Six individuals sat surrounding the courtyard’s circular table. Yeon glanced across the stone surface. "Why are you here?"

"Not voluntarily, that’s for sure." Gaokang picked up a cup of tea that Chu Su had prepared and placed it by his lips. His eyes swept a glance at Xiyun who sat beside Yeon.

"You are impartial, right?" Xiyun said.

"Like my father, I can act as an intermediary between the masters themselves and the Back Manor. I will only answer questions that are within my functions."

Xiyun nodded "That’s fine, I have such a question later."

Yeon turned to face the individual sitting next to Gaokang. "And her?"

Xiao Xuexu sat quietly on her seat, frowning.

Xiyun met gazes with his cousin. "No clue." When they came back, she was already here.

The corners of Xuexu lips pressed together. "Weren’t you all getting kicked out today?"

Yeon’s eyebrows creased. "If you knew we were supposed to be gone today, why are you even here? What kind of terrible spy are you?"

"For the last time, please stop calling this lady a spy. And before you people took over, this courtyard was mine."

Danlu reacted. "Eh? Is that true, Gaokang?"

Gaokang clicked his tongue. "I already said I’m not here to answer these meaningless questions." His head shifted to regard the Fourth Miss. "Is this your usual hiding place?"

Xuexu closed her eyes. "My punishment ended today. I am no longer confined to my room."

"The First Madam still informed many of us that you are supposed to be staying within the west wing accompanied by the maids," Gaokang said.

"That is true," she answered.

"Won’t you be confined again?" Yeon said.

"I tested everything last year. It is more efficient this way," Xuexu answered.

"Efficient this way?"

Danlu touched his chin and swayed in his seat as he thought. The words spilled out of the mouth. "What’s the difference between being confined and being told to stay somewhere? Isn’t it both the same anyway? So, it doesn’t matter. It’s like that time when the government wanted to encourage the use of cattle for draft labor. The fine they issued on farmers for killing their cattle for meat was set too low. Slaughtering the ox to sell and paying the fine anyway was still more profitable, so they do. Right, Father?"

"Not quite. The Fourth Miss’ scenario is more similar to if the cost of healing an injured ox was the same as paying the fine," Chu Su said.

Xuexu’s head inclined and she glanced down at her hands. "Isn’t this table too small. Why am I being forced to sit as well?" she whispered.

Yeon heard and she began shaking her index finger. "This is a strategy meeting. It is crucial that this is all done at a single table. Since there’s only four of us, I’m making an exception for enemy affiliation and the conspirator to help pad out the numbers."

Xuexu’s left eye twitched.

Gaokang coughed while drinking his tea. "Am I supposed to be ‘the conspirator’?"

Danlu sought out Xiyun’s neutral expression which didn’t find anything odd at all.

"Chu Su," Xiyun said, silencing the table. "Can I ask you to continue taking care of the carriage service?"

"You don’t need to ask. Since our benefactor decided to stay, I won’t just take care of it, I’ll continue to improve it. We started it in the first place. I consider the carriage service the child I’m proud of the most."

"Father, but I’m right here," Danlu said.

"Huh? Did I say something wrong?"

Yeon ignored the new ongoing squabble and nudged Xiyun. "Are you really deciding to stay?" she said slowly. Her eyes were clear. With a last resort, she could succeed in helping Xiyun leave the Xiao family. She knew it. The incident would inevitably reach the upper levels of Zhao and Seonryeo. She would get scolded by everyone including her master. There would be political turmoil that she wouldn’t even understand. But, she could do it.

"I am deciding to stay. It is temporary, so don’t be concerned," Xiyun said. "This is not that much different from the two years I stayed at the Luo Estate." He took a view of the people around the table and thought of Liu Qian. "Some things are similar. Some things are different."

Yeon smiled. "What’s next?"

"I want to know more about each master," Xiyun said.

Both Danlu and Chu Su focused, closing their mouths.

Gaokang smirked. "Finally taking this seriously?"

"I need to know how to best avoid every one of them," Xiyun said.

