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

In the study, shrouded in thick fog, a small red clay stove sits on a sandalwood table, with a copper kettle gently boiling on it, releasing plumes of steam.

Lu Buwei stood by the window, his face cold as he looked at the courtyard ground, which had just been cleaned of bloodstains.

How many people died?

Old Zheng wiped the water off his face and said, suppressing his anger, "Sixty-six of the guards in the manor were killed or wounded, nineteen of the ministers and guests were killed or wounded, and thirty of the Earth-level assassins from the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) were killed or wounded, for a total of one hundred and fifteen people killed or wounded."

"Humph!"

Lü Buwei flicked his sleeve and said, "Cao Ze has really eaten a leopard's gall!"

Old Man Zheng knelt on one knee and said, "Prime Minister Lü, this is Cao Ze's revenge. We cannot tolerate this! The entire city of Xianyang is watching!"

"Just give the order! All three hundred retainers and six thousand city guards of Luowang will be dispatched to slaughter Cao Ze and his entire clan, and we guarantee that even that donkey will not be spared!"

Last night was a humiliating disgrace. Hundreds of people were killed or injured, and not a single person survived!

Lu Buwei's expression was grim and uncertain. "Cao Ze must be killed, but we must not do it so openly!"

When Ying Yiren ascended to the throne, he personally led the army to massacre all heretics and opponents in Xianyang City. Later, he spent a lot of time and effort to firmly grasp the court.

If another killing were to break out over a minor figure like Cao Ze, it would undoubtedly cause panic among the nobles and officials in Xianyang, needlessly pushing them towards the side of Lord Changping, the Wang family, and so on.

This undoubtedly undermined his very foundation in the Qin state.

"Have you investigated the explosion inside the manor last night and the missing Black Dragon Scroll thoroughly?"

The image of Princess Yafei of Zhao that night flashed through Lü Buwei's mind, and he suspected that what happened last night might also be related to her.

Old Man Zheng said with shame, "The whereabouts of the Black Dragon Scroll are still unclear, and it is not yet clear who has obtained it."

"The explosion inside the mansion was initially determined to have been caused by a white-haired man."

Time was limited, and this was all the information he could obtain.

Lu Buwei slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. He didn't know whether he should be grateful or not. He was grateful that back then, in that secluded little building, the Gongshu family had built a self-destruct mechanism.

Otherwise, if the secret information about him inside the small building were exposed, even if he didn't fall from grace, he would suffer an unbearable blow and would never again be able to wield the same power as he does now.

However, the peak Grandmaster level experts are truly terrifying. Last night, the sword light that flashed past under the moonlight instantly passed by more than a dozen experts and severely injured the Nine Luo Net. It almost pierced his body.

Fortunately, Old Man Zheng protected him with his own body; otherwise, he might have been killed by that nameless man.

"We will meet tomorrow..."

Lü Buwei narrowed his eyes slightly. "It's time to wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

……

After Cao Ze helped Xuan Jian and Wuming heal their wounds, he was about to rest when Zhao Gao invited him to Ganquan Palace. After giving Zhao Ji a thorough dressing-down, Cao Ze practically had to lean against the palace wall to walk out of the palace.

Zhao Gao looked at Cao Ze, who resembled someone with kidney deficiency, with a strange expression.

"Sir, we have some medicinal herbs that nourish the local area in our collection. Would you like some?"

Cao Ze almost spat on Zhao Gao's head; why did he have to bring up such a sore subject?

Is it easy for him?

They fight at night, and they have to fight during the day.

Suddenly, Cao Ze looked at the enthusiastic Zhao Gao with a strange expression.

"Brother Zhao, why do you collect that stuff? Do you have some other need for it?"

Zhao Gao remained expressionless. "The Zhao family only has Cheng Di as a male capable of fathering children. All of these are prepared for Cheng Di."

Cao Ze asked in surprise, "Since you're so concerned about the Zhao family's offspring, why don't you urge Brother Zhao Cheng to get married?"

Zhao Gao seemed to have been hit where it hurt by Cao Ze, and he sighed.

"Sir, you may not know this, but the Zhao family is quite famous in Xianyang City now because our family is favored by the Empress Dowager."

"But reputation is a double-edged sword. The daughters of nobles and officials with certain social standing generally disagree with Cheng Di when they hear that he has a brother like ours."

What he didn't say was that this was also one of the reasons why he was in such a hurry to go to Zhangtai Palace.

Only by climbing higher and seizing the future titles and official positions of those high-ranking officials... can the Zhao family avoid being disgraced because of him.

He wanted the Zhao family to be recorded in history as the greatest family in Qin and even the Seven Kingdoms because of him.

Cao Ze said speechlessly, "Brother Zhao, you've really gotten picky. The important thing is to get Brother Zhao Cheng to have a few children soon, isn't it?"

Zhao Gao said, "Sir, do you not know that to rise in the Qin state, one not only needs to be highly capable, but also needs to have connections? Apart from me in the palace, what connections does our Zhao family have? We can only hope to find a good in-law who can help Chengdi."

This was the only solution he could come up with before he met Cao Ze and saw any hope of entering Zhangtai Palace.

The Luo Wang organization is ultimately not respectable. If given a choice, he would still hope that Chengdi could follow the right path, preferably joining the army and gaining control of a region's military power.

