Chapter 361 Most of the time, people trust their own analysis
In the early morning, before the sun rises, the east is turning white.
Inside a side hall of the Afang Palace, a young man was already holding a bamboo slip and reading aloud. His slightly sharp voice attracted the early birds to chirp.
For the past eight or nine years, the boy had been like his uncle, sleeping until he woke up naturally. But after getting a new teacher who was stern and serious and never smiled, the boy could no longer sleep in.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, wondering why he hadn't eaten yet, the young man stopped reciting for a moment.
The ruler hit the table quickly, making a crisp warning sound.
The boy was frightened at first, but now he is used to it.
After knowing that the man was not going to hit him but was just reminding him, the boy was no longer afraid.
"A man of wisdom and tactics must have foresight and insight. Without insight, he cannot see through private interests. A man who can enforce the law must be strong and resolute. Without integrity, he cannot correct evil..."
He forced himself to concentrate and continued to read aloud in a clear and melodious voice, not daring to be distracted again. Otherwise, the ruler would hit the boy's palm next time, which would be very painful.
Li Si, who was sitting across from the table, had a serious expression on his face. He held a ruler in his right hand and placed his left hand on his thigh, pinching it hard from time to time. If you took off his black pants, you could see that his thigh was already bruised.
The students are sleepy, but he, the teacher, is actually even more sleepy.
It takes exactly two quarters of an hour to reach the Afang Palace from the main gate of the Xianyang Palace, led by the eunuchs of the Afang Palace.
It takes about a quarter of an hour to get from Li Si's house to the main gate of Xianyang Palace by carriage. This is because Li Si was in a high position and his house was very close to Xianyang Palace.
Li Si was a big gambler and was willing to be a lone minister and gamble on a lifetime of wealth and glory.
In daily life, Li Si was very steady. As the teacher of the Eighteen Young Masters, he would get up an hour earlier than his students on the day of teaching. He would leave a quarter of an hour to deal with any unexpected events and ensure that he could arrive before the students got up.
Carrying books for students, I had to give up comfort in order to be fast. I would take a quarter-hour nap in the bumpy carriage, walk for two quarters of an hour in the Xianyang Palace, and then listen to students' morning reading.
The drowsiness from waking up too early, the exhaustion from exercise, the hypnosis from a student studying without any emotion. If Li Si didn't pinch his thigh, he might fall asleep at any time.
【It will be fine after having breakfast. 】
Li Si thought to himself that he was also waiting for breakfast.
With food in his stomach, he would not feel sleepy after this period of time. He usually slept soundly at this time, but his body was not used to getting up early these days.
"The wise and tactical people are clear-sighted, listen to the use, and can see the hidden intentions of the important people. If they can follow the law and be upright, listen to the use, and correct the evil deeds of the important people..."
The boy was still reading aloud, very slowly, almost enunciating every word.
Because this was the first time the young man saw this book, it was the "Han Feizi" brought by Li Si.
Young people have reached the stage where they need to know not only the facts but also the reasons behind them. They can no longer simply study the Qin Law, but need to know why the Qin Law was set up in this way.
[Si is already the prime minister. It is extremely difficult to make further progress. Recently, government affairs are not very busy. It is better to write a book based on what I have learned throughout my life. Even if I cannot get the name of Li Zi, it is good for people in the future to understand my thoughts and inherit my ideas.]
The eldest son joined the army, and the remaining children were taught at home. My wife did not have to farm and weave, and she spent her days reading novels and laughing. The family had no shortage of money and food, and had many retainers. All the children of the Legalists in the Qin court were under his command, and the court judge followed his lead, and a group of important officials joined his army.
The nobles with military merit and the aristocratic families were not afraid of him, but at least they did not dare to bully him as they did in the past.
Li Si, who had grown from a minor official in the State of Chu to a pillar of the State of Qin and almost reached the highest position among the officials, had already realized his vision and no longer desired anything in terms of power and status.
Li Si, who had enjoyed great glory during his lifetime and no longer needed to struggle but to maintain his dignity, looked towards his reputation after his death.
Writing books and articles, these four words that he sneered at and thought were out of reach, were now within his reach.
【I'll start writing when I get home! 】
Seeing that his teacher was distracted, the boy's reciting became weaker.
"Put your hand out."
Li Si had no expression on his face.
The boy made a bitter face, shivered and stretched out his little hand.
Bang~
Feeling the stinging pain, the boy shook his hands vigorously, thinking with a smile on his face.
【Hand pain is much less severe than headache.】
After breakfast, Li Si taught for another hour, assigned today's homework, and then left.
The young man heaved a sigh of relief, threw away the bamboo slips, climbed onto the bed, and fell asleep. He was very sleepy after getting up so early every day.
I was sleeping soundly when I suddenly felt something moving in my heart and felt someone was beside me.
