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

Cao Ze stayed another night at the Qu family mansion and enjoyed the two fragrant concubines sent by Qu Chen.

These two concubines are not the same pair as the last one; they are obviously there to improve his taste.

However, he did not come to the Qu family mansion to sleep with Qu Chen's wife.

Instead, under the guise of visiting friends, he intentionally or unintentionally told the Qu family that the patriarch of the Xiang clan was dissatisfied with Li Yuan's actions during this period, believing that he had ulterior motives, wanted to kill the magistrate, and intended to rebel.

He is currently plotting in secret to incite a war between the State of Chu and the State of Chu.

We cannot allow Huang Xie's faction to die too quickly, nor can we allow Li Yuan's faction to become too weak.

It can be said that they went to great lengths.

Even if she got Ying Zheng's mother pregnant, it would still be considered as doing right by him.

……

Five days later.

The State of Qin, the residence of Lord Changping.

The peasant hero clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the kerosene has been delivered to various places and is awaiting your orders."

Chang Wenjun stood with his sword on his back. "Brother, I have secretly prepared carriages, horses, and provisions. We can take your wife and Lian'er away at any time."

Changping Jun gazed at the cold, starry night, his eyes filled with worry and his heart heavy with sorrow.

"Father..."

He murmured, "We must hold on and wait for our child to return home."

Outside the walls of Xianyang Palace.

Zhao Gao endured a bumpy journey, killing more than a dozen fast horses, and had just returned to Xianyang when he received a secret report from Zhu Zhong.

"Godfather! I've already marked the locations of those oil wells. Here's a map."

Zhu Zhong stood beside Zhao Gao, his face effeminate, and respectfully handed over a roll of sheepskin.

Zhao Gao took the map, played with it for a moment, and chuckled, "Very good. Your godfather will remember this as a favor."

Zhu Zhongxin remained unmoved, knowing that this generally meant a long and uncertain future.

But on the surface, he was overjoyed, saying, "Thank you, godfather!"

He was now a dead eunuch, with no way out but to follow Zhao Gao to the bitter end.

"Hehe, what a good son."

Zhao Gao said, "Father, I will go to the palace to see the King now."

Zhu Zhong was about to leave when Zhao Gao suddenly turned back, saying, "There's one more thing."

"Godfather, please speak."

Zhu Zhongli immediately bowed and listened attentively.

Zhao Gao pondered for a moment and said, "Your status in the peasant family is still too low. Since you have earned a merit from your godfather, then your godfather will take this opportunity to help you move up in the peasant family."

Zhu Zhong was surprised, never expecting the situation to take such a turn.

He exclaimed with delight, "Thank you, Godfather!"

Zhao Gao chuckled and said, "Now that things have come to this, there are some things I can tell you."

"Lord Changping intends to destroy the Zheng Guo Canal, and the King already knows this and wants to take this opportunity to eliminate Lord Changping's faction. You should find the right moment, without affecting the King's grand plan, to use this secret to gain the trust of your leader, and climb up the ranks step by step until you reach the top! Do you understand?"

Zhu Zhong was shocked to find so many unpredictable twists and turns in the matter, and quickly replied, "I understand, son!"

“However…” Zhu Zhong hesitated, “What if the leader of the chivalrous sect asks about the source of the information…”

Zhao Gao smiled wickedly: "Cao Ze, Tian Mi, you should know what to do, right?"

Zhu Zhong suddenly realized, "Brilliant! We can shift the blame to Cao Ze. When the King of Qin finds out, he will definitely blame Cao Ze!"

He suddenly asked, "By the way, godfather, what is the king's grand plan? Is it to get rid of Lord Changping?"

"Fool!" Zhao Gao tapped Zhu Zhong on the head. "Of course, we must protect the Zheng Guo Canal!"

"Compared to the Zheng Guo Canal, what does the life or death of Lord Changping matter! Think about it carefully!"

Zhu Zhonglian said, "Yes, yes, I will go and think about it right away."

Zhao Gao watched Zhu Zhong disappear in a flash and shook his head, "Still not steady enough."

He carefully put away the map, put his hands behind his back, and entered the palace.

Ying Zheng looked at the map Zhao Gao handed him and sneered, "Lord Changping, you really have guts!"

