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

Cao Ze shamelessly said, "Yan Lingji ate too much."

Li Wu stroked her forehead and rolled her eyes at Cao Ze.

We've all slept together; we all know each other's character.

She didn't even need to think; it must have been Cao Ze who forced his way in, causing Yan Lingji to eat until she vomited.

Jing Ni gently stroked Xiao Yan'er's still short hair and said in a clear voice, "The Six Sword Slaves and Xuan Jian have gathered in Xinzheng, and their target is us. What are your plans?"

Cao Ze picked up the sleeping Xiao Yan'er from Jing Ni's arms and lifted her high in the morning sunlight.

"Their target is not us, but someone else."

Jingni and Liwu were both taken aback.

"If it's not us? Then who could it be?" Li Wu couldn't help but ask.

Cao Ze put down the exquisitely beautiful Xiao Yan'er, held her in his arms, and gently rocked her.

He said in a low voice, "Let me tell you the truth: their target may be the current King of Qin, Ying Zheng."

Li Wu stared wide-eyed, looking at him with a "you must be joking" expression.

Jingni frowned slightly. "You mean, King Ying Zheng of Qin is in Xinzheng? How could he possibly be in Xinzheng?"

It wasn't that she didn't trust Cao Ze; it was just that this whole thing was too unbelievable.

Cao Ze smiled leisurely, "To be honest, I don't quite believe it either, but judging from various details, King Ying Zheng of Qin is currently in Xinzheng, and Xuan Jian and the others were investigating Ying Zheng's whereabouts last night."

"If I'm not mistaken, the King of Qin is the main target of the Luo Net, while we are merely secondary targets."

Li Wu was momentarily bewildered, then pressed for an answer: "How are you so sure?"

Cao Ze sat on the stone bench, placing Xiao Yan'er between his legs.

“Gai Nie appeared last night, and after forcing away the Six Sword Slaves and Xuan Jian, Gai Nie left in a hurry.”

Li Wu seemed to have realized something and said, "Gai Nie is a close attendant of the King of Qin. So, the King of Qin is really in Xinzheng?"

After saying that, she looked somewhat agitated, "Then should we arrest them?"

Cao Ze patted Li Wu's little head and sighed deeply, "You haven't even given birth yet, how come you've become so stupid?!"

Li Wu was stunned and said, "How is that stupid? The King of Qin is the king of Qin, our enemy. Isn't it normal to capture him?"

She suddenly realized, "Oh, I see, you want to kill him. That's not bad!"

Cao Ze's eye twitched slightly. He coughed lightly and said, "Li Wu, do you know who our enemies are and who our friends are?"

Li Wu touched Cao Ze's forehead and asked in surprise, "You don't have a fever. Why ask such a simple question?"

Cao Ze said seriously, "This is not a simple question. Only by thoroughly understanding who our friends are and who our enemies are can we handle things with ease."

Li Wu stuck out her tongue, her beautiful face straightened, and she said respectfully, "Please teach me, Teacher Cao Ze."

"Then my good disciple, you'd better listen carefully."

Cao Ze's affected expression made Jing Ni chuckle softly.

Why does he love playing these kinds of role-playing games?

Jing Ni felt a flush rise in her face when she thought of the night Cao Ze had beaten them and tricked her and Li Wu into calling each other "Dad" and "Daughter" in a shameful manner.

Cao Ze had no idea that, through his tireless efforts to popularize science day and night, Jing Ni had also become corrupted.

"First of all, our current enemy is the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven), not assassins like the Six Sword Slaves or Xuan Jian. They are merely tools for killing. Just as if a murderer were to kill you, you wouldn't fight against the murder weapon in the murderer's hand. Therefore, we have only one enemy, and that is the controller of the Luo Wang, who is now the powerful Lü Buwei."

"As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Now, Lü Buwei is using the murder weapon in his hand to assassinate the King of Qin and us in Xinzheng. Therefore, we and the King of Qin have a common enemy and are naturally allies."

"If we want to escape the pursuit of the Net, the only good opportunity now is to take this chance to befriend the King of Qin. After we bring down Lü Buwei, the Net will be like a scab, which we can easily rub off."

Li Wu understood only partially, but she realized that the King of Qin was not an enemy, but rather an ally.

Jing Ni calmly said, "Lü Buwei holds absolute power in Qin. How can the King of Qin possibly defeat Lü Buwei?"

“That’s a good question,” Cao Ze said with a smile. “There are risks and rewards. There’s no such thing as a sure thing. Besides, helping someone in need is more likely to win people’s hearts.”

Li Wu crossed her arms and said, "You've said so much just so you can help the King of Qin and then work with him to kill Lü Buwei, right?"

“Indeed.” Cao Ze gave Li Wu a look that said, “You’ve become smarter.”

Jingni said, "This seems to be the same as Lü Buwei's strategy of hoarding rare goods."

Cao Ze nodded slightly. "That's right. Compared to the many risks we face with Lü Buwei, we are undoubtedly much safer this time. Even if we can't kill Lü Buwei, as long as we stay by the King of Qin's side, our safety will at least be guaranteed."

Jing Ni nodded. "The Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) has rules against assassinating Qin officials. Although some assassins occasionally break the rules in private, they all abide by the rules in public. A small number of Luo Wang assassins are not enough to pose a threat to us."

Cao Ze smiled and said, "That's right."

What he didn't say was that these were only immediate worries; the long-term worry was the Qin state's eventual conquest of the other six states.

