Chapter 33 The Pants Are Sewed Up "Your Majesty, please praise me a few more times, I want more..."
Upon hearing this, Lü Buwei's eyelids twitched a few times, and he bowed down along with the crowd.
Not long after, a shrill scream came from Jinming Palace, where Empress Dowager Huayang was staying.
Banban didn't know when she fell asleep. Her head was drooping when she suddenly woke up, covered with a thick blanket.
It was broad daylight outside; it was already the next day.
She suddenly stood up, but the sudden movement made her dizzy.
"Princess!"
Supported by someone, she shook her head and then saw that the person who had helped her was Congyun. She checked her over in surprise, "Congyun, Congyun, are you alright? It happened so suddenly, I didn't have time to send someone to Taxuexuan to pick you up. It's not that I didn't think about you."
"I'm fine!" Cong Yun said with a smile. "How could anything happen to me? We received the notice and closed the palace gates early this morning, and we haven't gone out yet."
Seeing that Cong Yun didn't seem to be faking it, Banban breathed a sigh of relief. "I wonder how things are outside." It was the time for the morning court session, and he wouldn't be able to see his cousin until the morning court session ended. He probably hadn't slept all night either.
Cong Yun whispered in her ear, "Princess, the one in Jinming Palace has fainted and is unconscious. This morning, three imperial physicians were dispatched to barely stabilize her."
She scoffed at it all, but was still furious inside. "She deserved it. Who told her to try and kill her cousin?"
“Not only that.” Cong Yun shook his head slightly, his voice even lower, “It is… Yangquan Jun’s hands and feet were cut off and sent to Jinming Palace. Upon learning this, that person fainted from fear.”
Banban frowned. "Lord Yangquan, I still remember him. When we returned to Xianyang, he was the one who stopped us from entering the city gate, saying that we were imposters."
“However…” Banban hesitated, “Why didn’t my cousin just kill him?”
How could Yun know? He kept his mouth shut.
After the morning court session ended, Banban immediately took Congyun to the North Palace.
Countless palace servants swept along the way, leaving the place soaking wet. The clean water they poured turned a reddish-brown color when swept away, and a faint smell of blood lingered in the air.
Banban was stunned by the smell and covered his nose with a handkerchief.
"Princess, why don't we come back later?" Cong Yun had never seen such a scene before.
"No, I... I want to vomit—"
"Oh dear, Princess, vomit!"
The master and servant vomited and helped each other up.
Zhaoxin Palace is just a stone's throw away. This is the private residence where the King of Qin would stay when he was tired from handling state affairs. It can also be considered his personal bedroom. Further north, the Hall of State Affairs will be right in front of you.
As expected, the court meeting had already ended. The Qin Dynasty officials, whose robes were mainly black and red, were leaving the palace in twos and threes.
Banban quickened her pace, lifted her skirt, and climbed the steps.
As she reached the last step, she nearly bumped into someone. "Ah!"
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be King Ying Zheng of Qin, who was also hurrying down the steps.
Upon seeing each other, the two were overjoyed. However, Banban, mindful that this was a venue for the previous dynasty's political discussions, curtsied gracefully and said in a delicate voice, "Your Majesty~"
Ying Zheng grabbed her wrist. "Run!"
He noticed it all; he could see the suppressed joy on her cheeks.
"Where are we going?" Banban asked in a coquettish voice.
The two held hands and ran together inside Xianyang Palace.
The palace servants panicked and chased after it, while the royal procession struggled even more to keep up, and the servants carrying it were drenched in sweat.
Ying Zheng spread his arms wide, facing the vast Xianyang Palace. From the high platform, he could overlook the entire palace complex. "From now on, you can go wherever you want in the Qin Palace, and no one will dare to stop you!" He laughed triumphantly, tightly gripping his cousin's wrist. "What you want to eat, what you want to use, what you want to say, who you want to see—everyone will listen to you!"
Banban screamed with joy as he lifted her high and clung to her. "I believe you!"
“Cousin too!” She wrapped her legs around his waist and her soft arms around his neck, and snorted coldly, “Let’s see who dares to go against my cousin in the future.”
"There are many more." Ying Zheng's smile hadn't faded, but he wasn't trying to downplay his own abilities. He put his cousin down and stroked her soft hair. "The Chancellor counts as one."
Banban realized, "Yes, yes, yes, yes," she said with genuine concern, "Cousin, your father has made him regent, but your aunt also has the power of regent, so she should be able to keep him in check and prevent him from doing evil."
Ying Zheng pondered, "He is the kind of minister my great-grandfather spoke of who is loyal to the Qin Dynasty, but not to the King of Qin." Such a minister could not be a loyal minister; he would only be a powerful one.
Then, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. "That's why he wants to compete with me and see who's better. He wants me to show weakness and submit to him."
This is why Lü Buwei hesitated to act last night. He would never let the Huayang Palace coup go unpunished, but he also wouldn't arrive too early. He wanted to appear as a savior to rescue King Zheng of Qin from his predicament, but Ying Zheng's attitude was also cold and hard, and he couldn't get his way.
