"I am Bolormaa, wife of Bato Khan," she said, her voice steady. "Great Lord, I recognize your victory. I know that the victor claims the spoils."
You did not answer immediately. You let the silence stretch, the crackle of the burning camp the only sound between you. You watched the way she measured your youth against your resolve.
"Your Han is... exceptional," you remarked, your voice a low thread of menace. "Few on this side of the Great Wall speak the language with such elegance. Tell me, Bolormaa, or should I use the name written in the margins of these secret ledgers?"
She stiffened, the mask of the barbarian queen momentarily slipping to reveal the terror of a cornered woman.
"The records mention a 'Jade Swallow' who acted as the bridge between the Ministry of Works and the Northern tribes," you continued, stepping closer until you're a mere an arm length from her. "A woman who disappeared from the capital twenty years ago. Is that not right, Lin Xiaoyun?"
At the sound of her Han name, the elder daughter’s head snapped up in confusion, but the mother’s eyes closed as if accepting a **** sentence. "You are correct in the assumption. I am here to ask for your mercy: let my daughters go. In exchange, my life is yours." As she drop into a prostrate in front of you gracefully, her eldest daughter cried out and tried to reach her, only to be shoved back by the iron grip of your veterans. A single, snapped word from Bolormaa in her native tongue caused the girl to stop struggling.
You consider the situation. While Bolormaa, or Lin Xiaoyun as was her original name, was under arrest, getting her to cooperate would require some sort of a carrot instead of a stick. In that manner, accepting her request seemed to be a logical decision
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