Chapter 201: Zichu is critically ill and Dai Qu and his family come to Xian...

After Dai Qu and his family arrived in Xianyang, Zichu personally went out of the city to welcome them with Queen Zhao Ji, Crown Prince Ying Zheng and all the civil and military officials in the court, giving the Dai family enough pomp and ceremony, and also letting the spies of the six countries hiding in Xianyang see: the lineage of the Imperial Observatory has been incorporated into their Qin State, and in the future they will win the Qin State and inherit everything from the Ji Zhou Dynasty!

Neither Fuli nor Nezha went. They only served as teachers to Ying Zheng and did not accept Zichu's invitation to serve as officials in the court.

The main reason is that Fu Li has a special identity. Even if he has lost his magic power, his status as a god is still there.

Before her, there had never been a true emperor from heaven descending to earth in this world, and no one knew whether the monarchs of the mortal world could bear to have the emperor from heaven as their minister.

What if she bowed to Zichu as a minister and killed him? Who would be responsible for the consequences?

Therefore, whether it was to welcome the Dai family or to hold a welcoming banquet for the Dai family, the couple did not show up.

Dai Qu seemed to have anticipated this. Whether when he entered the city or at the night banquet, he never asked about the two nobles in the East Palace.

Zichu and Lu Buwei had both prepared their responses, but when they saw that she didn't ask at all, they breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, they couldn't help but wonder: Could the so-called two noble ladies in the Eastern Palace be just an excuse for Dai Jianzheng to come to Xianyang?

By the next day, this idea was completely dispelled.

Dai Qu went to Zhangtai Palace to see Zichu early in the morning and asked Zichu to fulfill his promise in Luoyang and allow them to pay a visit to the master of the big star.

"Of course," Zichu agreed directly, then asked the question in his mind, "Why didn't the Supervisor ask when I entered the city yesterday and had a banquet?"

Dai Qu smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you may not know this, but my direct descendant of the Dai family is not only skilled in calendar deduction, but is also proficient in Zi Wei Dou Shu. Before entering Xianyang, I had a divination done for myself, and knew that I would not be able to see the two Star Lords yesterday."

"Purple Star Astrology?" Zichu thought it sounded familiar. After a moment's reflection, he quickly remembered, "Mrs. Dai is also proficient in Purple Star Astrology. Could it be that she isn't from the royal family of Shu, but a descendant of the Dai family of Luoyang?"

After hearing this, Dai Qu became more certain about her deduction. She was also happy to reassure Zichu, who brought him the news.

Dai Qu said sternly, "Your Majesty is wrong. It's not the Dai family of Luoyang, but the Dai family of Xianyang."

Zichu was slightly startled, then burst into laughter: "That's right, that's right, I made a mistake. From now on, there will be no more Luoyang Dai family, only Xianyang Dai family!"

He turned back to the table, took out an imperial edict with a royal seal, and presented it to Dai Qu with both hands: "This is an imperial edict requesting the Supervisor to take charge of the Qin State's Taichang Office. From today on, the Taichang Office will be renamed the Imperial Observatory, and Mr. Dai will remain the Supervisor."

Now that she had arrived in Xianyang, Dai Qu would not hesitate any longer. She straightened her clothes and headdress, stretched out her hands solemnly, and watched Zichu place the appointment edict in her palms.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will definitely fulfill your command!"

After completing the formal appointment, Dai Qu asked, "In the past, the six states of Shandong would send people to Luoyang every year to receive the calendar for that year. I wonder what your Majesty's plans are from now on?"

Zichu asked, "What do you think, the Supervisor?"

Dai Qu said sternly, "In my opinion, Your Majesty should immediately send a letter to the six kingdoms, clearly stating that from now on, each nation may send envoys to Xianyang in September at the end of each year to receive the new calendar for the following year."

The calendar served not only to mark the days but also to determine when the people of the land should plant crops. If the calendar was wrong, and the people planted crops at the wrong time, it was likely that all the seeds for that season would be wasted.

