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

Zheng'er was not only her child, but also her guarantee as Empress Dowager.

Lü Buwei wasn't just trying to kill Zheng'er, he was trying to kill her too.

……

The setting sun, like blood, dyed the earth red.

Fan Yuqi led a group of Luo Wang men to ambush on a hillside ten miles outside Liyang County.

In the distance, three hundred elite heavy armored soldiers from Pingyang slowly approached.

Li Si and Zhao Cheng remained on edge.

Along the way, they encountered almost no ambushes.

Either Lü Buwei would back down, or he would prepare to deliver a fatal blow when they were most relaxed as they approached Xianyang.

The latter is far more likely than the former.

Dusk was falling.

A faint shout of battle rang out, and Li Si and Zhao Cheng breathed a sigh of relief.

Gai Nie drew his sword, Lin Yuan, and coldly stared at the black-clad assassins rushing out from all around.

The Net truly lives up to its reputation as an organization spread across seven kingdoms; in a short period of time, it was able to pull out thousands of death row inmates, criminals, and assassins.

Fan Yuqi had no desire to fight and did not care whether or not he killed Ying Zheng.

While on the battlefield, he constantly sought opportunities to leave without anyone noticing.

Having just passed through Liyang County, Zhao Gao kept whipping his horse, his buttocks barely touching the horse's back, wanting only for the horse to run faster.

Zhao Cheng, the only member of the Zhao family capable of carrying on the family line, absolutely cannot die here. It wouldn't matter if Ying Zheng died.

Assassins and thugs swarmed across the land, drawing their swords and committing massacres.

Although the Pingyang Heavy Armor Army was elite and skilled in battle, these Luo Wang thugs were either skilled martial artists or local bandits, each with their own methods to deal with these heavily armored soldiers.

Relying on their superior numbers, they quickly killed nearly a hundred heavily armored soldiers from Pingyang.

Zhao Cheng, disguised as Ying Zheng, said to Gai Nie, "Sir, let's escape."

Gai Nie frowned slightly. "Our mission is to buy time for the King and the others. How can we expose ourselves so easily?"

Li Si calmly replied, "The fireworks have already been launched. This place is very close to Liyang County. At most, someone will come to our aid in half an hour."

Zhao Cheng said with a wry smile, "There are also people like Lü Buwei in Liyang."

The phrase "his students and former officials are all over the world" refers to people like Lü Buwei.

They are often people who represent an interest group. Anyone who belongs to this interest group, even a monarch, is not as good as someone who represents their interests.

"Brother Cheng, your elder brother has arrived!"

Zhao Gao's shrill scream echoed all around.

Being on the battlefield, he didn't know if Zhao Cheng was there, so he had no choice but to shout.

As Qin's elite cavalry, the Dragon Tiger Cavalry dismantled the encirclement of the Luo Wang death row inmates with a single charge.

Seeing that things were going badly, Fan Yuqi didn't care about anything else. He immediately seized a horse, turned around, and fled at top speed.

Gai Nie's gaze fell on Zhao Gao, who was ruthless in his attack, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

He hadn't expected Zhao Gao to be so powerful, at least a half-step Grandmaster, or even close to the threshold of Grandmaster.

Zhao Cheng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his elder brother arrive to provide support; this time, things were settled.

……

Chapter 368 Lao Ai is dead, the traitor Cao should rise to power.

The starry night descended once more.

Cao Ze and his group had arrived not far from the outskirts of Xianyang City. Instead of rushing into the city, they stayed temporarily outside Xianyang City.

To Cao Ze and the others' surprise, knights in armor kept galloping out of the city at night.

Before long, a light carriage with a single shaft and two wheels, an open carriage decorated with white jade, beaded curtains, ivory, and peacock feathers, and a curved umbrella at the rear, was escorted out of Xianyang City by hundreds of dragon and tiger cavalry.

Although the light carriage was not dignified, it was extremely luxurious, and even the driver in front of the carriage was a woman dressed in gorgeous brocade.

Cao Ze looked closely and saw a woman sitting in the car with a somber expression and an air of haughtiness and allure.

She was incredibly beautiful and charming, with a voluptuous and radiant figure. Even though he had seen many beautiful women, he had to admit that the woman in the carriage was stunningly gorgeous.

I wonder which wealthy family's daughter she is, traveling in such a simple car with such high-class taste.

"Mother..."

Ying Zheng and Cheng Jiao immediately recognized the woman in the carriage; it would be difficult for them not to recognize her.

Cao Ze was taken aback, never expecting that the woman in the car would be the Empress Dowager in official history and the beautiful Empress Zhao Ji in unofficial history.

Just as Ying Zheng was about to appear, Cao Ze's eyelids twitched, and he immediately stopped Ying Zheng.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager is not in danger. She must have received information from Li Si and Zhao Cheng and is going to meet her. On the contrary, Your Majesty, if you show yourself too easily, it may cause trouble."

Cao Ze didn't know if Lao Ai was hiding in there. What if everyone in there was Lao Ai's man, and he harbored some evil intentions? Wouldn't they be walking right into a trap?

The thought of Lao Ai clinging to Zhao Ji's coattails made it impossible for him not to feel envious, jealous, and resentful.

Only those who have been fed by a woman, especially those who have been forced to be, know how delicious it is.

Damn it!

That's a lucky break for Lao Ai.

Sooner or later, he'll come up with a version where Lao Ai is dead and the traitor Cao should be installed.

