Chapter 57 Qin: Let Lü Buwei go find it; he's very good at it. 57…
Ying Zheng couldn't help but speculate: "Could that person be a spy from another country?"
Ying Zheng spoke with such conviction that even Qin was taken aback. He closed his eyes to check, then opened them and said, "No, he is a Qin person."
Ying Zheng nodded: "Then I understand. Is Mother afraid that I won't be able to accept it?"
"...No, it's not that. I just think that man is seducing your mother and trying to sow discord between you and your son," Qin said painfully. Zhao Ji had lived in Qin for so long, and she treated her like her own child. It was heartbreaking to see her child being seduced by such a seductive and shameless woman. "Even if you're choosing a male concubine, you should choose a good one. You can't have someone with such ambitions who will cause trouble in the palace."
She knew she was hypocritical; having a male concubine meant he was bound to compete for favor, and it was normal for him to be ambitious, but she just couldn't help being hypocritical.
As expected, both humans and non-humans are biased. She condemned herself for making judgments about people based on crimes that had not yet occurred, while asking Ying Zheng what he thought.
Ying Zheng fell into deep thought, having no doubt about what 'Qin' said, and realizing what 'Qin' was worried about.
He promised, "The government will not give him the opportunity to wreak havoc in the court."
Qin nodded with satisfaction, and didn't mention the matter of how this male concubine was too ambitious to be given to the Empress Dowager.
She was just beginning to consider what to do if the Empress Dowager insisted on bestowing favors upon Lao Ai. She thought, "One is too few. Send more."
Let Zhao Ji enjoy the company of beauties on both sides, so she won't have time to fight for power. It doesn't matter if she fights for power herself, the key is to keep those male favorites busy vying for favor, and they won't have time to think about entering the court.
Marquis Changxin must not appear!
And she'll have some excitement to watch, a real palace intrigue, something to watch if you want, more please.
Ying Zheng thought this suggestion was also very good. Sending more people would dilute the status of each individual in his mother's heart, and would prevent any troublemakers from inciting the Empress Dowager.
"But people like that are probably hard to find."
Qin blurted out, "Let Lü Buwei go find it; he's very good at it."
Ying Zheng did not hide his emotions in front of Qin; his surprise was written all over his face. His uncle was actually such a person.
He had been with Lü Buwei for over two years after he came to power, and this was the first time he had ever learned that Lü Buwei possessed such 'ability'.
"Let him handle this personally."
Ying Zheng understood. The Qin ruler had also mentioned to him that he was afraid Lü Buwei might die suddenly from overwork one day.
Lü Buwei has recently had some free time, so we'll find him something to do. If he had to find something to do on his own, it probably wouldn't have been such an easy task. He really doesn't want to lose a docile and capable Right Chancellor.
He immediately wrote a secret order, affixed his personal seal, summoned his attendant, and instructed someone to deliver the letter to the Right Chancellor, Lü Buwei.
"Try to avoid people when you deliver it."
Ying Zheng, still showing some conscience, considered Lü Buwei's feelings and, for the sake of the Right Chancellor's reputation, decided not to send it openly.
Qin silently raised his fan, concealing the smile on his lips, and quietly began to observe the situation on Lü Buwei's side.
****
It was not surprising that Lü Buwei received Qin King Zheng's order. Ever since he could see the Qin state, he had not thought about how to seize power for more than a year.
Leaving aside the fact that nothing one does within Qin territory can be hidden from Qin, let's just talk about Qin's attitude...
Her attitude spoke volumes; she would not allow her subjects to overstep their bounds, and once King Zheng of Qin came of age and assumed personal rule, he would definitely return the power to him.
There's no point in arguing so fiercely now; it's better to spend time building a good relationship with your future boss who will have real power.
He loved power, but he loved life even more. After more than a year, the relationship between the monarch and his ministers improved. Although the ministers could not tell from the daily court sessions that the Right Chancellor had sided with the young king, and thought that there was a three-way power struggle in the court, the two actually had a pretty good relationship in private.
Lü Buwei is currently working tirelessly for Qin, rarely taking a day off.
A year ago, he began to handle irrigation canal matters; six months ago, he sent the State of Zheng to repair irrigation canals; two months ago, he helped Taishu Jiu deal with the employment issues of graduates from the chain school; a month ago, he was busy collecting taxes; and half a month ago, while attending a palace banquet, he also took on the task of cleaning up spies from various countries in Xianyang.
He handled all state affairs, truly wielding absolute power!
Qin had shown concern for him, but he automatically ignored it. Qin's concern wasn't just a few words of praise; it was out of fear that he might die suddenly and an urgent concern for his well-being. He simply assumed that Qin was moved by his efforts.
'Qin': It's not touching, it's clearly fear...
Zhu Qing'ai, who had scanned Lü Buwei's physical condition, remained silent on the matter.
He's in such great health, showing absolutely no signs of being overworked and about to die suddenly. Lü Buwei is truly a chosen worker (just kidding).
Perhaps some people just can't sit still... Seeing how hard Lü Buwei was working, she felt guilty and hung herself on a street lamp for a while.
Of course, there are no streetlights in the Qin Kingdom now, so she just simulated it in her mind.
****
This month, Lü Buwei finally had some free time!
With no war for a year or two and no need to manage military supplies, finishing up the troublesome matters mentioned earlier was practically like taking a vacation.
But Lü Buwei couldn't stay idle. He remembered Wang He, who had come to see him before. Wang He had said that he had a friend who wanted to lead troops into battle one more time before he died, otherwise he would feel very uncomfortable eating for free in the court every year.
