Chapter 6: Will the Sixth Prince Qin Lei Ask for Advice at the Imperial Son's Estate?

  The next morning, Qin Lei asked Tieying to invite Li Guangyuan again.

  This time Li Guangyuan did not shirk and arrived quickly.

  Qin Lei was waiting for him in the small study, and Li Guangyuan saw that he looked normal, so he felt a bit more at ease. After some brief pleasantries, Qin Lei pulled out a piece of paper from "New Three Kingdoms" and handed it to him, looking somewhat worried: "I don't know who to look for, please instruct me, sir."

  Li Guangyuan took a look and found five names on it, namely Ma Yi Guan from the Qi State Hospital, Huang Gonggong from the Imperial Palace, Zhi Shan Monk from the Bao Guo Temple, Xu Dao Shi from the Dragon Tiger Mountain, and Tie Zhonghao from the Central Will Hall. Five unrelated people.

  Li Guangyuan looked at the five names without any confusion, apparently he was well-informed about this.

  This was the result of Li Guangyuan's sudden inspiration to make Qin Lei pretend to have amnesia. Originally, he had planned to take advantage of Qin Lei's assassination attempt to gain more benefits in the negotiations, and this list of medical personnel who came to visit and treat him was an unexpected byproduct.

  Unexpectedly, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and the negotiations ended abruptly. Since there was no longer any meaning in pretending to be ill, Qin Lei had to use this by-product to save himself.

  He shifted his gaze from the paper to Qin Lei, who had been sent to a foreign land as a hostage just after he was born and would not have survived if it weren't for the careful care of the eldest princess who married into the state of Qi. After the death of the eldest princess, she became even more lonely and helpless, being bullied by the state of Qi to the extreme. Now she has been abandoned by her own country.

  Li Guangyuan sighed inwardly, his face growing increasingly solemn.

  Qin Lei handed Li Guang a tea cup and stood quietly on one side waiting for him to extricate himself from his thoughts.

  After a long time, the middle-aged official let out a deep sigh and said in a hoarse voice: "Your Highness, do you know why our Great Qin is hastily concluding this treaty?" Without waiting for Qin Lei to respond, he continued: "Our Great Qin has already completed its deployment, and at most, there will be only one more month before the war begins."

  Qin Lei nodded, and indeed it was so. But he didn't know why such a change had occurred, and he couldn't help but laugh at himself.

  It's no secret that Zhao Wujie, the Duke of Eastern Qi Baisheng, has returned to the capital overnight from the front lines, presumably to urge the Emperor of Qi to mobilize for war.

  Qin Lei smiled and said: "That's to say there is at least a month's time."

  Li Guangyuan saw that the emperor was still calm and composed, so he nodded his head and said: "Heaven will not cut off a person's path, there are three people on this paper who can be used." He pointed to three names on the paper: Huang Gonggong, Zhishan Monk, and Tie Zhonghao. "Huang Gonggong is an attendant of the Emperor of Qi, Zhishan is the chief disciple of the National Master Hui Neng of Qi, and Tie Zhonghao can be a helpful arm."

  Qin Lei nodded slightly, with a hint of distress: "Since Auntie left, my situation has become increasingly difficult. Now I'm being held under house arrest and can't even move freely." If there were only a few guards outside the mansion, they might be able to fight their way out, but now there are over 200 Golden Guards. Qin Lei was confident, but not arrogant enough to think that just the two of them could provoke hundreds of strong men.

  Li Guangyuan stroked his beard thoughtfully and said, "Since Huang Gonggong has some connection with me, I'll take care of it. However, I will be leaving the country soon, so you should personally deal with the other two."

  Qin Lei smiled and said, "I still need your help to make connections."

  Li Guangyuan acted quickly and by noon had sent word over that everything was taken care of.

