Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Zhou Wenqing was unaware that Li Yi's acting was not merely perfunctory, but rather of a superior quality.

The incident happened suddenly, but he was quick-witted enough to react instantly when he saw Zhou Wen regain consciousness, and even came up with a story for himself.

Those seemingly obvious flaws were not due to his negligence, but rather stemmed from serious errors in intelligence.

Little did he know that this young retainer, who was described in intelligence as "famous but not very quick-witted," had suddenly transformed into someone with astonishing observational skills.

After all, Zhou Wenqing didn't have this ability before. He didn't know or care about farmers, so how would he know what kind of calluses they had on their hands?

He had someone to take care of him and never worried about where to live, so how could he know how much human warmth and life should exist in an ordinary house?

Naturally, it would be impossible to discover the loopholes in Li Yi's words.

Li Yi believed his disguise was appropriate and was now focused on another problem: the secret report he had already written and was preparing to send out today—"Zhou Wenqing, a retainer of the King of Han, is in critical condition and may not be saved; he is about to die."

He stared at the thin wooden tablet, his gaze conflicted.

Should we release the news now as planned, or... wait a few more days?

In his mind, the young man on the bed, whose breath was faint, probably wouldn't survive this serious injury. What he just saw was likely a last gasp before death.

Even now, with his eyes closed, the scene he witnessed that day, following the intelligence, remains vivid in his mind, unforgettable...

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Inside the Zhangtai Palace in Xianyang, the King of Qin was handling state affairs late into the night.

Since ascending the throne at the age of thirteen, he had been lying low for ten years. Now, he swiftly purged the rebel party of Lao Ai and dismissed the powerful minister Lü Buwei, thus truly seizing supreme royal power.

After eliminating the two powerful ministers, King Ying Zheng of Qin turned his attention to the "little parasites" who occupied the court.

Just as he was pondering how to eliminate the remaining poison, the spy identity of the hydraulic engineer Zheng Guo was exposed—this was undoubtedly a godsend.

The King of Qin secretly summoned Li Si, and after some planning, the two devised a grand scheme.

In the imperial court, the King of Qin was "furious" over the matter of Zheng, and took the opportunity to issue the "Order to Expel Foreigners," which shocked the other states.

With this decree issued, those guest ministers from the six states who relied on connections to curry favor and were merely filling positions were rightfully purged, and the bloated court was cleaned up.

Subsequently, Li Si, who had already been "expelled," presented his "Memorial on Expelling Foreign Guests" at the opportune moment.

The King of Qin readily accepted the advice and immediately withdrew his order. He then invited Li Si and other truly talented individuals back to court. This grand event not only eliminated mediocre talents but also demonstrated Qin's magnanimity and ambition to the world.

All of this was old news that had been circulating in the Xianyang Palace for half a month. Zhou Wenqing, who had been stabbed and was struggling on the brink of life and death, was completely unaware of it. He was even less aware that his name had already been quietly presented to the King of Qin.

With Zheng's affair exposed, how could the small pawn that the King of Han subsequently placed escape the trap woven by Qin's spies?

Ying Zheng was fully aware of this, but given the previous "expulsion of guests" incident, he had already made a plan in order to reassure the scholars of the world.

Even if Zhou Wenqing is of mediocre talent, as long as he is willing to come, the King of Qin would not mind following the ancient custom of "the Chu people offering pheasants" and treating him as an auspicious sign of submission, bestowing upon him a sinecure and supporting him, as a sign of benevolence.

However, after waiting and waiting, the Han envoy never appeared before the Xianyang Palace. Suspicious, Ying Zheng finally ordered people to search along the route.

Li Yi was dispatched at this moment.

The King of Han did not send more secret guards. In his opinion, a weak scholar with a servant to monitor him was more than enough. He would not be able to escape his grasp in the end. Sending more people would only be a waste of resources.

This week, Wenqing's move was a risky but ultimately futile one.

