The Brotherhood Hall was the large building that dominated this petal. It was an imposing edifice with a three-tiered tower rising from the main building, each tier smaller than the one below, with a slanting roof painted in sky blue. Gargoyles and monsters decorated the edges of the roofs, and tall red wooden pillars, wider than Chang-li could throw his arms around, held up the corners of the building. On the doors were painted the Brotherhood's emblem.

Min led them inside, where they were met by servants in Brotherhood colors. She greeted them all by name. They swept the three along. "Don't worry," she told Chang-li as they were separated. "I'll rejoin you before we meet my grandfather."

He and Joshi were taken off to a chamber by a pair of dour, middle-aged male servants and presented with water for washing. They stripped down to their undergarments as directed. The servants took their robes to be quickly cleaned and then returned to them. The senior of the two attendants lingered as they washed.

“Anything you need?" Chang-li asked him, not enjoying being under the eye of a spy.

The man cleared his throat. "You are Lady Min's new husband, then?"

"I am," Chang-li confirmed. It wasn't hard to guess, since his cultivator robe bore the red edging to match Min's rank, while Joshi's was plain.

"Lady Min is very dear to us all," the servant said. "We are pleased and hopeful to have heard she has taken a husband. We all hope she will be very happy."

Chang-li swallowed. "I'll do my best," he said honestly.

At last, the servant disappeared, leaving him and Joshi alone, though he suspected they were likely still being observed. He sank down to a sitting position and concentrated on washing his hands, face, and neck until the servants returned with their robes freshly pressed and perfumed.

Next, they were ushered into a well-appointed tea room. Min waited for them. She had changed from her sect robes into a grey and brown tunic and skirt, similar to the ones he'd seen Brotherhood women wear. She wore a red sash from shoulder to waist. She looked like Lady Min of the Brotherhood, not Min of Morning Mist. Chang-li felt a quick stab of jealousy.

She looked up from her position. Someone had done her hair, piling it atop her head in a style more suited for a married woman. He liked her better with her hair down, but she certainly looked elegant like this. She indicated the place beside her. Chang-li sat cross-legged. Joshi took the place beside them.

A moment later, the far doors slid open and a man entered. He gave off the most commanding presence of anyone Chang-li had ever met who wasn't a cultivator. There was no sense of lux from him, but nevertheless, power radiated off him. He was in late middle age, unbowed by the years, his head bald at the front, his hair up in a tight knot behind, stern face and steel eyes looking them over. He wore the same grey and brown as the rest of the Brotherhood, but he wore it like a king, his robes of silk hanging open to show the chain of iron on his chest with the Brotherhood's symbol: a hand clutching an acorn.

"May I present Jiang Ruolan, eldest brother of the Oaken Band Brotherhood," Min said without rising from her place. She kept her eyes lowered as she spoke. “Grandfather Jiang, this is my husband, Young Master Wu Chang-li of the Morning Mist, cultivator at the Peak of Mental Refinement, and his associate, Young Master Joshi, also of the Morning Mist, also at the Peak of Mental Refinement."

The man entered the room, each of his stocking feet deliberately placed as he paced inside. The servants slid back the door behind them and knelt beside it, waiting. He studied Chang-li for a long moment before taking his place at the table. He put his hands on his knees and called, "Bring the tea."

Other servants had clearly been waiting for the order. They scurried in from a side door, bringing a tray with four cups and a steaming pot. They set them down before Min. Jiang gestured to her. "Pour the tea."

Min poured a cup, first for her grandfather, then for Chang-li, Joshi, and lastly for herself. Lord Jiang took his handle-less cup in his hands, waiting as she poured the rest. When they all had their tea, he raised his. "To your health," he said, "and to your union. May it be long and fruitful."

He raised his cup. Chang-li sipped his. The tea was delicious. The perfect temperature, leaves not scalded, hints of rose and something spicy in it. Joshi drained his with one long sip and set it down. Min held hers close like she was savoring the warmth.

"So," Lord Jiang said, looking over Chang-li, "my granddaughter has done as she was instructed and married a cultivator. How strong is your sect?"

Chang-li glanced at Min. She was keeping her face expressionless. Hadn't she informed her grandfather? Chang-li forced himself to meet Lord Jiang's eyes.

"As I am sure your people have told you, Joshi and I are the only cultivators of note so far, though our disciples have all reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement and are pushing onward."

"Min tells me you are an ancient sect, being restored to its former glory."

Chang-li glanced at Min. That was the most grandiose way to put it. He studied the old man, searching his face as the Brotherhood leader waited to pass judgment. This was not a man who suffered fools. He had power, not by virtue of imperial assignment or heredity, but because he had risen to the top and held it with an iron fist. Would such a man appreciate forthrightness or be offended by the truth?

"Four months ago, the Morning Mist sect was dust and ruin," Chang-li said. "We are resurrecting it like a legendary phoenix from the flame. Already we have earned the approval of those conducting the Golden Moon Tower Cull. Now we are to participate in the bridal tournament here in Vardin City."

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"So Min informs me." Lord Jiang looked from Chang-li to Joshi. "Yet I see no bride here. The Emperor is capricious, but I have never heard that his taste runs to barbarian men." He raised an eyebrow.

Joshi snorted. Chang-li was glad he had not chosen to take offense.

"Our candidate will be coming later," Min said smoothly. "We are keeping her affiliation with us secret for a time."

Abruptly, Lord Jiang slapped his knee. "There's the girl I raised." He sat back, and an air of tension left the room. Min poured him more tea, and he sipped it. "Min girl, when you told me you had wed a scribe, newly become a cultivator, I was worried. You were supposed to marry a prince of cultivation. But I see now you have chosen a husband with brains and not brawn. Perhaps you've listened to my lectures after all."

