The waiter returned with two others carrying large trays of food. Fruit, meat, cheese, bread, and soup were laid out before them. A few stared with wide eyes while a few others shamelessly sniffed the air. Shaugn said nothing as he filled his plate and began to eat. Everyone looked at each other having silent conversations again. There were shrugs and animated facial expressions.
Shaugn watched, laughing inwardly for a while, before he raised his glass to his lips and paused. "If you wait any longer, the soup will be cold."
"What are we supposed to do, your majesty?" one of the well-dressed older men asked.
Shaugn looked at all of them with raised brows as if it was obvious. "Eat of course."
No one moved.
"What?" He smirked. "Do you want me to serve you?"
That lit the fire under them. They enthusiastically declined. "No!"
A young man who was clean but shabby dressed, wrung his hands together. "No, your majesty, we lowly dregs wouldn't dare."
"How could we expect such a thing from one so noble?" A woman laughed nervously. She looked around for help. When had they ever dined in front of anyone so important?
A woman wearing light pink robes, reached out and put a few pieces of fruit and cheese on her plate and started to eat. Everyone watched her every move, not daring to breathe as if they expected some tragedy to strike. When she finished chewing, her eyes lit up and she smiled. "The food is delicious, your majesty."
As if the switch was flipped, everyone sprang into action. The more refined maintained their decorum. They used the utensils and only took small portions. Those without any form of grace, reached across others, used their hands, and grabbed large portions that they wouldn't finish. Some had plates piled to overspilling. Food and juices littered the table.
Shaugn narrowed his eyes. What a bunch of savages. He took his fan out and slammed it down on the table. It made a loud clink sound drawing everyone's attention.
"I see some of you were raised with the pigs."
The guilty parties lowered their heads.
"In public, as a person of business, you should always maintain a sense of decorum. An air of elegance. It will help you gain reputation and wealth." He tossed a grape in his mouth and gave a sinister smile. "And you will mind your manners around me. If I lose my appetite, you'll lose something too."
They rushed to their feet with their fists over their hearts, bowing and apologizing. He waved them off and motioned for them to sit. He let them eat without interrupting them for a few minutes. As the wine poured, they relaxed and began to talk. Many gossiped amongst themselves about patrons in their businesses and some idle gossip about the citizenry.
This is what Shaugn wanted.
Once the eating slowed down, he had the table mostly cleaned up. One of the more posh businessman there, dabbed the corner of his mouth and turned to Shaugn.
"Pardon me, your majesty."
He raised a brow and smiled. "Yes? You are?"
"I am Lyn Devish. I run the most popular casino in the capital."
A dirty and haggard looking older man with brown teeth, spat to the side. "Ha! Popular only amongst the wealthy."
Shaugn side eyed the interrupter. The man shrank his neck and picked up a drink.
"Mr. Devish, please continue."
Devish sat up straighter in his seat and tugged on his jacket. "Thank you, your majesty. I wondered if you could explain why you called us all here? Though many of us are in the same business, we are not the sort to mingle on regular days."
This Devish was quite astute. Shaugn inwardly approved of his straightforwardness. He straightened in his seat and put on an air as if he was holding court. A few others followed his lead and gave him their undivided attention.
"I called you all here for a reason. Changes are coming to the empire and they start with the capital."
A few gaped at him while a few others began whispering amongst themselves. Shaugn let them digest that before continuing.
"All businesses, including the...seedier ones will be under the control of the Business Bureau which will become an offshoot of the Ministry of Commerce. As such, there will be rules and standards by which businesses must comply to in order to remain open. This measure is taking place to mitigate many of the issues that have plagued the emperor and court for some time."
Devish frowned as the others began to talk around him. "And what are those rules and standards, empress?"
Shaugn looked around the table, making eye contact with several as he spoke. "You will no longer allow the poor and unemployed to gamble, drink, or play. Those types will steal from their families and neighbors. They will sell their homes and land leaving their wives and children and parents homeless and penniless. Those then become my problem because who do you think they seek out to take care of them? My problems become your problems simply because you were greedy and allowed them in. Do you understand?"
