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

However, Lady Mingzhu refers to herself as "this palace," and in addition, Lady Mingzhu's predecessor was the Lady of the State of Korea.

There's always this strange feeling that he's having an affair with his brother-in-law and stepmother.

Seeing that Cao Ze remained silent, Madam Mingzhu smiled even more broadly.

She is now eager to go to Xianyang, to Cao Ze's residence, to assert her sovereignty over Cao Ze in the name of the mistress of the house.

But before that...

Madam Mingzhu glanced subtly at Jingni, whose expression remained indifferent.

Based on her womanly intuition, the biggest obstacle to her rise to power was not Princess Honglian, who was about to marry Cao Ze, but Jing Ni, the female assassin who had never abandoned Cao Ze.

Even though Jing Ni never expressed any desire to become Cao Ze's wife or the mistress of the house.

As evening approached, Yingge, who had spent the day in Xinzheng, returned to Zilanxuan.

"Have you found Cao Ze?"

Zi Nu leaned against the wooden window, sipping her tea, gazing at the scenery of Xinzheng as night fell.

Yingge carefully replied, "Replying to Sister Zinu, it has not been found yet."

The girls in Zilan Pavilion, regardless of whether they are older or younger than Zi Nu, all address her as "Sister Zi Nu," a respectful title.

Yingge, adapting to local customs, worked under Zi Nu and naturally addressed her as "elder sister."

Zi Nu let out a soft "Eh?" and asked, "You didn't find it either?"

Yingge kept her head down, but her eyes changed slightly. Had the master guessed correctly? Did Zi Nu doubt her?

"I've disappointed Sister Zi Nu."

Yingge tried to keep her voice normal to avoid arousing Zi Nu's suspicion.

Zi Nu gently stroked her delicate eyebrows and forehead.

"Princess Ya said that you and Cao Ze are friends, and that you once helped Cao Ze deliver a letter to Feixue Pavilion. I thought you could find him, but it seems I was overthinking it."

Yesterday, she instructed members of the Quicksand organization in Xinzheng to secretly investigate where Cao Ze was sleeping.

But a day passed and nothing was found.

At least in all the restaurants, inns and other places where people could stay in Xinzheng, there was no trace of Cao Ze, as if he had vanished into thin air.

Upon hearing Zi Nu's words, Ying Ge suddenly realized what was going on.

She subconsciously recalled the day she met Cao Ze years ago.

She still remembered that it was at Wuqi Caotang.

Three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

A beautiful and kind girl, as lovely as ice and snow, inexplicably flashed through Yingge's mind.

It was only when she delivered a letter to Cao Ze that she learned about the relationship between this girl named Xue Nu and Princess Ya Fei.

Thinking back to the conversation between Ya Fei and Zi Nu, it seems that Xue Nu has already given birth to a son for Cao Ze, but it is not yet known whether it is a daughter or a son.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of envy, longing to have a child with her husband as well.

Hmm, I wonder how that Yuki-onna, who once considered me a friend, is doing now.

Are you ok?

……

Chapter 492 Breastfeeding

Late autumn in Handan.

Compared to the cool Xinzheng, Handan, which is closer to the north, is already quite cold.

Feixue Pavilion still stands next to the Zhao King's Palace, but it is no longer brightly lit as before. Only a few rooms on the roof of the pavilion are lit, making it look somewhat desolate.

But within Handan, no one dared to underestimate them; in fact, some were even afraid of them.

It was created by Consort Ya, the current King Zhao's aunt, who personally orchestrated the "Xuanwu Gate Incident" and helped Zhao Jia ascend to the throne.

Last winter, amidst the bloody upheaval in the palace, countless wealthy and noble families in Handan were purged, and the one who purged them was none other than Consort Ya!

At this moment, inside Feixue Pavilion.

If someone were to look into the house from outside the window, they would surely see a beautiful woman with a cool and aloof demeanor, dressed in a light blue dress.

Although only her back can be seen, her exquisite and alluring hips and back, slender waist, snow-white skin, jade-like neck like a swan's, and the delicate hands that she raises from time to time all proclaim the woman's stunning beauty.

"Wow...wow..."

The baby's cries broke the silence in the room.

Then, the sound of a baby crying could be heard from the next room.

The woman fell silent, seemingly questioning the meaning of life.

A slightly hurried sound of footsteps came, and the door was pulled open.

