Threads 508-Ith 2

The Law delegation was approaching? Ling Qi had not sensed them at all yet.

It was good to be reminded that, for all her advancements, the third realm was still very far from the peak. She had a long climb yet before her.

“I see. I hope we are able to come to an amicable conclusion here. I understand both ministries have their claim to this duty, and the better expertise in it.”

Law held that they, as the enforcers of contracts and treaties, were the obvious department to deal with extracting information from the Emerald Seas’ new tributary. They were far more experienced in gathering information. Spiritual Affairs, on the other hand, held that dealing with non-human entities was very clearly their responsibility.

Of course, the information provided by the White Sky blurred this matter. She knew that her presence was something of a sop to both, an excuse to meet and hash out a working delegation without anyone losing face. She was being used here, but it was for a good cause. However, just because there was a vested interest in this working didn’t mean she didn’t still have to play her part well.

She was not certain if she should be encouraged or discouraged that Diao Hualing was not with the Minister of Law’s entourage. It might have been a sign that Ling Qi was expected to lean toward them in negotiations. On the other hand, her absence could imply that the Minister was not truly pleased with her efforts in arranging the meeting. After a moment of thought, Ling Qi decided that it was probably a matter of keeping a neutral face. Diao Hualing had been publicly associated with Ling Qi before.

“Probably,” Sixiang agreed privately. “Of course, Mr Lawman doesn’t look happy to be here, but maybe his face is just like that.”

Ling Qi carefully did not allow herself to disagree as Tang Che, Xiangmen’s Minister of Law, approached. He looked positively ancient for a cultivator with white hair bound in a tight topknot and a short, severely trimmed beard and mustache with just a few hints of silvery grey left in it. His face was a map of deep wrinkles, indicating a face habitually set in a deep frown. The black minister’s cap and embroidered robe of his station were both free of any adornment that was not a direct mark of his office’s rank.

“Minister Zhu. Baroness Ling.” He gave them both a terse nod as he took his seat at the table.

There had been very little ceremony in his approach. She had risen and bowed when he entered, but had been dismissed to sit with a flick of his fingers. It seemed the information she had been able to gather regarding him was correct on its face.

“Brusque, minimal decorum. Heavily results-focused. So even-handed you could balance a marble on his head, and it wouldn’t roll. It’s what ya might expect from the first Minister of Law that tyrant appointed in her own stead.”

“Minister Tang,” she greeted, echoing Zhu Fan’s similar greeting.

“You have both been here for some time.”

“Merely speaking on the young Baroness’ role as a spiritual advisor,” Zhu Fan explained. Ling Qi could feel the slight shift in his aura as the other minister opened himself to the other man’s inspection.

Flint grey eyes stared at him from across the table, assessing, before flicking to her. She sat up straighter, and stopped herself from reflexively clamping down on her feelings and emotional progression as she felt the perusing edge of the Minister’s senses passing over her like a fine steel-toothed comb.

Minister Tang inclined his head slightly in satisfaction. “Very well. It is irregular for a woman of your youth to advise on such a high matter. However, as the heiress’ representative, your words hold some weight.”

Ling Qi nodded, taking no offense. To these men, even if she tacked a hundred years onto her age, she would still be a precocious child. All the same, they were here meeting with her, were they not?

“This is a most irregular situation,” Ling Qi began. “The Emerald Seas have not taken a tributary since the submission of the Hill tribes.”

“It is so. And at that time, the Xi deferred enforcement of tributes to the Ministry of Law, as legal contracts are our domain,” Minister Tang asserted crisply. “They did so, following instructions from the Sage Emperor’s court during the formation of the ministries.”

“And it was the Ministry of Spiritual Affairs which governed the spirit pacts of newly acquired lands, adjusting them to meet the standards of the capital,” Zhu Fan rebutted.

Hmm. She thought of him by name rather than rank. The Minister had gained his slight advantage there, hadn’t he?

Zhu Fan continued, pressing his point. “The terms of the contract between the Duchess and the Ha-yith-kai are much more akin to a spirit pact than any negotiation with a submitted clan, and so, it remains my position that the Ministry of Spiritual Affairs should have oversight of this matter.”

“Law will be pleased to consult with Spiritual Affairs over the city’s negotiating position. It will, however, maintain control over all interactions not undertaken by the Duchess.”

“Law’s methods are not the best ones here. To interrogate criminals and fraudsters is far different than a negotiation with a non-citizen community.”

“The methods of information extraction allowable are different for non-citizens,” Minister Tang allowed. “And yet, information extraction is what matters most, or have your rites not felt the disruption of the deaths in the central valley?”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

His voice wasn’t angry, or even particularly passionate, but it was pointed.

“I have felt them deeply, the voices of mortals dying out, tainted fields, and furious house spirits and poisoned streams where tainted bodies fell,” Zhu Fan replied. He, on the other hand, did sound upset, and his aura was heavy, the rushing rumble of a quake ill contained. “And that is why we must be certain that we retrieve correct information, and what is more, establish a deeper learning than a single interrogation can give. Or do you believe our enemies will sit on their hands when the offensive begins?”

“I do not,” Minister Tang replied. “We have had this argument before, Minister Zhu.”

Their eyes fell on her, Ling Qi, the negotiator, now whispered to be the junior sister of the Orator, one of Cai Shenhua’s four heavenly kings.

No pressure.

She understood that she was being used to maintain face for both organizations. Her solutions and words were valuable merely for coming from outside while having some weight.