Chapter Thirteen: Courting Disaster

  "Sir, are you just going to let them go like that? Some of the brothers were injured, shouldn't we at least leave some medical supplies behind?" Zhou Da stepped forward, looking somewhat disappointed as he gazed after the departing carriage.

  "You little scamp, all you know is money, isn't this enough for you to spend?" Yin Xu said with a laugh and a scold, as he opened the box by his feet. A dazzling array of gold sparkled before their eyes.

  Zhou's eyes widened in shock, his face filled with incredulity, and it took him half a day to come back to his senses. He stuttered: "So much gold!"

  "Gold?" Upon hearing the news, all the thieves rushed over, their eyes filled with shock and satisfaction.

  "Haha! Today this person saved is a bargain!"

  "Wow, so much gold! You're really rich!"

  "How many generations will it take to save up?"

  Gasps of amazement and applause erupted from all directions.

  "Boss, let us brothers take a look at the treasure sword?" Someone saw the Broken Water Sword in Yin Xu's hand and suddenly became interested.

  As the crowd cheered, Yin Xu smiled and said, "Make way!" His long sword suddenly left its scabbard, like a autumn water, cold light flashed by, and the crowd only felt a chill. Yin Xu exerted his strength to slash to one side, a small tree with a trunk as thick as a bowl fell down with a loud noise, the cut surface was smooth and flat, and the sharpness of the sword could be imagined.

  "Wow! So sharp..."

  "Treasured sword!"

  "Divine weapon!"

  "What's written above?"

  Yin Xu was so embarrassed, in his previous life he was a lecturer at the military academy, a cultured person. But now? He's completely stupid, if it were during the Tang, Song, Ming or Qing dynasties, although he used traditional characters, he could still recognize a few. But it just had to be Qin and Han, after Qin unified the country, they standardized writing, adopting small seal script. A military academy lecturer who was well-read in poetry and books couldn't even recognize it, it's really heartbreaking!

  Fortunately, Gao Yi happened to be walking over at this time and looked surprised, saying: "Broken water?"

  "Cut off water?"

  Gao Yi Dao said, "That's right. According to legend, in the past, King Goujian of Yue ordered the best swordsmiths in the state of Yue to forge eight precious swords using the red gold from Kunwu Mountain. One of them was called 'Yan Ri', which could block out sunlight when pointed at it. Gold represents yin, and when yin is strong, yang disappears. The second one is this 'Duan Shui' sword, said to be able to split water, but once opened, it cannot be closed."

  It's indeed a treasured sword! A product of Yue State, it must be a masterpiece.

  Although other Yinxu is not clear, but the Yueguo casting sword technique is slightly known, Ou Yezi, Gan Jiang Mo Xie and others are all famous casting masters of the Spring and Autumn period. Many legendary divine weapons were made by craftsmen from that era in Yueguo. Just like this "Duan Shui" in hand, it's not only a precious sword, but also an unparalleled famous sword.

  Everyone heard that it was the precious sword of the King of Yue and were amazed. They all talked about it in seven mouths and eight tongues, saying all sorts of things.

  Gao Yijian pulled Yin Xu aside and asked, "Young master, do you know the identities of those two women?"

  Yin Xudao said: "I thought it was definitely not an ordinary response, as for the specific identity, since he didn't say clearly, I don't dare to ask"

  Gao Yi smiled bitterly and shook his head: "The identities of these two women are indeed not ordinary, young master please take a look at this, it was found on the brown-robed knight's body." He handed over a copper plate with several seal characters engraved on it.

  Yin Xu felt a sense of familiarity, similar to the tokens and waist cards in movies and TV dramas. He couldn't help but feel suspicious and asked: "What character?"

  Gao Yi said in a low voice: "Zhong Che Fu!"

  "What's Zhongche Fu? What kind of government office is that?" Yin Xu was not very familiar with the official system of the Qin Dynasty.

  Gao Yi said in surprise: "The Zhongche Fu is an official belonging to the Taipu, and it is in charge of the carriages in the palace."

  "What?" Yin Xu ventured: "Brother Gao's meaning is... Could it be that the two of them are people from Xianyang Palace?"

  Gao Yi analyzed: "It's possible that recently, a few 'young masters' offended the Second Emperor and were killed or banned. Looking at this group of people's demeanor, wealth, and level of protection, it's not impossible that they are actually members of the royal family."

  "It seems that it's indeed possible..." Yin Xu thought to himself, feeling that the purple-clothed girl's demeanor was truly extraordinary, with a hint of nobility.

  "It's actually not the most important thing." Gao Yi's words left Yin Xu stunned, and he hastily asked: "Brother Gao, what do you mean by this?"

  Gao Yi's face turned solemn as he asked: "Young Master, who is this Zhong Che Fu Ling?"

  "Who?"

  "Zhao Gao!"

