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

Chapter 288, Han Fei and Li Si's Confessions to Zi Nu (Two Chapters Combined, to Improve the Grade)
"Don't disturb that person lightly. I'll let you know if I need anything, brother. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave first," Xu Qing said, bowing respectfully to Situ Wanli.

"it is good."

Situ Wanli rose to return the greeting and watched Xu Qing leave.

As the door closed, Situ Wanli looked at the empty teacup on the table with a complicated expression, still feeling uneasy.

But now that he's at the table, he has to see it through to the end.

"Goddess Shennong above, please bless your disciple. If I win this round, I swear I will never gamble again in my life!" Situ Wanli thought to himself.

After making arrangements at Qianlong Hall, Xu Qing looked at the Qin King's jade pendant in his arms and headed towards Xinzheng, where there was still someone he needed to win over.

Although he didn't know what had happened to Jing Ni, he could sense that there was something wrong with her body, which might be her chance to pull her to his side.

Just as Xu Qing was heading towards Xinzheng, Han Fei on the other side also met his long-lost junior brother Li Si.

Outside a villa in Xinzheng.

Li Si stepped down from the carriage, and several Qin soldiers immediately stepped forward to protect him.

Upon seeing this, Han Fei and Zhang Liang, who were standing at the entrance of the villa, immediately stopped in their tracks, intending to go forward to greet him.

Han Fei and Li Si looked at each other across several people, both with smiles in their eyes, like old friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time. As for what they were really thinking, only the two of them probably knew.

"Step back, do not be disrespectful in front of the Ninth Young Master."

Li Si calmly raised his hand, and several Qin soldiers immediately retreated.

"Junior brother, it's been a long time." Han Fei led Zhang Liang forward and greeted Li Si.

"The envoy from Qin greets the Ninth Prince."

Li Si did not reminisce with Han Fei, but instead bowed to Han Fei in a businesslike manner and spoke unhurriedly.

Despite bowing voluntarily, Li Si showed no respect on his face; instead, he wore a faint smile and appeared exceptionally spirited and confident.

He and Han Fei studied under Xunzi, and they were fellow students with no distinction of rank or status.

However, one of them was a prince of the Korean royal family, while the other was just an ordinary person who had worked as a minor official in a granary.

Because of the difference in their social backgrounds, Li Si always felt an unspeakable inferiority complex when facing Han Fei, especially since Xunzi's favoritism towards Han Fei was obvious to all, making him even more envious of Han Fei.

During his studies, he vowed that he would make a name for himself and never bow down to Han Fei again.

And now he has finally done it. Han Fei is still the ninth prince of Han, a noble prince of the royal family, but he is no longer the lonely commoner he once was.

Now he has stepped onto a stage where he can display his talents, becoming an envoy of the Qin state. Every move he makes represents the Qin state and the 100,000 Qin cavalrymen outside the border of Han!

He could finally look directly at, or even look down upon, that talented senior who was once deeply loved by the teacher.

"Junior brother!"

Seeing this, Han Fei's smile remained unchanged, and he continued to exude a casual demeanor, returning the greeting with a cupped hand.

After exchanging greetings, Li Si straightened up, his smile softening slightly, and said to Han Fei...
"Senior brother, please don't be offended. I am here in Han as an envoy of Qin, representing Qin. I should prioritize national affairs and dare not neglect etiquette."

“We’ve been classmates for many years, how could I not know you? It wasn’t easy for you to come to Korea this time, junior brother. I’ve prepared a banquet inside. Let’s go in and talk,” Han Fei said with a smile.

"it is good."

Li Si nodded slightly and followed Han Fei and Zhang Liang into the annex.

After passing through several doors, Han Fei and his group arrived at a room by the lake, where the three of them sat down around the table.

"I haven't had a chance to introduce you yet. Zifang, this is my junior fellow disciple from when I was studying at Xiaoshengxianzhuang, Li Si, Li Tonggu."

“Junior brother, this is Zhang Liang, the grandson of Zhang Kaidi, the prime minister of my state of Han.”

Han Fei introduced Li Si and Zhang Liang to each other, and then picked up the wine pot and filled the three wine cups on the table with wine.

"Zhang Liang greets the envoy from Qin."

Zhang Liang behaved with composure, respectfully clasping his hands and bowing slightly to Li Si in a Confucian gesture.

"The young master of the Zhang family is gentle and refined, with the demeanor of a true gentleman. I had long heard of Zhang Liang's name, and indeed he is a man of great talent and a handsome young man."

Li Si looked at Zhang Liang, sized him up, and then praised him.

