The private room fell silent for two breaths.
Ji Yunzhang's fingers paused in midair around his wine cup, while the cheerful expression on Wen Shiheng's face faded a little.
The Southern Border Witch Kingdom.
To the people of Suining Prefecture, that name was far too distant.
In rumor, it was a savage land crawling with poisonous insects and shrouded in miasma, where Witch Gu ran rampant. Though it shared a border with the Great Yu Dynasty, the endless Ten Thousand Demon Mountains stood between them, and there had been little contact over the past century.
Yi Yang's hand paused in midair as he lifted his wine cup.
Border trade, the Southern Border Witch Kingdom, the imperial court.
Those three terms carried a great deal of information when put together. Though he had never dealt with two of those powers, what he had learned before was enough to tell him this was a major development.
He brought the cup to his lips and took a sip, in no hurry to respond.
Ji Yunzhang and Wen Shiheng remained silent as well. All three looked at Lin He, each digesting what they had just heard.
Lin He lifted his wine cup and took a sip, waiting for their reactions.
"President Lin." Yi Yang set down his chopsticks and asked unhurriedly, "If the court intends to trade with the Shaman Kingdom, this can't have come up overnight, can it?"
"You're right, Commander Yi." Lin He set down his cup and leaned forward slightly. "Someone proposed it at court decades ago. But nothing ever came of it."
"Why?" Wen Shiheng asked.
"They couldn't agree on how to divide the profits." Lin He's answer was crisp and direct. "Qing Province is Great Yu's southwestern gateway. Any trade with the Shaman Kingdom has to pass through it.