The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 248: Qin Wang Zheng does not believe in Qin Wang's fate, Lu Buwei does not believe that he will lose

A handsome young man dressed in cloth, with heroic features, walked in.

Facing the King of Qin and the Queen Mother of Zhao, he showed no fear, but bowed his hands and said:

"Shan Feng greets the King and Queen Mother."

When King Zheng of Qin saw Shan Feng's outstanding appearance, he was somewhat fond of him - having good looks is usually an advantage.

Seeing that he looked resolute and not timid, he was even more delighted and said with admiration:
"What is your position? I have never seen you by the Queen Mother's side before."

Shan Feng showed a trace of embarrassment. He glanced at Queen Mother Zhao, lowered his head slightly and did not answer.

"This is a minor matter." Queen Mother Zhao briefly addressed her son's question and asked seriously, "Where did Lord Chang'an go?"

King Zheng of Qin turned his head to glance at his mother, then looked back at Shan Feng in front of him, a hint of thought flashing in his eyes.

[This person can meet the Queen Mother directly, and the Queen Mother knows his name, so he must be the Queen Mother's confidant.]
[I don’t know who my mother is, but this person must have just come to my mother’s side recently.]
[I asked about his official position, and my mother covered for him.]
[What kind of official position needs to be concealed...]
"The Prime Minister's Mansion." Shan Feng said hesitantly.

He knew that this answer was not what the Queen Mother wanted, so he lowered his head three points when answering, and his mouth was about to bite the cloth on his chest.

King Zheng of Qin paused his thoughts and looked back with the same eyes his mother had just given him - Mother, did you see my brother's true face?

Queen Mother Zhao was slightly embarrassed and annoyed, and said stubbornly:
"He must have gone to discuss with Lu Buwei how to deal with you."

Qin Wangzheng shook his head, somewhat helplessly, and changed the subject:

"I discussed the matter of establishing a queen with your mother. How is your mother's thinking?"

When issuing the seal and talisman, Zhao Gao lowered his head slightly to hide his expression.

Queen Mother Zhao placed her hand on her forehead and rubbed it gently:

“Instead of letting Afang recognize Queen Mother Huayang as her mother, you should marry her.

"It would be better if you just married Mi Huang."

Qin Wangzheng frowned and said:

"The one who plays the Mi Huang Bell is Cheng Jiao."

Queen Mother Zhao said in a deep voice:

"Marriage has nothing to do with love."

Qin Wangzheng narrowed his eyes, like a hawk:

"I have heard your mother's advice.

"Now, please answer me, Queen Mother, whether you support me in making Afang the queen."

Its voice is slightly sharp and loud, like a jackal.

Zhao Gao was so excited that his body was shaking, as if he was on a vibrator.

Shan Feng's mouth and tongue became dry involuntarily, his throat rolled, he swallowed saliva, and his heart trembled.

Ji Yaotiao didn't notice anything unusual.

As the mother who raised Ying Zheng, she has always been respected by Ying Zheng.

At that moment, he used the tone he used to teach his son:

"Marry Mi Huang and make her your queen, Queen Mother Huayang will support you.

"By marrying a princess from another country, you can use the power of that country to fight against Lu Buwei.

"Either of the two marriages is better than Afang recognizing Queen Mother Huayang as her mother and marrying her to you as her queen.

"Zheng'er, your decision is wrong. We have a better way."

Ying Zheng pointed to his ears:

"I have ears, and I can listen to your advice."

Finger mouth:

"After I have heard your advice, I will execute your orders, even if they are wrong."

Ji Yaotiao stood up angrily and raised her hand to slap her son.

The palm was hanging in the air, not falling.

She couldn't bear it.

Her son had grown up and was no longer obedient, but he was still her son.

She leaned over, held her son's arms with both hands, shook them slightly, and advised earnestly:
"I am your queen mother. I don't blame you for speaking to me like this, but I am the only one who doesn't blame you.

"Yes, you are the king, you are the king of Qin.

“But as a king, you currently have no power. You need to be patient and give up things.

"All the Qin emperors in the past dynasties were like this. Think about your father, think about it..."

"Mother," Qin Wangzheng interrupted his mother and said, "If our ancestors had not done anything wrong, would Qin still be living in a remote corner?"

Ying Zheng's eyes were firm, with a strange brilliance flashing in them:

"I don't care how they behave as the King of Qin.

"How I shall be the King of Qin is up to me."

Ji Yaotiao protected her son alone for five or six years in the State of Zhao, which was surrounded by enemies.

In order to save her son's life, she, the most noble lady of Zhao State, moved out of the Lin family mansion and endured hunger and cold. The hardships she endured during that time were beyond the imagination of outsiders.

That was a past she didn't want to recall.

But in order to wake her son up, she recalled:

"You are so ignorant!"

Tears welled up in her eyes. She leaned in front of her son and lightly touched him with her silver teeth:
"Have you forgotten the scars all over your body? Have you forgotten the agony of trying to get rid of them?

“If you want to survive in the past, you have to do this.

“It’s the same today as it was then.

“If you want to be the King of Qin, you must emulate the predecessors of Qin.

