Chapter Text
"Would you like to take responsibility for half the debt and work it off by being my personal servant?" she said. "As a penniless shiftless scrounger, It may take centuries of working from dawn to late in the night under my direct supervision . . ."
Da Bao looked deep into the eyes of his prospective mistress, found an infinite and cruel darkness staring back at him and said, "Never mind. Death please."
Commander Yi sighed, "He was most cooperative in capturing Dongmei. Please make his death swift and simple. I promised that I would argue this on his behalf to improve his cooperation."
"I have heard your argument." Though her tone made it clear she was not convinced.
Shang Qinghua turned to his mother-in-law. "I won't tell you how to punish him but I don't want the kids to watch. I also prefer not to watch."
"I understand." She turned to Dongmei and her mother. "I am greatly moved by the arguments by my son-in-law and our nanny." She pulled a large lacquered box out of her sleeve and a bag of what appeared to be rough grains of salt. "As an act of great mercy, you may deliver your daughter's head in this box buried in preservative salt in return for the rest of your clan being spared. I will also need a signed agreement that you will remain a vassal estate under our clan until the day you have finished repaying my clan's losses. What do you say to my most generous offer?"
The faces of Dongmei and the clan mistress did not express gratitude or relief at this idea.
Not thrilled at this turn in negotiations, Commander Yi turned to the lord of ice demons and said, "Ah, do you have anything to say in regards to your wife's proposal?"
He sighed and pulled out a fan. "I am weighing all my options." I must give consideration to Commander Yi as well as my wife but he insists on making things so difficult, he thought. He waved at himself with the fan, causing the room to become quite cool. He then pulled something else from his sleeve and began rifling through what appeared to be a letter.
"Husband . . . What are you reading?" said the lady of the ice demons.
"Oh, it's their family's petition to marry into our family that we got recently."
Her thumb and her index finger pinched his cheek in a manner not completely or even mostly affectionate. "I hope that you are not suggesting that they dissolve their debt to us by marriage."
If anything, Dongmei's face went paler at the idea of having to be her co-wife or daughter-in-law.
Knowing he better clear up this truly unfortunate misunderstanding, he said, "Ah, no, no. I was wondering if she could marry into a family that could reduce their debt to us."
Dongmei looked at Leiyu with a pleading expression but he turned his head away from her in rejection. His parents looked at her scornfully.
"How can she marry when she's dead?" his wife said, while taking her fingers from his cheek.
The clan mistress wailed. "Oh my lord, please spare my stupid, miserable child!" She and her daughter both began shamelessly crying and pleading and the lady of the ice demons was just a hair away from taking a giant hammer out of her sleeve and mashing their skulls into pulp except it would just be so rude to stain her best friend's carpets. Brain paste was the worst when it came to laundry.
The lord sighed, "I'm going to have my best team of bookkeepers and appraisers look over your entire clan holdings and calculate their value to the very smallest copper coin. Any special treasure that catches my wife's eye will be immediately transferred to her possession but will count against your debt. That is non-negotiable," he said. "Your petition says that your daughter is known for her embroidery . . ."
"Ah, yes, that is true," said the clan mistress.
"After some thought, it came to me that a corpse doesn't generate money or incentive for her clan to behave. She's going to make custom order embroidered goods and we're going to charge gold coin for it."
"Noooooo," screamed Da Bao. "I will not tolerate being the only one executed!" With that, he tried to squirm out of his chair. "She must die, too!"
A block of ice in the shape and size of a bowling ball formed six feet over his head and then fell, knocking him unconscious.
The lord of the ice demons continued, "This doesn't mean that she will lead a life of luxury. She will be confined in a room on our lands and have meals and other supplies delivered to her by one of our servants. Good behavior will allow us to revisit conditions of her imprisonment. Any attempt to break her out will be treated with the greatest and harshest retribution, led by my wife." He turned to Commander Yi. "This truly is our most lenient offer. Any insistence on something more generous and I'll just grab my sword."
Commander Yi turned to Dongmei and her mother. "I urge you to accept these terms." He kicked them underneath the table to further persuade them.
Dongmei and her mother nodded.
"I will draft a contract for all to affix signatures," said Commander Yi. "I will also pledge to monitor compliance up to and including supporting the side which sticks closest to fulfilling the terms. The lord and lady of the wind demons can be witnesses to this negotiations so there is no question about the agreement. Dongmei will remain in our custody until the confinement can be built."
The lord of the ice demons cut a portal to walk through. "I believe that this takes care of everything on our end. All this talking is burdensome." He picked up the unconscious Da Bao and threw him and the chair he was in through the portal before walking through himself.
"Li Na?" said Leiyu as the lady of the ice demons and Shang Qinghua walked through the portal. "Could we talk?"
"I heard what was said while I was waiting in the next room. It is as Weifeng said. I . . . I think that what you truly miss is a time and place where you didn't have to worry so much about living up to being an only son and young master but could concentrate on just being a child. I know you'll find someone who'll appreciate you for yourself, as a man first and foremost. I'm just not that person."
He nodded morosely. His parents gave her a little nod and smile of understanding and thanks behind his back.
She turned to go through the portal.
***
"Considering that his first husband was involved in an incident recently and there was so much bother, Mo Beijun feels rather protective right now. I will entertain no more marriage proposals for him for the next . . . ten years," she said to her visitor in her salon.
Ninghong sighed. "That is really too bad. By that time, I will have married into another family less hesitant to accept what I have to offer," she said. She turned to Mo Jin who had just walked into the room. "Wouldn't you like a new mommy?"
He did not bother to answer but instead filled the room with killing intent.
"How can such a small child generate that much oppressive pressure!" she shrieked.
His grandmother laughed and laughed.
The End