Night lay thick over the Prince's Residence.
Liu Yin knelt on the ground. His legs had long since gone numb, and his back and waist ached unbearably. Every breath seemed to acquaint him with the pain all over again. Perhaps moving a little would make it easier?
But he did not move. He did not make even the slightest adjustment to his posture.
He simply knelt there, respectful and abject, utterly motionless.
After an unknown length of time, the Prince of Badong emerged in white silk nightclothes, carrying the Ring-Pommel Long Saber, and languidly took his seat.
Liu Yin shifted his body with difficulty, bent forward, and kowtowed.
"Tell me, why should I see a homeless cur like you instead of chopping you up and feeding you to the dogs?" The Prince of Badong sounded faintly impatient.
Liu Yin drew a rolled register from his sleeve and presented it with both hands:
"This lists all the Prince of Luling's clandestine holdings within Jingzhou over the years: seven categories, thirty-nine establishments in total. Every year, on the second day of the second month, I tally the receipts from each establishment and hand them to Peng Yannian, the Military Commissioner overseeing grain transport, and Xu Wujiu, the censor supervising shipments. They travel to the capital aboard the grain barges carrying the tax tribute."
"You even bought off Censor Xu? Impressive, impressive!
"And you move the money through the official grain shipments. Very nice!
"My third brother certainly has long arms in Jingzhou. No wonder Mother says he can accomplish great things, while I can't.
"Yes, looking at this, how could he not accomplish great things? I could never hope to compare."
The Prince of Badong spoke with an exaggerated expression, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Liu Yin slowly straightened his back, then