Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

After calming the two children down, Zhou Wenqing looked at the sky outside.

The sun is about to set, soon...

"Alright, kids—oh, not little kids, big kids."

He also patted Ah Zhu's head fairly, and then smiled and changed his tune:

"It's very late today, you should go and get some rest. You might have things to do tomorrow."

Ah Zhu's face flushed red, but he didn't run away after all, letting his hair be messed up as well, only muttering protests under his breath:

"This has nothing to do with big kids or little kids... Sir, what Ah-Zhu means is, we're not kids anymore!"

"Yes, sir, you've got it."

Zhou Wenqing smiled and bent down, then reached out and patted their shoulders gently, a touch that carried a sense of reassurance.

"Is everything alright now? Go back and rest."

"The problem... is gone."

Fusu glanced at the stack of official documents on the table, still somewhat hesitant. "But sir, there are still many things to be done, and it's still early; it's only just begun..."

"I know," Zhou Wenqing interrupted him, her tone gentle yet firm.

"Fusu, Azhu, there's always something to do, but you need plenty of energy. Get some rest today, and tomorrow... maybe you can get up a little earlier."

Fusu and Azhu exchanged a puzzled glance, but still nodded.

"Alright, sir."

The two children left the study one after the other, their footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

Zhou Wenqing stood by the window, watching their small figures cross the courtyard and disappear at the end of the corridor.

He didn't turn around, but spoke softly:

"Ah-yi."

"Sir." Li Yi's figure appeared silently by the door.

"Is the carriage ready?"

"Yes, Chief Secretary Li must have already set off."

Zhou Wenqing nodded, and as he turned around, a hint of gloom flashed across his gentle eyes.

"Okay," he said, "then let's go join in the fun."

------

As dusk settled, the back hall of the Chen residence was brightly lit.

The group of five or six people at the table were all young men from various families in Xianyang City. After a few rounds of drinks, they became quite talkative.

Wang Ke slammed his wine cup down on the table with a loud thud, causing the two people next to him who were picking up food to stop eating.

"Brother Zhonglin, you have no idea how suffocated I've been these past few days."

He leaned forward, his voice low, but he couldn't suppress the anger surging within him:

"My father is always saying things like 'be careful with your words and actions' and 'be extremely cautious,' but I don't understand the seriousness of his words, especially these past few days. Even though my brothers' invitations have piled up like a mountain, he won't let me leave the house!"

"We often get together, just to drink and compose poetry, enjoying our refined interests. What trouble could possibly happen?"

He grew angrier as he spoke, and picked up his wine glass to take another gulp:

"It's been several days already. If I hadn't made an excuse to go to the back courtyard to read and relax, I wouldn't have been able to come out at all—wouldn't that have been a waste of such a grand feast in your mansion, Brother Zhonglin, and a waste of this fine wine?"

A young man in a blue robe approached, smiling obsequiously, "It's good that you're here, Prince Kejing. These past few days in court..."

"What's going on in the court?" Wang Ke interrupted him, scoffing, "It's been days! Everything's calm and peaceful; I don't see anything wrong."

He picked up his glass, tilted his head back, and took a large gulp, not even bothering to wipe the wine running down his chin.

"It's just a few commoners who died. They're dead, so what? We've already captured them, haven't we? They've already confessed. They're just a few outsiders trying to gain favor with the King. In my opinion..."

A young man in a black robe next to him smiled, raised his glass, and interrupted him casually:

"Brother Kejing, today's gathering is purely for personal camaraderie, not for discussing national affairs. Come, come, let's drink!"

Several people nearby immediately raised their glasses in agreement.

Wang Ke snorted, tilted his head back and drank a cup, and didn't say anything more. But the unhappiness in his heart was stuck, and he had drunk alcohol, so he felt uncomfortable if he didn't say it.

He put down his glass and changed the subject, complaining:

"My father and his generation are used to being high and mighty. They're always lecturing me. When I was training in the army, why didn't they see that? Did they see my real achievements in battle?"

Chen Zhonglin smiled and refilled his wine cup: "Brother Kejing, you've served in the army, who doesn't know this? The Prince is just worried about your son..."

"What are you afraid of? Are you afraid I'll be impulsive and reckless?" Wang Ke sneered. "My father was comparing me to Li Si just the other day—saying I'm no match for Li Si or Wei Liao!"

Someone at the table muttered quietly, "Li Si? That scribe?"

"Absolutely!"

Wang Ke felt pleased with the response and his voice unconsciously grew louder.

"He comes from Shangcai in the State of Chu, and was trained by Lü Buwei. Is he only good at writing a few documents and guessing the emperor's intentions? He's gotten the king's favor, so he's started to act arrogantly."

He slammed his hand on the table:

"What are our backgrounds? What are his backgrounds? An outsider, how dare he compare himself to us?"

"Brother Kejing, calm down."

Chen Zhonglin gently pressed down on his wine glass, his tone carrying just the right amount of reassurance:

"It's fine to say these things among us brothers; we're all on the same side, so of course we won't say them out loud. But we still need to be careful in public. After all, Li Si is a close advisor to the King..."

"What?" Wang Ke frowned, glancing at him sideways. "Zhong Lin is going to speak up for him too?"

"Of course not." Chen Zhonglin quickly waved his hand, smiling innocently. "I just meant that those who can gain a foothold in the Emperor's court do indeed have some ability. I'm just worried—"

He paused, lowered his voice, and leaned forward:

"Brother Kejing, you are a gentleman. Don't fall into the trap set by this villain."

Wang Ke frowned: "What do you mean?"

