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

On the other side, at the Prime Minister's residence.

Zhang Liang stood respectfully behind his grandfather, Zhang Kaidi.

“Grandfather, Ji Wuye is targeting you.”

Zhang Kai said with a headache, "Now that the king has ordered me to find out the military pay, there is no other way."

He knew in his heart that Ji Wuye had come prepared. He didn't need to think much to know that this batch of military funds was embezzled by Ji Wuye. In the entire Han state, only Ji Wuye had the qualifications and dared to openly embezzle military funds.

He was getting old and his strength was failing him. He was caught off guard and was pressured by Ji Wuye, which led him to take over the case.

If things go wrong, the Zhang family's reputation as prime ministers of Han for five generations could be ruined by him.

Zhang Liang said, "These ghost soldiers robbing the pay was not the work of ghosts. Those presiding judges must have been murdered."

Zhang Kaidi sighed, "What good is knowing? If we can't find out where the military funds are, I have no choice but to resign and go home."

Zhang Liang said, "The interrogation of Lord Anping and Lord Longquan yielded nothing?"

"We've gained nothing. Both are royalty, making them difficult to interrogate by torture. This is why the previous interrogators also failed to get anything out of them. Besides..."

"Now that the ghost soldiers are causing trouble, if I am unfortunately killed by them, it will naturally suit Ji Wuye's wishes perfectly."

Zhang Kai turned around and looked at his grandson, who brought him the most joy.

"Even if I'm lucky enough to escape this ordeal, not finding the military pay will still be considered a failure in the investigation. Either way, it's a dead end. What should I do..."

Zhang Kaidi closed his eyes and stroked his long beard.

Ji Wuye has a good plan.

If the truth is not found, the official will be dismissed; if it is found, the official will be executed. Everything can be blamed on the ghost soldiers.

It's unclear who came up with the idea with Ji Wuye.

He had been fighting with Ji Wuye for so many years, and such a scheme was not something a rough man like Ji Wuye, who only knew how to use violence, could come up with.

Zhang Liang paused for a moment and then said, "If there is anyone in Korea who can untie this knot, I know one person who can do it."

Zhang Kai opened his somewhat dim old eyes, "Who is it?"

……

The Purple Orchid Pavilion was especially enchanting at night, brightly lit, and frequented by distinguished and wealthy merchants.

"Please arrange a private room for Miss Zi Nu, two jugs of the finest wine, and, well, call two more girls, no, just one will do."

Han Fei suppressed his heartache and took out five gold coins, lining them up in a row.

We don't have much money, so we have to be careful with it.

Cao Ze laughed and took Han Fei's gold coins, placing them in Zi Nu's hand. He joked, "Brother Han, have you fallen on hard times?"

Han Fei snorted, not wanting to pay any attention to Cao Ze.

If Cao Ze hadn't sabotaged him, would he have been so stingy? His little sister had hundreds of gold coins.

Zi Nu went out with a smile to make the arrangements.

Han Fei lowered his voice and asked, "Brother Cao, do you know about the Yi Bao Banquet?"

He inexplicably heard a voice at Zilan Pavilion today, which contained only three words—Yi Baoyan.

Only after asking Zi Nu did I learn that it was a banquet that the Farmer's Hidden Dragon Hall was going to hold tomorrow.

Cao Ze said, "The Hidden Dragon Hall of the Farmer's Family?"

"That's right, the person behind Zilan Pavilion is the short-haired youth we met last time. He sent me a message today, seemingly suggesting that we go there once."

Cao Ze smiled and said, "In that case, Zi Nu and I will also go and take a look tomorrow."

He remembered that Jing Ke had also attended the banquet for exchanging treasures, and wondered if he would come this time because of his change.

Zi Nu entered, accompanied by Prime Minister Zhang Kaidi and his grandson Zhang Liang.

Cao Ze said, "Brother Han, I'll take my leave now."

Han Fei was about to show off, so he had no interest in watching.

Zhang Kai glanced at Cao Ze next to Han Fei, and was taken aback. "Mr. Cao Ze?"

He had heard that Cao Ze had been in Xinzheng for a long time, but he had never had time to meet him. He never expected to see him here.

He looked at Han Fei again.

Suddenly, he understood why Han Fei had chosen this place to meet.

It is said that Mr. Cao Ze was also a womanizer in Handan, often spending the night at Feixue Pavilion with Xue Nu, a student of Princess Yafei, and rumors about him were rampant.

Cao Ze cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

Zhang Kai breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "No wonder Zifang sent me here. With you here, I feel at ease about the Ninth Prince."

Although he had never met Cao Ze in person, he knew that a great reputation was well-deserved.

If Han Fei had asked Cao Ze for help, he might have gotten a win-win solution.

Han Fei, who was just about to show off his skills, was stunned. What was going on?