He had no desire to wander the world with the Mo family, only to be hunted down everywhere.

Uncle Gai Nie can wreak havoc across the entire map while barely alive, but he's not a protagonist; he can't afford to have protagonist syndrome.

……

Cao Ze strolled alone to Zilan Pavilion.

He knew that Zi Nu was waiting for an explanation from him.

On the third floor, in the elegant pavilion, an incense burner with a hollowed-out taotie design emits a wisp of fragrance.

Cao Ze and Zi Nu sat facing each other.

Nongyu carefully handled the intelligence bamboo slips, not daring to utter a single breath.

She could sense that something was amiss.

"Was the girl in red armor last night Yan Lingji? And was that sword master in white, as white as snow, Jing Ni from Luo Wang?"

Zi Nu slowly opened her bright red, jade-like lips and spoke in a calm and even voice.

She had met Yan Lingji before; it was Yan Lingji who led them to Tianze, who had captured the Crown Prince.

Although she had never seen Jing Ni before, it wasn't difficult for her to recognize the appearance of Jing Ni's sword.

Cao Ze pondered for a moment and said, "This is a long story."

Zi Nu suddenly laughed, her beauty captivating and exceptionally charming.

"It seems you two have a lot of history."

Zi Nu's smile faded, her jade-like face turned cold and aloof, and the subtle allure she had previously exuded vanished completely.

“I don’t care about your past with her. I just want to ask you how you view me, Nongyu, and your relationship.”

Cao Ze really wanted to complain that women's focus is just different.

If it were the brother-in-law, he definitely wouldn't care about his younger sister first, because he knows she's already been cheated on. So, the brother-in-law would only care about how he managed to get a grandmaster wife, and then shamelessly come over to ask if he could help him with a small favor...

Nongyu, who had been keeping her head down and silent, suddenly raised her flawless white head and stared at Cao Ze with a slightly dazed look.

She realized that something big might have happened last night, which made Sister Zi Nu change from her usual composure and elegance to a little anxious.

Cao Ze hesitated for a moment, then said, "The ospreys cry..."

Zi Nu snorted, "Get to the point."

She works in intelligence, and what she hates most is people who ramble on and don't get to the point.

Cao Ze paused slightly, then shamelessly said, "Of course I like it."

Zi Nu remained noncommittal. "The soaring sword intent that suddenly appeared in the city a few months ago was Jing Ni's, wasn't it?"

"Yes." Cao Ze knew that Zi Nu was a mature woman who wouldn't get jealous easily; this was a request for his opinion.

"Who is she to you?"

Cao Ze said, "We should share hardships and support each other."

"So, she's your woman?" Zi Nu revealed.

"……Yes."

Why did you hide it from me?

Cao Ze immediately said, "We are being hunted by the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) and are still unfamiliar with Xinzheng, so we chose to be in the open and in the dark. I will be in the open and she will be in the dark, so that we can look after each other."

Zi Nu pondered for a moment and said, "You once said that you were forced to leave Zhao by Zhao Chancellor Guo Kai. A few months ago, Zhao Chancellor Guo Kai and Prince Qian were sent to Qin by King Jia of Zhao. Why didn't you return to Zhao?"

Cao Ze paused slightly, then smiled at Nongyu and said, "It's because you're all here that I can't bear to part with you~"

Nongyu blushed and lowered her head again.

She didn't care how many women Cao Ze had, as long as he had her.

It was just that Sister Zi Nu cared about it, which surprised her a little.

After all, Sister Zi Nu hadn't cared about the ambiguous relationship between Princess Hong Lian and Mr. Cao Ze before.

Zi Nu rolled her eyes at Cao Ze, and said in a tone that was both coquettish and reproachful, "You're such a chatterbox."

She hadn't intended to do anything to Cao Ze about Jing Ni's matter, so she deliberately picked it up heavily and then put it down gently.

"Leaving aside Jing Ni's matter for now, the Six Sword Slaves of Luo Wang and Xuan Jian want to take your life. What do you plan to do? Have Jing Ni protect you every step of the way?"

That won't do, she still has to feed her child... Cao Ze said, "You're wrong, the Six Sword Slaves and Xuan Jian's target is not me, but Gai Nie, or rather, the people behind Gai Nie."

Zi Nu was slightly taken aback: "The person behind Gai Nie? Who is it?"

After Wei Zhuang returned last night, he went straight to the palace and has not returned yet. She knows little about what happened last night.

Cao Ze said mysteriously, "Take a guess."

Zi Nu pondered, "In this world, the only ones who would warrant the combined efforts of the Six Sword Slaves and Xuan Jian must be the top masters of our time. Aside from those grandmasters unrelated to Guigu, could it be Gongsun Yan, the master of Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang, in Xinzheng?"

Cao Ze shook his head and laughed, "It's not Gongsun Yan. There isn't that much deep-seated hatred between Luo Wang and Gui Gu."

Zi Nu pondered for a while, then shook her head helplessly and said with a half-smile, "Then who do you think it could be? It can't be King Ying Zheng of Qin coming to Xinzheng, can it?"

The fact that Gai Nie was a close attendant of King Ying Zheng of Qin was not exactly common knowledge, but it was not a secret among those who were well-informed.

The reason is simple: both of Guiguzi's disciples received considerable attention after completing their apprenticeship.

“…You’re really smart,” Cao Ze said sincerely.

Nongyu's eyes widened. What had she just heard? King Ying Zheng of Qin was in Xinzheng?