"The Second Master’s main business is shipping. I am certain of that," Chu Su answered. "I believe the Eighth Lady’s main business is security. I can’t be certain of the others."

Yeon raised her head at Gaokang.

Gaokang said one word. "Impartial."

"This isn’t even important information," Yeon said.

Xuexu opened her mouth. "First Uncle manages the West Market at the capital and every other business in Taiping. I can confirm Second Uncle does shipping. Fourth Uncle manages the estate and stores. Fifth Aunt does textiles and handicrafts. Sixth Uncle does agricultural products. Seventh Uncle does metalwork. Eighth Aunt does security. The True Guards are also trained under her. Each of the four branches has its own smaller businesses, and they each own many rice fields worked by tenants contracted with the family." She nodded at Chu Su. "I am not saying anything against the business, but compared to all the industries that the family touches, a carriage service is too insignificant."

"We are not competing," Xiyun said.

"I have something to say." Chu Su held his cup and stared at the tea inside. "Young Benefactor, out of all the businesses you could have chosen, I can say that the carriage service was the best choice! Although we are just a carriage service, we are independent. We do not rely on a single property or resource to run. If you had chosen any other businesses, it would have collapsed before the end of this month because the other masters would have cut all necessary connections such as shipping or raw materials that the business needed to operate."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Gaoakng shifted his posture forward.

Chu Su continued. "And, we are above all a logistics service. It isn’t just supplying, but also planning and preparing. Our management is capable enough to cover the distance of provinces. Our drivers understand travel routes that can only be gained through experience. Our craftsmen are skilled enough to build and repair all our carriages. But more importantly, we have a stable position within the transportation routes, something that money can’t buy. We own prime property and storage space in almost every major city, something else that money can’t buy. From the beginning, the service now can only exist because of its connection to the Xiao Family. This is why I decided to cooperate with the family in the first place. What is the point? If you wanted to, this carriage service can easily transform. It can become a normal shipping business, any other type of transport business, or something else entirely."

No one spoke after he finished.

"I understand," Xiyun said. "Your child is very accomplished."

Chu Su laughed heartily while Danlu’s expression fell in betrayal.

"So you actually can make a joke?" Yeon said.

"That was a joke?" Xiyun said.

"It wasn’t?"

He shrugged and turned towards Gaokang. "I have a question. What are revenue shares?"

"You know about them? I guess it’s true that it's something I have to tell you. I’m only saying this once. All Xiao Family businesses owned by the main family generate revenue that is pooled together after expenses are subtracted. Some families save and stockpile these taels, but we, the Xiao Family, won’t make that mistake."

"Any tael collecting dust instead of being used to grow future revenue is a tael wasted," Chu Su agreed.

Gaokang continued. "Traditionally, this revenue and how it is spent is managed by the Back Manor, but the Old Master has since freed himself of directly managing family businesses. Therefore, it is the masters that decide how to spend the revenue. Revenue shares determine how much the owner of shares is entitled to use. There are always one hundred total revenue shares split amongst the main family line, each representing a hundredth fraction of the total pool. They are not physical but recorded by the Back Manor. At the end of the year, everything is calculated and enforced by the Back Manor."

Xiyun nodded. "I understand. I have no other questions."

"I have a question," Danlu said. "How many taels is a single share?"

Chu Su grabbed Danlu’s head and pushed it down.

"Do you know how important that information is?" Gaokang said.

"I was just curious," Danlu said while pushing his father’s hand away.

Xiyun spoke. "I don’t want to know, but let’s say I do want to know."

Gaokang’s teeth closed and his lips shifted. "It is different every year, but the estimates are in the tens of thousands."

Danlu fell onto the table. "Tens of thousands of taels… but that's just a single share."

"And these are just the profits, not actual revenue," Chu Su said.

"Well, it doesn’t matter to us. We shouldn’t worry about it," Yeon said.

"Alright," Xiyun said.

"Is that all I’m here for?" Gaokang said.

"There is one more thing. Bring me to the Clan Laws and Business Regulations. I don’t believe that they aren’t written down," Xiyun said.

Gaokang opened and showed both of his palms. He sighed exaggeratedly. "Fine, you got me. Just quickly follow me to the main study. I have other things to do today."

