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"Thank you for answering my letter. It is delicate," Jin Guangyao said, shifting his teacup, "since it is believed that a young man changing the way his house is run within three years of his father's passing must be unfilial." Jin Guangyao allowed that statement to breathe, and Jiang Wanyin waited patiently with a slight frown between his eyebrows. "However, some matters require immediate redress."
From his sleeve, he pulled a scroll and placed it between them on the table.
Jiang Wanyin's gaze darted to it. The air grew thick, the heavy feeling of a storm approaching. Zidian lay quiescent, at least.
"Which aspects of the contract would you like to amend, Lianfang-zun?"
"Although you may not know, I was raised in Yunping. We rarely saw cultivators, but the few times our neighbors required help, it was given by YunmengJiang. Your father required very little payment from those who had little to give; and this, I believe, is a tradition you have honored him by continuing."
Jiang Wanyin held still. A clearly practiced posture even now, years into his leadership. "It's reasonable. Expecting poor people to pay you more than they make in half a year allows resentment to fester."
"Not every sect leader makes that choice."
"You've met them," Jiang Wanyin said drily. "You know how they make their choices."
Jin Guangyao smiled and refilled Jiang Wanyin's cup. "Just so. In that spirit, I would like to renegotiate our formal alliance, paying particular notice of certain clauses—especially the ones placing conditions on your access to Jin Ling."
Almond eyes wide, Jiang Wanyin said, "How?"
"By removing them."
With a gasp from Jiang Wanyin, the air cleared. He pulled his hands to his lap, but not before Jin Guangyao noticed them quaking.
Jin Guangyao continued, "Jin Ling is very fortunate to have a jiujiu like you. If it would be amenable to you, I think he would enjoy splitting his time between Jinlin Tai and Lianhua Wu. There are considerations, of course, such as his attendants needing accommodation."
"What do you want in return?" Jiang Wanyin asked neutrally.
"This contract is secret. Changing it will not alter the appearance of either of our sects. No one knows the pressures which were placed upon you; once those pressures end, outsiders will rightly attribute your sect's recovery to your own excellent management, which has been hampered all these years."
"I won't support all of your acts as xiandu," Jiang Wanyin said immediately. "No one can be right all of the time, and I won't pretend you are."
Jin Guangyao shook his head. "Oh my, I explained myself poorly. There are no conditions on this, implied or explicit. Even if nothing else about our alliance changes, that will change. My hope is not for you to become a sycophant, but to understand me better."
Jiang Wanyin raised an eyebrow. "You ended the war with a tyrant. You're the sworn brother of the two most powerful cultivators alive. You're the damn xiandu. Why would my opinion matter?"
"Jin Ling is a sweet, sensitive boy." Jin Guangyao straightened his robes, fingers fluttering over the embroidered garden of his sleeves. "It will be his sect someday. I don't want him to find this contract in ten years' time and discover things about his grandfather and shushu that would disappoint him."
Jiang Wanyin huffed. "Give him twenty years instead, for all our sakes. In ten, he'll still be the most absurd boy alive."