Ying Zheng looked around for movement in other directions and found nothing suspicious.
Not long after, the third watch brought the man who was following him back.
Seeing this person's attire, Ying Zheng felt relieved. After another cross-examination, Ying Zheng realized that it was a false alarm.
It turned out that this person was a young eunuch in the palace named Chang Shun. Not long after he entered the palace, he was sent by Zhao Gao to look for Ying Zheng.
Zhao Gao returned to the palace from Meng Mansion and saw that Ying Zheng had not returned to the palace for a long time. He couldn't help but feel worried, so Zhao Gao planned to come out to greet Ying Zheng.
It happened that a man came to the palace to see Zhao Gao, saying that he wanted to see Ying Zheng. Zhao Gao understood the man's purpose, so he took this man and two young eunuchs to see Ying Zheng. However, due to the fact that it was the Prime Minister's Mansion, the visitors did not want to enter the mansion, so a few people were waiting outside the back door of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
It was past noon and Ying Zheng had not come out yet. Zhao Gao suddenly remembered that Ying Zheng might be leaving the outer mansion, so he sent two young eunuchs to wait at the gate of the outer mansion.
When the two young eunuchs saw Ying Zheng leaving the house, one of them went back to find Zhao Gao, leaving Chang Shun behind.
Chang Shun had only been in the palace for a short time, and he was a timid person. He only dared to follow Ying Zheng from behind, but did not dare to directly come forward to inform him. In the middle of the night, I found someone following me. I thought it was an assassin, so I caught Chang Shun.
Ying Zheng asked Chang Shun who asked to see him. Chang Shun said he didn't know him, but judging from his appearance, he was from the palace and was about half a century old.
Ying Zheng saw that this place was not far from the palace, and after calculating the time, he asked Chang Shun to inform Zhao Gao to go back to the palace directly, and he continued walking towards the palace with San Geng.
Not long after returning to the palace, Zhao Gao came back.
After entering the door, Zhao Gao knelt on the ground and said, "The discipline of this servant was not good, so that Chang Shun, who had just entered the palace, frightened the king, and asked the king to punish him."
Ying Zheng waved his hand and said nonchalantly: "It's just a small misunderstanding. Don't take it to heart. Get up quickly."
Zhao Gao stood up and walked to Ying Zheng.
"Your Majesty, this servant has been waiting for the king outside the gate of Lu Xiangbang's inner palace, but he didn't expect that the king went out from the outer gate." Zhao Gao said, "It's strange that this slave is stupid, he should go to the king in person."
"I went to Waifu to look at Lu Xiangbang's Daoist discussion hall. It was quite interesting. Students from various schools were discussing Taoism and reasoning together. Then I realized that it was getting late, so I came out directly from the gate of Waifu." Ying Zheng said.
Zhao Gao nodded and said: "I see, it's all thanks to Chang Shun, otherwise the servant would still be waiting outside the gate of the inner palace."
"You can just go in and find me. You can also meet the Taoist temple." Ying Zheng said, "I have asked Lu Xiangbang to build a Taoist temple like this in the city."
"If this museum is located in the city instead of a certain mansion, it should be able to attract many wise men from all over the world." Zhao Gao nodded.
"That's natural." Ying Zheng smiled and said, "By the way, I heard that someone wants to pay homage to me. Who is he?"
"Back to the king, it's Ying Fu, the chamberlain of Li Palace." Zhao Gao said.
"Oh? I have heard of this person." Ying Zheng paused and said, "He seems to have been someone close to the late king, and was later sent to the palace. What does he want from me?"
"The servant also asked him, and he said that he could only speak to the king in person." Zhao Gao said.
"Ask him to come in. There may be something important." Ying Zheng said.
Zhao Gao responded and retreated.
Not long after, an old man nearly fifty years old came in following Zhao Gao, wearing relatively ordinary clothes. He has gray hair and no beard, so he must be a chamberlain in the palace.
"Slave Ying Fu, please pay homage to the king." Ying Fu said as he knelt down and paid homage.
"Get up and talk." Ying Zheng stepped forward and helped Ying Fu up.
Ying Fu stood up and looked at Ying Zheng up and down, as if looking at his own child. Unknowingly, his eyes were slightly moist.
"The old slave came to meet the king on the order of Madam Xia." Ying Fu said while holding back his excitement.
"Mrs. Xia? Purpose?" Ying Zheng had never heard of this person before and asked doubtfully.
"The king really doesn't know anything about it." Ying Fu shook his head gently, "It's no wonder."
Ying Zheng looked at Ying Fu with confusion.
Ying Fu turned to ask, "Has the king ever met the old slave?"
"I heard that you once served the late king," Ying Zheng said.
"Your Majesty, this old servant not only served the late king, but also accompanied him in life and death." When he mentioned the late king, Ying Fu's eye circles turned completely red and he said in a trembling voice, "If the late king hadn't entrusted him with something, I'm afraid I would have followed him long ago. The late king has gone."
"Come, sit down and speak slowly." Ying Zheng asked Ying Fu to sit down, and the two sat down together. Ying Zheng ordered Zhao Gao to make tea.
Ying Zheng has been with his mother since he was born. He didn't even meet his father, Ying Yiren, before returning to Qin, so he missed a lot of his father's care during his childhood. After returning to Qin, his father fell ill soon, and there was not much normal communication between father and son. Now that I meet my father's old friend, I naturally feel close to him, and I am eager to know some of my father's past.
Ying Fu cupped his hands, knelt down and said again: "The old slave has been with the late king since he was a child, and his name was given by the late king. During the years when Zhao was a hostage, the old slave served the late king until the late king returned. Qin State."
"Oh?" Ying Zheng leaned forward. He didn't expect that Ying Fu was such a close person to his father.
