Ying Zheng returned to the palace and the study, only to see Li Si waiting here.
The two hadn't seen each other for a few days. Ying Zheng was busy choosing a concubine, while Li Si had been living in "Wen Lei Ju".
"I haven't seen you for a few days, sir. I miss you very much." Ying Zheng said.
"What was the result of the concubine selection, Your Majesty?" Li Si smiled and asked.
"I have just discussed it with the Queen Mother and Lu Xiangbang." Ying Zheng said, "I have decided to adopt your husband's suggestion and marry all the princesses who participated in the election into the palace."
Li Si smiled but said nothing. After all, it was his idea. No one can tell whether this is a good idea or a bad idea.
"Sir, you are back today. Do you have anything to discuss?" Ying Zheng asked.
Li Si nodded and said: "In the past few days, the common people have been working with Mr. Sima to manage the literary residence. The number of bachelors coming here is increasing day by day. However, Mr. Sima not only did not mess up the situation, but also kept it in order. The common people have arranged all the literary residences. The jurisdiction of Leiju was transferred to Sima Jie, so I came here to ask the king for permission to reuse Sima Jie and formally take over Wenleiju to recruit talents for the king."
"Haha." Ying Zheng said with a smile, "I have long seen that Sima Jie is a rare talent. That's why I wanted to hand over Wen Leiju to him and bring you back to me."
"Wherever the common people are, they serve the king." Li Si said with his hand.
Ying Zheng suddenly remembered something and had always wanted to discuss it with Li Si, but was unable to do so, so he found the seal and told Li Si what happened when the Queen Mother left the palace.
Li Si said with a happy face: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, you are one step closer to taking over the throne."
"This is exactly what I want to ask you." Ying Zheng said, "Now that the seal is in your hands, if you want to take over the king's power, you only need to show the seal, ask all officials to respond, and complete the crowning ceremony yourself. Presumably Lu Xiangbang will not be able to object."
"According to what the common people see, the king should not rush into action." Li Si thought for a moment before saying, "If the internal troubles are not eliminated, the government will be unstable, and the hidden dangers of destroying the six kingdoms will be huge. If he takes over the king's power immediately, it will Internal dangers are hidden and not noticed by others, and if we try to eliminate them, it will be even more difficult.”
"I have tested Lu Buwei, and in addition to the temptation about Jiuding, he has told everything he knows. It can be seen that he has no different intentions for the time being." Ying Zheng said, "If we eradicate him directly, I am afraid it will be difficult to convince everyone. Besides, I am afraid that my strength will not be the same." Not strong enough to eradicate Lu Buwei directly."
"What the common people are talking about is internal trouble." Li Si paused and said, "It is not aimed at Lu Xiangbang."
"Oh?" Ying Zheng was greatly surprised, "Then the internal trouble you are referring to is not Lu Xiangbang, so who is it?"
"The common people are just worried, without any specific reference." Li Si said, "As long as the king remains calm and waits for something to happen in the court, internal trouble will appear."
Later, as Li Si expected, Da Qin's internal troubles emerged one by one.
"Okay, just follow what Mr. Zheng said." Ying Zheng said, "For now, we will pretend that there is no matter of obtaining the seal. We will talk about it if necessary."
Li Si nodded, then raised his hands and said, "The common people have one more thing that I would like to discuss with the king."
"Sir, it doesn't matter if you say it." Ying Zheng said.
"Your Majesty, do you still remember that the common people said before that after choosing a concubine, there will be ancestor worship and spring hunting rituals." Li Si said, "Moreover, various countries may have plans to assassinate or raise troops."
"I remember," Ying Zheng said, "Sir, I once said that envoys from various countries may use borrowed swords to kill people, pretending to be assassins of enemy countries, and stirring up trouble."
"Now, the time has come for all countries," Li Si said. "People expect that countries with ulterior motives may take action soon."
"I expected that they would not dare to act rashly during the ancestor worship ceremony." Ying Zheng said, "If something happens, it should be on the way to the spring hunting, or in the hunting ground."
"The grassroots think so too," Li Si said, "However, the grassroots think something will still happen in Yongcheng."
"If you didn't tell me, I would have forgotten." Ying Zheng said, "The Queen is currently living in Yongcheng. During the ancestor worship, I can see the Queen, and I can just solve the matters that the Queen entrusted me with."
"What is the Queen Mother's request?" Li Si asked.
Ying Zheng smiled awkwardly. He just said that Zhao Ji would give him a seal when he left the palace, but he forgot that Zhao Ji had a condition, which was to make Lao Ai a marquis.
After listening to Ying Zheng's words, Li Si just smiled, but this smile seemed to be very meaningful.
"It's not difficult for the king to make a marquis," Li Si said. "What's difficult is why the Queen Mother insists on making Lao Ai a marquis. She not only breaks the precedent, but also risks falling out with Lu Buwei at the expense of the King of Qin's seal. Danger."
Ying Zheng nodded vigorously and said, "I can't figure this out either, so I asked sir."
"The advice of the common people is that the king should comply with the Queen Mother's wishes for now, and then wait and see what happens. Slowly, the reasons will emerge." Li Si said calmly.
Ying Zheng sighed softly: "That's all we have to do."
This passive situation is really uncomfortable.
"Your Majesty, do you still remember the friend named Jing that Cao Min mentioned before?" Li Si asked instead.
"I remember," Ying Zheng said, "But what about the chivalrous man who pretended to be an assassin and protected me?"
"Exactly." Li Si said, "For the convenience of identification by the king, the people specially invited him to come to Xianyang in advance to meet with the king."
"That's good, lest I mistake the wrong person and mistake the thief as one of my own." Ying Zheng said, "Where is he now?"
"I'm resting in the center of Wen Lei." Li Si said.
