Qin's Moon: I'm really not the Holy Lord of the Demonic Sect

Yang Che and Liu Yi went to the Prime Minister's residence to pay their respects. As soon as they got off the carriage, they saw a procession of carriages coming from the direction of the palace.

As the Left Sima, Liu Yi naturally recognized the owner of the carriage at first glance.

The King has actually come. Liu Yi was greatly surprised. It was only the second day after Zhang Ping was assassinated, and King Han An had already come to visit in person. The implication of this seemed unusual.

Liu Yi didn't have time to think and went straight to meet him.

At this time, the Zhang family also received the news. Zhang Kaidi, disregarding his old age, was helped out of the mansion gate by his grandson Zhang Liang.

"This old minister Zhang Kaidi greets Your Majesty." Before Zhang Kaidi even approached King Han An's carriage, King Han An had already stepped down from the carriage, with Honglian, dressed in plain clothes, following beside him.

"My lord, please accept my deepest condolences. The assassination of Prime Minister Zhang is a great loss to our state." King An of Han held Zhang Kaidi's arm, his words sincere and his expression moved.

"Zhang Ping was unlucky and failed the king's high expectations. He could no longer serve the country or the king." Zhang Kaidi lost his son in his old age, which was not just a matter of an old man burying his son. Zhang Ping's death was a crisis for the entire family.

With his grandson Zhang Liang still young and himself old, who can uphold the Zhang family's reputation? Especially with Ji Wuye still around, would this general, who has always been at odds with the Zhang family, let go of this opportunity?

If Ji Wuye forces them into a corner, without a leader, the Zhang family's years of hard work will crumble overnight, and they won't even have a chance to escape unscathed.

"Alas." King Han An also sighed deeply, then looked at Liu Yi with some surprise and asked, "Why is the Left Sima here?"

"Your Majesty, I have come to pay my respects to Lord Zhang." Liu Yi had not expected to encounter King Han An in front of the Zhang residence.

He knew that Prince Han An might come to pay his respects to Zhang Ping, but this was only the first day of the new year. Prince Han An had disregarded this special time and come directly to the Zhang family. Besides, even if he didn't consider the special time, given his status, he shouldn't have come on the first day. As the Prince of Han, the fact that he came to pay his respects on the day of Zhang Ping's funeral was already a great honor for the Zhang family.

Liu Yi may seem cruel and tyrannical, but he is actually quite shrewd. Back then, his schemes against Huoyu Manor resulted in him getting rid of his rival in love, winning over the beauty, and gaining military power. Who can say he is not shrewd?

The arrival of Han Wang'an made him realize that the Zhang family might not necessarily decline because of Zhang Ping's assassination.

The fact that King Han visited the temple to offer sacrifices on New Year's Day is a profound and thought-provoking event.

Honglian, who was following Han Wang An, spotted Yang Che with Liu Yi at a glance. She was overjoyed, but then she remembered that she had come with her father to pay respects to Xiao Liangzi's father. She couldn't show her smile, so she quickly suppressed her excitement.

Moreover… Honglian thought, shifting her gaze from Yang Che to Zhang Liang.

At this time, Zhang Liang was only fifteen years old and very handsome. However, he had lost his father and was emaciated. After such a sudden change, this future strategist was already exhausted.

Seeing her former playmate so heartbroken and haggard, Honglian felt a pang of sympathy, even though she couldn't truly understand his pain. This sadness overwhelmed her joy at seeing Yang Che again.

"You've put your heart into this." Han Wang An scrutinized Liu Yi for a moment, then turned his gaze to Yang Che. He realized that perhaps the one who truly cared was Yang Che, not Liu Yi.

Thinking about what Yang Che had done in the chaos last night, Han Wang An's impression of Yang Che improved even more. He was capable and knew when to advance and retreat; such a person was worth making an important use of.

Han Wang An and Hong Lian led the way, with Zhang Kaidi and Zhang Liang accompanying the king, while Liu Yi and Yang Che followed closely behind. The group entered the Prime Minister's residence and headed towards the mourning hall.

After paying respects to the deceased, Liu Yi left first, while Yang Che was kept behind by Han Wang An to talk with Hong Lian and Zhang Liang. As for Han Wang An himself, he walked out of the mourning hall with Zhang Kaidi and walked along the corridor below the hall to the side courtyard.

