Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Upon hearing this, not only Liu Bang, but also Xiao He and Han Fei were stunned.

Everyone assumed that the talented individuals Zhou Wenqing had so earnestly entrusted to find must be mature, capable, and outstanding young men—or at the very least, of similar age to them, able to run, jump, and drink.

And what happened? Four or five years old?

They probably can't even hold chopsticks properly!

"Well……"

The look of anticipation on Liu Bang's face vanished instantly, replaced by utter astonishment.

He scratched the back of his head, looking slightly embarrassed. "Well... I'll try my best to ask around among my friends. Maybe I can find out whose child has this name... I guess."

Liu Bang's voice was hesitant and dragging, every word revealing his utter uncertainty.

Although he had friends from all walks of life, from rural areas to the city, he could always find out which family was having a fight, which street had a new face, or even which man was having an affair. After a few drinks and some casual conversation, he could always find out.

But the child can't!

Let alone what kind of reputation a child of this age could have.

Neighbors would at most call someone by their nickname or pet name—something like "Doggy," "Iron Egg," or "Stone." Who would call someone by their full name in a proper way?

Even if a family has a famous name, it is mostly only recorded in the family genealogy. Family members call it by name, but how would outsiders know?

Liu Bang had already begun mentally sifting through his drinking buddies, trying to figure out who could handle the job, and who would also look respectable and decent, not like a street hustler.

It has to be said, it's a bit difficult.

If all else fails... then pick some that are nimble and fast.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt this job was completely incompatible with his group. But since he'd already made the offer, he was too embarrassed to refuse directly. So he could only awkwardly scratch his head and carefully choose his words, saying:

"Sir, it's not that I'm not trying my best, it's just that... this matter needs to be handled slowly. I'll ask someone to keep an eye out for it and let you know when there's any news, but it might take... a little longer. I'm afraid they'll find out about me and end up in jail."

"Longer, please?"

Zhou Wenqing's eye twitched violently. Hearing these words, which were half-joking and half-serious, he was speechless for a moment.

Xiao He sighed helplessly, bringing to a close the boast Liu Bang had made:

"Sir, how about this? Cao Can and I will stay in Chen County for a while longer. When we do, we need to check the origins of the abducted children and send them back to their hometowns. This is the duty of the government. Although Huaiyin is not under the jurisdiction of Chen County, it is not too far away. If we pass through Huaiyin on the way back, or if we meet people from there, we can inquire about them. It is safer for the government to issue documents and register households than to ask around in the market."

Cao Can nodded in agreement: "Brother Xiao is absolutely right. These abducted children come from all over the country, including many from Huaiyin and Sishui. Once we have settled them down and sent them back one by one, it shouldn't be too difficult to inquire about the whereabouts of one of the children."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wenqing nodded slightly, finally letting out a sigh of relief. He cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Clerk Xiao and Clerk Cao. There's no rush; we can take our time. It would be best if we could find it, but it's alright if we can't."

He paused, then glanced at Liu Bang with a wry look, his tone carrying a hint of mockery: "Just don't make me go to jail to bail someone out."

Feeling guilty under his gaze, Liu Bang awkwardly touched his nose and coughed twice: "No, no, sir, don't worry, although my brothers are a bit rough around the edges, they wouldn't be... wouldn't be..."

He stammered for a long time, trying to come up with a solution, but ultimately gave up, muttering under his breath, "At most I'll get a beating, but I won't end up in jail..."

Zhou Wenqing's lips twitched, and he decided not to continue the conversation.

Xiao He shook his head helplessly, cupped his hands and said, "Don't worry, sir. With Brother Cao and I handling things, there won't be any trouble."

Zhou Wenqing nodded, cupped his hands in farewell, and said, "Alright, that's all. You should all get some rest."

After saying that, he turned and walked out.

Having resolved a worry, settled these people properly, and even dispatched them on a side errand, Zhou Wenqing felt much better and his steps became lighter.

If it weren't for the fact that his knee injury hadn't fully healed, he would have had the leisure to stroll around this luxurious mansion for a while.

Han Fei followed behind him, his gaze fixed intently on his back.

"In such a good mood, has everything been arranged?"

Zhou Wenqing relaxed and replied casually without thinking, "Yes, everything is arranged."

"Have you figured out how to explain this to Mr. Wei Liao?"

Zhou Wenqing paused, frozen in place.

"……broken."

Han Fei didn't stop, but instead slowly overtook him and continued walking. As he passed by, he added a casual reminder:

"And the letter to be sent back to the court, isn't it time to deliver it again? How do you get the King of Qin to agree to the things you promised? Don't forget to think carefully."

Zhou Wenqing: "..."

He watched Han Fei's nonchalant and leisurely back as he walked away, and the corner of his mouth twitched violently twice.

This man, a true gentleman, never hesitates to take revenge, not even for a moment!

……

Zhou Wenqing stood there silently cursing for a long time, then decided to give up and calm down.

Based on the principle that having too much debt is not a problem, and having too many lice is not an itch, he decided to first focus on the real issues such as the situation in Chen County, his plans, and the arrangements for these personnel. The rest... were not important and could be mentioned in passing.

As for how to explain it to Wei Liao, that's for tomorrow. We'll talk about it tomorrow. Until then—

"Sir, I've been writing for a long time!"

In Fusu's room, he watched as his master raised his hand and precisely pulled out his newly written, full-length "complaint letter" from a pile of bamboo slips, which he thought was perfectly hidden at the very back.

Fusu, his face contorted with despair, immediately stepped forward:

"Sir! I promise I didn't write anything wrong, really, you don't need to 'keep' it for me anymore, right?"

Last time, he was caught off guard, and the letter detailing the gentleman's actions and mentioning the recent injury was intercepted by the other party.

Left with no other choice, he quickly rewrote a letter—fearing that his husband would investigate, he deliberately compressed the "sensitive content" as much as possible, blending it into the lines of ordinary greetings, thus subtly concealing the truth.

Unfortunately, time was short and the guards had to leave quickly, so the writing was inevitably rough.

So this time he learned from his mistake. Although time was still tight, he deliberately finished writing early and carefully hid it in the innermost part, mixed in with a pile of old letters. Finally, he wrote a newer letter with a plain and steady content and placed it on top, trying to fool everyone.

To everyone's surprise, the gentleman didn't even glance at the "fake version" he had placed on top, and immediately pulled this one out.

How on earth did that?!