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

The Moon Goddess was very angry, and even angrier when she saw Mi Lian chatting happily with Cao Ze.

A thought suddenly struck her: "Where's my senior sister? I need to see her!"

She wanted to show her senior sister in person how Cao Ze was flirting with other women here!

Cao Ze chuckled and said, "Yan Fei isn't here. If you want to find her, go out and look for her."

The Moon Goddess's face darkened. She suddenly realized that she shouldn't stay there any longer and should turn around and leave.

Thinking of this, the Moon Goddess suppressed her anger at being humiliated and left in a huff.

At the same time, she had a slight doubt in her heart: her senior sister did not seem to be at Cao Ze's residence.

She had been with her senior sister for many years and was extremely sensitive to her senior sister's presence. Even if her senior sister did not see her, she could sense whether her senior sister was around through her synesthesia.

Where did my senior sister go?

The Moon Goddess stood alone in front of Cao Ze's mansion, gazing ahead with a slightly bewildered look in her eyes.

Inside the mansion, Cao Ze continued chatting with Mi Lian.

Whether it was because they had mutual feelings for each other, or because Cao Ze was too good at flirting, Mi Lian laughed until tears almost fell from her eyes under Cao Ze's teasing.

But the good news didn't last long before Cao Ze sensed a strong sword intent.

This is……

Cao Ze looked towards the door, where Jing Ni appeared out of nowhere, confronting the swordsman who had entered the mansion.

"It's my second uncle!"

Mi Lian was so frightened that her face turned pale. "He must have found out that I ran away without permission... Oh no, Father is going to confine me again..."

Cao Ze gently patted Mi Lian's shoulder, "Don't worry, it's alright."

"If your father dares to confine you, I'll... I'll secretly go find you."

Mi Lian chuckled, "With my second uncle around, if you get caught, you'll be utterly humiliated."

"If word gets out that the Grand Censor of Qin sneaked into the Emperor's residence just to see him..."

Mi Lian's pretty face flushed red with excitement, she seemed very excited.

It seemed like they were really looking forward to Cao Ze doing this.

"Imperial Censor Cao, please allow Mi Lian to come out."

Chang Wenjun carried a sword on his back; compared to his gentle elder brother, his personality was like a sword.

Cao Ze scratched Mi Lian's palm and chuckled, "You go first, I'll come find you when I have time."

Mi Lian hummed in agreement and left the hall, turning back every three steps.

To avoid arousing her second uncle's suspicion, she kept her head down.

When Changwenjun saw that Mi Lian had come out unharmed, he didn't say a word of unnecessary words.

"Go home."

"Oh……"

Mi Lian turned back reluctantly, and her eyes met Cao Ze's. Her previously downcast mood instantly lifted.

All of this was witnessed by the Moon Goddess, who had not yet gone far.

"I never imagined that Changwen-jun would be a grandmaster of swordsmanship..."

The moon goddess murmured something and disappeared into the distance.

Cao Ze felt a little sorry that the pretty girl left like this; he still had eighteen kinds of martial arts skills and thirty-six kinds of fancy moves that he hadn't used yet.

As for what he told Mi Lian about secretly going to Changping Jun's residence to meet her, he forgot about it as soon as he finished speaking.

He's not out of his mind yet; coaxing a young girl and going into the lion's den for her are two different things.

Didn't you see that Changwen-jun is a grandmaster? A grandmaster of swordsmanship, that kind of grandmaster is the most troublesome.

He had no intention of having a secret rendezvous or cheating on his wife, and getting himself into trouble.

Just as Cao Ze was about to return to the backyard to explore its mysteries, Gai Nie arrived.

"Mr. Cao Ze, His Majesty requests your presence at the palace."

Gai Nie said politely.

Cao Ze asked in surprise, "What is it?"

Gai Nie said, "Just now, Lord Changping went to the palace and introduced the leader of the Farmer's School to the king, and recommended that the leader of the Farmer's School replace Zheng Guo and take charge of the canal construction."

Cao Ze immediately understood.

"Okay, I understand. I'll go now."

Whether we can get rid of Changping-kun depends on this.

……

Chapter 464 Feeding Zhao Ji Well

Outside the Great Wall of Qin, the sky was a clear, bright blue.

On the desertified plain, below the hills, stood a square formation of a hundred infantrymen, all clad in helmets and armor.

The Qin soldier at the forefront held a ten-foot-long spear, its tip pointing out horizontally and slightly upward, to hook and peck at the enemy.

Within the square formation was a row of crossbowmen kneeling, each holding a crossbow bolt.

The metal spearheads and arrowheads gleamed with a chilling light in the sunlight.

