At the beginning of chapter 6 of A Single Shard, Tree-ear receives some very exciting news. One of the boys congregated at the wine shop tells him that a royal emissary is coming to Ch'ulp'o. He'll also be visiting Kangjin, a region further to the south renowned for its pottery.

A royal emissary is someone sent by a king or queen on a mission, so it's clear to Tree-ear and the other boys that this is a very big deal indeed.

Tree-ear manages to figure out pretty quickly the reason for the royal emissary's imminent arrival: he's on a tour to assign pottery commissions for the palace. Kang the potter is determined to get one of those lucrative assignments; no wonder he's smiling when Tree-ear sees him at the wine shop.

Min is also keen to get one of the royal commissions. In fact, he needs one pretty badly. The problem with Min is that though he's the best potter around, he's such a perfectionist that he takes a long time to make his pottery, and this, in turn, makes it hard for him to earn a decent living. Min desperately needs a royal commission to get him back on track. The question is, will he be given one?