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

A rich, refreshing aroma of tea filled the small bamboo house, calming Bai Yifei's chaotic thoughts.

"Want a drink?"

The man in the straw raincoat held the teacup very steadily.

Bai Yifei stared at the tea in the straw-clothed man's hand, watching the tightly rolled tea leaves slowly unfurl in the boiling water, and his mood relaxed a bit.

He took the tea, subtly channeled his inner energy, and the boiling tea instantly became mild.

He drank it all in one gulp, and his cultivation remained intact; the man in the straw raincoat did not harm him.

"Let's have another drink."

The man in the straw raincoat picked up the boiling kettle and poured boiling water into Bai Yifei's teacup.

He was composed and patient, and did not immediately get to the point, but waited for Bai Yifei to realize the situation.

Bai Yifei held a scalding hot teacup in one hand and said expressionlessly, "Where is my mother?"

"The Marquis is suspected to have disappeared in Xinzheng, with no trace of her."

Bai Yifei didn't know what he was feeling. He said calmly, "You surprised me."

The man in the straw raincoat smiled and said, "So you didn't choose to help General Ji?"

Bai Yifei drank the hot tea in his hand, discerning the sound of rain outside the bamboo house, and knew that no one was lying in ambush around him.

“You want to take back what belongs to you, you want to become the King of Han. You know very well that your biggest obstacle is not me, nor Ji Wuye, but my mother.”

The man in the straw raincoat said, "That's right. As long as the Marquis is not eliminated, even if I ascend the throne, I will only be doing the work for your Bai family."

"Then why did you save me?" Bai Yifei narrowed his eyes, trying to see the true face and expression of the man in the straw raincoat through the shadows under the bamboo hat.

“Because…” The man in the straw raincoat placed one hand on the table, then suddenly raised his head and looked directly into Bai Yifei’s eyes, “I want the Marquis to help me ascend the throne.”

Bai Yifei sneered, "Aren't you afraid your mother will kill you?"

The man in the straw raincoat shook his head slightly: "I'm afraid the Marquis will not have the chance."

Bai Yifei said in a deep voice, "Why? Explain yourself!"

The man in the straw raincoat said quietly, "Your Excellency should know that I have been doing intelligence work for many years and have long since developed a pair of sharp eyes and ears. Last night, when I was rescuing Your Excellency, I inadvertently saw a sword that the Ninth Prince was holding. It was dark blue and broken, and the hilt was made of the mythical beast Xie Zhi."

Bai Yifei: "What sword?"

"The Reverse Scale Sword. The sword passed down through the Legalist school. Only the most accomplished Legalist of the time can gain the sword's approval. It is likely that this sword was left behind by Shen Buhai, the reformer of the state of Han, and was obtained by Han Fei."

Bai Yifei frowned to himself; he had never heard of any Reverse Scale Sword.

"What is so special about this sword?"

The man in the straw raincoat said, “A sword is a weapon of death, and a famous sword is even more spiritual. It needs to choose a powerful master so that it can kill more lives and drink blood. The sword spirit is the most powerful and compatible spirit among all the sword’s past masters. My cousin’s sword, the Reverse Scale Sword, must be inhabited by a powerful sword spirit.”

Bai Yifei asked solemnly, "Very strong?"

The man in the straw raincoat said, "I think he should be no weaker than a half-step grandmaster."

"Just a broken sword!" Bai Yifei didn't think that a sword spirit that might be a half-step Grandmaster could pose any threat to his mother, who was at the peak of the Grandmaster level.

The man in the straw raincoat calmly said, "If I were to tell you, my lord, that when I was rescuing you, I vaguely sensed that there was another sword master at the scene, would you still believe that the Marquis has any hope of survival?"

Bai Yifei's pupils contracted slightly: "Who was that sword master who suddenly appeared in Xinzheng a few months ago and then mysteriously disappeared?"

The man in the straw raincoat said calmly, "I don't know who it is, but I do know that last night this sword master fought with the Marquis at the foot of the mountain. Bai Feng also found a piece of blood-stained clothing, which belonged to the Marquis."

Bai Yifei's heart sank even further. "Does Ji Wuye know?"

"I don't know. I only told you, Lord Marquis, about this."

Bai Yifei hadn't expected Xinzheng to be so murky; even with his status, he still couldn't see the whole picture.

"What gives you the confidence to declare yourself king at this time?"

The man in the straw raincoat took off his bamboo hat, revealing a resolute face.

“I am a direct descendant of the Han family. My father was the former crown prince. If Han An had not colluded with your Bai family, my father would not have been deprived of his position as crown prince by my grandfather who only cared about the big picture.”

Bai Yifei sneered, "That's not enough!"

The man in the straw raincoat said, "With you, my lord, that's enough."

"Are you very confident that you can ascend the throne?"

"If not now, when?" the man in the straw raincoat said with a grim face. "Opportunities are fleeting. The Marquis's fate is now unknown, and that unknown sword master will not reappear anytime soon. The situation in Xinzheng is tense, and this is the time for us to benefit."

Bai Yifei's eyes flickered slightly. "What can I possibly gain?"

The man in the straw raincoat said, "If you help me, I will help you replace Ji Wuye, and we will share the power of Han."

Bai Yifei said with a wicked smile, "A very tempting offer."

Even if his mother survives, she will have no time to attend to other matters. The power of the Bai family and the connections of the nobility will naturally fall into his hands. The throne of Han is not something he cannot contend for.

