The government had always been astonishingly slow when handling matters, especially cases.
And the more widely a case reached, the slower it would be.
So after the Imperial Court reopened and resumed work on the fourth day of the first lunar month, Pan Yun did not hurry to Ji'an to find Magistrate Wu. Instead, she first made a trip to Quanzhou Prefecture and, on the way, left Wang Cong in Quanzhou.
During the New Year, Wang Cong had prayed sincerely and cast a divination for himself. This voyage out to sea was an exceedingly auspicious sign.
Miao Zhen then calculated suitable sailing dates for him based on the celestial signs: between the twenty-first day of the first lunar month and the second day of the second lunar month.
Wang Cong planned to go to Quanzhou Prefecture in advance to make preparations.
Since he was going to sea, naturally he could not keep his eyes fixed solely on the silver from Silver Mountain. Wang Cong was someone who wanted to carve out a sky of his own in maritime trade.
During his half year in Japan, he had done a great deal of research. Among Japan's upper classes, such as the daimyos of various regions, the things their Lineage members loved most were Ming Dynasty books, exquisite silks, porcelain, and gold and silver ornaments.
Of these, books offered the best value for money.
However, they were not willing to pay high prices for just any books. Since Japan was a tributary state of the Ming Dynasty, used Chinese characters as well, and revered Tang and Song culture, there were already quite a few Central Plains books within Japan.
For books brought over to fetch a high price, they either had to be rare copies or important editions. Otherwise, they had to