Dai Qu made this proposal as soon as he took over the appointment. One reason was to show sympathy to the people of the world, and the other was to test Zichu's mind.

If Zichu was a narrow-minded and short-sighted person, she would have to make other plans.

Zichu clapped his hands and laughed, "What Lord Dai said is exactly what I want. I want to let the six kingdoms know that the legitimate rule of the world lies in Xianyang. From now on, they will all rely on me!"

Although he wasn't a narrow-minded person, his time as a hostage in Zhao State inevitably led to many unsatisfactory experiences. He had just ascended the throne, and now that he had the opportunity, he naturally wanted to show off his power in front of the six kingdoms... especially Zhao State.

His experience was no secret, and even though Dai Qu was in Luoyang, he had heard that the King of Qin had been a hostage. He had such thoughts, and Dai Qu was not surprised at all.

But we still need to persuade those who need to be persuaded.

"Your Majesty is broad-minded and cares deeply about the people of the world. He cannot bear to see the people of the six kingdoms miss the season. When the letter is sent, the people of the six kingdoms must also be informed."

After hearing this, Zichu suddenly realized: Compared with momentary pleasure, winning the hearts of the people for the Qin State is naturally more important.

"Dai Qing is absolutely right. If it weren't for you, I would have almost made a mistake out of loyalty." He bowed to Dai Qu and said sternly, "From now on, I hope Dai Qing will not hesitate to criticize me to my face."

Dai Qu returned the greeting: "Your Majesty is a wise ruler, and only he can tolerate loyal ministers. Since you have such a broad mind, how dare I not serve you wholeheartedly?"

The two of them praised each other's business for a while, and they were like a king and his subject getting along well.

Zichu originally wanted to ask the eunuch to invite Fu Li and his wife from the East Palace, but was stopped by Dai Qu.

She took out a popular paper business card from Shu State and asked Zichu to pass it on to her. She asked Fu Li to set a time to write a reply, as she wanted to visit him in person.

Seeing how serious she was and how respectful her words were to the couple, Zichu realized that the identities of those two people must be extraordinary.

He quickly recalled and made sure that he had not offended the other party, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

=====

Fu Li replied quickly and the meeting was scheduled for the next afternoon.

At the appointed time, Dai Qu arrived with only his eldest daughter, Dai Qian. Fu Li dismissed the attendants, and Nezha himself stood guard at the door, so no one knew what they had said in the inner hall.

The spies from the six kingdoms and the people sent by Zichu only knew that when Dai's mother and daughter came out of the house, their faces were flushed and they walked with a breeze.

Lu Buwei inquired about it out of curiosity, but Dai Qu was a master of Tai Chi and always managed to avoid the topic.

After two or three times, Lu Buwei knew that she would not tell him, so he tactfully stopped mentioning it.

Ying Zheng studied and attended to government affairs at the court, becoming increasingly comfortable in the court. However, Zichu's health was already showing signs of failing.

The ministers of the previous dynasty will never know the king's physical condition as promptly as the concubines in the harem.

When Lu Buwei was not sure, Dai Xuan, who assisted Zhao Ji, had already secretly passed the news to Ying Zheng and Fu Li, asking them to make plans early.

Fu Li reminded: "You should also make plans early."

Dai Xuan asked doubtfully, "Please explain clearly."

Fu Li said, "Your Majesty will not live long, and the Crown Prince is still young. If anything were to happen, Lü Buwei would undoubtedly be the one assisting in the administration. In the future, his family will dominate the court. When Your Majesty comes of age, I'm afraid there will be a bloody storm."

Dai Xuan is a smart person, and she is a smart person who has been trained by her family as a reserve official since childhood. Fu Li only mentioned it briefly, and she understood it immediately.

"Thank you, Mr. Dai. I will go back and discuss it with Mr. Zheng." She thanked Fu Li and hurriedly said goodbye.