Since he came to the Afang Palace, he had acquired this magical ability despite his martial arts skills. Even if he was sleeping soundly, he would always wake up immediately as long as someone came to his side.
He stood up suddenly, his eyes full of alertness. The moment he sat up, he shrank to the deepest part of the rosewood bed and opened his mouth to shout "Help come".
"Little Eighteen."
Ying Chengjiao opened his arms and smiled gently.
The young boy was stunned at first, then flew into Ying Chengjiao's arms like a young swallow flying into the forest, and buried his little head in Ying Chengjiao's arms.
"uncle……"
There was a distinct crying tone in this call.
Gently patting his nephew on the back, Ying Chengjiao said jokingly:
"I heard that my little Eighteen has been studying Qin Law recently. Did he learn that men are not allowed to cry, and those who violate the law will have their beards shaved off? Is this the law about eyebrows? You are so young and don't have a beard, but you can't keep your eyebrows."
The little nephew did not respond, and his body trembled more and more violently, from suppressed sobs , to crying, and then to wailing loudly.
Before Ying Chengjiao came, he already knew that his nephew had been brutally treated by Zhao Gao, and he was troubled for several days.
"Are you scared by Zhao Gao? He is dead now and can no longer bully Xiao Shiba. Don't be afraid."
"uncle……"
When he raised his little head, his face was covered with tears and his eye circles were visibly swollen.
"My mother is dead. They killed her..."
Ying Chengjiao’s smile froze.
He had no good feelings towards Concubine . His previous impression of this princess of a fallen country was that she had never treated his brother well. After learning that he was framed by her, he felt full of hatred towards Concubine Hu - vicious woman, damn her!
But for Ying Hu Hai, the one who died was his mother who gave birth to him, raised him, and played with him while scolding him as a bastard and catching insects.
Ying Chengqiu's throat seemed to be blocked by something. He, who was always eloquent, was unable to utter a word in front of an eight-year-old child.
He was silent, hugging his little nephew with his arms. The heart-wrenching cry made him feel as if he was suffocating.
After a long time, the crying gradually subsided.
"Hu Hai hates them, but he dares not say it because he is afraid of death. Uncle, is Hu Hai very weak?"
"No, when uncle was Xiao Shiba's age, he was not as brave as Xiao Shiba."
"real?"
"real."
"They think Hu Hai is still young and doesn't know anything, but in fact, Hu Hai knows everything. Father doesn't really like me, he doesn't believe anything I say. Mother doesn't really like me either, she doesn't respond when I call her mother. They pretend to like me because they are afraid that Mother will seek revenge on them. They don't like Hu Hai, and Hu Hai doesn't like them either. Hu Hai likes his uncle, so can you take Hu Hai with you?"
Ying Chengjiao was silent; he was caught off guard.
He hadn't thought about this before coming here. He thought this trip was just to coax the children.
He had a jar of glass balls in his arms. He had planned to play a few games with his nephew and lose to him on purpose to make him happy.
The young man could not hide his disappointment, he climbed up from Ying Chengjiao's arms and said with a forced smile:
"I'm sorry, Hu Hai has made things difficult for my uncle."
With nothing in his hands, Ying Chengjiao felt even more suffocated. He felt distressed by how sensible his little nephew was.
"Uncle, please don't tell others what Hu Hai said. Hu Hai doesn't want to die."
Ying Chengjiao looked at the precocious boy in front of him. He was a little dazed at the cruel and merciless Qin II who was responsible for the death of the Qin Emperor and killed all his brothers and sisters.
When Xiao Shiba was just born, Ying Chengjiao had the intention to kill him.
Kill the culprit who prevented the demise of the Qin Dynasty in the second generation and let the Qin Empire prosper forever!
Ying Chengjiao never thought that one day, the nephew he wanted to kill would regard him as his closest person.
After Concubine Hu died, Ying Hu Hai never played with his favorite insects again. Without his mother to play with him, what was the point of playing with insects?
Many late nights, Ying Hu Hai would wake up crying, biting the quilt. His mother had died, and he could not cry openly, nor could he fulfill his son's duty to avenge his mother.
The people around him seemed to obey him in everything, but as a young boy he could clearly feel that there was a barrier between them.
"You must be tired of crying, take a nap first."
Ying Chengjiao wet the towel, wiped away the tears on his nephew's face, pulled the quilt over his nephew, and sat at the head of the bed.
"Sleep, when you wake up, your uncle will take you away."
"Hu Hai won't sleep anymore, uncle, let's go now."
The boy kicked off the quilt.
Ying Chengjiao pulled it up again.
"You must at least leave some time for your uncle so that he can go and convince your father, the emperor, and your mother."
"Hu Hai will go with his uncle."
Ying Chengjiao held down the struggling boy and glared at him in a stern manner.
"Be good! Go to sleep and everything will be fine when you wake up."
When Ying Chengjiao walked to the door of the bedroom.