What do you mean you're at ease with Cao Ze around? What are you at ease about?

He looked at Zhang Liang, who only gave him a blank look.

Zi Nu smiled gently, her joy genuine.

Then I had a little dilemma: should I go myself or let Nongyu go?

If they don't take action soon, things will get ugly if Honglian realizes what's going on.

After thinking it over, Zi Nu made up her mind.

I'll do it myself!

……

Chapter 279 Playing her to death

Qianlongtang is located in Sanlidian, outside Xinzheng City, and served as a stronghold for farmers in Xinzheng, South Korea.

On the surface, it was a business dealing in rare and exotic treasures, but in reality, it also served to amass wealth for farmers and gather intelligence.

Xiao Hongyu drove the donkey cart, carrying Cao Ze and Zi Nu, towards Qianlong Hall.

Inside the donkey cart, Cao Ze looked at the simple wooden box beside Zi Nu and laughed, "Is this the treasure you've prepared for the exchange today?"

Zi Nu nodded slightly.

Cao Ze asked, "What is it?"

Zi Nu smiled mysteriously, "Aren't you very clever? Guess?"

Cao Ze chuckled and said, "Just guessing isn't interesting, so let's have some prizes."

"Oh? What kind of prize would you like, sir?"

Cao Ze revealed a hint of his true colors, "If I guess correctly, give me the treasure that Miss Zi Nu exchanged for this box."

"What if you didn't guess it, sir?"

"This famous Zhanlu sword is hereby presented to Miss Zinu."

Zi Nu's beautiful eyes flickered, a hint of surprise in them. She knew the value of a famous sword, so how could Cao Ze be so confident that he could guess it?

"Unequal bets are either guaranteed to win or guaranteed to lose. Which one are you, sir?"

Cao Ze smiled and said, "Winning or losing doesn't matter, as long as you're happy."

"Are you happy..." Zi Nu chuckled, "Then please guess, sir. If you guess correctly, whatever treasure you get from the box, it's all yours."

Cao Ze pretended to ponder, "Last night Brother Han mentioned the Qianlong Hall's treasure exchange meeting, and today Miss Zi Nu brought this box specifically, so it must be related to Brother Han."

Zi Nu narrowed her purple eyes, a sly smile flashing within them. "Not bad."

Cao Ze continued, "And now, what Brother Han is most concerned about is undoubtedly the case of the ghost soldiers robbing the pay. The contents of this box are related to the case of the ghost soldiers robbing the pay."

Zi Nu calmly replied, "It is indeed related."

Knowing Cao Ze as she did, it wasn't surprising that he could guess this, but she didn't believe he could guess what was inside the box, because she herself had only found out last night.

"If we were to say what the biggest mystery is about the ghost soldiers robbing the military pay, it would not be the ghost soldiers themselves, but the fact that so much military pay disappeared into thin air. Therefore, if any treasure could offer Han Fei some guidance, it would certainly be the one that could solve the mystery of the missing military pay."

Cao Ze grinned: "Inside the box, there's either military pay that will disappear, or a method to create military pay that will disappear."

Zi Nu was stunned and didn't come to her senses for a moment. Could it be that Cao Ze sneaked in last night and saw it with his own eyes?

She forced herself to remain calm, her beautiful eyes sweeping over Cao Ze for a moment before she asked, "So tell me, is it the former or the latter?"

Cao Ze continued, "If the box only contains military pay that will disappear, it won't be of much use to Brother Han. In fact, if something goes wrong, the military pay inside might disappear, causing the owner of the box to make a mess of things."

Zi Nu smiled gently, "Then you guessed the latter, sir?"

Cao Ze shook his head: "It's not the latter either. The king has set a deadline for closing the case of the ghost soldiers robbing the military pay. Moreover, if the military pay is not paid for a day, there is a possibility of mutiny among the soldiers on the border. Therefore, it is better to find out the whereabouts of the military pay as soon as possible."

Zi Nu's originally smiling eyes slowly widened. Could it be...?

"So, I guess the box contains both the disappearing military pay and the recipe for making disappearing military pay."

Zi Nu slowly exhaled and said, "Sir, you are truly remarkable. I admire you greatly."

After a pause, Zi Nu suddenly said, "Did you know all along that I planned to use this box to exchange for treasures with the Ninth Prince?"

Cao Ze smiled mysteriously: "What do you think?"

Zi Nu chuckled and shook her head: "You can play around as you please, I won't join in."

She knew that Cao Ze was deliberately making a bet with her.

It seems that the Ninth Prince will soon be feeling down.

The wheels rolled through the mud and arrived at a small manor.

Xiao Hongyu's clear voice came from outside the car: "Sister Zi Nu, Mr. Cao Ze, we have arrived at Qianlong Hall."

Zi Nu and Cao Ze got off the car together.

The first thing you see is a two-story pavilion with a double-eaved hip roof.