Xu Zhan's words, "Nothing happened," drifted through the carved wooden door and into the hall.
He Minghu heard them, feeling a buzzing in his eardrums.
He slumped in the grand armchair.
Hearing those two words from outside the door, his mind went completely blank at first.
Zhou Biao had brought twenty elite, heavily armored personal guards.
Twenty living, breathing men, armed with waist swords and wearing dark armor, all veteran soldiers who had crawled their way out from piles of corpses.
From the moment Xu Zhan pushed the door open and stepped out, to the first clash of weapons, and now to this very moment, barely half a cup of tea's time had passed.
All gone?
He Minghu's throat and jaw trembled uncontrollably. He wanted to stand up, to rush out and see exactly what kind of scene lay in the courtyard.
Just as he was about to exert force.
From under the crack of the door, that heavy stench of blood drifted in, drilling straight into his nasal cavity.
He Minghu's movements froze.
The window paper pasted on the door panels was illuminated by the lanterns outside, and a patch of dark red blood was trickling down the window lattice, dragging out a long trail.
Go out?
That Living Yama was standing on the steps right now.
Cold sweat rolled down He Minghu's forehead, stinging as it flowed into his eyes, but he couldn't even muster the courage to raise his hand and wipe it away.
Ma Jin'an sat opposite him.
Right now, the ten fingers of this supervising imperial censor were trembling uncontrollably.
Twenty elites.
Half a cup of tea's time.
Ma Jin'an repeatedly calculated this duration in his mind.
Even if it were a herd of pigs, Xu Zhan going out single-handedly to catch them wouldn't have finished in half a cup of tea's time!
But outside, there was absolutely no sound.
No begging for mercy, no fighting, no footsteps.
Ma Jin'an's breathing grew heavier.
He raised his head and looked at Xu Qinghuan, who was sitting in the main seat.
Xu Qinghuan didn't look at them.
She was reaching out to lift the wine jug on the table.
The handle of the white porcelain wine jug carried a chill. Xu Qinghuan's hand pressed against the porcelain surface, slowly closing around it.
The clear yellow Huadiao wine stretched into a thin line, falling into the white porcelain cup in front of her.
The sound of liquid echoed in the hall.
The sound was faint, yet exceptionally grating in a hall so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The wine hit the wall of the cup, splashing a few drops of liquid that landed on the rosewood tabletop.
Following the sound of the liquid, He Minghu's shoulders suddenly shrank, and Ma Jin'an's eyelids twitched along with it.
Xu Qinghuan set down the wine jug.
She extended two fingers and, along the tabletop, slowly pushed the newly filled cup of Huadiao wine in front of Ma Jin'an.
"Censor Ma," Xu Qinghuan spoke, her tone steady, revealing a somewhat relaxed gentleness. "The wine has gone cold."
Ma Jin'an looked at the wine cup resting in front of him.
The liquid in the cup was still swaying slightly, reflecting the flickering candlelight overhead.
He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his throat aching with dryness.
Ma Jin'an forcefully suppressed the panic in his heart.
Although he was a civil official and had never been on a battlefield, he understood the life-and-death stakes in the game of power better than He Minghu.
Since Xu Qinghuan was still pouring wine and still talking, it meant that tonight's game hadn't yet reached the point of flipping the table and killing people.
Ma Jin'an opened his mouth.
"Lord Xu..." He paused for a moment, clearing his throat, trying to make his voice sound less pathetic. "In the courtyard... Zhou Biao and the others..."
He didn't dare to finish the sentence.
"Guard Zhou, you mean." Xu Qinghuan picked up her own teacup, using the lid to gently stir the tea leaves on the surface of the water. "It's probably because the wind is strong at night. The guards of the deputy general's mansion, out of consideration for my second brother's mobility issues and fearing he might fall walking in the dark, have all retreated to rest, I suppose."
She raised her eyes to look at Ma Jin'an, her face bearing just the right amount of polite formality.
"Censor Ma, where were we just now?"
