Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Zhou Wenqing looked up and glanced out the window.

His mission to Qi had taken several days, and given that he still needed to recover, the journey, which should have taken a maximum of three months, had already been half a month since he left Hangu Pass and arrived at the first city.

Even if General Wang Jian's progress is slow, his conquest of cities and territories should be more than halfway done by now.

Once they leisurely returned to Xianyang... what's the point of Han Chen?

I'm afraid even Han Ting has been overturned by him!

Zhou Wenqing's gaze returned to the elegant gentleman before him, who was calmly picking up his pen.

I just hope that as he travels eastward, what he sees and feels firsthand will help him to see things more clearly, and that he won't hate himself too much when the time comes.

As for not hating... that's impossible.

Because he will automatically maximize his hatred level.

Although this document wasn't intended to force him to keep his promise, he would still make a big deal out of it.

—Just to save Han Fei's life.

If news of Han's demise reached him en route, he would slam the written agreement on the table, feigning coercion.

While Han Fei was still in disbelief, Zhou Wenqing would lay bare his selfish schemes and calculations, revealing them completely, without reservation, and even embellishing them, so that Han Fei could see them clearly.

There was no way around it; this man was stubborn and inflexible. Preserving Han was his only obsession. He would die nine times over without regret. Suddenly learning that his last plan had failed, that Han had perished, and that he had been kept in the dark and hadn't had time to do anything, he was likely to resent him. In a moment of despair, it was not impossible for him to sacrifice himself for his cause.

Therefore, Zhou Wenqing wanted Han Fei to transfer all his resentment onto himself during that period when he would never be rational, to make him suppress this anger, this unwillingness, and even hatred, so that he would live on until he returned to Qin.

And then... it's up to the king.

The reason for Han's survival or demise was clear to Han Fei more than anyone else after today's debate. He knew that it was too late to reverse the situation, and at most he could only blame himself for being ignorant and resentful of his own deep scheming.

As long as he ignites hatred to the fullest extent, Han Fei will not have time to blame the king.

Therefore… with Your Majesty’s charisma, subduing Han Fei is merely a matter of time, Zhou Wenqing was very confident.

At worst, he could deliberately submit more memorials that would put him in the line of fire in court, so that Han Fei could publicly humiliate him and vent his anger. In time, he would naturally let it go.

In the end, he had to shoulder everything alone!

Zhou Wenqing even secretly rejoiced that he was glad he hadn't let 007 completely cure his mental illness back then.

Otherwise, given his elaborate scheme, if he were in good health, even if Han Fei realized what was happening, he would probably be so angry that he would take action.

Speaking of 007, I suddenly miss him a little.

I'll go to the system space tonight and learn how to play chess.

Han Fei had been longing to play a game of chess with him, but unfortunately he hadn't been able to. Since the two were still getting along well, he would play a game with him to his heart's content as a way of making up for it.

It remains to be seen whether Han Fei will show him mercy, considering that they are evenly matched.

Your Majesty, I have done so much for you, and I wonder if you have calmed down now?

the answer is negative.

At this moment, Xianyang Palace was shrouded in darkness and the oppressive atmosphere made it hard to breathe.

The courier from Hangu Pass rushed the news with utmost speed, covering 600 li. Although it was a day slower than the secret report from the imperial guards, the seven words "Zhou Neishi was assassinated and died" still shocked the entire court.

The King of Qin's furious outburst in the court that day still makes the court officials tremble with fear at the mere mention of it; everyone is silent as a cicada in winter, not daring to utter a single unnecessary word.

Ying Zheng immediately ordered a thorough investigation.

The investigation report indicated that the attackers were all dressed in tattered clothes, resembling mountain bandits, without armor, and armed only with hoes and sticks, seemingly without any strategy.

But everyone in the hall knew in their hearts that this was no ordinary banditry.

The Xiaoshan Mountains were notorious for bandits, and the ambush could not be stopped despite repeated crackdowns. The person behind the operation must have bribed habitual bandits, taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain and the patrol rules of the garrison, to transport logs and rocks at night, thus making the ambush so secret and silent.

But... the trail went cold.

The corpses of these villains were found not far from where they attacked Zhou Wenqing's delegation. Some had been drugged and had their throats slit, while others had died from poisoning, bleeding from all seven orifices. Without exception, even their faces had been disfigured.

When the news reached the imperial court, the entire hall was in an uproar.

