Hill took the list from the puppet standing beside him, disguised as a maid, and smiled enigmatically.
An Ran stole a glance upward. A chill ran through him, and he tried to look even more deferential.
But Hill had no intention of putting him in his place. His hand kept turning the pages while all sorts of strange feelings slowly surfaced in his mind.
The words "An Clan Treasure Pavilion" almost made Hill laugh, though they also stirred something in him. In an instant, he had gone from high fantasy to the world of gods and immortals!
In the real world, though, a merchant house would probably choose a name like "Treasure Pavilion" to advertise its wealth and standing, while making it clear these treasures were only treasures by the An Family's standards.
No one would call it something grandiose like "The World's Finest Pavilion" or "Peerless Pavilion."
However powerful the great families became, they could not stand above the throne.
They could reduce the emperor to a figurehead only by working together, not through the strength of any one family. Barring natural disasters or a popular uprising, the imperial family's position remained fairly secure.
Hill found this Eastern world's insistence on balance in every sphere rather interesting.
The prices listed for specialties like porcelain and silk were high, but these really were top-tier goods. Some of the porcelain Hill had seized from Waterdeep earlier would have counted as merely middling by comparison.
Hill pointed to an elegant, austere porcelain set called "Red Plum in Snow" and asked An Ran, "This one costs more. Why didn't you take it to Waterdeep to sell?"
The set was beautiful. Even in a drawing, Hill could sense its solitary beauty, like an immortal maiden in an empty mountain, apart from the world.
Even