People in the Qin Dynasty sought good fortune and avoided misfortune.

Chapter 190, The Mohist School, I'm Afraid Too (Wishing all the college entrance exam takers the best of luck!)

Just as Xu Qing was personally teaching Nongyu Liang Zhu, news of his departure from the city with Han Fei that afternoon indeed reached Ji Wuye's ears.

Xinzheng, the General's Mansion.

Ji Wuye leaned back in his seat, toying with the wine cup in one hand and holding two gold coins in the other, looking smugly at the pile of gold coins on the table.

"Hehe, the general is indeed a great general. You have really opened my eyes this time. I never thought that there would be such a thing as ghost soldiers robbing the pay."

Jade Tiger smiled obsequiously, rubbing the gold coins that the other party had raised with his fingers, his eyes filled with greed.

These gold coins were the military funds that Ji Wuye embezzled by taking advantage of the ghost soldiers' robbery of their pay.

"What this general desires, he never fails to obtain. This military pay is just the beginning; this general's plan is far more complex than that," Ji Wuye said with a cold snort.

"General, I heard that Marquis Blood-Clad is preparing to return to Xinzheng ahead of schedule to report on his duties?" Emerald Tiger asked curiously.

Mentioning Bai Yifei, Ji Wuye's smile vanished, and he downed the wine in his cup.
"Hmm, I don't know what he was thinking, he actually wanted to come back early this time."

"I suppose the hardships at the border have made the Marquis a bit lonely and he wants to return to Xinzheng to enjoy life," Jade Tiger said with a smile.

As soon as Jade Tiger finished speaking, Mo Ya walked in from outside the door and bowed to Ji Wuye.

"General, your subordinate has returned."

"How's it going with the arrangements for you?" Ji Wuye asked Mo Ya.

"Sikou Wang Kai was killed when he encountered retaliation from the ghost soldiers while investigating their robbery of supplies," Mo Ya said coldly.

After speaking, Mo Ya took out a jade pendant from his bosom and presented it to Ji Wuye. This jade pendant was the personal jade pendant of Si Kou Wang Kai.

Jade Tiger was taken aback upon hearing this, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He had thought that Ji Wuye's purpose was to embezzle military funds and take the opportunity to kill Liu Yi and Han Yu, but he did not expect that Ji Wuye's ambition was so great, wanting to take action against Zhang Kaidi by using the ghost soldiers.

Having heard what he wanted to hear, Ji Wuye laughed with satisfaction.

"Haha, Mo Ya, you did a good job. This is a reward for you."

As Ji Wuye spoke, he threw the two gold coins in his hand at Mo Ya. In addition to killing Liu Yi and Han Yu, he had a third goal in planning this ghost soldier robbery: to eliminate Zhang Kaidi's forces and eventually kill Zhang Kaidi as well.

In this way, he would be the only one in the court who would hold absolute power, and he would be the true uncrowned king!
Mo Ya caught the gold coin that Ji Wuye threw to him and continued speaking.
"Thank you for your generous gift, General. On my way back, I happened to receive some news."

Ji Wuye's smile vanished, and he looked at Mo Ya with a puzzled expression, asking...
"what news?"

The Emerald Tiger beside him also put down the gold coins in its hand and looked at the Black Crow with curiosity.

“We received news that Ninth Prince Han Fei met with Imperial Physician Xu Qing at a tavern outside the city at 4:45 PM. After drinking, the two rode to Broken Soul Valley and did not return until dark,” Mo Ya said.

Ji Wuye's face instantly darkened, his eyes darting around as he recalled the change in King Han An's attitude towards Han Fei before Han Fei returned to the country.

Han Fei had just returned to China, and he was indeed wary of Han Fei, worried that this was the second Han Yu.

However, Han Fei had been living in a daze for so long, showing no interest in politics whatsoever, which gradually dispelled his wariness of Han Fei.

Now that Han Fei has suddenly invited Xu Qing to the Valley of Broken Souls, he can't help but think a lot. For a moment, he was unsure whether this was Han Fei's own idea or Han Wang'an's doing.

"One Han Yu is ruined, and now another Han Fei wants to rise again," Ji Wuye said coldly.

Jade Tiger glanced at Ji Wuye's expression, touched the ring on his finger, and said...
"General, the Imperial Physician Xu Qing is the Lady's man, yet he accepted Han Fei's invitation to go to Broken Soul Valley. Perhaps someone is behind this."

"You mean that woman in the palace?" Ji Wuye glanced at Emerald Tiger and said in an unfriendly tone.

"Hehe, how could I dare to doubt Lady Mingzhu? What I mean is, Your Majesty, Xu Qing is not only Lady Mingzhu's man, but also Your Majesty's man," Emerald Tiger said with a smirk.

Upon hearing this, Ji Wuye's expression darkened further; this was exactly what he was most worried about.

"Tiger, what do you think we should do next?" Ji Wuye asked.

Upon hearing this, Jade Tiger chuckled twice, inwardly cursing, but outwardly maintained a fawning smile and said...

"What I mean is, His Majesty may really want to support Han Fei to replace Han Yu. We must make plans as soon as possible. If Han Fei really becomes the second Han Yu, all our efforts will be in vain."

Although Jade Tiger was greedy, he wasn't stupid. Han Fei was a prince of the royal family, and even if he wasn't favored, he was still a prince of the royal family. He couldn't be killed lightly.

As for Xu Qing, he's backed by the Mo family. If anyone messes with him, they'll probably be dead the next day. Back then, he used the Iron Blood Alliance to kill Jing Lunjun, and the Han royal family didn't dare utter a sound.

