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Bribery accounting scrolls hidden behind painted screens. Letters coded with references to "spoiling wine," "guest disruptions," and "fire at midnight." Ledgers showing money funneled to mercenaries who had conveniently "entered the city for trade." Another team slipped into the homes of merchant allies who had thrown their support behind the Lu Clan for years. What they found was worse.
Secret agreements with foreign traders to smuggle in weapons. Proof of tax evasion running back generations. Records of illegal trade routes hidden under the guise of "rare spices." Even a few grisly accounts of disappearances, the kinds nobody dared speak about openly.
Every discovery was documented. Every suspect was quietly bound and gagged. Every escape route was sealed off.
One of the senior agents, dressed in humble merchant robes, found a small lacquered chest beneath a carved deity statue in one of the Lu Clan store. Within the chest lay a set of letters confirming secret communications with separatist elements hostile to Hengyuan's rule.
He closed the chest slowly.
"It's worse than we thought," he whispered.
Another responded, "Then His Majesty was right to order their removal."
And with every new scrap of evidence collected, it became clear to the Oriole Agents that the Lu Clan and their allied noble families had not simply planned to disrupt the wedding, they had been pushing against the stability of Yuzhang for months.
Which meant removal was not punitive.
It was necessary.
As ordered by Lie Fan, the Oriole Agents ensured the timing perfectly aligned with the city guard commanders on their payroll. Messengers traveled in pairs, one taking the rooftops, one blending among crowds.
By late afternoon, while the wedding feast inside the Sun Clan mansion reached its peak, the city guards quietly surrounded the Lu Clan residence and the estates of their allied clans.
The arrests were swift.
The head of the Lu Clan was dragged out just as he attempted to burn incriminating records in his personal study. His hair was disheveled, eyes wild, shouting curses that no one listened to.
In the next district, the patriarch of a wealthy merchant family screamed that he had paid bribes for immunity, only to find the guards had sworn loyalty not to his gold, but to Hengyuan's emperor.
Across the inner marketplace, the head of a noble clan tried to run out the back of his estate, only to be pinned to the ground by an Oriole Agent disguised as a stable boy.
Within the hour, dozens of high ranking figures, nobles, merchants, officials tied to the Lu Clan, were bound with rope and carted to the central holding cells of Yuzhang.
Crowds gathered on both sides of the streets, murmuring, gasping, and whispering as the disgraced elites were marched past.
"Is… is that the Lu patriarch?"
"He looks terrified!"
"What in heaven's name did they do?"
"They say attempted sabotage… attempted poisoning… treason—"
"I knew something smelled foul with that family."
"And look, those are the merchant heads from the east district!"
"They're all being taken away, every last one!"
The shock rippled through the city like a stone dropped into calm water. Ordinary townsfolk watched in awe. Some whispered in confusion. Others felt righteous satisfaction.
But all, without exception, were stunned.
Such a sweeping purge in broad daylight?
Such coordination?
Such authority?
Only one conclusion remained:
This was no Sun Clan operation.
This was the Emperor's hand.
And yet, for all the stir it caused among the public, not a single whisper, not even a fragment of rumor, reached the Sun Clan mansion.
Because the Oriole Agents had planned it that way, doing what Lie Fan commanded, they controlled the spread of information.
Rumors dripped only through certain streets, never toward the Sun Clan mansion. No servant with loose lips was allowed near the banquet. Every courier was redirected. Loose talk disappeared behind a knife's whisper, or more commonly, a very persuasive hand on a shoulder.
The wedding was to remain untouched.
Night slowly deepened aroudn Yuzhang, but the wedding did not wane. Inside the Sun mansion, the air carried a glow so warm one could almost forget what lay beyond those walls.
Lanterns bobbed with every breeze from the open courtyard, casting flickers of soft gold light upon dancers, guests, musicians, and nobles. The clatter of chopsticks blended with bursts of laughter. Wine cups clinked like tiny bells.
It was unity down to its bones.
At the center table, Ma Chao sat beside Sun Shangxiang at the head table reserved for the bride and groom. Though normally sharp eyed and battle ready, tonight he looked almost shy. Sun Shangxiang kept her posture upright, but her lips kept tugging into small smiles every time she stole a glance at him.
Every few moments, another guest approached.
"Congratulations, General Ma." "You've married the Sun family's brightest flower!" "May your union bring peace and prosperity!" "To the couple, cheers!"
Ma Chao accepted each toast with discipline and measured grace, drinking slow, savoring the moment. Sun Shangxiang responded with poise inherited from Lady Wu, dipping her head slightly, offering a smile warm enough to light a lantern by itself.
Yet beneath all that ceremony and formality, something far simpler, far more tender simmered.
When the twentieth noble offered his congratulations and finally walked away, leaving them a brief moment of calm, Sun Shangxiang lean back just a fraction, and let out a sound Ma Chao had never heard from her in this setting.
A giggle.
A soft, genuine, almost girlish giggle that escaped without her permission.
Ma Chao blinked, startled, as though trying to figure out whether he misheard it.
He turned to her. "…What's wrong, tired?"