"Always, grandfather.”

"So, what is your request?"

"We need backing," Min said bluntly. "Our sect is no longer in debt, but we have no funds until the end of this Tower Cull when we receive our contribution pay from the Empire."

"I have arranged lodgings for you as you requested," Lord Jiang said. "Though I would be happy to house you here in our Brotherhood headquarters."

"You know why that's not a good idea," Min said.

"Yes, yes," Lord Jiang waved a dismissive hand. "So be it."

"And we need more disciples," Min turned to Chang-li. "You have the details we discussed?"

Chang-li fumbled to pull a densely written half-sheet of paper from his inside pocket. "If they are students with the aptitude of the ones you've already sent to us, this is what I think I can instruct over the next few days and weeks."

Lord Jiang eyed the list. He raised an eyebrow. "I was hoping for twice this many."

"Do you wish numbers or students with a solid foundation of cultivation?" Chang-li asked.

"Numbers have a certain appeal of their own," Lord Jiang noted. "But I understand your point. Very well. I will discuss this with Min. But tonight, you will all be my guests at a feast in Min's honor. I was not present for her wedding. I can at least celebrate it." He rose. Chang-li let out a sigh of relief, now that the audience was over. "Cultivator Wu, will you walk in my garden with me?"

Chang-li was halfway to his feet. He froze, then took control of himself as a cultivator should. He finished standing. "I would be honored, Lord Jiang."

Jiang chuckled. "I'm no lord. My people call me Eldest Brother. You may call me Grandfather."

Chang-li couldn't help it. He sought out Min’s eyes as horror rose in him. She was hiding a smile and gave a tiny shake of her head.

He followed Jiang into the elaborate garden. Though it was a courtyard, he could only barely see the opposite roof peeking up over the edge of the trees. Each tree had clearly been grown, and shaped in elegant patterns. Protected from the wind by the walls of the Brotherhood headquarters, there was no cause for any of these trees to be so bent.

A small stream ran through the garden. Chang-li looked at it in surprise.

Jiang noted where he was looking and chuckled. "That is this petal's spring. We built the Brotherhood Hall around it in my great-great-grandfather's time to ensure that we could protect it. Some of the other petals had conflict over control of their springs, though these days most of them are managed by the municipal authorities."

Chang-li decided to stick with a safe topic of conversation. "It makes for a beautiful garden."

It did, indeed. He couldn't see the strange white surface of the petal beneath the dirt and plants. River rocks had been placed to form a stream, with the waters of the spring running along out of the garden. Little wooden bridges arched over the streams. Jiang led him along through the garden, past sweet-smelling flowers and trees blooming out of season. Chang-li sensed the lux they were drawing in from the root of the petal itself. The oranges still growing on the nearest tree were almost twice the size of any orange he'd seen before.

Jiang noted where he was looking. "Are you a gardener?"

Chang-li shook his head. "I was a scribe before I became a cultivator, but my family were dock hands in Yellow Sky City," he admitted.

Jiang looked surprised. "Were they? Good for you. Min did not tell me her husband came from honest working stock.”

"Anyone may rise to be a cultivator.”

"Yes, but few without connections actually do," Jiang said. "How is it you found yourself on this path, grandson?"

Chang-li hesitated. He had decided to be honest with this man earlier, but that didn't mean he needed to tell him everything. This was Min's grandfather, and he was also a very powerful man.

Jiang saw him pondering and nodded. "I understand your reluctance," he said quietly. "Has Min told you much about us, lad? Were there brotherhoods in Yellow Sky City?"

Chang-li shook his head. "I don't think so. I'd heard of them elsewhere. My uncle was a scribe and brought us stories of other parts of the empire. He said in some cities the emperor's word is only as good as far as the fraternal organizations allow it to be."

"We are loyal servants of the emperor," Jiang said sharply. "We are a vital part of this ecosystem. What does your scribe training tell you are the pillars of empire?"

"Cultivators and officials," Chang-li said at once. That had been drilled into him as he prepared himself to join the ranks of the second. "The emperor, in his strength, creates and maintains the towers which give us the lux we need to live. But that lux comes with danger. Too much lux leads to eruptions, plagues, and disasters. Cultivators must train to face those challenges and keep the ordinary people safe. But who watches the cultivators? That is where the emperor's wisdom comes in. He has set in place a hierarchy of those who gain their position by wit and skill and dedication, not just the blessings of heaven. The government, from provincial governor on down, sees that ordinary people are kept safe from cultivators, that harvests are bountiful, and that—” he bit his tongue because he had been about to say that the sewers are maintained, but clearly here in Vardin City, that was not the case.

"And who protects the people from the government officials, hmm?" Jiang asked. "Certainly not the cultivators. They are as far above us as the stars in the sky. While occasionally a farmer or dock worker runs afoul of a cultivator and is squashed beneath him like a bug beneath a boot, it is the nobles and government officials who intrude on their lives on a daily basis. The Brotherhoods are said to be the third pillar of empire, loyal to the emperor but responsive to their members. When one of my people falls afoul of a cheating official or has his business unjustly held up and his permits questioned, he can turn to me or anyone in my organization. And yes, should we fall afoul of a cultivator, we have ways of balancing that."

"I know," Chang-li said. "When I first met Min, she requested my help in overseeing a duel between Brother Stone and a low-ranking sect disciple who had committed an offense against one of the Oaken Band.”

"Did she?" A fond look crossed Jiang's face. "Min may well replace me one day," he said quietly. "That had been my plan until recently when the Gem Court called her away. I was not so sure of the wisdom of marrying her to a cultivator, but I see now she had a purpose in mind." He looked Chang-li over. "I like you," he said abruptly. "I think Min has made an excellent choice. I hope I'm right. I'd hate to have to have you executed."