Success is an unexpected joy; failure is not a big deal, and can even be considered as expected.

Ultimately, this was a business deal that involved almost no investment.

When news of Zheng's plot being exposed reached the King of Han, he knew that the plan was doomed and had long since forgotten about the master and servant.

Therefore, when the original owner and the servant perished together in the wilderness, this move was completely over. If it weren't for the soul from the future quietly taking over, everything should have ended there.

When Li Yi arrived as ordered, the scene he witnessed was not unforgettable—

The heavy stench of blood was almost tangible, and the dark brown bloodstains seeped deep into the soil. The servant's body was already rotting, clearly indicating that he had been dead for some time. Judging from the scene, the two must have stabbed each other to their deaths and died simultaneously.

Li Yi stood silently between the two bodies, his gaze finally settling on Zhou Wenqing's pale face. He sighed inwardly; the mission had ultimately failed.

Since the person is already dead, all that can be done is to bring this cold news of death back to Xianyang.

Out of his usual caution, he still bent down to check the target's breath.

I could feel a faint breeze at my fingertips!

Li Yi was startled and took a half step back.

How is that possible?

Based on his experience, he judged that the two had clearly died together. Why was it that one of them was already dead, while the other, after losing blood and being exposed to the wilderness for many days, was still alive?

Countless tales of ghosts and gods surfaced in his mind, only to be suppressed. Impossible! He preferred to believe that his judgment was flawed!

Could it be that Zhou Wenqing killed his servants first, guarded the body for several days, and then committed suicide, which is why his injuries, though seemingly severe, did not actually occur after a long period of time?

Li Yi's mind was in complete chaos, and his hair stood on end. He couldn't figure out where this illogical vitality came from. Since he didn't believe in ghosts and gods, he could only attribute it to Zhou Wenqing's bizarre behavior.

Since the target was found to still have a breath left, even if the hope of saving him was slim, the procedure could not be abandoned. He found an abandoned thatched hut in a nearby village, moved the person inside, bandaged him up, and carefully applied medicine.

After all this commotion, another day had passed. Before Li Yi could completely convince himself, Zhou Wenqing's breath grew weaker and weaker, until he was barely a thread.

Li Yi, anticipating that his time was near, went out to write a secret report, intending to return to the house for one last check before leaving the messenger behind to deliver the message.

To his utter surprise, at this very last moment, he pushed open the door and was met with a pair of clear-eyed eyes.

In that instant, a chill ran down his spine; he almost thought it was a zombie coming back to life and nearly screamed.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough, using the action of closing the door and helping someone to conceal his emotions.

Back to the present, Li Yi sighed and put the wooden tablet away.

"This person is strange; let's wait and see."

He then picked up another blank wooden tablet, and with a flourish of his pen, he wrote that he had found the target, but that the target was still seriously injured and in urgent need of treatment.

As expected, the reply that came soon after was only four words: Take good care of him.

This meant he wasn't going to give up on this person. Since Li Yi knew he couldn't get away for the time being, he calmed down and focused on taking care of Zhou Wenqing's injuries. After all, he still had a huge question on his mind that he hadn't been able to answer.

He secretly thought that perhaps if this person were a little luckier and regained consciousness, he could find an opportunity to ask some clues. That would be better than him sitting here thinking wildly, his mind filled with strange and supernatural speculations, which only added to his troubles.

Time slipped away quietly between sunrise and sunset, and another month passed in this vigil.

Li Yijing sat in the corner of the room, her gaze often falling on the person on the bed, her suspicions growing deeper each day.

Having worked as a bodyguard for many years, he considered himself to have witnessed countless life-and-death situations, but the scene before him truly shook his perception—this Zhou Wenqing was indeed getting better day by day.

Although she was still weak and lying on the bed due to excessive blood loss, making it difficult for her to move freely, her breathing became more steady and long each day. The breath that was previously as faint as if it would be cut off at any moment had now become clear and strong.

He actually came back to life!