The siblings who came to petition through Felix Fuller weren’t visiting Eastlyn for the first time. For years, whenever they scraped together enough money, they’d journey to Eastlyn hoping for a stroke of luck—hoping to meet the Emperor and beg him to grant their tribe a wise, learned teacher.
Unfortunately, after five or six trips over the years, they hadn’t met the Emperor—or even a minor seventh-rank official. The Capital was crawling with nobles, but as nameless commoners with no connections, you couldn’t meet a single proper servant unless you’d committed a crime.
This time, thanks to Felix Fuller’s referral, they managed to find Serena Feng. Naturally, they were extra cautious, afraid of making any mistakes.
The negotiations went incredibly smoothly. Serena Feng wasn’t some unscrupulous merchant; she set their price according to the rate Third Young Master Cui had established, and also agreed to use her own people for transport.
After what happened with Chief Musa, Serena felt it was safest to keep things in her own hands. If her people handled the pickup, she’d get word immediately if anything went wrong—no chance of being caught off guard.
The siblings were clever, too. When they heard the price Serena offered, they shook their heads and waved their hands: "No, no, that’s way too high! We never get that much when trading with others. Miss Feng, if you set it so high, we... we..."
Her brother’s face flushed red, and he stammered, completely at a loss for words.
"It is a bit high," Serena admitted, "but the price isn’t fixed—it changes with the market, and neither of us should take a loss." The price she’d originally offered Chief Musa was already generous; Third Young Master Cui’s move had pushed it to an almost unacceptable level.
"That’s not right," the siblings insisted. "Those cattle and sheep aren’t worth nearly that much. We can’t let you take a loss, Miss Feng." Serena didn’t answer right away. She sipped her tea, debating whether she should lower the price.
But on second thought, she decided against it. Third Young Master Cui wasn’t going to compete with her forever, and in the end, she’d be the one collecting goods from all the grassland tribes—the price was only temporary. This was a perfect chance to show Chief Musa and the others that anyone who worked with her would never lose out. Serena Feng always protected her own.
"I’ll pay the base rate I used before, but I won’t let you take a loss either. The half-price difference you missed out on with Chief Musa, I’ll make up with medicinal herbs, cloth, and porcelain." The grasslands were always short on these, and sometimes you couldn’t buy them even if you had the money. Her people were heading out there for transport anyway, so she could send a batch of goods along—and make a tidy profit from trading with the tribes.
Of course, once Third Young Master Cui caught wind of it, he’d probably stir up trouble again. But until then, she’d have plenty of room to profit.
This time, the siblings didn’t refuse—they really needed those extra goods. But they brought up the price again: "Miss Feng, we can give up another half of the price difference if you’ll send a few teachers to our tribe."
Afraid Serena might refuse, the siblings added, "We can pay the teachers’ stipends, and they can bring their families to the grasslands—we’ll take care of their living expenses out there."
"Teachers? You want to study Confucian learning?" Serena realized these siblings really were different from Chief Musa. They were grassland folk too, but their words and manners were much more refined.
Her brother nodded awkwardly. "Our tribe has always admired learned people. We’re on Eastlyn’s territory, and no other country will let us in. My sister and I have come to Eastlyn several times, always hoping to see the Emperor and beg him to send teachers so our children can learn to read. I—I only learned a few characters myself after coming here."
"Miss Feng, my brother and I actually met you before—outside the Windchaser Inn. You were with a very handsome man, and you both matched couplets at the door to get in. My brother and I tried several times, but we couldn’t get in." The young woman lowered her head sadly, her bright smile dimming. Eyes red, she looked at Serena pleadingly: "Miss Feng, the children on the grasslands really want to learn to read. Can you help us?"
So these siblings were the same Mira siblings who’d been turned away from the Windchaser Inn. Last time they came to Eastlyn, they’d run into Serena Feng right outside.
Serena was the only person in Eastlyn whose name they knew. Because of that bit of familiarity, when they heard Felix Fuller would introduce them to Serena, the siblings were both excited and hopeful.
"So that’s how it is—what a coincidence." Serena didn’t really remember, but she knew they had no reason to lie.
"I can help you find a way," Serena said, "but I’m not doing it for free. Forget about cutting the price by half—I want you to sign an agreement. From now on, your cattle and sheep must be offered to me first at market price. Only if I refuse can you sell them to anyone else." After being burned by Chief Musa once, Serena was taking no chances.
"Alright." Serena’s terms weren’t harsh, so the Mira siblings agreed without hesitation. That made Serena add another condition: "One more thing—I want you to expand your herds as much as possible, ideally to meet my required numbers."
She wasn’t a saint. Even though she considered keeping a line open to Chief Musa, if these siblings could supply enough volume, she’d have no reason to work with him anymore.
When Chief Musa teamed up with Third Young Master Cui to cheat her, he should have realized that any consequences from now on were his alone to bear.
"Miss Feng..." The siblings hesitated. Grassland pastures were limited—expanding their herds meant needing more land and more water.
On the grasslands, fighting for pasture and water meant war.
Serena understood this, so she smiled and said, "As your business partner, I don’t want to cause you trouble. As part of our deal, I’ll station someone near your tribe—someone you can call on whenever you need."
She’d never figured out what to do with Ezra Phoenixfield, but now the opportunity had come. Sending him to the grasslands—so far from everything—might finally let him find some peace.
"Uh..." The siblings’ mouths formed perfect O’s as they stared at Serena in shock.
Serena’s words were basically: I’ll send someone to help you fight for territory.
Are all Han women this fierce? She was scarier than any grassland woman—the Mira siblings quietly wiped their cold sweat and exchanged uneasy glances.
Had they been too hasty in partnering with Serena? Why did it feel like she’d just sold them out?
But at this point, it didn’t matter. Whether they liked it or not, this deal was happening. Serena would never let them back out—she already had even better plans in mind...