The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 21 Danger Approaches
Ying Zheng took the hairpin from Zhao Ji and said, "Mother, let me put it on for you."

As Ying Zheng said this, he moved sideways and inserted his hair into the side of Zhao Ji's bun.

After taking a closer look, I saw that Zhao Ji was already dressed elegantly and luxuriously, with emeralds and pearls adorning her hair.

Now, with the addition of the jade-carved peony tassel hairpin, the flower ornament between the eyebrows, and the happy expression on her face, she is truly a beauty beyond words.

Ying Zheng nodded secretly in his heart, thinking that his vision was right, and they really complemented each other.

Ying Zheng took out a bronze mirror and asked Zhao Ji to look into it:

"Mother, take a look at this hairpin I picked for you. How do you think it is? Isn't it very good?"

Zhao Ji eagerly took the bronze mirror from Ying Zheng and admired it non-stop, looking delighted:
"She is indeed beautiful and worthy of her mother."

Ying Zheng chuckled and said proudly:
"Of course, my son has good taste. Of course, my mother is naturally beautiful, so everything she wears looks good."

Zhao Ji rolled her eyes at Ying Zheng and looked at the mirror again:
"You have a conscience. You know to bring something for your mother when you go out. It's not in vain that you love you. You really thought about it and picked something beautiful. Your mother likes it very much."

She pinched Ying Zheng's face again and said proudly, "But you are right, my mother is naturally beautiful, and everything she wears looks good on her."

Ying Zheng was also full of smiles: "Of course, my mother is so beautiful, any jewelry is just icing on the cake, it can never steal the show."

"Oh, by the way, mother, there is one more thing. I went to the Zhi Palace today and met a new friend, the prince Yan Dan from the State of Yan."

"He is a hostage of Yan State, about the same age as me, and has been in Zhao State for two years. He should not be valued by the King of Yan. He is having some difficulties in life now, so I want to send a maid to take care of him and help him. I need someone reliable."

Zhao Ji was still looking at herself in the mirror: "This is a small matter, just let Chang Lu Qingqin arrange it."

He laughed jokingly, "Come to think of it, this should be Zheng'er's first friend, right? His status is pretty good. It's really not easy for Zheng'er to make friends."

Ying Zheng didn't respond.

"Yes, and I will invite him to our house. We will treat him well then."

"Don't worry, this is Zheng'er's first friend. Mother will definitely treat him well and make him feel at home. She won't let you lose face."

"Well, thank you, mother."

Zhao Ji glanced at him: "Huh~"

Ying Zheng waved his hand to let Geng Ying leave, and he went up to help Zhao Ji massage her shoulders. Zhao Ji put the bronze mirror aside, closed her eyes, and continued to enjoy herself.

Speaking of Yan Dan, because Zhao State never took Yan State seriously, Yan Dan was always looked down upon in Zhao State.

Moreover, his father did not pay much attention to him and did not provide much financial support to him as a child, so his daily life was rather difficult.

The State of Yan was already looked down upon by the people of Zhao, and without money in this foreign country it was almost impossible to move forward and suffered many humiliations.

All this deeply stimulated Yan Dan's young and sensitive heart.

After hearing what Ying Zheng said, Yan Dan sent a letter back to Yan State with great expectations, but he did not receive a reply, let alone the King of Zhao giving him a separate hostage residence.

It was only since he became friends with Ying Zheng that he felt his life had become better.

Since Ying Zheng and Yan Dan became good friends, Ying Zheng often invited Yan Dan to visit the hostage residence on his own initiative.

It was only after visiting the Qin State's hostage house many times that Yan Dan realized that although they were both hostages and he was the legitimate son of the King of Yan, the gap in their lives was so huge.

His situation seems to be the same as Ying Zheng's, but the treatment they receive is too different.

Deep down in his heart, he was becoming increasingly unbalanced, and this imbalance, under the intentional or unintentional guidance of Ying Zheng, turned into resentment towards the State of Yan.

Ying Zheng's mother, Zhao Ji, was beautiful, gentle and generous. Every time she visited him at the hostage house, she was very kind and gentle to him, and prepared a lot of snacks every time.

Before leaving, he was given many gifts, including money and clothes, which greatly alleviated Yan Dan's financial difficulties.

She also taught him a new game, Mahjong, which is now popular all over the world. She was such a good person. Yan Dan was extremely grateful to Zhao Ji.

And in Zhao Ji, in this foreign country, Yan Dan felt the maternal love he most longed for.

He also envied the mother-son relationship between Ying Zheng and Zhao Ji.

Ying Zheng was extremely loyal to him and was very generous to him. Not only did he give him maids, he also often gave him financial gifts.

More importantly, Ying Zheng never looked down on him but always respected him, and interacting with him always made him feel respected.

This was what touched Yan Dan the most, as he was often humiliated by the people of Zhao.

Yan Dan's gratitude to Ying Zheng was beyond words, and he regarded Ying Zheng as a close friend.

Ying Zheng gives Yan Dan the impression of being mature and wise in daily life, and Yan Dan is willing to become his little fan.

For Ying Zheng, dealing with a child with difficult life was too easy. Now, to be frank, Yan Dan, his biological father, was not closer to him than Ying Zheng.

The King of Yan only likes people of average appearance, well, below average appearance.

As a king, you are ambitious, overestimate your own abilities, have a narrow mind, and are heartless and disloyal.

There is no need to provoke this kind of people. They don't have a good relationship with the children of their own subjects. With a little provocation, the relationship between father and son becoming loving and filial is just around the corner.

And Ying Zheng also deliberately cultivated Yan Dan to live a life of luxury and debauchery. Of course, it was not that excessive. A complete waste is useless.

Just let Yan Dan become more dependent on material things and enjoy luxury.

It's always better to prepare early for everything.

It was after Ying Zheng started going out frequently that he was targeted by someone with ulterior motives.

Since the Battle of Changping, although King Zhaoxiang of Qin did not launch a large-scale war against the State of Zhao, he did not stop small-scale encroachment.

Just six or seven years were not enough for the people of Zhao to forget their hatred. The hatred and anger of the entire Zhao people towards the Qin people were fierce and intense.

The desire for revenge against the Qin State has never been extinguished.

In this era, it is not about repaying evil with good. It is about repaying good with good, repaying evil with evil. Revenge for revenge, blood for blood.

If King Xiaocheng of Zhao had not secretly helped Yiren hide, Yiren would have been killed as soon as the Battle of Changping ended.

Later, Yiren took the opportunity to escape. After the ceasefire between Qin and Zhao, only Ying Zheng and Zhao Ji, mother and son, were left in Zhao.

In order to avoid another war with the State of Qin, King Xiaocheng of Zhao took Ying Zheng as a hostage, placed Zhao Ji and Ying Zheng in the Qin hostage house, and sent heavy troops to guard them.

On the one hand, it was to monitor them and prevent Zhao Ji and Ying Zheng from escaping back to Qin like Zhao Yiren did.

On the other hand, it was indeed intended to protect them, so as to prevent the two from being assassinated, which would inevitably lead to another war between Qin and Zhao.

In addition, Zhao Ji and Ying Zheng were just women and children, and many well-known knights did not bother to assassinate them.

Even so, several assassinations occurred.

(End of this chapter)