Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Behind the screen, Wang Jian rubbed his hands together and peeked out with a big smile on his face.

"Zicheng..."

He seemed a little guilty, peeking around cautiously, but his eyes gleamed with excitement, as if he had thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle.

Zhou Wenqing leaned back in her chair and glanced at him listlessly.

"General, your kick was perfectly timed."

"Hehe, isn't this...excitement?" Wang Jian touched his nose, awkwardly walked out from behind the screen, and strode up to Zhou Wenqing.

He rubbed his hands together, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

"It has to be Zicheng, your reaction is really quick! I admire you! Your cough just now was so loud that I almost suffered internal injuries from holding it in. Several times I wanted to rush out to see if you were really going to faint."

As he spoke, the smile on his face faded slightly, and his gaze swept over Zhou Wenqing, his brows furrowing slightly.

"But Zicheng, your complexion... you must have been acting just now, right? Something doesn't seem quite right to me."

"Ah." Zhou Wenqing raised his hand and wiped his face, his fingertips covered in a little white powder.

He looked down and sighed helplessly.

"The rice noodles are still a bit lacking; they get rubbed off easily. Luckily, that guy didn't notice. I'll have to look into it later and try a different ingredient."

The makeup on his face had mostly worn off, but thankfully his acting was still good, and that fit of coughing was also a relief... though it was a bit hard on his voice.

Zhou Wenqing cleared his throat, picked up his teacup, and took a sip to moisten his throat.

Wang Jian leaned closer to take a look and exclaimed in amazement:

"So that's what it was! No wonder it looked so strange. But it actually looks quite convincing. From a distance, it really looks like someone who's been seriously ill."

Zhou Wenqing put down his teacup and joked, "General, would you like some? After applying it, you can pretend to be sick and rest at home for a few days."

"Come on, those are things women use..."

Halfway through his sentence, Wang Jian met Zhou Wenqing's ambiguous smile and instantly realized something was wrong. He slammed on the brakes, swallowing the rest of his words, and changed the subject, forcefully patting his broad chest with a loud "thump, thump."

"What I'm saying is, I can't handle this thing. Pretending to be sick? Don't even talk about whether others believe me or not. My acting skills are no match for you thousand-year-old fox spirits. In the end, I won't be able to fake illness, but instead, I'll be seen as a coward. How embarrassing would that be!"

What do you mean by a thousand-year-old fox spirit—that's not a very good story either.

Zhou Wenqing glared at him, too lazy to pay attention, and got up and walked to the corner of the wall, bending down to pick up the blood-stained "murder weapon".

"I wonder if this amulet will still be effective after being stained with blood?"

He looked at the dark red stain on one corner of the wolf's thigh stone with some disdain and muttered to himself.

Before it even had a chance to be used as a shield, it ended up acting as a stray arrow. Well, that counts as... fulfilling its purpose, right?

It's a pity there's no instruction manual. I wonder if this thing works on the same principle as those exorcism talismans—one-time use, ruined once it gets stained with blood.

Wang Jian leaned closer, craned his neck to take a look, and grinned:

"I told you this thing is incredibly effective, look!"

He reached out and caught it, glanced at the dark red area, and then casually tossed it away.

The blood-stained wolf thigh stone traced an arc in the air before landing precisely in a discarded box in the corner with a "thud".

Zhou Wenqing's eyelids twitched.

"This piece is dirty, we don't want it," Wang Jian said nonchalantly, clapping his hands.

"It's alright, I have plenty more. I'll bring them all over for you later. If that's still not enough, I'll try to get some more to make a whole box. Then you can wear one and throw the other away as you like!"

Zhou Wenqing: "..."

"No, that's not necessary."

Is this some kind of talisman or a slingshot that's just being tossed around like that?!

"I'll keep one, I'll keep one too. It'll be quite handy to throw around." Wang Jian waved his hand confidently.

Looking at him, who was fiddling with his fingers and seemed to want more, Zhou Wenqing silently apologized to the wolf pack in the north.

I'm sorry, your bones haven't even become amulets yet; they've already been reserved by the old general to be used as hidden weapons.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead, but quickly gathered his scattered thoughts, straightened his expression, and said:

"General, today's matter is of great importance. Please accompany me to the palace."

"Now?"

Wang Jian raised an eyebrow and looked at the sky outside.

Dusk had fallen, and the lanterns under the eaves were lit, their dim yellow light swaying gently in the evening breeze.

"I wonder if the palace gates are locked or not." He withdrew his gaze and landed on Zhou Wenqing's face, which was clearly weary.

"Besides, you've expended quite a bit of energy just now, so you should rest. At worst, I'll go and talk to the King. It was already arranged, and I don't know what Wei Liao did. Wasn't it agreed that he would take responsibility? Besides..."

He raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of disdain:

"Is it really worth making a trip all night for such a trivial matter?"

It couldn't really be considered working overnight...

Zhou Wenqing looked at the sky outside, opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Wang Jian continued speaking on his own, his disdain deepening:

"Even though I didn't see it, I can imagine Zhao Shi's aggressive attitude just now. Tsk, that face of his. He was only acting out of consideration for you, Brother Zicheng, otherwise I would have..."

He paused, clenched his fist, then relaxed it, and muttered in a low voice:

"He got off too easy. When my Qin army invades Handan, I'll see how I deal with him."

Zhou Wenqing couldn't help but laugh when she saw his gritted teeth.

The old general's protective nature is truly... as always.

but--

"Wenqing is truly alright, General Wang, please rest assured. Let me accompany you on this journey. You overheard what happened just now, that Yan..."

"Swallow? Swallow what?"

Wang Jian suddenly raised his voice, abruptly interrupting Zhou Wenqing.

He pretended to pick his ear, then looked at Zhou Wenqing with a blank expression:

"I'm getting old, and my hearing isn't what it used to be. Zicheng, what did you just say? A cigarette?"

He slapped his thigh, as if suddenly realizing something, and leaned closer to the candlestick on the table, squinting as he carefully examined the flickering flame:

"Oh~ there's no smoke! Zicheng, your new candle is really nice, not a trace of smoke, tsk tsk tsk!"

He turned around, his face full of admiration, and remarked with a double entendre:

"Zicheng, how did you get such a sharp mind? How come it works so well?"

Zhou Wenqing's lips twitched involuntarily as he looked at his pretentious expression.

The old general even said he couldn't act?

This is truly... a case of great wisdom appearing as foolishness!

He shook his head helplessly and chuckled:

"General, you flatter me. If you like these candles, please feel free to take them. Wenqing has plenty more."

Wang Jian's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands and laughed:

"Hahaha! Alright! Thank you very much, Zicheng. I won't stand on ceremony!"

Before the words were finished, a soft creak came from the doorway.

A familiar figure strode in, the hem of his dark robe billowing in the candlelight, his voice carrying a hint of teasing laughter:

"Why is the old general asking Zhou Aiqing for something again?"