Listening to this explanation, Ma Jin'an's back seeped with cold sweat.
Retreated to rest?
Then what was with the blood on the door paper? And what about that heavy stench of blood?
It would be more accurate to say they had retreated from this mortal realm and gone into the ground.
But he didn't dare to contradict her.
Xu Qinghuan was hinting to him that the matter outside was over and done with.
Ma Jin'an's tense back finally relaxed.
He understood.
This imperial envoy had never intended to fight to the bitter end from the very beginning.
She brought Xu Zhan to the banquet not to kill, but to establish her authority.
Using the lives of twenty elite, heavily armored personal guards to tell the deputy general's mansion that she had the confidence to flip the table.
Only with this confidence could they sit down and renegotiate the rules.
Ma Jin'an picked up the cup of Huadiao in front of him.
His hand was still trembling, spilling a few drops of wine that landed on the cuffs of his official uniform.
He didn't bother to wipe it, tilted his head back, and downed the wine in the cup in one gulp.
The cold liquid rolled down his throat into his stomach, triggering a shudder, but also clearing his mind significantly.
"Your Lordship has a great capacity!" Ma Jin'an set down the empty cup, crossing his hands and placing them back on the tabletop, his posture very low. "Just now... this lower official was abrupt. Your Lordship has newly arrived in the Northern Frontier; the business of this border market indeed requires long-term planning."
He emphasized the words "lower official" heavily.
This was a submission.
Xu Qinghuan looked at him, the polite formality on her face completely retracted.
"Censor Ma is a smart person. Talking to a smart person saves effort."
Xu Qinghuan's tone turned cold, revealing a businesslike crispness.
"I am a newcomer. I know how deep the waters are in Zhenbei City. The revenues in this border market are intricately intertwined. The Ministry of War, those noblemen in the capital—everyone has a hand in this."
She extended a finger and tapped the tabletop.
"I alone cannot swallow such a large game of chess. I need the local snakes of the deputy general's mansion to help me clear the channels and cover people's eyes and ears. The Helian people's side also needs your informants to make the rounds."
Xu Qinghuan looked into Ma Jin'an's eyes.
"I will not monopolize the profits."
Hearing these words, Ma Jin'an's suspended heart finally settled.
As long as Xu Qinghuan was still willing to share the dividends, the deputy general's mansion still had a way to survive.
He Minghu, listening on the side, also slowly recovered.
He gasped heavily, raising his sleeve to haphazardly wipe the cold sweat off his face.
"Then Your Lordship means..." Ma Jin'an tentatively spoke, his tone carrying a hint of ingratiation. "Regarding the sharing of these dividends, shall we discuss it further?"
He calculated in his mind that since Xu Qinghuan needed them, a sixty-forty split, or perhaps fifty-fifty, could surely be negotiated.
After all, the deputy general's mansion was providing manpower and effort, and bearing no small amount of risk.
Ma Jin'an emboldened himself and leaned forward a bit.
"Since Your Lordship is willing to join forces, this lower official makes bold to suggest." Ma Jin'an weighed his words carefully. "The deputy general's mansion provides troops and personnel, managing things top to bottom; the expenses involved are not small. How about we split the accounts fifty-fifty?"
He proposed a price he considered fair.
Xu Qinghuan did not reply.
She withdrew her hand and slowly leaned back in her chair.
The hall returned to silence.
Xu Qinghuan looked at Ma Jin'an, then at the still-shaken He Minghu beside him.
She raised her right hand, putting her index and middle fingers together, holding them up in mid-air.
Two fingers.
Ma Jin'an and He Minghu were stunned.
Twenty percent?
Ma Jin'an's face twitched, and he was just about to open his mouth to fight for a bit more.
"I make the rules."
Xu Qinghuan spoke, her words clear and distinct.
She looked at Ma Jin'an, spitting out the words like nails.
"The revenue: I take seven, you take three."
Xu Qinghuan lowered her hand, picked up her teacup, and took a gentle sip.
"This is a notification. There is no room for bargaining."
