"I wouldn't have thought that naive mercenaries live long, either. The entire rest of your unit, well. They won't be collecting on their contracts." Furrowing his brow as if this is a very puzzling question, Huaisang taps his fan against his lips. "It seems like Jin Guangyao must have severely overestimated the difficulty you were facing. Or your unit severely underperformed. Bad day? Struggling with your courses?" Huaisang gestures at his own torso in a way that suggests that perhaps the reason Doul lost the battle was his menstruation. It isn't the sort of comment that Huaisang enjoys making, since he values his female soldiers and bureaucrats very highly, but he knows how much those implications can ruffle the feathers of particularly masculine soldiers.

"Or... well, I suppose he's saved himself quite a lot of money. He no longer owes any of your companions their shares. Nor yours, if I decide you have no value to me alive."