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

"Very well!" Tianze laughed arrogantly. "My lord, either hand over the antidote, or the Crown Prince dies!"

Bai Yifei gave a faint, cold laugh and left with one hand behind his back.

The King of Poisons hesitated and asked, "Master, the Gu in your body?"

Both he and the corpse-driving demon tried, but to no avail.

The Gu poison inside Tianze's body is considered a troublesome type even in Baiyue.

"It won't be a problem in the short term," Tianze said indifferently. "Just get the antidote before the Gu worms take effect."

The King of Poisons said, "But just now Bai Yifei..."

“Someone will help me. Now come with me to the cold palace in Zheng.”

Is it Cao Ze...? The Hundred Poison King thought subconsciously.

……

The next day, just as dawn broke.

Cao Ze was then woken up by Xiao Hongyu.

"Sir, Ninth Young Master Han Fei requests your presence on the third floor."

Cao Ze yawned, took the wet wipe Xiao Hongyu handed him, and wiped his face.

Last night, after sending Yan Lingji back to her courtyard, he returned to Zi Lan Xuan.

They happened to run into Nongyu, who was practicing the zither late at night in the attic.

Before he could even exchange skills with Nongyu, Zi Nu conscripted him to process a bunch of intelligence, which gave him a great deal of knowledge about all aspects of Xinzheng.

On the third floor of Zilan Pavilion, Han Fei was resting his chin on his hand, looking at Wei Zhuang's sour face with utter despair.

Upon seeing Cao Ze enter, Han Fei seemed to have been rejuvenated.

"Brother Cao, you've finally arrived."

Cao Ze calmly pulled his hand away from Han Fei's tight grip. "Brother Han, speak frankly. I am not Lord Longyang."

Han Fei was speechless. If he didn't need someone's help, he would have already rolled up his sleeves and fought Cao Ze to the death.

"Ahem!" Han Fei said, "Brother Cao, at today's court assembly, Father ordered me, Ji Wuye, and... Fourth Brother to work together to rescue the Crown Prince."

Cao Ze poured himself a cup of tea.

Zi Nu is currently working day and night to process various intelligence for the Quicksand intelligence campaign, and the dark circles around her purple eyes are almost turning into smoky eye makeup.

Not to mention waiting here for him to pour him tea.

"Then let's go rescue them."

Han Fei smiled wryly and said, "I alone cannot even enter the Crown Prince's residence."

Cao Ze said, "The Crown Prince's residence has four or five gates of varying sizes. Can't we attack them all at once?"

Han Fei shook his head slightly: "This would put the Crown Prince in danger."

Wei Zhuang scoffed, "You worry about putting the Crown Prince in danger, but some people don't care."

Han Fei sighed, "Please help me, Brother Cao."

Cao Ze glanced at Wei Zhuang and said to Han Fei, "Isn't Brother Wei Zhuang enough?"

Han Fei chuckled and said, "Brother Wei Zhuang doesn't want to take action."

Wei Zhuang snorted coldly, still expressing his dissatisfaction with Han Fei's rejection last night.

Han Fei rubbed his head, feeling utterly exhausted.

Cao Ze grinned mischievously, "My fee is very high."

"Problems that can be solved with money aren't problems," Han Fei said.

"Really?"

Han Fei realized something was wrong and asked gravely, "How much do you want?"

"It is said that the King rewarded Ji Wuye with a thousand gold pieces for his meritorious service in solving the case of the ghost soldiers robbing the supplies. I won't ask for more; how about a thousand gold pieces?"

Han Fei was a little annoyed: "Can I give it to you after the betting game is over?"

"Of course not, this is a small business, we don't offer credit." Cao Ze sipped his tea slowly, giving Han Fei a look that was best left unsaid.

Han Fei seemed to understand something and looked at Wei Zhuang.

He said respectfully, "Brother Wei Zhuang, the safety of the Crown Prince is related to the stability of Han. I beg you to take action and punish these villains."

Wei Zhuang glanced at the composed Cao Ze and said, "I accept."

Cao Ze smiled faintly: "Brother Han, remember to put in a good word for me with Princess Honglian."

Han Fei wiped his sweat and chuckled awkwardly, "We'll see, we'll see."

Upon seeing this, Wei Zhuang's expression darkened slightly, and he turned his head away.

How could he not know that he had been outmaneuvered by Cao Ze and Han Fei?

After finishing his tea, Cao Ze cleared his throat. "Brother Wei Zhuang, we have no grudges against each other, why must we always act this way?"

Wei Zhuang remained silent.

Han Fei was speechless.

Does "no enmity or grudge" mean poaching someone's talent to their face or beating them to a pulp during a friendly spar?