With him inside the palace and his brother Cheng holding power outside, the Zhao family, working together, would surely prosper.

After listening to Zhao Gao's words, Cao Ze remained noncommittal.

Others have their own considerations and ideas; he has his own thoughts and beliefs.

He still understood the principle of "do not impose on others what you would not have them do to you."

"alright."

Zhao Gao smiled sinisterly, summoned the Six Sword Slaves, and said, "Go to my place and bring me those deer antlers and tiger penises."

After saying that, he turned to Cao Ze and said obsequiously, "It's just a small token of my appreciation, please accept it, sir."

Before long, the twin sisters, Zhuanpo Miehun, each brought over a bag of nourishing medicine. As for the remaining four sword slaves, they had all disappeared.

Zhao Gao took the item, his mouth as sweet as honey, and used all his flattery skills to please Cao Ze.

Whether he can be successfully transferred to Zhangtai Palace and work under the King depends on whether Cao Ze can say a few good words for him.

The six sword slaves couldn't bear to look at their leader, who was scurrying around Cao Ze, flattering him, and disappeared instantly.

Cao Ze, carrying the nourishing medicinal herbs that Zhao Gao had sent through the Six Sword Slaves, still had a strange expression on his face even after returning to his residence.

"what happened?"

Zi Nu asked softly.

Cao Ze coughed lightly and said, "It's nothing. How is Wuming's injury?"

He had a slight regret.

Last night, in order to save Xuan Jian, who was almost driven mad by killing, Wuming used the strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" and risked his life to attack Lü Buwei.

According to Xuan Jian, it seems that Wuming was just a hair's breadth away from delivering the sword into Lü Buwei's heart.

Unfortunately, Nameless never kills anyone, and he would not make an exception for Nameless.

Zi Nu said gently, "It's a minor injury; you're fine now."

Cao Ze rubbed his hands together. "Zi Nu, let's talk about something."

Zi Nu flicked a strand of purple hair beside her temple and smiled alluringly, "Do you still want me to persuade Wuming to help you one more time?"

Cao Ze shamelessly said, "The one who truly understands me is Miss Zi Nu."

Zi Nu rolled her eyes at Cao Ze, her charm only growing stronger.

“When you had Wuming take action last night, I knew you would ask me to persuade him again.”

Cao Ze chuckled, "Although I don't know how you convinced him, I do know that he seems to listen to you without question and almost never refuses you."

He was also quite surprised when he observed this.

Could it be that Zi Nu's past was really extraordinary?

Just as netizens speculated, she is indeed a descendant of the Zhou royal family, a princess whose status rivals that of feudal lords.

Otherwise, he couldn't understand why Wuming listened to Zi Nu so much.

Unless Zi Nu has done Wu Ming a favor, but how could that be possible, even if Zi Nu has already broken through to the first-class realm.

Zi Nu's eyes gleamed with cunning. "I can help you one more time, but I want to see what's written on that black dragon scroll."

Cao Ze shrugged. "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

"Although we have the Black Dragon Scroll, we don't have the corresponding Thousand Machine Code Copper Disc, so we can't solve it."

Zi Nu said dismissively, "Just saw it open."

Most of the magical treasure boxes without keys are opened this way, just like how Cao Ze used a Lu Ban saw to cut open the magical box in the fake prime minister's mansion in Handan.

Cao Ze chuckled and said, "Don't you know anything about the Black Dragon Scroll?"

Zi Nu paused for a moment, then said, "I don't know much about it, I only know that it records the Qin state's top secrets."

If she hadn't been an expert in intelligence, she probably wouldn't have known what this thing was.

Cao Ze took out the Black Dragon Scroll from his sleeve.

The scroll is entirely black, decorated with golden dragon patterns, and has combination locks at both ends using the Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, Five Elements, Yin and Yang as the code.

"This is a combination lock made using Yin-Yang, Five Elements, and Eight Trigrams. It is said to have millions of possible combinations. If it is forcibly opened, a highly corrosive liquid will be pumped out, destroying the scroll and the person who obtains it."

Zi Nu looked at the exquisitely crafted black dragon scroll, which resembled a work of art, and asked, "Where is the Thousand Machine Code Copper Plate?"

Cao Ze chuckled and said, "If you promise me, I'll tell you."

"it is good."

Zi Nu agreed immediately, which surprised Cao Ze slightly. He thought Zi Nu would try to bargain with him or something.

Zi Nu smiled mysteriously, "What, are you surprised?"

“Yes, there is a bit.” Cao Ze paused and said, “To be honest, I’ve always felt that there are some coincidences in the things around me.”

Zi Nu's heart tightened slightly. Had Cao Ze discovered something?

"What coincidence?"

Cao Ze shook his head and chuckled, "Never mind, forget I said anything."

"It is said that there are two of these Thousand Machine Code Copper Plates. One of them is in the Xianyang Palace. If you have the ability, you can go and get it. I will not stop you."

Zi Nu sneered, "You think I can't have you, right?"

"Since there are two pieces, one in the royal palace, the most likely place for the other piece seems to be Lü Buwei's prime minister's residence, right?"

"It seems that even if I don't agree, you still have a way to get me to ask the Nameless Sword Saint for help, right, Cao Ze?"