Chapter 296 Tell me what's going on
Baili Cheng stood up with the help of the chair, his head was dizzy, his legs were numb and weak, and he almost fell down. He had not slept all night, and he was so exhausted that he had no intention of catching up on sleep.
The servant, who didn't know what was going on, prepared the carriage and drove towards the Xianyang Palace with his eyes closed.
A number of noble families, like the Baili family, rode out of their homes in horse-drawn carriages or ox-drawn carts and headed towards the Xianyang Palace before the common people got up to make a living.
One after another, horse-drawn carriages and ox-drawn carts filled the streets of Xianyang City. Only the last time the Third Young Master led 50,000 soldiers out of Xianyang could he overwhelm these noble families.
The noble families do not care about the lives of common people, but they care very much about their own lives.
When
The melodious bell sounds echoed endlessly in Xianyang City, waking up countless sleeping common people.
It also gave a shock to the anxious nobles sitting in the ox carts and horse carriages. They lifted the curtains in a daze and listened attentively to the sound of the bells, trying to identify the tone.
The bells continued to ring, each one louder than the last, like a wave that had been accumulating for a long time, each wave higher than the last.
Several fast horses drove out of the Xianyang Palace and galloped along the streets and alleys of Xianyang City. The skilled driver held the copper pestle in one hand and the reins in the other hand to fix the copper bell on the horse's back.
Each of them moved in unison, hitting the bronze bell hard with the bronze pestle in their hands, hitting the bronze bell again and again until it produced a clear, vibrating sound.
Soon, the entire city of Xianyang was filled with the sound of bells, and every household could hear the melodious, heavy, and penetrating bronze sounds.
"Turn around and go back home."
Baili Cheng ordered his driver to return to the carriage with a happy look on his face.
The nobles on the ox carts and horse carriages all acted in unison with Baili Cheng and told their drivers that they wanted to return home.
Their faces might show relief, anticipation, impatience, or gloating.
Your Majesty is finally going to deal with that brat!
They all thought so in their hearts.
This melodious bronze sound was none other than the bronze sound of Emperor Qin Shi Huang holding court meetings.
Xianyang City was very large, and the First Emperor could usually ask the eunuchs in the palace to report to various government offices the night before the court meeting.
In special circumstances, such as the present, when the First Emperor suddenly convened a court meeting, he would ring the bronze bell to notify all officials who were qualified to attend the court meeting with a loud bronze sound.
Something big would happen every time a court meeting was held, and the most recent big event was the extermination of three great families by Ying Chengjiao in front of the Supreme Court.
These nobles had to go back to their homes to prepare their official uniforms, dress neatly, and go to the Xianyang Palace to attend the court meeting. They accused Ying Chengjiao and demanded that His Majesty punish him severely and make Ying Chengjiao pay for his blood debt with blood.
In the Meng Mansion.
The veteran general Meng Ao wanted to put on the old armor that had accompanied him for many years, but was stopped by his grandson Meng Yi.
"Father, you can go to court, but if you want the safety of the Meng family, please change into casual clothes. The Meng family can gain a foothold in Qin because we follow the King of Qin without any other intentions. It would be better to kill Meng Yi with a sword than for Father to break into the palace in armor again."
After my father and elder brother left, Meng Yi, the internal historian who was in charge of the huge Meng family alone and whose life and death depended on all the members of the Meng family, seemed to have grown up overnight.
Zhao Su was a little confused.
This young man with a determined face and unyielding expression, with a look of unrelieved sorrow between his brows, is the sunny and cheerful youngest son who thrived under the protection of the Meng family. Is he a person...
The old general, who had been blocked for a night, was furious. He pointed at his grandson's nose and wanted to chop it down with his Qin sword.
"Birdman! It's really a birdman!"
After cursing loudly twice, the old general asked his servants to put away the armor that he had worn once in the palace, and changed into a black long gown that was in line with the Qin people's aesthetic taste.
After stopping his grandfather and mother, Meng Yi, who had been away overnight, changed into official uniform and got on the carriage together with Meng Ao, who was in casual clothes.
Seeing that the two were about to go to court, Zhao Su grabbed Meng Yi's arm.
"Yier, there are some things you don't know. The relationship between Chang'an Jun and my Meng family..."
The old general wanted to stop his son Xijun from revealing any news about Ying Chengjiao as soon as possible. Over the years, the old general did not tell his two grandsons about those past events.
In the Qin State when Ying Zheng was the King of Qin, the more brilliant and dazzling Ying Chengjiao's past was, the more he implied that the First Emperor's accession to the throne was not legitimate. Some things are only bad to know, not good.
Perhaps because he was old, his reaction became slower . Although he was trying to stop the man in his mind, his body actually entered the carriage and sat at the innermost part.
"Mother, the court meeting is about to begin."
The old general heard his grandson interrupt his mother's words, and then the curtain of the carriage was lifted. The young grandson squatted inside and sat upright on one side of the carriage.
The youngest person in power in the Meng family was not interested in Ying Chengjiao and the past of the Meng family. In the life and death of the Meng family, other relationships were not important.