If all the nodes marked on the map were detonated, the Zheng Guo Canal would be rendered useless, essentially no different from being dug from scratch!

Zhao Gao knelt on the ground and respectfully asked, "Your Majesty, should we arrest Lord Changping immediately?"

“How can we arrest them? All of this was done by the farmers. They can simply distance themselves from the matter and pin all the blame on the farmers.”

Ying Zheng suddenly laughed and said, "However, Lord Changping certainly did not expect that I had already made arrangements."

"Trying to escape back to the State of Chu?! Humph!"

"Zhao Gao!"

Zhao Gao prostrated himself on the ground, saying, "This servant is here."

"According to Cao Ze and Gai Nie's assessment, Chang Wenjun is a master swordsman, so you will be in charge of keeping a close eye on him!"

Zhao Gao's heart skipped a beat. He stole a glance at Ying Zheng, who was radiating murderous intent, and said cautiously, "This servant understands."

……

Outside the Great Wall of Qin.

Old Man Lü piloted his mechanical eagle, wobbling and flying over the Great Wall of Qin, and arrived in the territory of the Qin state.

"High Priest, Cao Ze is now the Imperial Censor of Qin, so he must be in Xianyang."

"Okay, let's go to Xianyang."

The high priest looked worried, wondering how long the seal on Loulan would last.

While the High Priest and Elder Lü entered the Qin Great Wall, hundreds of miles away, the arrogant and wild female chieftain of the Moon Wolf clan, Nuomin, led four top wolf warriors on a high-speed journey south to capture Cao Ze!

……

The world is in turmoil.

For several days in a row, even though Cao Ze had not yet entered the Celestial Realm, he sensed in the darkness that a great change was about to take place in the era.

On a clear and bright day, Hua Ying, who hadn't seen Cao Ze for several days, sent Xiao Qing to find him.

Cao Ze followed Qing Ruo to Zui Meng Lou, and on the way, he bought two candied hawthorns to bribe the little girl.

"What does your sister Huaying like?"

Xiao Qingruo licked her candied hawthorn, glanced at Cao Ze sideways, and said disdainfully, "Is it normal to ask questions so bluntly? I can tell you're plotting against my sister Huaying, you're still up to no good."

Cao Ze laughed, "What do you mean by 'plotting something sinister' and 'still harboring wicked intentions'? Don't you know that 'he who takes a man's money is bound to him' and 'he who eats his food is bound to him'?"

"What did I eat from you?!"

"You insist on licking two candied hawthorns!"

"Nonsense, I only licked one!"

Xiaoqing's refusal to admit that she licked two sticks surprised Cao Ze greatly.

"You dare to do it but not admit it? Believe me or not, I'll tell Sister Huaying!"

Xiao Qingruo panicked and cried out, "No! Don't tell Sister Huaying!"

Cao Ze felt there was a story behind it.

Why?

"...I won't tell you!"

"I'll buy you another one!"

"Two?"

"can!"

Qingruo slightly regretted not ordering three.

She licked Cao Ze's candied hawthorn and said, "It's nothing. Sister Huaying and I made a promise that if I have one to eat, she will have one to eat too."

Cao Ze understood, "So your sister Hua Ying also likes candied hawthorns."

Xiao Qing said disdainfully, "Only a fool like you wouldn't know that candied hawthorns are delicious!"

Cao Ze chuckled and said, "I have even better food, something you and your sister Huaying have never tried before."

Xiao Qingruo's eyes lit up. "What is it?!"

"It's similar to your candied hawthorn, but it's very meaty."

"real?!"

"How could it be fake?"

"Where is it? I'll go try it!"

"Hey, I'm not telling you!"

Xiao Qing was furious: "You've tricked me!"

Cao Ze chuckled and said, "I'm not teasing you, I'm just taking care of you. If you can't finish it, it would be better if your sister Hua Ying did it instead."

Xiao Qingruo became even more curious, "What is it? Is it very expensive?"

Cao Ze chuckled and said, "It's very expensive, worth more than a thousand pieces of gold."

Xiao Qing stuck out her little tongue, which was stained crimson red by the hawthorn fruit, making her look very cute.

"That's really too expensive for us."

Cao Ze chuckled and said, "When you're a little older, I'll give you a taste."

"Really?" Xiao Qingruo's small eyes lit up.