He also thought that now that he had some free time, he would have time to manage military supplies and be in charge of conscripting soldiers. There had been no movement for two years, so he thought he should launch another small attack to prevent the Qin people from losing their desire to expand eastward.
It was at this moment that he received an order from the palace. He figured that the king and 'Qin' must share the same thoughts as him; they were truly in sync...
Lü Buwei: "..."
He stuffed the letter back in, then took it out again, and reopened it to read it once more.
His colleagues framed him!
Who sent the male concubine to the Empress Dowager first? Step forward, and he will surely refrain from taking action!
The document contained an order, though it wasn't really an order. It stated that he was expected to find some male favorites for the Empress Dowager, and even notified his attendant Li Si to come with him.
The palace attendant was in charge of the administration of grain in the royal palace, which directly facilitated his sending people away.
He turned to his trusted aide and asked, "Has the retainer arrived yet?"
"Reporting to the Prime Minister, they have not arrived yet."
“In that case, go and investigate first,” Lü Buwei beckoned someone closer. He whispered a few words to someone to find out who had sent a male concubine to the Empress Dowager while he was busy. It was not out of resentment but simply to thank this colleague. “Also, go to the gatekeeper and tell him to be on alert when the servants arrive and invite them in immediately.”
"only."
The confidant received the order and immediately withdrew, while Lü Buwei remained seated in his study, pondering how to accomplish the task without damaging his reputation.
After waiting for a while, someone came to report that a palace attendant had arrived.
"Li Si, a courtier, greets the Prime Minister." Li Si bowed respectfully.
Lü Buwei helped the man up: "No need for formalities... Do you know why the King sent you here?"
"His Majesty did not specify, only instructing me to cooperate with the Prime Minister. Is there a problem?"
Lü Buwei wiped his face; this was a big problem, and he needed to find a way to explain it to Li Si.
After listening to the explanation, Li Si looked enlightened and accepted the task without any surprise.
Lu Buwei also realized that the reason this person was sent was because he was only interested in serving the king and didn't care about what the task was.
Li Si further suggested, "I've heard that Your Majesty had a trusted subordinate when you were Crown Prince, who was very well-informed. Perhaps..."
Lü Buwei suddenly remembered Wang Yuan, who had previously criticized him. That man had joined Prince Zheng's faction when he was still a coachman.
A once-renowned strategist, Wang Yuan, retired from his profession and became a coachman. However, he was later seen in many rumors circulating in Xianyang.
Most importantly, he later discovered that the person who was rumored to be chasing Taishu Jiu was Wang Yuan!
Perhaps Wang Yuan didn't spread the rumor himself, but he was the one who did it.
"No need, you and I are enough to handle this." Lü Buwei politely declined, suspecting that if he agreed, rumors of his secret crush on Empress Dowager Zhao Ji would spread throughout Xianyang the next day.
Although sending male concubines to the Empress Dowager had nothing to do with any secret crush, Lü Buwei did not hesitate to assume the worst about Wang Yuan.
The two just didn't get along, and Li Si noticed this, so he didn't bring it up again.
****
While the two were on their way, Taishu Jiu also learned about this from Zhu Qing'ai.
He knew what the situation should have been like, but his focus was different. He was more worried about: "What if Zhao Ji gets pregnant?"
Zhu Qing'ai asked, puzzled, "Why don't I just give her a harmless sterilization? Why worry about this?"
"A husband who doesn't love his wife dies young, and his son is devoted to several male lovers. He can have handsome men on both sides and not have to worry about getting pregnant and dying. If it were me, I would laugh in my sleep."
"Isn't this solution acceptable?"
Zhu Qing'ai said confidently, "As for those male concubines who have no offspring... since they all voluntarily became male concubines... let's not worry about it so much."
She knew how Lü Buwei chose his people, because when Ying Zheng wrote it, he specifically wrote that it didn't matter whether someone had ambition or not, and it was even better if they did have ambition, as long as they were good-looking and willing.
The plan was quite clear: if the male favorites were busy vying for favor, the problem of male favorites interfering in politics, which Qin was worried about, would not occur. Once they decided who would win, Ying Zheng would have already consolidated his power.
Taishu Jiu looked thoughtful: "So that's what you were thinking, Qing'ai..."
Zhu Qing'ai: ?
Wait a minute, what amazing thing have you learned this time?
Tai Shujiu did not answer Zhu Qing'ai's question. He only said that humans are still too complicated and he needs to continue his studies.
Zhu Qing'ai gave an "oh" and turned to go to the palace to watch the excitement. After a while, she realized what kind of advanced training was this? What could one possibly learn from this?
Bamboo Green Mist: Cosmic Cat's Sublimation (jpg)
****
A few days later, Lü Buwei sent six handsome young men with fair skin and no beards into the palace. They stood in a row in front of Ying Zheng.
The group stood at a distance, but only Lü Buwei personally stepped forward.
When he saw Qin sitting next to King Zheng of Qin, he felt extremely embarrassed. He had established himself as a wise minister, and a wise minister would never send a male concubine into the palace. It was like a primary school student being caught sneaking into an internet cafe by his homeroom teacher.
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*Sheren* was an official title. In the *Zhou Li* (Rites of Zhou), under the section on *Di Guan* (Officials of the Earth), there was a *sheren* who managed the affairs of the royal palace regarding grain, calculating the number of people and their ranks to determine the amount of grain they received as stipends (*sheren* were in charge of managing the affairs of the palace, distributing its finances, and overseeing its income and expenditure). After Qin unified the six states, *sheren* served as subordinate officials to the prime minister and other high-ranking officials. In the Han Dynasty, *sheren* served as subordinate officials to the empress, crown prince, and princesses.
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