Threads: Summit Epilogue

“That concludes my report on the ‘White Sky’ affair.”

Cao Chun shuffled his notes. Despite open danger being invited here, he found himself satisfied. If he did not know better, he might think himself compromised.

“It is good that the internal matter was handled with minimum instability.”

The voice of the minister of the south echoed as if from the bottom of a well. The swirling vortex of darkness above his desk pulsed softly. From it, he could hear the sounds of shuffling paper and the indistinct whisper of reports given and orders made, a shadow of the vast reams of information which his superior was sending and receiving at all times.

“The foreign matter is worrying, but no more so than before. A list of judges will be sent for your perusal.”

“Her Highness approves then?” Cao Chun asked. He had been persuaded, himself. This Polar Nation was civilized in its way; it understood and adhered to strong laws, if wrong ones. It was also, as the girl had implied, very weak centrally, as admitted by its own representatives.

There was opportunity there, and not merely in the slow witted martial sense.

“The priority of the south is stability. How the duchess achieves this is her business,” the reverberating voice replied, distorted by distance and shifting attention. “The eyes of the throne are needed elsewhere. With her highness’ rise to the Eighth realm, the Great Work may proceed to the next stage. You may consider this approval, for now. It will be propagated that the treaty made here is to be respected.”

“I understand.” Cao Chun brushed his thumb over the head of his cane.

“Will you take up your retirement in Xiangmen, Cao Chun?”

“I have found the southern air agreeable.”

Whatever his words, a true agent of integrity never truly retired. That was true whether one was a mere inspector or an empress. It was not a matter of force. He knew that should he ask for it, the Ministry of Integrity would leave him be and never trouble his ears again. But one did not rise in the ranks of the ministry without knowing the virtue of its cause.

Systems rotted with time, even ones created as close to perfection as possible in their flawed world. Cut corners built up and began to crumble, complacency and workarounds set in, and loopholes were found. Meritocracy became a captive, and integrity was strangled by a thousand petty personal wants.

It was a war that could never end, so long as the empire stood. When the first minister had abandoned them over that revelation, it was Her Highness whose words had held the ministry together and whose will had resonated with the shades of Inexorable Justice. He trusted in them, his superiors and the empress as well.

That was why he did not need to know the full plan, only that it remained on track.

“The matter of the Cai’s alliance with the Bai has not been a disruption to the Work then?”

“It has altered many paths, but the empress has decreed the situation acceptable. The duchess continues to advance and perform her primary role. The Bai are moving within desired parameters.”

The author’s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Cao Chun nodded, letting out a breath of relief. Notwithstanding the growing concern of the Sun situation, to his eyes, the ancient rot the Bai represented had not infected the Emerald Seas to his eye. Even justice could err before it was perfected.

“The Zheng remain a concern. Do you have a contact?”

“A small one, extended with purpose,” Cao Chun said.

“Monitor closely, and build trust. The ministry’s eyes on the Ebon Rivers are not clear enough.”

“Understood.”