Chapter 331: Your death will not be in vain!
The First Emperor did not like weak people, and considering that the Eighteenth Son was still young, he did not turn around and leave.
He glanced at the dogtail grass on the ground, and at the two insects in the pottery jar whose antennae suddenly touched and then separated, testing each other.
The First Emperor was about to lose his temper and scold him, but when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he saw Ying Hu Hai's small movement, which he thought was hidden but was actually very obvious, glancing behind him. The content of his words changed and his tone softened.
"You still respect your teacher."
The First Emperor thought that the Eighteenth Son was looking at his teacher, so he moved slightly and gave Zhao Gao half of his body space.
Unexpectedly, Ying Hu Hai's eyes did not pass over Zhao Gao. Seeing that there was no one else behind his father, he could not help but lower his head, muttering something with his little mouth.
The First Emperor's face suddenly turned cold.
"Have you not seen your teacher?"
The word "teacher" had a very high status in ancient times. The First Emperor could not bear to see that the Eighteenth Master ignored Zhao Gao.
When Ying Hu Hai heard his father's unfriendly tone, his fear grew and he stepped back without saying a word. The First Emperor had a very high prestige among these princes and princesses.
The more Ying Huhai said this, the angrier the First Emperor became, and he kicked over the pottery jar on the ground. The pottery jar rolled far away, and the two little bugs inside were thrown out of the jar and disappeared.
The young Eighteenth Master saw that the two insects he had caught with great effort were gone just like that. He pouted in grievance and was about to cry.
“Don’t cry!”
The First Emperor was cruel to his eighteen sons, and they dared not shed tears.
"I ask you."
The First Emperor's voice was cold and majestic.
"What punishment should be given to those who desert in battle?"
Ying Hu Hai was ashamed and did not dare to look at his father. He had no idea what the First Emperor was talking about.
This question is not difficult and is a basic question and answer in Qin law.
When the First Emperor saw that his eighteenth son could not answer this question, he knew that his son had probably not studied Qin law at all. He suppressed his anger and asked Ying Huhai a few more basic questions, but Ying Huhai could not answer any of them.
The First Emperor was really angry and grabbed Shibazi by the collar.
"What did you learn from the teacher?"
Ying Hu Hai burst into tears, wiping his tears and sobbing:
"Father, father, father, I haven't given it to you yet. Please arrange a teacher for Hu Hai."
A stern look flashed in the First Emperor's eyes. He turned his head and stared at Zhao Gao. The look in his sharp eyes was exactly the same as when he had just sentenced the palace maid to death.
Zhao Gao said that Ying Hu Hai had made rapid progress, but now Ying Hu Hai doesn't even know Zhao Gao as his teacher. This is a blatant crime of deceiving the emperor.
Zhao Gao was terrified and fell to his knees, crying:
"Your Majesty wants me to be the teacher of the Eighteenth Prince, but Concubine Hu does not allow me to teach him, so the Eighteenth Prince does not know that I am his teacher. I did not intend to deceive Your Majesty, but I was helpless. If Your Majesty had not invited me here, I would not be able to be the teacher of the Eighteenth Prince!"
The First Emperor was well aware that Concubine Hu did not allow Ying Hu Hai to study and rejected the Qin Empire, so he had no doubts about Zhao Gao's remarks.
Shaking off his young son, the First Emperor, with a cold expression, quickly returned to Concubine Hu's bedroom and violently pushed open the door.
"You don't want Hu Hai to learn martial arts or literature, and you want to resist the teacher I found for him. What do you want to do?"
Concubine Hu, who was naked and hiding in the brocade quilt, gritted her teeth, smiled happily, and said nothing.
Her happiness was not fake, it came from the heart. Seeing the First Emperor like this, her heart was happy.
The First Emperor took two steps at a time and walked to the window. His tall body blocked out all the light, and the shadow covered Concubine Hu's entire body.
"I'm asking you a question, you'd better answer it quickly. You can't bear my anger."
There was not much anger in the voice, only endless coldness.
Concubine Hu wanted to continue laughing like this, but she remained silent and looked at the First Emperor like this forever.
But she didn't dare.
She was not the only one who was in trouble after angering the First Emperor. There were also those women living in the Chu Palace among the Six Palaces, her sisters and aunts.
"You know now that he is your son?"
Concubine Hu was filled with hatred.
"When Afang didn't teach him, did you know he was your son? How many times have you seen Hu Hai in these years?"
"You can't see Hu Hai anymore."
The First Emperor said coldly, then turned and walked away.
Since the mother doesn't want to raise a son, it's natural for him, as the father, to raise him.
“Why?”
Concubine Hu screamed, hatred and anger mixed together, a little hysterical.
The First Emperor turned a deaf ear and did not even change the pace of his departure.
"Do you really think Hu Hai is your son?"
