In 240 BC, the Xianyang Palace of Qin State.
"My son, I pay my respects to my mother."
With a refreshing but slightly childish voice, a dark red royal robe, and a delicate and handsome face, the current King of Qin Ying Zheng slowly knelt down and worshiped.
"Get back on your feet, Zheng'er. There are no outsiders, no need for big gifts." Her tone was slightly majestic, and the smiling Queen Mother Zhao Ji always had a little charm in her eyes.
Ying Zheng stood up, without looking directly at his mother. He lowered his head and said, "I don't know why my mother has urgently summoned Zheng'er. What's the important matter?"
As the King of Qin, Ying Zheng seemed to be a little afraid of the Queen Mother.
"If nothing happens, can't I invite you to sit here?" Zhao Ji was still smiling, but she didn't seem to look very good for some unknown reason.
"That's not what I meant. When I came here this time, I also had something to ask my mother." Ying Zheng always seemed very careful when he spoke.
"Oh? Then let the queen guess, we are talking about the same thing." Zhao Ji's tone was soft and seemed quite loving.
But she doesn't know whether Zhao Ji is actually kind or is she deliberately pretending.
"Queen Mother, please speak first," Ying Zheng said.
"Okay, then the Queen Mother will talk first." Zhao Ji said, "Now that you are over twenty years old, you are asking about the adult crowning ceremony, right?"
"That's exactly what happened, haha." Seeing that Zhao Ji really understood what he was thinking, Ying Zheng said with a smile on his face, "It turns out that the queen mother has already guessed what her son is thinking."
"It's not that I guessed it, but this is what the Queen Mother wants to tell you." Zhao Ji said, "And there are two other important things to discuss with you."
"Mother, please speak." Ying Zheng's face was full of expectation. After the crown ceremony, he would take control of the royal power and become the true King of Qin.
"Yesterday, Lu Xiangbang came to discuss the matter with my mother. He said that he wanted to postpone your crowning ceremony and postpone the ceremony for now. What do you think?" Zhao Ji said.
"Ah? This...why is this?" Ying Zheng's face turned from full of expectations to full of disappointment in an instant. Although he had thought about this result, he still couldn't accept it for the moment, because he knew that since it was his mother and his father, What has been discussed is what has been decided. Coming to him is just to use Zhao Ji's mouth to tell him the result, and he has to accept this result.
"For the specific reason, you should ask Lu Xiangbang." Zhao Ji said unhurriedly, "Although the crown ceremony has been postponed, as the imperial family, there are many other coming-of-age ceremonies. There will be a hunting celebration in the spring, and there will be Ancestor worship ceremony. Several other countries will also send princesses from various countries to choose concubines, and the king will have to choose carefully."
Ying Zheng didn't care about anything else except the crown ceremony: "I will go to Zhong's father to ask about the crown ceremony. The hunting ceremony and ancestor worship ceremony can also be arranged normally. It's just the matter of choosing a concubine. , I haven’t thought about it yet, so there’s no rush.”
"Twenty years old means that you are an adult. Young men from ordinary families will get married, let alone the king of Qin." Speaking of this, Zhao Ji's expression became more loving, "It's just that this is the first one. The princess is very likely to be the future queen, so she needs to be chosen more carefully."
"Mother, why do you have to choose a princess from another country when choosing a concubine? There are thousands of women in the Qin Dynasty, why can't you choose?" Ying Zheng asked childishly.
Zhao Ji said: "If you were still a young master or a prince, and your father was still alive, your father would naturally choose the wife. But now that you are the king, the one you choose is the princess. Rather than the crown princess. Moreover, the competition for the princess' favor is related to the interests of several countries, not to mention the choice of the queen. Therefore, the competition for the choice of the first princess is bound to be fierce among all countries. "
Ying Zheng remained silent.
