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

The little girl suddenly became serious, "However, it's best if you don't go, young master. They just want to ride on your fame."

"Oh, I get it, it's just a publicity stunt."

The young girl doesn't understand what scandals and hype are, but she's glad Cao Ze does.

Cao Ze asked cautiously, "Then... are there any negative aspects?"

The little girl thought for a moment: "A lecherous man, a heartless scoundrel, a fickle lover..."

"Stop, stop, stop talking."

Cao Ze was sweating profusely. He had to take the blame for that bastard Li Zuoche's mess—what a tragedy! He deserved to be beaten by his family!

The young maid chuckled softly a few times, then her smile vanished. She said, "Young Master Cao Ze, you must be careful these days. The day before yesterday, Young Master Qian said he would teach you a lesson you won't forget."

Cao Ze smiled dismissively. "Him?"

If he could actually do something to him, why would he need to make such a statement? It's probably just impotent rage.

Upon arriving at the top floor of Feixue Pavilion, Cao Ze went inside.

Consort Ya dismissed the maid and personally welcomed Cao Ze in.

"Young master, you've arrived a bit early."

"I predicted that something good would happen tonight, and good things come early, so it's come a little early."

Seeing that only he and Ya Fei were in the large room, Cao Ze asked, "Your Highness, is Miss Xue Nu not here?"

Consort Ya chuckled and said, "That night at Prime Minister Guo Kai's residence, didn't you want to try Xue'er's cooking?"

These past few days, taking advantage of the time she was away from trouble, she worked overtime teaching Yuki-onna how to cook. Only today did she manage to make a dish that barely met the required standard, but it was enough.

Cao Ze suddenly remembered that night when Ya Fei said that Xue Nu could cook, which surprised him for quite a while.

"Fortunately!"

……

Zhao Qian, who had just recovered from his injuries at Prime Minister Guo Kai's residence, was enraged when his lackey reported that Cao Ze had entered the closed Fei Xue Pavilion. He then proceeded to smash and destroy the room.

He had originally planned to tolerate it, but then news spread that Cao Ze had won the Snow Maiden's favor with his poem "Snow Maiden Song," which made him furious and fly into a rage on the spot.

It's one thing to beat him up, but he even dared to mess with his woman! This is an irreconcilable feud!

Guo Kai carefully avoided the ceramic shards on the ground as he walked in.

"Your Highness..."

Zhao Qian snorted coldly.

Seeing this, Guo Kai sighed helplessly. It seemed that Zhao Qian would not be at ease until Cao Ze was dealt with.

A man in black, whose face was obscured, landed on the ground and knelt on one knee, saying, "My lord, Sima Shang's letter has arrived."

Guo Kai opened the letter and read it once.

Sima Shang's rejection of his offer was expected, but he still wrote down Cao Ze's information for him. It seemed that he could continue to recruit him and turn him away from Li Mu.

Zhao Qian said, "Teacher, I'm putting my words here today. If you don't take action to help me vent my anger, I will personally find someone to do it. At worst, I'll give up being the crown prince."

Guo Kai had a headache. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Alright, I'll make a move this once."

Zhao Qian laughed three times, knowing full well that Guo Kai was a master at playing pranks.

"Tell me your plans in detail, teacher."

Guo Kai shook the letter and laughed, "This Cao Ze is a descendant of Cao Gui, a military strategist. Zhao Jia tried to recruit him a few days ago, but he refused. He seems to be a talented person. Why don't we recruit him?"

"What? We're not going to mess with him, but instead let him join us?"

Guo Kai cunningly said, "Your Highness, if we let him join us, we can do whatever we want to him. If Your Highness gets tired of him, we can just find some excuse to get rid of him, right?"

Zhao Qian frowned and said, "That bastard isn't stupid. Do you think we can get him to join us?"

Guo Kai laughed and said, "No need to look for him. We'll use an open strategy. As long as the court and the public know that he's on our side, what chance does he have of running away? If he does run away, even better. We can just secretly send people to hunt him down."

"Teacher, tell me how to deal with him."

Guo Kai said, "At the grand court assembly tomorrow, I will personally recommend him to the King, give him a minor official position and keep him like a pig, so that he has no other way out and can't become one of Zhao Jia's people. After that, it depends on His Highness's mood."

Zhao Qian clapped his hands and laughed: "This is great! Now that it's in our hands, let's see if I don't make him pay!"

Guo Kai shook his head inwardly, feeling that it would be beneath him to personally deal with a young man.

If it weren't for appeasing Zhao Qian and preventing him from causing trouble during this period, lest he jeopardize his chances of becoming crown prince and thus affect his power for decades to come, he would never have taken Cao Ze, a mere young man, seriously.

In two words, they are unworthy.

He wanted to become a man like Lü Buwei, holding the position of prime minister and ruling a country!

Speaking of Lü Buwei, at this moment, in the Qin Palace in Xianyang, Ying Zheng summoned Lü Buwei for a late-night talk.

"Uncle Zhong, the war of alliance is now coming to an end, and the momentum of Qin to unify the six states is unstoppable. I wonder if you have any good strategies for unifying and governing the six states?"