The First Emperor paused, turned around, and murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
Ordinary people would be extremely angry if they were cuckolded, let alone this emperor who ruled the world.
In addition to palace maids and eunuchs, there were also palace attendants in the harem of Xianyang Palace.
In addition to strict rules, the officials were also supervised by their colleagues. If a official was found to have an affair with a palace maid, all the officials would be punished and their entire clan would be exterminated.
Even though he knew that this possibility was unlikely, the mere hearing of this possibility made the First Emperor furious.
Concubine Hu seemed unaware that she was actually touching the First Emperor's weak spot. She seemed to be driven mad by the sudden order that she could not spend time with her son.
"Hu Hai is Cheng Jiao's son, not yours! Why don't you let me see Hu Hai?"
The muscles on the Emperor's face twitched and the corners of his mouth bulged.
Ying Chengjiao was the only person besides the First Emperor who could enter and leave the harem freely without any restrictions. What Concubine Hu said was not impossible to come true.
The First Emperor panted and walked out of Concubine Hu's bedroom. Zhao Gao, who was waiting at the door, buried his head and trembled, not daring to speak. At such a close distance, he, who was highly skilled in martial arts, could easily hear everything that was said.
The First Emperor walked past him quickly, and Zhao Gao hurriedly followed behind him.
"Your Majesty, Lord Chang'an is studying the Yellow Emperor."
The angry First Emperor glared and stopped.
Xia Wuqi said in person that Ying Chengjiao had not yet broken his primordial yang, so it was impossible for him and Concubine Hu to give birth to Ying Hu Hai.
The First Emperor had only a slight suspicion about this matter. Over the years, the two brothers had known and trusted each other. This deep affection was obviously not something that could be compared to that of Concubine Hu, who had no feelings at all.
After regaining his composure and regaining his intelligence, the First Emperor narrowed his eyes.
"Go ask that bitch who instructed him to slander Cheng Jiao."
"this……"
Zhao Gao looked embarrassed, as if he was deeply afraid of Concubine Hu's identity.
"play hard."
The First Emperor said in a deep voice.
From the moment Concubine Hu revealed that Ying Hu Hai's biological father was Ying Chengjiao, no matter what the outcome, the First Emperor was not going to let him live.
"only."
Zhao Gao calmed himself down, responded in a deep voice, and turned to walk towards Concubine Hu's bedroom.
There was a slight sound of the door opening, followed by Zhao Gao's surprised cry.
"His Majesty!"
The First Emperor turned around abruptly.
When the door of Concubine Hu's bedroom was open, a red color suddenly caught people's eyes.
Naked and with a slender waist, the beautiful Concubine Hu lay peacefully on the quilt, her neck a blood red.
A Qin sword was placed across her body, and Concubine Hu committed suicide.
There is no evidence of death.
"Check it for me!"
The First Emperor's voice was filled with rage.
He had no feelings for Concubine Hu, as she was a concubine taken in for political reasons. But over the years, he would have poured out his feelings even for a pet, let alone a woman who gave birth to his son.
Although the First Emperor had no intention of letting Concubine Hu live and was prepared for Zhao Gao's torture, the unexpected death of Concubine Hu still made the First Emperor furious.
"only!"
Zhao Gao responded tremblingly.
Suddenly he fell to his knees with a thud, tears streaming down his face.
"Your Majesty, Gao is guilty! Gao is guilty! If Gao hadn't acted on his own, Concubine Hu wouldn't have died, and nothing would have happened today! Gao is guilty!"
The First Emperor, trembling with anger, looked at Zhao Gao, who had saved his life countless times.
"Zhao Gao, you saved my life again."
"His Majesty……"
Zhao Gao raised his head with snot and tears running down his face, looking very embarrassed. He wiped his face with his sleeve, and it was all over his face, turning from embarrassed to messy.
"This bitch is willing to die in order not to reveal the mastermind behind the scenes. If you hadn't brought me here today, I wouldn't have known that there was a bad guy in my harem. I leave this matter to you. You can use everything in the palace at your disposal."
This matter could not be done in a high-profile manner. The fewer people who knew about it, the better. The First Emperor did not want others to know that Concubine Hu said she had cheated on him.
"only!"
Zhao Gao kowtowed in response, with the corner of his mouth raised.
"You have three days to find this person. If you can't find him, I will be unable to sleep or eat!"
"Gao obeys your order!"
The First Emperor walked into the side hall with a cold face and picked up his youngest son Ying Hu Hai and took him away. His mother had just died, and it was because of him that she died. The First Emperor felt guilty towards this youngest son.
Ying Hu Hai had lived with Hu Ji since he was a child, but Hu Ji was dead, and it was impossible for the First Emperor to let him live alone in this palace.
The First Emperor did not know what to do with his eighteenth son for the time being, so he just took him away first.
"Father, Hu Hai will leave..."
Ying Hu Hai said timidly that in his memory, besides his mother, the only people who held him were his uncle.