  "Zhao Gao?" Yin Xu was greatly surprised, so it seemed that the people killed today were underlings of the eunuch Zhao Gao? It turned out to be the treacherous and evil Zhao Taijian, which was quite satisfying. At the same time, the mysterious colors on the mother and daughter's bodies became even more intense.

  What kind of sacredness are they? Are they really the royal nobles who offended Zhao Gao? If so, it's not surprising that they possess the Yue King Sword. But why did the purple-clothed girl insist on giving it to herself, despite knowing the precious value of the Duan Water Sword? Was it simply just to repay a favor?

  Gao Yi said in a low voice: "Young master, have you ever thought that even if you get a precious sword and a hundred taels of gold, it may bring trouble upon yourself?"

  "Invite trouble?" Yin Xu was shocked at first, and then reacted. He rescued Zhao Gao's wanted person and killed his subordinates, naturally offending the powerful eunuch Zhao. Xianyang is a thousand miles away from Pengze, but Zhao Gao's men are chasing after them relentlessly, which shows how important the mother and daughter are. Now that he has ruined things, can they just let it go?

  As expected, today's action with that "Duan Shui Jian" brought Yun Xu no small trouble for a while afterwards. However, is trouble not also an opportunity?

  ————————————————————

  Xianyang, Zhongche Prefecture.

  Heavy snow is falling outside the window, and the north wind is howling. Before I know it, winter has arrived. The charcoal fire inside the house is burning brightly, warm as spring.

  A short and pale-faced eunuch with no beard was reclining on a couch, several beauties were massaging his back and pinching his feet, he was extremely delighted. He was Zhao Gao, the eunuch who had altered the imperial edict, pointed to a deer as a horse, and pushed the Qin Dynasty to the brink of collapse with one hand.

  Zhao Gao, a distant relative of the Qin royal family, was sentenced to imprisonment for his crimes. Because he was literate and familiar with the law, he gained the favor of Qin Shi Huang and was promoted to be the commander of the imperial chariots. Later, not only did he become one of Qin Shi Huang's personal eunuchs, but also taught Prince Hu Hai how to judge cases and make decisions, earning the trust of both Qin Shi Huang and Hu Hai. It was precisely this that gave Zhao Gao the opportunity to forge an edict after Qin Shi Huang's death, killing the elder son and installing the younger one as emperor.

  Now that Hu Hai has ascended to the throne, he is increasingly trusting of Zhao Gao. Not long ago, Prime Minister Li Si submitted a memorial that angered Hu Hai and was placed under house arrest in his residence. Zhao Gao had just accompanied Second Emperor on an inspection tour of Kuaiji, where he received imperial favor. Recently, Hu Hai has been indulging in sensual pleasures deep within the palace, rarely inquiring about state affairs, and Zhao Gao has become the de facto number one person in the Qin Empire.

  "Sir, Zhao Cheng requests an audience!"

  "Let him in!" Zhao Gao still had his eyes slightly closed, and his treacherous voice carried a hint of arrogance. He then raised his hand with the lan flower finger and waved it lightly, and several beautiful maids retreated tactfully.

  A middle-aged man came in, looking somewhat similar to Zhao Gao. He stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying: "Greetings, elder brother!"

  This man was Zhao Cheng, the younger brother of Zhao Gao.

  Zhao Gao said in a soft and gentle tone: "Sit down! Have all the matters I entrusted to you been settled?"

  Zhao Cheng replied: "I have reported back to our elder brother, the matter of Du You has been settled. Except for Princess Shi Man, all other princes and princesses have been executed."

  "Uh-huh, okay! Does Shi Man have any news?"

  Zhao Cheng saw his brother and felt a bit relieved, saying: "No, Princess Shi Man has been staying at the Jing Water Palace. When our people arrived, she was already gone."

  Zhao Gao said calmly: "She's just a girl from a humble family, and not being favored by the Emperor isn't a big deal. Just send someone to find her properly!"

  "Promise!"

  "Right? What's going on in Shangjun?" Zhao Gao asked absent-mindedly.

  "The Meng family has been executed, Zi Yin has been taken back to Xianyang, but the whereabouts of Zi Ye are unknown, and the other young sons have followed Fu Su."

  Zhao Gao glared at Zhao Cheng and scolded: "Look at your performance, how can you always let the women escape? Do you have any leads?"

  Zhao Cheng carefully replied, "Brother, please forgive me, I was careless. This matter may be related to Li You, he is the elder brother of Fu Su's wife, and the uncle of Zi Yin's siblings, so he is the most suspicious. But it's just a guess, for now there is no lead, nor any evidence, besides, Fu Su still has people like Deng Ling Mo around him..."

