Chapter 242 You Are Right
Afang Palace, the sleeping hall.
The dim light of a candle flame could only fill the space above the table. With this little light, the outlines of things could be vaguely seen in the dark room.
The First Emperor, who had fallen into a deep sleep amidst the sleeping-aiding aroma of rosewood, slowly opened his eyes and with his unclear vision he saw a figure tiptoeing onto the bed.
"What did mother say?"
The First Emperor opened his arms, hugged the figure around the waist, turned his body sideways and lay down on the bed with the figure.
I rested my head on the figure's neck and inhaled the scent of his body.
As his consciousness gradually became clear, his eyes gradually became clearer, and what he saw before him was none other than the Qin Queen Afang.
"It still woke up His Majesty."
Afang turned around in the embrace of the First Emperor, holding his face in the dim candlelight, looking a little distressed.
The First Emperor smiled and gave Afang a big kiss on the forehead.
Afang looked into the eyes of the First Emperor and said softly, "The Queen Mother said she wanted to return to Yongdi."
Inside the bedroom, the candlelight flickered, and no one spoke that night.
The bustling banquet in the Xuanniao Palace was coming to an end. Ying Chengjiao refused the protection of the secret guards, walked home alone at night in fine clothes.
In the short journey from Xianyang Palace to Chang'an Jun Mansion, he encountered three consecutive assassination attempts.
Three days later, Zhao Ji left Xianyang and headed for Yongdi in a carriage.
In the carriage, there was another person besides Zhao Ji, a girl from Yue.
The two met again, and this time, Yue Nu no longer had the humility and fear towards Zhao Ji on her face.
She was wearing a skirt made of fine silk, with a blue base and several irregular white stripes on it.
There were two weapons hidden inside the chest of the shirt, and the collar was under pressure that it shouldn't have been under, so it was very tight.
This outfit slightly dilutes her heroic appearance and shows more of her feminine beauty.
She was not wearing a veil and was sitting straight with her legs together. She was taller than Zhao Ji and was looking down at her slightly.
In addition to a hint of doubt, the pair of big eyes also revealed a hint of hostility.
"What is the purpose of the Queen Mother's summons?"
Zhao Ji lazily leaned back on the cushion behind her, looking at the Yue girl in front of her with a half-smile. Her face was white and tender, without any signs of redness or swelling.
"You are indeed a great beauty. That bastard didn't eat you. You really have amazing endurance."
This was the first time Zhao Ji saw a Yue woman dressed in women's clothes. Even a naturally charming woman like her was a little surprised.
The girl said calmly, "Chang'an Jun is naturally not a vulgar person."
"Oh?" Zhao Ji lay down on her side, supported her head with her elbow, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and smiled at Yue Nu and said, "You are not a vulgar person, why do I need you to change your clothes?"
"This is not the order of Lord Chang'an, but my own will. I dress up to please myself." The Yue woman said very naturally.
The Yue woman abandoned her martial attire and chose a skirt that could show her beauty, just to show her beauty in front of Ying Chengjiao and please him and herself.
"Your straightforwardness is very typical of the people of Zhao. It is hard to find such passionate and unrestrained women outside Zhao." Zhao Ji sighed.
When it comes to love, women in most countries are on the passive side.
Only a few people dare to express their love actively, and even fewer still admit it so frankly.
Only the State of Zhao was different. The State of Zhao, which wore Hu clothing and rode and shot arrows, not only learned the clothing of the Donghu, but also adopted the Donghu's customs.
The people of Zhao were generous and magnanimous, and the women of Zhao were passionate and unrestrained. Zhao was the most open country in the world.
Openness means inclusiveness, which allowed Zhao State to grow into a powerful country in a short period of time.
Openness also means low constraints and chaos, so even though Zhao had two of the four famous generals of the Warring States Period, they still died.
Zhao was destroyed because of internal strife, because the son imprisoned his father, killed the king and usurped the throne, and because the ministers took control of the court on behalf of the king.