His father had never hugged him, and he didn't dare to go up and play with his father who looked so scary.
"Stay still."
"oh."
The child was well-behaved and timidly responded.
After Ying Zheng carried him for about a hundred steps, he felt that his father was not so scary, and he said timidly:
"Where is Father taking Hu Hai?"
"I don't know yet, where do you want to go?"
"Father, can you take Hu Hai to play with your uncle?"
“…”
Looking at his young son's eyes full of hope and expectation, the First Emperor stopped and remained silent.
Ying Chengjiao enjoyed extremely high prestige among the princes and princesses of the Qin Dynasty. The children of the First Emperor all liked to play with this uncle who could play with them without criticizing them and who also brought them delicious food.
It is not surprising that Ying Hu Hai could say this, it is very common.
But this happened against the backdrop of his biological mother just revealing that Ying Chengjiao was his biological father and committing suicide to keep the secret.
Even though the First Emperor knew that Ying Chengjiao had not yet broken Yuanyang and could not be his biological father, and even though the First Emperor trusted Ying Chengjiao very much, in order to find out who was behind the slander of Ying Chengjiao, he could let Zhao Gao do whatever he wanted to his concubines.
At this moment, the First Emperor still felt something strange.
"Who were you looking for when you looked behind me just now?"
"uncle!"
Ying Hu Hai said happily that just mentioning Ying Chengjiao made the child very happy.
"Uncle hasn't come to see Hu Hai for a long time."
The child grumbled, somewhat complaining.
The First Emperor held the authentic Eighteenth Son in his arms, took a step forward, and walked away in silence.
While feeling a little strange in his heart, the First Emperor, who was good at admitting his mistakes and looking for the reasons within himself, was also examining himself, wondering if he had spent too little time with his young son.
Although he had no prejudice against Ying Hu Hai himself, because of the hatred towards his mother Hu Ji, the First Emperor was unwilling to go to Hu Fei's bedroom to be scolded.
Since Ying Hu Hai was born, the number of times the First Emperor visited Ying Hu Hai could be counted on one hand. Ying Hu Hai was the prince whom the First Emperor visited the least.
[I should pay more attention to Hu Hai...]
Concubine Hu's bedroom.
Zhao Gao entered.
Hu Ji's death was very strange, and the cause of death could not be disclosed to the outside world, so Zhao Gao was the only one who dealt with Hu Ji's body.
He rolled up Hu Ji's curvy body with a quilt, threw the Qin sword into the quilt, and rolled it up along with Hu Ji's body.
【You will not die in vain. 】
Zhao Gao thought to himself.
Even though he could sense that there was no one else nearby, Zhao Gao did not say aloud the words he wanted to express.
There are some things that only he himself knows, and even heaven and earth cannot tell him.
[Only if you die can His Majesty pay attention to the long-neglected Eighteenth Prince. The only prince in the Qin Dynasty who has lost his mother, he deserves His Majesty's favoritism.]
As the youngest son of the First Emperor, Ying Hu Hai was at a disadvantage in terms of age. Before he grew up , his elder brother Ying Fusu had already grown into a qualified crown prince.
Also, because his mother was Hu Ji, in terms of the favor of the First Emperor, Ying Hu Hai lagged behind his brothers by more than two levels when he was born.
To become a teacher of such a little-known young man, there is no way out if you want to continue to follow the routine. The only way is to overtake on the curve.
When Hu Ji was alive, the First Emperor ignored Ying Hu Hai. After Hu Ji died, this neglect turned into equal or even double guilt. Eventually, it turned into favoritism, which enveloped Ying Hu Hai.
Zhao Gao, who was born into the royal family of Zhao, was not just a reckless man with great martial arts skills. His first identity was the prince of Zhao.
More than ten years ago, in order to foil Qin's counter-espionage plan, he spread the folk song "Li Mu's death means the demise of Zhao" in Zhao.
More than ten years later, Zhao Gao had been growing by the side of the First Emperor, dealing with the best people in the world, and witnessing the most profound strategies in the world.
After cleaning the bedroom thoroughly, Zhao Gao ordered two eunuchs to go in, and use a shoulder pole with a large basket to carry the tightly wrapped brocade quilt out of Concubine Hu's bedroom and out of the Xianyang Palace.
With the order of the First Emperor, Zhao Gao, who was in charge of all the power in the Xianyang Palace again, had a smooth journey and was unable to answer any questions he was asked.
No one knew that the two eunuchs were carrying large baskets wrapped in brocade quilts that contained concubines and girls from the Hu clan.
No one knew where the two eunuchs went, panting, carrying the large basket, because they never came back.
Three people go out and one returns.
After returning to the Xianyang Palace and handling everything properly, Zhao Gao found the General of the Household Zhang Han.
This time, Zhao Gao wanted to take advantage of Zhang Han's other identity, the leader of the Shadow Guard.
