I am the Holy Poisoner, the Empress advised me to calm down

"That's why I'm going," Zhou Qing said sternly. "If Nanyue saw a minor official from Daqian, they would certainly look down on me. This will make it easier for me to act. Furthermore, I come from a humble family, so even if something unexpected happens, the loss to the court won't be significant."

"Nonsense!" Xu Feihong was a little angry. "What do you mean the loss is not big? Every one of my subjects is precious!"

Hearing this, Zhou Qing felt warm in his heart. This empress is truly a good monarch.

"Your Majesty, you are considerate of me. I am deeply grateful. But this is indeed the most suitable thing for me to do," Zhou Qing insisted. "And I am confident that I can escape unscathed."

He was certainly confident that the system would not only give him strength, but also various skills. Coping with a diplomatic mission should be no problem.

Xu Feihong pondered for a moment, then finally nodded: "Okay, I agree. But you can't go alone. I will send guards to accompany you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhou Qing bowed.

After the court meeting, Zhou Qing returned to the imperial study to continue working. Song Jiayun brought him the chicken soup that the empress had specifically ordered, and even added a pig's head.

"Lord Zhou's performance in the court today is truly impressive." Song Jiayun's tone was a little tentative.

"They are just some superficial insights." Zhou Qing answered modestly, but he was thinking in his heart that it seemed that Song Jiayun had some doubts about him.

"Superficial?" Song Jiayun chuckled. "Being able to gather intelligence on South Vietnamese scouts is not something an ordinary person can do."

"It's just a coincidence." Zhou Qing remained calm and continued to drink his soup.

Seeing she couldn't get anything out of him, Song Jiayun stopped asking questions. But her suspicions only grew deeper.

This Zhou Qing is definitely not as simple as he seems.

Three days later, Zhou Qing was ready to leave. Xu Feihong specially hosted a farewell party for him in the imperial study.

"Lord Zhou, please be careful on this trip." Xu Feihong personally poured wine for him. "If there is anything unusual in South Vietnam, return immediately. Don't force yourself."

"I understand." Zhou Qing picked up the wine glass, "I will definitely live up to your Majesty's trust."

"Also," Xu Feihong took something out of her sleeve, "Take this with you."

Zhou Qing took a closer look and saw that it was an exquisite jade pendant with a phoenix pattern engraved on it.

"This is my personal jade pendant, which can prove my identity at critical moments." Xu Feihong explained.

Zhou Qing took the jade pendant and felt the empress's body temperature on it, which touched his heart again.

"I will not fail in my mission!"

After bidding farewell to the empress, Zhou Qing set off for Nanyue with ten guards. To avoid arousing suspicion, they all changed into merchants' clothes.

Along the way, Zhou Qing secretly observed the situation along the way. As he expected, there were indeed many unfamiliar faces in the border area. Although these people were dressed in merchant clothes, their walking posture and eyes revealed the flavor of soldiers.

"Sir, these people are indeed suspicious." Guard captain Wang Hu whispered.

"Well, it seems that South Vietnam has a big plan." Zhou Qing nodded, "We must proceed with caution."

Three days later, the group arrived at the capital of Nanyue. Nanyue was much smaller than Daqian, but its capital was also prosperous.

"I, Zhou Qing, an envoy from Daqian, would like to meet your monarch!" Zhou Qing presented the letter of credence in front of the palace of the King of Nanyue.

Soon, the King of Nanyue summoned them.

The King of Nanyue was a middle-aged man in his forties. He was handsome, but there was a gleam in his eyes from time to time, which showed that he was not a simple character.

"An envoy from Daqian?" The King of Nanyue looked Zhou Qing up and down. "He's young, so he must be a capable person."

"Your Majesty, thank you for your kindness. I am just a small official. I came here to discuss cotton trade." Zhou Qing answered respectfully.

"Cotton?" The King of Nanyue smiled. "I heard that Daqian was hit hard by the disaster. They don't even have enough for themselves, so how can they have enough to export?"

"Your Majesty, you're joking. Although we've suffered a disaster, our Great Qian is vast and rich in resources. We can still scrape together some if we squeeze in." Zhou Qing pretended to be embarrassed. "It's just that the price may be a little..."

"Price increase?" A hint of displeasure flashed in the eyes of the King of Nanyue.

"It can't be helped," Zhou Qing said with a wry smile. "The imperial court also needs to provide disaster relief. We can't let the people starve to death, right?"

The King of Nanyue pondered for a moment and asked, "How much are you going to raise the price?"

"How about 30%?" Zhou Qing asked tentatively.

"30%?!" The King of Nanyue slammed the table and stood up. "You are taking advantage of the situation!"

"Your Majesty, calm down," Zhou Qing apologized quickly. "Then 20%? If that doesn't work, 10% is negotiable."

Seeing Zhou Qing's expression, the King of Nanyue flashed a trace of contempt in his eyes. It seemed that Daqian really couldn't hold on any longer. Even an envoy was so insecure.

"In that case, let's take 10%." The King of Nanyue reluctantly agreed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhou Qing felt relieved.

In the next few days, Zhou Qing "inspected" the cotton demand in the capital of South Vietnam, but in fact he was secretly investigating South Vietnam's military preparations.

He discovered that South Vietnam was indeed actively preparing for war. Not only did it increase its garrison on the border, it was also secretly collecting various intelligence on Daqian.

What surprised him even more was that Nanyue had some connection with the nomadic tribes in the north of Daqian. If Nanyue and the northern nomads joined forces, Daqian would be in real danger.

"It seems the situation is more serious than we thought." Zhou Qing was thinking about countermeasures in the inn.

At this moment, the door was suddenly pushed open and several masked men rushed in.

"It's you? The envoy of Daqian?" The leader's voice was hoarse.

Zhou Qing's heart tightened, but he remained calm on the surface: "Who are you? What do you want to do?"

"I'm here to take your life!" The man drew his long knife and chopped.

Zhou Qing dodged it with ease. His system-enhanced body allowed him to react extremely quickly.

"Want to kill me?" Zhou Qing sneered, "Just you few?"

With one punch, the masked man was knocked out and hit the wall, vomiting blood.

The other people were shocked when they saw this. They didn't expect that this seemingly weak envoy had such skills.

"Go together!"

Several people attacked Zhou Qing simultaneously, but the outcome was unpredictable. In less than an incense stick of time, all the assassins were defeated by Zhou Qing.

"Tell me, who sent you here?" Zhou Qing grabbed an assassin who was still conscious.

"I...I don't know, I just take the money and do the job." The man said intermittently.

Zhou Qing frowned. It seemed that the other party was very cautious and did not leave any obvious clues.

Just then, Wang Hu rushed in with other guards.

"Sir, are you okay?" Wang Hu became nervous when he saw the assassins all over the ground.

"It's okay, they're just a few petty thieves." Zhou Qing waved his hand, "But this means our whereabouts have been exposed. We have to be careful."

"How about we return home overnight?" Wang Hu suggested.

"No, we haven't finished yet." Zhou Qing shook his head. "And if we go back now, won't that tell them we're scared?"