"The previous king passed away due to illness, and your mother was able to assist in governing the country.

"If the late king had lived longer, your mother would have been killed by your father, who always wanted to kill your mother and save you!

"I have always asked you to listen to the words of the late king, but I hate him deeply in my heart.

“But there’s nothing we can do, this is the King of Qin.

"If you want to be the King of Qin, you must do this! This is the fate of the King of Qin!"

Ying Zheng wiped away his mother's tears and said softly:

"I have suffered once, and I will not suffer a second time.

"The one who is heartless is Qin Zichu, not the King of Qin.

“It is incompetent to blame the king for his temperament.

"The King of Qin's fate... Oh, I don't believe in fate."

Shaking off her son's hand, Zhao Ji quickly walked to the palace gate and stopped abruptly.

She held onto the palace gate, looked back at her son, and asked loudly:

"Your father recognized the Queen Mother Huayang as his mother, so he could become king because he was originally the son of King Xiaowen of Qin.

“Even if Queen Mother Huayang is willing to acknowledge Afang as her granddaughter, it cannot change the fact that she was originally a hidden palace maid.

"She's a widow who was married but lost her husband!
"Think carefully, do you want to be the King of Qin or your lover?"

Bang~!

The palace gate was slammed shut with great force, shaking off a little loose dirt from the top of the gate.

Dust floats in the air, like smoke and like a dream.

"Zhao Gao." Ying Zheng called.

"I am here." Zhao Gao responded.

"Check the background of this Shan Feng."

"only."

After Zhao Gao responded, he still maintained the posture of bowing and clasping his hands, and did not move for a long time.

Ying Zheng tilted his head and looked at it:

"Why aren't you leaving yet?"

Zhao Gao slammed his knees on the ground with a dull sound.

He knelt on the ground, wept with joy, and kowtowed to express his gratitude:
"Thank you, Your Majesty, on behalf of your mother. Thank you, Your Majesty!

"Your Majesty is both a high lord and a high father!"

Ying Zheng turned his head to avoid Zhao Gao's sight:

"I am the King of Qin, the father of all the Qin people."

Prime Minister's Mansion.

Ying Chengjiao stepped in.

There were only a few faces left that he was very familiar with, and they all became strangers he didn't recognize.

During the two or three years that he was away from Qin, the Xiangbang Mansion had undergone a major reshuffle. Now, almost every official in the Xiangbang Mansion was related to the Xiangbang Lu Buwei.

Ying Chengjiao was led by an unfamiliar clerk through the square of the Prime Minister's Mansion and past the kitchen where the smell of rice was smelling.

Many officials greeted him without even glancing at him and walked straight past him.

Few people greeted him or said, "The young master is here again."

Ying Chengjiao then followed the clerk in silence all the way to the house where Qin Prime Minister Lu Buwei handled government affairs.

The house is very neat and is divided into a front hall and a back room.

Gan Luo, the chief secretary of the prime minister, who was sitting in the front hall, received the report from the clerk and happily went out to greet him:
"Gan Luo pays respects to Master Cheng and Lord Chang'an!"

When Gan Luo saw Prince Chengjiao, whom he had followed since childhood, he was so delighted that he forgot the requirement of his lord to refer to his official position and title in public.

As soon as the words left his mouth, his brain reacted and his mouth followed suit.

"No need to be so polite." Ying Chengjiao took the initiative to step forward.

He walked in front of Gan Luo just like he did when he was a child.

He stepped into the house first, as if he was the owner of the house.

As soon as he entered the door, his eyes were filled with bamboo slips.

The floor and wall bookshelves are all filled with bamboo slips that have been neatly arranged and rolled into cylindrical shapes.

"Where did these bamboo slips come from?" Ying Chengjiao was sure that there were definitely not so many bamboo slips when Huang Shigong was the prime minister.

To be more precise, not even half of what's here.

The Qin State did not expand its territory or add new officials in these years, so how could there be so many bamboo slips out of nowhere?

Gan Luo first pointed to his mouth, shook his head, and then pointed to the back hall.

Move carefully, like a thief.

Ying Chengjiao laughed:
"Okay, I won't make it difficult for you. I'll go ask the teacher."

He patted Gan Luo's right upper arm:

"Getting stronger."

Gan Luo smiled and said nothing.

He watched Ying Chengjiao knock lightly on the back hall door and heard his master say "Come in".

Wait for Ying Chengjiao to enter the back hall and close the door.

The boy, who was one year younger than Ying Chengjiao, stopped smiling and sighed heavily:
"Ugh……"

Lu Buwei was reading bamboo slips, and it seemed that he would never finish reading them.

When Ying Chengjiao came in, Qin Lian didn't even raise his head. He just stretched out his hand and gestured for him to sit down.

Ying Chengjiao sat down without saying a word, watching his commander handle government affairs.

Lu Buwei held a brush and wrote on the bamboo slips in his hand. After a while, he finished.

Gently blow on the end of the brush to dry the ink stains.

Roll it up and place it on top of the bamboo slips that are already stacked half a person's height.

The powerful Prime Minister Qin rubbed his eyes and smiled at Master Cheng Jiao:

"Master, is there something wrong?"

