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

"Did the vulture say when it will be back?"

"do not know."

Just as Cao Ze turned to leave, Li Kai suddenly spoke up behind him, "He seemed to have mentioned something about military pay..."

Cao Ze paused, without turning around, and said, "I understand."

He already knew why the vulture had been recalled.

The birds suffered heavy casualties, and it just so happened that Ji Wuye was plotting to steal military funds. Without a doubt, the vultures were arranged to have their military funds replaced.

I'm having a hard time explaining this to my sister-in-law... I can't exactly ask him to kill Liu Yi himself, can I? But I can't fool my brother-in-law either...

Cao Ze was walking on Xinzheng Street when a black figure appeared out of nowhere.

"Mr. Cao Ze, the general requests your presence."

Mo Ya said politely.

Cao Ze glanced at the bright sun. "Now?"

"Yes."

Mo Ya's tone was flat, and he spoke in a businesslike manner.

Cao Ze smiled and said, "Okay."

It seems there's something important going on, otherwise Ji Wuye wouldn't have sent Mo Ya to invite him like this.

However, the fact that someone can be found while shopping alone shows that the power of the night is not to be underestimated.

The General's Mansion.

There were four people in the hall.

Ji Wuye sat imposingly in the main seat, with Fei Cuihu, Anping Jun, and Longquan Jun sitting opposite him.

After Cao Ze entered, all four people's eyes turned to him.

“Mr. Cao Ze, these are Lord Anping and Lord Longquan.”

Jade Tiger's face was beaming with smiles as he sat down to greet Cao Ze, his large belly protruding.

Cao Ze was initially unaccustomed to Emerald Tiger's attempts to please him, but after discovering the various ways Emerald Tiger tried to win him over, he realized that this shrewd man was trying to win him over.

Cao Ze didn't know why Ji Wuye had summoned him, but seeing that Han Wang An's two brothers were also there, he guessed it was probably about military pay.

Ji Wuye spoke in the main hall without any hesitation.

"This general is preparing to take this year's military pay. Tiger, is Jiuquanjin ready?"

Jade Tiger smiled and said, "Reporting to the General, everything has been arranged."

Ji Wuye's tiger-like eyes shifted to Lord Anping and Lord Longquan.

"At this morning's assembly, His Majesty arranged for you to escort the military supplies."

The chubby Anping Jun replied meekly, "It's all up to the General."

The tall, thin Longquan Jun chimed in, "Me too."

They knew all too well how their little brother, King Jinglun, had died a few years ago, and their elder brother, King Han, was utterly incapable of protecting them.

"Hmm, according to the stars, it will rain tomorrow or the day after. Let's choose a time to prepare to set off."

"Yes Yes."

Lord Anping and Lord Longquan quickly agreed, fearing that if they were a little late, they might offend Ji Wuye.

Ji Wuye said, "The military pay has vanished into thin air. We need an excuse. Mr. Cao Ze, what excuse do you think we should use?"

Cao Ze thought to himself, "They're trying to drag him down with them and make him their strategist."

Based on his experience as a strategist for Hu Ji, Cao Ze remained expressionless.

"Outside Xinzheng City, there is a valley called Broken Soul Valley, the place where Marquis Ai of Han massacred 5,000 surrendered soldiers of Zheng. It is said that the place is gloomy all year round, and people often see ghosts. General, why don't you use the excuse of ghost soldiers robbing our supplies?"

After Cao Ze finished speaking, he exhaled a breath of stale air. Once the military pay was lost, anyone in South Korea with a bit of ability would know who was responsible.

But knowing is one thing, without evidence, no one can do anything to Ji Wuye, and even with evidence, no one can do anything about it.

Jade Tiger admired Cao Ze to the point of prostration. He could come up with such a flawless reason and excuse in the blink of an eye; Jade Tiger couldn't even come close to him.

Ji Wuye laughed heartily: "Sir, you are truly amazing!"

The chubby Anping sighed inwardly. With such a capable person assisting Ji Wuye, the state of Han was doomed. He should just enjoy the good food while he was still alive.

The tall and thin Lord Longquan, however, was not as pretentious as Lord Anping. He was perfectly at ease preparing to take advantage of the situation and marry his nineteenth concubine.

Ji Wuye left the main hall.

Emerald Tiger leaned closer to Cao Ze and gave him a thumbs up: "Brother, you're awesome."

Cao Ze smiled modestly and said, "I can't compare to Brother Tiger."

Jade Tiger reached into his pocket and pulled out an exquisite dagger inlaid with gemstones. "Hey, Brother Tiger, I'm all just ordinary stuff. I'll give you this gemstone dagger to play with, little brother. Don't refuse!"

"This……"

Jade Tiger's chubby face darkened: "Little brother, do you look down on your Tiger brother? Are you afraid of getting too close to your Tiger brother?"