"How dare he look down on you like that!" Banban said, hands on her hips, indignant and resentful.
Ying Zheng laughed, "My cousin is right. The Prime Minister does indeed look down on me and doesn't take me seriously. There are even rumors circulating outside that I am his son."
Banban's eyes darted around, and she grabbed her cousin's hand. "Cousin, I have a good idea."
What can be done?
"Although I don't know why my cousin didn't kill Lord Yangquan, it's perfect." Banban thought of a vicious plan, "Then let's give him a taste of his own medicine."
She understands the art of modern public opinion better than anyone, hmph!
That day, she went out of the palace to look for Ji Xiu.
Half a month later, storytellers became popular throughout Xianyang. The storytellers told tales of how, as early as the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, a queen dowager's younger brother had an affair with a queen and intended to support his illegitimate son to ascend the throne. They conspired with outsiders to falsely accuse the queen's legitimate son of not being of royal blood. The king was so enraged that he believed the accusation and, at a critical moment, changed the illegitimate son to the heir. From then on, the dynasty changed hands.
Later, the dynasty suffered divine retribution. Not only did the royal family's descendants suffer from a strange disease and not live past the age of twenty, but there was also a prolonged drought, resulting in no harvest in the fields. Tragic scenes of people exchanging children to eat each other emerged, causing immense suffering. Within a century, the dynasty collapsed.
Slowly, someone realized what was happening and exclaimed with great relief, "Hey, no wonder that name sounds so familiar! Isn't that the famous Lord Yangquan, the Empress Dowager's younger brother?!"
Someone nudged his arm, "Shut up!" He rolled his eyes at them, "You think you're the only smart one? We all know that!"
The man sighed, "Fortunately, the late king was wise and powerful and was not deceived, otherwise, wouldn't we be the ones exchanging children to eat each other?"
"He is no fool. I have heard that he is learned, decisive and ruthless. He saw through the trick and that's why a disaster was not caused."
The man sighed, “It’s pretty tragic these days. No matter how much the Empress Dowager loves her younger brother, she can’t help outsiders usurp the throne.”
The person next to him made a shushing gesture, looked around, and said mysteriously, "You don't know this, do you? The current king has no blood relation with Empress Dowager Huayang. The late king was not Empress Dowager Huayang's biological son at all. She had no son. She was afraid that she would have no protection after the death of the King of Qin, so she recognized the late king as her son."
The man was stunned. "Really?"
The people around clicked their tongues and said, "Why would I lie to you? If you don't believe me, go ask the old folks. They'll definitely know this secret."
The man murmured, "Then it's not surprising, it's not surprising at all. He's not her biological grandson, so naturally she doesn't care or feel sorry for him."
"No wonder Lord Yangquan dared to act this way; it turns out he himself is corrupt, which is why he came up with such a treacherous scheme! How could the current king not be the son of the late king? This is utterly outrageous!"
“That’s right.” The person next to him shook his head. “Ordinary people wouldn’t think of such a wicked thing.”
"If you ask me, even so, I, Wang Renshan, did not kill Yangquan Jun, but spared his life. This is out of consideration for my filial piety towards Empress Dowager Huayang."
"Our king is benevolent, and it is our honor to have met a wise ruler."
In the afternoon, Ying Zheng looked at the contents of the book. He laughed out loud halfway through reading it, and after finishing, he clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "Does the Prime Minister know where such remarks come from?"
Lü Buwei shook his head, "Your Majesty, I am incompetent and have not yet found the root cause. I have arrested a few storytellers, and they only said that this particular story was popular and the audience was tall, so gradually everyone started telling it."
Ying Zheng smiled and waved his hand, "Then there's no need to search; it's a waste of manpower and effort."
"Outsiders all say that I am too lenient in not killing Lord Yangquan. What do you think, Prime Minister? I am also hesitant after hearing this, and I am considering whether or not to kill him."
Upon hearing this, Lü Buwei straightened his expression, stood up, and bowed. "Your Majesty, please heed my words: Lord Yangquan must not be killed."
"Oh? I'd like to hear the details." Ying Zheng looked puzzled.
Lu Buwei patiently persuaded him, "Your Majesty cares deeply for Empress Dowager Huayang and cannot bear to kill her own brother. I am greatly comforted. Your Majesty is indeed benevolent. Benevolence is an essential virtue of a good king. Where does the talk of being soft-hearted come from?"
"Moreover, the Chu faction was not always strong. It gradually grew powerful over three generations, and that's where their ambition came from. Although Empress Dowager Xia is a recluse, she is still the king's blood grandmother. The king is benevolent and filial, so he will naturally favor the Han faction. However, he also fears that the Han faction is like the Chu faction of yesterday, and it is hard to guarantee that it will not develop ambitions in the future."
"Your Majesty should elevate Empress Dowager Xia's Han faction to counterbalance the Chu faction, while leaving room for the Chu faction to restrain the Han faction. Then, support Empress Dowager Zhao's Zhao faction to establish a three-way balance of power. Before Your Majesty assumes full power, ensure that no trouble arises." "Once Your Majesty assumes full power, it will be the day of Lord Yangquan's death. For now, we still need to hold this pawn firmly in our hands."
