People in the Qin Dynasty sought good fortune and avoided misfortune.

Chapter 569, Mutual Schemes

Xianyang, the Prime Minister's residence.

Xu Qing sat upright in the main seat, carefully looking at the bamboo slips in his hands. In front of him, the table was piled high with memorials.

"Lord Changping's letter is well written, but although the Agricultural School is not as academically proficient as the other Hundred Schools, it is still a major school among the Hundred Schools. It is somewhat inappropriate to write a letter in the name of Qin urging them to come to Qin."

Xu Qing put down the bamboo slip in his hand, looked at Xiong Qi, the Lord of Changping, who was standing opposite him at the table, and said hesitantly.

Looking at Xu Qing's furrowed brows and hesitation, Xiong Qi knew exactly what the other was thinking. He was worried that if Tian Guang felt that the letter had embarrassed the peasant family, it would cause the peasant family to have reservations about the matter of entering Qin. Therefore, he wanted to clear himself of any wrongdoing in advance.

However, Xiong Qiyue felt relieved that Xu Qingyue was like this.
This precisely proves his previous guess that Xu Qing was trying his best to distance himself from the Chu family's relatives in order to take action against them later.

"If the Prime Minister feels this is inappropriate, this letter will be sent in my personal capacity. This way, it will not appear that Qin is pressuring us too much, and I can put some pressure on the peasant chivalrous leader in the name of the Right Prime Minister."

After pretending to think for a moment, Xiong Qi spoke.

"In your personal name?"

Xu Qing looked at Xiong Qi, who had fallen into the trap, and although she was happy inside, she still looked hesitant on the surface.

“That’s right. Consider this letter as a private exchange between me and the leader of the Farmer’s Clan,” Xiong Qi nodded and said.

"Since His Majesty has entrusted the matter of the Farmers' family entering Qin to you, Lord Changping, it is not a problem for you to write a letter to the leader of the Farmers' family to exchange ideas. So let's do as you say. This letter will be sent to the Farmers' family in your personal name."

After thinking for a moment, Xu Qing nodded and said.

"There's no time to lose, I'll send someone to deliver the letter to the farmer right away."

Upon seeing Xu Qing agree, a glint of light flashed in Xiong Qi's eyes. This was Xu Qing's permission for him to send a letter to Tian Guang in his own name, giving him a good reason to correspond with Tian Guang privately from now on.

Xu Qing wanted to shift the blame and use the matter of the peasants entering Qin to make things difficult for him and the Chu foreign relatives, but what could he do? Little did he know that this would actually help him.

In this way, not only was he cleared of suspicion, but he also had a reason to correspond with Tian Guang.

At the same time, Tian Guang arranged for his disciples to enter Qin, which strengthened his power in Qin and made it easier for him to mobilize more manpower.

Most importantly, if this matter is done well, then the Farmer's School will be the first of the Hundred Schools of Thought to officially enter Qin, excluding the Taoist Tianzong School located in the Qin homeland.

This would be a great achievement, and would form the basis for his success in replacing Xu Qing as prime minister.

If he waits until the royal family and scholars break ties again because of Zheng and expel the scholars of the six states from Qin, then he will have the opportunity to shake the foundation of Xu Qing's position as prime minister. Even if he cannot replace him, he can still effectively seize power.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Changping," Xu Qing said with a smile.

Looking at Xiong Qi's radiant appearance, he hoped that Xiong Qi would still be able to smile after the letter was delivered to the Shennong Mountain farm.

He was the one who spearheaded the entry of the Hundred Schools of Thought into Qin; how could such an achievement be given to Xiong Qi for nothing?
"Serving the Qin state and sharing the king's burdens is my duty, and I dare not claim credit for it," Xiong Qi said modestly.

No sooner had Xiong Qi finished speaking than Li Si, who had become the Vice Minister of Justice, hurried over with a worried expression. His forehead was covered in sweat, and he was panting heavily, clearly having run a short distance.

Li Si noticed that Xiong Qi was also there, so he swallowed the words he was about to say, straightened his clothes, and bowed.

"I have met the Chancellor and Lord Changping."

Xiong Qi nodded slightly, looking at the anxious Li Si, and vaguely guessed what had happened.

"Tonggu, there's no need for such formalities. Why are you in such a hurry? Has something happened?" Xu Qing asked, puzzled.

