in His place, so it would be best to send out an invitation sooner rather than later, given the time constraints.”

“Got it, but uh... Luo-Luo? This wasn’t why I asked to talk to you.”

Mother in Heaven, was there something else he needed her to do? “Then how might this one serve, Lord Husband?”

“Well... see, neither of us were given a choice at the beginning of this relationship,” he said, flashing his sweet, insecure smile as he met her eyes, “But in the time we’ve spent together, you’ve shown yourself to be a smart, talented, and competent woman, and you’ve supported me through some of my most difficult times. Even when I was at my worst, you were there by my side, never once expressing anger, displeasure, or regret. You followed me to the front lines, and you guided me on the path to political victory, and I can honestly say I would not be here without you. You are an incredible woman, and I am thankful to have you by my side.” Luo-Luo’s heart surged with joy and her spirits lifted, only to be summarily smashed back into the dirt by Lord Husband’s next words. “I admire and respect you, but... well, I can’t lie and tell you I love you, no matter how much you might want it, but erm...”

Clearing his throat, Lord Husband scratched his neck and averted his gaze. Hesitantly dropping down to one knee, he brought out a velvet-encased box so similar to the one he presented to Mila, and opened it to reveal a ring adorned in white diamonds and purple amethysts. The platinum band was shaped like a phoenix, with its wings outstretched and head tilted towards the Heavens, and eyes set with twin, sparkling amethysts which almost brought the piece to life. “This is going to sound terrible,” he began, still unable to meet her eyes, “But I’ve already arranged to marry Yan on the Autumnal Solstice, and Lin-Lin in the new year. So... uh... That means the Winter Solstice is available, and... well if you want, we can get married then. Married married, like as a proper wife, rather than you being my concubine.”

Holding up a hand to forestall her immediate agreement, he cleared his throat and barrelled on. “I know you claim not to care if I love you, and that this is what you want, but you deserve better, even if you don’t believe it. So this is not a proposal, not exactly. This is a promise. If you want to be my wife, I would gladly give you the status you deserve. I promise to always treat you with care and respect, no matter what the future has in store for us. However, I also admit I have not been as... open to the idea of a relationship with you, no matter what I might have said before this. I’ve never really taken the effort to get to know you or spend time with you as... a man and a woman, I guess. Not in the... err... physical sense, but like... in a courtship? Sort of way? Fuck. I went off script.”

Taking a deep breath, Lord Husband finally raised his head to meet her eyes, and in his gaze she saw no love or passion, only fear and guilt intermingled with genuine warmth, respect, and possibly even affection. “What I’m trying to say is... I know you’re wholly committed to being my concubine and supporting me, but I don’t want a concubine or even an Imperial Servant. I want a wife who I love and loves me back, but even if that’s not in our future, I would cherish you as a friend. I can’t promise to fall head over heels for you and go to the ends of the world to see you smile, but this ring is my promise to be more open to the idea of falling in love with you.” Chuckling wryly beneath his breath, he shook his head and sighed. “This is a disaster. It all sounded so much better in my head...”

“No, it’s wonderful.” Smiling as her tears cut a trail down her cheeks, Luo-Luo reached out to take his hands, not caring about the ring or the false lies he thought it represented. “Back at the Academy, I always dreamt of being loved and adored by my Patron, but those were the silly dreams of a silly girl. You believe I deserve better, but you sell yourself short. Even if you never come to love me, I will not leave, for I have fallen madly in love with you, Lord Husband, and I will take whatever small affection you will give me.” Boldly acting on a whim, she pulled him gently into her embrace, or rather as gently as she could without letting him escape, since his natural instinct was to resist. Thankfully, Luo-Luo was much stronger now after so many months of practice, and Lord Husband was as weak as a kitten, so it was a simple matter to pull him in close. “However, I intend to win you over, Lord Husband,” she whispered, savouring the warmth of his cheek and the fresh scent of his hair as she held him tight against her bosom. “So keep your ring, and present it to me again when you truly mean to make me your beloved wife.”

It was gratifying to let go and see him reluctantly straighten up, his movements slow, cheeks flushed, and gaze hungry. If she pushed him just a little more, she might even drag him off to bed, but lust and love were not the same, and Luo-Luo had set her sights higher than ever before.

A thought which terrified her as she sauntered away, so much so that she almost ran back to snatch the ring out of his hands. Mother in Heaven, what had she done? She could have been his wife in name at least, but now she would not only have to wait until after his wedding with Yan, but probably Lin-Lin’s wedding as well, not to mention the very real possibility of Li-Li joining his harem. Then there was the fact that as Minister of Finance, there was a good chance other Imperial Nobles would look to connect with Lord Husband or even draw him over to their side, and what better way than through a proper, legitimate marriage into the Imperial Clan? Yes, Lord Husband was resistant to the idea of arranged marriages, but he was still a man of lusty appetites, so what would happen if he were presented with a prospective wife who, unlike Luo-Luo, suited his eclectic tastes?

Gently closing the door behind Jimjam, Luo-Luo collapsed into bed and hugged the wildcat tight, praying she hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of her life.

Chapter Meme