"Then let me go with you and meet this person." Ying Zheng said as he stood up.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Li Si accompanied Ying Zheng out.
Ying Zheng changed into plain clothes and took Zhao Gao and others to Wen Lei Ju.
In the spacious courtyard, most of the three or five people gathered together to talk. However, there were about twenty such small groups, which seemed very lively.
Li Si led Ying Zheng through the house and came to the innermost part of the mansion. Several rooms here are temporary resting or sleeping places for Sima Jie and others.
Li Si asked Ying Zheng to wait outside and entered one of the rooms.
Not long after, Li Si led someone out of the room.
This man is a bit taller than Li Si, and has a similar body shape to Li Si. He is dressed in plain clothes, has very white skin, and bright eyes. His temperament is similar to Li Si. From his appearance alone, he cannot tell that he is a martial arts practitioner.
Seeing this person, Ying Zheng was slightly startled, feeling like he had seen him before.
"Jing Liang, a common man, pays homage to the King of Qin." Jing Liang bowed and saluted.
"Please rise, righteous man." Ying Zheng stretched out his hand to help Jing Liang and said, "This is not in the palace, so there is no need to be formal."
Jing Liang nodded and said, "Your Majesty, please come in."
Jing Liang and Li Si let Ying Zheng into the house. Zhao Gao and others stayed at the door.
The three of them sat down, but Ying Zheng still stared at Jing Liang and observed, looking thoughtful.
Upon seeing this, Li Si said: "Your Majesty, the common people regard Jing Liang as their elder brother. If you have any questions, it's okay to ask."
"Where is the righteous man from?" Ying Zheng asked.
Jing Liang replied: "Jing Liang is from the Chu State and is from the same hometown as Li Sixian's brother."
"I think the righteous man looks familiar," Ying Zheng said, "but I can't remember where I saw the righteous man."
Jing Liang said: "Back to the king, Jing Liang and the king have indeed met, but it is an old thing."
"Old things, old things?" Ying Zheng asked, "Tell me and listen."
Seeing that Ying Zheng still asked, Jing Liang smiled and said, "The common people and the king met once in the Zhao Kingdom ten years ago."
"Ten years... Zhao Guo..." Ying Zheng whispered to himself, as if he was trying very hard to recall the past events in his mind.
Suddenly, Ying Zheng raised his head and stared directly at Jing Liang. The corners of his mouth twitched and asked rather excitedly: "Are you, your benefactor?"
"I just passed by by chance and took action in a righteous manner." Jing Liang said, "I can't bear to be called such by the king."
"It's really you!" Ying Zheng stepped forward and grabbed Jing Liang's hand tightly, looking at Jing Liang up and down.
Jing Liang nodded and said slightly: "It's been so many years, so the king doesn't have to worry about it."
The corners of Ying Zheng's eyes were slightly moist, and his voice was slightly choked: "You saved the lives of my mother and son. How could I forget it? It's just that my benefactor didn't leave his name at that time, and I also sent people to look for my benefactor. , but there’s no way to start.”
Ten years ago, Lu Buwei bribed Guo Kai to take Zhao Ji and her son back to Qin, but the news was leaked. Several large clans of the Zhao State suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Changping and were bent on revenge on the Qin State. However, Zhao Ji and her son were the target of venting their anger, and they were also hostages. How could they be easily released to the Qin State, so they pursued them all the way.
When they were about to leave the border of Zhao State, Zhao Ji and her son were caught up. All the entourage were killed, leaving only Zhao Ji, mother and son, and Lu Buwei. If captured back to Handan, Zhao Ji, mother and son would definitely be sentenced to death for escaping, and even Lu Buwei would not be spared.
At the critical moment, a knight suddenly appeared, killed the leader of the pursuers, and fought with the pursuers. The government soldiers who were responding to Lu Buwei appeared in time, and the pursuers were driven back, allowing the three of them to return to Qin safely. . After the government soldiers arrived, Jing Liang briefly met and left without leaving his name.
Ying Zheng was only ten years old at the time, and he was very frightened. The time he saw Jing Liang was short, so he didn't think about it after such a long time.
Now seeing his former savior, how could Ying Zheng calm down? If he were not a king, it would be normal for him to kneel down and thank him.
"Your Majesty, you really don't need to worry about it. It was just that you came to help when the road was rough, so don't take it to heart," Jing Liang said.
Ying Zheng calmed down and said: "I can't say thank you for the great kindness. Since God has allowed me to reunite with my benefactor, it is giving me the opportunity to repay my benefactor. From then on, Ying Zheng regarded his benefactor as his elder brother, and his kindness was fulfilled How about the next one?"
Before Jing Liang could speak, Li Si said from the side: "I didn't expect that Brother Jing and the King have such a connection. Li Si has never heard you talk about it. Since the King insists on this, Brother Jing should stop making excuses."
Seeing that Jing Liang was about to speak but hesitated, Ying Zheng said directly: "Brother Jing, please bow to Ying Zheng."
After speaking, Ying Zheng gave Jing Liang a junior salute.
Jing Liang quickly supported Ying Zheng and said, "I don't dare to accept it. If the king sends you any orders in the future, just give him his orders."
Ying Zheng and Jing Liang looked at each other and smiled, and their four hands were tightly clasped together.
Afterwards, the three people deduced the plan and process of preparing for the assassination. But Jing Liang had another suggestion and changed his previous plan.
For the sake of safety, Li Si said a code: "Only wish for heaven to inherit." Ying Zheng and Jing Liang agreed to use this code as the standard, and people close to each other could also know it to avoid accidental injury.
Ying Zheng didn't understand why Li Si was so convoluted when he set a password, but he didn't ask any more questions and started reminiscing with Jing Liang again.
