Gains and Losses

"We agreed beforehand. We clearly agreed! Hundreds of people in the trading company are waiting to earn a living! How can you just call it off?"

"How can the Marquis Mansion expect anyone to accept this, when it keeps changing its mind on a whim?"

"You're bullying us like this! Does Marquis Weining know?!"

"Steward Jiao, Steward Jiao, please don't do this! Please! If I did something wrong, just tell me. I'll make it right, I'll apologize—I'll get down on my knees! Please?"

Thud!

The man pleading for mercy was kicked far away. He rolled across the ground several times before coming to a stop.

Still, he continued to mutter in pain, "You can't do this. You can't..."

"Get lost!" A burly man dressed in martial garb stood before the Marquis Mansion, presumably one of its household soldiers. He pointed at the man, his voice vicious. "Come back and cause trouble again, and I'll kill your whole family!"

The pleas abruptly ceased. The man on the ground gritted his teeth and endured the pain for a while. Once he had caught his breath, he got to his feet and slowly walked away.

Jiang Wang watched from a distance and recognized him.

At the birthday banquet in the inner courtyard, when the Marquis of Martial Merit had suddenly arrived, everyone had stood to welcome him. Some guests had even rushed to greet him outside. This man had been one of them.

That must have been what offended the Marquis Weining Mansion and caused some deal they'd already reached to fall through.

Jiang Wang had no way of knowing the details, but he imagined it was a matter of life and death for the trading company the man represented. To the powerful and wealthy Marquis Weining Mansion, though, it might have been