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

Ji Wuye sat imposingly on the large seat, his fierce eyes fixed on Mo Ya below.

"Han Fei is back?"

Dressed in black, the handsome and well-built Mo Ya replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Yes, General."

"You said he went to Zilan Pavilion with a stranger? Who is that person?"

"Your subordinate is unaware, Bai Feng and Ying Ge have already gone to the secret vault to check, and they will be able to..."

Before Mo Ya could finish speaking, Ying Ge and the handsome, elegant, and slightly immature Bai Feng appeared in the main hall.

Ji Wuye looked at the three princes and asked, "Have you found out yet?"

Yingge lowered her brows and said, "We've found out. The person who accompanied Han Fei and entered Zilan Pavilion is named Cao Ze. He used to be a lecturer at the Handan Hundred Schools Forum..."

Ji Wuye suddenly stood up and stared directly at his trusted subordinate. "Are you sure it's Cao Ze? Isn't he dead?"

The jade tiger, which had been leisurely swirling a bronze wine glass nearby, stopped, raised its large head, and its small eyes darted around.

Mo Ya, Bai Feng, and Ying Ge all looked at Ji Wuye with some surprise, wondering why the cunning and shrewd Ji Wuye cared so much about the unrelated Cao Ze.

Bai Feng replied crisply, "Reporting to the general, it is indeed Cao Ze, just like the portrait in the collection of Bai Niao."

Parrot and Black Crow remained silent.

Ji Wuye waved his hand, "Go down."

Mo Ya, Bai Feng, and Ying Ge disappeared silently from the main hall.

Ji Wuye glanced at the jade tiger, who had put down its wine cup and was playing with gold coins.

"Tiger, what do you think?"

Emerald Tiger twisted his almost invisible neck and chuckled, "General, are you asking about Han Fei or Cao Ze?"

"Tell me your thoughts."

Ji Wuye leaned back on his wide seat, his large hands mercilessly ravaging the beautiful concubine presented by the Jade Tiger.

Jade Tiger smiled and said, "Although Han Fei is a genius, a few years have passed and the country has changed drastically. The royal family's influence has almost disappeared, and there is no chance of revival."

Ji Wuye smiled cruelly, "If he hadn't run away so fast back then, I would have killed him."

He hoped that the crown prince on the throne in the future would be a useless one, not a talented but uncontrollable one.

Jade Tiger flattered, "General, you are the heaven of Korea. As long as you wish, the night will always shroud Korea. Who would dare to rebel?"

Three or four years ago, the King of Han supported Jinglun Jun to test Ji Wuye.

At Ji Wuye's behest, he competed in extravagance with King Han's younger brother, Lord Jinglun.

With gold and jade as houses, pearls as roads, and brocade as firewood, he squandered all of Jinglun Jun's family fortune in less than ten days, even buying up his fiefdom, which drove Jinglun Jun to hang himself.

This removed an obstacle for Ji Wuye, served as a warning to everyone in Han who dared to harbor other intentions, and left the King of Han with a bitter pill to swallow.

From then on, he became Ji Wuye's confidant and was promoted by Ji Wuye to be one of the four fierce generals of the Nightfall.

However, he vaguely sensed that Ji Wuye's purpose in promoting him was more to restrain Bai Yifei and Madam Mingzhu.

Recalling Bai Yifei's actions last year, instructing the general to search for the He Shi Bi jade and hinting at winning him over, Jade Tiger secretly broke out in a cold sweat.

If Ji Wuye were to discover even the slightest hint of disloyalty in him, he might very well be refined into corpse oil.

Ji Wuye was not pleased by Fei Cuihu's flattery. Instead, his face darkened: "Hmph! That old bastard Zhang Kaidi is getting more and more unruly. Relying on his family's five generations of prime ministers of Han, he dares to go against me and promote his own people."

Jade Tiger sneered, "General, should we have someone take care of him?"

Ji Wuye kicked away the beautiful woman who was massaging his legs, and tapped his fingers on the armrest.

Meiji groaned, suffering internal injuries, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, but she dared not cry out in pain.

"Not now..."

Ji Wuye rejected this tempting offer.

Killing Zhang Kaidi is not difficult.

However, killing Zhang Kaidi would be tantamount to breaking ties with the King of Han and all the nobles of Han, which would be of no benefit to him and would only make him countless enemies.

Therefore, assassination is not the way to kill Zhang Kaidi.

"Military pay..." Ji Wuye murmured to himself.

Bai Yifei, that red-skinned monkey, has already agreed to cooperate. It seems he can use this to do some tampering, thereby removing Zhang Kai from the position of prime minister and replacing him with one of his own.

Jade Tiger glanced at the listless beauty on the ground and thought to himself what a pity, since he had spent dozens of gold coins to carefully select her.