In particular, the officials of the Inner Historian's Office were heartbroken when they thought of their former superior's misfortune. Many of them shed tears in court, knelt down and kowtowed, begging the king to investigate thoroughly and seek justice for Inner Historian Zhou.

Doctor Wei was on leave that day, but he heard the terrible news that very night, and was so shocked that he dropped the books he was holding to the ground.

This old man was always upright and incorruptible, and would never violate the law. Despite the late hour, he rode straight to the palace and knocked on the palace gates to request an audience.

The palace attendants, unable to dissuade him, reported to the king. He had just met the king and, without even apologizing, his beard and hair stood on end, his voice resounding like iron, each word firm and unyielding:

"Your Majesty, I implore you to investigate this thoroughly! Zhou Neishi was upright and dedicated to his duties, yet he suffered this tragic fate. There must be a treacherous person behind this! If the mastermind is not brought to justice, how can we console the deceased, how can we uphold the order of the court! I am willing to accept the order to assist in the investigation, even at the cost of my life!"

Of course, the king did not punish him, and even allowed him to conduct a thorough investigation.

However, the perpetrators were cautious and left no trace, making a thorough investigation extremely difficult and resulting in a long period of no progress.

Although some court officials appeared indignant, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief—the longer it dragged on, the easier it would be for the case to be dropped.

But they ultimately underestimated the King of Qin's wrath.

Ying Zheng suddenly issued an order: Suppress bandits throughout the entire territory!

Wei Liao personally donned armor and led his troops to wipe out bandits everywhere. In a short time, the banditry within the Qin territory was completely eradicated, and even those officials who secretly colluded with mountain bandits and acted in concert with them were successively exposed.

Regardless of whether they are directly related to the assassination of Zhou Neishi, they should all be arrested and handed over to Li Si for severe interrogation.

Wei Liao knew his limits. Those he could expose were people with a history of bad deeds and were not exactly clean, and they did not involve the core forces deep within the court.

As a result, Li Si was exceptionally "confident" when handling cases.

Or rather, he only imposed sentences without conducting trials.

The anger and anxiety that had been building up inside finally found an outlet. There was no need to suppress my own rage anymore; it was time for others to bleed!

Inside the prison of the Court of Justice, the sounds of torture and interrogation never ceased day and night, accompanied by cries of agony, creating a chilling and sinister atmosphere.

Li Si and Wei Liao, one working inside and the other outside, took advantage of the anti-bandit storm to follow the clues and uncover many strongholds where court officials and nobles kept assassins and privately trained soldiers. They then labeled them as bandits and arrested and killed them all, causing bloodshed to permeate Xianyang.

Even though the courtiers knew perfectly well that those who were beheaded were their own trusted confidants and private soldiers, not bandits, not one of them dared to stand up and cry injustice, let alone utter a single dissent in court.

The people are already dead. Who would dare to seek justice for a group of "bandits"? Wouldn't that be an admission of guilt and a death sentence?

Many shrewd courtiers were secretly delighted.

The more decisively the king suppresses bandits and arrests people on a large scale, the more it proves that he can only clear out the branches and will not really touch the "main trunk".

It was merely sacrificing a group of trusted henchmen who could be easily replaced given time, yet it was enough to vent the king's raging fury, quell the mystery, and prevent further investigation. Such a deal couldn't be more worthwhile.

Thus, a somber atmosphere descended upon the Qin state, yet everyone cheered.

Even the common people, seeing the soldiers who came to escort them, showed no fear. On the contrary, they hated the people who were about to be imprisoned to the bone, spitting and cursing them repeatedly. Even after the soldiers had gone far away, they would still spit on them fiercely.

It was only because those people were the lackeys of powerful people who bullied others and the local bullies who ran rampant in the countryside.

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The last chapter of the bonus chapter is almost finished, but after I revise it and post it, and then wait for approval, it might be past midnight again. Let's all read it together tomorrow morning. Getting enough sleep is good for your hair. (´；ω；`)

I usually update twice a day, and occasionally I'll add more. This extra chapter about the sky might be quite long if I were to write it, so I'd like to ask for everyone's opinions. There are two options.

Firstly, I will add more chapters in the future and continue updating the Sky Curtain side story series.

Secondly, as always, I will update the main text when I add extra chapters, and I will update this extra chapter after the entire story is finished.

Please leave your choice of which option you prefer in the comments below that section. I'll check which section gets the most comments tomorrow and then choose that option. Thank you all for your support! (￣▽￣) ノ