Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

With the thorny problem easily resolved and no longer requiring much effort to resolve, Zhou Wenqing felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. He casually tossed the inkstone aside, picked up the teacup Wei Liao had handed him earlier, took a sip, and contentedly closed his eyes.

Hmm, the temperature is just right. The warm tea soup slid down my throat, and I felt much more relaxed.

Looking at his carefree expression, as if everything was settled and he was waiting for some leisure, Wei Liao sighed and tapped the inkstone with her fingertips, then teased him:

"You've already handed over the important matters, and now you're just going to shirk your responsibility of grinding ink for your brother?"

Zhou Wenqing chuckled awkwardly, feeling somewhat guilty for using someone and then discarding them. He put down his teacup, picked up the inkstone, and perfunctorily circled it in the inkstone a couple of times, pretending to be knowledgeable and getting away with it.

"What nonsense! Brother, don't wrong me. There's enough ink, enough."

He peeked into the inkstone to check the ink color; it was indeed almost ground. He then picked up the teapot, refilled Wei Liao's teacup with hot water, and bowed with a smile, saying:

"Brother, you are capable and therefore have much to do. I will not do anything more or disturb you any longer. I will take my leave now."

Before he could even finish speaking, and without waiting for Wei Liao's reply, he turned around and tried to slip away.

This place is no longer safe; it's too dangerous and too mentally taxing.

Today, Zhou Wenqing had exhausted all his words and used far too many convoluted and sophistical arguments, resulting in the loss of countless brain cells. He did not intend to go to Wei Liao's place to suffer any more trouble for a while. If he wandered around too much and Wei Liao changed his mind, wouldn't all his efforts have been in vain?

"stop."

Wei Liao's voice came from behind, neither warm nor cold, but it froze him in place.

Zhou Wenqing's steps froze, his heart skipped a beat, he took a deep breath, slowly turned around, and put on a fawning smile:

"Is there anything else you need, brother?"

Wei Liao watched him intently, his expression one of utter fear of being caught and his eagerness to escape. A hint of amusement flickered in her eyes, but she didn't expose him further. Instead, her tone deepened slightly as she earnestly instructed him:

"Some things, you can avoid them for a while, but you can't avoid them in the future. Rather than letting others figure it out afterward and create resentment, it's better to seize the opportunity, take the initiative to open up, and have a heart-to-heart talk. It's always better than keeping it to yourself."

Zhou Wenqing's smile faltered slightly, and his fingers, hanging at his sides, unconsciously curled up.

He knew who his brother was talking about, and he knew his brother was right—the longer Han Fei's matter dragged on, the harder it would be to resolve.

Rather than letting Han Fei hear rumors and rush back to Korea later, only to have everything settle down and he calm down to analyze the situation and see through her schemes, leading to an awkward situation for both of them, it would be better for her to take the initiative to find a suitable opportunity to explain herself frankly.

Even though Han Fei was inevitably annoyed at the moment, in the end he would still care about the land of Han and be determined to return to his country. But considering that he had told her frankly, he would still be able to retain some face.

But Zhou Wenqing really couldn't figure out how to bring it up.

"understood."

He nodded obediently, a rare occurrence, his voice lowered, and he seemed listless and dispirited. "I'll find the right opportunity to explain things clearly to him."

Looking at him like a withered orchid, its leaves drooping, Wei Liao chuckled inwardly, but couldn't help offering a gentle word of comfort:

"You two have different stances. Han Zi is calm and rational, and you two have a life-or-death bond, so there's no need to worry too much. He... will probably understand."

perhaps?

Zhou Wenqing's lips twitched slightly, forcing a bitter smile, his tone weak and helpless:

"Brother, you're really bad at comforting people. You're too perfunctory. It would be better if you didn't try to comfort me at all."

Wei Liao was taken aback by his retort, and immediately lost the patience she had just had for gentle persuasion. She raised an eyebrow, feigning impatience, and waved her hand to shoo him away.

"What an ungrateful person! Go away, go away, go do what you're supposed to do, don't get in my way and delay me from organizing the memorials."

Seeing his "furious" appearance, Zhou Wenqing felt a little relieved.

He took a half step back, cupped his hands in a salute, and the bitter smile on his lips finally faded, revealing a genuine sense of relief: "Then Wenqing will not disturb you any longer, brother. Please rest early and don't stay up too late."

Wei Liao didn't even raise his head, only humming in response.

Zhou Wenqing turned and left, letting out a long sigh of relief as he closed the door.

"Sir?" Li Yi greeted him.

"Let's go back." Zhou Wenqing waved his hand, his tone carrying a hint of resigned relief. "We'll deal with the future later. Let's take it one step at a time."

------

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

In the Song Mansion of Chen County, the branches of two sycamore trees in the courtyard intertwine, like a giant umbrella, blocking the afternoon sun from entering and leaving only a few dappled rays of light that quietly fall on the stone table below.

Han Fei gently pinched a gleaming white chess piece between his fingertips, hesitating to place it, and looked up at the person opposite him.

He frowned slightly, a faint hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes, and asked softly, "Zicheng, shall we continue?"

"Continue! Of course, continue!"

Zhou Wenqing jolted awake, instantly snapping out of his chaotic thoughts. He hurriedly reached into the chess box, haphazardly pulling out a black piece, his fingertips showing a touch of haste and disarray.

I glanced down at the chessboard. The black and white pieces were intertwined, seemingly unchanged, yet it also seemed like there were a few more... or fewer?

His eyes widened in confusion for a moment, unsure if he had remembered wrong, but he still managed to raise his eyes with feigned composure and asked dryly:

"Is it my turn to make a move?"

Han Fei did not answer, but simply gazed at him silently.

A pair of clear eyes quietly gazed at the person opposite him, taking in all of Zhou Wenqing's seemingly absent-minded yet feigned composure and attempts to cover up his true feelings.

After a long while, he sighed softly and gently tossed the white piece he had been holding for so long back into the chess box, making a crisp "tap" sound.

"That's enough for today."

Han Fei slowly lowered his eyes and glanced at the messy chessboard, then said calmly, "Your mind is unsettled and you seem distracted. Perhaps we should play again another day."

"Who, who said I was restless?!"

Zhou Wenqing reacted as if someone had stepped on his tail, raising his voice eight octaves. He gripped the black chess piece so tightly that his fingertips slipped, and it almost flew away.

He caught it hastily, his neck stiff, stubbornly refusing to admit it, and with his fingers holding the chess piece, he put it down with a "click" without thinking.

"I was just thinking about how to place my piece, I was so engrossed in it. Now I realize it's my turn to make a move, so I'll place mine here. It's your turn now."

Han Fei glanced at him, his gaze lingering for a moment on the lone black piece that had fallen into the white pieces' encirclement. His tone was low and ruthless as he pointed out, "You're wrong. It wasn't your turn just now. I should have been the one to make the move."

Zhou Wenqing's expression froze.

No way? You guessed wrong even with a 1/2 probability?!

------

No need to wait! It was a last-minute roommate get-together, and I didn't have time to tell everyone beforehand. I owe you a chapter, I'll make it up tomorrow (⊙ω⊙)