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng immediately nodded, "I will listen to my father, the Prime Minister."
As soon as Lü Buwei left, Banban immediately came out from the back hall and cursed, "He only offered a token suggestion; this method was clearly my cousin's idea first!"
"Don't get so angry that you'll ruin your health." Ying Zheng patted the person next to him, gesturing for her to sit closer. He bent one knee, rested his arm on it, and casually brushed the hem of her skirt against his fingertips as he passed by, his expression playful. "Uncle is a shrewd businessman, and he's also quite adept at spreading rumors."
Banban sat down next to him and slapped his hand away impatiently, saying, "Don't ruin my new dress."
“This is not a rumor. I already said it was to repay him,” she said, pursing her lips. “Although I feel a little sorry for Madam Han, she strongly supports this method. The beneficiary is her son Chengjiao. If it weren’t for her, she wouldn’t understand the pain in her sister-in-law’s heart.”
"If they're vicious, then I'll be vicious too. Let's see who's more vicious than the other!"
Ying Zheng stared at her arrogant little face and couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Princess, what a brilliant plan! I am in awe."
Banban felt a tingling sensation all over her body after hearing this, so she snuggled closer and urged him to say a few more words, "Your Majesty, please praise me a little more, I want to hear more."
Ying Zheng listened gently, saying, "The princess is wise and intelligent, with a brilliant mind and exceptional insight, comparable to Empress Dowager Xuan reborn."
Banban, who was listening to the cola, rolled around in her cousin's arms. Hearing this, she quickly got up to stop him, "There's no need for that. Empress Dowager Xuan has a child with the King of Yiqu. I just want to be with my cousin..." She was a little shy and couldn't say the words "have a child," so she replaced them with something else.
Ying Zheng, of course, noticed the pause in her words. His gaze fell squarely on her face, and he smiled slightly. Then he pinched the tip of her nose and said, "You, you, Empress Dowager Xuan did it for the sake of Qin, not out of personal feelings."
"Huh?" Banban didn't understand that period of history, only heard the gossip, so she looked confused.
Ying Zheng explained to her in detail, "At that time, the Yiqu frequently fought against the Qin, interrupting the Qin's plan to advance eastward into the Central Plains. Moreover, the frequent alliances between many states posed a serious threat to the Qin. It could be said that the Qin was besieged on both sides and was at risk of national collapse. In order to ensure that the Qin had no worries about its rear, the Empress Dowager Xuan fell in love with the King of Yiqu. This relationship lasted for nearly thirty years, and she gave birth to several children for him."
"During these thirty years, the King of Yiqu did not invade Qin even once, and even treated the Queen Dowager as his most respected person."
"Thus, the Qin Dynasty was able to fully advance eastward into the Central Plains. Later, when the Qin Dynasty was strong and powerful enough, the Empress Dowager Xuan personally lured and killed the King of Yiqu in Ganquan Palace, and immediately sent troops to attack and destroy the Yiqu Kingdom, thus completely eliminating the future threat to the Qin Dynasty."
Banban was filled with reverence. "I was disrespectful to Empress Dowager Xuan just now." She knelt earnestly on the soft couch and bowed to the sky. "If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's intervention, I'm afraid there would be no Great Qin today."
Ying Zheng nodded with a smile and said, "However, the Empress Dowager Xuan's 'beauty trap' strategy for the country's long-term war has been criticized a lot. Some people say that she is quite ruthless and even killed her own son."
"So what?" Banban sat down again and took her cousin's arm. "Aren't other kings the same? To balance things out, they take wives and concubines everywhere. Isn't this also a long-term strategy of using honey traps? Oh no, many kings aren't good-looking enough to even be considered 'honey traps.' Those beautiful queens and princesses suffer."
This looks like an ancient version of a duck.
"Why is it that when it's a woman, they call her ruthless? That's not fair," Banban muttered to herself, cursing them.
“My cousin is right. It’s not good to be lenient with yourself but strict with others,” Ying Zheng patted her back gently, speaking with great seriousness. “I’ll find another storyteller to scold them.”
"Cousin, you're so kind." Banban said sincerely. Lately, she has been enjoying being close to her cousin more and more, and she can never get enough of hugging him.
As she moved, the golden bell anklet on her ankle jingled. Ying Zheng unconsciously grasped her ankle and said, "I want to make two new anklets for you."
Banban rolled up her trouser leg, revealing a section of her fair ankle. "But I still really like this." It was a gift from her cousin when he was powerless and without influence; it held extraordinary significance and was priceless.
As she pulled up her trouser leg, Ying Zheng realized that she had actually sewn it up. He chuckled softly, "You..."
Banban immediately pulled her skirt down to cover her legs, explaining in a panic, "I... I feel uncomfortable." At this point, her pants were not sewn shut, so her private parts were completely exposed with any movement or sitting down. She felt uncomfortable, and there were also many bacteria in the air.
Even though she knew she was doing the right thing and her cousin hadn't said anything, she felt incredibly flustered, and her cheeks seemed to be burning.
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