People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

"Okay, I'll come back in ten days."

After leaving the gold coins, Cao Ze turned and left.

Gongliang Wuqi weighed the money bag in his hand, opened it, and took out a gold coin to examine it.

He chuckled and said, "This person is no ordinary person."

These exquisitely crafted gold coins, adorned with carvings, were forged by blacksmiths and mechanical engineers from various Ironblood Alliances, and their value was roughly equivalent to that of gold ingots on the market.

As the saying goes, a gold coin is worth ten taels of gold. A gold coin weighing one tael is worth about the same as a gold ingot weighing ten taels per kilogram.

It weighs only one-tenth of the bulky gold ingot and is extremely pure.

The reason they are of comparable value is that, in addition to the intrinsic value of the gold coin and its purity, they also possess a certain artistic and collectible value.

It generally circulated only among nobles and wealthy merchants, serving as a symbol of status and prestige, and was one of his favorite collectibles.

"It shouldn't be Ji Wuye who sent this to test me; perhaps I'm just overthinking it."

Gongliang Wuqi muttered to himself.

He was sent to Handan by Ji Wuye many years ago. Now that he has established himself here, he has begun to think about breaking away from Ji Wuye.

"Feihuang, go to the south of the city and find Xiong Da of the Bear Gang. Buy some information about Han Fei."

"Yes!"

A dark figure flashed out and disappeared from the spot.

"I'm still too kind-hearted to only make half the money."

Gongliang Wuqi entered the dilapidated thatched cottage with his hands behind his back, sighing deeply.

Selling intelligence is all about exploiting information asymmetry.

He didn't have overseas channels, but the "Bear Gang," backed by high-ranking officials, did, and that was enough for him to make money.

Chapter 33: She gave birth; time to prepare for the next one~

Live in peace and quiet.

This is the name Cao Ze gave to the courtyard.

After arriving in Handan, he only visited Gongliang Wuqi once, and spent the rest of his time in the small courtyard.

He also sent Li Wu to Handan City to gather all sorts of information, from princes and nobles to merchants and laborers. Whether it was serious business or gossip, he listened to everything and made various summaries in his mind.

I also took a look at some portraits of important figures, just in case I didn't recognize them.

Li Wu came in from outside and said, "I've inquired, and Guo Kai has indeed not yet been appointed Prime Minister by the King of Zhao. However, there are rumors circulating that Guo Kai will become Prime Minister soon."

Cao Ze put down his teacup, thinking to himself that it was a bit of a pity.

When he learned that the position of Prime Minister of Zhao was still vacant and that the God of War Guo Kai had not yet taken office, he wanted to see if there was a chance to curry favor with him.

Little did anyone know that Guo Kai was already prepared to take office.

Do you know who spread the rumor?

Li Wu sat down next to Cao Ze and drank a cup of tea to moisten her throat.

"I didn't know at first, but when I left, those who spread the news inadvertently mentioned a name, Han Cang. I went to inquire about it, and it turns out that Han Cang is a favorite minister of the King of Zhao, and his relationship with Guo Kai is said to be very good."

"Hehe, it does look pretty good. The good news about my good brother is almost spreading all over Handan City."

After joking around, Cao Ze asked, "Anything else?"

Li Wu played with her bamboo flute. "Other things... Oh, it's said that Pang Nuan, the commander of the allied forces, will soon return to Handan. I've heard from others that Pang Nuan's position as general is likely to be lost."

Cao Ze pondered for a moment and said, "This is something we should keep in mind."

If Zhao Yan weren't stupid, he wouldn't have dismissed Pang Nuan outright at this point.

The Qin state's retaliation was no joke.

Although I don't plan to follow Li Mu's path, it's good to have a backup plan.

Anyway, I'm here in Zhao to build up my resume and create value for united front work. As long as I don't die, I can do whatever I want.

Just as Li Wu was about to play the flute, Jing Ni, who was inside the house, walked to the door.

"I...I might be going into labor."

A single, simple sentence made Cao Ze jump to his feet.

Another reason he hadn't gone out for the past seven or eight days was that Jingni was about to give birth.

Li Wu calmly said, "Cao Ze, go and boil some water. Make sure the water supply doesn't run out. Also, prepare some used fire tongs and bring over some cloth. After that, wait outside the door for further instructions."

"Alright, do as you please."

Cao Ze immediately prepared to go; he couldn't afford to offend the midwife, Li Wu, now, so he could only deal with it later.

The delivery process was very smooth and silky.

Jing Ni was a little tired, but otherwise she was fine.

This girl looks like she's easy to raise; it's a shame she's not having a second child.

Li Wu cleaned up Jing Ni and the baby who was still crying incessantly, then called Cao Ze in.

"It's a girl, let's give her a name."

