Chapter 176 Traditional Arts
The morning light is dim.

After killing the Qin envoys who came to Han, Tianze hurried back to the farm to set up their base. Not daring to delay, he ordered the corpse-driving demon to summon zombies overnight and control the carriage back to the Nine Nether Gu Pool, the lair where the corpse-driving demon specially cultivated the poison.

By the time he arrived at the Nine Nether Gu Pool, the corpse-driving demon had become as pale as the Blood Robe Marquis. Controlling the zombies to drive the carriage was a delicate job that took a lot of his energy and effort. When he leaned against a tree and prepared to meditate for a while, he suddenly heard Tianze shouting.

"Cheng Jiao! You're kidding me!"

Tianze's face looked very ugly at this time. He opened the cash box and prepared to count the valuables. He found that the cash box was covered with gold coins on the top and gold cakes on the bottom. The cash box that could hold about 2,000 gold coins was now only worth 200 gold coins at most.

He jumped onto the carriage unwillingly, and the clanking sound of metal rang out. Without exception, all the money boxes were filled with gold coins on top and gold cakes on the bottom.

The Hundred Poison King witnessed all this and sighed in his heart. If that were the case, how could Cheng Jiao let Tianze get the treasures of the Treasure Pavilion so easily? The corpse-driving demon calculated that there were about 200 money boxes in the ten carriages, which was about 40,000 gold coins, which was not a small amount.

Tianze was furious, and six snake bone chains were waving in the sky, with a dark aura. He punched the big tree beside him and broke it, then howled as if to vent his anger, like a wounded lone wolf.

When Tianze wasn't paying attention, the Corpse Exorcist and the Hundred Poison King looked at each other and nodded in tacit understanding. Tianze really couldn't follow any further.

This morning, the Korean court was not as lively as yesterday. The atmosphere was strange, and each minister had different thoughts. King Han An's face was full of worries. Looking at the civil and military officials in the court, he felt that they were all useless.

"Prime Minister, has my nephew Cheng Jiao agreed?"

He learned from Zhang Kaidi last night that Cheng Jiao agreed very readily. The reason he asked again now was mainly because the money for bribes and gifts had to be taken from the national treasury.

"Your Majesty, Lord Chang'an has agreed. The letter has been prepared and we are ready to set off."

Han Wangan sighed and said, "What do you think, my dear ministers?"

"Your Majesty is wise, this is indeed the best strategy."

After so many years of ups and downs in the officialdom of South Korea, everyone has experienced sending gifts to Qin a few times. It's just that before, they were all given to Queen Mother Xia Ji, and now they are given to Cheng Jiao and Madam Han, there is no difference.

Ji Wuye had a blank expression on his face. This matter had nothing to do with him. Even if it was related, he would not be able to stop it. The death of the Qin envoy outside the royal city was no less than the death of Cheng Jiao inside the royal city. He only wanted a little money and wanted to kill the traitor.

Zhang Kai looked at Ji Wuye who was indifferent to the matter and coughed lightly, "Your Majesty, although we have the help of Chang'an Jun, if we can't catch Tianze, the remnant of Baiyue, I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to uncover."

Immediately, all the civil and military officials in the court looked at Ji Wuye.

Ji Wuye glanced at him sideways, this old man is just an immortal.

"Your Majesty, the remnants of the Baiyue are cunning, but I can be sure that Tianze and his gang are still around the royal city. I have ordered the blockade of all the important roads in the royal city for inspection. The Marquis has dispatched troops to cooperate with me in a carpet search around the royal city. I believe that within a few days, Tianze and his gang will be captured in one fell swoop."

Han Wangan nodded and said, "I hope General Ji can catch the remnants of Baiyue as soon as possible."

After that, King Han An faced his courtiers and continued, "This time, the Qin envoy died outside the royal city. How much compensation do you think is appropriate?"

His own psychological price was two thousand gold, and no more than three thousand gold. Negotiating with the ministers was just a formality, or someone could help him save some money.

Zhang opened his mouth and said, "Two thousand gold pieces of property are enough."

Ji Wuye snorted, "Two thousand gold is too much, one thousand gold will be enough." He had just lost a large sum of money and was now very sensitive to numbers.

When Ji Wuye's fans heard this, their eyes rolled.

"Your Majesty, five hundred gold will be enough. After all, Lord Chang'an has little influence and Qin Prime Minister Lu has always been at odds with Lord Chang'an. It's just a try, it's not worth it." However, Ji Wuye and Zhang Kaidi looked at him as if he were a fool. If he really only gave him five hundred gold, would they still play in the future?

There was another round of discussion in the court. Some said it was 1,500 gold, some said it was 3,000 gold, and some said it was a gift to Lu Buwei.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was heard outside the hall, and a eunuch hurriedly entered the hall holding a scroll.

"Your Majesty, the Qin army is approaching the border of South Korea, it's urgent!"

The court was quiet at first, then became bustling with activity.

Han Wangan was so shocked that he stood up from his chair, "How could this be!?"

Ji Wuye frowned, snatched the scroll and read it quickly.

"Your Majesty, the left minister of Qin, Wang Xi, gathered troops in Wusui a few days ago, which is why they were able to reach the border in a short time."

Zhang Kaidi was shocked and confused after hearing this. Did Qin know a few days ago that the envoy would die in Han? Or was it just a coincidence? There were many smart people in the court, but there were more good-for-nothings.

After Han Wangan came to his senses, he slowly sat down, knowing that this time it would be difficult to deal with.

Ji Wuye was very troubled. Why did the Qin State deploy troops on the border? Wasn't this putting pressure on him as the great general?

"Your Majesty, I think Prime Minister Zhang's proposal is very good. Two thousand gold is enough." Ji Wuye now also felt a sense of urgency. After all, he was in charge of the army. If there was a real fight with the Qin State, not only would the Bloody Marquis have to go to the battle, but he would also have to go. If he could spend money to avoid disaster, it would be great. Even if Cheng Jiao was insignificant, he could still give it a try.

Han Wangan pondered for a while. Compared to Ji Wuye, he was more scared to death.

"Well, I will transfer three thousand gold coins from the national treasury as a small gift to Chang'an Jun and send it to Xianyang."

Han Fei, who had remained calm, spoke up at this moment: "Father, Lord Chang'an told me that he and Madam Han do not like money and are quite fond of Korean specialties. I think it would be better to give gifts instead of money."

Han Wangan nodded after hearing this and said, when giving gifts, you should give what the other person likes. If they like it, then give it away.

"Old Nine, you take care of this matter."

Han Fei said respectfully, "I obey your command."

Han Yu remained silent. Everyone in Xinzheng knew the relationship between Chang'an Jun and Lao Jiu. They often visited Zilanxuan and could be said to be close friends who had listened to old songs together.

Cheng Jiao was writing a letter in Zilanxuan. He did not mention the death of the Qin envoy in Han. He just told his stepmother, Madam Han, about his study tour in Xinzheng, Han, and found a few daughters-in-law for her, hoping that they would be taken care of in the palace.

This letter was nominally sent to Zheng Ge, but he knew that Zheng Ge was coming to Xinzheng, so why write something?

Cheng Jiao had just finished writing when Zi Nu brought Mrs. Hu into the room.

Mrs. Hu was wearing a plain dress, low-key yet elegant. She was carrying nothing and it was obvious that she had followed Cheng Jiao's arrangements.

Because of the commotion caused by Cheng Jiao in the past two days, she did not follow her original idea and leave a letter to send the servants away to prevent any accidents. Instead, she entrusted the trivial matters of the mansion to Nanyue's sister Zi Nu to handle.

(End of this chapter)