The deep bronze toll of the noon bell rolled across the marble plaza of the Supreme Harmony Palace. It shook the gilded eaves, rattled crystal lanterns, and vibrated through the flagstones beneath ten thousand boots. High above, the solar shadow settled dead into the noon notch of the imperial sundial.
Court was in session.
Shen Qiaoqiao stepped off the edge of the floating Taichu Pavilion. Golden legal glyphs solidified under her shoes with every stride. Her black legal robes were tailored without a single crease, stark against the imperial vermilion below. In her right hand, she carried a dark sandalwood gavel. In her left, she held an ivory ledger.
“Chief Counsel Shen,” Lin Mo said from his floating seat, resting his chin on one hand. “Try not to break their spirits too quickly. We have an afternoon of billing to finish.”
“Chairman Lin, my billing timer started when the bell chimed,” Shen Qiaoqiao said without looking back. “Every second wasted adds three hundred thousand Jade in late fees. I will be thorough.”
Lin Mo took a sip of chilled spirit pear juice. In his past life, debt collection meant awkward phone calls, registered letters, and endless court delays. In the cultivation world, when you held planetary legal authority and eighty-eight percent of the sovereign debt, collection looked like an eviction notice from the gods. It was much cleaner this way.
