People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

If the benefits are divided on the spot, it will become extremely difficult for him to do anything afterward.

Lü Buwei wanted to speak up to stop Ying Zheng, but seeing the excitement of the officials in the hall, he had no choice but to give up.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be a big deal, but now we're in the midst of dividing up the spoils, and it's a huge one at that. If he tries to stop it, it will undoubtedly make many people unhappy.

He saw more than that; those who benefited from this court assembly would likely have second thoughts.

Lü Buwei's face was grim.

One wrong step leads to another...

What a brilliant Ying Zheng! What a brilliant Cheng Jiao! What a brilliant... Cao Ze!

Chapter 389 Neptune Psychology

The female lead in the opera left the stage, and the remaining palace servants lacked Zhao Gao's acting skills. As a result, Zhao Ji glanced at them a few times, stood up, waved her hands, and said, "Sir, please come back to the palace with me for a couple of drinks. This place is quite boring."

Because of the rules of etiquette, Cao Ze followed behind Zhao Ji.

Because he had previously entertained the idea of ​​taking advantage of the opportunity while Lao Ai was away from Ganquan Palace to win over Zhao Ji, he couldn't help but peek at Zhao Ji's stunningly beautiful and alluring body from behind.

It must be said that Zhao Ji had a very attractive figure.

In addition, Zhao Ji's gait, which she must have learned from Handan, swayed gracefully, and her plump, round buttocks, like two full moons, were as round and large as millstones.

It was majestic and trembling.

Cao Ze swallowed hard and quickly looked away.

I kept chanting Amitabha Buddha in my heart, feeling guilty.

Realizing he had misread it, Cao Ze quickly repeated, "May the Heavenly Venerable grant me boundless blessings, my apologies..."

Upon arriving at the main hall, Zhao Ji went to the back of the hall to change into a bright red silk robe.

Cao Ze's eyes immediately lit up with amazement.

She had willow-leaf eyebrows, upturned phoenix eyes, a slender figure, a charming physique, and an overall alluring demeanor.

Dressed in red, she was graceful and elegant, like a fairy princess. Her beautiful face and charming demeanor were enough to make people swoon.

Zhao Ji's beautiful, jade-like face broke into a seductive smile, her large, watery eyes sparkling with allure as she looked around, finally settling on the stunned Cao Ze.

"Sir, what are you looking at?"

Zhao Ji deliberately displayed her flirtatious and alluring manner in front of Cao Ze.

"Sir, am I beautiful?"

"Your Majesty, you are so beautiful..." Cao Ze said respectfully, "Your Majesty is extremely beautiful."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji did not show the joy and pride that Cao Ze had imagined.

Instead, she began to stroll along, a faint smile on her face, and said, "Sir, you are renowned throughout the world for your scholarship. I happen to have a question I would like to ask you today. Please answer honestly."

"Is this another death trap question?" Cao Ze's eyelids twitched slightly. He said, "Your Majesty, please ask. I will answer to the best of my knowledge."

Zhao Ji said slowly, "When I was studying at a private school in Handan, I read a policy essay by Zou Ji in the 'Strategies of Qi,' and I suppose you have read it as well, sir."

One passage reads: “My wife praises me because she loves me; my concubine praises me because she fears me; my guest praises me because he wants something from me.”

"I wonder if you mean me beautiful as a 'wife,' or as a 'concubine' and 'guest'?"

Good heavens, this is a real death trap... Cao Ze muttered to himself, women are so troublesome, the prettier and higher the status of a woman, the more troublesome she is.

"Zou Ji Advises King Qi to Accept Criticism" is a famous text in middle school, so he naturally memorized it.

He pondered for a moment, then said softly, "In what capacity do you think I should praise you, Your Majesty?"

Zhao Ji slightly opened her phoenix eyes, "I asked you to speak, not to question me!"

Cao Ze sighed in disappointment.

He paced back and forth, chanting.

"You know I have a husband, yet you give me two bright pearls. I am moved by your tender feelings, and I tie them to my red silk robe."

My family's mansion rises high above the gardens, while my husband holds a halberd in the Mingguang Palace.

I know your heart is as bright as the sun and moon; I vow to serve my husband to live and die with him.

"I return your pearl with tears streaming down my face, regretting that we didn't meet before I was married."

Zhao Ji stood frozen in place, her eyes fixed on the desolate Cao Ze, a feeling of sorrow welling up from the bottom of her heart.

With his back to Zhao Ji, Cao Ze calculated the time, took a deep breath, and knew it was time to show his true skills.

He slowly turned around and looked into Zhao Ji's eyes with deep affection.

Zhao Ji seemed to have returned to her girlhood, shyly lowering her head and stammering, "Why are you looking at me like that..."

Seemingly realizing her weakness, Zhao Ji feigned strength and said, "What do you hate? I don't even hate that you were born too late!"

In the end, Zhao Ji almost burst into tears.

Which woman doesn't want to have her own love during her youth? But alas, fate has already arranged everything.

Luxurys like love are rare and precious in every era.

This has nothing to do with social status, wealth, or even appearance...

