The four-year-old toddlers were adorable. The fact that they were mind controlling their parents was not so adorable.

“The Samjin magistrate is not good enough for us,” said a hypnotized parent, and his child nodded in approval. “We demand that we become citizens of Gangcho.”

Nikola stared and he sighed. Wei Caihong cleared his throat.

“Who is your leader?” He said, and a woman stepped forward.

“Your real leader,” tried Wei Caihong again, almost growling.

A four-year-old boy stepped forward. He smiled and his dimples showed. No one from the non-hypnotized adults was fooled.

“My name is Pan Zixin, noble Lord. Here are our demands, as well as our petition,” Pan Zixin was still smiling as he handed a stack of scrolls over. Wei Caihong read the demands out loud as Nikola looked at the petition.

“You want either lodgings or for Gangcho and Samjin to merge?” Asked Wei Caihong, and he felt something like a sleepiness trying to take a hold of his mind. He growled at the blatant attempt at manipulation, and some reborn angels looked sheepishly down at the ground.

“We do, noble Lord. If we remain in Samjin, we will be exploited to fill in work spots. We want more from life.”

Nikola leveled Pan Zixin with a stare and made a sign for the boy to move forward.

“The reason you were allowed to be born in Samjin was because they needed more workers,” whispered Nikola to the angel.

“We are not slaves, phoenix!” Snapped back Pan Zixin, then he smirked at Nikola. On such a face, the smirk was out of place. “We will expose you if you don’t comply.”

Nikola gulped. He should have made some loyalty spell for the angels of Samjin, but he had simply forgotten about them.

“Ok, but Samjin can’t become desolate. We can merge the two villages, if the magistrate of Samjin agrees.”

“He will agree,” said Pan Zixin. “His youngest son is one of ours. But we also want reforms. Samjin is not as wealthy as Gangcho.”

Nikola sighed again. It appears that the treasury would be taking a hit. However, it was full of twenty thousand golden coins. Surely Samjin wasn’t so much worse off.

“Magistrate, bring the report to magistrate Nikola,” commanded Pan Zixin and the magistrate of Samjin, who looked like he was half-asleep, gave Nikola a stack of scrolls.

Nikola skimmed through it and groaned. The angels, it seems, have taken over Samjin early on and bankrupted it. Furthermore, one of the scrolls was full of names that were marked as tax evaders. One of the names was of the Pan family, and Nikola made the little angel come to him again.

“You have to pay your debts. What did you use the money for, anyway?” He asked, and Pan Zixin looked sheepish.

“Well, our parents were rebellious. They were unnerved by our intelligence. So, we made them like this. But that means that they can’t work anymore. And the debts piled up,” Nikola snapped his fingers and all the adults in the room blinked.

“Pay your darn taxes!” Demanded Nikola, and many of the adults began to stare at their children in fear.

“Magistrate Nikola, I think my son is controlling me!” Said the magistrate of Samjin, looking around wildly.

“Does your Chinese bestiaries have a spirit that can control humans?” Asked Nikola, and the people began to nod. “Well, then, you were enslaved by it. Samjin can’t protect itself and I can’t move from Gangcho. We can make a new town from our two villages, carrying the name of Gangcho. But I need you all to pay your taxes.”

“But, we pay them every month,” said a confused woman. Nikola glared at the child by her feet.

“You are all tax evaders. The Emperor will demand your debts and when you fail to give him money he will demand lives,” and all that because a pack of angels couldn’t behave like normal children. Nikola wondered what the ones who had chosen guests of Samjin as parents were doing. He needed to check up on them soon.

“Magistrate Nikola, we were robbed. Now we can’t pay since all, but I don’t have a job. And the troubles started with the children, I’m telling you,” tried the magistrate of Samjin.

“The children are little angels,” said Nikola, and said angels growled at him. Some parents slapped their backsides for the rude behavior. Nikola enjoyed the sight, but he was sure that the parents will end up under mind control again soon if he didn’t act fast.

“You will all take up your old jobs,” said Nikola, and Pan Zixin opened his mouth to speak. “It is for your own good. I will cover your taxes with my money.” Pan Zixin nodded at Nikola, grinning. The little shit had wanted to expose him; he was sure of it. “Now, if there is nothing else, I would like time to forward your request to the Emperor. As well as your late taxes.”

Everyone began to leave, and Nikola looked to see both Penemue and Wei Caihong glaring at him.

“Did you at least check how much money you will be paying?” Asked Penemue. Nikola was about to answer when Wei Caihong hit the table in front of them.

“Of course not! His Imperial Majesty is used to making money appear out of thin air. What is our excuse going to be this time? A new gold mine? A silver one?”

Wei Caihong had not forgiven Nikola for the marble quarry he had made to make more work spots the lazy way. Especially since he paid such a high wage for such a mundane job that everyone wanted to work in it.

“Gold sounds wonderful. There is a little in the mountains. I can amplify it and…”

“The Emperor will take everything we own!” Snapped Wei Caihong then. “He doesn’t want a strong Wei family. He sent you a warning already.” Said the noble, and Nikola furrowed his brows.