"The State of Korea cannot be without its Prime Minister." King An of Han, with his back to Zhang Kaidi, remained silent for a long time before revealing another purpose of his trip.

Zhang Kaidi fell silent for a moment. The fact that King Han An had come to pay his respects today was already unusual, and now that King Han An had said this, how could Zhang Kaidi, who had served as the prime minister of Han for twenty years, not understand what King Han An meant?

However, his son had just died. Although there was no custom of a father observing mourning for his son, he could not hastily assume the position of prime minister again so soon after his son's death. It would be too unseemly, and those who did not know the inside story would think that he was greedy for power.

Therefore, Zhang Kaidi chose to remain silent in the face of Han Wang An's invitation, pretending that he had not understood Han Wang An's meaning.

"The Grand General is powerful. Now that the Prime Minister has been assassinated, there is no one in the court who can control the Grand General. If this continues, I fear the country will cease to exist." Zhang Kaidi did not respond, so King Han An could only express his deepest fears.

These were words he was not in a position to say, but in order to get Zhang Kaidi to come out of seclusion and return to the position of prime minister, he had no choice but to tell the truth. If he could not gain Zhang Kaidi's trust, how could he expect Zhang Kaidi to be loyal to him?

"Old Prime Minister, the court needs you, and I need you too."

Zhang Kai thought quickly, and hesitated for a moment. Should he really agree?

Seeing that Zhang Kaidi still remained silent, King Han An had no choice but to raise his stakes again, saying, "I remember Zhang Liang is a year older than Honglian, so he's fifteen this year, right?"

"Yes," Zhang Kaidi replied.

"You've met Liu Yi's nephew, Yang Che. He's eighteen today, and I've already appointed him as an imperial censor. He can take up his post after the New Year," said King Han An.

"We're all getting old. The future of Korea belongs to the young people." Han Wang'an looked at Zhang Kaidi, but then brought up Yang Che.

"Zhang Liang needs to observe a three-year mourning period. After three years, he will be eighteen years old. I can now give Yang Che an important position, and I can do the same for Zhang Liang after three years."

It turns out that King Han An used Yang Che as an example, but his real intention was to target Zhang Liang.

As people get older, they naturally care most about their descendants, and Zhang Kaidi is no exception. Han Wang Anyou felt that his offer was not enough, so he added, "Three years later, Honglian will be sixteen years old, which is also the age for marriage."

Han Wang An's original intention was to promise that Hong Lian could marry Zhang Liang three years later, and Zhang Kaidi clearly understood this meaning.

As a princess, Honglian would be an immense honor to marry any family, but Zhang Kaidi did not necessarily think that such an honor was a good thing.

Although he was loyal to Han and the King of Han, he also had his own understanding of the current situation in the world. Although Qin had not launched a military campaign against Han in recent days, but had been attacking Zhao and Wei, Han's safety was not guaranteed.

Once Qin defeats and subdues the states of Zhao and Wei, the situation of Han will become extremely dangerous.

South Korea's security is not due to its own strength to protect itself, but simply because the Qin state does not want to attack South Korea at the moment.

If Zhang Liang marries Honglian, and if the state of Han is lost, Zhang Liang can survive, but the wealthy princess of Han will have a very difficult time surviving.

In addition, she had watched Honglian grow up and knew her character well. Although Honglian was not arrogant and domineering, she was not gentle and virtuous like a woman from a respectable family. Such a woman was definitely not a good match.

"Time flies so fast. In the blink of an eye, the children have all grown up. I still remember more than ten years ago, when Your Majesty was still the Crown Prince, you went on an expedition to Baiyue. At that time, I was in charge of the rear to gather provisions for Your Majesty. We cooperated very well and conquered Baiyue in one fell swoop." Zhang Kai interrupted King Han An's words.

Knowing he couldn't let King Han An continue, and that once King Han An uttered those words, as a subject, he would have no room to refuse.

When King Han An heard Zhang Kai talk about the past, he realized that Zhang Kai's attitude had changed, and he was overjoyed, thinking that he had moved Zhang Kai with his sincerity.

"Yes, more than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. The old prime minister is still vigorous, while I have become increasingly obese. Old prime minister, the state of Han still needs you." King An of Han said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"Since Your Majesty does not mind my old and frail body, I will go to court after the funeral is over," Zhang Kaidi replied.