The man in the straw raincoat chuckled and asked, "Does Your Excellency dare to gamble?"

He knew that Bai Yifei was very ambitious, so ambitious that he even dared to use his own mother.

Bai Yifei raised his glass: "The victor is king, the loser is villain."

The man in the straw raincoat raised his glass: "The winner takes all."

The two of them burst into laughter, believing that they would be the ones to ultimately claim the throne.

As for the outcome, only death awaits.

……

The State of Qin, Xianyang.

Li Si was appointed by Lü Buwei to serve as an envoy to the State of Han.

Holding the ceremonial staff of the Qin envoy, he boarded the carriage with high spirits, eager to help Qin capture Nanyang and make his first contribution to the Qin court.

"Senior brother, are you ready? Junior brother is coming. Let's settle this once and for all!"

Li Si gazed at the sunrise and muttered to himself, then shouted, "Let's go!"

The rumbling of carriages and the ceremonial guard of hundreds of Qin soldiers set off eastward from Xianyang toward the state of Han.

The Palace of Xianyang.

Outside the palace, Gai Nie drove an inconspicuous carriage out of the palace.

After a long silence, Gai Nie couldn't help but whisper, "Your Majesty, if the White Dragon disguises itself, the Qin Kingdom will be in turmoil."

Ying Zheng's calm voice came from inside the carriage: "When traveling, call me Young Master Shang."

He paused for a moment and then said, "I'm just taking a walk around Qin to clear my head and learn more about the country. Doesn't Minister Gai have the confidence to protect me?"

"And if something goes wrong, then so be it. If Qin doesn't have me, it will have Prime Minister Lü and the Queen Mother..."

Gai Nie sensed the frustration and anger in Ying Zheng's last sentence.

Under Lü Buwei's gentle and persuasive actions, Ying Zheng appeared to be slowly governing, but in reality, he could be said to be doing nothing, dealing with trivial matters such as the planning of drainage ditches and underground channels in Xianyang, how to prevent the spread of disease as temperatures rise, and the details of Qin people's travel.

"Your Majesty, I will certainly protect you."

Gai Nie drove the carriage out of the city.

Not long after, Old Man Zheng hurriedly entered the Prime Minister's study and said, "Prime Minister Lü, something important has happened."

Lu Buwei calmly asked, "What important matter?"

"His Majesty has left the city without permission."

Lü Buwei was taken aback, his expression shifting several times: "How many people are there?"

"Besides the king, there is only that Guigu disciple named Gai Nie."

Lü Buwei remained calm: "Notify all the demons and monsters within Qin territory... no, you personally lead men to monitor them. Remember, under no circumstances should Gai Nie discover this, and report back to me constantly."

Old Zheng bowed and said, "Yes!"

Xinzheng, South Korea.

The patter of rain still echoed around this ancient city that had witnessed so much history.

There were very few people in the city, and occasionally city guards on horseback would gallop by.

As dawn broke, Ji Wuye dispatched almost all the city guards and personal guards he could send out, under the pretext of apprehending Tianze, the criminal who assassinated the Qin envoy.

All for the sake of finding the Marquis de la Cité.

Because of the Marquisate, Ji Wuye has no intention of taking revenge on Cao Ze, who betrayed him.

Jade Tiger sat in the empty hall, his feelings very complicated.

When he realized he had been tricked by Cao Ze, before he could even get angry, he never expected that his brother Cao Ze... no, that traitor! would actually manage to make the general run around in circles.

He sighed softly, wanting to find a place to hide.

The general, who was always unpredictable, was now showing fear from time to time... It seems the Marquis is truly terrifying.

"Tiger, tell me, what gives Han Fei and that scoundrel Han An their confidence when facing the Qin state?"

Ji Wuye still couldn't understand why Han Fei had confidently declared his ability to deal with Qin last night.

The gap between the Qin and Han states was not small, but multifaceted, forming a vast chasm.

The reason why the State of Han was not destroyed by the State of Qin was simply that Qin was not fully prepared and did not want to easily launch a war of annihilation, lest it trigger a chain reaction and cause the states to form alliances again due to mutual dependence. This gave Han a chance to breathe.

As the Grand General of Han, he naturally saw it clearly. Han's plan to weaken Qin by using Qu (a type of enemy force) was merely to prolong Qin's eastward expansion.

Even at such a critical juncture, Han Fei still chose to kill the Qin envoy and frame the female marquis. It's hard to say whether Han Fei had courage or had lost his mind.

Emerald Tiger shook his fat face, his mind racing, and said, "General, perhaps Han Fei and King Han have found outside help. I heard that Empress Dowager Leling of Wei is still alive."

Ji Wuye remained noncommittal: "It is true that Empress Dowager Leling is the aunt of King Han An, but the new ruler of Wei has his own ideas, and Empress Dowager Leling cannot make any decisions."

The money he spent on establishing intelligence channels abroad wasn't all wasted; his understanding of the situation in the seven kingdoms was no less than that of those famous strategists.

Jade Tiger quickly changed the subject: "General, the Marquis has been rescued by the Straw-Clad Man, and both of them have disappeared. What should we do?"

Ji Wuye tapped his rough fingers on the armrest. "The Straw-Clothed Strangers and Han An's faction have a long-standing feud. Taking Bai Yifei away is probably to deal with Han Wang An. There's no need to pay too much attention to it. The Straw-Clothed Strangers won't save the Marquis."

The jade tiger remained silent.

The Palace of the King of Han, the Royal Hall.