Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Han Fei and Yao Jia exchanged a glance. Just moments ago, the two had been at loggerheads, neither willing to yield, but now their expressions were strikingly similar: both were utterly astonished, their eyes filled with barely concealed shock.

That's none other than Fusu, the eldest son of the Great Qin!

Even though he was still young and had never held any official position, he was the undisputed number one candidate for the crown prince of Qin. All the civil and military officials in the court respected him and served him with utmost deference.

They were certainly aware of the bond between Zhou Wenqing and his disciple Fusu. Their daily interactions were free of the rigid formalities between ruler and subject, and their words and teachings were relatively casual. But to have the guards knock him unconscious and take him away...

That's so casual!

Moreover, both of them knew perfectly well that the king's secret guards were hidden around the courtyard and had witnessed the whole thing, yet no one stepped forward to stop him. Zhou Wenqing's actions once again severely shattered their perception of him as someone deeply favored by the emperor.

However, it was only the two of them, one of whom had only recently returned to the court and the other who was not yet a Qin official, that made them so surprised. If it were Li Si, Wang Jian, or others, they would certainly remain calm and unsurprised by the same situation.

Oh, Li Si will probably still be indignant—why was he knocked unconscious without a word, and then carried back?

Yao Jia's mind raced the fastest. He felt a slight tingling on his scalp and quickly said, "Zhou Neishi is right. I suddenly feel a toothache, probably because I didn't rest well last night. It's time to go back and rest."

After saying that, he turned and left without looking back.

Zhou Neishi could do such a thing, but Yao Jia didn't think he was in charge, so he decided it was best to leave first.

After he left, Han Fei was left to look at Zhou Wenqing, his eyes gradually revealing increasingly complex emotions: shock, envy, and an inescapable sense of loss.

If this were in South Korea, even setting aside the current King of Han, if a wise new monarch were to be established, which minister in the court would dare to act in this way?

Which prince could so calmly allow his subjects to treat him like this?

The ruler and his ministers trust each other without suspicion; the ministers know the ruler understands, yet still act openly and fearlessly; the ruler sees the ministers' actions without feeling offended or disobedient...

This scene was perhaps Zicheng's way of letting himself see clearly the difference between Qin and the other six states, and the difference in the superiority or inferiority of the relationship between ruler and subject.

Thinking of this, Han Fei felt a slight bitterness in his mouth, a bitterness that spread from the root of his tongue to his throat. He couldn't swallow it down or spit it out. He sighed softly, bowed slightly to Zhou Wenqing, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

Meanwhile, Zhou Wenqing on the other side was completely unaware of the complex emotions swirling in Han Fei's mind.

He was simply angered by Fusu.

After all, it was common for the king to beat Hu Hai in front of him when he acted recklessly. In fact, the king would sometimes send Hu Hai over to "amuse" him. Over time, the king got used to it and didn't think there was anything wrong with disciplining Fusu.

He just wondered, why did everyone suddenly leave?

"Never mind, they're probably all tired by now," Zhou Wenqing shook his head with his hands behind his back and walked towards the main hall.

We can't have everyone who's working take a break.

The mastermind behind the abduction case has not yet been apprehended. Such a systematic modus operandi may very well uncover a deeply entrenched and hidden force behind it, so we cannot afford to be careless in the slightest.

He had to personally analyze the human traffickers' statements, scrutinizing them carefully, hoping to find clues and follow the trail to eradicate this scourge completely.

...dark red cloth strip...Chen County...

……

"Chenjun?"

In the Pei County prison office, Cao Can frowned, staring at the document in his hand verifying identities. He turned one page after another, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

"Chen Commandery, Chen Commandery, and still Chen Commandery..."

He abruptly put down the bamboo slips, looked up at the official below who had spoken, and said in a solemn tone, "Have you verified this repeatedly? Most of these unidentified corpses are actually from Chen Commandery?"

"Reporting to the prison clerk, I have repeatedly examined the bone age, clothing style, and personal belongings, and compared them one by one with the household registration records of the surrounding counties and prefectures. There is no error."

The reporting officer clasped his hands in a low voice and said, "Furthermore, there is another hidden matter. The prisoners rescued from the bandit den in Mangdang Mountain also confessed that most of them were originally from Chenjun, and most of them had lost relatives who had disappeared without a trace. Shortly after they reported this, they were attacked by bandits."

"this……"

Upon hearing this, Cao Shen fell silent and pondered, his heart sinking as he realized that this matter was several times more troublesome than he had anticipated.

Originally, it was just a matter of ordinary banditry in the county. Liu Tingzhang led the soldiers of Pei County to launch a night raid on Mangdang Mountain. His purpose was to test the strength of the bandits, to quell the banditry, and to take a few "eyes" back with him.

Unexpectedly, upon arriving in the mountains, they stumbled upon bandits digging pits in a secluded back hill, wantonly burying the captured women, children, and the elderly alive—an act that was utterly heinous.

Liu, the head of the pavilion, immediately ordered an ambush and annihilation operation. After a fierce battle, all the bandits were captured, and the captured civilians who were still alive were rescued and taken back to the Pei County government office for resettlement.

Later, through interrogation of the captured bandits, Liu Bang discovered the location of their hideout. He then led his troops into the mountains for several days to wipe them out, winning battle after battle. He had already quelled the main bandit threat in Mangdang Mountain and was now leading his troops to search for and eliminate the remaining small groups of bandits in the mountains, aiming to completely eradicate the bandit problem.

Chief Clerk Xiao He oversaw the aftermath at the county office, entrusting all the refugees rescued by Liu Bang to Cao Can for handling and disposal.

Firstly, they carefully screened the rescued prisoners to prevent bandits from infiltrating among them and taking the opportunity to escape punishment.

Secondly, a thorough investigation was conducted into the burial pits in the mountains, the remains of the deceased were counted, their household registrations and places of origin were verified one by one, a register was made, and then documents were sent to each county to notify the families of the deceased to come and collect the bodies for burial, thus fulfilling the proper etiquette of burial.

Unexpectedly, when Cao Can led his men to investigate, they found that the corpse pits in this desolate mountain wilderness were one after another, and the more they dug, the more there were, with a shocking number of remains.

At first, he thought they were just a group of vicious bandits who, after robbing the people of their property, killed them to cover their tracks and destroy the evidence in order to avoid being exposed. They were truly wicked and unforgivable.

Suppressing his anger, he was focused on verifying the household registration and place of origin of these remains as soon as possible, compiling the files and reporting them to Xiao He, determined to severely punish these inhuman thugs to comfort the deceased and appease the villagers.

Unexpectedly, such a hidden story was uncovered.

Having long been involved in criminal justice, Cao Shen knew that ordinary mountain bandits and outlaws robbed passing merchants, people from surrounding counties and villages, and refugees fleeing famine. Their registered residences were likely in various prefectures and counties, and even in Qi, Chu, Qin, and Wei, all over the country.

It is truly strange that they would target almost exclusively the people of Chen County.

In addition to what I just mentioned, most of the captured people from Chen County had lost relatives, and they were attacked by bandits shortly after they reported the incident.

Once or twice could be a coincidence, but when it happens every time, it's as if someone tipped them off in advance, and the moment the victim filed a complaint, the thugs arrived to kill them.

He really couldn't help but overthink it.

Compared to Chen County, Pei County is just a small county. A closer investigation reveals…

Cao Can's eyes flickered slightly, and he tapped the table with his fingertips, remaining silent.

After a long while, he finally stood up slowly, put the documents into his sleeve, and walked towards the inner hall.