Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Once he was sure his back wasn't broken, an indescribable sense of embarrassment washed over him. Liu Bang coughed, rolled over, sat cross-legged on the cart, and gave Zhou Wenqing an awkward smile.

"Um, I'm fine now."

Zhou Wenqing and Fan Kuai: "..."

However, Liu Bang was no ordinary man, and the slight embarrassment on his face lasted no more than three seconds before being replaced by a surge of indignation.

That heavy fall just now, that piercing pain in my side, was definitely not faked. What on earth dared to hurt me like that?!

He immediately reached into his shirt at his waist and rummaged around for a moment, his fingertips precisely touching a hard object. He pulled it out and took a closer look—

It was the wolf bone stone that he had just carefully hidden and buried in his clothes.

It seems that Wang Ben's intervention and the subsequent pulling and shoving by everyone caused the "spirit stone" to quietly slip and shift, moving from his chest to his waist.

You could say they brought it on themselves.

Liu Bang clutched the "spirit stone" in his hand, raised his head with a complex expression, looked at Zhou Wenqing, and spoke with a hint of aggrieved accusation:

"Sir, could it be that your spirit stone was trampled and damaged by that pig's head earlier, thus losing its spiritual power?"

It was supposed to be a protective charm, but it didn't even protect him, and now it's even betraying him!

I almost lost my life here because of those absurd speculations in my head, and spirit stones too!

Sometimes, Zhou Wenqing really didn't know whether to say that Liu Bang was just a free spirit who didn't care about details, or simply someone who was thick-skinned and oblivious.

Or is this what Emperor Gaozu of Han looked like at this age?

But when we first met, this person seemed quite reliable.

Zhou Wenqing was utterly baffled, feeling both helpless and heartbroken. He took a deep breath, suppressing the surging sense of absurdity within him, and patiently offered one last rebuttal, each word imbued with a profound sense of powerlessness:

"I already told you that those aren't spirit stones at all."

He lowered his gaze to Liu Bang on the carriage floor, his eyes filled with unspeakable emotions.

The once neat and tidy guard uniform was completely unrecognizable in a short moment. The collar was pulled to the side, the lapels were wide open, and the solid backstrap had rubbed the crown into disarray. The coarse hair broke free of its restraints and stood upside down on the top of the head in a messy manner.

The most comical part was the lower half: the left pant leg was ripped cleanly from the knee, with most of the fabric hanging loosely, only a few thin strands of thread barely clinging to it, dangling precariously at the ankle, all while the person was sitting cross-legged on the "ground"—

All that's missing is a bowl in front of him!

"never mind."

Zhou Wenqing let out a soft breath, completely too lazy to dwell on it anymore.

He turned to the side, raised his hand, and gently opened the hidden cabinet door inside the car. Inside the cabinet were several clean and neatly folded spare clothes.

His gaze swept over the three sets of clothes—two adults and one child—in the first row, his eyes lingering for a moment, but he quickly recovered and took out his own set, handing it over.

"These are my spare clothes, which I haven't worn yet. It's really inconvenient for you to get out of the car like this. Please change into these clothes first, so that people won't see you. I don't even want to think about what people will say about you."

No one understood the power of "rumors spreading" better than him, especially since this was in Linzi, and Zhou Wenqing really didn't want to experience it a second time.

It should be noted that the imagination of the "enthusiastic masses" in this regard is no less rich than that of ten Liu Bangs tied together.

"What happened today was Wang Ben's recklessness. He attacked you without asking what happened. Once we get back to the manor, I will teach him a lesson and make him apologize to you."

After saying that, he hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help himself and added another instruction:

"You'd better behave yourself for a while and stay away from Wang Ben and his gang."

Wang Ben had already drawn his sword; one wonders just how bad an impression Liu Bang left on these three brothers!

Zhou Wenqing believed that if it were anyone else, even Fan Kuai, Wang Ben would never have reacted so strongly.

"oh."

Liu Bang was aware of the situation, and somewhat awkwardly touched his nose, nodded in agreement, got up, took the clothes, and went to the back to change.