Golden Junta

Zhuan An wanted to say a few select words to Xiao Fan... and they weren't positive.

Fu Xiang and Wang Shuan, on the other hand, were a little shocked.

Thankfully, no one else in the room heard him say the words Golden Junta.

"What?" at first Xiao Fan was confused by their reactions, but slowly started to realise what he had blurted out. 'Is the Golden Junta some special bank?'

Indeed it was. "You keep your money in the Golden Junta?" Fu Xiang asked, yet she didn't really believe in those words.

"I knew an uncle from there. He gave me an account." Xiao Fan made a story on the go.

"That makes sense... but why?" Fu Xiang wouldn't have believed just anything, but this she could digest.

"I worked for him. I was carrying all kinds of letters which of the content I didn't know. As a way to help me get around the continent faster, he opened an account in my name."

Wang Shuan's head tilted from side to side. She was clearly thinking if this could be the truth. "Weird. I understand that you had an account when working for that uncle; however after your job ended? And why did the job end?"

Xiao Fan turned his eyes to look at the Princes whose hair was raven black. "He died"—he shrugged his shoulders—"I delivered him a package that must have been tracked. I might be a poor smuggler." A good ending.

Then he changed from defensive to neutral. "So many questions. Am I being questioned?"

Fu Xiang was quick to shook her head. "No, no. It's simply weird that a youth would have an account in the Golden Junta."

"Tell me about it," Zhuan An from the side noted as if she knew of this. "Let's just get there and be over with it. It's not like he's some rich and mysterious prince from a faraway land."

"Sure thing. I'll go speak with the Second Prince before we leave." Xiao Fan took the opportunity provided and left.

He walked across the room. Past by some small teams discussing details and strategy. 'They aren't joking,' he noted before getting close to Wang Geming, who had seen his arrival.

"Mask, what do you bring?" Wang Geming happily stopped everything to ask this from his golden goose.

Yi Lin and the two co-rulers of the Yi Family noticing that their talk came to a halt looked at the newcomer.

"Your Highness. Do I have permission to leave?" He didn't cup his hands or anything more, just referring Wang Geming as Highness.

"Leaving already? Mask, didn't you like stuff like this?" Wang Geming was puzzled while the others were more focussed on Xiao Fan's mannerism when talking to the next Emperor.

Xiao Fan explained his case.

To which Wang Geming was understanding and let him leave the meeting on the premise that he would be back in an hour or two.

When the two talked, the others noted every word that the two exchanged, even Yi Lin was doing so. Yi Lin hadn't gotten everything she had wanted to know from her son when it came to Mask, so she was interested beyond what one could believe.

At the end of their talk, Xiao Fan made a quick peek at Yi Pong. "Look how I'm talking to him, be wary of me," His eyes told the old strategist.

'Most peculiar, most peculiar...' Yi Pong couldn't but be interested in who this boy was. Also, he took note of his message. Surely a person daring to act like Xiao Fan would have some capital he didn't know of currently.

This small exchange between the two escaped the perception of Yi Lin.

....

By now, the three youths. Wait, four people, since Fu Xiang had wanted to come were in front of the Golden Junta bank, or a golden palace if one was more exact.

"Is this the main headquarters? I never came here." In the middle of the group, Xiao Fan wondered this aloud.

"Yes, the Golden Junta works in both Dynasties, but this is the main headquarters." Zhuan An was quick on the explanation.

"Never knew. I just did what I was told. The money was too good for me to care about anything else," he added some fluff into his story because they were in the presence of the other two.

"I hope that you have some money in there and didn't waste it all before I got my hands on it." After Zhuan An had remarked this, the four of them walked into the building they had for a moment admired from afar.

Walking under the gate gilded in gold, they came into a box-like hall, a box-like hall that was bright yellow, much brighter than the sword of Xiao Fan.

They got a few steps into the hall and were instantly stopped by two women coming into the lobby from a stairway.

"What do we have here?" A woman whose looks were on par with Fu Xiang commented. "Didn't you drop out of the race? Why are you here, sister? A youth whose features were similar to Wang Shuan added.

"We came here with him." Wang Shuan's words were referring to Xiao Fan. "Why are you here? Need to take debt to partake in the competition?" She even countered.

"Hmph. At least I can take part, unlike someone who hides behind others."

Watching this go down, Xiao Fan wanted to say something, yet thinking how that would go... he noped and let it continue. The Royals could fight each other.

"Hide behind others? Will you repeat those words when I stand right behind the next Emperor?"

"The Second prince will never win." The mother of the other Princess refuted. "And you will end up in the same position in which your mother was and belonged in."

"What?" Fu Xiang would have usually stayed quiet when insulted like this, but now she didn't. There was enough force behind her that such words wouldn't be taken without a rebuttal.

"What what? Now that you have some help from the Yi Family, you try again?" The other wasn't stupid.

