Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Nearly a month has passed again. He sat at the dining table, picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, and his expression was somewhat subtle.

Li Yi acted as if she hadn't seen anything and continued serving him food.

"Young master, try this fish. It was just caught in the river this morning, it's very fresh."

Zhou Wenqing didn't touch his chopsticks. His gaze swept over the dishes on the table, then he frowned and looked at Li Yi.

"Ah Yi, have you been in a bad mood lately? Why don't you tell me, and I'll see if I can help you out."

Otherwise, how could the food have become so bland day by day, now it's practically tasteless!

Li Yi felt a little guilty. In order to get the young master to reveal the method of making salt, he deliberately made the meal even more bland and tasteless. Even the candied fruit he used when talking about the young master was the mildest in taste, and he even rinsed it in water!

"No, my lord, what could be on my mind? My only wish is that you can set off for Xianyang as soon as possible to present the treasure to the King of Qin."

Zhou Wenqing: "..."

Unable to respond to that, Zhou Wenqing quickly changed the subject, turning his chopsticks towards the small fish.

"Ahem, Ah Yi, this fish looks pretty good. It's evenly sliced ​​and translucent. Let me try some—"

"Pah! Pah! Pah! How come it's raw?"

Zhou Wenqing coughed repeatedly from the fishy smell of the raw fish, hurriedly spitting out the fish meat in his mouth, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Li Yi hurriedly got up to pat his back and help him catch his breath, her expression full of self-reproach:

"Young master doesn't like raw food? It's all my fault for not thinking it through! How is the young master?"

After catching his breath, Zhou Wenqing waved his hand, picked up a cup, rinsed his mouth, and continued:

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just that you absolutely can't eat raw fish. It's full of parasites and bacteria, and you can easily get sick if you eat it raw. Ah-yi, you should cook it properly."

At that time, the fish in the river were different from modern raw marinated fish or salmon. They had not been disinfected or marinated. In addition, the river was a place of war and chaos, making it an ideal place to kill and dump bodies.

He would never dare to eat fish that's been freshly caught from the river, just plated up, sliced, and served like this!

"Bacteria? What's that, a parasite?"

Li looked puzzled. "I checked repeatedly while washing it, but I didn't find any bugs..."

Although he didn't understand, he still subconsciously listened to Zhou Wenqing's words and immediately picked up the plate of sashimi:

"Since there are insects in it, young master, you'd better not eat it. I'll go throw it away now, and we'll catch fresh fish again tomorrow..."

"No, no, no! That would be such a waste!"

Zhou Wenqing gently pressed his wrist, "Just cook the fish thoroughly. The parasites are extremely tiny and invisible to the naked eye. However, most fish contain parasites. If you eat them raw, they will enter your body alive. But if you cook them, the parasites will die, and it will be fine to eat them."

"What! All fish have worms inside them!"

Li Yi's pupils contracted slightly, and his gaze towards the sashimi changed instantly, as if the porcelain dish contained not a delicacy but a poison.

With a mournful face, he looked at Zhou Wenqing and said, "But young master, I used to eat a lot of raw fish in the army... in the wild, so my body..."

He shuddered, as if he could see himself about to die.

"Hey, tell me, isn't that old doctor coming again today? Let him take a look at you."

Zhou Wenqing pointed at him, standing up with a look of disappointment: "Look at you, all you know is how to indulge your appetite! Now look what's happened! You can't just eat anything raw anymore, understand?"

"Okay, okay!"

Li nodded repeatedly, there was no reason for him to refuse, and when he looked at the plate of fish slices again, his eyes had become somewhat fierce.

He now only wants to bury the plate along with the chopsticks that touched the fish in the back mountain; he has no intention of cooking it again.

What the young master said was terrifying. Even if it's cooked, isn't it still an insect? The thought of swallowing a cooked insect corpse made his stomach churn violently, and goosebumps rose all over his body.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Zhou Wenqing quietly moved to his side and firmly supported his arm.

"Luckily, you're young, healthy, and have a strong constitution. Let the doctor prescribe some deworming medicine for you to regulate your body; it should be fine."

His tone was gentle, but his hands subtly led Li Yichao into the inner room. "Quickly, let me help you back to your room to rest and calm down."

Li Yi's throat tightened with nausea at the thought of "a belly full of worms," ​​and he subconsciously followed Zhou Wenqing's help to move forward until he was settled down on the edge of his bed, at which point he came to his senses.

"Young master~"

"You should rest well, get plenty of rest, don't worry, I can take care of myself."

Zhou Wenqing considerately pulled a thin blanket over him and carefully closed the window cracks. Before leaving, she turned back to remind him, "Don't catch a cold!"

The door was gently closed, making a barely audible "click".