Chen Zhonglin didn't answer immediately. He simply picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and glanced around casually before lowering his voice to whisper in his ear:

"Brother Kejing, what do you think is the secret to Li Si's rise to his current position in just a few years?"

"What did they rely on? Flattery, of course," Wang Ke scoffed. "A petty person who has gained power."

"That's certainly one aspect," Chen Zhonglin put down his wine glass, lowering his voice even further. "But his greatest strength isn't climbing the social ladder, it's trampling people down. Think about it, Brother Kejing, how many of those who offended him are still doing well?"

Wang Ke's expression changed slightly.

"I heard..." Chen Zhonglin leaned closer to him, almost whispering, "Li Si is a man who always acts extremely and is very ruthless. He likes to attack people's weakest points—blood relatives, wives and children, and clansmen. Sometimes he doesn't even spare young children! He uses coercion and inducement to kill and destroy their spirit. He is truly despicable."

He paused, sighed, and his tone carried a hint of lingering fear:

"Take Guan Chi, who recently fell into his hands, for example. He's one of my father's men. You can know a person's face but not their heart. I don't know what he was thinking, daring to do such a thing, almost implicating my father."

He shook his head, lowering his voice even further:

"Fortunately, my father was cautious and didn't leave any leverage over him. Otherwise... if he couldn't withstand Li Si's methods and started making baseless accusations, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

He took a sip of his drink, his brow furrowing slightly, as if he had suddenly remembered something:

"But it's strange, that old scoundrel Guan Chi has been in the officialdom for so many years, and his position isn't low, yet he doesn't have any dirt on anyone. There's no one to lend him a hand at this time."

He paused, glancing at Wang Ke almost imperceptibly:

"His sons don't seem like tough guys, but after all this time of investigation, apart from the Guan family themselves, no one else has been implicated."

He took another sip of his drink, his tone tinged with amusement:

"They didn't even tell their son, and we don't know if it's true... or if they're hiding it somewhere we don't know about."

He put down his glass, shook his head, as if he had reached a conclusion:

"But at this point, the execution of his entire family and nine generations of his relatives is inevitable. If he really had something up his sleeve, why wouldn't he reveal it now? Perhaps... this person is just too greedy to care about making money and is truly foolish. How could someone like this become an official?"

madness?

Wang Ke paused slightly in the hand holding the wine glass.

He knew very well that Guan Chi was definitely not a fool.

It took a lot of effort to get him to do the job. That guy was incredibly cunning, and his secret accounts were kept very well hidden. If the new accounting method hadn't caught him off guard and exposed his flaws, my father would have had a hard time finding any fault with him.

Later, it took a combination of coercion and enticement, along with soft and hard tactics, to finally get him to comply.

If someone like this were truly a fool, he would have been trampled into the mud long ago, instead of sitting comfortably in the position of Junior Chamberlain.

The reason he's been able to hold out until now without uttering a single word is because they still have that child hiding in the alley in their hands.

But precisely because of this...

Wang Ke's brows furrowed even more deeply.

Does he really not have any leverage over the father and son?

Or perhaps he knew that if things went wrong, his wife, children, and elderly parents would all be implicated, so he secretly handed the things over to that lowly maidservant—to provide protection for the child and to leave himself a backup plan.

But Li Si is cunning; what if the investigation leads back to that child...?

What if the child can't handle it...

Wang Ke's knuckles turned white from clenching his fists.

Chen Zhonglin saw it all, but pretended not to. He poured himself another glass of wine, his voice returning to normal:

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Brother Kejing, don't take it to heart. The older generation is used to being cautious, so it's inevitable that they've lost their drive and are hesitant to act. How can we young people do things like them?"

He raised his wine glass, smiling, and waved it at Wang Ke:

"Brother Kejing has been trained in the army and is stronger than any of us. He naturally understands this principle. He should just handle the situation himself. There's no need to argue with Father. Don't you all agree?"

Several people nearby laughed and raised their glasses in agreement.

"Come on, let's drink, let's not talk about those unpleasant things."

How can I...take control?

A sudden thought struck Wang Ke.

The father was used to being cautious, afraid to touch this or that, but if the child was really holding something, it was like a knife hanging over his head—the sooner it was removed, the sooner he could have peace of mind.

Besides, his father only forbade him from touching Guanchi.

Guan Chi didn't move, but the one hiding in the alley...

Who knows, who can say anything?

Wang Ke lowered his eyes, concealing the ruthless glint that flashed across them.

He had made up his mind, but he remained outwardly calm. He drank two more cups as a formality, then said it was getting late and got up to take his leave.

"Brother Kejing, are you leaving already?" Chen Zhonglin quickly stood up, feigning to ask him to stay, "The drinking isn't over yet, why don't you sit a little longer?"

"No, no." Wang Ke waved his hand, the smile not reaching his eyes. "I have things to do tomorrow, please forgive me, Brother Zhonglin."

Chen Zhonglin said a few more words, and seeing that Wang Ke was determined to leave, he personally saw him to the door and bowed in farewell.

Only after that figure disappeared into the night did he turn around, the smile on his lips fading.

……

Deep within the mansion, in an inconspicuous little room.

The room was perfectly situated, with the windows half-open, offering a clear view of the brightly lit back hall. Meanwhile, the people at the banquet were busy drinking and chatting, and no one could see the spy hidden in the shadows.

The head of the Chen family, Chen Lu, stood in the room but dared not sit. He bowed and carefully accompanied him, with beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, which he wiped away from time to time.

Zhou Wenqing stood with his hands behind his back by the window, watching Wang Ke's hurried departure, his expression indifferent, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Li Si stood beside him, holding a half-finished cup of tea, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"It seems that Brother Zicheng was right after all."