“You mean the congratulating letter for Wei Lihua’s fourth birthday?” He asked. The Emperor had listed many things that the Wei family owned, suggesting that they gave a bigger bride price. But Nikola had thought the man had been joking.

“After this stunt you pulled, we will be appraised. Mark my words!” Said Wei Caihong. Nikola didn’t think it would come to that. He began to write to the Emperor about the merging of Samjin and Gangcho, stealing glances at his fuming spouses all the while.

The Emperor didn’t ask them how they found a gold mine in the mountains. He didn’t ask them about their wealth. He flat out came to Gangcho and appraised the entire village. Everything not nailed down had a price tag placed on it by grubby officials. For everything, even a clay pot, a document of property was asked.

Nikola sat with his future in-law in his dining room and tried to explain to him that what he was doing was robbery.

“Your fortune only grows. It is because of magic. I am not taking your head, as I should, but anything that, I think, is made by magic will be taken,” Said the Emperor.

Kang Lei of Danyang sat by him, trying to provide support for Nikola even though he had gotten yelled at by the Emperor for it. Nikola appreciated the gesture. The tourist exchange between their settlements was quite the boon for their treasuries. He had one alley, at least.

“How much do you want to not rob the people blind, your Imperial Majesty?” Asked Nikola, and he saw a glint in the Emperor’s eyes, which he didn’t like.

“You will travel the land for precious metals and jade deposits. And you will point me to each one of them,” said the Emperor. That would make him unimaginably wealthy. Nikola shrugged, so be it.

“I will do my duty, although I make no promises,” I will make deposits large enough to last you ten years and that is it. Thought Nikola to himself. The kids would enjoy this break from school. Maybe he would leave one of the boys with a cultivation sect? Wei Longwei had been bothering him about it for a time.

“You do that,” said the Emperor, and then he made a sign for a servant to step forward. A portrait was revealed. It was of the Emperor and his first wife, the mother of the prince.

“I will be taking the shameful sketch you have in your home and I will leave this behind. As much for Han Guo as for your own. It won’t do for you to forget how I look,” said the Emperor. Nikola would miss the sketch, if only because it never failed to make Wei Caihong laugh.

“When will you let the officials know that they are to remove all the price tags?” Asked Nikola and the Emperor looked behind him as if bewitched. Nikola stared at the wall behind him, only to see the golden trident he had gotten for the Great Merfolk War.

“I must have this,” said the Emperor as he neared the trident. Nikola didn’t particularly care for it. “This explains why my officials saw people who didn’t look Chinese in the village. Nikola of Troy, your abilities sound like what the Emerald Emperor could do…”

Nikola stilled. He then went to the Emperor and placed the trident in his hands.

“A gift for you, your Imperial Majesty,” he said hastily, but the damage was done. The Emperor was gaping at him. Then he waved away his servants and he took a closer look at Nikola.

“I burned all your portraits when I came in power, Emerald Emperor.” Said Emperor Han and Nikola gulped.

“I can explain…”

“My son is going to marry the Emerald Emperor’s daughter!” Exclaimed joyfully, Emperor Han and Nikola stared at him confused.

“You, uhm, are not going to execute me?” Asked Nikola the giddy man who was now clutching his hand.

“You will bring prosperity to this land. Travel it! Litter it with precious metals and plentiful forests. Oh, I am blessed. You will get the merge between Samjin and Gangcho. And you will get to keep everything you own. But the rest goes to me, you hear?” Said the Emperor, although he was uncertain. Nikola nodded and he was embraced.

“I will buy back cousin Wei’s estate and gift it to you. It will be good of you to visit the capital more often. And I need help with Xiongnu. I plan to expand and someone of your experience would be well received as a general, brother,” Nikola didn’t want to see a battlefield again. But what would happen if he refused? His family will fall in damnation, that’s what.

“My children are still young; I need to look after them,” tried Nikola weakly, but the Emperor clapped him on the back good naturally.

“You Wei Zhaohui is fourteen now and mans the store, old enough to get married to my nephew Han Shanyuan. My niece Han Fengfan is said to be a beauty at six, she can remain with your Ryota, I admit. Why wait for the marriage between Han Guo and Wei Lihua? We are going to war, you and I! Let us marry them already and tie our great lines! And the rest of your children? I have suitable cousins for them.”

Said the Emperor happily. Nikola knew of Wei Liling’s future husband and of Wei Longwei and Loki. He had not looked into the future of his other six children, for he had long since accepted Nathaniel as his own, and he had loved the twins as much as he loved his children.

“I wish they marry for love,” Said Nikola and the Emperor scowled at him.

“You are immortal; people will begin to ask questions why you don’t age. If I announce that you are under China’s protection, then you have a chance of a good life. Think about it, brother.”

The Emperor left, carrying the trident with him. Nikola resolved not to marry his children off for his own sake. They deserved better. They were going to get better, even if Nikola had to work a couple of spells to make it happen.