People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

"Brother Han, are you short of money?"

Han Fei rubbed his head, which was feverish from the cold. He regretted not borrowing some of his savings from his younger sister.

The girl was very disappointed.

I thought I'd run into some big spenders, but they turned out to be two poor but well-off young men.

……

Chapter 234 Everything for My Sister

Han Fei was not the type to put on a brave face when he was not.

No money is no money.

He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out an exquisite gemstone necklace.

The brightly lit hall of Zilan Pavilion reflected the dazzling light of the gemstone necklace, instantly attracting the girl's attention.

Cao Ze was surprised when he saw the gemstone necklace.

Between a pair of turquoise jade pendants is a sapphire the size of a chicken egg.

He suddenly remembered that this was the necklace that Han Fei had pawned to the tavern owner to buy wine when he returned to Xinzheng in the original story.

Of course, that's not important. What's important is that, if he remembers correctly, the necklace seems to have been given to Han Fei by Honglian.

Wow, good grief, brother-in-law, that's not fair.

Is this necklace enough?

Han Fei felt a pang of regret; this was probably the only thing of value he owned.

However, in order to find out why his sister came to Zilan Pavilion, in order to investigate the purpose of the Guigu Sect members behind Zilan Pavilion, in order to...

Never mind, none of that matters. Let's drink first!

The girl beamed, "Enough, enough, young master."

Based on her discerning eye while entertaining guests at Zilan Pavilion, this necklace was worth at least twenty gold coins, and that was an underestimation.

Cao Ze said calmly, "Brother Han, I really like this necklace."

Han Fei was slightly taken aback, looking at Cao Ze with a sense of foreboding.

"Brother Cao, you mean..."

"Give it to me, it's on me tonight, Brother Han, eat and drink as you please."

Cao Ze gave Han Fei a serious look.

Han Fei hesitated for a moment, feeling as if he had forgotten something.

He couldn't quite withstand Cao Ze's eager gaze. He touched his slightly feverish forehead, realizing he would need to recuperate for a while to recover from his cold.

"Alright, then I'll give it to Brother Cao."

The young woman was disappointed again, but she kept quiet, as it was a big no-no to interrupt the conversation between distinguished guests.

Cao Ze touched the sapphire necklace; it felt quite nice.

He chuckled and put it in his arms, thinking that it would be very interesting to give it to Princess Honglian.

Han Fei grinned, seeing Cao Ze's smug expression.

Since Brother Cao is treating, he should have a good drink tonight.

When he inquired about Zilanxuan, the first thing he asked about was the wine.

I've heard that the orchid wine made here during the Cold Dew season is exceptional.

In just a few months, the price of the wine rose from one jin (500 grams) of gold to one jin (500 grams) of gold per jar, and he had hardly ever drunk such expensive wine.

"Bring me ten jars of your best wine!"

The young lady smiled and said, "Alright, gentlemen, please come upstairs."

Cao Ze paused, then said with concern, "Brother Han, you've just caught a cold. Drinking like this... isn't very good."

He didn't want Han Fei to die before achieving his goals.

Han Fei glared at Cao Ze, "Brother Cao, you're not broke either, are you?"

Cao Ze grinned, "Then Brother Han, have some more to drink. Tonight, I'll risk my life to keep you company."

Han Fei clapped his hands: "That's good!"

After leading Cao Ze and Han Fei into the elegant room, the young woman went out to see Zi Nu.

Such a generous guest usually requires Sister Zi Nu to make arrangements personally.

In the elegant pavilion on the third floor, Zi Nu was burning incense. Compared to the bustling atmosphere on the first and second floors, this place was quite quiet.

The girl whispered from outside the door, "Sister Zi Nu, two distinguished guests have arrived. They have requested the best private room and ten jars of Cold Dew Orchid Wine."

"One of them was surnamed Cao, and the other was surnamed Han. They were well-dressed, but they were completely unfamiliar to me."

Zi Nu had just lifted her sleeves to reveal her snow-white wrist when she heard this and stopped.

"Aren't they all young, handsome, and eloquent?"

If someone surnamed Cao is with someone surnamed Han, it's very likely that they are Cao Ze and Han Fei, whom she saw upstairs today.

The girl thought to herself, "I didn't see anything special about their speech; they just seemed a bit like the poor guys I'd met in Xinzheng."

