[Look at that! I just praised His Majesty once, and he's already strutting around like crazy! His Majesty is so easily fooled! Hehehe, but I can't be too high-profile. I'll play dumb for a bit, making His Majesty think I'm just an ordinary person, and he definitely won't think much of me. Once the Fengshan ceremony is over, I'll make a run for it!]
Li Lin believed his idea was flawless!
Unexpectedly, the First Emperor's gaze towards him suddenly changed drastically, and his lips twitched incessantly, as if he wanted to blame him.
"Your Majesty, having accomplished this unprecedented feat, you are aptly hailed as one of the greatest emperors of all time!"
At this moment, Li Si had no idea how much turmoil was brewing in the heart of the First Emperor amidst the uproar.
They naively thought that the First Emperor was happy to be praised, so they stepped forward and chimed in.
He walked up to Li Lin, smiled, and bowed humbly to the First Emperor.
That expression was extremely bizarre.
Even Li Lin found it somewhat disgusting; it was far too obsequious!
Under normal circumstances, Ying Zheng would have praised Li Si at this time, and then the two ministers would have engaged in a mutual flattery.
But now...
He felt worse than if he had swallowed a fly.
Would he give Li Si a friendly look?
The almost constipated expression on His Majesty's face made Li Si's broad forehead bead with sweat: What's wrong with His Majesty today? Why is his mood changing so rapidly? Could it be that the combination pills Xu Fu has been concocting these past few days have caused such a drastic change in his temperament?
"Li Si, whether I have achieved such merit is not for me to decide, nor for you to decide, but for my people to decide! You should stop flattering me so much just to curry favor with me, do you understand?"
"Your Majesty, I understand!"
"Your Majesty, we understand!"
......
Li Si's mood at this moment was like that of countless alpacas passing by. He happened to offer a flattery at this moment, but instead of getting the desired result, he was lectured by the First Emperor in public.
This really made him lose face.
"Young man, your name is Li Lin, right?"
"Your Majesty, my name is indeed Li Lin!"
After reprimanding Li Si, the First Emperor quickly turned his attention back to him.
This made Li Lin, who was used to being carefree, very uncomfortable.
Under the watchful gaze of this legendary emperor, he truly dared not move rashly. It wasn't that he was afraid to move, but rather that this was the proper etiquette at the time: a subject must maintain absolute obedience before his monarch.
Any slight movement would be seen by the monarch as a provocation against him!
Moreover, he is currently just a commoner with no merits, so how could he possibly make a move?
Move and you'll lose your head!
"Li Lin, I am not an unreasonable emperor. If you help me verify the true identity of this divine beast, I will forgive your sins. If you cannot verify it, you will be guilty of the grave crime of disrespect, which will result in your feet being cut off and you being exiled three thousand miles to Lingnan. How about that?"
As Ying Zheng spoke, he couldn't help but chuckle happily.
As Li Lin's fear intensified, he couldn't help but laugh even harder: "You little brat, serves you right for disliking me, for wanting me to not give you important positions! Heh, I've never seen anyone with such thoughts in my life, you're the first! What a freak! I told you to be low-key, I told you to live in seclusion, today I'll make you high-profile!"
Looking at the First Emperor, who suddenly became all smiles.
Li Lin panicked. He really didn't want to show off in front of the First Emperor. If he really wanted to, he wouldn't have done nothing for more than a year after he transmigrated to the Qin Dynasty, right?
[Ugh, that damned Emperor! Why does he always seem to enjoy insulting people? Isn't he supposed to be a tyrant? Why is he being so agreeable? It's not hard to figure out how to catch the leopard, but once I do, I'll have offended Wang Ben and the entire Wang family behind him!]
"Your Majesty, I am blind and truly unable to share Your Majesty's burdens. If Your Majesty truly intends to punish me for this great disrespect, I beg Your Majesty to consider the feelings of my elder brother and father and show leniency!"
Li Lin gritted his teeth and suppressed his true feelings, because publicly stating that this was not the legendary Chinese mythical beast Qilin would offend the Wang family.
Even though the Li family and the Wang family have been on good terms for generations, even the best relationship cannot withstand such offense and damage!
"Hmph! You despise me, but I don't consider it a crime. All you have to do is identify the true form of this Qilin. Why have you been delaying so long?"
"Your Majesty, I am but an ordinary mortal!"
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, which had been spurned into a fright, and then put on a slouching posture, looking utterly cowardly.
You can be as cowardly as you want.
His behavior made Li Xin, who was determined to save him, shake his head.
As the eldest son of the Li family, he knew his younger brother quite well.
His younger brother was only good at making tea and writing beautiful calligraphy; he was utterly useless. The Emperor was merely asking him a question with a smile, yet he was already so frightened.
If he goes to the battlefield in the future, won't he be scared to death?
[I need to act like a complete idiot to buy time. That way, the Wang family will definitely be disgusted that His Majesty sent someone as dim-witted as me to verify the Qilin they submitted. To prove their Qilin is genuine, they might even plead for me! Then I can easily escape, hahaha!]
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