Zhang Liang was also quite famous, after all, he came from the Zhang family, which had served as prime minister of Han for five generations. He was also a gifted young man with outstanding talent, appearance, and temperament.

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Excellency. I am truly unworthy of such praise," Zhang Liang said modestly.

"Today is a private banquet for old friends, so there's no need for such formalities. Let's talk about romance and nature, not court affairs," Li Si said to the two men with a smile.

Han Fei and Zhang Liang's expressions changed slightly upon hearing this. Their banquet for Li Si today was precisely to test Qin's attitude.

But Li Si's words shattered their hopes.

"Haha, it's rare for Junior Brother to be so unrestrained. This time, we must drink to our hearts' content. This is a famous fine wine from Xinzheng Zilan Pavilion, which ordinary people can't get their hands on."

Han Fei chuckled and raised his wine cup to invite Li Si to drink.

Li Si smiled, raised his cup, nodded slightly to Han Fei and Zhang Liang, and drank the wine.

"Before I came to Korea, I heard a lot about Xinzheng, especially the romantic escapades of my senior brother and that Korean imperial physician going to and from brothels together. My senior brother is still the same as he was back in Sanghai."

Li Si said with a smile, his words full of emotion, as if he were reminiscing with Han Fei to build a closer relationship.

Upon hearing this, Han Fei's eyes flickered as he looked at the sentimental Li Si, but he became wary.

Li Si appeared to be catching up with him, but what he really wanted to bring up was Xu Qing. Considering Xu Qing's many identities, Han Fei roughly guessed what Li Si wanted to do.

"Sigh, my junior brother still teases me like that. Brother Xu and I are close friends, and we spend a lot of time together, so it's inevitable that we'll find places to drink together," Han Fei said with a smile.

"I've heard that Physician Xu is a highly skilled physician. I wonder if you could arrange for him to examine my pulse and check my health, senior brother?" Li Si said, putting down his wine cup.

“Of course, I’ll ask Brother Xu to examine your pulse another day when I have time,” Han Fei said.

"Then thank you very much, senior brother. To be honest, I was able to come to Korea to drink with you this time thanks to the recommendation of my Qin state's Marquis Wenxin, Prime Minister Lü. I have now become his disciple."

Li Si looked calmly at Han Fei and slowly recounted his experiences over the past six months.

"My purpose in coming to Han is threefold: first, to demand an explanation from Han for the sake of Qin; second, to repay the Prime Minister's kindness; and third, to meet this legendary Imperial Physician."

"Hmm? Junior brother seems quite interested in Brother Xu?"

Han Fei held the wine cup in his hand, looking at Li Si thoughtfully. "It's not me who's interested, but Marquis Wenxin. Rumor has it that this Imperial Physician is proficient in many schools of thought, and there are even rumors at Little Sage Village that the teacher has praised him highly."

"Wenxinhou, as a master of miscellaneous studies in his time, has been compiling a great work for many years, but he has always been somewhat lacking in the field of medicine."

"So he instructed me to meet with this Physician Xu privately to see if he was interested in fulfilling Marquis Wenxin's wish and filling in the gaps in the medical knowledge section of this great work."

Li Si did not hide his purpose in coming to Korea to find Xu Qing. He also knew that he could not hide it from Han Fei, so he simply told him directly.

Lü Buwei was very interested in Xu Qing, or rather, the Qin state was very interested in Xu Qing. A royal physician from the state of Han, whose appointment was personally endorsed by the head of the medical family, Mr. Nian Duan, was enough to make other states envious.

"I don't know about that. Brother Xu's actions are always unpredictable. You'll probably only know the answer after you meet him in person."

Han Fei looked at Li Si and said slowly.

“In that case, I’ll have to trouble you to make the introduction, Senior Brother,” Li Si said.

Han Fei looked at Li Si, knowing that the key to Han's survival lay with his junior brother.

"It was just a matter of passing on a message, but seeing my junior brother so full of vigor now fills me with quite a bit of emotion," Han Fei said, looking at Li Si with a complicated expression.

"Oh? What are you lamenting about, Senior Brother?" Li Si asked curiously.

"I wonder if you, junior brother, still remember what your teacher said in the essay 'Confucius': 'A high position inevitably leads to danger, a heavy responsibility inevitably leads to ruin, and excessive favor inevitably leads to disgrace.'" Han Fei smiled slightly and said to Li Si.

"Oh? Senior brother, are you implying something?"

Li Si's smile remained unchanged, but his eyes began to look serious.

“Just drinking is too boring. How about we play a game, junior brother?” Han Fei said meaningfully.

"What would you like to play, senior brother?" Li Si asked.

Guess the Coin

Han Fei took out a bag of gold coins from his pocket and began to explain the rules of the game to Li Si.