Li Wu placed the wrapped-up little one beside Jing Ni's pillow, looked at him, and chuckled, "This child can't open his eyes to see people yet, we'll have to wait a day or two."

She has a lot of experience in midwifery.

Jingni nodded, gently stroking the child's slightly wrinkled skin with extreme care.

Meanwhile, Cao Ze was deep in thought.

He was terrible at naming things, and since it was a girl, he wished he could travel back to the modern era and post hundreds of messages online, asking what names sound good for a girl with the surname Cao.

Seeing that Cao Ze remained silent and even seemed to be scratching his head, Li Wu chuckled and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh? It's nothing."

Cao Ze walked over to Jing Ni and said, "Jing Ni, why don't you name the child?"

He decided to kick the ball away—oh wait, I mean, brainstorm.

Jingni looked at the cozy little house, looked down at the child, and said, "Yan, the 'Yan' of a gentleman's word."

“Cao Yan…” Li Wu murmured, “Hmm, it sounds quite nice. I didn’t realize you had such a talent for naming things, Jing Ni.”

Cao Ze was taken aback; he understood what Jing Ni meant.

The bets and promises they made back then reappeared before his eyes.

He knew that Jingni was reminding him not to forget to give his child a safe home to grow up in.

Cao Ze held Jing Ni's cold little hand. "Don't worry, I will do it. A gentleman's word is as good as his bond!"

"Woo-wah~ woo-wah~"

The little one's loud crying seemed to stamp this promise.

Jingni and Cao Ze exchanged a smile.

Li Wu, who was standing to the side, glanced back and forth between Jing Ni and Cao Ze, twirled her flute, and gracefully walked out of the house with cat-like steps.

Two days later, after Jing Ni had recovered, Cao Ze went to Wuqi Caotang in the west of the city with his hands behind his back.

Gongliang Wuqi seemed to have been waiting for Cao Ze, saying, "Hey, just as I received the intelligence, here you are."

Cao Ze took the cloth from Gongliang Wuqi and looked at it.

Han Fei had just left Xiaoshengxianzhuang and was riding a white horse, wandering around the territory of Qi, drinking.

After some thought, it seems that if Han Fei wanted to travel through all seven kingdoms, it would probably take him a year and a half, which is not much different from his estimate. He just needs to keep an eye on things periodically.

"Okay, here's the rest of the money."

Cao Ze handed Gongliang Wuqi a money bag and was about to leave when he heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats approaching from afar.

They glanced over instinctively and saw a woman wearing a dark green bamboo hat and with her long hair tied up dismounting and walking towards them.

This woman has fair, snow-white skin, delicate features, a clean face, and a slender waist tied with a silk sash, making her look capable yet shapely.

She is clearly a rare beauty.

But that doesn't matter. What matters is that he had seen this woman in the trailer for "Nine Songs of the Sky".

According to netizens' analysis, she is one of the four leaders of the Nightfall Birds Killer Gang, named Parrot Song.

Seeing that Cao Ze was staring at Yingge, Gongliang Wuqi asked somewhat subtly, "Does the young master know her?"

Cao Ze chuckled and said, "I don't know her, but I'd like to get to know such a beauty. Does Mr. Gongliang know this lady's name?"

Gongliang Wuqi breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that it wasn't Ji Wuye's man. He himself had been a little nervous.

He then smiled and said, "Her name is Yingge, and like you, she is one of my clients."

Cao Ze tried hard to recall things about Ying Ge, and suddenly remembered that when netizens were analyzing the woman in the trailer, they quoted an official fan book that mentioned that Ying Ge was not in Korea, but was carrying out other missions for Nightfall.

Of course, that's not important. What's important is that Yingge once investigated the whereabouts of the He Shi Bi in the State of Zhao, and it seems that he eventually got it. Could it be now?

Thinking of this, Cao Ze's eyes brightened slightly.

The He Shi Bi jade, once obtained, would at least allow him to smoothly step onto the stage of the Zhao state, face the international stage, and begin to build a stellar resume.

At this moment, Yingge had already stepped up to Cao Ze and Gongliang Wuqi.

Yingge glanced at Cao Ze and said to Gongliang Wuqi, "Let's talk inside."

Gongliang Wuqi looked at Cao Ze with some apology.

Cao Ze smiled and said, "Mr. Gongliang, please go ahead and do your work. You don't need to worry about me."

After learning about the He Shi Bi jade, Cao Ze left immediately.

Inside the Wuqi Thatched Cottage, Gongliang Wuqi smiled obsequiously and said, "Miss Yingge, your presence is an honor to our humble abode."

Yingge took off his straw hat, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said, "Mr. Gongliang, you don't need to be so polite. We're old friends."

Gongliang Wuqi smiled without saying a word, waiting for Yingge to continue.