Zhao Ji looked at Ying Zheng and then said: "Right now, all countries will send portraits of princesses. On auspicious days, they will also send princesses from their own countries to choose concubines. What you need to care about is not whether you get married, but which country's princess is more beautiful. Appropriate questions.”
"Does the queen mother want me to marry the princess of Zhao?" Ying Zheng asked tentatively.
"Zheng'er is still smart and can guess what the queen is thinking." Zhao Ji said, "It's true, the queen is from Zhao. Half of your blood is from Zhao. You also grew up in Zhao and have a certain respect for Zhao. Regarding feelings, I heard that the princesses of the Zhao Kingdom are all talented, intelligent, dignified and lovely, and they will definitely give birth to fat grandsons for me, haha."
When thinking about having a grandchild, any grandmother can't control her joy instinctively.
"My son, I will listen to the Queen Mother's arrangements, but I don't know what the Queen Mother's plans are." Ying Zheng's face darkened, but he still acted quite calmly.
"The Queen Mother and the Queen Mother are from the Chu Kingdom, and are also related to the Chu Princess. She will definitely like the Chu Princess in order to continue to consolidate the status of the Chu Kingdom's dignitaries in the Qin Kingdom. But for the great cause of the Qin Dynasty in the future, this may not be a problem. Good thing." Zhao Ji put away her smile and said, "Chu is the strongest opponent of Da Qin, and the power of the Mi clan in the palace cannot be underestimated. If their strength is further strengthened in your generation, they will be better in the future. The situation will be difficult to predict.”
"My son has written it down. Father Zhong must have the same intention, right?" Ying Zheng asked.
"The queen mother has already discussed with your father Zhong before calling you here." Zhao Ji said.
Ying Zheng nodded and thought to himself, it seems that the selection of the concubine has been discussed.
Zhao Ji's tone changed slightly, "There is one more thing that the Queen Mother wants to discuss with you. Zheng'er must agree."
Ying Zheng: "..."
It was clearly just a notification, but it still had to be called a discussion.
"The Queen Mother is tired of living in this palace and wants to live somewhere else for a while." Zhao Ji said with a somewhat different expression, "The place has been chosen. Yongcheng was the original capital of the country. It is a good place. The Queen Mother wants to move Go there and live in the palace."
"The Queen Mother is moving to Yongcheng?" Ying Zheng said, "My son thought that the Queen Mother just wanted to go out for some fun. If she went to leave the palace, she would not return to Xianyang in a short time. Then the affairs in the court should be How to plan?"
"The Queen Mother has informed Lu Xiangbang that there is no need to report to this palace any more affairs in the future," Zhao Ji said.
"It seems that the Queen Mother has been arranging this matter for a long time." Ying Zheng said, but he felt uncomfortable in his heart.
Zhao Ji nodded and said: "My mother is really not used to the right and wrong in this palace. You also know that my mother brought you back to Qin State because she didn't want you to stay in Zhao State and suffer any more injustice. I thought about it, but I became the Queen Mother in confusion. Now I go out to hide and quiet my mind."
"Since the Queen Mother has made the decision, I will just follow the Queen Mother's wishes. But..." Ying Zheng stopped talking.
Zhao Ji asked: "Just what?"
"It's just that Zheng'er has never left his mother's side since he was a child." Ying Zheng said with some sadness, "If my mother is not in the palace, I may not be able to cope with it."
"You are the King of Qin, the head of a country." Zhao Ji said sternly, "If there is anything you can't handle, just leave it to Lu Xiangbang."
Ying Zheng didn't know what to say, so he could only say obediently: "In that case, I just want to go to Yongcheng to visit my mother."
"If there is nothing important, you don't have to go there often. Mother likes to be quiet now and doesn't like to be disturbed. With the housekeeper accompanying her, she won't feel bored at all." Zhao Ji said decisively.
Ying Zheng raised his head and looked to the back, but did not see Lao Ai.
"Okay, there's nothing else to do. My mother plans to move there before the end of the month. When I leave, I just want to see my mother off." Zhao Ji said lazily.
