In a richly appointed office in the Golden Mist Ward, Fang Muchen drummed his fingers on his heavy Jade-Ringed Oak desk, his brows furrowed in displeasure at the brief letter before him. For several minutes, the formation expert stewed, his sharpened mind assembling detailed lists of responses and their potential consequences while he waited for his youngest son to join him.
Finally, the door to his office slid open to admit a richly dressed Fang Lin. The young man entered boldly, with a casual air and eagerness to learn how the Su family had responded to their extravagant gifts. Less than three steps into his father's office, however, his footsteps slowed as though he'd run into one of his father's barrier formations. In the corner, the gifts sent to the Su family the day before had been piled like kindling, all of them unopened. The combination of that sight and his father's lowered brow told him everything he needed to know.
