The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 5 Trusting Our Noble Friends

Zhao Ji and her entourage arrived at a huge villa not far from the royal palace.

Judging from the lintel of his door, all the neighbors are either rich or noble.

A few days ago, someone was already waiting here.

Several people came to the back door, Chang Lu went forward and knocked a few times, and someone immediately opened the door and led them into the yard.

After entering the courtyard, Zhao Ji and others praised secretly, and even Ying Zheng couldn't help but secretly praise the extraordinary owner of this place.

Here, you can see houses, pavilions, terraces, and towers shaded by green bamboos, with carved beams and painted buildings, and a splendid and magnificent appearance.

The bluestone paths are winding and secluded, and the carved stones are scattered in an orderly manner;
The koi fish in the backyard pond are swimming leisurely, and the mandarin ducks on the water surface are creating ripples, it is truly a paradise on earth.

When the manager here saw Zhao Ji, he hurriedly came forward and bowed respectfully.

"See ma'am."

"It is a great honor for my humble place to have you as my guest today."

"My master has a deep friendship with Mr. Lu, and has long admired you."

"This is my master's villa. Madam, you can live here in peace without any worries. Ordinary soldiers and officials will never dare to disturb you."

As the steward spoke, he invited everyone to come into the hall and sit down, and ordered the maid to serve tea and cakes.

Everyone went inside and sat down in turn. The furnishings were extremely luxurious.

Just looking at the furniture made of Baiyue sandalwood, with a subtle fragrance and a luster as smooth as jade, it is enough to show the noble and luxurious life of the owner of this place.

The steward waited for Zhao Ji to take her seat and bowed to her:
"At Mr. Lu's request, I dare not be too ostentatious, so I arranged this place. This villa is just a little small, but please rest assured, Madam, everything you need is complete; the maids and servants are all the master's confidants."

Zhao Ji nodded and thanked the steward: "This place is very nice. Your master has taken so much trouble. Please ask the steward to thank your master for me."

"As long as Madam is satisfied, my master has ordered that Madam should be made to feel at home."

"My master is not in Handan due to some matters. Now Handan is under siege and it will be difficult for him to come back in the short term."

"Before leaving, the master specifically told me that I was not able to visit you in person and talk to you. This is very rude and regretful. Let me apologize to you on behalf of the master."

Zhao Ji said quickly, "No, no, I am deeply grateful for your care and shelter. It is very rude and regretful that we cannot see your face and thank you in person."

"After a long time, when your Excellency returns, please visit me and thank me in person."

"Thank you for your understanding, madam. I will convey your wishes to the Lord."

"I am in charge of all matters in this mansion. If there is anything that Madam is not happy with, or if you have any needs in your daily life, please let me know and I will make corrections immediately. I hope Madam will forgive me for any inadequacy in my hospitality."

The steward waved his hand and asked two maids to come forward to greet him. The two girls were about 28 years old, each of them was pretty and beautiful, and very well-behaved.

"Madam, these two maids, Wan Tao and Xue Ling, are smart and nimble, and they were specially selected by my master to serve you personally."

"I have already arranged accommodation for the two warriors. I will invite you to come over later."

Zhao Ji nodded: "Your master is really troubled. Thank you for me and thank the steward."

"I don't deserve your thanks, madam. This is all my duty."

"I think Madam must be a little tired today. Let them help Madam clean up. Madam, please take a rest. I will take the two warriors to stay first."

Zhao Ji nodded and smiled, "That's fine."

Wan Tao took the package from Chang Lu and Qing Qin.

Xueling wanted to hug Ying Zheng, but Zhao Ji turned aside slightly and said with a smile:
"The child is shy and only allows me to hold him. I'll do it myself. Go and help Wan Tao get her things."

Xueling agreed, and the two of them led the way and invited Zhao Ji to go to her residence in the back house.

The steward asked the two guards to go to the guest rooms in the front yard to settle down first.

Zhao Ji simply tidied herself up, changed her clothes, put on some light makeup, adjusted her mood, and walked to the front hall with Ying Zheng in her arms, asking the maid to invite Chang Lu and Qing Qin over.

When Chang Lu and Qing Qin arrived upon the summons, Zhao Ji asked them to sit down, ordered the maid to serve them tea, and then asked the maid to leave for the time being.

After the maids left, there were only four of them in the hall, so he asked quickly, "Tell me, what's the situation now?"

"Madam, yesterday the master arranged for the relationship to send the young master out of the city tonight. It's urgent, and because of the special method, I can't take you and the young master out of the city together."

"My lord and I will have to go back to Qin first, leaving the two of us to protect the lady and the young master. When my lord returns to Qin, we will find a way to rescue you and the young master."

Zhao Ji asked again: "Did they say when? How long will it take?"

"The master didn't say that. But the master told us that as long as we hide our tracks in the short term, there will be no danger. When the young master returns to Qin, there will be a chance for improvement."

"The master specifically told me that the owner of this place is a prominent family of the Zhao State. He has been a good friend of the master for many years and their friendship is deep. He can be trusted. With his help, there is absolutely no danger to your life."

Zhao Ji was now feeling resentful and angry, and she hated Lu Buwei and Yi Ren to no end, but she still had some rationality.

I forced myself to calm down, forced a smile and said to the two of them:

"Lü Buwei has always been very careful about his plans. Since he has made all the arrangements, I'm sure nothing will go wrong."

"From now on, the young master and I will rely on you two. I will remember your contributions, and I will ask the young master to reward you two in the future. Thank you in advance for the next period of time."