Cao Ze curled his lip. What kind of looks were those? He didn't owe anyone anything.

Early in the hour of You (5-7 PM).

The red glow of the setting sun painted the sky, brightening the entire city of Xinzheng.

Han Fei stood with his hands behind his back in front of the Crown Prince's residence, turned his head to look at Wei Zhuang, who was holding a sword behind him, and felt quite gratified.

Brother Wei Zhuang still kept his promise. Even though he knew that Cao Ze and he had set him up, he still came.

"Turn your head around," Wei Zhuang said coldly in a low voice.

"Okay okay."

Han Fei turned his head and saw Han Yu walking over with a young man carrying a longbow on his shoulder.

"Fourth brother."

Han Yu said gently, "Ninth Brother, there's no need for formalities. Father has entrusted you with the overall planning of rescuing our eldest brother. Just make the arrangements."

"This is Qiancheng, the adopted son of Fourth Brother. He is a sharpshooter who never misses a shot. Although he is only a second-rate archer, his archery skills are so good that even the top masters in the martial arts world would not dare to underestimate him."

Han Qiancheng cupped his hands and said, "Han Qiancheng greets the Ninth Young Master."

Han Fei smiled and said, "I am very envious of Fourth Brother's talent."

He secretly thought to himself, "If only I could have Brother Cao as my little brother like Zhang Liang. If my sister is willing, then so be it."

Han Yu looked at Mo Ya standing in front of the city guards, "Who is that?"

"The commander of the guards of the General's Mansion - Mo Ya".

Han Yu looked worried and said in a low voice, "Ninth Brother, you must be careful. Ji Wuye is not a kind person. We must prevent our eldest brother from being harmed by villains."

Han Fei smiled bitterly to himself, but outwardly asked, "Why do you say that, Fourth Brother?"

Han Yu said, "Fourth Brother, I heard that these Baiyue people are prisoners that Ji Wuye deliberately released from the death row. Although I don't know if it's true or not, we must be careful."

Han Fei nodded: "I understand."

Han Yu smiled with satisfaction: "Ninth Brother, you don't need to worry too much. With Fourth Brother here, I guarantee you will be able to complete the mission smoothly."

"Thank you very much, Fourth Brother."

Zilan Pavilion.

Zi Nu, whose dark circles resembled smoky eye makeup, asked Cao Ze, "Aren't you going?"

Cao Ze chuckled and said, "No rush, let me give you a hot compress first."

Zi Nu lay on the couch, looking up at the hot eggs Cao Ze had taken out, and said somewhat awkwardly, "No need, I'll be fine after a couple of days of rest."

Cao Ze said in a pretentious and slightly strange tone, "Miss Zi Nu, please close your beautiful purple eyes."

Zi Nu blinked her purple eyes, then slowly closed them, her long eyelashes shimmering in the golden light of the setting sun.

Cao Ze peeled the shells off the two eggs, placed them on Zi Nu's eyelids, and slowly rolled them with just the right amount of force.

"Is it alright?"

Zi Nu said softly, "It feels very comfortable."

She never imagined that eggs could be used in this way.

Cao Ze smiled faintly. He had often given his beautiful boss, who often stayed up late, hot compresses to her eyes at home. Although he hadn't practiced for a long time, he hadn't forgotten the techniques and skills.

For example, hot compresses should not be applied for too long, should not be too hot, and should not be applied too often each day.

After a dozen or so breaths, Cao Ze put away the eggs, soaked a towel in hot water, wrung it out, and gently placed it on Zi Nu's delicate and flawless face, his fingers lightly pressing on Zi Nu's brow.

Zi Nu's previously tense body completely relaxed as she enjoyed Cao Ze's so-called head massage. It was as if the fatigue in her body was washed away in a short moment, just like taking a bath in hot soup.

The feeling of endless ease caused Zi Nu to unconsciously groan and moan.

Zi Nu seemed to realize that she had just used a seductive voice.

Her pretty face, glowing with a rosy hue, was tinged with layers of red.

Cao Ze, who originally had no ulterior motives, gradually developed erotic thoughts.

He looked down at Zi Nu's closed eyes, his gaze shifting slightly downwards. Zi Nu's full, luscious pink lips were tightly pursed.

He leaned down and breathed a warm breath into Zi Nu's ear, as if teasing her, "Can I have a kiss?"

Zi Nu's fair hands involuntarily gripped the edge of the bed, without uttering a sound.

Cao Ze chuckled and said, "If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes."

Zi Nu suddenly straightened up, her pretty little head seemingly hitting something. A cry of "Ouch!" was heard, and Cao Ze was seen covering his nose.

Zi Nu's initial nervousness, shyness, and embarrassment all vanished.