Unintended Cultivator-Chapter 5Book 11: : Personal Attention

“Lord Lu.”

Sen turned to find Wu Da standing a respectful distance away and observing him with dark, intelligent eyes. The heavyset bureaucrat was one of Jing’s most trusted advisors. He might have even been someone that Sen could have liked if the man wasn’t constantly coming to him with irritating work. When his gaze came to rest on the bureaucrat, Wu Da offered a deep bow of respect. One that was mimicked by a handful of underlings. Sen could see that they all clutched scrolls, parchments, and other devices of psychological torture that they clearly intended to inflict on him. They had at least waited patiently until after he’d dismissed the five cultivators.

“Wu Da,” said Sen. “What troubles you today?”

The man straightened up, made a vague gesture at the documents he carried, and said, “There are many matters that require your attention, Lord Lu.”

“Do they?” asked Sen in a hard voice.

Two of the assistants flinched and, at a surreptitious gesture from Wu Da, immediately retreated back toward the palace. From their stricken expressions and averted eyes, it was clear that they hoped to go unnoticed by an ill-tempered cultivator. Sen chose not to look directly at them as they fled for what must have felt like safer ground. It was one thing to ensure that his time was not being wasted on frivolous tasks that someone else was competent to manage. It was something else entirely to terrify people for sport. Sen had to give Wu Da credit, though. The man’s expression remained as smooth as glass while he signaled the assistants. The man had clearly survived at court at least partially based on his self-control.

“If you’ll follow me, Lord Lu,” said Wu Da.

Sen contemplated just flying away. There was nothing but open sky above him. It would be gratifying if he could elicit some kind of shock from the man and his assistants, but it would also be petty. Sen inclined his head and trailed after the group. He did keep his spiritual sense extended, if only at a fraction of its true power. As unlikely as it seemed that Wu Da would intentionally set him up for an assassination attempt, it wasn’t impossible. It was equally possible that someone would try to plan an attempt around the bureaucrat’s movements without ever soliciting the man’s cooperation.

Thoughts that like just added to Sen’s disdain for the palace and made him yearn for the comparative safety of Lu Manor. It stoked an even more fervent desire to return to the north and his daughter. While he spoke to her regularly through a communication core, it wasn’t the same thing as seeing her. A part of him resented the capital and the spirit beasts for the necessity of being away from Ai in a bid to protect her in the years to come. She had been growing fast when he left, and the knowledge of how much of her childhood he was missing ate at him. Knowing that she was being well cared for and protected did nothing to alleviate that guilt. It took a stunning degree of self-discipline to refrain from taking out those frustrations on everyone.

Sen discovered that he wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding his displeasure when he noticed the assistants glancing back at him with pale, sweaty faces. He did his best to smooth his features into something that provoked less animal panic. Still, it was a relief when they all filed into one of the seemingly countless meeting rooms scattered across the palace. Everyone had an opportunity to focus on finding seats and shuffling documents. The reprieve was far too brief for Sen’s tastes, but he supposed he’d rather get started than drag things out.

“You say that there are matters that require my personal attention,” said Sen, fixing his eyes on Wu Da. “Proceed.”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Yes, Lord Lu,” said the seemingly unflappable Wu Da. “We should begin with the matter of food.”

Sen raised an eyebrow.

“I was under the impression that the food shortages were well on their way to being resolved. Has there been some change in that?”

“No, Lord Lu. The work of the cultivators has been a boon and alleviated the worst of the problems.”

“But?” asked Sen.

Wu Da let out a small sigh of frustration before he said, “May I speak freely, Lord Lu?”

“Please do.”

“Thank you. Most of the people are simply happy that food is no longer impossible to find or buy. Most is not, I’m afraid, the same thing as all.”

Sen felt his teeth start grinding. He knew where this was going already, and his patience for it was long gone.

“The nobles,” said Sen.

“The nobles,” agreed Wu Da with a bob of his head. “They believe that they should be allowed to buy as much as they want before the goods go to market.”

“And what makes them believe that should be the case?” asked Sen.

It was mostly a rhetorical question, but it would buy him a few seconds to get his anger under control if the man decided to answer. Wu Da exchanged a hesitant glance with one of his assistants before he spoke.

“I wouldn’t want to presume to understand the thinking of our esteemed nobles, Lord Lu,” hedged the man.

Sen wanted to think the man was being a coward, but it was probably a smart answer. Things would likely go badly for Wu Da if word got out that he had been speaking ill of the nobles. Something that was bound to happen. Jing had warned him that the palace was full of spies for the noble houses and probably for the sects as well. It was one of many reasons that Sen was careful about which secrets he discussed inside the palace walls. No wonder the bureaucrat had brought this to him rather than to Jing.

All of that freshly-grown food didn’t belong to the kingdom or the capital. It hadn’t been grown by farmers. At least, most of it hadn’t. Members of his sect had come to the city. His people were managing it. In a very real way, that new bounty of food was his personal resource to distribute as he saw fit, above and beyond any claims he might lay as the tyrant of these lands. If there was going to be a dispute about how it was handled, it would fall on him to personally settle the matter. The problem was that he wasn’t sure what to think of these complaints.

The nobles were more than capable of sending people to the markets to buy whatever they wanted. Making an issue of it seemed odd and even pettier than usual for that group. He wondered if this was intended as some new kind of test for him. Were they trying to push him over something trivial to see if he’d bend just to get them to quit whining? It seemed plausible enough. If he’d bend on this, he might bend on other things. Then again, maybe it was just them being petty. That was also a realistic possibility. Fortunately, Sen didn’t need to think too hard about the problem, since his answer was going to be the same either way.

“No.”

“Lord Lu?” asked Wu Da.

“The answer is no. They can buy food at the markets like everyone else. They will not receive preferential treatment.”

Sen could tell that the assistants didn’t like that answer. He was sure that they were used to acceding to the demands of the noble houses. They probably even used it as an opportunity to line their own pockets by providing favors. In other circumstances, Sen doubted he’d care if they did something like that. He didn’t have any illusions about creating a government that was entirely free of corruption. No such government had ever existed. Where there were advantages to be gained, there would be corruption. When it came to matters of food, though, he would not see people starve while the nobles ate their fill. That was why there were places across the city for the poor to receive food twice a day.

“If… If you believe that is for the best,” said Wu Da, seeming a little flustered for the first time.

Sen couldn’t help but wonder if Wu Da had just had some scheme to enrich himself shut down.

“I do. I also believe that I will find myself inclined to start executing people who toy with food distribution in this city,” said Sen, releasing just a touch of his killing intent into the room. “I have starved in my time. I will not look kindly on those who drive others into needless hunger. Am I understood?”

The assistants had all gone rigid, and their breathing came in sharp, desperate gasps. Even the self-possessed Wu Da looked ready to flee at the first loud noise.

“I said, am I understood?”

There was a weak chorus of, “Yes, Lord Lu.”

“Good,” said Sen before a caustic edge entered his voice. “What’s the next matter of grave concern?”