Cuyu City

Pan Yun said, "You have very few carts, and their designs differ somewhat from ours. In terms of industrial development, you are far behind the Ming Dynasty. You have been to the Ming Dynasty before, haven't you? Is that why you envy the suzerain state so much?"

Ouchi Hiromi ignored her.

Pan Yun turned to watch the scenery slowly receding outside and sighed. "But the scenery here is beautiful. Along this journey, I have met many common people. They have no surnames, no shoes; some do not even have clothes. Yet when they see me, smiles often bloom across their faces, and they greet me warmly. When they see the black cat on my shoulder, they even kneel and kowtow, saying that this cat possesses great spiritual power. They hope it can communicate with the gods who govern the nearby mountains, rivers, lakes, and marshes, and bless them with a bountiful harvest and smooth sailing in all things this year."

Ouchi Hiromi stared at her in confusion, unable to understand how her topic had suddenly leaped here.

Seeing his numb, colorless expression, Pan Yun knew he had no interest in how the common people of this land lived. She turned instead to the Ouchi clan.

"I heard that the head of your Ouchi clan has only one son, and that he is still young. How old is he this year?"

Ouchi Hiromi's face tightened, every hair on his body standing on end. "What are you trying to do?"

Pan Yun smiled. "I am merely curious. If his only son died, whom would your Ouchi clan choose as the next heir? Or if Ouchi Norihito died now, could his young only son hold up the Ouchi clan?

"I heard that in your Japan, powerful retainers often rule as regents while their