Lu Zhan said nothing. He tore the paper with the pattern on it to shreds and threw it into the wastebasket.
Duan Ling mulled it over for a moment before understanding dawned on him. "So your imperial decree to inspect Jiangnan is just a cover? The Emperor wants you to secretly investigate King Jin?"
Lu Zhan didn't deny it.
Duan Ling frowned. "Isn't King Jin dead?"
"King Jin is dead, but he still has descendants," Lu Zhan said calmly. "The Emperor's intention is for me to find King Jin's heirs and eliminate any future threats."
Duan Ling was taken aback. "King Jin's heirs?"
"Yes." Lu Zhan nodded. "I initially thought the Emperor's intelligence was mistaken. King Jin died many years ago, and there was never any talk of him leaving behind an heir. That is, until I saw the tattoos on those pirates."
Upon hearing this, Duan Ling's expression turned grave.
"If those pirates are truly connected to King Jin's heir, then that heir is indeed a great threat."
"Yes."
