The Deepest Affection in Qin's Time

This was a move he made out of desperation.

Han Qiancheng replied, "I understand."

Looking at the withered lotus and willows on the lake, Han Yu asked, "How is your cultivation going?"

Han Qiancheng respectfully replied, "Your progress has been rapid over the past year, and I have already reached the first-class level."

He didn't know if he had suddenly realized something or if something had happened.

He had originally estimated that it would take at least three to five years to break through to that level, but he broke through in less than a year.

Han Yu clapped his hands and laughed, "Good, good, good! With Qian Cheng's help, I have nothing to worry about!"

Although he looked down on martial arts masters, he wouldn't underestimate them either.

The saying goes that heroes use their martial arts to break the law, and countless kings and generals have died at the hands of these江湖人 (jianghu people), so we must be wary.

Especially at night, they act with impunity, with assassinations and murders occurring frequently.

……

After Cao Yuan rejected Han Qiancheng, he was preparing to relax at Madam Hu's place as night fell when some unscrupulous fellow suddenly appeared from some alleyway.

"Hehe, Brother Cao, what a coincidence."

Han Fei said casually, "How about we go grab a drink?"

Cao Yuan scoffed, "Brother Han, do you even have money?"

Han Fei patted his money bag, which made a clattering sound.

"Of course I do. How could I, a young master in Xinzheng, be short of money?"

Cao Yuan dismissed it, saying, "Let's talk here. Let's skip the drinking."

He still had to go to Madam Hu's place to check the saltiness, so he didn't have time to accompany Han Fei to drink and carouse.

Seeing that Cao Yuan refused, Han Fei said helplessly, "Alright."

He pondered for a moment, "That man just now was my fourth brother's adopted son. What did he want with you?"

Cao Yuan shrugged: "What can they do? Invite me to their residence for a chat and try to win me over."

Han Fei's expression revealed his certainty.

He was invited to his fourth brother's residence yesterday, and his words were full of probing.

Unfortunately, even though he repeatedly stated that he had no intention of vying for power, his fourth brother still didn't believe him and became even more suspicious of him.

This left him feeling helpless.

Cao Yuan stepped aside, saying, "If that's all, then I'll be going now."

"Wait, Brother Cao, please stay."

Han Fei quickly said, "There's one more thing."

Cao Yuan stopped and said, "Brother Han, please speak."

Han Fei couldn't help but rub his hands together.

"Um, could I redeem the necklace that I pawned to Brother Cao before?"

Cao Yuan raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Brother Han wants to redeem himself?"

"Absolutely, absolutely."

Han Fei nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice.

Since his younger sister discovered yesterday that his necklace was missing, he has been subjected to "inhuman treatment" and "a severe beating".

He had no idea that his younger sister was so amazing.

Despite his skills honed at Xiaoshengxianzhuang, he was still beaten up by the younger sister without any chance to fight back.

He thought to himself, "Why does a young lady have to practice swordsmanship? And even if she does practice swordsmanship, she actually dares to use a sword to attack her own brother!"

If he hadn't repeatedly sworn, betting his beloved horse's life, to find the necklace, I think I would have beaten him so badly he couldn't take care of himself!

"Ahem," Cao Yuan cleared his throat. "Brother Han knows I come from a business background. In business, the most important things are reputation and profit. You can't do business that cheats people, nor can you do business that loses money. Brother Han, don't you agree?"

Han Fei had a bad feeling. "This... yes, Brother Cao is right."

Cao Yuan chuckled, "How many gold coins did Brother Han pawn with this necklace?"

Han Fei paused, unable to recall the specific numbers.

"There should be about forty, fifty, or sixty gold coins?"

Han Fei said awkwardly, "Brother Cao, please name a ransom."

Cao Yuan slowly extended one finger and said, "One hundred gold coins, how about that?"

"Ah... one hundred?"

Han Fei almost lost his composure.

He only had a little over eighty gold coins in his purse. Apart from lending fifty gold coins to his younger sister, the rest was what he scraped together by selling some other things.