Chang Lu and Qing Qin bowed and said they dared not.

Zhao Ji took out twenty gold coins and gave them to the two men, comforting them and saying:

"You two have worked hard all day, and now we are safe here. But we are living under someone else's roof, and it is difficult to survive without money. Please accept it for daily needs." "You two should have a good rest first and get well. We will rely on you in the future."

"Thank you for your concern, ma'am." The two of them thanked her repeatedly, bowed again and slowly retreated.

Zhao Ji brought Ying Zheng back to the room alone, dismissed the maids, saying that she wanted to rest, and ordered the maids not to come near.

After that, she could no longer control herself and started crying while hugging Ying Zheng.

She cried and cursed: "Yiren, you have no conscience. You went back to your country with Lu Buwei, leaving us two orphans and widows here in Zhao. But you fled back to Qin. If the King of Zhao is furious, how can we survive?"

"And Lu Buwei, you old bastard. Ever since you gave me to Yiren, you haven't had a single day of peace."

"We planned for so long, and Tiantian said that we could go back, and we did go back, but you two ran back."

"You two bastards, you have such a cruel heart, leaving us mother and son to die."

"The King of Qin is also abominable. He has attacked Zhao several times and has no family affection at all."

"You don't care at all about your grandchildren and great-grandchildren living in Zhao State? You don't care at all that the King of Zhao killed us."

Zhao Ji cried louder and louder, hugged Ying Zheng in her arms, and stroked his little head:
"Zheng'er, your life is so hard. You were only this old, and your father abandoned us. Your father is such a heartless bastard. My child, our lives are so hard, and you are still so young."

Zhao Ji cried for a long time without stopping. She couldn't stop crying. Suddenly, she heard a childish and calm voice:

"Don't cry, mother. It's not that bad. We will be fine."

Zhao Ji looked at Ying Zheng in her arms in astonishment. She couldn't believe that a child of such age could say such words so calmly.

Come to think of it, this child has rarely cried or made a fuss since he was born, he is just quite sleepy.

He is not as lively and playful as other children, but is extremely sensible.

Although he can learn to speak very quickly, he is usually very quiet.

Yi Ren had a lot of trivial things to do on a daily basis, and he didn't spend much time with the mother and child. Plus, he had no experience, so he didn't think there was anything abnormal with the child.

But Zhao Ji seldom went out and stayed with her children every day. As the saying goes: No one knows a child better than his mother.

Zhao Ji always felt that her child was small but smart and precocious. Although he was not talkative, he was definitely a clever child.

Zhao Ji stopped crying.

"Zheng'er, why do you say that?"

Ying Zheng used his sleeve to wipe the tears from Zhao Ji's face.

He said calmly: "The reason is very simple. The value of killing us is far less than the value of letting us live."

"Since the Battle of Changping, Zhao no longer has the ability to fight against Qin. Under such circumstances, Zhao dare not provoke Qin."

"My grandfather, An Guojun, wrote a letter to the King of Zhao asking him to release my father and return to his country. The King of Zhao almost agreed, but it was the Qin State that suddenly attacked Zhao State again, and that was the turning point."

"Besides, Qin is planning to destroy Zhao this time. The King of Zhao might get emotional in his rage and kill our family to vent his anger."

"Under such circumstances, father has no choice but to flee. Fleeing from Zhao State is the best choice."

"The King of Zhao will only focus on my father, not us. After all, my father is the Qin hostage, the grandson of the King of Qin, and the son of the Crown Prince."

"So if my father escapes, we will be safer if we hide well. We are just a woman and a child, and we are of little value to the King of Zhao who wants to vent his anger."

Zhao Ji had calmed down by now. She sat down on the bed and held Ying Zheng in her arms.

Then he asked, "But if the King of Zhao finds out that your father has escaped, won't he be even more angry? Then he will definitely search the whole city for him. He has already escaped, and if he catches us, the King of Zhao will use us to vent his anger, and we will be doomed."

Ying Zheng smiled slightly.

"Our whole family disappeared at the same time. How did the King of Zhao know if we escaped together? Or separately? Or was it only my father who escaped? And we hid."

"The father is the biggest target. Even if the whole city is being searched, the focus will be on the father. A woman and a child alone are not worth mentioning."

"Besides, the entire city is now defending the city, and King Zhao can't spare too much manpower to search for him."

"After all, killing the hostage is just to vent anger. It will not only have no benefit to defending the city, but will anger the Qin army, making the Qin army attack the city more fiercely, and the revenge after the city is captured will be more cruel."

"This means that not many people will be motivated to search for him."

"As long as my father escapes from Handan and returns to Qin, and spreads the news that he has returned to Qin, so that the King of Zhao knows, the search will stop at that time."

"We will observe the specific situation of the battle at that time. If Qin breaks through Handan and the Qin army wins, we will naturally rest assured."

"If Qin had not conquered Handan, we would have just hidden until the war stopped and the Qin army withdrew. By then, the King of Zhao would have regained his senses and would not have killed us, because then I would have become a new hostage."

After listening to Ying Zheng's analysis, Zhao Ji nodded involuntarily. She felt that it made sense, but she was still a little worried.

"Zheng'er, according to what you said, it's really not that bad at the moment."

"The biggest problem at the moment is that we must hide well before the outcome of the war is clear and King Zhao's anger subsides. If we are caught, we will be dead."

Ying Zheng nodded.

"Yes, but we can trust Lu Buwei."

"Believe in Lu Buwei's wisdom and strength."

(End of this chapter)