Zhang Yuelu said calmly, “Superintendent Liu, I will believe you as long as you can explain the whereabouts of the 150,000 Taiping coins.”0

Liu Futong was silent again.0

Zhang Yuelu was not in a hurry. She instructed, “Serve Superintendent Liu some tea so that he has time to think about it slowly.”0

A Daoist priest brought over hot tea on a tray.0

The gaiwan was from the Ecstasy Palace, made of thin porcelain that was as thin as an eggshell and faintly translucent. It also had the words, “Purify the Heart” written on the walls of the bowl.0

At this time, Liu Futong’s heart and state of mind were anything but pure.0

Liu Futong took the gaiwan with trembling hands.0

The lid of the gaiwan symbolized heaven, while the bowl symbolized man, and the saucer symbolized earth. Generally, when drinking tea, one would hold the saucer in one hand and use another hand to hold the lid, so as to skim the tea in the bowl to slowly sip and savor the flavors.0

However, Liu Futong held all three parts of the gaiwan with one hand. He used his pinky and ring finger to support the saucer, his middle finger...0