Gunshot
“A commotion? They’re crazy about money. Sometimes, I reckon businessmen are the same as dragons, in that they’ll do anything for money.”
Sitting inside the carriage, I ordered the coach to stop. Freya, who was next to me, raised her head up from my thigh. Startled, she looked on both sides and proposed, “Your Majesty, are you not returning to the Imperial Palace first? I think the Imperial Palace would be the safest place for you, no? What do we do if something happens to you while you are here? They have no morals to speak of. They even dared to assault the Imperial Palace for money.”
“They don’t dare to.”
I grabbed hold of Freya’s hand to calm her down. Freya always overreacted when dangerous situations arose. Perhaps it was because I used to go through lots of dangerous things that she paid particular attention to similar matters. Ying gently placed her long sword onto her thigh. She wore the same expression as always, but she was fully ready.
“Ying, go and see what’s going. You must bring the scene under control. Do not allow our guards to open fire. If we open fire first, it’ll blow up into a foreign affair. I want to have a dip in the hot springs with my moms. Not dealing with more headaches during my trip,” I commanded.
“I will be fine, but what about you here? If you are in danger…”
“I won’t be in danger. I have dragon scales covering my body. I made this call for I know they can’t hurt me. They just want to cause a commotion to ask to negotiate with me. They’re businessmen, not soldiers. Since they’re businessmen, they won’t do what soldiers would. Just as importantly, we have to ensure that our guards don’t hurt them as they’re our biggest bargaining chip.”
Ying nodded: “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Ying then turned around and got out of the carriage to head to the location of the disturbance. I continued sitting in the carriage. I didn’t give the coach the next command. Freya appeared to understand the motivation behind the commotion. She, therefore, suggested, “So, Your Majesty, what is your plan now? I think that, if you head straight over, it will only make it easier for them to act haughtier. How about just watching? In fact, there is nothing to worry about. You will be able to voice your stance if you refuse to give them time of the day.”
“You’re right. Nevertheless, I still need to keep my attention on it since I can’t allow anything to happen when I’m about to head to Troy City.”
“I shall send men. However, as soon as a fight breaks out with our guards, it will be difficult for Ying to bring the situation under control on her own. We need Miss Ling Yue to transform into a fox to stop them.”
“No, Ling Yue can’t transform at this present time. She’s currently in her oestrus period. In her fox form, her wild instincts will be unleashed once she sees blood in her fox form; foxes are carnivores, after all. It’s dangerous to allow her wild instincts to be unleashed; therefore, we can’t allow her to transform now. The same applies for Liu Yue.”
“Th-Then, how are we going to subdue them?”
“When it comes to it, we’ll let the Imperial Palace’s guards break them up. The Imperial Palace’s guards are experienced in dealing with these sorts of conflicts, aren’t they? We can just return to the Imperial Palace now.”
I nodded. The carriage then turned to head toward the Imperial Palace. Freya silently nodded then resumed lying on my thigh. She curled up her body similarly to a cat and giggled: “Such comfortable moments are so precious. I do not want a barrel of monkeys to disturb me while I am enjoying this joyous moment. Let me enjoy myself until we get to the doors of the Imperial Palace.”
“Have a good rest.” I gently caressed Freya’s head.
========
Current time at the entrance of the plaza.
“Call King Troy here!! We want to see King Troy! We are just doing business in the North! We’ve committed no mistakes and paid a good deal of taxes, so why must we put up with this? Asking us to transport gold coins here from the South is a very unreasonable ask. That’s diminishing our ability to compete and purchase. It’s another form of protecting the manufacturer here. Why must we be subjected to this unfair treatment? It is decidedly obvious those manufacturers are the ones who are extorting the people. That’s not to mention that they’re the primary extorters. This is the North’s oppression!!”
“Please submit your appeal to King Troy via the proper procedures. He will never ignore the people’s appeals. What you’re currently doing, though, is disrupting the integrity of safety in our North! What you are doing is ruining your right to make a legal appeal! Now, please lay down your weapons, and return to your residence. We will not pursue this matter with you!! Guards!! Guards!! Put away your rifles! Put them all away!! Do not fire!! Understood?! Do not fire!!”
The chief rode back and forth through the crowd to prevent the two sides from fighting. He asked the guards to stay vigilant and not recklessly fire. Unfortunately, the human group didn’t stop lobbing stones and other objects at the guards. Wounded, the guards’ seething rage continued to intensify. Had it not been for the chief strictly controlling them, they would’ve retaliated.
The red sun was bowing out. The guards at the scene grew irritated. Nonetheless, the human group didn’t show any signs of fatigue. If they allowed the humans to continue with their riot, the most prosperous plaza in the North’s Imperial City would be in peril.
If the current situation continued on, there wouldn’t ever be any change. They had to take some measures to end the situation. Though Troy said not to open fire, he never said they couldn’t use force. Thus, the chief went up to Ying. On edge, he explained, “Miss Ying, Miss Ying, you hold the highest rank amongst us. I hope we can apprehend the humans for now. If we continue to allow them to carry on, it will impact our normal lives in the North. We won’t kill them, but we should apprehend some of them.”
Ying shook her head: “I need to ask King Troy for the specifics on how to deal with them.”
“That would take at least two hours, would it not?!”
“It’s necessary,” sternly replied Ying.
It was clear that Ying didn’t allow for any questions from her expression. She turned and headed to the Imperial Palace. A shot was suddenly fired. Everyone, including the chief and humans, froze. Silence permeated in the air.
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