Many looked at him in shock. A few others looked at him with anger on their faces. When had they ever turned away customers? When had the palace ever made them responsible for those worthless saps who liked to hide their misery in pleasure?
Shaugn ignored their expressions. "You will be audited by my accountant once a month and taxes paid on that income. Anyone attempting to conceal earnings will be fined. The second time, they will be beaten. The third, I will shut them down permanently.
Anyone operating illegally will have thirty days to fix your legal status. Otherwise, we will raze your establishment to the ground, raid your properties, and toss you in jail after fifty lashes."
The whispering grew louder with a few sounding angry but Shaugn continued.
"I'm not sure how much any of you know about disease, but –"
A woman stood and bowed at her waist. "Your majesty, my girls are clean. We do not let anyone with diseases work."
Shaugn paused. "Let me see your face."
She stood fully and stared at the wall behind him. Aside from some nervousness between her brows, her face was natural and bright. She dressed simply in muted pastel robes and had a youthful air about her.
"What is your name?"
"I am Janene, your majesty. I run The Valley of Flowers."
Some of the men snickered or leered at the young woman. Shaugn flicked his wrist and his fan opened with a loud flap. He glared at all of them and they turned away or looked down at their shoes. Shaugn stood and approached the woman, leaning close to her ear. She held her breath as he brought the fan up covering their faces.
Shaugn had learned through palace gossip that this establishment had issues. "There are three men that visit your establishment that are into immoral activities. At least one of them has been infected and has brought it into your house."
She paled and stumbled on her feet. Shaugn caught her by her elbow. Despair filled her voice. "How? We were so careful. We pride ourselves on our cleanliness."
"Men are scum. Some like to harm others for fun." He helped her back to her seat.
Janene tried to regain her composure. "Thank you, your majesty."
Shaugn continued talking as he walked around the room. "As I was saying, you will no longer allow people who smell like they sleep with animals. The stench is unpleasant and no one wants to be nauseated when they are trying to have fun."
The men laughed out loud while the women covered their smiles.
"If they have excessive dirt and mud, you will send them out. A clean business gets more business. More business means more money."
The men slapped the table and fist pumped the air. "Yeahhhh!"
"Anyone visibly ill you will deny entry. It only takes one person to infect hundreds. In enclosed spaces like gambling halls and brothels, it can spread to more – faster. We have a refugee crisis and we don't know what the rainy season will bring us. I don't have time for epidemics that could have been easily stopped." He turned around and faced them. "Do you understand?"
"Are you saying plagues are preventable?"
"Most. Yes."
An older man stood and gave a helpless shrug. "Empress, we're simple business folk not doctors. How do we keep out people who's sick?"
"By learning how to identify sick people."
"Why should we do all this?" One of the men that had been chastised earlier for his lack of manners when grabbing food, stood with a huff. "It's so much work. I just want to make money."
Shaugn closed his fan and faced the man squarely. "Let me put it this way, sick people make more sick people. Plague and disease is bad for business. If people die off, who will come to your business? If you can't make money, you can't pay taxes. That makes the treasury unhappy." He looked around the room as they began whispering to each other. He suddenly had a bright idea.
"To make it easy on you, we will hold classes on disease prevention throughout the city in a few weeks."
"Can we attend?"
"Anyone can."
"What does it cost?"
"It is free." He walked back to his seat as they began to talk amongst themselves. The men were talking loud and openly about how this would affect their business while the women whispered to each other with their sleeves covering their mouths. Their faces were more serious than the men who seemed to only be talking about profit with greed in their eyes.
Good. He could use that to his advantage.
*Shaugn is working his butt off trying to reform the empire. Is he wasting his time?
**Hope everyone is keeping healthy. There are some nasty diseases out there this cold/flu season.