'Okay, this isn't going to end well.' Xiao Fan couldn't see a good outcome from this. "Please, Princesses, Concubines." He took a step forward and tried to calm everyone down.

"You are with him?" For the first time, the other side noted that the Fourth Princess was with Xiao Fan.

"Who is he? An old customer of Fu Xiang?" The insult wasn't very hitting, yet the woman still said it.

"?" Because the insult was so poorly constructed, Xiao Fan took a while to catch the meaning. "Wow!" When he got it, he couldn't but be shocked. His eyes turned towards the woman who had spoken this untasteful insult.

"You had to make this personal?"

"Personal? I don't make anything personal with low-lives." The woman didn't budge, not even if the Princess next to her was trying to stop this from escalating.

"Oh, in that case." Xiao Fan didn't speak more as he left the people there and strolled towards the counter that was gold-gilded like everything else here.

Ringing the golden bell on the counter, Xiao Fan waited for a moment before a clerk came to him. Like everything, the clerk wore golden robes. His face was of the same colour too.

"You like gold?" Xiao Fan asked the clerk, who had come to serve him.

"Gold? Of course, I like gold."

"Good, then could you get me some gold?"

"...And the mister's name is?"

Xiao Fan slid a paper on the counter until it reached the clerk's hand. "Here's my account number."

"Hmm?" The clerk was feeling that the youth was playing with him since the paper he got was a ripped piece of paper.

"You'll be surprised." Xiao Fan didn't mind the clerk's scepticism; after all, he had made this note just before leaving the meeting.

"I wonder in what way." The clerk took the piece of paper and went to the back, leaving Xiao Fan by the counter.

Supposing it would take a minute or two, Xiao Fan turned around to see how the others were doing.

'Figures'

The scene he saw was what one could have imagined; the weaker two was being pushed by, the stronger duo.

For Xiao Fan, this went a little longer, yet he didn't get to see it till the end for someone was gently tapping on his shoulder.

"Yes?" Xiao Fan didn't turn his head to look at the clerk.

"You wanted gold, right?"

"Can I have some?"

"Of course. Please follow me; there is an opening—"

The clerk stopped his sentence when he saw Xiao Fan jump over the counter like he was robbing the bank.

"Please follow me," he repeated a part of it. This man following him could do anything he wanted here if he so chose.

"Surely you don't keep gold upstairs?" Xiao Fan joked when he was being led towards the upper floors.

The two of them passed by some guards before the clerk spoke, "You haven't verified your account yet. We need to go over some small details before you can withdraw gold from your account."

'A setup?' Xiao Fan could smell some corporate strings being pulled here.

"Not funny."

The clerk before him shrugged his shoulders. A customer on his level wasn't in his pay grade to be decided. Xiao Fan needed to be forwarded to the higher-ups of the system.

A walk later, they came to a door. "He should have time." The clerk pointed towards the door.

Not speaking more, he walked into the room or tried to. "Can you open this door for me?" He couldn't open the door.

"Sorry, sorry" the clerk apologises while moving to open the door. "We can provide you with—"

"I do not need herbs or potions." Xiao Fan cut him off. And now for real, walked into the room.

....

"Have you ever thought that a person might not be able to open your office door?" First thing inside the room was this.

"No?"—a man in his early thirties, maybe late twenties with a beard turned around—"A person who can't open the door shouldn't have enough money to see me anyway," he spoke as his hands led Xiao Fan to a comfy sofa.

Watching the man take his seat across a table, Xiao Fan moved to the topic, "Well, this one does, and I need gold, now."

"You have a... reference? a letter?" Like the clerk, the man started with questioning Xiao Fan's legitimacy.

Xiao Fan offered his hand for a shake. "Xiao Fan nice to meet you. Zhuan An should have deposited some money here?"

The man, in an instant, took the hand and shook it. "Qiu Yazhu, nice to meet you too." Qiu Yazhu gave Xiao Fan his best smile.

When the shake was over, and Xiao Fan got back to leaning on the golden sofa. "I need gold," he spoke simply, because he didn't want to sit here all day.

"How much gold?"

"Enough for an extravagant spending spree-" For this, he had come here. "-and to cancel the deal you just made with that Princess and her mother."

"So a hundred thousand... And twenty million?" Qiu Yazhu, observing Xiao Fan be in a hurry didn't talk more than needed.

"twenty million? I can afford that?" Xiao Fan had no idea of the scope of his fortune.

"Easily."

"That's good." 'I'm a multi-millionaire? Lucky me.' A wide smile appeared on his face.

"Satisfied?"

"Very satisfied." Xiao Fan got up and reached his hand for another shake that was responded to in an instant.

Soon Xiao Fan was already leaving this room, but before getting out, he asked, "Can I leave a message to my account?" From the man who was coming to open the door.

"We don't"—Qiu Yazhu looked at Xiao Fan—"Sure we can," he changed his answer to fit the needs of a customer.