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

Yesterday, after listening to Journey to the West, he had a sudden enlightenment while cultivating last night. He successfully constructed the Great Circulation within his body using the hundred meridians as the threads, thus advancing from the acquired realm to the first-class innate realm.

Gongsun Long, however, had no interest in listening. Instead, he frowned and pondered the logic puzzle about red and blue eyes that Cao Ze had just given him.

Cao Ze glanced at Gongsun Long, who was deep in thought.

This red-and-blue-eyes problem was created by math prodigy Terence Tao.

He had seen it posted online years ago, so he brought it out to give Gongsun Long a hard time.

This logic puzzle seems simple and easy to understand, but it is actually full of traps and is logically complex. If you are not careful, you will be led astray.

Shao Siming Bai quickly tugged at her sister who was lost in thought.

"Listen quickly, listen quickly."

Shao Siming asked blankly, "What are you listening to?"

Cao Ze began to speak slowly, emphasizing the various schools of thought that Bodhi had mentioned, such as Confucianism, Mohism, and Taoism, while removing some negative comments, since the disciple was still listening.

Shao Siming Hei quickly understood what her sister meant, and said that her sister could not stand the dryness and boredom of logic.

So this is where the good stuff is.

The black and white sisters listened to Cao Ze's storytelling with great interest, and each of them gained something from it.

As the successors to the position of Shao Siming, a position associated with fierce and malevolent forces, they were well aware of Shao Siming's weaknesses in martial arts.

Not to mention, they personally killed the previous Shao Siming and learned more secrets about the position from him.

Unlike other sects in the martial arts world that use Qi to transform power, they directly exchange their soul for Qi; if their soul dissipates, they die.

But in order to gain prominence within the Yin-Yang School and save their lives, they couldn't care less about anything else and had no choice but to go down a dark path.

And they held onto the hope of finding a solution before they were killed.

They had searched through most of the classic texts of the Yin-Yang School, but had not found anything useful.

Now, after listening to Cao Ze's account of Journey to the West, when they heard the line, "The true and wonderful secret lies in the perfect integration of exoteric and esoteric teachings; unfortunately, there is no other way to cultivate one's nature and life. It all comes down to essence, energy, and spirit; carefully preserve them and never let them leak out," they couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

The two sisters exchanged a glance, their surprise barely concealed.

They shared the same idea and both resolved to reflect on it carefully after returning home.

After Cao Ze finished telling the second story, he let out a long sigh of relief; his throat was practically parched.

That's enough for today.

A Taoist disciple said, "Mr. Cao Ze, I have a question to ask you."

Cao Ze waved his hand, stepped off the stone altar, and walked straight away.

Little did he know that after asking this question, he would be surrounded again.

Seeing the Taoist disciple's dejected expression, Zihan, a Confucian scholar, comforted him, saying, "Just now, Master Cao Ze waved his hand three times, just like the patriarch beating the monkey three times. This is to tell you to knock on the door in the middle of the night and ask."

The Taoist disciple stared blankly at Zihan, finally blurting out, "Brother, do you think I'm a fool?"

"Behold the Taoist Master's Heavenly Gang Sword!"

Zihan angrily retorted, "Such slander! I'll let you taste the power of my Gentleman's Sword!"

The two clashed, kicking up dust and causing chaos.

The Yin-Yang School disciple, who had just finished copying a large stack of bamboo slips, saw the slips scattered and cried out, "Get the hell out of my way!"

The black and white sisters appeared and softly proclaimed, "Ten Thousand Leaves Flying Flowers!"

It wasn't about mediating a fight, but about protecting the letters.

They also hoped to glean a way to save their lives from this experience.

Soon, Kong Chuan, who was on the stone altar, could no longer stand it and sternly rebuked, "Ritual!"

They successfully prevented a farce in which hundreds of families would engage in a large-scale brawl.

Even after the disciples from all schools had dispersed, they were still filled with excitement.

They all felt as if they were witnessing the birth of a new school of thought.

They went to dance halls and taverns in groups, and talked at length about logic and Journey to the West.

And he personally designated Cao Ze's teacher—the netizens—as the founder of the new Hundred Schools of Thought.

Cao Ze was unaware of all this; he had originally intended to go to Feixue Pavilion to relax.

But he was stopped by Physician Li, who came out of the palace.

"Young friend Cao Ze, the Queen has something to discuss with you."

Cao Ze knew that Physician Li was not only a physician, but also a member of the clan of the courtesan.

The medicine prescribed for Zhao Yan was his creation.

Cao Ze arrived at Chunqing Palace.

I thought it was because he had a fever again, so I told him to put out the fire with water.

