Li Muchen took the golden needles and said, "Thank you."
Jiao Shiniang said nothing; she merely flashed a charming smile and returned to her seat. Li Muchen couldn't help but feel that her smile held a multitude of hidden meanings.
With that matter settled, the focus shifted to the dispute between Jiao Shiniang of Xuancheng and Huang Dingbang of Huizhou. Their conflict centered on the development rights of several ancient trade routes and the contest for the mineral resources nearby. Such conflicts of interest were generally easy to resolve; usually, the disputants would shelve the issue and agree to joint development for mutual profit. Under Shen Bingyuan’s mediation, most problems had been resolved, but the final, lingering conflict concerned one specific mine.
Chapter 67