Well, distinguished guests are different. When it comes to distinguished guests, this is called being unconventional, down-to-earth, and unrestrained.

"Yes, Sister Zi Nu."

Zi Nu suppressed the slight excitement in her heart.

Before she could even go looking for him, Cao Ze arrived.

It seems her efforts in Handan were not in vain.

"You may go down now. I will personally go and entertain our distinguished guest in a little while."

Zi Nu's magnetic voice reached the girl's ears, which surprised her greatly. She hadn't expected that Sister Zi Nu would personally entertain her.

She remembered that a few days ago, Liu Yi, a high-ranking official of the imperial court, came to Zilan Pavilion, but Sister Zi Nu did not show much emotion, let alone personally entertain him.

"Ok."

The girl couldn't help but speculate about Cao Ze and Han Fei's identities.

Although that man surnamed Cao was calm and composed, his status was probably not high, and Sister Zi Nu would certainly not personally come out to entertain him.

The man surnamed Han seemed shy and embarrassed, and even offered his necklace as collateral.

But her understated, cultivated air of nobility could not escape her notice.

Furthermore, given that his surname is Han and that Sister Zi Nu values ​​him, she is almost certain that this young man surnamed Han must be a prince of the royal family.

Therefore, it is only natural that Sister Zi Nu would personally entertain them.

Wei Zhuang stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall, his gaze indifferent.

Zi Nu stood up, passed by Wei Zhuang, and chuckled, "Haven't you been keeping an eye on Ninth Prince Han Fei? He's back now, downstairs. Don't you want to see him?"

Wei Zhuang said calmly, "The time is not right yet. It makes no difference whether we meet or not."

Zi Nu's lips curled slightly, her purple eyes filled with a gentle smile.

“Then I will go see Mr. Cao Ze.”

Wei Zhuang said, "Don't get involved."

Zi Nu paused slightly, "Why?"

"He is not someone you can rely on."

"Then who is it?"

Wei Zhuang felt uneasy. On the sword rack, the Shark Tooth Sword, which resembled a multi-functional peeler—with its front edge for peeling fruit and cutting vegetables, and its back edge for scraping fish scales and opening bottle caps—trembled slightly and emitted a soft sword hum.

"With winter approaching, both Qin and Zhao are inclined to cease hostilities and negotiate peace, so he is very likely to return to Handan."

Zi Nu smiled and said, "Since we've come all this way, there's no reason for us to leave now."

Wei Zhuang remained noncommittal; it was only with Zi Nu that he would say a few more words.

If it were anyone else, even if they died right in front of him, he wouldn't give them a second glance, let alone utter a single word.

Zi Nu left the elegant pavilion and passed by Nong Yu's room.

She knocked gently on the door, and Wanrou's Xiao Hongyu tiptoed to the door to open it.

She lowered her voice and said, "Sister Zi Nu, Nong Yu has gone to sleep."

Zi Nu's originally smiling face turned cold and aloof.

Three days ago, Liu Yi, the Left Sima, who was drinking and listening to music at Zilan Pavilion, suddenly lost his temper for some unknown reason, which frightened Nongyu, who was playing the zither, and made her feel uneasy.

"Let her rest. Go find Cai Die and come with me to entertain the guests."

Xiao Hongyu asked in surprise, "Who is it?"

She couldn't figure out who in Xinzheng could be treated like this by Sister Zi Nu.

Zi Nu smiled mysteriously: "You know her, go quickly."

"Oh, okay, Sister Zi Nu."

Hongyu, filled with questions, called Caidie out of the house, and together they followed Sister Zinu to the elegant room on the second floor.

Inside the elegant room, Han Fei, disregarding his cold, drank wine in large gulps.

Cao Ze's lips twitched slightly. "Brother Han, drink slowly, no one's going to steal it from you."

Han Fei gulped down another cup. "Wow! Good wine! Smooth but not strong, perfect for a patient like me who has caught a cold."

After catching a cold, he knew that drinking strong liquor was too harmful, and other kinds of liquor were tasteless. Since he rarely came across a liquor he liked, he naturally wanted to drink a few more glasses.

Cao Ze's eyelids twitched slightly. He hadn't expected his brother-in-law to be so petty. Without saying a word, he slurped down his drink.

He needs to find Zi Nu right away; if she's not here, he's going to have to pay a hefty bill tonight.