Zhao rose from the Hu and also perished from the Hu.
"I heard that a woman from Zhao could have sex with three men in one night. I can't do such an immoral thing." The woman from Yue said, touching the sword at her waist.
Zhao Ji's smile became more intense, and she said, "You have learned a lot from that boy. You used to be straightforward and could not say such words."
This sentence of Yue Nu means that she is different from Zhao Nu, and also means that she is on a different path from Zhao Ji.
How you respond to the same sentence often reveals your attitude.
Zhao Ji said that the women of Yue looked alike to the women of Zhao.
The women of Yue can be said to be as generous as the women of Zhao, but they can also be said to be not decent.
The former is definitely an expression of goodwill.
The latter negation is to draw a clear line.
The girl from Yue thought about her life as a bodyguard and assassin beside Zhao Ji, and then thought about Ying Chengjiao's current life as an assassin, and her brows softened a lot.
"How's your progress with that guy?" Zhao Ji asked casually.
What does it have to do with you?
The Vietnamese girl thought about it but didn't answer.
"If the Queen Mother has nothing to do, I will leave."
"You and I have been together for several years, but that boy stole your heart in just over a month. I am really sad." Zhao Ji said sadly.
The Vietnamese woman bent slightly, not to express respect, but because she was about to leave and the height of the carriage did not allow her to stand completely.
"Don't tell that brat that Teng died in your hands."
Zhao Ji grabbed a handful of her fine hair , put it to her mouth and blew gently, and her hair trembled slightly.
The Yue girl stopped walking, and her heart trembled along with Zhao Ji's hair.
"That guy is very sentimental. If he knew about this, I'm afraid your relationship would be in jeopardy."
The Yue girl turned around suddenly, her pretty face turned pale, and her eyes were filled with murderous intent and sword intent ready to be launched.
"You did it on purpose! You wanted me to kill Teng on purpose!"
In Yongdi, the order to kill Teng was given by Zhao Ji to Yuenu.
"You can just not be friends with that brat." Zhao Ji smiled lightly, shook her hair, turned her head to look at Yue Nu, and said, "Or, never let him know."
The Yue girl's weapons swelled up and she looked at Zhao Ji coldly.
"Changan Jun will forgive me."
"Maybe." Zhao Ji nodded indifferently, covered her mouth with her hand and yawned softly, and said: "Even if he forgives you, this matter will leave a knot in his heart. Even the most skilled craftsman can only restore the surface of a broken wine jar, but cannot eliminate the cracks."
The Yue girl lowered her head slightly, stroked the sword with one hand, and covered her heart with the other, panting a little.
After a while, when his breathing calmed down, he said, "Chang'an Jun is not an ordinary person."
This sentence is very firm, but I don’t know whether his heart is as firm as his words.
"Then you can give it a try." Zhao Ji smiled brilliantly, like a blooming spring flower.
However, the Vietnamese girl did not think that this smile contained any kindness, only endless malice.
Zhao Ji's carriage drove out of Xianyang to Yongdi. The wind in Yongdi blew for three days and also blew to Xianyang.
The unexpected incident at the wax festival soon spread across Xianyang. From the servants and concubines to the common people and even the princes and nobles, everyone knew about Ying Chengjiao's wild words.
In the building, the servant who had been covering the flaws in the floor until Ying Chengjiao arrived collected the money given by the guests and walked out of the building.
He headed straight toward his destination, without looking around or taking detours.
What's the point of following a slave like him? What's the need to follow him? Who cares what a slave does?
After calculating the time, the servant arrived in front of a tall gate and threw the money in his hand into the high wall when no one was paying attention.
"Brother, I want to see you."
A soft girl's voice was heard from within the wall. Although the words were only numbers, they were full of emotion.
"Don't do anything stupid, hide your money."
Outside the wall, the servants hurried away with their footsteps and stern voices.