The second son of the Meng family, who has been in the officialdom for many years and not on the battlefield, has become more realistic than his grandfather, uncle, and elder brother who are used to fighting on the battlefield.
The blue ox in Wang Wan's mansion was pulled out of the cowshed again. The driver, who had not slept for several hours, washed his face three times with cold water just drawn from the well before going out.
While the coldness was still there, he drove the ox cart, which actually did not require much skill, and slowly carried the old prime minister to the Xianyang Palace.
Gangcheng Jun Cai Ze also heard the ringing of the bronze bell outside. He was silent for a while and then lay down in his clothes.
That bastard only asked Ze to tell him about the family's recent situation, but didn't say that Ze should go to court...
The old man who was good at preserving himself once again chose to preserve himself. No matter what the process and result of this matter was, it had nothing to do with Gang Chengjun.
The Imperial Censor Feng Quji, who tried to protect himself in another way, could not be as willful as the old man and could not attend court if he wanted to.
The old man had a title but no official position, but Feng Quji was one of the Nine Ministers.
Feng Quji, who held a high-ranking official position in the Qin State and was secretly called the deputy prime minister, took off his clothes that were stained with ink, took a bath and changed into official uniform.
Then he asked the servant to bring a brazier, threw all the bamboo slips written last night into the brazier, and then threw in a fire starter.
When the flames in the pot of fireworks turned from a roaring fire to sparse sparks and the bamboo slips were all reduced to ashes, the carriage carrying Feng Quji had just arrived on the streets of Xianyang.
Weiwei, Langzhongling, Taipu, Tingwei, Dianke, Fengchang, Zongzheng, Shaofu, Zhisu Neishi...
All the high-ranking officials of the Qin State set out from their homes to attend the first court meeting after the Wax Festival.
In the mansion of Lord Chang'an, Ying Chengjiao, who had arranged a group of retainers, was relieved of his fatigue to the greatest extent under the gentle massage of the beautiful young women Qingmei and Dingxiang, who were like twin lotuses, and he moaned comfortably.
"The dark clouds are pressing down on the city, and it's about to collapse. Once they all go to the court meeting, it's time for us to leave."
Standing behind Ying Chengjiao, the girl in a plain white shirt with a long sword on her waist, still beautiful without makeup and with her long hair loose, still looking dashing and heroic, said expectantly: "Shall we go to Baiyue? I will help you become the king of Baiyue."
Ying Chengjiao laughed, reached out and held the Yue girl in his arms.
This was the second time that Yue Nu was intimate with Ying Chengjiao in the presence of outsiders. She was not as calm as she was the last time when they were spotted on the road by Gai Nie.
That pretty face, which was originally as white as jade, suddenly turned red, and she didn't dare to look Ying Chengjiao in the eye.
"A daughter who is married off is like water spilled out. Are you going to prepare a dowry for your husband? Don't worry, the scientists have already gone to the land of Baiyue. Baiyue will develop. It doesn't matter whether I go or not."
Qingmei curled her lips, put her white hands on Ying Chengqiu's neck, and suddenly increased the intensity of the massage, causing Ying Chengqiu to shiver suddenly. The pain almost made him drop the Yue girl in his arms.
The injuries Zhao Gao had given him from other gifts had not yet healed, and this time the new force was causing the old injuries, so the new pains came together with the old ones .
Her sister Dingxiang immediately slapped her sister's hand and glared at her unhappily.
When the Yue girl saw Ying Chengjiao grinning like a monkey, her eyes suddenly became fierce. She turned over from Ying Chengjiao's arms and showed her undisguised hostility towards Qingmei who was doing bad things in secret.
He said coldly: "If you dare to do this to me again, I will punish you severely..."
Qingmei didn't wait for Yuenu to finish, and quickly answered, saying softly, "How is it?"
The girl threatened: "Then talk to my sword!"
Dingxiang, who had just taught her sister a lesson, bent down, hugged her son's neck, her peak pressed down like a plain, and she looked up with a bright smile.
The voice was just as gentle as before, "My sister may not be as good as you under the bed, but you are far inferior to her in bed."
The two girls were born to the same mother, and they were in tune with each other and were proficient in the art of joint attack. They had never seen the Yue girl draw her sword, so they were not afraid of it. Even if they had seen it, they would not be afraid if they were with the young master.
Ying Chengjiao had a headache.
How did my brother manage the harem? So many concubines lived in harmony. I only had three, and we were about to fight.
"Why don't you take me away?"
A bud about to bloom, with a natural murderous look in her eyes, who will probably become a beauty when she grows up, but in Ying Chengjiao's eyes, she is still an underage loli who has stepped into the courtyard.
The voice arrives before the person arrives.
He stood behind the Yue girl, and was confronting Dingxiang and Qingmei, forming a two-on-two situation.
Those naturally awe-inspiring eyes stared at Ying Chengjiao, his little face frosty, demanding an explanation from the owner of Chang'an Jun Mansion.
Ying Chengjiao was just trying to trick the Queen Mother of the Han Dynasty, who was supposed to be the first empress in the world, into staying. Although he prided himself on being a lustful woman, he did not call himself a beast, and he simply could not bring himself to do it to such a young girl.
