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

Han Fei, unable to continue his sighs, recalled the young man he and Cao Ze had met in the cold palace of Zheng.

Is he the successor of Guiguzi?

Han Fei hesitated for a moment, suppressing his desire to make contact.

I am about to go to the State of Zhao to attend the ceremony, but now is not the time. I will wait until I return from Zhao.

We can have Brother Cao scout things out with Miss Zi Nu first.

……

Cao Ze thought Honglian would take him to the palace to give lectures, but unexpectedly she asked him to go shopping with her.

Holding various boxes, he felt an urge to run away.

Although there are 70 ways to coax your girlfriend, one is to go shopping, and the rest are 69.

But Honglian clearly doesn't have the awareness of being his girlfriend right now; she only goes shopping with him and doesn't have sex with him.

After buying the last box of shortbread, Honglian took a bite of a candied hawthorn and said, "Let's go back to the palace."

Cao Ze looked at the boxes of various sizes that he was holding, which were almost up to his head, and let out a long sigh.

Shopping without a space ring is definitely not a pleasant experience.

Unless... you just browse without buying, saving money and hassle, which is enjoyable.

As they entered the Han King's Palace with Honglian, Cao Ze chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Now I'm practically your lackey eunuch."

Honglian smiled, her large eyes crinkling as she glanced at Cao Ze's lower body. A smirk appeared on her lips. "You want to be this princess's eunuch? This princess doesn't mind."

Cao Ze felt a chill run down his spine. Judging from Hong Lian's appearance, it didn't seem like a spur-of-the-moment decision.

"Hmph! You're the second one to stand me up! If it weren't for my brother running away quickly and going to the Little Sage Village in Qi, I would have... hmph."

Cao Ze suddenly realized that the most dangerous person in the palace was not Lady Mingzhu, the great shark. Although she was nicknamed the Tide Demoness, she was probably just a bit too wet, but it was unlikely that she would have any thoughts of eunuchs.

However, Honglian had this idea because of her brother-in-law's various acts of standing people up and deceiving them.

Who knew that when I was working in the fields later, I would find...

Cough cough, don't scare yourself unnecessarily. Even fields can be ruined by over-cultivation.

As long as we work hard in the future, there will definitely be a time when we can succeed.

Honglian's anger came and went quickly, and she soon started chatting away with Cao Ze again.

The commotion gradually subsided only after Hu Meiren walked over, trailing her long dress.

"Has Mr. Cao Ze come to tell Princess Honglian about 'Dream of the Red Chamber' again?"

Before Cao Ze could speak, Hong Lian said casually, "Yeah, I haven't heard it for days, I was so worried."

Hu Meiren's eyes lingered on Cao Ze for a moment, and she said coquettishly, "In a few days, it will be the ninth day. Sir, please don't forget."

Honglian exclaimed "Oh dear!" with some annoyance, "I almost forgot."

She turned her head to look at Cao Ze, "Let's not talk about it today, let's go over the lines."

Hu Meiren's heart stirred slightly, and she smiled gently, "Do you mind if I look?"

Honglian shook her head: "I don't mind. You're here to see if it's alright."

Whatever Cao Ze could say, the whole family was naturally all together.

Before they even entered Honglian's bedchamber, Madam Mingzhu from the family arrived unexpectedly.

"Oh, my little sister is with the princess."

Madam Mingzhu walked over from a short distance away, her eyes inadvertently glancing at Cao Ze.

Bai Yifei told her to put aside the investigation into the sword master who appeared in Xinzheng and to deal with Cao Ze's matter first.

This was because the man in the straw raincoat revealed that Ji Wuye was about to make a move against Cao Ze.

Cao Ze thought to himself, "Good heavens, the whole family has really ended up together. How is he supposed to survive being stuck in this mess?"

Honglian turned her head away and rolled her eyes at Cao Ze, clearly disliking Madam Mingzhu.

Having spent a long time in the deep palace, Consort Hu was used to being cautious and timid, so she naturally wouldn't be as willful as Honglian.

She bowed and said, "May you have a peaceful winter, elder sister."

Lady Mingzhu casually replied, "Sister, there's no need for such formalities. With the warm winter sun shining, would you like to accompany me for a stroll around the palace?"

Hu Meiren hesitated.

I visited my sister yesterday, and during our casual conversation, I learned that Cao Ze and my sister had already been making love at her house.

This made her somewhat dissatisfied with Cao Ze. She had clearly told him to wait, and that she would keep an eye on things at the theater to ensure there wouldn't be any trouble.

But her sister's words were filled with happiness, so she couldn't bring herself to criticize her.

I ran into Cao Ze today and wanted to take the opportunity to give him a piece of my mind, but it seems that won't work.

"Consort Hu has already agreed to go to my place, so you can go sunbathe by yourself."

Princess Honglian grabbed Hu Meiren's arm, pulled her along, and walked away without looking back.

