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

If it weren't for Sister Yafei and etiquette, she would have already gotten up and left.

Li Zuoche, who was having a great time imitating, was stunned when he heard Cao Ze cursing Xue Nu. What was going on?

Could this be a tactic of feigning indifference to lure the prey into a trap?

Cao Ze simply smiled faintly at the expressions on the three people's faces.

The phrase "a beauty that could topple kingdoms and cities" was certainly not considered a compliment before the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.

However, in creative writing, isn't it all about building suspense before revealing the main character, setting a three-year promise, and showing that you can't underestimate a young man's potential?

"How can one not know the power of beauty to topple cities and kingdoms? Such a beauty is hard to find again."

Cao Ze's words caused the slight anger that had been showing on Consort Ya's pretty face to freeze.

After careful consideration, one is struck by the stark contrast between "stunning beauty" and "a beautiful woman." Even as a woman herself, she yearns to meet such a woman. Just how beautiful must she be to be so stunning that one would rather have a woman so breathtakingly beautiful than miss her?

The anger that had been rising in the Snow Woman's heart vanished without a trace after hearing the last two sentences.

She could clearly feel the emotions contained in the poem.

Compared to the previous poems, which were full of ornate and beautiful language, this poem is simple and sincere, with a lingering and poignant style.

In its depiction of love and beautiful women, it is comparable to the lines "Guan Guan cry the ospreys on the river islet; a fair maiden is the object of a gentleman's affection."

The room fell into a long silence, with only the wisps of incense smoke rising from the burner and the sound of tea boiling.

After a long while, Li Zuoche, who had come to his senses, was amazed by the extraordinary appearance of the man, and only one sentence remained in his mind.

Brother Cao is no ordinary man; we must let Brother Cao mentor us!

He straightened up from his kneeling position and solemnly cupped his hands, saying, "I feel deeply sorry for wasting my years. I only regret that I did not meet Brother Cao. If you do not mind, I am willing to become your sworn brother!"

Chapter 39 The person who corrected the error was astonished.

Cao Ze, who was still smugly pleased with himself for showing off, was almost scared out of his wits by Li Zuoche's words.

The eldest brother is like a father, and the eldest sister is like a mother.

To round it off, this kid wants to be his godson!

Is this something you can just say and do whenever you want?

Have you not seen Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo?

Oh wait, I guess later they'll say, "Have you not seen Cao Ze?"

"Brother Li, we're already brothers, there's no need for that."

Li Zuoche winked and said, "Brother Cao, could you teach me how to make that thing?"

Cao Ze suddenly found this feeling of instant understanding annoying, and said to Consort Ya, "Your Highness, it is late at night, I shall take my leave now."

He quickly pulled Li Zuoche away; he couldn't bear the embarrassment.

After Cao Ze and Li Zuoche left, Ya Fei and Xue Nu remained silent for a long time before exchanging bewildered glances.

Ya Fei softly recited: "In the North there is a beautiful woman. Peerless and independent. One glance could topple a city, a second glance could topple a nation. How could one not know that such beauty could topple cities and nations, for such a woman is hard to find again."

"No need for embellishment, it is a perfect whole, forming its own melody."

Immediately, Ya Fei couldn't help but say, "It's so well written! Xue'er, I can't help but envy you."

Immersed in the imagery of the poem, Xue Nu was suddenly seized by Ya Fei's words and felt an urge to create. She said, "Sister Ya Fei, why don't we compose music now?"

Ya Fei took the guqin, plucked the strings a few times, and tuned it. "That's exactly what I was thinking. I'm afraid we won't be able to sleep tonight."

Xue Nu and Ya Fei together went through the score again and again, reading it carefully.

Whether it's her graceful figure, her elegant demeanor, or her beauty in the north, her unparalleled and independent nature, it's hard for her not to feel a surge of curiosity about Cao Ze.

She didn't understand military strategy, politics, or commerce.

But she was extremely knowledgeable about poetry, dance, and music.

In her heart, this poem was no less important than her beloved "Yangchun" and "Baixue," and even more so because it was written for her by Cao Ze.

What kind of person is he, and what kind of experiences did he have, to be able to write such beautiful, timeless, genuine, and heartfelt verses?

Upon hearing Xue Nu's whispered words, Ya Fei chuckled and said, "'Qingqing,' you are my beloved. This is love."

He then chuckled softly, "You never know, he actually likes you a lot, he's not as nonchalant as he seems on the surface."

"If you two were together, it might just be another beautiful story of Bo Ya and Zi Qi, like the flowing water between mountains and rivers. What do you say? Are you tempted?"

The Snow Woman shook her head. "I've already decided to remain unmarried for life. What's the point of whether I'm tempted or not?"

Ya Fei sighed softly, not knowing how to help Xue Nu understand, so she could only play the zither and gently play the song "There is a beautiful woman in the north, peerless and independent."

What's so great about being peerless and independent? Is it just for the sake of being stunningly beautiful?

……

Cao Ze led Li Zuoche out of Feixue Pavilion.

In order to avoid being recognized as an adopted brother or father by Li Zuoche, Cao Ze, a trainee of Haiwang, had no choice but to casually write a few cheesy love poems and throw them at him to get rid of this clingy guy.

Li Zuoche took the letter Cao Ze had written for him and kept muttering it to himself as he returned to the general's mansion.