The brother and sister were only separated by a wall, and they could see each other as long as the door was opened.
But since the brother and sister entered Xianyang, they have never seen each other again.
The wall is like a natural moat.
Not to mention meeting each other, the brother and sister didn't even have the chance to say a second word.
The servant returned to the building quickly, and when he entered the door, he restrained the smile on his face and replaced it with a humble look.
Talking to his sister and giving her more or less money every month is his greatest joy, and this joy can last all the time.
But once he entered the tower, he could no longer be happy.
Because some guests who were in a bad mood would beat and scold him when they saw him happy, making him unhappy.
He entered the building, and heard the sounds of laughter, chatter, and obscene music.
The scent of rouge, fine wine and delicious food, as well as the strong smell of hormones hits you in the face.
As far as the eye can see, there are slaves who forcefully smile and expose themselves to the world, and guests above them use their big hands to pinch and pinch until they turn purple. There are guests who laugh loudly, pour wine into the slaves' ravines, and lie on their backs to suck.
No matter when, the building is always crowded.
The servants looked around, and no one's expression lingered for even a moment, both to avoid being beaten for looking too long and to spot Ying Chengjiao as quickly as possible.
He looked around and didn't see Ying Chengjiao. Disappointment rose in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face and remained humble.
Once he turned around, he met the eyes of the manager on the second floor. Seeing the manager waving at him gently, he trotted up to the second floor.
"I go out once a month, and every time I go out I have no money."
The tower manager leaned his arms against the railing.
There were faint sounds of lasciviousness coming from the door behind me, and in the hall below me there was an endless mix of sensual pleasures.
"What did you do?"
The servant did not want to answer this question, but he was a slave and he had no choice.
The servant bent his waist and lowered his head, saying flatteringly: "I have a younger sister working in a family, and I want to redeem her."
The steward heard this and sneered.
The Qin law did have a provision for redeeming one's freedom, but the amount of money it cost was an astronomical figure, which was a sum that ordinary people could hardly save in their entire lives.
Even if a noble official really fell in love with a servant or concubine and loved her very much, he would not redeem her but would buy her.
The money for redeeming a slave was enough to buy hundreds of slaves and concubines. Who would use their own money just to free a slave?
To escape from slavery and become a commoner is just a fantasy.
The steward was just about to make a few jokes when he suddenly remembered the shocking changes at the wax festival that he had just heard about recently.
He said casually: "Instead of saving money to redeem people, it is better to hope for Lord Chang'an."
The servants had also heard about the wax festival. Unlike the streets of Xianyang where people were forbidden to speak, news spread fastest in the tower.
"Yes, yes, yes."
The servant nodded repeatedly with a smiling face.
That being said, in reality, neither the servants nor the stewards believed that Ying Chengjiao could succeed.
Because they were born into a world with clear distinctions among slaves, commoners, and nobles, they do not think there is anything wrong with this world.
Even slaves and servants only thought about escaping slavery and becoming commoners, rather than thinking that classes should not exist.
They cannot imagine what a world without classes would be like, and since they don't know, they don't expect it.
In the land of China, as long as people can survive, they will not think about change.
The tower is almost equivalent to Ying Chengjiao's private territory, and the people here have the greatest trust in Ying Chengjiao.
Even the tower manager who admired Ying Chengjiao extremely and the tower servants who were grateful to Ying Chengjiao thought so.
Well, in the outside world, whether they were slaves or common people, those with a better mentality sneered at Ying Chengjiao's madness, while those with a worse mentality cursed him as a brat.
The present Qin State, under the rule of the First Emperor, is far from the point of poverty and despair as it was at the end of the Qin Dynasty.
As long as the people can still survive, there is no soil for reform in the Qin State. This is called the general trend.
Just like Korea.
If the Han noble families had not been so greedy and pushed the Han people to death, the Han reform would never have succeeded.
Even if you engrave the eight big words "Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers all born into a certain class?" into the minds of every citizen, it will not succeed.