Hu Meiren's body stiffened for a moment, secretly pleased, as she had almost forgotten Honglian's temperament.

Cao Ze prides himself on being a protector of flowers, and since the flowers have all run away, he certainly won't stay.

Standing openly next to a great white shark makes you an easy target for being completely dominated.

As the three of them walked away together, Madam Mingzhu's narrow phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.

"Heh, this little girl has quite a temper."

Lady Mingzhu's maid was somewhat indignant, "Madam, the princess has really gone too far. Perhaps I should find an opportunity..."

"Shut up," Madam Mingzhu snapped.

“There are rules in the palace. What kind of behavior is this? Slap yourself in the face.”

The maid opened her mouth, but shivered under Madam Mingzhu's cold, piercing gaze.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

The maid slapped herself repeatedly, not daring to hold back a bit of strength, and the sound echoed on the snow. Her originally fair cheeks became red and swollen.

She stopped only after Madam Mingzhu turned to leave, and hurriedly followed, feeling both respect and fear towards Madam Mingzhu, and daring not to show any resentment.

As Lady Mingzhu's personal maid, she had witnessed the silent deaths of many of her sisters in the palace, and even concubines.

With the Gu poison in her body, she only has one way to live: to die with Madam Mingzhu.

……

Cao Zeting admired the snow scene and recited opera lines with Honglian. At Honglian's insistence, he continued reciting some of the following lines.

Hu Meiren remained silent with a smile, watching and listening quietly.

Cao Ze stopped, but Honglian was still not satisfied and said coquettishly, "Good brother, have some more."

Cao Ze glanced at Hu Meiren with a slightly guilty look.

Hu Meiren coughed lightly: "Princess Honglian, it's getting late, let's do it another day."

Honglian pouted. What do you mean it's getting late? There's still an hour until dark.

She sat on the stone bench, when suddenly a thought struck her. "How did you build the snowman? What does a snowman look like?"

Cao Ze grabbed a handful of snow, sculpted it into a snowman, and decorated it with plum blossoms, making it exceptionally lifelike.

He discovered that he was developing a growing talent for art.

"How about it?"

Honglian looked at the mini snowman in Cao Ze's hand with great interest. "Is this what it is? Let's build one now."

Hu Meiren opened her mouth slightly, but seeing that Honglian was happy, she didn't want to spoil the mood.

She could only wait patiently until she and Cao Ze left, then give Cao Ze a good talking-to and tell him to stop going to Liu Yi's residence to do "that" with her sister all the time.

If something goes wrong, Cao Ze can just walk away, but her sister will suffer the consequences.

Cao Ze was unaware that Hu Meiren wanted to teach him a lesson; otherwise, he would have definitely brandished his stick to show Hu Meiren what corporal punishment was.

Hu Meiren watched as Honglian and Cao Ze happily built a snowman in the snow and felt a pang of envy.

If Han Chu hadn't invaded Baiyue back then, my father wouldn't have let my sister marry Li Kai and sent me to Han in order to save the hundreds of people in Huoyu Manor. I think my sister and I would have been as carefree as Honglian.

The sky gradually darkened.

After playing with Honglian for most of the hour, she had to watch Cao Ze leave, filled with anticipation for their next meeting.

Consort Hu, lost in thought, suddenly awoke with a start. She quickly bid farewell to Honglian and gracefully walked out, catching up with Cao Ze, who was slowly leaving the palace.

"Mr. Cao Ze".

Cao Ze turned around and asked in surprise, "Does Your Highness have something to say?"

Hu Meiren glanced at the sky and didn't mince words.

"Did you visit my sister a few days ago, sir?"

Cao Ze nodded

Seeing that Consort Hu looked unhappy, he suddenly remembered that Consort Hu seemed to have reminded him before not to do those things at Liu Yi’s residence.

However, how could he let a woman dictate when he could and couldn't have sex with her? He completely disregarded Hu Meiren's words.

Hu Meiren said coldly, "Sir, do you know that if Liu Yi finds out about this, it could lead to trouble!"

So what if he's found out? Let him die sooner rather than later... As a half-step Sea King, Cao Ze was well aware of the principle of wealth and power.

"Your Majesty is right."

Hu Meiren's expression softened slightly. "This is a one-time exception. Otherwise, I will make sure my sister never sees you again."

"Your sister-in-law will definitely be reluctant to part with you..." Cao Ze said, "I understand."

Hu Meiren paused for a moment: "It's already the fourth day of the month, and there are still five days until the ninth. I've booked the entire theater, so you need to prepare well and not disappoint me and my sister."

"Your sister-in-law certainly won't be disappointed. We've already arranged to have a grand showdown that day. If you're not satisfied, you can come along..." Cao Ze said, "Yes."

After a moment's thought, Hu Meiren asked, "What are your plans regarding Liu Yi?"