Sun Shangxiang covered her lips with her sleeve, shaking her head slightly, a small smile tugging at her expression before she lowered the sleeve again.
"It's nothing. Truly."
Ma Chao raised a brow. "That didn't look like nothing."
She looked at him then, really looked, eyes shimmering with warmth and a hint of something deeper. She then took another sip of wine, then leaned a little closer, lowering her voice so only he could hear.
"I keep thinking…" She paused, lips curling, eyes darting aside for a moment. "All of this feels too perfect. Too beautiful."
He tilted his head, puzzled but attentive.
"I keep thinking it's a dream," she admitted, a soft giggle escaping her lips. "As if I'll open my eyes and find myself back home, or back on the training grounds, or preparing for another duel with my brothers."
Her fingers brushed the red silk of her sleeve. "But instead here I am, wearing this gown, beside you… married."
Ma Chao's breath caught, not from confusion this time, but from an unexpected swell of emotion.
He reached out and gently placed his hand over hers, warmth meeting warmth.
"It is not a dream," he murmured.
Sun Shangxiang looked up, her eyes bright.
Ma Chao continued, voice steady but tender. "If it were, then I would never wake. I would rather die sleeping in this moment than face a world where you are not my wife."
Sun Shangxiang's heart skipped.
The world around them momentarily faded, the musicians, the cheering soldiers, the lantern glow, until it felt like only the two of them existed in that space.
Her cheeks warmed with a faint blush. "You're getting better at saying beautiful things."
"I only speak what is true," Ma Chao replied simply.
She burst into another small laugh, covering her mouth lightly.
That sound eased something tight inside him.
For Ma Chao had spent quite the tragedy in losing things, his father, his homeland, his sense of security. Love had always felt distant. But now, sitting beside this fierce, radiant woman who could laugh so genuinely on their wedding day, he felt a fullness inside his chest unlike anything he'd known before.
"Then…" she whispered, turning her hand to intertwine their fingers, "I hope this dream lasts forever."
He squeezed her hand gently.
"It will."
Not far away, Princess Wannian watched them from her seat. Sima Shi slept peacefully in her arms, tiny fists curled as he dozed. The princess smiled, her gaze softening with genuine approval at the sight of the newlyweds.
Beside her, Lie Muchen quietly drank tea instead of wine. The young Crown Prince had spent the celebrations with calm dignity, answering greetings with polite nods and keeping an eye on everything, as if already preparing to shoulder the duties of the future.
But even he allowed himself a small smile when he saw Ma Chao and Sun Shangxiang leaning close together, whispering as if they were the only two souls in the hall.
Lie Fan stood not far behind, speaking to Sun Jian when an Oriole Agent in servant clothing approached with a wine jug in hand. The agent filled Lie Fan's cup smoothly, the liquid flowing without sound.
While doing so, he leaned close, barely a breath away from Lie Fan's ear.
"Your Majesty… the Lu Clan has been neutralized," he murmured. "Their allied clans as well. Evidence has been secured. All heads arrested. No disruption occurred. The sabotage prevented. The situation resolved."
Lie Fan did not turn. Did not blink. Did not shift in surprise.
He simply lifted his cup, letting the wine catch the lantern light.
"Well done," he murmured, his smile small but carrying unmistakable approval. "Continue your vigilance until dawn."
The agent bowed and retreated silently, melting into the sea of servants like a drop of ink vanishing into water.
Sun Jian looked at Lie Fan with curiosity. "Good news, Your Majesty?"
"Minor matters Brother Wentai," Lie Fan replied, taking a sip. "Already handled."
Sun Jian chuckled, unaware that "minor matters" meant the removal of some of the influential noble and merchant families in Yuzhang.
The celebration continued.
Drums beat.
Wine flowed.
Laughter echoed.
None inside the mansion realized that tonight, while they toasted to marriage, the political landscape of Yuzhang had been uprooted entirely, cleanly, silently, and efficiently.
And that was how Lie Fan intended it.
Let the rot be removed without tainting the joy of the wedding. Let justice work behind the scenes so harmony could shine in front.
The sun had fully set now. Lanterns glowed like suspended moons. The air carried the smell of roasted meats, sweet pastries, and powdered incense.
Somewhere on the eastern side of the mansion, Sun Ce and Ma Dai were already drunk enough to challenge each other to wrestling matches. Da Qiao seeing her husband like this shook her head and dragged Sun Ce away by the sleeves, while have Ma Dai be taken by a couple of servants.
Meanwhile inside the grand hall, Zhao Yun shared a cup with Zhou Yu. The two refined men, each handsome in their own distinct ways, Zhao Yun stoic and radiant, Zhou Yu poised and elegant, seemed a picture of calm refinement amidst the chaos.
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Name: Lie Fan
Title: Founding Emperor Of Hengyuan Dynasty
Age: 35 (202 AD)
Level: 16
Next Level: 462,000
Renown: 2325
Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)
SP: 1,121,700
ATTRIBUTE POINTS
STR: 966 (+20)
VIT: 623 (+20)
AGI: 623 (+10)
INT: 667
CHR: 98
WIS: 549
WILL: 432
ATR Points: 0