…
"You are going against the will of heaven."
Princess Chu was dressed in a black outfit with narrow sleeves and gold patterns, and her hair was tied up in a crown like a man.
She stood on the top of the Xianyang city wall, looking at her own son Ying Jianglu who was riding on a war horse and waving goodbye to her excitedly, and spoke.
On the mottled top of the city wall, the city defense soldiers stationed there held long spears and looked into the distance, looking down at the dust below the city with envy in their eyes.
"I said there is no sky." Ying Chengjiao, who was standing next to him, looked up at the sky, stretched out his right arm with his palm facing the sky, hooked his index finger, and shouted: "You, come here!"
"You should ask the imperial physician to take a look at your madness." Concubine Chu had no expression on her face.
Her eyes were always on the city of Xianyang.
There, the horses were galloping and the smoke and dust were almost covering the human figures.
The leader was her biological son Ying Jianglu, and behind Ying Jianglu were dozens of members of the Meng family, former generals of the Qin Dynasty.
They wore armor with leather strips or ropes between the armor plates, which were closely arranged.
Or wearing scale armor with all the armor plates nailed or inlaid on fabrics such as linen and leather.
To later generations, these looked like rags made by putting a few pieces of iron together as if for fun, but they were modern armor.
The 50,000 cavalrymen behind these people were also wearing armor or scale armor. The difference between them and the dozens of people in front was that they lacked two breastplates on the front and back of their armor.
On the fourth day of October in the first year of the First Emperor's reign, the third son Ying Jianglu led an army of 50,000 to the northwest and was granted the land of the Xiongnu.
"After so many years, you just can't let go of your anger, right? If Mother Zhaoyang saw you being so cold to me, she would slap you twice on the spot."
"If my mother were still alive, she would definitely beat you." Concubine Chu turned her head and looked coldly at Ying Chengjiao, saying, "If you were the king, Lord Changping and Lord Changwen would not die."
"Perhaps."
Ying Chengjiao stretched lazily, and his waist made a crackling sound.
"It's not maybe, it's definitely!" Concubine Chu took a step forward, stared into Ying Chengjiao's eyes, and said coldly: "They obey you!"
Ying Chengjiao pointed a finger at Concubine Chu's shoulder blade and pushed her half a meter away with an expressionless face.
"They obeyed not me, but the power. I told them not to rebel, but they didn't listen."
Concubine Chu waved her hand to open Ying Chengjiao's hand, took another step forward, and shouted in extreme anger.
"So you just let them rebel and seek death!"
"I didn't kill them. It was my greatest kindness." Ying Chengjiao looked straight ahead and did not give in to Concubine Chu.
"That's because you know they will lose. Chu is no match for Qin!"
"They buried 200,000 Qin soldiers. Without them, the Chu State would have been destroyed by Li Xin long ago. Li Xin even reached Ying."
"You're talking nonsense!" The concubine of Chu snorted and cursed. "As long as you are not the leader, even Wang Jian cannot rely on 200,000 Qin troops to destroy Chu! Chu has a vast territory and a vast depth. 200,000 Qin troops who don't know the terrain can't deploy at all. Even if Li Xin conquers Ying, Xiang Yan will eat them up! Can Bai Qi conquer Ying and destroy Chu? The Ying that Chu conquered is not enough!"
Ying Chengjiao was speechless.
This is true. The terrain of Chu and Qin is different.
Moreover, every time the capital was moved, it was called Ying. After moving so many times, it still survived tenaciously.
Ying Chengjiao turned sideways and avoided looking at Concubine Chu's angry eyes.
"Everyone has their own choice, and I don't want to interfere."
"Then you shouldn't have said that bullshit at the wax festival! The people of the world don't want reforms! In your words, you are a double standard dog!"
Ying Chengjiao rested his hands on the battlements of the city wall and nodded.
"you're right."
This is my choice.
