The Golden Throne

Liu Feng passed a few groups of people who were just gathering there, talking to each other. They didn't have the best of clothes, with many of the shirts being tattered, and their skinny bodies being shown to the world. Ribs were trying to pierce their chest and come out, and their faces were very, very malnourished.

"I thought that I promised to pay for their food as well. Are they not being paid for their work and given food? If that is the case, then I swear to god, I will murder these folks. To think that they actually dare make these men work without giving them enough food." Liu Feng thought to himself. He then kept walking forward, glancing around him with suspicion and caution. He did not want to alert the merchants of his arrival just yet. Then, he noticed that the driver was running towards him.

"Why the hell is this man coming towards me? Now, he will shout that everyone has to kneel towards me and whatnot. The merchant groups will immediately know that I am here, and they will start showing another face than what they are supposed to. I better stop him from doing that." Liu Feng noted and he also approached the man. 

The driver was about to greet Liu Feng when Liu Feng stopped him dead on his tracks.

"Silence. Come to me, and listen closely to what I am saying. You shall not bend your knees towards me, you shall not call me your king, and you shall not do anything that will say that I am the king, because I do not want to let any of these people around me know that I am the king. They will think at max that I am a noble looking at what is going on. And it shall stay that way." Liu Feng said coldly.

The driver looked at Liu Feng with confusion.

"But why Your- I mean, why my lord?" he asked.

"I have given these construction merchant groups a task. I want to see how well they have accomplished it. And that means that I need to see how the task has been done, how well the people have been treated, and I want to hear it from the people themselves, not from the leaders. I would rather that a duopoly be controlled by me rather than some random family that I have no ties to." Liu Feng explained.

The driver nodded, and he did not dare say anything else. He just stood by Liu Feng, and started following him wherever he would go.

Liu Feng sighed with relief. The driver understood his assignment. Now, it was time for one of his own.

He approached one of the men who was carrying a sack of what appeared to be cement towards the build site. He stopped him and asked him a question.

"Can I have a little bit of your time? My father is from one of the merchant guilds, and he has been very curious as to what is happening here. If you do not mind, then could you answer a few of my questions? I am not expecting it to be free, not at all. I will pay for it." Liu Feng smiled as he flashed a small copper coin at the tip of his fingers. 

The eyes of the man lit up and he put the sack down.

"What questions do you want to have?" the man asked.

"It is regarding the people who work here? I do not recognize you. Which merchant group do you work for? I know for sure you do not work with the Rock Tyrant group and the Silvermoon group. But many other groups also tell me that you do not work for them." Liu Feng asked.

"That is because we are not affiliated with any company at all. The silver moon group employs us straight from the slum, and we work to build our own homes. The majesty is just brilliant. For him to be so ingenious, it is truly our fortune. But recently, the group has not been giving us food at the right times. It has been a problem, and the children are suffering a lot because of it. I have been meaning to complain about it, but I am afraid that I will offend all of the wrong people if I do." the man said with a shiver.

"Why do you think that you will offend all the wrong people? Do you think that the king is doing this for the merchant groups? I know that he is doing this for the people of the slums. That is why you are getting the whole place for yourselves right? I mean, look at this place already. It is just a few months away from looking like perfection. After that, it very well will be the most beautiful living quarters in the city." Liu Feng said.

"And that does not reassure me even a little. That only makes our fear worse. Why would the most beautiful place in the city be given to us? We are just working to burry our own fates into the ground. The nobles will be the first one to say something and take away this land from us. The very little land that we did have, will be all gone." The man said with a sob.

"But why would the nobles steal away what the king has promised you already? You cannot be possibly joking. The nobles might be strong, but they are nothing compared to the king right? Teh king is the king. He controls everything in the kingdom." Liu Feng said.

"What can I do at all? I can just hope that whatever happens, I and my family will have a place to sleep after all of this. Talking with you at least let me vent. You can keep that copper coin for yourself. I need to get back to work anyways." the man said as he picked back the sack of cement and went on his way to go work. He started walking to the build site again.

"So the people are not being fed well? Only recently though? I wonder what made this change happen? Are the two merchant groups facing a money problem? I knew that they would be in trouble if they started a huge project like this for free, but that old man would know the consequences for sure. He seemed wise enough to understand all of the problems that he would face." Liu Feng was in a pinch. He started following the man towards the build site. 

The half constructed buildings already towered above the surroundings. It was the center of attraction to whoever passed even remotely near to this place. The edge of the slums, which used to be a dead zone for people of the city, who did not want to come here, was filled with spectators who would come here every day and look at the wonder that was taking place in front of them.

Liu Feng saw that there were more leaders now, and some faces that he could recognize. Some of them had come to the meeting where he asked the two merchant groups to start this project. Liu Feng glanced at the driver, who was still standing behind him.

"You can drop the act now. People will understand who I am after I pass through this huge plain. Many here have already met me." Liu Feng told him as he started walking towards the leaders.

They also saw him, and their eyes were filled with shock and horror. One of them, who Liu Feng remembered to be third or fourth from the leader of the Solver Moon group, talked to one of the people next to him in a hurry, and that person started running into the building.

Once Liu Feng arrived in front of him, he kneeled down.

"Your Majesty! What brings you here? I was not prepared to receive you. There is nothing here that can satisfiable accommodate you. If only we had been alerted ahead of time." the merchant said.

"What I want right now aren't good accommodations. The palace is a mere thirty minutes away. What I want right now are results. Do you think that I would give you this task and let you do whatever you want? I have already done my due diligence. Who do you think you are? I am building a whole series of buildings for them, and you dare starve them? Did you no understand my intention to put their welfare at first?" Liu Feng shouted at him.

"Your Your Majesty. I am sorry. I am terribly sorry. the thing is-" the merchant started stammering, repeating the same things again and again.

"You are just one in the massive chain of leadership. I do not need to speak with you. You sent a rat to bring in the big guns anyways. I will let the old man do the talking." Liu Feng scoffed.

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