Cheng Jiao said, "Brother Wang, Mr. Cao Ze is right. Lü Buwei's power is deeply rooted in Xianyang, and he may have even infiltrated the Imperial Guards. We should be careful. The Empress Dowager will not be in danger."

Ying Zheng gradually calmed down, watching his mother walk further and further away, clenching his fists.

As midnight approached, a figure in white arrived at the place where Cao Ze and the others were spending the night.

"Shh-"

A pink sword aura shot out from the sky. Gai Nie's eyes narrowed slightly, and he barely managed to dodge it by dodging.

"Miss Jingni, it is me, Gai. Please do not misunderstand."

Gai Nie appeared and landed on the ground.

Jing Ni sheathed her sword, and Cao Ze and the others walked out of the house.

"Gai Nie, have you encountered any misfortune on your journey? Have you seen the Empress Dowager?"

Because it involved his mother, Ying Zheng abandoned his previous calm and composure and asked the question with a slightly hurried tone.

Gai Nie cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, do not worry, the Empress Dowager is fine. We were ambushed by more than a thousand men outside Liyang County. Fortunately, the Empress Dowager received the news in time and sent Lord Zhao Gao with three hundred Dragon Tiger Army soldiers to relieve the siege."

"I was worried about Your Majesty's safety, so I left Li Si and the others and came to find Your Majesty."

Ying Zheng breathed a slight sigh of relief, then asked, "Who sent the troops? Have they captured the mastermind? How could the movement of over a thousand people go unnoticed?"

Gai Nie said, "They are all criminals who were previously arrested and sentenced to death, including some assassins from the Luo Wang organization. As for the mastermind behind them, they know nothing. According to those who were arrested, a general named Fan released them, saying that as long as they completed their mission and made military contributions, they would be freed."

"General Fan?" Cheng Jiao asked hastily, "Is it General Fan with the round eyes and thick beard?"

Gai Nie nodded and said, "That's right."

Cheng Jiao suddenly slapped his thigh, "It's Fan Yuqi!"

If he were to ask who he is most grateful to, it would definitely be Cao Ze.

If we're talking about who he hates the most, it's definitely Fan Yuqi, who almost killed him, followed by Lü Buwei.

Cheng Jiao hurriedly asked, "Have you caught them yet? Don't kill them yet!"

In his view, he could not vent his anger without personally killing Fan Yuqi.

Gai Nie shook his head: "No. He fled on horseback after the Dragon Tiger Cavalry arrived."

Cao Ze's expression was strange.

He escaped? Could it be that he found a leader, Prince Dan of Yan, and then went to stage a scene resembling Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin?

Cheng Jiao cried out in anguish, "How could we let him escape?! That worthless piece of trash deserves to be cut in half!"

Ying Zheng frowned. "If I remember correctly, Fan Yuqi followed Lord Changping, didn't he?"

When Fan Yuqi was defending Tunliu, he was personally captured by Wang Jian. It was only after Changping Jun pleaded for him that, at Lü Buwei's suggestion, Fan Yuqi was only stripped of his post and not beheaded.

Cheng Jiao fell silent, suddenly feeling a sense of unease.

In the court today, almost everyone belongs to either Zhao or Chu, either to Lü Buwei's faction or to Lord Changping's faction.

Originally, the Korean faction he represented was nothing more than a floating weed, hovering between two sides, and was in the same camp as his brother.

If Lü Buwei and Lord Changping were to join forces, even the royal palace would become a place fraught with danger.

Cao Ze, who knew a little about history, remained relatively calm. If Lord Changping had really joined forces with Lü Buwei, Ying Zheng would have had no chance of survival in the subsequent Xianyang Mutiny, let alone be able to mobilize troops to quell the rebellion.

He coughed lightly and said, "Is Your Majesty worried that Lord Changping has colluded with Lü Buwei?"

Ying Zheng remained silent, only looking at Cao Ze, hoping to get some answer.

Cheng Jiao and Gai Nie both looked at Cao Ze, their eyes showing different expressions.

Cao Ze said slowly, "I can say with certainty that Lü Buwei and Lord Changping did not collude at all; there is no basis for their cooperation."

Ying Zheng solemnly replied, "Please enlighten me, sir."

Normally, he wouldn't have believed that Lord Changping was cooperating with Lü Buwei, but now that Fan Yuqi had led men to ambush and kill Zhao Cheng, who was disguised as him, how could he believe that Lord Changping had done nothing?

Cao Ze said, "Lord Changping is the son of the current King of Chu, and his aunt is the current Empress Dowager Huayang. To put it bluntly, for Lord Changping, it is more advantageous for him to live than to die. Lü Buwei already wields immense power in the court. If he were to advance further, Lord Changping would surely know that Lü Buwei might turn against him."

Cheng Jiao and the others all nodded. Changping Jun's collaboration with Lü Buwei to murder the king would bring nothing but harm and no benefit. At most, they would choose to stand by and watch rather than take action.

Cao Ze continued, “Before the New Year, I had a casual chat with Brother Cheng Jiao. Fan Yuqi had been a retainer of Lü Buwei for a period of time, and later joined the army and became a general. After the Tunliu mutiny, he began to follow Lord Changping.”

"According to Brother Chengjiao, Fan Yuqi had intentionally or unintentionally hinted at something to him during the mutiny in Tunliu, which was related to someone, namely Lü Buwei."

"Until this ambush, Brother Gai Nie said that Fan Yuqi directly seized a horse and fled."