Collecting Debts

"Every day, we have to worry about money. Once spring comes next year, we'll have to start recruiting troops again." A fallen leaf drifted before Wen Jingkong, and he raised a hand to catch it.

"We can recruit soldiers, but what about money? Can we get any? I'm not some wealthy magnate—how am I supposed to support them? We're already pinching every penny, and it's still not enough. During holidays, we don't even dare properly furnish the residence."

Wen Jingkong said, "When the imperial entourage was attacked at the temporary palace last year, a great deal of equipment was damaged. The Imperial Guard advanced silver to have it repaired at the workshops, but the Ministry of Revenue still owes us those repair costs. There are also all sorts of other outstanding accounts. Every time we ask the Ministry of Revenue for money, they act like the sky is falling. Next year, even if they put a blade to my neck, I'm not doing this anymore!"

Shen Tingjue bent one knee and sneered. "If you're so tough, go tear the roof off the Ministry of Revenue."

Wen Jingkong crushed the leaf in his hand and clicked his tongue twice. "Money makes the man. If you can do it, then go ahead. The Imperial Guard Bureau answers to the Imperial Guard. We're in the same boat. If the Imperial Guard gets money, the Imperial Guard Bureau will naturally get its share."

Shen Tingjue immediately lit up and stuffed the roster into his arms. "The task of reviewing the roster again is yours. I'm going to collect the debt."

Wen Jingkong shouted after his retreating back, "Hey! If you really get the silver back, I'll have every brother in the Imperial Guard call you Dad from now on!"

The Imperial Guard training on the drill grounds all stopped at once and clicked their tongues in unison.

Why don't you call him Dad yourself?

Ministry of Revenue offices.

Wang Zhonggui, the Minister of Revenue, smiled politely. "Lord Shen, it's not that the Ministry of Revenue refuses to allocate the silver. It's just that the treasury's expenditures haven't been sorted out yet, and the Grand Secretariat hasn't approved it either. We truly have no way to release the funds!"

Shen Tingjue rested his fingertips on the armrest and said nothing.

Bamboo blinds hung in the room, blocking much of the light. Wang Zhonggui could not clearly see his expression, so he said no more and merely had a servant bring tea.

Shen Tingjue accepted the tea and stirred aside the foam. "What tea is this?"

Wang Zhonggui said, "Biluochun."

Shen Tingjue took a sip and clicked his tongue. "How strange. It's the same Biluochun, so why doesn't the kind at my residence taste as good as yours, Minister Wang? As expected of someone with money flowing into his pockets. Your life is certainly different from that of my incorruptible father."

Hearing the sarcasm in his words, Wang Zhonggui gave a fake smile. "Lord Shen jests. It's only cheap tea. I'm glad you like it."

"Minister Wang is a rising star among the great clans. How could you possibly drink cheap tea? Are you trying to fool me?"

His tone made it obvious that he was looking for trouble. Wang Zhonggui set his teacup back on the table, unwilling to waste more time tangling with him, then rose and cupped his hands politely.

"If Lord Shen has nothing better to do and wishes to drink tea here, that is fine. I still have important duties to attend to, so please excuse me."

Shen Tingjue raised a brow. "Oh? I only said a few words, and you already can't take it? We've barely even started."

Wang Zhonggui said, "..."

Why did this brat always sound so deserving of a beating?

Shen Tingjue rubbed the rim of his teacup. "What could Minister Wang possibly be so busy with? Figuring out how to add military pay and equipment for the Nine Garrisons? Or figuring out how to line your pockets? Can you include me?"

Wang Zhonggui's smile could not have been more false. "Lord Shen certainly knows how to joke."

"You flatter me." Shen Tingjue said, "If you don't settle this account with me today, I'll turn you into a joke. The kind that spreads across the entire country."

When his expression cooled, an inexplicably chilling aura rose around him, like the cold, razor-sharp edge forged on a bloody battlefield.

Wang Zhonggui was secretly alarmed. He glanced at the Imperial Guard Bureau guards standing motionless by the door with hands on their swords, gritted his teeth, and sat back down, continuing to evade the matter.