Lü Buwei laughed and said, "What a coincidence! I was just about to offer Your Majesty something to help my Great Qin rule the seven kingdoms and complete the great cause of six generations."

Ying Zheng asked expectantly, "What is it that possesses such power?"

"This is the book 'Lüshi Chunqiu,' which I painstakingly compiled. It is based on Taoism, taking the strengths of various schools of thought and discarding their weaknesses, to form a unique school of thought."

It can be said that it encompasses all things in heaven and earth, past and present, responding to the times, understanding human nature, and taking advantage of the terrain; it is sufficient to help Your Majesty achieve a great undertaking.

"The initial revisions have now been completed, and we present them to Your Majesty for your perusal."

Ying Zheng said with great interest, "Oh? The book compiled by my uncle is something I really should read carefully."

Lü Buwei smiled confidently.

Based on his own ideas, he derived the Huang-Lao philosophy of non-interference in governance, the Confucian principle of the people being more important than the ruler, and the Legalist principle of ruling the country according to law. The resulting "Lüshi Chunqiu" was sufficient to solve most of the chronic and intractable problems of the Qin state at that time.

There are two main reasons why it was first offered to Ying Zheng.

One purpose was to persuade the King of Qin to personally promote the ideas in this book.

Secondly, it was to prepare for his next move to intervene in and change Shang Yang's system of granting titles based on the number of people. He wanted to use this opportunity to intervene in the core of Qin's military power and try to control Qin's military power again.

If all else fails, then abandon the idea of ​​"the Lü family replacing Qin" and prepare to take control of the Qin state.

He wants to be recorded in history like his ancestor Lü Shang, the ancient Shang Yang, so that he can be revered for all ages!

Meanwhile, Cao Ze, at Feixue Pavilion in Handan, was looking solemnly at the food prepared by Xue Nu herself on the table.

……

Chapter 53 Potato Trainee: Playing the Flute and Dancing

Cao Ze wanted to ask Ya Fei why she used the word "pāozhī" instead of "chuānshǐ" (cooking). Was this a sign of good culinary skills?

Cao Ze held up his chopsticks and paused for a long time.

Ultimately, I still didn't have the courage that Fish Leong gave me.

He seriously suspected that eating that black thing would immediately send him to the outhouse where the door couldn't be opened from this side, turning him into a jetpack warrior.

Most afraid of the air suddenly quiet.

Ya Fei was in an awkward situation. She was perfectly fine this afternoon, so how could this accident happen in the evening?

It's still the simplest hot and sour shredded potatoes.

The snow woman stood to the side, her pretty face, tinged with a pale gray hue, was practically dripping with blood.

With Sister Yafei not by her side, she became nervous, careless, and accidentally used too much fire.

She almost set the kitchen on fire and burned off her hair, but luckily she managed to extinguish the fire in time using her cultivated cold-attribute internal energy, and in the end, she made a superb "delicacy".

Cao Ze coughed lightly.

To prevent his heart and life from being severely damaged, and to resolve this awkward situation filled with love and peace, he decided...

Are there any potatoes left?

"Ah, yes, yes."

The Snow Woman quickly said, "There's still one basket left. Wait a moment, I'll go practice cooking some more."

Cao Ze smiled and said, "You think this is playing the flute, Potato Trainee?"

The Snow Maiden was now very flustered, secretly annoyed at herself for being bewitched by Sister Yafei.

She clearly knows nothing about cooking, yet she insisted on making her learn it on the spot.

If we're going to thank Cao Ze, we can't do it any other way.

Wouldn't it be nice to have her play the flute for him or dance for him?

Cooking is the chef's job!

Yafei changed the subject appropriately to avoid making Xue'er extremely embarrassed.

"If you don't mind, young master, how about I cook for you myself?"

Cao Ze was worried that he was dealing with these two, who were like a pair of hidden dragons and phoenix chicks, each more difficult than the other.

He immediately thought to himself, "No need for that. Seeing potatoes reminds me of a delicacy I once ate. I'd like to take this opportunity to invite you two ladies to try it."

Both Xue Nu and Ya Fei were filled with curiosity, wondering what Cao Ze was planning to do.

Upon arriving at the kitchen of Feixue Pavilion, Cao Ze immediately saw a wooden crate full of potatoes, which felt very familiar.

With the two women watching, he began peeling and slicing potatoes on the spot.

Then rinse the potatoes with water to remove the starch, and then blanch them in boiling water with salt to gelatinize the starch in the potato slices.

Finally, chill the potato slices with ice water created by the Snow Woman using her internal energy. Then, heat oil in a wok to medium heat, add the chilled potato slices to the oil at a low temperature, and slowly fry them until dry.

Looking at the various seasonings on the stove, Cao Ze could only say, "This is truly a masterpiece from the Qin Dynasty."

Crush and grind the Sichuan peppercorns into powder, then mix with salt and sugar.

Sprinkled on freshly baked potato chips, the rich and enticing aroma lingers in the kitchen.

If you ask him why he's such a good cook, you have to mention those days when he worked overtime at his beautiful boss's house. That's another story.

The two women, now back inside, looked at the golden potato slices on the sandalwood tray and each picked up a slice with their chopsticks.