  Zhao Gao smiled lightly and said, "Don't worry, two young girls can't stir up any big waves. What's important is Ziying. Take good care of him! Also, send someone to keep an eye on Li Yu. He is the governor of Sanchuan, a high-ranking official with military power, and his reputation is not bad either. The First Emperor often praised him before he died. If we don't have absolute certainty, we can't make any rash moves."

  "Elder brother can rest assured, I will be careful. Zhao Cheng's expression was respectful, with a hint of cleverness."

  "However..." Zhao Gao sneered coldly: "Hmph, tomorrow I will let His Majesty issue an edict, letting Prime Minister Li attend to the First Emperor's funeral. As for the method... beheading in the market is fine!"

  "It's better this way, lest we have too many dreams tonight. But if we rush... will Li You..." Zhao Cheng trailed off, not finishing his sentence.

  Zhao Gao coldly smiled and said: "Don't worry, isn't Ziying in our hands? As his uncle, shouldn't he be considerate of his nephew? Besides, if he really rebels, wouldn't that be exactly what you and I want? Just remember to keep a good hold on Zhang Han and Wang Li!"

  "That's right, Cheng Jian obeyed his brother's orders." Zhao Cheng also echoed with a loud laugh.

  "Hmm, only Li Xiang knows that I let him die in this way, he must be blaming me for it! Haha!" The eunuch's unique sly tone, combined with Zhang Kuang's sinister and eerie laughter, sent shivers down one's spine when heard.

  At this moment, a man came to report: "The governor of Xianyang, Yan Yue, requests an audience!"

  "Let him in!"

  "See Duke Father!" It turned out to be a man in his thirties, who was Zhao Gao's son-in-law, Yan Le, the mayor of Xianyang.

  Zhao Gao saw Yan Yue with a dusty and disheveled appearance, with snowflakes on his forehead. He couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart and asked: "You've come in such a hurry, what's the matter?"

  Yan Le hastily said: "Zhao Jiu is back."

  "What about Mrs. Fan?" Zhao Gao was excited and extremely concerned about this.

  Yan Le awkwardly said: "Father-in-law, please calm down, they...they didn't manage to catch him back"

  "What? A bunch of nonsense." Zhao Gao suddenly sat up, furious, and hastily asked: "Speak, what's going on?"

  Yan Le said: "The Fan family had a plan to escape, and they were acting in batches. Fan Wenyuan lost his trace in Wei territory. The woman was heading south all the way, and when she learned that you accompanied the emperor from Binhaiguo back, she took a detour via Pengze Lake, and should be returning to Kuaiji. Zhao Jiu led his men to chase after her east of Pengze, and just as they were about to catch up with her, they were foiled by a group of bandits."

  "Thief?"

  Yan Le sighed and said, "Yes, Zhao Jiu led his men to catch up, and they were about to capture the person. However, a group of thieves suddenly appeared out of nowhere. We had set up an ambush with tripwires, but our people suffered heavy casualties. Those thieves were well-organized and coordinated in their attack, causing over 30 casualties among the brown-robed knights. Zhao Jiu was forced to retreat in defeat. Later on, some people from the Fan family arrived to provide backup, but it was too late to make another move. Zhao Jiu had no choice but to return to Xianyang, and now he's kneeling in the snow outside."

  Zhao Gao's face sank to the extreme, and he shouted in his treacherous tone: "Let him kneel well, a group of rice buckets, two women can't be caught? Can't even deal with a mob of thieves? And lost more than 30 people, what's the use of raising them?"

  Zhao Cheng couldn't help but feel curious, he didn't know what Yan Le had said, but two women could make his brother so angry? And the matter he was in charge of also involved two women, but his brother seemed to be completely unbothered. Who exactly were these two women? Were they even more important than the two princesses of Qin?

  Yan Le hastily knelt down and said, "Father-in-law, please calm your anger. Considering Zhao Jiu's many years of loyalty and dedication to handling matters, spare him this time and let his merits offset his crimes."

  For a moment, Zhao Gao did not respond, and in a fit of rage, he muttered to himself: "Fan Wenzhuan, you're good! You'll get what's coming to you sooner or later." Looking at his gritted teeth, there was a feeling of being deeply offended, with anger that could not be contained. It was clear that this Mr. Fan had thoroughly infuriated Zhao the eunuch.

  Yan Le let out a sigh of relief, looking at this situation, Zhao Jiu and his group could be spared from disaster.

  Who would have thought that Zhao Gao suddenly said: "Take down a few useless things and beat each of them with fifty military sticks."

  "Ah? Oh, okay!" Yan Le cried with laughter, but the fifty lashes were nothing to sneeze at.

  Zhao Gao asked again: "Go to the Taiwei Mansion and check, who is garrisoned at Peng Ze Marsh? Send troops to eliminate these bandits for me. Also, send a letter to nearby counties, they must cooperate with the elimination of bandits, and 'this chief' can pardon their crimes of poor governance."

  "This... is it? Ah? Oh, no!"