While Han Fei and Li Si were playing games, Xu Qing had already returned to Xinzheng.

However, Xu Qing did not rush to find Jing Ni, but instead went to Zi Lan Xuan and found Zi Nu.

"You're back? Where did you go last night?"

Zi Nu looked at Xu Qing as he returned, a look of curiosity flashing in her purple eyes.

"I went to see someone, a very important person."

As Xu Qing spoke, he took out the Qin King jade pendant that Ying Zheng had given him from his bosom and waved it in front of Zi Nu.

Zi Nu looked at the jade pendant, her eyes widening, her rosy lips slightly parted, her face full of surprise.

"This is..." Zi Nu covered her mouth with her small hand, looking at Xu Qing in surprise.

The patterns on the jade pendant were reserved for royalty, especially the shadow cast on the ground by the jade pendant under the sunlight, which formed the image of a black bird spreading its wings and taking flight.

The black bird motif, a design reserved for royalty, clearly indicates the owner of this jade pendant.

"You guessed right, the person I met was him. I talked to him all night and we talked a lot."

Xu Qing stepped forward, took Zi Nu's small hand, pulled her into his arms, and sat down in the seat.

Zi Nu sat cross-legged in Xu Qing's lap, her hands resting on his shoulders. Her purple eyes held not only shock but also confusion.

"How is this possible? How could that person be in South Korea? And how could you have talked to him all night?"

Zi Nu felt like her brain wasn't working properly; all sorts of questions were intertwined, making it difficult for her to react.

Ying Zheng was the king of Qin. How could a ruler of a country possibly come to the capital of another country in private? Moreover, Qin and Han could go to war at any time.

If Ying Zheng's whereabouts were leaked and he were captured by the State of Han, he would become a significant bargaining chip for Han to threaten the State of Qin.

"It was indeed surprising that he came to South Korea, but he did come, and it was for me and Han Fei."

"As for why I talked to him all night, do you remember you once asked me why I didn't choose to help Han Fei? At that time, I didn't answer, but just said that you would know in the future."

Xu Qing slowly began to speak, recounting her conversation with Ying Zheng the previous night.

Now that things have come to this, he is no longer going to hide his thoughts from Zi Nu. If you ask who he is most worried about in Xinzheng, it is Zi Nu and his sister-in-law Nong Yu.

He told them his thoughts, which, while not enough to persuade them to leave, would at least put their minds at ease and let them know that he had a solid way out.

Zi Nu looked at Xu Qing in surprise, her eyes filled with complex emotions. Her rosy lips opened and closed several times as if to speak, but in the end, she didn't say a word.

"So the reason you've refused to join Quicksand is because you've chosen the Qin state in your heart, is that right?" Zi Nu said quietly.

Her feelings were complicated. Although she was shocked that Xu Qing chose to support the Qin Kingdom, she could understand it to some extent, after all, there was a complicated relationship between the Tianzong and the Qin Kingdom.

She understood that Xu Qing's meeting with Ying Zheng meant that Xu Qing would eventually leave Xinzheng, leave Han, and go to Qin.

She didn't want Xu Qing to leave; she didn't know if they would ever see each other again after Xu Qing left.

“That’s right. I didn’t think about any of that at first. I just wanted to save up enough money to take you and Nongyu away from Xinzheng and away from all the disputes and conflicts.”

“But I know you won’t give up Zilanxuan easily, and you won’t give up these sisters either. But the path to Korea is too dangerous and there is no hope.”

"Therefore, I must find a way out for you and your sisters. Mount Taiyi can accommodate you and Nongyu, but it can never accommodate the entire Zilan Pavilion."

"But Qin is different. Qin is the best way out. It's the same for you, for me, and for Zilanxuan."

Xu Qing rested his head against Zi Nu's chest and whispered.

Upon hearing this, Zi Nu didn't know what to say. A mix of complex emotions welled up inside her. She opened her arms and hugged Xu Qing tightly, her purple eyes slightly reddening.

She knew that Xu Qing told her all this today to put her mind at ease.

But Xu Qing has given up too much for her. If Xu Qing goes to Qin, then the status, wealth, and even reputation he has accumulated in Han will be destroyed.

"You don't have to do this, I."

Zi Nu looked at Xu Qing in her arms. She had intended to tell him everything, but in the end, she said nothing.

The more Xu Qing did for her, the less she wanted to involve him. The secret she carried was too great, so great that Xu Qing, an outsider, would face a life-or-death crisis if he were implicated.

In the end, Zi Nu said nothing, but held Xu Qing's head and bit down hard on his lips, pinning him to the floor.

(End of this chapter)