The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 8 Return to the Hostage

After the two men left, Zhao Ji called the steward again and expressed her gratitude to him with a warm smile.

"During this period of time, I have been very grateful to you for taking care of me and hosting me. It has been like returning home. I am truly grateful."

"Please ask the steward to express my sincere gratitude to the master on my behalf. Although I cannot see you in person now, your kindness will be unforgettable to me and my son."

"If your Excellency has any needs in the future, please let me know. My husband and I will not refuse. I hope our friendship will last forever!"

"Thank you for your care during this period."

The steward smiled happily and said he dared not:
"This is all my duty. Besides, this place is simple and shabby, I hope you don't feel wronged. I will report your wishes to the Lord without any changes."

Zhao Ji took out ten gold coins and gave them to the steward.

The steward didn't dare to accept it, so Zhao Ji pretended to be angry and asked him to accept it. Only then did the steward accept it.

Zhao Ji continued:

"There is one more thing. We have been bothering here for a long time. Now that the dispute between Qin and Zhao has been suspended, I believe your Majesty has also calmed down. After all, we are Qin's hostages, and we should return to the hostage's mansion."

"I have two letters here. One is for your master. I have no chance to see your master in person, so I can only write this letter to express my gratitude."

"There is another letter. I would like to ask Your Excellency to help send it to Qin to my husband. Is it convenient?"

The steward bowed quickly and said, "Madam, I will personally present the letter to the master. I believe there will be no problem in sending the letter."

"But why are you so anxious about Madam's departure? Now that the war has just begun, there are still unresolved matters and risks. Madam, why don't you stay for a while longer and wait until everything is settled before moving back to the mansion. It will also allow my master to show more hospitality as a host."

Zhao Ji declined:

"I remember your kindness in my heart and am deeply moved. Now that the situation is stable, my child and I have a duty to the Qin State and must not forget state affairs."

"Friendship lasts forever. If the situation changes in the future, we may have to trouble your master. When the time comes, please don't mind us bothering you, your master and the steward."

"No, no, it's a great honor for Madam to visit my humble place. My Lord will be very happy for you. If you need me, it will be my honor."

"Now, please stay for a few more days, Madam, and let the Lord play the role of host for a few more days."

The steward kept trying to persuade her to stay, and Zhao Ji had no choice but to agree to stay for a few more days. For a while, both the host and the guests were having a great time and the atmosphere was harmonious.

After a few more days, everything was calm and nothing happened.

Zhao Ji and three other people bid farewell to this place and quietly went to the original villa under the darkness. But the house was already deserted and looked dilapidated.

Early the next morning, he deliberately opened the door of his house to attract patrolling soldiers.

The soldiers didn't know what to do and didn't dare to act on their own, so Zhao Ji ordered them to call their superiors.

When the patrol general arrived, he asked Chang Lu to give him the letter to King Xiaocheng of Zhao and ask him to present it to the emperor.

General Xuncheng also knew that this matter was of great importance and did not dare to delay, so he hurriedly presented the letter.

After reading the letter, King Zhao Xiaocheng felt that it was humble and polite. He nodded in his heart and had made up his mind.

It was just a little awkward for a moment.

You definitely cannot kill him, otherwise there will definitely be more trouble.

The coalition forces have been dispersed. What should we do if Qin attacks again? We must not kill them.

But we shouldn't kill him, right? It would be a bit embarrassing.

There still needs to be a step.

So he called all the ministers together to discuss and circulated the letter to them. King Xiaocheng of Zhao expressed his position first:
"The Qin State wanted to destroy our Zhao State. A hostage was in Zhao. I wanted to kill him, but the foreigner dared to escape back to the Qin State."

"I thought his whole family returned to Qin, but I didn't expect that he was the only one who returned, leaving behind his widow and orphan."

"Hehe, how ridiculous! This person is truly heartless and ungrateful."

"What Qin did to its hostages was truly disrespectful and unrighteous."

"As the saying goes: A son pays his father's debt, and his son still lives. Previously, I could not kill a stranger, but now I want to kill his wife and child. What do you think?"

As expected, Prime Minister Zhao Sheng, Lord Pingyuan, quickly stepped forward to dissuade him: "Your Majesty, you cannot do this."

"Now that the war between Qin and Zhao has just ended, it is rare for Zhao to have peace and the people to have a chance to rest and recuperate. We must not start a war lightly."

"Yiren has changed his name to Zichu after returning to his country, and has taken Lady Huayang as his mother. He is now very much favored by the Qin Crown Prince An Guojun. If you kill his wife, Qin will certainly take revenge."

"What's more, the King of Qin has always been determined to destroy Zhao, and he is even more unwilling to accept this defeat. We must not give him an excuse, otherwise the war will surely start again."

"Our Zhao State has been at war for years and has been severely damaged. The allied forces have all retreated and we really don't have the strength to fight again!"

"Besides, as of now, the Qin hostage is still Yiren, not his son."

"We are a great country, a country of etiquette. Now that the war has stopped, how can we kill a woman and a child to vent our anger? If this gets out, it will only cause the other vassal states to laugh at us, and it is not reasonable."

"If we kill these two people, it will be harmful to the country instead of beneficial, disrespectful and without authority!"

The other ministers also tried to dissuade him, and King Xiaocheng of Zhao reluctantly agreed:
"Well, for the sake of Zhao and the people, I have no choice but to swallow my anger. Let's spare them first."

Seeing that King Xiaocheng of Zhao had given up the idea of ​​killing people to vent his anger, all the ministers shouted and praised the king for his wisdom!
However, King Xiaocheng of Zhao still wanted to vent his anger and humiliate the State of Qin.