Cao Ze accepted the jeweled dagger and smiled, "Thank you for the precious dagger, Brother Tiger."

It would be great to use this to peel an apple for Xiaoyan.

Jade Tiger rubbed his chubby hands together. If the general hadn't arranged for the leader, Parrot Song, to be by Cao Ze's side, he would have wanted to put a few beautiful women around Cao Ze to improve their relationship.

After exchanging a few words in hushed tones, Lord Anping and Lord Longquan rose together to take their leave.

“Mr. Cao Ze, please come to my residence when you have time. I have some excellent Dragon Bone Eight Treasures Soup here, which you may enjoy with me.”

Cao Ze readily agreed and left the general's mansion as well.

Just as he returned to Zilan Pavilion, Han Fei, who was lying in wait, blocked his way. "Brother Cao, you're finally back!"

Cao Ze glanced at Han Fei, "Brother Han, is there something you need?"

Han Fei chuckled and said, "It's nothing serious, it's just strange that Ji Wuye hasn't made any moves lately. Based on my understanding of Ji Wuye, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who can swallow this insult."

Cao Ze smiled inexplicably: "I do know about this matter, but I can't tell you yet."

Han Fei let out a soft "Eh?": "You know?"

Cao Ze held a bristle brush and washed the donkey. "I know. By the way, I have some good news for you. Get ready to become your Minister of Justice."

Han Fei asked in surprise, "What exactly is it?"

"Can't I tell you now?"

"Uh, not even for my little sister's sake?"

Cao Ze flicked the bristle brush and said irritably, "Stop bringing up Princess Honglian. If you really care, can you please stop following me around?"

He got angry just thinking about it. He was just trying to have some fun and develop a relationship with Xiao Honglian in the palace, but Han Fei always ruined his plans, and yet he couldn't find any fault with him. Having a smart brother-in-law is really a bad thing.

Han Fei chuckled and said, "Honglian is still young, so we need to teach her more."

He didn't do much; he simply broke down Cao Ze's sweet talk and some common tricks into something easy to understand, taught Honglian, and created a series of plans for her to deal with them.

Since we can't stop my little sister from being with Cao Ze, we can only try to prevent her from being easily deceived.

Cao Ze threw away the bristle brush, snorted coldly, and said, "Soon you won't have time to teach your sister how to deal with her brother-in-law."

three days later.

After Cao Ze finished expressing his loyalty in Lady Mingzhu's bedroom, he rode a fast horse through the central street of Xinzheng, through the palace gate, and galloped along the palace road.

"Ghost soldiers rob the supplies! Ghost soldiers rob the supplies..."

The sound was so loud that they feared no one inside or outside the palace would hear it.

Five days later, Han Fei intercepted Cao Ze, who was looking for Hong Lian.

"You knew all along that Ji Wuye was going to rob us of our supplies?"

Han Fei's tone was tinged with dissatisfaction, even though he knew why Cao Ze had chosen to conceal it.

The lack of military pay has led to frequent mutinies and unrest, which could easily destabilize the South Korean border.

Cao Ze laughed and said, "Brother Han, are you worried that you won't be able to find it?"

Han Fei sighed, "I'm worried about problems at the border..."

This batch of military pay was sent to the border troops, which numbered less than 30,000. However, this border army was one of the few armies under the direct control of the royal family.

In the event of a mutiny, the royal family would truly be without troops and would have to rely solely on Ji Wuye and the Bai family.

Cao Ze kindly said, "Then you'd better hurry."

Han Fei glanced at Cao Ze and said, "Then tell me where Ji Wuye hid the military funds."

Cao Ze shrugged, indicating that he couldn't help.

"I have no access to this matter, and even if I ask Ji Wuye, he won't tell me. You'll have to figure it out yourself."

"Brother Cao, can you give me some clues?"

Cao Ze's eyes twitched. He pulled his arm out of Han Fei's arms, took a few steps back, and said with a look of disgust, "Get out, get out."

Han Fei, thick-skinned as ever, moved closer to Cao Ze, "Brother Cao~"

"Huh? What are you doing?" Honglian appeared with the look of a curious child.

Cao Ze's expression gradually turned ferocious.

Han Fei immediately let go and said seriously, "Brother Cao, regarding the case of the ghost soldiers robbing the grain rations, Father King has ordered the Prime Minister to take over. Do you have any leads?"

Cao Ze's eyelids twitched repeatedly, and he finally said, "The Dragon Bone Eight Treasures Soup at Lord Anping's residence is truly exceptional."

Han Fei was somewhat puzzled, but he still remembered it and left happily to wait for Zifang's good news at Zilan Pavilion.

Honglian asked, somewhat confused, "Is my brother... sick?"

"Hmm, he's probably sick, and quite seriously so. Let's ignore him and go shopping."

"The market is fine, let's ignore it, it's too disappointing."

Honglian followed Cao Ze out of the palace with a smile.