Of the myriad things in this world, I love three: the sun, the moon, and you. The sun is for the morning, the moon is for the evening, and you are for every morning and evening.

The more Li Zuoche read, the more awesome he seemed.

The sun, moon, and stars, grand and majestic, tender and affectionate—it's all so deeply moving.

As expected of the Casanova in his eyes, his actions are truly extraordinary!

Cao Ze didn't take it to heart at all. There were too many of these kinds of sycophantic quotes in the chat box of his beautiful boss. He didn't even know how many he had seen in the chat box of his beautiful boss.

Even without consciously memorizing them, it's not difficult to write down dozens at random.

Back at Qingping Residence, the lights in the small courtyard were still on; Jingni had left a light on for him.

Cao Ze entered the room, saw Xiao Yan'er sleeping soundly, and smiled slightly.

He gently kissed Xiaoyan'er's little face and said, "Goodnight, Makka Pakka."

Jingni looked at Cao Ze who had returned, and had already learned to automatically become immune to Cao Ze's inexplicable words.

"What about Feixue Pavilion?"

Cao Ze sat on the edge of the couch, looking down at Jing Ni who was taking off his shoes.

"It was a pleasant surprise, I got back late."

"The proprietress of Feixue Pavilion is the younger sister of Prince Zhao Yan. Li Mu told her about my affairs. I guess that the representative of Li Mu's faction in the palace is Prince Zhao Jiahe, this younger sister of the prince."

Jing Ni simply washed Cao Ze's feet and helped him undress before the two sat together on the couch.

"Then through whom do you intend to enter the Zhao court?"

Cao Ze half-embraced Jing Ni, saying, "Guo Kai is about to be promoted to prime minister. Pang Nuan's alliance has failed, and the current situation in Zhao is unfavorable to the Crown Prince Jia's faction. Guo Kai was once the teacher of Prince Qian, and now that the Queen has been made queen by King Yan of Zhao, they will definitely try to make Prince Qian the crown prince."

"Therefore, as Crown Prince Jia, who is blocking Zhao Qian from becoming the Crown Prince, he will inevitably be targeted. Queen Guo Kai will likely use the failure of the alliance as a pretext to send Crown Prince Jia to Qin as a hostage."

"In this way, it is a foregone conclusion that Li Mu, Pang Nuan and others, who are part of the Crown Prince's faction, will be suppressed."

Jingni watched as Cao Ze effortlessly clarified the situation in the Zhao court, a faint affection in her eyes, and said, "Back then, Luo Wang had a mission, ordered by Lü Buwei, to escort the former Crown Prince Yi of Zhao, now Lord Chunping, to Qin as a hostage. According to Luo Wang's records, this was planned by Zhao Yan and Guo Kai, after which Zhao Yan was made Crown Prince and succeeded as King of Zhao."

"Are you planning to start with Guo Kai again?"

Cao Ze stroked Jing Ni's fair and delicate hand. "I heard some news from Consort Ya. Pang Nuan will be returning to Handan tomorrow. The court meeting tomorrow will definitely be very lively. Let's observe first and not rush to take sides."

At this point in time, Ya Fei's disadvantages are too great, and she can only be used as a backup option.

He now has three paths to enter the Zhao court.

One option is to obtain the He Shi Bi jade that Yingge and Gongliang Wuqi are searching for and present it to the King of Zhao.

Secondly, they got in touch with Guo Kai, engaged in some backroom deals, and mutually praised each other.

Third, he accepted Ya Fei's recommendation.

The He Shi Bi route is the safest, with the advantage of not getting involved in either direction. You can be a middleman for now, reap the benefits, and then run away.

But who knows when the parrot will be found? We can only keep an eye on it for now.

Secondly, there's Guo Kai's path, the pros and cons of which are quite obvious.

The bad thing is that Guo Kai had a terrible reputation in the State of Zhao. People in the streets cursed him as a "cunning old bird" who framed the loyal minister Lian Po.

The term "great yin" refers to acts that greatly harm one's virtue and reputation, comparable to the infamy of Lao Ai.

It is evident how bad Guo Kai's reputation is. Those who collude with Guo Kai may inadvertently suffer the consequences and end up with a bad reputation.

The good thing is that Guo Kai and other favored officials were more trusted by Zhao Yan, and he was able to easily obtain more benefits.

The worst path is that of Consort Ya, which is full of debuffs. Most importantly, she also knows that Prince Jia of Zhao was deposed and sent to Qin as a hostage.

Around this point in time, things became quite awkward.

Jingni nodded gently: "I'll listen to you, let's go to sleep."

Cao Ze rubbed his hands together. "Madam, do you remember what you promised back in the wolf clan? Now Xiao Yan'er has given birth..."

Although Jing Ni just gave birth, she needs to rest for a couple of days.

But this good karma cannot be accumulated any further; L'Hôpital's rule should be applied.

Jingni lowered her head, her jade-like cheeks flushed, wondering how she had been so foolish.

Jingni saw Cao Ze lie down directly, looking at her with a smile, and sighed softly.

……

Chapter 40 Guo Xiangguo, the capable minister of Zhao, the man behind the King of Zhao

the next day.

A melodious flute tune drifted in from outside, the morning breeze swept away the passing time, and the waning moon sank into the frosty temples.

Jingni, who was inside the house, washed her face.

Last night, whether Cao Ze did it on purpose or not, he got it all over her face.