"Lord Shen, the Ministry of Revenue has its own difficulties too. Let me speak frankly. Who wouldn't want to settle a debt if they had the money? If the treasury were full, this would not be a problem. But we truly cannot settle it right now. Listen, let me calculate it for you. According to—"

"Cut the crap." Shen Tingjue slammed the teacup onto the table with a bang, nearly spilling tea all over the Minister of Revenue's legs.

"Who doesn't have difficulties? Everyone has their own duties. What do your problems have to do with me? You oversee the Ministry of Revenue, so you should do your job properly. If you can't, make way for someone else. If you want to cry poverty, go cry to your parents. I only want money right now. If you can't give it to me, I'll raid your home. I refuse to believe you don't have some mountain of gold and silver hidden there."

Wang Zhonggui's face turned livid. He simply straightened up, craned his neck, and looked down at him. "If Lord Shen insists on behaving so tyrannically, there is nothing I can do. There is no money, and even if you put a blade to my head, I still—"

Before he could finish, he heard the sharp ring of a sword leaving its sheath. Before he could react, a cold blade was already pressed to his throat.

The guards outside tried to rush in, but the Imperial Guard Bureau blocked them with drawn blades.

The atmosphere suddenly turned murderous.

Wang Zhonggui was merely a scholar. His back instantly went rigid with fright, and he did not dare move. His lips trembled. "Y-you, you, you..."

Shen Tingjue kicked him back into his chair, the blade pressing closer. "Will you pay or not? Don't make me cut you."

Fine sweat covered Wang Zhonggui's forehead. "N-no money. I can't give—hiss—"

The blade slowly sliced a small cut across his vulnerable neck, and a bead of blood immediately welled up.

"No money, but one life to spare, is that it?" Shen Tingjue smiled and tightened his grip on the sword hilt. "Minister Wang, what spirit. Should I give you a quick death?"

Wang Zhonggui's face went white with terror, but he glared fiercely. "I am a court official! If you dare kill me, you'll be finished too!"

Shen Tingjue tilted his head, as though he had heard something amusing. "Kill you? Why would I kill you? Oh, right. You were overcome by lust and tried to violate me. I fought back, and accidentally slit your throat."

Shen Tingjue swiftly made up the entire story and seemed quite pleased with it. His eyes were innocent. "Killing someone would be purely self-defense, so why would I be finished?"

Wang Zhonggui stared at him in disbelief, shaking all over. He nearly fainted on the spot from rage.

Fine.

What a guy!

"I currently enjoy His Majesty's favor. Whatever I say, the Emperor will believe. Also, you know who my parents are, right? The Prime Minister and the Grand Princess. By that reckoning, I'm the Empress Dowager's grandson. So tell me—which crime is worse? Me killing you in self-defense, or you trying to violate me?"

Shen Tingjue looked delighted and softened his voice. "Think it over. Think it over very carefully."

Wang Zhonggui's vision darkened, and cold sweat streamed down his face. This was the first time he had encountered someone even more of a bastard than His Highness the Crown Prince, and he had no way to deal with him.

He was a rising star among the great clans and a disciple of Xie the Grand Secretary. Whenever anyone came to collect a debt, he had always had the confidence to refuse. He had been certain that no one would dare touch him. But Shen Tingjue was even more reckless than a brute. If he truly could not produce the money today, the man might actually dare kill him.

His lifetime reputation was about to be ruined by the charge of "acting on lust and failing to carry it through."

The confidence needed to refuse repayment depended on having nerve, but Wang Zhonggui's nerve had nearly been ground away by the sword at his throat. He swallowed hard and said with difficulty,

"Let's... talk this out properly. You and I both serve under His Majesty. We're colleagues; there's no need for this. Put down the sword. We can discuss anything. You only want money, don't you? But you have to give me time to calculate the accounts. Once I've finished, I'll immediately allocate the silver. How does that sound?"

"Calculate it. Calculate it right now!" Shen Tingjue sheathed his sword and sat with careless arrogance, his voice vicious. "If you can't finish calculating today, I'll stab myself. You know exactly how serious the charge of harming an imperial relative is."

Wang Zhonggui's chest heaved. Rage surged into his heart, and a mouthful of blood lodged in his throat. He slumped into his chair, took a silk handkerchief from his sleeve to cover the small wound on his neck, and silently clenched his fist.