Unexpectedly, he saw Guo Kai in the main hall, leaving him puzzled about the Empress's intentions.

Today, the Queen wore a royal phoenix robe, looking dignified, proper, and elegant.

She displayed the elegance and grace of a noblewoman from the State of Zhao.

This reminded Cao Ze of the scene where the Empress, dressed in a phoenix robe, shook her head and begged for his mercy, and then intensified her efforts.

Guo Kai frowned almost imperceptibly, realizing that Cao Ze and the Queen's relationship might be even closer than he had imagined.

This is not a good sign.

He knew very well that Cao Ze, with his intelligence, couldn't possibly be unaware of the obstacles he had set for him.

However, in officialdom, there are only interests, and if necessary, he would not mind apologizing.

He rose from a lowly financial official to become the current prime minister, not because he was like Han Cang, who only knew how to flatter.

The Empress waved away the maids and said softly, "I have called you two here today to tell you something."

Cao Ze snapped out of his daze and waited for the next part to continue.

Guo Kai said, "Please speak, Your Majesty."

"When I went to feed His Majesty his medicine this morning, I heard some news."

"The Qin state seems to be preparing to implement some kind of 'righteous army system' in its military, and the original plan to attack Zhao will be postponed until next year."

"I would like to ask you, will this matter affect Qian'er's chances of becoming the Crown Prince, and..."

After a pause, the Empress Dowager looked at Cao Ze with some envy and said, "Could you make Qian'er the Crown Prince in a short period of time?"

She could hasten Zhao Yan's death at any time, but she couldn't control the matter of Zhao Yan establishing a crown prince.

Guo Kai paused for a moment, then looked at Cao Ze.

The Empress smiled and said, "Your Excellency, there is no need to worry. Mr. Cao Ze is one of my men and is trustworthy."

Guo Kai paused for a moment, then thought of many things.

Following the Empress's lead, Cao Ze said, "Prime Minister, I hope you will continue to help me in the future."

Guo Kai said, "I have offended you in the past few days, it was my oversight."

Cao Ze smiled and said, "It's alright, it's all for the Queen's sake."

Guo Kaixin's mind raced for a moment, then he smiled and said, "Mr. Cao Ze is very generous."

The Empress Dowager said leisurely, "Don't stand on ceremony, Guo Kai, you go first."

Guo Kai pondered for a moment and said, "The Queen should know how much trouble His Majesty went through when he established the Queen at the beginning of the year."

The Empress Dowager snorted coldly: "Those old fogies, so what if I am an Empress Dowager? Our Zhao Kingdom has always been unconventional and pedantic."

Although she helped Zhao Yan get rid of Lord Chunping Zhao Yi, becoming queen was not a smooth journey.

Fortunately, she remained calm, and in the end, Zhao Yan still made her empress.

"Yes, yes, yes, hasn't the Queen gotten what she wanted now?"

Guo Kai continued, "Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want Prince Qian to become the Crown Prince sooner, but it's just that without eliminating Zhao Jia, it will be difficult for the Prince to ascend to the throne."

The Empress Dowager asked, "Why is that?"

Guo Kai said: "Back when the king was still the crown prince, he wrote to King Xiaocheng, requesting that the queen be made his wife and principal wife. He did this three times before King Xiaocheng finally agreed, which allowed the queen to go from being a commoner to the crown prince's wife."

"But the Queen is unaware that although King Hyoseong approved the King's petition, he made the King sign a vow."

The Empress's face darkened. "What oath?"

Cao Ze was also curious.

Guo Kai said, "From now on, Zhao Jia, the eldest son born to the former Crown Prince's wife, should be the Crown Prince. No new person should be appointed as the Crown Prince."

"In order to make the Queen the Crown Prince's wife, the King agreed."

"Damn it!" the Empress Dowager cursed.

It wasn't just Zhao Yan who was being criticized, but also King Xiaocheng.

Cao Ze observes his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose.

It can only be said that they are truly a descendant of their ancestors.

Back then, King Wuling of Zhao, because he loved his second wife Wuwa, deposed Crown Prince Zhao Zhang and installed Wuwa's son Zhao He as the crown prince, which led to an extremely tragic military coup.

As a result, this great ruler died a very unjust death, trapped by a mutiny and starving to death.

After venting his anger, he thought about it for a while.

"Then, Your Excellency and Mr. Cao Ze should cooperate well and get Zhao Jia out of Zhao as soon as possible, or..."

Guo Kai and Cao Ze both understood what the Empress Dowager hadn't said.

They wanted Zhao Jia to die.

However, Zhao was not like Han, where the death of a crown prince was commonplace.

If the Crown Prince dies in Handan, tsk tsk...

Cao Ze and Guo Kai left the palace.