If it exists, it exists; if it doesn't, you can't force it.

Cao Ze struck while the iron was hot.

He said with deep regret and affection, "You were born before I was born, and I was born after you were old. You regret that I was born too late, and I regret that you were born too early."

Zhao Ji was deeply hurt by Cao Ze's words, and she could no longer hold back her tears, which rolled down her fair cheeks like broken strings of pearls.

Like pear blossoms in spring rain, their delicate buds glistening with dew, they are a sight to behold.

Taking advantage of the situation, Cao Ze abandoned his usual caution and boldly embraced Zhao Ji's soft waist.

"Your Majesty, eight or nine out of ten things in this world are unsatisfactory, and we cannot force them. How could I not feel Your Majesty's affection for me?"

“These days, I have often thought about this, and I am both happy and apprehensive. I am deeply afraid that because of me, the Empress Dowager will suffer from rumors and gossip.”

Cao Ze's words were moving, and Zhao Ji, caught in the drama of life, found it even harder to remain calm, her emotions fluctuating wildly.

Zhao Ji held Cao Ze's hand tightly, her beautiful, watery eyes slightly bloodshot.

She scrutinized Cao Ze's face with a hook-like gaze, filled with resentment, and said, "If I were to force you, if I didn't care about my reputation, if all I wanted was... to spend my life with you, would you be willing?!"

"minister……"

Zhao Ji stared intently at Cao Ze, her hands gripping his arms tightly, her bright red manicured nails deeply embedded in his skin.

"I only ask you, and I only want to know, are you willing?!"

Cao Ze remained silent for a long time, realizing he had probably gone too far.

He felt a little regretful.

I had already secretly warned myself to use less of modern Avery physiology and Neptune psychology.

He got too caught up in the performance today and didn't control his emotions well... which put him in a bit of a bind.

No matter what, Zhao Ji was the mother of Ying Zheng, her superior, and the nominal mother of Cheng Jiao.

But now that things have come to this, he has no choice but to accept it.

Otherwise, if Zhao Ji were to turn her love into hatred, he feared he would have to flee overnight.

"I wish to win one heart, and stay together until our hair turns white... If you do not abandon me, I will surely stay by your side."

Cao Ze made up his mind to deal with Zhao Ji first.

The scene that Cao Ze had anticipated—Zhao Ji being moved to tears—did not occur.

Zhao Ji laughed wildly, her laughter growing increasingly unrestrained, as if she had obtained something rare and precious.

After a long while, Zhao Ji calmed down. She was breathing heavily, but her expression was full of joy.

"Fool, hurry up and bring me some wine so we can drink together."

Zhao Ji both scolded and laughed, her sweet, delicate voice almost cloying.

She was very happy and joyful, as if she had experienced a happiness and joy she had never felt before.

At this moment, the way she looked at Cao Ze had completely changed.

Unlike before, when she was capricious and unpredictable, she now treated him merely as a male concubine worthy of her bed, someone to whom she could enjoy sexual pleasure.

It was more like the look one gives when looking at a lover or sweetheart.

As the saying goes, the eyes are the windows to the soul.

Cao Ze was not fooled by the change in Zhao Ji's eyes.

Cao Ze silently prayed that Zhao Ji wouldn't go too crazy.

He also wanted to roam freely in the forest...

Zhao Gao came to Zhangtai Palace from Ganquan Palace.

Because of the Empress Dowager's oral decree and jade edict, they came to the main hall of Zhangtai Palace to listen in.

The allocation of the national treasury's wealth has been decided, and at this moment, a heated discussion is taking place in the palace regarding how to distribute the gold coins donated to the national treasury.

Where is there an urgent need, where can things be delayed, where large sums of money are required, and what planned projects can be launched ahead of schedule...

There are dozens of points to discuss.

Lü Buwei barely participated in the discussions. He only agreed to things that the ministers and Ying Zheng approved, behaving like a useless person with no ability whatsoever.

But it was precisely this unusual behavior that made Ying Zheng, Cheng Jiao, Lord Changping, and some officials who were at odds with Lü Buwei uneasy.

Li Bing's son, Li Erlang, the Water Conservancy Assistant who had just passed the age of fifty, stepped forward and reported: "Your Majesty, I have just received an urgent report from Zheng Guo. Guanzhong is suffering from a drought, and the people and laborers are restless and have a tendency to flee the famine. However, the construction of Zheng Guo Canal has now reached a critical moment, and we urgently need to provide disaster relief and purchase grain to stabilize the hearts of the people and laborers."

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that the expenditure on the Zheng Guo Canal be increased by 30% this year."

After the Dujiangyan Irrigation System was built by him and his father, he was transferred to Xianyang to serve as the Director of Water Conservancy, as the deputy to the Director of Water Conservancy.

Because Zheng Guo was sent to Qin by Han, Qin, in order to prevent Han from plotting against him, sent him, who had experience in building the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, to supervise the construction of the Zheng Guo Canal to avoid any accidents.

"Thirty percent?" Ying Zheng frowned and said, "Do you know that if we increase it by thirty percent, there won't be much extra money left for other parts of Qin?"