After Ying Xi left, Ying Zheng was in a great mood. He took Lu Li's hand and said with a smile, "Sir, why didn't you tell me you were coming to Xianyang beforehand?"
"I originally wanted to persuade Ying Xi, but this incident saved me the trouble of talking to him."
As the saying goes, plans can't keep up with changes. Originally, Lu Li needed to use some persuasion to get Ying Xi to submit to Ying Zheng, but he never expected that Lao Ai would do such a heinous thing.
This completely pushed the Ying clan towards Ying Zheng!
Not long after Ying Xi left, his eunuchs came to report.
"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister requests an audience."
Lu Li's lips curled up as he said, "The old fox finally couldn't sit still anymore."
Recently, rumors have been circulating that Ying Zheng is the son of Lü Buwei, but the old fox has remained silent and let things develop as they will.
Now that Lao Ai has committed such a heinous crime, the old fox has finally lost his temper.
"Your Majesty, shall I excuse myself?" Lu Li asked.
To everyone's surprise, Ying Zheng waved his hand and said domineeringly, "Sir, there's no need to excuse yourself. Let the Prime Minister enter the hall!"
A short while later, Lü Buwei arrived in a hurry.
"Your subject Lü Buwei greets Your Majesty!"
This time, Lü Buwei actually performed a grand salute, something that had never happened since Ying Zheng ascended the throne.
"Prime Minister, what is the reason for this?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty!"
Lu Buwei looked terrified and knelt on the ground, refusing to get up.
Ying Zheng cursed the old fox inwardly! But he still asked, "The Prime Minister is a pillar of Qin, what crime has he committed?"
"Lao Ai insulted the wife of the Ying clan chief in the street, causing her to commit suicide. His arrogance and domineering behavior are unacceptable. I beg Your Majesty to punish me for my negligence!"
What a terrible oversight! Lu Li watched Lü Buwei's performance and couldn't help but feel speechless.
Wasn't it you who introduced Lao Ai to the Empress Dowager? Now that this has happened, all you have to do is blame yourself for negligence? You're trying to absolve yourself of all responsibility.
But Ying Zheng was no longer the naive young man he once was. He slowly stood up, quickly walked to Lü Buwei, and helped him up.
"You flatter me, Prime Minister. You handle many important national affairs every day, and it is inevitable that there will be areas that you cannot attend to."
Although Ying Zheng said so, Lü Buwei could not believe it.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty, and I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"
Seeing that Ying Zheng wasn't falling for the trap, Lü Buwei knelt down on the ground again with a thud.
If Ying Zheng punishes him for his oversight today, Lao Ai will have nothing to do with him anymore. But if he is not punished today, then if something happens to Lao Ai in the future, Lü Buwei will also suffer.
Lü Buwei naturally understood this principle, so he had to extricate himself from the situation.
"Why does the Prime Minister act this way? This matter is of no concern to the Prime Minister. If Your Majesty punishes him arbitrarily, wouldn't that give Your Majesty a reputation for being harsh on your subordinates?"
Only then did Lü Buwei notice Lu Li, and he looked up to ask, "Who are you?"
Lu Li cupped his hands in greeting and said with a smile, "My name is Lu Li!"
Lu Li!
Lü Buwei was very familiar with this name; he was the next generation representative of the School of Diplomacy and the sole successor of the Guigu School.
During the Hundred Schools Conference that year, Lu Li debated with all the schools of thought, gaining great fame.
He even boasted that he would choose one country and unify the world.
Now that he's appearing beside Ying Zheng, could it be that he's chosen the Qin state?
"So you're a disciple of Guiguzi, Mr. Lu. Greetings!"
Lü Buwei was quite polite to Guiguzi's direct disciples.
Although he wasn't considered a member of any of the Hundred Schools of Thought, he still respected them. After all, in this era, offending any of the Hundred Schools of Thought would make it difficult to get by.
"Prime Minister, Mr. Lu has become my guest minister," Ying Zheng introduced.
This was the first time Lü Buwei had felt a sense of crisis. If it were someone else, he would have chosen to support Ying Zheng and even try to win him over.
But Lü Buwei knew that Lu Li was impossible; he was a member of the School of Diplomacy and had even boasted that he would unify the world.
This kind of person cannot be won over; in fact, they might even threaten his position.
Moreover, there are rumors that he has mastered all of Guiguzi's teachings and is even more efficient than Guiguzi!
In this era, creating momentum is extremely important, and Lu Li's actions at the Hundred Schools Conference can be considered a very successful example of this.
"I hope the Prime Minister will continue to look after me in the future!" Lu Li said with a cupped hand and a smile.
He knew that although Lü Buwei held a high position, he was too ambitious and would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
In order to get ahead and curry favor with Ying Zichu, he gave Ying Zheng's mother, Zhao Ji, to Ying Zichu.
After Ying Zheng ascended the throne, he joined forces with Zhao Ji to control the government and wielded immense power!
Today, almost half of Qin's civil and military officials come from his residence.
Lu Li understood that Lao Ai was just a clown; the real big boss was Lü Buwei.
Ying Zheng wanted to assume personal rule, but he had to deal with Lü Buwei.
After Lu Li's interruption, Lü Buwei could no longer force Ying Zheng to commit a crime.
"Mr. Lu is a young hero; the younger generation is truly formidable!"
Lu Li is now in his thirties, but he looks about the same age as Ying Zheng.
Even Ying Zheng was quite surprised by this. When he first met Lu Li at the age of twelve, he looked just like this. Now, nine years later, he hasn't changed at all.
Lü Buwei was only a dozen years older than Lu Li.
"Your Majesty, I have apprehended the rumor-monger in the past few days. I request Your Majesty to deal with him accordingly!"
Seeing that confessing was not an option, Lü Buwei revealed his last resort.
"Oh? Such a trivial matter can be handled by the Prime Minister himself."
Lu Buwei immediately felt a pang of anxiety; Ying Zheng had become increasingly mature and experienced in recent years.
"Does Your Majesty not want to know who is behind this?" Lü Buwei continued to ask.
Ying Zheng knew perfectly well what was going on, but he still asked, "Who is it?"
At this moment, Lü Buwei kept everyone in suspense, turning to Lu Li and asking, "Mr. Lu, can you guess who it is?"
Lu Li smiled to himself, thinking to himself, "This old fox, he dug a pit for me to fall into?"
If one cannot guess the answer, then one is merely a figurehead and unworthy to be Ying Zheng's advisor.
But if someone guesses it, and even Ying Zheng couldn't guess it, wouldn't that be disrespectful to Ying Zheng?
Guessing is not an option, nor is not guessing.
Lu Li cupped his hands and said, "Prime Minister, I am not very knowledgeable. If I have guessed wrong, please forgive me."
"First of all, the rumor that the King is the Prime Minister's son must be related to the Prime Minister!"
"They are either enemies of the Prime Minister, who want to kill him, or enemies of the King, who want to destroy him."
"But nowadays, there is probably only one person who dares to oppose the Prime Minister. Can Your Majesty guess who it is?"
Ying Zheng understood Lu Li's meaning; he was being given a message.
"I know, it's Lao Ai!"
Lu Buwei was shocked. What a Lu Li! He truly deserves to be called a disciple of Guiguzi. With just a few words, he got Ying Zheng to reveal who the mastermind was.
If he's right, then Ying Zheng is brilliant. If he's wrong, everyone present is on his side, and no one would dare criticize Ying Zheng.
"Your Majesty is wise! It is indeed Lao Ai!!!"
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