"uncle!"
Ying Chengjiao turned around and said in a gentle voice:
"What's wrong?"
The boy pulled the quilt, feeling uneasy.
"You won't not come back, will you? If you don't come back, I will tell Hu Hai. Hu Hai won't blame me, I just ask you not to tell others what I said."
The boy has been very tired of waiting these days, very tired, he can't bear waiting again.
If the result is destined to be disappointment, then don't give him hope.
"You can't sleep? Then read a book. Read the bamboo slips on the table ten times, and your uncle will be back."
The door opened and closed.
The boy who didn't like reading jumped out of bed as quickly as possible, picked up the bamboo slips he didn't like, and read aloud with full concentration at noon when he liked to sleep.
As he read on, the boy began to cry again.
"Uncle, you must come back..."
Afang Palace, main hall.
Afang poured a cup of tea for Ying Chengjiao and handed it to him with both hands.
"When did uncle come back?"
Ying Chengjiao took it with both hands and lowered his head slightly.
"I came back last night, don't be so polite, sister-in-law. You pour me tea yourself, but Cheng Jiao doesn't know how to taste it."
"The black dragon has flown away. Now Afang is just a useless person. He can't even beat a sharp warrior. How can he be a match for uncle? Do you think uncle is afraid of a useless person?"
Ying Chengjiao did not drink the tea, but left it on the table. He had been here for nearly thirty years and still could not get used to drinking this thick substance. He felt that it was better to drink hot water directly.
"Cheng Jiao is not afraid of the Emperor's sister-in-law, but respects her. Respects the Emperor's sister-in-law for selflessly treating the prince and princess as her own children, respects the Emperor's sister-in-law for serving my brother in Zhao and helping him through the most difficult times, and respects the Emperor's sister-in-law for training the Li Dragon to protect my brother's life. This respect has nothing to do with whether the Li Dragon soars or not."
A Fang felt relieved and said with a long sigh:
"Uncle's words make Afang happy and ashamed. Your Majesty doesn't tell your uncle some things in order to protect Afang, but Afang cannot affect the relationship between your uncle and your Majesty, so there are some things that I can't help but say."
"The Queen's sister-in-law has something to say, but you can speak freely. After the Queen's sister-in-law has finished speaking, Cheng Jiao also has something to tell the Queen's sister-in-law."
Afang's worry, which had originally calmed down, was lifted up again.
"Uncle, you should have heard about the recent events in the palace, the death of Concubine Hu, the death of Zhao Gao, the cause and effect?"
Ying Chengjiao nodded.
Gai Nie told him all these things by carrier pigeon, Ping'er told him again by carrier pigeon, and Concubine Chu also told him again by carrier pigeon. He now knows the whole process better than ever.
The reason why he pretended to be ignorant of the situation in front of the First Emperor yesterday was to let the First Emperor think about the reason why Zhao Gao told the truth.
Most of the time, people trust their own analysis more.
"That bitch Concubine Hu falsely accused uncle, saying that uncle took her and gave birth to Hu Hai. Uncle didn't know the news, not because Your Majesty didn't trust him and didn't tell him, but because Afang took the initiative to put Ping'er under house arrest. Uncle was practicing "The Yellow Emperor", and Your Majesty already knew the situation, so how could he doubt uncle? All this is Afang's fault. Afang judged uncle's noble mind with a mean heart."
After saying this, Afang looked at Ying Chengjiao's expression with some trepidation.
She only has one uncle, and she had experienced this uncle's strength ten years ago.
At that time, King Zhuangxiang of Qin, Ying Zichu, had just passed away, and the two largest forces in Qin were Lu Buwei and Zhao Ji.
When it came to the matter of Emperor Qin Shihuang choosing his empress, both forces did not approve of a maidservant being the empress. Concubines could be given titles at will, but the empress who was in charge of the harem could never be someone as lowly as her.
Her uncle stood by her husband and, despite the opposition from these two major forces, he helped this little maid become the queen.
She has read few books and does not have such profound knowledge.
But she knew very well that in order to make the two major forces of Zhao Ji and Lu Buwei retreat, her uncle's power must be at least greater than that of both parties.
After becoming the queen, she learned about Ying Chengjiao's glorious past, and she has always been wary of Ying Chengjiao, even though Ying Chengjiao has never shown any rebellious intentions.
It is true that Ying Chengjiao was indebted to her, but it is also true that Ying Chengjiao had the power to usurp the throne. Afang's attitude towards Ying Chengjiao has always been contradictory.
"Hey, is that what it is?"
Ying Chengjiao laughed.
"Any man would feel uncomfortable hearing such a thing, let alone trust or not. With my brother's straightforward personality, if he really suspected me, he would have issued an imperial decree to get me out of here. He cares about the world, and this little thing can only make him uncomfortable for a while, but he won't tolerate it for long."
