“Fifty-nine billion Immortal Jade in defaulted sovereign bonds, all notarized by the Planetary Heavenly Dao Altar,” Shen Qiaoqiao announced cheerfully as candlelight flickered against the dark rosewood walls of the Number One Prime Minister Manor.
Inside the grand study, the atmosphere was quiet, focused, and methodical. Stacks of glowing parchment scrolls covered three enormous conference tables. The scent of fresh pine ink, melted sealing wax, and hot jasmine tea filled the room. Outside in the courtyards, autumn leaves drifted across the stone tiles as capital bells tolled the tenth hour of the night.
Chief Legal Counsel Shen Qiaoqiao sat at the head of the center table, wearing her formal black judicial robe with sharp white collar trim.
Her gold-framed glasses reflected the soft green light of hundreds of legal dockets. Beside her, Su Wan operated three floating holographic ledgers, verifying each transaction against the Planetary Heavenly Dao Registry. Across the table, Lord Wen Zhengming, the venerable former Prime Minister, sat with his sleeves rolled up, carefully checking each ancestral seal with a magnifying loupe.
Little Peach and Xiao Bai carried heavy silver trays loaded with eighty-eight percent of the crown’s defaulted debt.
“Forty billion in Dragon-Throne Sovereign Bonds,” Shen Qiaoqiao murmured, her slender fingers aligning the edges of the crystallized scrolls. “Twelve billion in Ancient Guardian Clan blood-bonds. Three billion in off-world caravan debt. Total principal and accrued statutory default penalties: exactly fifty-five billion Immortal Jade.”