The Qin soldiers in the formation remained expressionless, relying on their battle formation and equipment to continuously slaughter the grassland wolf tribe, whose numbers far exceeded their own.

Among the fallen corpses were black slaves from Kunlun, white Romans, Indians, and people from other small Western countries.

Soon after, the remaining wolf tribesmen collapsed, scattered like birds and beasts, and carried the Qin Great Wall away into the distance.

This is precisely the probing tactic that the grassland wolf tribes use every year before winter to raid.

The Qin soldier casually set fire to the corpses, burning most of them before turning back to the Qin Great Wall.

They were already used to the wolves' probing attacks.

Soon after, a dark figure followed the smoke and arrived at the location.

"This body is failing...it needs to be replaced..."

Donghuang Taiyi looked down at his emaciated body and muttered to himself.

In order to successfully find the legendary ancient kingdom of Loulan, he stayed in the Qin state for many days, searching for clues.

It wasn't until today that it finally left the Great Wall of Qin, and the body's blood and flesh nutrients had been completely exhausted.

Donghuang Taiyi's soul left his body, found a robust, unburnt corpse of a foreign race, and strode into the depths of the grassland.

If he cannot find the ancient kingdom of Loulan and obtain the demonic body of the ancient demon god Chiyou within twenty years, he will surely suffer the fate of having his soul dissipate.

……

Xianyang, Zhangtai Palace.

Cao Ze and Gai Nie arrived at the Imperial Study.

Ying Zheng stood with his back to them, hands behind his back, gazing out the window at the empty palace.

"I have never doubted Lord Changping's loyalty, therefore I have appointed him as prime minister..."

Ying Zheng turned to look at Cao Ze, "If it weren't for you, sir, the Qin state would have suffered a severe blow."

"But since there is no evidence, I cannot arrest Lord Changping without cause."

Ying Zheng paused for a moment, then said, "If what you say is true, sir, Lord Changping already has ulterior motives. Could you tell me, besides the Zheng Guo Canal, does Lord Changping have any other unknown schemes?"

Of course there were, otherwise the hundreds of thousands of Qin soldiers who were later massacred would not have happened... Cao Ze muttered to himself, but outwardly agreed with Ying Zheng, saying, "Your Majesty is right, perhaps Lord Changping has other schemes."

Ying Zheng suddenly said, "I have a task for you: send men to infiltrate Lord Changping's residence and conduct a secret search to see if you can find any evidence of Lord Changping's crimes or what he is planning."

Cao Ze was stunned for a moment, unable to figure out what Ying Zheng was thinking.

“Your Majesty, not only is Lord Changping’s residence heavily guarded, but his brother, Lord Changwen, is also a master swordsman. It would be extremely difficult to infiltrate and search the place. Moreover, if we were exposed, it might arouse Lord Changping’s suspicion.”

He didn't want to take on this thankless task, so he simply exaggerated the difficulties.

Ying Zheng said, "I believe you can do it, or that you have someone around you who can do it."

He knew some things about Jing Ni; she was once a top-tier assassin in the Luo Wang organization, having carried out many difficult missions. Now she is a grandmaster of swordsmanship and Cao Ze's concubine.

He felt he could make good use of it; it was just a concubine, and he figured Cao Ze wouldn't mind.

Cao Ze realized who Ying Zheng was referring to.

In order to protect Jing Ni, he made her stay by his side as a concubine.

Unexpectedly, Ying Zheng would...

Cao Ze was displeased.

Ying Zheng didn't treat them as human beings, or rather, he used them as tools.

Cao Ze felt powerless and couldn't find the words to refuse.

He examined himself once again: was he really willing to risk his life for the Qin state, just to end the war as soon as possible and usher in a peaceful and prosperous life?

But now Ying Zheng is increasingly resembling a historical dictator, gradually becoming cold-blooded and ruthless.

Especially after experiencing Lü Buwei's escape to the State of Zhao, he could clearly feel that Ying Zheng, after consolidating power, had lost his former forbearance and his former warmth.

If Ying Zheng were to unify the seven kingdoms, and given his stubbornness and desire to maintain his tyrannical nature as he did in history, would he still be able to stop him?

Cao Ze took a deep breath. "Your Majesty, I understand. I will make the arrangements."

He didn't want to stay any longer, so he said goodbye directly.

After Cao Ze left, Ying Zheng said to Gai Nie, "When the leader of the Farmer's School goes to Jingyang, you and Zhao Gao go together and secretly monitor his and the Farmer's School's every move, and record all their actions."

He dared not trust Changping Jun, nor did he dare to trust Cao Ze too much; only by confirming it himself could he feel at ease.

He didn't want to gamble, nor did he want to create another Lü Buwei; he wouldn't tolerate even Cao Ze.