The Iron Blood Alliance is only a first-rate force in the martial arts world. Compared with a top-tier family like the Mo family, it is not even worth a hair.

How could he possibly advise Ji Wuye on how to deal with Xu Qing and Han Fei? If something really went wrong, Ji Wuye would not hesitate to push him out to take the fall.

Seeing the smirking Jade Tiger, Ji Wuye's eyes flashed with displeasure. He naturally knew Jade Tiger's little scheme, but he said nothing. Not only was Jade Tiger afraid of such a behemoth as the Mo family, but he was afraid of them too.

In South Korea, he could wield absolute power, commanding hundreds of birds to kill whoever he wanted, but in the entire world, his strength was utterly insignificant. Ji Wuye was well aware of this.

"Leave Han Fei and Xu Qing alone for now, deal with Han Yu and Liu Yi first. As for Xu Qing, send someone to question that woman in the palace and find out what Han Fei wanted with him," Ji Wuye said in a deep voice.
"At the same time, the information was leaked to Han Yu, so that Han Yu would fight Han Fei like dogs."

"General, you are wise. By using Han Yu to deal with Han Fei, one of them will surely die in the fight, and the survivor will lose the King's favor. In this way, His Highness the Crown Prince's position will be more secure," said Emerald Tiger.

"Yes, I will do it right away." Mo Ya bowed to Ji Wuye.

Ji Wuye paid no attention to Emerald Tiger's flattery; what he cared about was Xu Qingzhen's attitude and whether she truly intended to form an alliance with Han Fei.

If Xu Qing helps Han Fei, and the Mohists lend a hand, Han Fei will be an even more troublesome enemy than Han Yu and Zhang Kaidi. The latter will abide by the rules of officialdom, but the Mohists will not follow those rules.

After Mo Ya left, Ji Wuye got up and left as well. He was very angry and needed to go to the Sparrow Tower to calm down.

Jade Tiger watched Ji Wuye's departing figure, lost in thought, his mind unreadable.

Mo Ya acted swiftly, and that very evening, Han Yu's men learned that Han Fei and Xu Qing had left the city for Broken Soul Valley.

Inside the pavilion of the Fourth Young Master's residence.

Han Yu held a bamboo stick and practiced writing on the sand table, while a young man with a cold expression and a temperament somewhat similar to Han Qiancheng served him.

There was a sudden knock on the door. The young man quietly opened the door, and someone outside handed him a letter.

The young man opened the cloth and glanced at it; his expression immediately turned serious.

"Qianqiu, what happened?" Han Yu asked in a deep voice.

Qianqiu was the young man's name; he was another adopted son of Han Yu, and was adopted by him along with Han Qiancheng. Unlike Han Qiancheng, who stayed by Han Yu's side to serve him, Han Qianqiu was always in the local areas relaying Han Yu's orders.

After Han Qiancheng's death, Han Yu transferred him back to his side.

The names of Han Yu's two adopted sons, "A thousand chariots, a thousand autumns," and "A nation of a thousand chariots, a great undertaking for a thousand autumns," are enough to demonstrate the extent of his ambition.

"Fourth Master, news has come from below that Ninth Young Master Han Fei and Imperial Physician Xu Qing went to Broken Soul Valley this afternoon and stayed there until dusk before returning," Han Qianqiu said.

Han Yu paused in writing, and the bamboo stick suddenly slid down, destroying the character "Han" on the sand table.

"Is the news true?" Han Yu asked.

"The news is true. Although the two returned to the city separately, someone saw them drinking at a tavern outside the city," Han Qianqiu said.

Han Yu's face was gloomy, and he gripped the bamboo skewer tightly in his right hand.

"This year has been unlucky," Han Yu said in a deep voice.

The matter of the ghost soldiers robbing the funds had not yet been resolved when Han Fei reappeared, which made him feel an unprecedented sense of crisis.

"Fourth Master, what do you think we should do next? Should we take action against Xu Qing and Ninth Young Master Han Fei?" Han Qianqiu asked.

Han Yu shook his head slightly and sighed.

“If assassination were effective, Xu Qing would be dead long ago. If something happens to the Ninth Prince, Father will suspect me immediately. It would be unwise to take action against either of them.”

Han Qianqiu looked at Han Yu, who smoothed out the words on the sand table and picked up a bamboo stick to continue writing on it.

"Xu Qing and Lao Jiu met and headed to Broken Soul Valley. They should be most worried about Ji Wuye, not us. Our biggest problem right now is resolving the issue of military pay. Ji Wuye has clearly come for Liu Yi and me this time."

"Therefore, we cannot expect the Sikoufu and Zhang Kaidi to recover the military pay. As for re-collecting military pay, by the time the military pay is collected, the troops on the border will have already mutinied."

"Fourth Master, what should we do? Are we supposed to raise the military pay ourselves?" Han Qianqiu asked.

"The amount of military pay is too large, I'm afraid we can't manage it. Let's make two preparations. First, let's try our best to gather 30% of the military pay and send it to the border so that Liu Yi can stabilize the army."

"Second, find an opportunity to help Lao Jiu. Doesn't he want to get involved in the ghost soldiers' robbery of supplies? Then let him go and test his skills against Ji Wuye."

Han Yu stopped holding the bamboo stick, and a word "wait" appeared in Han Qianqiu's sight. He immediately understood what Han Yu meant.

"Yes, I'll arrange it right away."

"Go."

(End of this chapter)