I thought that was enough, but who knew that Cao Cao was such a heartless scoundrel!

Cao Yuan smiled and said, "The price has only increased by 30%, which is already very fair."

"Moreover, Brother Han, you should know that this necklace is worth at most thirty gold coins on the market."

“If I hadn’t really liked this item, I wouldn’t have given you so many gold coins when you pawned it.”

"Now that Brother Han has come to redeem this item, I naturally cannot easily return it to you."

Looking at Cao Yuan's ambiguous smile, Han Fei felt that there was something more to Cao Yuan's words.

Could it be that Cao Yuan knew how important this necklace was to him?

Han Fei thought to himself, somewhat incredulously.

"Brother Han, is there anything else? If not, I'll be leaving now."

"Brother Cao, help me!"

Han Fei turned his face away, closed his eyes, and grabbed Cao Yuan's leg right there in the street.

"I go……"

Cao Yuan was startled, and looking at Han Fei who was clinging to his leg, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Brother Han, please don't do this. It's not a good look on the street..."

Han Fei cried out, "Brother Cao, can you give me back that necklace first? I'll pay you back the money in a few days!"

After a moment's thought, Cao Yuan guessed that it was very likely that Honglian had discovered the necklace was missing.

Otherwise, given his brother-in-law's character, he would never be so humble.

"Brother Han, this is not about money."

"One hundred and ten gold!"

"Brother Han, please don't do this..."

"One hundred and thirty gold coins! That's the most I can get!" Han Fei roared.

"..."

Cao Yuan remained silent.

He thought for a moment and said, "Well then, Brother Han, talking about money is too hurtful. Can you tell me why you want the necklace back?"

"No!" Han Fei rejected the idea without even thinking.

If Cao Yuan finds out that the necklace belongs to his little sister, oh my god, I don't even want to think what will happen. What's the difference between that and inviting a wolf into the house?

"Fine, then forget it." Cao Yuan said indifferently.

Han Fei panicked and clung tightly to Cao Yuan's long legs, preventing him from pulling them out.

"I'll talk, I'll talk, okay?"

"To be honest, this necklace was left to me by my mother before she passed away, and it has great significance to me."

Cao Yuan said meaningfully, "Really? Then why did Brother Han pawn it to me so easily? And back in Daliang, Wei, you even thought of using this necklace to pay off a debt to the restaurant owner?"

Keep making things up, let's see how you keep making things up.

Han Fei chuckled awkwardly, "Well, well... I just found out too."

This necklace is indeed a keepsake from my mother.

It wasn't for him, but for his younger sister.

He only found out yesterday; his younger sister hadn't mentioned it when she gave it to him.

Yesterday, when my younger sister found out the necklace was "lost," she cried and tried to slash him with a sword, almost killing him in the palace. She ordered him to find the necklace or she would tell our father.

"Brother Han, do you think I'm a three-year-old child? Given our relationship, as long as you tell the truth, how could I refuse?"

Cao Yuan said with displeasure, "Since that's the case, even if Brother Han raises enough money, I won't give him the necklace."

Han Fei almost wanted to jump up and beat Cao Yuan.

If you hadn't been calling me brother-in-law every day and constantly trying to seduce my sister, would I have kept quiet?

If I told you, you'd be scurrying over to my sister right now! Humph!

"Brother Cao, are you going to give it to me or not?"

Han Fei released his grip on Cao Yuan's leg and stood up.

"No!" Cao Yuan said firmly, "I want to give it to an honest person."

Han Fei was so angry his teeth ached. "You really won't give it to me?!"

Cao Yuan's eyelids twitched.

Seriously? You can't even handle this? You're planning to grab the Reverse Scale Sword and hack him to pieces?

Cao Yuan suddenly smiled and said, "Brother Han, this necklace isn't what you wanted, is it?"

Han Fei was taken aback, a sense of foreboding creeping in. He asked, "What do you mean? If it's not what I want, then who else would want it?"