Chapter 9

There was a soft rumbling in the trial room. Many of Yao's rivals came to see his downfall. The neutral parties came to see the change in power, and his few allies were seeing if it was worth jumping ship. Yao leaned on his hand at the mahogany desk, bored of the pony show that they were putting up. His advisor moved things around nervously.

The murmuring fell silent as the click of heels met the stone floor. Yao's ears perked, and he turned around to see Nina in a black and silver dress. He felt a surge of power and realized she was wearing white gold, not silver.

He gave a small smile, even after being asleep for a month she looked ravishing. He wished he was allowed to speak here or he'd call out to her, but it would be just another thing to use against him.

Nina smiled at him as she strutted confidently, and listened to the murmurs as she went by. Apparently there had been rumors that she had died. She went to take the seat meant for the significant other but found it taken. The woman looked up at her smugly but then Nina shrugged and walked down to the advisor's position. "Do you mind if I take over as your advisor?"

Yao nodded and the advisor took a sigh of relief "Oh thank God" he said as traded places with Nina hurriedly.

"Hey Gem." she leaned over and kissed his cheek."Hope you don't mind" She stole a glance and a smug smirk to the woman behind them before turning her full attention to Yao.

"Good to see you awake, Gold" she would feel the gold flex on her dress ever so slightly as he acknowledged what she wore for him "And I've lost to you here enough times to know you're the best person to have at my side." He chuckled softly.

The Arbiter walked in and saw the two of them and sighed. They have given him more headaches than he can count. "You two...again" he sat at an ornate desk to the front, showing his authority over the room. "Silence in the room. We will now begin with the trial of the magistricide of Elder Feng Wang by Leader Yao Zhen"

The crowd quickly settled down as he commanded. This trial would be a major shift of power in the Triad. "Nina, I see you are acting as Yao's Advisor. You may speak on his behalf."

Nina stood up "Yao was in the right. He found out that Elder Wand not only killed his child, but his heir." she started in his defense. Heir was the operative word here. Ending a man's lineage was heavily frowned upon. "Not only did he end the life of Yao's child, He caused a war between us and the Koreans. They were our allies!"

The Arbiter, with a tired look in his eyes listened to the testimony and looked over the documentation before him. "The laws concerning the death of an heir are among the heritage rights of cultivation, but are not enough to validate the transgression of killing an elder and even more dire... Biting the hand that feeds. Yao killed his master in cold blood. He dishonored the sacred pact between master and disciple, which deserves the punishment of excommunication at minimum."

He flicked through a few of the pages and reached for his seal. "To balance the scales, punishment must be delivered. A pound of flesh taken and given to the progeny of Wang. Two square miles of territory given to Lee, your martial brother for the damage done to the development of his martial path. Finally, a year of seclusion during which the remaining council of elders will see to your accounts and territory."

"There will be no such thoughts of negotiation." He stamped his seal on the document. Nina could feel the gold on her dress tighten, as Yao heard his sentence. It slowly released, as he exhaled sharply to calm himself. "Forty-eight hours will be given before seclusion begins, such that you may put your affairs in order."

Nina clicked her nails angrily. "What kind of master kills the progeny of their student first? He broke the pact. I would say that I expected better, but it makes sense seeing how you were always in Wang's pocket." Her first banged on the table. "He killed my child in cold blood and you're saying his death wasn't warranted!?"

The crowd watched as they had never seen Nina loose her head in a deal. Usually it was Yao's temper they had to worry about.

She started marching towards the Arbiter but was stopped by the guards, though only temporarily. Security was so focused on gold that it didn't bother with gems. And almost everyone in attendance carried a weapon for Nina.

With a swift motion of her hand, the men were ripped away by the jewels they wore. There was no negotiation in her mind.

"His death was not for Yao to decide. The death of an elder must be decided by the council, occur in honorable combat, or in a fight for succession. None of these prerequisites were met. Punishment is doled out in accordance with the written laws of the Triad, and currently there is no Elder Wang to punish. Yao has received a lessened sentence due to extenuating circumstances, but things must also be made right by those affected by the death of Wang. We can not restore the life of your child, Nina. That is of the demonic path. We can only stop the cycle of perpetuating violence here."

The Arbiter looked at Nina calmly. Fear of anger would only exacerbate the situation. "It's only a year of seclusion."

"Only a year!? The elders are going to drain every asset he has while he's in seclusion. They don't even need a fucking year. She approached his table and stared down at him.

She could feel the gold in her dress trying to softly pull her back. "Give me the rights to Yao's territories and assets. I should be allowed to protect that at least since you're dead set on his punishment."

As she approached, he saw a coldness in her eyes. She didn't care about witnesses right now. "I will make the addendum in recognition of the wrongs that have been done to you Nina, but Yao must take his punishment. You also must make a ten percent higher tribute to the elders for the next year for your punishment of attacking the guards."

"Fine." Nina said and returned to Yao. "Let's leave this circus" she said softly.