"Qian'er, where are we going to play?"
Queen Dowager Han, dressed with a happy look on her face and eager to go out for a trip, rushed in excitedly.
As soon as she saw the situation, Han Ji, who was naive but not stupid, immediately understood what was going on in the palace.
Han Ji asked the question out of her desire to help her beloved son solve his problems. Lu Zhi, who was nominally Ying Chengjiao's concubine, immediately complained, saying that Ying Chengjiao did not take her away and did not acknowledge her identity.
The moment his mother asked him, Ying Chengjiao collapsed and sighed. He knew his mother's character too well.
As expected.
Before Han Ji had even heard half of the answer, she immediately patted her chest, as if she would leave this small matter to her mother.
Crouching beside Ying Chengjiao's legs, he said seriously, "Qiao'er, what did you promise mother? The number of children you bear cannot be less than that of His Majesty."
I haven't even cracked the Yellow Emperor yet, so where can I have children? Besides, I'm not a stud, and there's no throne to inherit in my family, so what's the point of having so many children? To play with you?
Ying Chengjiao complained in his heart, but he still agreed repeatedly.
"Bring it, bring it, follow my mother, follow my mother."
From childhood to adulthood, as long as it did not involve state affairs, Ying Zichu, Ying Chengjiao and his son Han Ji were always successful and there was nothing they could not do.
Both father and son are trying their best to whitewash Han Ji's world so that it can always be simple and pure, and not be tainted by dirty interests.
Just three seconds after Ying Chengjiao apologized to Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, he heard about the cruel little girl who would later invent the human pig.
In that slightly hoarse, very personal voice, he said: "Mother, there are sisters in Lu Zhi's family, and Chang'an Jun also promised to give them status."
Ying Chengjiao stood up in shock: "That's too much, I didn't give you this title. I'm in jail, how can I have the energy to pick up girls!"
The girl from Yue suppressed the smile in her heart and looked at the twins, Dingxiang and Qingmei, with a cold face.
My husband has been with these sisters for a long time, and their relationship is so deep that I cannot compare. I must ask the three daughters of the Lu family to join me in drawing the sword...
"Bring them all!"
This little girl is very pretty, and her sisters must be beauties too.
Han Ji was very excited and waved her little hand.
"All of them are made concubines!"
Mother, you don’t want to pretend anymore, okay?
Ying Chengjiao smiled bitterly and said, "Mother, I am not the king."
Han Ji blinked and swung her arm back again.
"Marry them all! Each of them will have a title! If you have a son, you will have an additional title!"
Ying Chengjiao hurriedly pulled his mother aside.
He whispered, "It's okay to marry her elder sister, but her younger sister..."
Han Ji also whispered: "Why? Is her sister ugly?"
Looking back carefully at the unique charm of Lu Zhi, he looked back suspiciously and warned his son in a low voice.
"Don't lie to me, mother. This little girl is so pretty, her sister shouldn't be ugly, unless she and her sister don't have the same mother."
Ying Chengjiao, who originally wanted to deceive his mother, had no choice but to tell the truth.
"It's because of his age. He's too young. I can't do it."
Han Ji rolled her eyes at Ai Zi.
"It will grow up after you raise it."
In this era when people can generally get married at the age of fourteen, age is the least of the problems.
“…”
Ying Chengjiao held his forehead with his hands, speechless.
The Yue girl's martial arts skills were beyond Han Ji's comprehension, and she heard the conversation between mother and son clearly.
Queen Mother Han has a completely different temperament from Queen Mother Zhao. You don't need to be afraid when you are with Queen Mother Han. I don't know when Queen Mother Zhao will reveal the fact that Teng died at my hands...
Xianyang Palace.
The First Emperor sat high on the throne, wearing a crown with jingling pearls on his head and a black crown embroidered with a black bird.
Zhao Gao and Gai Nie stood on both sides of the First Emperor, one on the left and one on the right.
The First Emperor's gaze lingered for a moment at the place where Ying Chengjiao had sat, and glanced at the many familiar faces that had appeared below - all the nobles from aristocratic families who had no official positions but had reached a certain level of nobility and could attend court or not were here.
"The Queen told me that you all nearly broke through the Xianyang Palace yesterday and insisted on seeing me. Upon hearing this, I immediately called a court meeting upon returning to Xianyang. I think you all have something important to tell me about, either concerning the survival of the Qin State or a major plan that will affect the development of the Qin State for a thousand years."
The First Emperor looked at the right prime minister Wang Wan.
"Wang Wan, tell me what it is."
The old Prime Minister Wang Wan stood up.
He calmly replied, "Wan doesn't know. Wan did not see Your Majesty yesterday. He was reading memorials in the Prime Minister's Mansion."
The First Emperor looked at the Left Prime Minister Li Si again.
"Li Si, tell me what's going on."
Li Si, who had just met the First Emperor at the Supreme Court yesterday, stood up.
He said softly, "I don't know. I think it's because many people with high titles but no official positions live a life of luxury and have nothing to do. So they are too quiet to want to move. They are just idle."
