Chapter Nineteen: Nine Layers of Silver

The warning clang of the copper bell echoed throughout the entire mining site. Shen Jifeng rushed out of the watchhouse and headed straight for the mine entrance.

The two miners on guard were using all their strength to turn the windlass.

“Hurry, help out!”

At Shen Jifeng’s command, more hands joined in.

One by one, four men climbed out from the mine shaft. The first to emerge was Old Zhang, followed by Skinny Monkey, Dong Yang, and Wei Xiao.

Old Zhang was supported by Wei Xiao, his lips tinged blue, clearly suffering from the cold. Skinny Monkey collapsed onto the ground, gasping heavily, cursing, “Damn it, we almost died down there!”

Dong Yang approached Shen Jifeng and whispered, “Princess, the mine tunnel is flooded; we can’t explore it again in the short term.”

For a moment, Shen Jifeng’s face turned even paler than the four men’s.

Old Zhang gasped for breath, speaking haltingly, “Princess, there’s good news.” Raising his hand, he revealed a palm-sized stone to everyone.

The bluish-gray ore shimmered with a metallic luster under the sunlight. Shen Jifeng ran her fingertip over the rough texture of the stone’s surface; the coldness sent her heartbeat racing like a frightened deer.

“Quick, send it to the smelting workshop!”

“No,” Old Zhang corrected her, “to the ore washing workshop.”

The ore washing workshop was overseen by the seasoned craftsman Chen Sanli. He dropped the ore into a stone mortar and swung an iron pestle repeatedly, pounding it. The rocks gradually turned into fine powder, which was sifted through a sieve. Larger particles were pounded again and sifted repeatedly until all the ore became powder.

An assistant beside him mixed the powder with clean water.

“Onto the shaking table!”

Chen Sanli scooped the sediment at the bottom of the trough onto a camphor wood sluice. As the sluice shook rhythmically, heavier mineral powders gradually separated into layers within the grooves. Suddenly, the old craftsman’s calloused fingers stopped at a streak shimmering with metallic light. “Bring the assay stone.”

An apprentice handed over a black stone slab. Chen San scraped off a small amount of the mineral powder and scraped it alongside a standard silver needle on the slab. The silver needle’s scratch was pure white like frost, while the mineral powder’s scratch glimmered faintly with silver. Chen San observed carefully and nodded slightly. “This powder is good; the silver content should be high.”

Everyone’s faces lit up with joy. Chen Sanli said, “Tell the smelting workshop to prepare the furnace.”

***

“Ah-choo!” Old Zhang sneezed loudly. Only then did Shen Jifeng realize the four men were still wearing wet clothes.

“I was too anxious. You all go change.” She turned to Jin Chai and instructed her to arrange for hot water at the dining hall, prepare baths for everyone, and brew extra ginger soup.

Old Zhang sniffled. Being older, his body wasn’t as resilient as the young men’s; he felt his nose clogging. “Princess, Chen Sanli’s judgment won’t be wrong. Rest assured. What we should worry about now is the flooded mine tunnel below—when can we send men down again?”

Seeing the ore gave Shen Jifeng a sense of reassurance, and her earlier urgency faded. “Since the main vein has been found, waiting a few days before going down again isn’t a problem. I promised the Emperor Grandfather silver production by the third month. As long as it’s smelted, that counts. The rest of the time, we can still extract more ore.”

Old Zhang, holding back discomfort, sniffed unwillingly, “The main vein hasn’t been found yet. Even if ore comes out, it can’t be smelted immediately.”

Shen Jifeng was dumbfounded. “Why not? That ore can.”

Dong Yang and Skinny Monkey both widened their eyes in surprise.

“Because we were eager to know the purity of the silver, we didn’t use the conventional smelting method. Normally, ore powder is mixed with cooked glutinous rice to form kiln pellets. These pellets must dry in the shade for at least fifteen days before being smelted.”

Old Zhang studied Shen Jifeng’s expression carefully before choosing his words.

“The ore you brought only proves the vein’s existence. The exact location still requires actual digging. It might be close and found in a month, or it could take half a year without success.”

“So I was happy for nothing?” Shen Jifeng pouted, showing a hint of dejection.

Wei Xiao restrained a smile. Having seen her many times, this was the first time he had witnessed such childlike vulnerability.

“Well, not exactly,” before Wei Xiao could think of comforting words, Shen Jifeng reassured herself.

“Finding ore at least proves we’re heading in the right direction.”

Wei Xiao looked over the crowd at Shen Jifeng. Her ability to always find the positive side was truly enviable.

Jin Chai returned from the dining hall with hot water ready, and the four men went to bathe one after another.

The morning mist had yet to lift when cheers erupted from the smelting workshop.

“Seven black, eight gray, nine times turning blue; at ninety-five percent purity, the color remains clear.” Old Zhang’s trembling hands held a soybean-sized silver bead that quivered in his palm. “It’s as pure as nine layers, Princess, as pure as nine layers!”

***

Shen Jifeng took the silver bead. In the morning light, it gleamed with a cool radiance, reflecting brilliant clarity in her eyes.

“Ninety percent purity?” Her smile stretched wide enough to hide her teeth.

Old Zhang nodded heavily, his deeply lined face breaking into a smile. “I’ve worked in the mines over thirty years and never seen ore of this quality!”

Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside the smelting workshop. Wei Xiao burst in, damp from the mist. “Princess, the water level in the mine tunnel has begun to recede!”

Shen Jifeng tucked the silver bead into her pouch. “I want to see for myself.”

Looking into the entrance, the water had vanished from the tunnel. Skinny Monkey squatted at the opening, tossing a stone in.

A crisp “clack” echoed through the deep mine passage. Skinny Monkey was baffled. “The water really receded. Strange though, given yesterday’s amount, it should have taken three days or more.”

“I read in the Ministry of Works’ records that some mines have special drainage tunnels. Could our silver mine be the same?” Shen Jifeng’s eyes sparkled with eagerness, as if longing to explore further.

Jin Chai, worried Shen Jifeng might impulsively jump into the tunnel, clung tightly to her arm.

Old Zhang noticed Jin Chai’s anxiety. He too didn’t want Shen Jifeng to go down. “Princess, the tunnels are far more complex than the mine maps show. The areas we visited yesterday aren’t even on the maps. The silver mine halted operations for more than twenty years; the maps you have aren’t very reliable. Skinny Monkey and I will redraw a new map for you. By the way, when can the carpenter spirit and water engineer you mentioned earlier arrive?”

Before Old Zhang finished speaking, Dong Yang reported that a man surnamed Li had come to see the Princess outside the mining site.

Shen Jifeng curved her lips into a smile and quickened her pace. “Uncle Li has arrived!”

At the mine’s entrance, besides Li Leqi, there stood the carpenter spirit and water engineer found by King Han in the capital. Coincidentally, the two parties arrived at the same time.

Moreover, King Han thoughtfully sent a guard team of thirty men to accompany Shen Jifeng, who had brought twenty herself. Their numbers were more than sufficient.

Shen Jifeng smiled so broadly she could hardly close her mouth, marveling at her good fortune. The difficulties she had faced earlier seemed like the morning mist in the mountains—vanishing with the rising sun.

Wei Xiao saw Shen Jifeng warmly calling Li Leqi “Uncle Li,” and his eyes glistened with moisture. It was truly him!