Inside the duty room of the Revenue and Expenditure Bureau at the Ministry of Revenue.
The charcoal fire offered a little warmth; human kindness offered a little chill.
For the first few hours, Sun Yuan and Yan Ci took turns throwing out barbs wrapped in courtesy.
To their surprise, Wei Nisheng neither fell into their traps nor took up their challenges.
He simply sat quietly behind the desk by the door, where cold drafts poured straight in.
Page by page, he leafed through the chest of Underlying Accounts someone had deliberately shuffled out of order.
He turned the pages neither quickly nor slowly, spending roughly the same amount of time on each.
Occasionally, he picked up his brush to jot a few words on xuan paper, his handwriting neat, his movements unhurried.
Holding his teacup, Yan Ci exchanged a glance with Sun Yuan.
"My lord." Sun Yuan immediately took his tea and strolled over to Yan Ci's side.
"Heh." Yan Ci spat out a fragment of tea leaf, his lips curling slightly.
"Tch, look at that pose of his. All airs and affectation, still putting on a show.
Look at his eyes, study his expression-who does he think he's performing for?"
"Indeed, my lord." Sun Yuan echoed him with an ingratiating smile.
"A bookworm who compiled histories at the Hanlin Academy, on his first day in the Ministry of Revenue.
He doesn't even recognize all the different categories yet. What could he possibly make of them?
He simply can't bear losing face, so he's forcing himself to keep up appearances.
Just wait. Another hour at most.
He'll either go lodge a complaint or come ask for guidance.
Then we'll give him another velvet-covered nail to swallow and teach him that these waters at the Ministry of Revenue
aren't something