=====

About two months later, the male rulers of the Dai and Zheng families of Shu Kingdom brought several young men and women to Xianyang to visit their daughters.

After Dai Xuan and Zheng Cuo had settled their father and several other male rulers, they brought their sisters to meet Zhao Ji. All four girls were tall and slender, with fair skin and bright and heroic looks, and Zhao Ji was very fond of them.

She also heard that the two princes had brought their fiancés with them when they entered Xianyang, so she couldn't help but ask about their marriages.

"Originally, I was thinking of finding two talented men from Xianyang for you, but I didn't expect that you were already engaged when you were at home." Zhao Ji felt very sorry. First, she really liked them and wanted to choose a good one for them; second, she also wanted to use their marriages to expand her own power.

The two exchanged glances, and Dai Xuan smiled, "We all understand the Queen's good intentions. However, this marriage was arranged by our family elders, so we can't disobey."

Zheng Cuo walked up to Zhao Ji and whispered in her ear, "Your Majesty, you may not know this. The men of Shu are gentle and kind, good at managing their households, and never argue with their wives or rulers. These noble sons of Xianyang are good, but they're all a bit too arrogant. We sisters can't handle that."

Zhao Ji asked curiously, "Are the men of Shu really like this?"

"Of course." Zheng Cuo stood up and waved to the palace maids and eunuchs, sending them away. Then he knelt down beside Zhao Ji and chuckled softly, "I have a cousin who also followed my father to Xianyang. He wants to see the scenery of the Central Plains. If the queen is curious, how about I bring him to pay his respects to you tomorrow?"

At this time, Zhao Ji had not yet understood what the two meant. She nodded out of pure curiosity, wanting to see what the differences were between the men of Shu and those of the seven Central Plains countries.

As soon as they took action, Fu Li received the news. He was immediately alerted and stopped the people on the way out of the palace.

Zheng Cuo and Dai Xuan asked their four sisters to go out of the palace and wait, and followed Fu Li to the East Palace.

At this time, Ying Zheng was still helping Zichu handle government affairs in Zhangtai Palace. The entire East Palace was under the control of the couple, making it a good place to talk.

"You two are so bold! The King of Qin is not dead yet!"

Dai Xuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Dai. We know our limits. We are just bringing my cousin to pay our respects to the Queen."

"That's right, we won't do anything rash." Zheng Cuo also said, "It's just that opportunity waits for no one. Often, if we're a step late, we'll miss the opportunity."

Although they were not very happy about their man being the king, they also knew that when you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. As long as Zichu was alive, they would keep their distance.

But after Zichu passed away, Zhao Ji became the Queen Mother. Wasn't it natural for her to have two male favorites? They had already asked around. Which Queen Mother didn't have male favorites?

They have to raise her anyway. Instead of letting those messy people outside get close to the easily influenced Zhao Ji, it would be better for them to choose someone with a gentle temperament from Shu.

The men of Shu were taught to assist their lords from a young age, and with the female officials they arranged to be beside Zhao Ji giving them warnings from time to time, the probability of any trouble arising was extremely low.

Seeing that they knew their limits, Fu Li didn't say much.

The next afternoon, Zheng Cuo led a young man who was nine feet tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, a fair face, handsome features, and eyes as soft as water into Ganquan Palace.

Zhao Ji lived for half of her life, and the two men she was most familiar with were Lu Buwei and Ying Zichu.

In terms of bearing, both of them were dragons among men. But in terms of appearance, Zheng Cuo's cousin Li Yong was a distant second, leaving them eight blocks behind.

When had she ever seen such a romantic figure? She couldn't help but sigh secretly: I have lived in vain for the first half of my life!

While Zhao Ji was in a happy mood, Zheng Cuo and Dai Xuan expressed their requests.

——They both thought of serving as officials in the previous dynasty, and as for the position of female official, they recommended their own sisters to take over.