…

At the back of the main manor was a study. Instead of having its walls covered with shelves, rows of large shelves were arranged behind a single desk.

Gaokang opened the door to allow Xiyun, Yeon, Danlu, And Chu Su inside. Along the way, Xuexu had disappeared.

"What you’re looking for is inside the drawers of the desk," Gaokang said while standing by the door.

Yeon stepped behind the desk and randomly picked a drawer to open. She found two books. They were titled Xiao Family of Luoyi Clan Bylaws and Business Regulations Second Revision. She grinned. "Found it. First guess!"

"Every drawer has them," Gaokang said.

"So? How am I wrong?" Yeon didn’t get an answer so she considered it a victory. When she wanted to give the two books to Xiyun, he wasn’t seen. Yeon spun around and found the boy standing between the shelves. She walked in and stood beside him, facing the same way. "Which one are you looking at?:

"I find them here of all places," Xiyun whispered.

There they were. Classic of the South Sea and Memories of a Withering Flower on the first shelf that he saw. In fact, many of the titles were unfamiliar to him. If two scarce books were in the study, what about the others? Shi Lan’s Annotations on The Jiang Dynastic Records. Falling Dust Sultra. Horn Tribe Folklore.

He picked up and opened Memories of a Withering Flower first. Xiyun knew by reading the introduction that this was a memoria. Many works written during the Millennium of Instability alluded to the mysterious Memories of a Withering Flower.

It was a rare book that was supposedly written by a woman inside the Inner Palace of Northern Xue, a dynasty that lived shortly in the middle of the Millennium of Instability. Someone had found the text, copied it, and sneaked it outside the palace.

The author had written exceedingly specific observations and matters concerning the palace and court. It had thoughts on just about everyone, almost every official, almost every eunuch, almost every consort, everyone except for the emperor. There were supposedly many things that a concubine, or even consort, shouldn’t know. Therefore, it was rumored that memoria belonged to the empress dowager.

The book was banned by Northern Xue after its discovery and a large effort to destroy every copy was made, leaving only exaggerated rumors.

Xiyun held this book in his hands. He felt every one of his heartbeats. "Can I take these?"

"This study isn’t used by Old Master anymore, so it’s technically shared by the family. The other masters certainly don’t use it," Gaokang said.

"Chu Su, can you help me get some temporary servants."

Chu Su was confused about the sudden question but answered. "I can. When do you need them?"

"Right now."

"Say again?"

...

Gaokang stood in the hallway, watching several people continuously enter the study and leave with a stack of books. He had no expression.

Many other servants of the main manor were also watching the event. Steward Qiu stomped down the hall. "Gaokang what’s going on?"

Gaokang’s mouth seemingly didn’t know how to move, but the words still came out. "Xiao Xiyun found some books he wanted to read in the main study, so he’s going to borrow them."

"I don’t care about that, what’s this?"

"This is that."

Steward Qiu stopped pointing. "How many books is he borrowing?"

"All of them. The entire study," Gaokang said quickly.

"Why didn’t you stop him?"

"Are you going to stop him?"

Steward Qiu paused. Am I going to stop him? Steward Qiu obviously didn’t know. He needed to ask the Old Master if the Old Master wanted to stop him.

No more people went back into the room.

"I think he took all of them," Gaokang remarked. He stretched his arms and stepped away from his father. "Anyway, I have some accounts to check over." A hand firmly gripped his shoulder.

"You’re not going anywhere. We’re going to visit the Old Master together."

…

Inside the middle north room of the courtyard, Xiyun stood.

Except for the area by the bed, stacks of books filled the room, similar to his room back at the Luo Estate.

"When are you going to let go of that?" Yeon said.

Xiyun still held Memories of a Withering Flower. "When I finish it."

"You know that it’s that good after just reading the introduction?"

Xiyun held the book up. "This is the life of a person. And yes, the introduction they wrote alone proved to me that this person’s ideas are valuable."

Yeon didn’t get it, but she smiled. "Congratulations."

It took Xiyun a few moments to get it. "Thank You."