I, Am a Living Yama; Empress Advises Me to Stay Calm

Several days had passed since the Great Zhou’s bold announcement.
In the capital of the Ming Dynasty,
fired the first shot, openly questioning the legitimacy of Great Zhou’s so-called silver mine discovery. It listed numerous suspicious points, stirring doubts and suspicion among its readers.
It didn’t take long for
and
to follow suit, echoing the same sentiments.
While the imperial courts of the three great nations remained publicly silent, it didn’t take a seasoned observer to notice what was happening. This was a coordinated strike—a maneuver guided from the shadows by the emperors themselves.
After all, matters like these were best handled by the press. To have their officials speak out directly would have been beneath their status.
The might of the three empires was no trivial thing.
United, they unleashed a storm of public opinion. In no time, skepticism about Great Zhou’s “Silver Mine” swept across the Central Plains. Even those who had previously never heard of it were now well-informed. Peddlers, servants, and street hawkers—all were discussing the issue as if it were common knowledge, despite it having nothing to do with their daily lives.
In a bustling tavern along a busy street in the Ming capital, the air was thick with voices and the clatter of cups.
“Hey, hey, have you heard?” a man shouted over the din. “That
claims they discovered a silver mine. What nonsense is that?”
“Yeah, exactly!” someone chimed in. “Isn’t that paper supposed to be the top paper in the Central Plains? Now they’re a laughingstock.”
“They must think silver mines grow like weeds! As if it’s just lying around waiting to be picked up.”
“Only idiots would fall for something like that.”
The tavern erupted in laughter and heated discussion, cheeks flushed with wine and indignation. The crowd was dismissive, even scornful, of Great Zhou’s report. After all, their beloved
had already published a meticulous breakdown of every questionable detail about the so-called silver mine.
Trust
now? Absurd.
A merchant sitting at a nearby table—his clothing and accent unmistakably Zhou—could no longer stay silent.
“
is respected across nations. Do you really think they’d announce something so monumental without evidence? You’re underestimating them.”
His defense was met with immediate jeers.
“Hah! You believe everything they print?”
“Yeah! Do you even understand what thirty silver mines, each producing fifty thousand catties of silver, would mean?”
“You’re just another fool falling for their fantasy. The mines don’t exist.”
“Haha! Look at this guy—he actually believes it!”
The Zhou merchant’s face turned crimson from embarrassment. He had no rebuttal, no hard facts to counter their ridicule. All he could do was silently hope the
would issue a decisive response.
That paper wasn’t just popular in Great Zhou. It was adored across the Central Plains, even by foreign nobles and royal households. It was the pride of the Zhou people. How could it be allowed to fall into disgrace?
…
Meanwhile, in the streets of the Tang capital, the chatter was just as loud.
“Tsk, tsk. I used to buy the
regularly, but now I see
“Yeah, I’m really disappointed in the Zhou paper.”
“This whole thing might ruin Great Zhou’s reputation. Why fake it? Just admit there’s no mine if there’s no mine.”
“Great Zhou’s just next door. I’ve been there myself. I can’t believe the paper that claims to never lie would stoop this low.”
“You lot are too quick to judge. I can’t believe
, so widely trusted, would publish such a clumsy lie.”
Across the city, the topic dominated every street corner, tea house, and market stall. The storm of public opinion—amplified by the united front of the three empires—had reached its peak. At this point, not knowing about the controversy made you an outcast in any casual conversation.
…
Far to the west, in the heart of Great Zhou’s capital, Luoyang, the scent of spring still lingered in the air as the sun streamed through the high windows of Qianyuan Hall.
Wu Zhao’s expression was calm, but her eyes shimmered with ice.
“So, they’re joining forces to roast Great Zhou over a fire,” she murmured coldly. “It seems Zhu Yuanzhang and the others truly want our Treasure Notes to collapse.”
Yang Yi raised a brow, but said nothing. A small smile played on his lips.
The superiority of Great Zhou’s Treasure Notes was plain for all to see.
If they succeeded, Great Zhou would undoubtedly become the economic center of the Central Plains. They would cast off the shackles of metal currency and usher in a new standard: the Great Zhou Paper Standard.
Paper money offered unmatched advantages over metal coins. His goal had always been to elevate the Treasure Notes to the level of “paper gold”—to build an economic empire with Great Zhou currency at its core.
The potential benefits for the nation were vast.
Zhu Yuanzhang, Li Shimin, and their peers likely understood this. That was why they were willing to cast aside decorum to bring Zhou’s system down.
Yang Yi admired their keen instincts.
But unfortunately for them, they had miscalculated.
He chuckled softly. “Originally, I planned to use the silver mine as a way to stir public attention and pressure the price of silver downward.
“But now, they’ve done the job for us—raising the hype to its peak. All the better. We’ll use this spotlight to showcase our true silver production.
“When the whole world is watching—when speculation reaches its height—that’s when we’ll strike. The moment we reveal our silver output, it’ll shake the market to its core.”
He glanced at the calendar.
“The cargo ships will return in half a month. Why not publish the date in
itself?
“Let everyone see for themselves whether we fabricated this story.”
Wu Zhao gave a faint nod. Though frustration lingered beneath her composed exterior, she couldn’t deny it—this was the perfect counterattack.
She smiled coldly. “I really want to see their expressions at that time.”
Half a day later, the Great Zhou Bao quickly released a special edition in response to the silver mine incident.
There was no elaborate explanation—just a single announcement: a batch of Great Zhou cargo ships, loaded with newly mined silver, would return in half a month.
The news instantly ignited Luoyang.
Countless speculators went wild, frantically dumping the silver they had only just purchased.
This time, Great Zhou’s declaration was nothing short of solemn.
It was almost impossible to fake.
If it turned out to be false, not only would The Great Zhou Bao lose its credibility, but Great Zhou’s national reputation would suffer—and even the Empress’s honor would be stained.
For a time, talk of the silver mining ships returning in half a month spread like wildfire.
Merchants from every nation rushed to deliver the news back home.
…
Ming Dynasty—Fengtian Hall.
“They actually announced the return date of the silver mining ships?”
Zhu Yuanzhang’s eyes bulged in disbelief as he stared at Zhu Biao.
Zhu Biao swallowed hard. His expression was tight.
“Do you think Yang Yi is bluffing? Or… do they really have it?”
“If they truly reveal those silver ships—and the yield is massive—what then?”
The hall fell silent.