When he took his hand away, his hazy eyes focused, reflecting the somewhat thin face of Master Cheng Jiao.

Lü Buwei, who was not old but looked old, sighed softly:
"No matter how sad you are, you still have to eat."

Qin Xiang shouted:

"Gan Luo!"

The chief secretary of the prime minister poked his head in and looked at his master with confusion, not knowing why he was suddenly called in.

"Ask the cook to bring the food and put it in big pots and plates." Lu Buwei ordered.

"No need." Ying Chengjiao said the first thing he said when he entered the back hall. Before Gan Luo responded, he said to the teacher in a gentle voice, "I just ate in the palace."

"Oh, I've eaten..." Lu Buwei repeated.

He raised his head, his face calm:
"After eating the food in the palace, you can't eat the food in the prime minister's house, right?"

Gan Luo shuddered and felt a huge and heavy pressure.

He quickly retracted his head and quietly closed the back door.

He is just the grandson of the prime minister of the Former Qin Dynasty, not the prime minister of Qin, and does not want to play a high-end game.

Ying Chengjiao was very familiar with this kind of double-entendre political temptation.

Lu Buwei was talking about food, but he was not just talking about food.

He also took the opportunity of the meal to ask whether Ying Chengjiao had decided to stand on the side of King Zheng of Qin.

When Prince Chengjiao was five years old, he was brought to the court by the great devil of the Warring States Period, King Zhaoxiang of Qin, to attend government affairs.

The old civil officials of the previous dynasty did not speak properly at that time, and said some irrelevant things in an indirect way.

At first Ying Chengjiao didn't understand.

Later, after listening for a long time, I could not only understand it, but also speak it.

Now, not only can he speak it, but he also speaks it very well and can speak it fluently.

But facing Lü Buwei who taught him to be loyal to himself, the young man, whose title of Lord Chang'an was more famous than that of Prince Chengjiao, twitched his lips and did not want to guess the riddle:
"Let alone monks, there is not even a Taoist priest now. Who is the master telling this?"

"Huh?" Lu Buwei asked puzzledly.

No matter how accustomed he was to Prince Chengjiao's wild imagination and how knowledgeable he was, the prime minister of Qin could not understand Buddhism and Taoism which had not yet appeared.

Except for the Chu State, which had some religious influence, the other countries in the Central Plains could barely be called a combination of politics and religion.

The monarchy has always been the only authority in the world, and folk worship has not yet formed a religion.

"Nonsense." The boy said some "nonsense" to ease the atmosphere, and smiled: "When we were in Korea, didn't the commander and I say that we should be open and honest with each other? Why is the commander speaking high-sounding words to me again?"

"Oh...it seems to be the case." Lu Buwei said slowly: "I thought you forgot it."

Ying Chengjiao smiled bitterly:
"here we go again.

"Master, you didn't say that you forgot to be frank with me. You clearly said that you forgot the important plan we discussed."

Ying Chengjiao spoke frankly, and Lu Buwei no longer concealed anything.

Sitting upright, he said with a straight face:

"Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers of different species?

"The words are still fresh in my mind, why did you back out?"

Ying Chengjiao smiled bitterly again and again:

"What does the Master want me to do?

"Will you stand tall and raise your arms, fight with my brother, and succeed the throne of King Qin?"

Lu Buwei stared at the young Chang'an Jun, and the expression on his face clearly said - why not?

Except for Prince Chengjiao, no matter who sits on the throne, Lu Buwei's ambitions cannot be realized.

No king would rebel against himself.

Neither Prince Chu of Qin nor King Zheng of Qin could do it.

"Master, are you sure that I can become king and not be killed by my father?" The smile on Ying Chengjiao's face became more bitter.

Lu Buwei opened his mouth, took a breath, and said with difficulty:
“Don’t say sir.

"Before the late king passed away, Buwei was ready to be buried with him.

“At that time, the young master had concerns and was unwilling to gamble, which is human nature.

"what about now?"

Now... Ying Chengjiao said directly:

“Still not working.

"My brother is the king, I will not rebel against him."

Seeing the disappointment on Lü Buwei's face, Ying Chengjiao continued:
"Besides...when it comes to being king, my brother is more suitable."

Lu Buwei was in a very bad mood.

[Poor excuse! Corrupt scholar's kindness!]
[Who is more suitable to be the king, you or Qin Wangzheng? Can't I, as your teacher, see that?]
"Master, please don't disbelieve me." Ying Chengjiao spread his hands and said helplessly: "If I were the King of Qin now, I don't know how to take back the power from you, Master."

"Do you think your brother can do it?" Lu Buwei asked in a very calm tone, because he didn't believe it at all and only took it as an excuse for Ying Chengjiao.

He, Lu Buwei, held the seal of the King of Qin, acted as the king's prime minister, and was also the uncle of King Zheng of Qin appointed by the previous king.

If King Zheng of Qin wanted to take power back from him, he could only follow the example of King Zhaoxiang of Qin and seize power from Queen Dowager Xuan.

The Queen Mother Xuan will grow old.

He, Lu Buwei, can do it too.

He will be defeated by time, but not by the King of Qin.

(End of this chapter)