How many is this already...? The general is such a spendthrift. Do you think it's easy for him to earn money?

“That Cao Ze…” Ji Wuye pondered, “Tiger, is there any way to get him to serve this general?”

He was lacking talents like Cao Ze, and when he learned that Cao Ze was not dead and was still in Xinzheng, he couldn't resist the urge to recruit him.

Jade Tiger suddenly felt a sense of crisis. Based on his understanding of Ji Wuye, this was...

"Have!"

Even if he guessed Ji Wuye's thoughts, he dared not say anything more.

"What method? Tell me quickly."

Jade Tiger chuckled, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Treat them to a meal, behead them, or take them in as dogs!"

Ji Wuye became interested; he was a rough and impulsive person to begin with. "How so?"

Jade Tiger said sinisterly, "Invite him to the General's Mansion and let him choose between beheading and becoming a dog."

Although he made a lot of money reselling Cao Ze's "Journey to the West", it did not stop him from sending Cao Ze to his death.

Based on his limited understanding of Cao Ze, he knew that such a person could not be a dog, so he should just die.

Ji Wuye frowned. He liked being straightforward and simple, but that didn't mean he was stupid.

The fact that Cao Ze was able to survive the assassination attempt by the Luo Wang organization demonstrates that he was quite capable.

Furthermore, he knows more than Emerald Tiger.

Cao Ze lectured at the Hundred Schools Forum in Handan for a year, and it can be said that most of the disciples of the Hundred Schools had attended his lectures and had a certain teacher-student relationship with him.

More importantly, he learned from the intelligence brought back by Yingge that Gongsun Long, the leader of the Mohist School and the head of the School of Names, had a very close relationship with Cao Ze.

In addition, there were a bunch of disciples from various schools.

If he were to host a banquet at the general's mansion, offering beheadings and taking in servants, it would be fine if Cao Ze agreed to be a servant.

If he disagreed, he would be put on the fire, and whether or not Cao Ze's dog head was chopped off, it would be trouble for him, and a big trouble at that.

The masters who can spout nonsense, the Mohists who can fight...

Ji Wuye got a headache just thinking about it.

"This won't work, let's try another way."

Jade Tiger said with some regret, "Then the general will have to wait a little longer."

"Ok?"

Unlike Bai Yifei, Jade Tiger didn't dare to keep things a secret.

"As long as they are human, what they love is nothing more than power, fame, sex, and wealth. As long as we cater to their desires and use coercion and enticement, we can make them serve us."

Ji Wuye nodded in deep agreement.

"Here's what we'll do: have someone contact Cao Ze and see if he's greedy for money and lustful, or if he's power-hungry and seeking fame. As long as it's not excessive, I can satisfy all his desires."

Jade Tiger had already chosen someone in mind and respectfully replied, "Yes."

Xinzheng, the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Inside the study, the candlelight was dim and flickering.

A person hidden in the shadows said hoarsely, "Han Fei is back."

With his white hair and beard, the elderly Zhang Kaidi simply gave a faint "hmm," as Han Fei's return was within his expectations.

Is there anything else?

The person in the shadows remained silent for a long time, then said, "There is still someone who should have died but hasn't."

"who is it?"

"Cao Ze, a descendant of military strategists."

Zhang Kai put down the scroll, looked up into the shadows, and asked, "Cao Ze? Are you sure it's him?"

"It's him."

Zhang Kai half-closed his eyes and said, "I understand."

The person in the shadows did not leave. "Prime Minister Zhang, I have given you a lot of information. My sincerity is evident, and you should be able to feel it. Why not consider cooperating? Ji Wuye has malicious intentions towards you."

Zhang Kaidi said calmly, "The Zhang family has served the King of Han for generations, and only the King of Han."

"……Understood."

The mysterious figure in the shadows ultimately chose to give up.

He slowly left the study, his figure and face obscured by the moonlight as he wore a black robe.

He looked up at the bright moonlit bay, his previously hoarse voice gone, replaced by a magnetic quality, "King Han..."

The man in black disappeared into Zhang Kaidi's mansion.

Zhang Kai slowly rose and stood by the window, looking at the deep night. He knew that after Han Fei returned, this person would not come again, nor would he dare to come again.

……

Inside the Purple Orchid Pavilion, Han Fei's eyes widened, and only two words remained in his mind—"That's it?"

Zi Nu chuckled and said, "Princess Hong Lian does indeed like 'Dream of the Red Chamber'."

After she finished speaking, she couldn't help but glance at Cao Ze.

She also likes "Dream of the Red Chamber," and now that Cao Ze is in her grasp, it would be an injustice not to squeeze out all the good stuff he has in his book.

Cao Ze couldn't help but shiver, thinking to himself, "It's getting colder and colder; it's probably going to snow."