He then said, "These two are just the wives and family members of Yi Ren. They are not of high enough status. We cannot arrange a separate hostage house for them. We cannot let them live in the hostage palace, nor can we arrange maids and servants for them."

Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng advised:
"Your Majesty, it doesn't have to be that serious. They are just a woman and a child. Qin is a big country after all, so you should arrange a separate hostage house for them." King Xiaocheng of Zhao interrupted Zhao Sheng:

"They should be grateful to me for not killing them. How can they find fault with me? Just pass on the order."

After a while, the eunuch who delivered the decree replied:

"Your Majesty, the wife of the Qin king's grandson refused to accept the order."

King Xiaocheng of Zhao was stunned. Then he became furious: "What does she mean? Does she really think I can't kill her?"

The eunuch replied tremblingly:

"After I announced the decree, the Lady of Qin said: You can be killed but not humiliated. The Great Qin is the most powerful country in the world. She is the wife of the grandson of the Qin king. How can she be lumped in with people from a small country?"

"Besides, she is a woman with a young child. It would be inconvenient and improper for her to stay in the palace. So I won't accept her."

"I have sent this servant to reply to the king, asking him to arrange a separate hostage house for her as before. Your Majesty is a benevolent ruler, and she and her son will be grateful to you."

King Xiaocheng of Zhao was furious when he heard this:
"Don't bother, I'll kill them right away."

Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng hurriedly stopped him and tried to persuade him:
"Your Majesty, please calm down. What the woman said makes sense. After all, it is inconvenient for a woman to carry a child in such a crowded and noisy palace."

"Qin is a great country, and our Zhao is a country of etiquette. It is not gentlemanly to humiliate a woman or child like this. If it gets out, it will also damage the king's reputation for kindness."

"Just like the stranger before, this is in accordance with etiquette, and people won't say anything. If it gets out, people will only praise you for being broad-minded and putting benevolence and righteousness first."

After shouting those two sentences, King Xiaocheng of Zhao swallowed his anger and went down the stairs led by Zhao Sheng.

"Let's do as the Prime Minister said. Let's put them back in the original hostage house, arrange for maids and servants to take care of them, and give them an extra group of soldiers to guard them."

"Remember, follow them whenever they go out. Have the soldiers keep a close eye on them and never allow them to escape back to Qin."

Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng replied: "Don't worry, your Majesty, they will not flee back to Qin."

Zhao Ji was still a little uneasy and asked Ying Zheng in a low voice:
"Zheng'er, it's good enough that the King of Zhao didn't kill us. Is it really okay to still disobey him like this? What if the King of Zhao gets angry and kills us?"

Ying Zheng smiled and said:
"Don't worry, mother. If they wanted to kill us, they wouldn't have allowed us to stay in the Zhi Palace. This little thing won't make King Zhao lose his mind."

"But this matter is very important to us. If today's incident gets out, the people of Zhao will know that we are not easy to mess with, and Zhao will have less trouble here."

"If it spreads to the Qin territory, it will be even more of a proud thing."

"Don't worry, mother. Even if the King of Zhao is not in a clear mind, Lord Pingyuan Zhao Sheng and all the civil and military officials in the court will persuade him to calm down."

"Don't worry, mother. Just wait for good news."

Sure enough, after waiting for a while, the eunuch came again to announce the decree.

Zhao Ji was allowed to return to Yiren's hostage residence and was given four maids, four servants, and a dozen guards.

Zhao Ji winked at Ying Zheng with some excitement: "Zheng'er, it's just as you said."

Ying Zheng gave her a look in reply: "It's time to say something nice to make the King of Zhao look good."

Zhao Ji then solemnly accepted King Zhao's order.

"I accept your order and thank the King of Zhao for his kindness. He is truly a kind and magnanimous man, and I admire him. I wish the friendship between Qin and Zhao will last forever and there will be no more fighting. Please ask the eunuch to convey my thoughts to the King."

The eunuch nodded repeatedly and prepared to return to the palace to report.

Zhao Ji gave Chang Lu a wink, and on the way to escort the eunuch out, Chang Lu quietly stuffed another ingot of gold into the eunuch's pocket.

The eunuch went back with a smile on his face.

Why should I speak for you if I don't give you any benefits?
Only if you give others benefits can you get them to say what you want to say.

Zhao Ji and her friends moved into the hostage house. Zhao Ji couldn't help but feel emotional, as she had returned after several years.

Before, Yi Ren had always lived here.

After the Battle of Changping, King Xiaocheng of Zhao tacitly agreed to the suggestion of Lu Buwei.

They moved to a remote courtyard and hid there, changing locations twice in the middle until they hid in someone else's home half a year ago.

After going around in circles, I'm back again.

Zhao Ji only hoped that the days ahead would be more stable and not like the past few years.

It was a pity that just after two months of peace, King Zhaoxiang of Qin launched a counterattack. How could he be the one to suffer a loss?

Is it enough to just rob a few cities in South Korea?

This time, King Zhaoxiang of Qin seized more than 20 cities from the State of Zhao in a lightning speed, but this time he was not so ruthless.

King Zhaoxiang of Qin just wanted to vent his anger and tell the various vassal states that he never suffered any loss.

After they had seized the city, they submitted a peace letter, and King Xiaocheng of Zhao did not dare to disobey.

Now that Zhao was weak, King Xiaocheng of Zhao did not dare to escalate the war and could only accept it.

But the more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he ordered that all the maids and servants given to Zhao Ji be dismissed, leaving only the guards to keep watch over her.

But Zhao Ji no longer cared, because the aid from Qin had arrived.

(End of this chapter)