"This..." The armored man hesitated for a moment, then, after a brief pause, said, "Xiangguo (Prime Minister), forgive me."
"What?" Lu Buwei looked at the armored man with displeasure and said, "Could it be that the vast Net cannot even find a few beauties?"
"Not so, it's just..." Steeling his heart, the armored man said, "To be both a beauty and possess sufficient strength, even in the Net, such individuals are few."
"Not much? That means there is some!" Lu Buwei said, very displeased, "Since that's the case, then get it done quickly! Ying An can't live too long, lest he ruin our grand plans!"
After a slight pause, Lu Buwei said with an ill-tempered tone, "Yanri! You must remember, since Net wants to cooperate with Great Qin, you must show the sincerity of cooperation!"
"Your subordinate understands!!" Yanri bowed again, clearly the strongest Heavenly-ranked assassin within Net. Yet, in front of Lu Buwei, he dared not show even a hint of the Heavenly-ranked assassin's arrogance.
"Go!" Lu Buwei waved his hand.
Yanri exited the room, maintaining a bowing posture the entire time.
The departing Yanri did not know that after he left, Lu Buwei's expression changed from time to time, and a faint murderous intent flickered in his eyes!
At this stage, although Lu Buwei was nominally the leader of Net, Net maintained more of a cooperative stance with Great Qin.
In many matters, Lu Buwei, as the leader, was even less effective than Zhao Gao.
Even after Great Qin unified the six states, it never truly managed to completely control Net, which is why the First Emperor, Ying Zheng, would later specifically dispatch Zhang Han to establish the Shadow Division, which was almost indistinguishable from Net. This was precisely due to his distrust of Net!
Unfortunately, until the Dune of Shaqiu incident and Ying Zheng's demise, the Shadow Division never achieved its ideal expected results, failing to replace Net!
Both the future First Emperor and the current Lu Buwei were, without a doubt, power holders. And power holders often maintain an instinctive vigilance towards organizations they cannot truly and completely control.
It was unclear why merely being escorted by Gai Nie would draw the targeting of Lu Buwei, the Xiangguo (Prime Minister) who wielded immense power in Great Qin. Moreover, it was a unique honey trap.
Under Gai Nie's escort, Ying An and Dong Jun soon arrived at a residence located in the northeast of Xianyang City.
As early as when Ying An set the wedding date, Ying Zheng had already instructed his men to tidy and clean the residence. When Ying An and his wife arrived, a young man wearing a black ceremonial robe, appearing gentle and refined, with a temperament remarkably similar to Ying An's, was waiting outside the gate of his residence.
The carriage suddenly stopped, and Ying An and Dong Jun immediately heard Gai Nie's voice coming from outside the carriage.
"Gai Nie greets Gongzi Fusu!!"
"Fusu greets Master Gai Nie! Thank you, Master, for personally escorting my second brother, Fusu is immensely grateful!!"
"Gongzi is too polite!! This is the King's entrustment; Gai Nie is merely following orders!!"
"Is Second Brother well?" Fusu's voice passed through the carriage curtain into the interior.
"Gongzi Ying An is in good health!" Gai Nie replied.
Ying An lifted the curtain, poked his head out of the carriage, and bowed to Fusu from afar, saying, "Ying An greets Elder Brother!!"
"Greetings, Second Brother!!" Fusu, indeed worthy of being a loyal follower of the Confucian school, formally bowed to Ying An and said, "I heard, as your elder brother, that Second Brother moved out of Xianyang Palace after marriage, and I came to visit today. It seems I've come at an inopportune time!"
"Elder Brother, what are you saying!" Ying An demurred, explaining, "It's just that we only moved out of Xianyang Palace today, and this place hasn't been tidied up yet, so I fear we might not be able to entertain you properly!!"
Fusu laughed heartily, saying, "So, it seems I've become an unwelcome guest today!"
After a jest, Fusu then bowed to the carriage and said, "My visit today was ill-timed, but I hope in the future, my sister-in-law can take good care of my second brother. My second brother has just recovered his health, and in the future, I fear he will inevitably cause my sister-in-law much toil! If you encounter any trouble, sister-in-law, you can come to my residence at any time!"
"Thank you, Elder Brother!" Dong Jun did not get out of the carriage but responded through the curtain.
After exchanging a few words with Ying An at the door, Fusu showed no intention of entering. Soon, he bid farewell and left.
The carriage proceeded into the interior of the residence.
Once Ying An and Dong Jun, with the help of Xiao Lingdang and a retinue of maids and servants, began to settle their belongings.
Gai Nie, who had escorted Ying An all the way, suddenly expressed a desire to meet Ying An alone.
Inside the side hall.
"Gongzi, the King has an order!" Gai Nie's expression was solemn and unreadable.
Upon hearing this, Ying An quickly bowed.
"In three days, the Great Qin envoy delegation will depart for New Zheng, South Korea. Gongzi Ying An is specially appointed as the chief envoy, and Li Si as the deputy envoy!"
Such a matter, clearly an diplomatic mission to another country, should not be handled in such a secretive manner, with Gai Nie openly escorting Ying An's recovery while secretly delivering the mission.
After all, since Great Qin was dispatching an envoy delegation, it certainly would not, and should not, do so in such a clandestine way.
Unless… unless this was simply a trick of feigning one thing while doing another.
The so-called mission to South Korea was merely a facade!!
Indeed, Gai Nie's next words confirmed Ying An's suspicion.
A clear look of hesitation appeared on his face, and after a moment of deliberation, Gai Nie said, "The King hopes that Gongzi can marry Princess Honglian in New Zheng, South Korea!!"
Ying An froze, looking at Gai Nie in astonishment. He said, "Master Gai Nie, you haven't misspoken, have you? Marriage? Me? With Princess Honglian of South Korea?"
"That's right!" Gai Nie, expressionless and solemn, a fleeting hint of reluctance flashed in his eyes, then he said, "The King hopes that Gongzi can form a marriage alliance with King An of Han!"
"But… I just got married yesterday, and in three days, I'm going to South Korea… I heard that Princess Honglian of South Korea is deeply favored by King An of Han, who regards her as his cherished daughter. How could he agree to let Princess Honglian become my concubine?" Ying An appeared hesitant.
But in his heart, he understood that this time, he was probably being used as a pawn by Ying Zheng.
And it was a pawn that served three purposes at once.
Through Ying An, to test the strength of the Yinyang Family. After all, the Yinyang Family had only just begun cooperating with Great Qin and had not truly demonstrated its strength.
If Ying An were to lead the envoy delegation to New Zheng, South Korea, then Dong Jun, who had already married Ying An and was the next leader of the Yinyang Family, how could she truly do nothing?
Secondly, to test South Korea with Ying An as the chief envoy. The news of Ying An's weak health was known among the six states.
If South Korea did not agree, it would give Qin an excuse to mobilize troops. The reason for choosing Honglian directly was probably also because Honglian was extremely favored by King An of Han.
Any old father would probably not want his beloved daughter to become a concubine to a sickly person! Let alone King An of Han, who was the dignified ruler of a nation!
The last purpose was probably to have Ying An serve as an open facade to conceal Ying Zheng's own incognito trip to South Korea!!