Ying Fu continued: "The Mrs. Xia that the old slave is talking about is the late king's biological mother and the king's biological grandmother. The thing that the late king entrusted to the old slave is to take good care of Mrs. Xia and do her best on behalf of the late king. Filial piety." After saying this, tears finally fell from the corners of Ying Fu's eyes. No one knew how much nostalgia, reluctance, grievance, and sadness were contained in these tears.
"Are these words...really...true?" Ying Zheng couldn't calm down, and his lips trembled. He never thought that in addition to his mother and brother Chengjiao, there was another close relative in the world who was still his. Biological grandmother!
Ying Fu wiped the tears from his eyes and recounted the past events one by one.
It turns out that Ying Fu grew up with Ying Yiren, playing, reading and practicing martial arts with him. Ying Yiren also treats him as his biological brother, just like the current relationship between Ying Zheng and Zhao Gao.
Later, Ying Yiren went to the State of Zhao to be a hostage, and Ying Fu followed him to the State of Zhao and served him all the time. In those few years, the two of them suffered a lot.
Later, with the help of Lu Buwei, Ying Yiren took Ying Fu back to Qin. Mrs. Huayang adopted Ying Yiren as her adopted son, and Ying Yiren entered the palace and became the crown prince. Ying Fu purified himself and continued to serve Ying Yiren.
At that time, Mrs. Huayang was favored and became the crown princess of Prince An Guojun. If Ying Yiren wanted to keep his position as the crown prince, he could not serve his second mother. In desperation, Ying Yiren's biological mother, Xia, had to move out of the palace and live in the palace in Yongcheng. However, Ying Yiren was worried about his biological mother, so he sent his most trusted Ying Fu to the palace to serve Mrs. Xia.
Ying Fu grew up next to Mrs. Xia since he was a child. He has already regarded Mrs. Xia as his mother and took care of her with all his heart. He lived in the palace for more than ten years.
Now Mrs. Xia is nearly seventy years old, and her body is still very strong, mostly because of Ying Fu's dedicated care.
Later, Ying Yiren became the prince, and then the king of Qin. However, due to Mrs. Huayang, it was difficult to take her biological mother back to the palace, so she had to visit her privately in her spare time.
After Ying Zheng returned to Qin, Ying Yiren felt that Ying Zheng was young and did not want to add obstacles to him. He was even more afraid that Ying Zheng would lose the protection of Mrs. Huayang, so he did not tell Ying Zheng about the matter. So to this day, Ying Zheng doesn't know that he actually has a biological grandmother living in his old capital Yongcheng.
Now, Queen Mother Zhao Ji wants to move out of the palace, and her goal is to leave the palace. So she orders everyone living in the palace to evacuate within ten days, and these people cannot move back to the palace. Faced with the homeless situation, Mrs. Xia ordered Ying Fu to come to Ying Zheng for help, hoping that Ying Zheng could properly resettle the people living in the palace.
After listening to Ying Fu's narration, Ying Zheng couldn't help but sigh.
The majestic monarch of a country did not even know or meet his own grandmother. His father may not have been able to do anything at the time, but how could Ying Zheng sit idly by now, not to mention that the situation today is very different from before.
"Can I call you Uncle Fu?" After a brief silence, Ying Zheng said.
Ying Fu quickly stood up and knelt down: "This old slave cannot afford to be called such by the king. I hope the king will not break this old slave."
"In terms of seniority, you are the elder." Ying Zheng said, "Compared to what you have done for your father and grandmother, a title and reward are not an exaggeration. It is just a title, I just think it is more cordial."
Ying Fu was silent, not knowing what to do. He did not dare to go against Ying Zheng's wishes, but he also did not dare to directly accept the title of Ying Zheng.
"As for my grandmother's residence, it is not difficult. Let her move back to the palace. I will choose a few rooms next to the palace and pack them out for my grandmother to live in." Ying Zheng said seriously, "As for the Queen Mother, Over there, it shouldn’t be too difficult for me to talk about it. In the future, when I live with my grandmother, I can often listen to her talk about the late king."
Tears overflowed from the corners of Ying Fu's eyes again, and he said gratefully: "Your Majesty's grace, Ying Fu is so grateful..."
"Don't be polite to me." Ying Zheng raised his hand to interrupt Ying Fu, "Not to mention my grandmother, even if it is someone else, the cause of the matter is because of the Queen Mother, how can I ignore it."
The corner of Ying Fu's mouth moved, and he didn't know whether it was because he was moved or because he wanted to say something that he didn't say.
"Uncle Fu, my grandmother, how is she?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Madam, she has a very strong body. She is always restless. She especially likes to make pastries, and she always cooks herself." Ying Fu said with a smile.
"That's fine. Let me make up for the late king's unfulfilled filial duty." Ying Zheng turned to the door and shouted, "Zhao Gao."
Zhao Gao entered the door and saluted: "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"
"Find a few unused palaces, tidy them up, and then allocate some money to Uncle Fu." Ying Zheng said loudly, "Send some chariots to help grandma carry things. Send my chariots and horses as well. I made a special trip to pick up my grandmother.”
"I obey the king's orders." Zhao Gao replied with cupped hands.
"Uncle Fu, it's getting late, so I'll rest in the palace today. When arrangements are made for tomorrow, you can take your motorcade back to the palace and pick up your grandmother."
"Old slave also obeys the king's orders." Ying Fu's joy was on his face.
That night, Ying Zheng dined with Ying Fu, and the two kept talking, talking about interesting things about his father's past, the ups and downs he encountered as a hostage in the Kingdom of Zhao, and Mrs. Xia's life in the palace.
The two of them didn't go back to rest until very late, but they still didn't seem to have a good chat.