"Prime Minister, something has happened outside the palace. Lord Weiyang, along with members of the royal family, is attempting to force Your Majesty to abdicate, demanding that Your Majesty issue an edict to expel all foreign advisors from Qin, and even officials from the court."

Li Si quickly revealed that the royal family had found Zheng Guo to be a spy and had gathered a crowd to force Ying Zheng to abdicate and expel the guest minister.

"Zheng Guo was a spy!?"

Xu Qing looked surprised and said unexpectedly.

“This matter is indeed unbelievable, but Lord Weiyang has letters from Zheng to Han as evidence, and handwriting analysis has confirmed that they were written by Zheng. Your Majesty has already sent people to arrest Zheng, and the royal family is kneeling outside Zhangtai Palace, begging Your Majesty to order the expulsion of the scholars from the six states.”

“The situation is becoming increasingly difficult to control. His Majesty has sent someone to invite you to the palace for a discussion,” Li Si said slowly, panting.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing fell into deep thought, and his expression became serious.

Xiong Qi glanced at Li Si, then at Xu Qing, whose expression was serious. A glint of light flashed in his eyes. Sure enough, everything was going as he had expected.

Once the imperial clan has evidence, and with a little instigation, they will spare no effort to expel the scholars and seize power for themselves.

"Prime Minister, since you have other matters to attend to, I will go back and arrange the personnel first."

Xiong Qi turned around and cupped his hands in greeting to Xu Qing.

"Then I'll have to trouble Lord Changping. This matter is of great importance, as it concerns whether those wavering schools of thought are willing to join Qin. I urge you to take it to heart."

Xu Qing returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

"Your subject understands the gravity of the situation."

"Tonggu, let's enter the palace now without delay."

After Xu Qing returned the bamboo slips to Xiong Qi, he hurriedly got up and walked outside. Li Si bowed slightly to Xiong Qi and then left with Xu Qing.

"The real show has only just begun. What good is outstanding talent? You're still too young. The imperial court isn't a place for martial arts or immortal cultivation."

Watching Xu Qing and Li Si leave in a hurry, Xiong Qi muttered something to himself before taking the bamboo slips and leaving to prepare his next plan.

After leaving the Prime Minister's residence, Xu Qing and Li Si boarded a carriage and headed towards Zhangtai Palace.

Inside the carriage, Xu Qing's initial anxious demeanor had returned to calm, and he once again exuded a confident and composed air, as if everything was under control.

"Tonggu, I didn't expect your acting skills to be so superb, without any flaws."

Xu Qing looked at Li Si, who was rubbing his legs, and said with a smile.

Li Si rubbed his calf, sighed helplessly, and replied...

"Sigh, next time you can let Meng Yi do this. I really can't stand running all the way to the Prime Minister's residence."

His anxious and hurried demeanor just now was all an act for Xiong Qi, so that this leader of the Chu imperial relatives would really believe that the royal family was about to force the emperor to abdicate and expel the scholars.

Worried that a cunning old fox like Xiong Qi would see through his scheme, he got off the carriage halfway and ran all the way to the Prime Minister's residence, which really exhausted Li Si, a scholar who hadn't exercised in a long time.

"Haha, there won't be a next time. This kind of thing is good enough to happen once."

Xu Qing smiled and sat down next to Li Si, circulating his true energy into Li Si's body to help him relieve the symptoms.

After feeling the warm internal energy within his body, Li Si's previously sore calves gradually felt much more comfortable, and his breathing became steady.

"Thank you, Prime Minister. I am much better now."

Li Si breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Xu Qing, his eyes filled with envy as he looked at her.

Sometimes he really envied Xu Qing, a genius who could study both literature and martial arts. He and Han Fei had no talent for martial arts and could only learn some simple Six Arts to strengthen their bodies. Not only them, but only one or two of their fellow disciples learned martial arts.

It's as if their teacher, Xunzi, really wanted to turn their lineage into what he called the Confucian literary school, without any martial arts skills.

"No need to thank me. Be careful from now on and don't give anything away," Xu Qing instructed.

"I understand," Li Si nodded and said.

Seeing this, Xu Qing said no more and sat back down in his seat. He began to prepare his speech for Ying Zheng and the royal family, while also mentally rehearsing his plan to prevent any loopholes that could lead to his failure.

Facing a shrewd person like Xiong Qi, even the slightest flaw could be detected by him, ultimately leading to complete defeat.

(End of this chapter)