  He is near his return date, and things are complicated, so he can only do this much. From now on, it's up to Qin Lei himself.

  ~~~~~~~~

  That noon, the skilled chef from Qi State prepared a table of Western Qin dishes, with four meat and four vegetarian dishes, two soups, and everything was perfect in color, fragrance, and taste. It seemed that Qin Lei's practical actions had greatly inspired this chef's enthusiasm for cooking.

  Xiqin dishes are similar to the Sichuan cuisine of Qin's original era, emphasizing numbing spiciness and freshness: bright vegetables, enticing half-fat meat slices paired with various numbing peppercorn seasonings. Under the careful cooking of a master chef, they become a table of dishes that make your mouth water just by looking at them, intoxicating you with their aroma, and even more so when eating, it's an authentic delicious food that makes you scream with delight.

  In the land of Qi, where people were not picky about food, the simple and strongly flavored dishes of Western Qin cuisine were looked down upon by officials and nobles as country bumpkin fare. However, ordinary folk couldn't get enough of it and its popularity spread far and wide. The head chef, seeing that Qin Lei had a hearty appetite and wasn't particular about what he ate, decided to test the waters and made some Western Qin dishes once. They were a huge hit with Qin Lei and Tie Ying, who devoured them completely, and from then on, Western Qin cuisine became a staple in the prince's residence.

  Qin Lei picked up a piece of golden-glazed braised pork belly and asked Tie Ying, who was eating with his head down, "You really don't have any relatives among the Tie family?"

  The iron eagle was biting a piece of green rape in its mouth, and when it heard the words, it shook its head vigorously, swinging the leaves left and right, splashing soup.

  Qin Lei ignored him, putting a piece of meat into his mouth and chewing with relish. He no longer paid attention to the iron boss's question.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Qin Lei didn't know that the iron boss was facing a crucial decision.

  The capital city is a traditional square city, with a strict layout. The east side of the city is where high-ranking officials and nobles reside; the west side is where merchants gather; the south side is where ordinary people live; and the north side is where various government offices, the Imperial City's Golden Armor Guards are stationed. These four sides surround the vast imperial city, with strict class divisions, and no one can casually cross over.

  Although the three countries coexisted, the flames of war did not subside, but they shared a common origin and had strong complementary strengths, so there was frequent exchange between them, and trade prospered. However, due to the contradictions and conflicts between countries, it was difficult for individual merchants to survive in the midst of harassment and exploitation, so merchants had no choice but to band together and form large and small business associations to face the challenges of survival.

  On the west side of the capital city, on the bustling Tao Zhu Street, there are large and small shops from various countries. The largest one occupies dozens of acres, with red tiles and green trees, high walls and a big courtyard. Inside, there are many buildings, and merchants gather in large numbers. Above the gate, an old-fashioned plaque bears the inscription "Zhongdu Will Hall", which implies that it is a gathering place for merchants from Zhongdu, the capital of Qin State. Tie Zhonghao is the master of this hall.

  In the past, Tie Lao Ye was calm and composed, but now he has lost his composure. After 16 years of struggling in Shangjing, he finally achieved a high status where one call would be answered by hundreds. Suddenly having to give up everything in Shangjing to complete a task covered in spider webs, Tie Zhong Hao couldn't face it calmly.

  He paced back and forth in the hall for a long time, then said to the old man dressed as a butler who was standing silently beside him: "Uncle Cai, three things, please arrange them: First, from today on, all of our family's shops will stop restocking, and all the money will be withdrawn. Second, agree to Liu Baozi's acquisition request, but it must be paid in cash. Third... let's withdraw all our people back to the country."

  The old man known as Uncle Money spoke in a hoarse voice: "Sir, doesn't that mean your sixteen years of effort have gone down the drain?"

  Tie Zhonghao remained silent for a long time, then straightened his waist and resolutely said: "Family is above all!" His voice was like gold and stone. In fact, some days ago when he sent out the guards from the mansion to block Qin Lei's assassination attempt, he had already understood that this day would eventually come.

  ~~~~~~~~

  The man who had caused Tie Zhong's distress was now bidding farewell to Li Guangyuan, the junior minister of the Temple of the Imperial Messenger of Qin.

  Li Guangyuan will set off early the next day to return home, with a certain ceremony. Qin Lei was trapped in the mansion and couldn't see him off, so Li Guangyuan came ahead of time to bid farewell.

  At the gate of the Proton Mansion, Qin Lei felt a little sentimental. Although he had not known Li Guangyuan for long, they were both teachers and friends, and got along very well, so much so that they forgot about their age difference.

  Qin Lei's face was reluctant to part, holding Li Guangyuan's hand and saying: "Today I bid farewell to the master, I don't know when I can see him again." Tieying on the side saw that the palace owner still insisted on the sad route for Mr. Li, secretly laughing in his heart but not daring to show it on his face.

  Li Guangyuan also felt a little reluctant, although the fifth prince's studies were delayed, but he was naturally talented and wise beyond his years. What was most valuable was that he was kind and humble, treating others with sincerity. If he could return to China, he would surely be a pillar of the Great Qin. He had completely forgotten about the fight at the hostage mansion, where several poor souls were still lying in bed.

  He patted Qin Lei's hand, saying with emotion: "Your Highness, please take care of yourself. When you have time, take a look at the books in that box. You're doing well in everything, but your learning is still not enough." Qin Lei didn't know anything about it, and should be said to be unlearned and unsophisticated instead.

  The master looked a bit embarrassed, and Iron Eagle brought up a tray with three cups of water wine.

  Qin Lei held up a cup with both hands and presented it to Li Guangyuan, saying loudly: "The first cup, wishing the great man a smooth journey home, may your horse be swift and your path be flat." The elegant and gentle face no longer showed any hint of sadness.

  Li Guangyuan solemnly took over and drank the whole cup.

  Qin Lei raised his second cup and said in a clear voice, "The second cup is to wish our great Qin flag opens with victory, one battle wipes away the shame!" His tone was elegant, but there was an inexplicable sarcasm.

  Li Guangyuan looked at Qin Lei with a guilty conscience and drank.

  Qin Lei raised his last cup and said loudly: "The third cup, for tomorrow's reunion! Please drink up this cup!"

  Li Guangyuan saw Qin Lei regain his former spirit and couldn't help but laugh loudly, taking the wine cup and drinking it in one gulp. He said loudly: "This is indeed a meeting of friends over wine!" and threw the cup away, turning around to get back on the sedan chair.

  Li Guangyuan raised the curtain of his sedan chair, bowed to Qin Lei with a firm expression: "Your humble servant will return home and definitely meet with His Majesty to seek justice for you. Your Highness, take care, we will meet again!"

  Having finished speaking, he got into his sedan chair and left...

  Qin Lei walked to the front of the door, habitually stepped onto the stone bench, and silently pondered. The Golden Guard was startled in his heart, he had heard that this "martial arts madman" in front of him was the one who had beaten up five colleagues here until they couldn't get out of bed.

  When Qin Lei came to his senses, he saw the guard in front of him with a shocked expression, somewhat stunned. In an instant, he understood and patted the poor guard's face, walking calmly into the mansion.