"Then, I will leave for now." After saying that, Ying Zheng walked backwards out of the palace gate with his hands in hand.
Seeing Ying Zheng walking away, Zhao Ji let out a sigh of relief.
"Come here, he's gone." Zhao Ji turned around and said with a gentle tone.
"Queen Mother." Lao Ai walked over and said with a smile, "It seems that he won't refute anything you say. It's best this way. Let's stay away from here and go to Yongcheng to give birth to our child."
"You know how to cause trouble for me." Zhao Ji saw Lao Ai looking at her belly and said coquettishly, "If it weren't for the child, I wouldn't go to that kind of place, and so do you. After I give birth to you, I don’t care about the risk. If outsiders find out, it will be a big trouble."
"Look, you've gone back on what you promised?" Lao Ai pretended to be unhappy, "Besides, there's nothing wrong with being outside. We don't have to be bound by the palace. We can do whatever we want. Wouldn’t it be nice to live a life like a fairy, free and happy?”
"Actually, what I yearn for the most is that kind of life." Zhao Ji seemed to be longing for something, "Being with the person you like, sleeping and flying together, having no worries about food and clothing, and being unrestrained... It's just..."
"I know that the only thing that makes you not want to give up is the power in your hands." Lao Ai rolled her eyes and said, "Well, the Queen Mother will give me a title, which will not only help you keep some of your power, but also What do you think of the Queen Mother buying some family property outside?"
"I'm afraid this is inappropriate. Historically, eunuchs can be officials, but cannot be ennobled." Zhao Jiwei was a little anxious. "Besides, if I can find any reason to confer you with this title, it will be without merit or reward."
"As long as you think about it, there will be a way." Lao Ai hugged Zhao Ji, "I think that boy Ying Zheng listens to you very much. He will agree to whatever you say. It's not difficult for him. The rest is Yes, as long as Lu Xiangbang agrees, there will be no obstacles."
"That's easy to say. Do you think Prime Minister Lu agreed so easily? Although he recommended you to me at the beginning, he doesn't rely on me in everything now. Besides, there are also those princes and nobles." Zhao Ji murmured. murmured.
"It's not like you don't have the means to deal with Lu Xiangbang." Lao Ai said with a pleading look, "As long as Lu Xiangbang agrees, those princes and nobles will definitely not want to meddle in their own business. Besides, I am also doing it for the child in your belly. Ours The child is destined to have no name, and even his identity cannot be disclosed, so I also want to create some opportunities to compensate him."
When it comes to children, every mother will instinctively not refuse, and the mother's heart will become the softest heart in the world.
"Okay, I'll give it a try," Zhao Ji thought for a moment before saying, "Then, what title do you want?"
"I knew you would agree." Lao Ai looked extremely happy, "Then I want a marquis."
"Marquis?" Zhao Ji wondered if she heard wrongly, "Are you kidding me? No merit, no reward, just being granted the title of marquis is just like Lu Xiangbang, how can you convince the public?"
"You have to try, right? As long as you insist, Lu Xiangbang will agree. We are on his side. After all, he also wants to expand his power." Lao Ai coaxed.
"That's right, let's give it a try. If the Marquis can't seal it, there shouldn't be much of a problem if it's lowered." Zhao Ji finally gave in.
"That's enough, haha..." Lao Ai said with a bad smile, "Let's go back to the bed and let me serve the Queen Mother properly."
"You are already a father, and if you are still like this, I am pregnant with Liujia now." Zhao Ji looked duplicitous.
"Hahaha……"
Lao Ai's wanton and happy laughter sounded particularly loud in the silent inner hall.
His true identity has been hidden very well. He worked hard to sneak into the palace and got the Queen Mother pregnant with a child. Everything was planned.
Lao Ai raised her brows slightly, with a wicked smile on her lips, and hugged Zhao Ji and walked towards the bed.
