Capital Territory, Prime Minister's Estate.
The master of this place had offered up his residence as the venue for the Eight Direct Prefectures' governors' meeting. For a time, heroes gathered in abundance, their tall crowns forming clouds.
A magnificently dressed young nobleman smiled as he toyed with an exquisite bronze seal in his palm.
The bronze seal had a rather peculiar appearance. Anyone with a discerning eye would recognize it at once as the classic artifact known as "Authority."
With authority in his grasp, the young nobleman's identity was ready to reveal itself: Young Master Buying, the self-appointed governor of Maijing Prefecture.
Young Master Buying had come at invitation to attend the Eight Direct Prefectures' governors' meeting. At least, he had arrived safely despite the risks.
Young Master Buying played with the bronze Authority seal in his hand as he studied the painting hanging on the wall.
The Prime Minister had been obsessed with painting and calligraphy. He had once even submitted a memorial requesting that the Sealed Lord exempt the realm from taxes for three years, all to obtain a masterpiece from a renowned artist.
That affair had also become a celebrated tale, making Han Yushou of the Northern Four Families famous far and wide.
Yet Young Master Buying understood the truth behind it.
Han Yushou was a high-ranking member of the God of Release Cult. The so-called exchange of calligraphy for tax exemption was, in truth, a tacit agreement between both sides. The Sealed Lord traded tax exemptions for the God of Release Cult's support, while the cult gained the worship of countless citizens.
As for that painting, it was instead the least important thing in the entire transaction.
Before the Prime Minister's family moved away, they had not even had time to pack it up. It still