The Spoils of War

My thanks to the site's top supporter, Longyin Yue, for the generous backing! I'm grateful and more than a little excited. Writing four chapters straight after getting up today wasn't easy, and I still haven't had a proper meal. My deepest thanks to Longyin Yue and all the readers for your tremendous support!

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"Then... Zhi Ji thanks the Huan King for his generous help!"

Zhi Ji gave Jian Shang an odd look, then cupped her hands and thanked him with a show of solemnity.

"Hmph!"

Jian Shang was about to speak when Lü Rong suddenly snorted, her contempt plain to see.

Jian Shang's expression shifted several times. He almost choked on his next breath as he cursed Lü Rong inwardly:

This little brat... Give her an inch and she takes a mile! If not for Lü Buwei, Zhi Ji, Zhao Ji, and the others, I'd slap her flying. Does she think being brainless makes her cute?

Still, when he thought about it, Lü Rong was a minor and lacked her elder sister Zhi Ji's monstrous intelligence. Squabbling with her really would be beneath him.

Jian Shang ignored Lü Rong, let out a long sigh, and looked Zhi Ji straight in the eye. "Ever since the First Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour, I've considered Miss Lü a friend. A good friend. One of my own. There may have been some misunderstandings between us, but sometimes, in the Jianghu, a person has no choice!"

Zhi Ji was a formidable woman in her own right. Add Lü Rong, the first female marquis in history, and the even more terrifying Zhao Ji, and Jian Shang naturally had no wish to turn two parties who had once been on good terms into enemies if he could win them over.

It was a misunderstanding between a