Against the Current

At the mention of Pan Yun, the Emperor's head ached too—a physiological headache.

He could not help rubbing his temple.

Xue Shao lowered his eyes. He knew precisely because of this that he had not mentioned Pan Yun's name, leaving it for Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing to bring up.

Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing did not know what lay beneath it. They exchanged a glance, then both lowered their heads.

The Emperor let out a breath, his fingers tapping the desk irritably. "Her, huh~~"

The expression on Wang Zhen's face had long since been wiped clean. He shifted his feet lightly and quietly withdrew. Before long, he brought up a cup of tea and replaced the cold tea bowl before the Emperor.

The Emperor took it casually and sipped it. The temperature was neither too hot nor too cold, just right. His mood settled somewhat, and he simply skipped over Pan Yun, carefully asking about the location of the silver mine and the forces controlling it.

Chen Liutao then presented a map they had drawn. As for the forces in Japan, they had investigated quite a bit, but the person who knew them best was certainly Xue Shao.

Xue Shao glanced at them in surprise, then lowered his eyes and answered the question.

The more detailed his answer became, the more turbulent and conflicted the officials' hearts grew.

Once he had finished, an artisan came forward excitedly, carrying a basin of water to report.

Inside were crushed and washed ores. Their fractured surfaces revealed glimpses of grayish-white silver. The artisan said, "This is the piece with the highest silver content I have ever seen. It only needs a little refining before silver can be extracted."

The Emperor rose to his feet and stared excitedly at the basin.

Unable to