Li Yi sat by the couch for a moment, still marveling at how kind and thoughtful the young master was. He was afraid that Li Yi would catch a cold, and he even remembered to close the door for him before leaving. Where could one find such a considerate master?

Based on this thoughtfulness, Li Yi made up his mind to do everything in his power to escort the young master safely to Xianyang!

His gaze swept over the tightly closed doors and windows, his heart filled with determination.

……and many more.

Closed doors and windows?!

Oh no, young master is going to run away again!

Li Yi was startled. He threw off the thin blanket, jumped out of bed, and rushed to the door. He pushed it, but it wouldn't budge; it was locked from the inside.

He then went to the window, but the window sash remained firmly in place despite his attempts to push and pull it.

Li Yi almost laughed in anger. He subtly exerted his right hand, seemingly lightly pushing and releasing the window latch with his palm. With a crisp "crack," the heavy wooden latch broke, and the two windows opened. The window frame structure remained intact, without even a scratch on the paint.

He braced himself against the windowsill with one hand, and glided out as lightly as a fish, his robes barely making a sound as he landed steadily in the courtyard.

Without even wasting a moment turning back to check the front hall, he darted off and chased after them straight out of the courtyard.

As soon as I stepped out of the courtyard, sure enough, that familiar figure in blue was lifting the hem of his clothes and walking briskly along the path outside the village without looking back. His steps were hurried, as if he wished he could grow wings.

Fortunately, he hadn't gone far. Li Yi felt a little relieved, gathered his strength, and took a step forward, silently chasing after him.

This cat-and-mouse game has played out countless times since the young master began to recover from his injuries.

What troubled Li Yi the most was that his son acted in a completely unconventional way.

When ordinary people flee, they always pack their valuables and prepare their belongings, and there are always some signs or clues.

But this young master of his always leaves empty-handed and without warning—one moment he's chatting and laughing with you, the next he's vanished without a trace.

Such an unexpected escape would inevitably lead to some oversight, no matter how vigilant he was.

He recalled the first time; he had only been airing out a quilt when he turned back to find the house completely empty, and he couldn't find anyone anywhere.

In that instant, he was so shocked that his blood ran cold, and his first thought was that an assassin had arrived.

But then I thought about it again. Young Master Zhou was not well-known before, and there was nothing unusual about his secret reports. How could he have attracted assassins?

Suppressing his panic, he carefully examined the subtle traces left in the room and was shocked to discover that the person had left on their own.

Fortunately, his tracking skills were superb. He followed the barely discernible traces all the way into the dense forest behind the mountain. If it had been a little later, the young master would probably have already disappeared into the vast wilderness, leaving no trace to be found.

Looking at the man's back, Li Yi felt both angry and a little absurd. This Young Master Zhou was probably the most difficult "fugitive" to guard against in the world.

He sighed, quickened his pace, and placed his hand firmly on Zhou Wenqing's shoulder.

"Young master, where are you rushing off to in such a hurry? Are you on your way to Xianyang to seek an audience with the King of Qin?"

His voice was steady, carrying a hint of resignation that he had long been accustomed to.

"Oh!"

Zhou Wenqing was startled, his neck seemed to rust, and he turned his head around with a clatter, first squeezing his eyes shut.

—Oops, caught again!

When he opened his eyes again, a sheepish smile immediately spread across his face. "Ah, Ah Yi? Why...didn't you rest a little longer? I was just thinking that the doctor hadn't arrived yet, and I was going to go to the village entrance to greet him..."

"Is that so?" Li Yi stared at him intently, her grip on his hand still tight.

"Of course, of course!" Zhou Wenqing blinked, trying his best to appear extremely sincere.

He's already been arrested, so he'll know who will take care of him in the future. He'll naturally be the wise one to know when to yield.

"Ah Yi, look how much I care about you! You're still not fully recovered, so stop thinking about meeting the King of Qin. Just rest properly and don't worry people."

Li Yi: "..."

Who's being dishonest? Who's causing whom so much trouble?

Li Yi couldn't understand why this young master Zhou was so determined to escape. Was the glory of Xianyang and the appreciation of the King of Qin really inferior to the crudeness of the countryside?

It must be that King Han was cunning and whispered some slanderous words in the prince's ear, which made the prince fear King Qin.

That King of Han truly deserves to die!

However, he also believed that it was only because the prince had not yet witnessed the king's majesty. Once he had the opportunity to meet him in person, he would surely be impressed by the king's demeanor and would naturally not run away again.

With thoughts racing through his mind, Li Yi gently but firmly pulled Zhou Wenqing back:

"You needn't trouble yourself with the doctor's affairs, young master. The wind is cool and the dew is heavy. Your injuries have just healed, so please come back to the house with me to rest."

With a half-support, half-persuasion gesture, Zhou Wenqing turned around, gazing at the receding village entrance, and sighed inwardly.

Looks like I'm in for a rough few days to come.