Early the next morning.
Li Lin got up very early. Normally, he would never get up so early, but it was because he had to attend the morning court session today.
So he got up as soon as the rooster crowed today.
After washing up, he put on his official robes.
They marched in neat rows toward the palace.
The morning court session is about to begin!
As the saying goes, there is a small court session every three days and a large court session every seven days.
Today is the grand assembly.
All members of the bureaucratic group residing in Xianyang would attend court; previously, only the Nine Ministers and the Three Dukes could participate in the smaller court assemblies.
Even some officials could participate in the grand court assembly.
No.
Before he even reached the palace, he saw a continuous stream of people in official robes walking alongside him.
This number of people.
It seems there must be at least eight hundred, if not a thousand.
In the main hall.
The First Emperor sat on the dragon throne early in the morning, closing his eyes to rest. He got up quite early today as well. When he came out of Li Lin's house yesterday, he stumbled but did not fall.
But his heels still ached slightly, waking him up several times during the night because of the pain.
This made him genuinely worried about how much longer his body could hold out.
"Your Majesty, your humble servant, the Grand Astrologer, has something to report!"
"oh?"
The moment the First Emperor opened his eyes, a chill instantly spread throughout the entire hall.
The ministers' expressions changed slightly, as if they were somewhat afraid of this imposing presence.
[The Grand Astrologer? The Grand Astrologer has something to report so early in the morning? This...this is strange. Doesn't the Grand Astrologer only speak a few times a year? And most of those speeches are related to the Heaven-worshiping ceremony. Why is he giving a formal report today?]
At this time, Li Lin was only there to make a brief appearance and shirk his duties. After the morning court session ended, he planned to go and befriend the Chief of the Imperial Carriage Office and obtain some intelligence.
But the fact that the Grand Historian was the first to step forward and report piqued his curiosity.
Of course, he wasn't the only one who was curious; others were too.
After all, the Grand Astrologer is usually insignificant, only playing a slight role during times of natural disasters or man-made calamities.
The First Emperor was also baffled by this. He asked in confusion, "Is there something unusual about the celestial phenomena recently? Or is it that the Great Qin is about to encounter some great calamity?"
"Your Majesty, there have indeed been unusual celestial phenomena recently. The Imperial Star has dimmed, and the seven surrounding constellations, including the Ziwei Star, have all lost their luster at midnight. A bright new star is shining in the west. Under the whole sky, all the other stars are without light, but this light is exceptionally bright."
What does this mean?
The First Emperor narrowed his eyes; clearly, he took it seriously.
"Your Majesty, the celestial phenomena seem to correspond to the current situation of our Great Qin."
"Oh? Zhang Tang, tell me quickly!"
"I will try to deduce based on these celestial phenomena. Within the Ziwei star, there is a bright spot, which is the Emperor Star. The Emperor Star is the master star of all things. Below the Ziwei star is the guardian star, which is dim and without light. Last night, it fell three times in succession and then slowly rose again. It seems to correspond to the fact that our Great Qin is about to lose a loyal and devoted minister who protects the master."
"Secondly, beside the Ziwei Nebula, the Imperial Star is dim and without light, and all the other major star lords are dim, all covered by the brilliance of a bright star in the west. Perhaps this is Heaven's warning that our Great Qin needs to be wary of a person who shines too brightly in the court and the country, so as to avoid being overshadowed by him in terms of national fortune and the brilliance of others, including His Majesty."
Grand Historian Zhang Tang.
He was a cousin of Zhang Mo, the eunuch who delivered imperial edicts. His father, Zhang Yi, was the Grand Historian of the State of Chu. Later, when the State of Chu was destroyed, Zhang Yi surrendered the city and was rewarded for his service. As a result, he was transferred to the State of Qin and became the Grand Historian.
Zhang Yi's father, Zhang Daozi, was a famous Grand Historian.
He also participated in the power struggle between Lin Xiangru and the King of Qin at Dianchi Lake.
Therefore, most people accept and believe what Zhang Tang says.
Because they come from a family of Grand Astrologers, they are skilled in astronomy, and over the years, almost everything that was predicted to happen has come true.
After listening, the First Emperor nodded with deep feeling.
"Zhang Tang, the celestial phenomena you observed seem to be giving me a clear message! My beloved ministers may not know this, but a few days ago, General Wang Jian, who made outstanding contributions to the war to unify the six kingdoms of Qin, fell from his horse and was seriously injured. I visited him before, and General Wang's condition was not very good; he was on the verge of death. This is exactly the same as the change in your celestial phenomena!"
"Your Majesty, please do not grieve. Although my father's health has not yet recovered for the time being, I have already been seeking out renowned doctors. It is said that Chen Xiao, a disciple of the legendary physician Bian Que, arrived at Dianchi yesterday, and I have already dispatched Wang Li to invite him!"
Upon seeing that His Majesty cared so much for his father, Wang Ben was moved to tears, knelt down, and reported the truth.
"Chen Xiao? Is he the Chen Xiao who saved Prince Fusu ten years ago?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The First Emperor's memory immediately flashed back to the past. Back then, he had gone to great lengths to persuade Chen Xiao to treat him, and only then did Chen Xiao reluctantly agree to do so.
With just one dose of medicine, Fusu's strange illness was cured.
As a result, he was treated as an honored guest by the First Emperor.
Later, because he advised him against taking elixirs, he was displeased and forced to resign from his post and travel the world.
Unexpected.
At this time, he was actually at Dianchi Lake, so it seems he will be returning to Xianyang soon.
"Looking back now, Chen Xiao was actually an honest man. I really wronged him back then. Alas, I listened to Xu Fu's slander. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye. I wonder if Chen Xiao still holds a grudge against me!"
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