A woman, whose childish appearance had just faded and who had a ponytail and a somewhat heroic air, walked in carrying a crying baby with its eyes closed.

As she hummed a gentle and peaceful tune, she looked up and asked, "Sister Snow Maiden, is Little Snow crying again?"

Because Cao Ze was not present, the two women, still attached to their child, did not name him, but instead each took a character from their own names as a substitute.

A hint of distress appeared on the snow maiden's cold and beautiful face.

"He's crying again... I tried my best to be as quiet as possible, so why does he still cry as soon as he wakes up?"

The child in Li Ji's arms, who was also crying, gradually stopped crying and fussing under Li Ji's gentle coaxing.

The Snow Woman was incredibly envious when she saw the child in Li Ji's arms quiet down.

She is naturally a quiet person, and dealing with children, especially those who cry several or even ten times a day, is incredibly frustrating.

However, because she and Li Ji gave birth around the same time, and for the sake of their reputation, Sister Ya Fei did not hire any maids to help them.

When Sister Yafei was around, she could help her and Liji take care of the child, but now that Sister Yafei has led the troops to Nanyang, they have to take care of the child on their own.

"Xiaoli is so obedient."

The Snow Woman couldn't help but praise the child, but then she looked at the child still crying in her arms and felt a headache coming on.

Li Ji glanced at the little snow in Xue Nu's arms and chuckled, "Sister Xue Nu, I told you, the little snow is hungry and wants milk. You should feed it."

"Ah..." The Snow Woman couldn't help but groan, and said speechlessly, "I remember feeding her two and a half hours ago."

Li Ji looked as if she had been defeated by the Snow Woman.

"It's been two and a half hours since you last fed me? You're really something! You should be feeding me at least five or six times a day!"

Li Ji said with a hint of disappointment.

The Snow Woman remained silent, letting Li Ji lecture her.

She slowly pulled open the collar of her shirt, revealing a patch of snow-white skin.

Following the methods taught by Li Ji and Sister Ya Fei, she fed Xiao Xue with utmost care, even as if facing a formidable enemy.

Li Ji was both speechless and amused.

"Sister Yuki-onna, why are you always so nervous?"

The Snow Woman wore a bitter expression, along with a somewhat inexplicable look.

"Don't you find this feeling... strange? It's quite novel."

Holding the baby, Li Ji asked in surprise, "It's been two or three months already, what are you still wondering about?"

She became pregnant three or four months earlier than the Snow Woman.

Compared to Yuki-onna's sensitivity, Li-ji doesn't have as many thoughts.

Once the baby is born, you can breastfeed.

Yes, that's what Sister Yafei said.

The Snow Woman said "Oh," and turned her head to look at the hazy, dim night sky outside the window.

"Liji, do you think he will go back to Handan?"

The snow woman was in a low mood.

The smile on Li Ji's pretty face gradually faded.

She sighed softly and said, "I think we should trust Sister Yafei. She said he would come back, so he definitely will."

"Sister Yafei also said that if he doesn't want to come back, she will tie Cao Ze up and bring him back."

The Snow Woman's gaze was deep and somewhat melancholic as she said, "If he wanted to come back, he could have already done so..."

"Do you think he still loves us?"

Liki was a little frustrated; she sometimes worried about this.

It's unclear whether Sister Yafei, who kept promising to bring Cao Ze back, will actually be able to bring their man back.

The snow woman seemed to realize that she had been a spoilsport.

She was naturally quick-witted, and with a thought, she smiled and pointed to Xiao Li in Li Ji's arms.

"It's a pity that we all had that guy's children, so we couldn't arrange a marriage between them when we were still babies, otherwise we could have become even closer relatives."

The slightly somber atmosphere vanished without a trace after the Snow Woman spoke.

When Li Ji heard the Snow Woman joking, she would jokingly reply in kind, "Is this a wish that all lovers in the world will end up as siblings?"

When she first became pregnant, Xue Nu did not know that she was carrying Cao Ze's child.

After the snow woman became pregnant, he jokingly told her that he wanted to arrange a marriage between them since they were still babies.

It was so frightening for Yafei and her that it was no exaggeration to say that chaos ensued.

Silvery laughter echoed in the room as Snow Maiden and Li Ji laughed happily.

At least for this moment, none of them cared whether Cao Ze would come back or where he had died.

……