I asked Jing Ke, "Kezi, how are you?"
Ersha said, "I've always been fine."
I asked Li Si again. Li Si said, "I am just like Your Majesty, my mind is in a terrible mess, sometimes clear and sometimes confused."
It seems the side effects of the Temptation Herb vary from person to person. Because Ersha has some resistance to the Meng Po Soup, he is relatively more stable than others after taking the Temptation Herb.
I cautiously asked Qin Shi Huang, "Your Majesty, how are you feeling now—should we kill the King of Qi?"
The fat man waved his hand and said, "I'm doing great, I haven't been confused for quite a while." The fat man suddenly laughed and said, "Even if I really wanted to kill you right now, I'm afraid no one would dare."
Li Si laughed and said, "Yes, after all this commotion, who would dare to really do anything to Xiao Qiang? I'm afraid even if the king himself gives the order, it won't work."
I said smugly, "That's the story of the boy who cried wolf."
I checked the time and said seriously, "We can't delay any longer. Let's quickly rehearse tomorrow's scene." I returned the two swords to Ersha and Fatty, and took out a few blood pouches, gesturing to Ersha's body. "Brother Ying, this is the place where you chopped Kezi last time. Come back as usual tomorrow. I'll hang the blood pouches in the same old spot."
While we were busy working on the side, Li Si's expression changed, and he suddenly said, "Great..."
Before he could finish speaking, Fatty, Ersha, and I all shouted in unison, "Get out of here!"
Li Si hurriedly lowered his head and backed away.
I said worriedly, "Brother Ying, what if you and Kezi encounter this situation tomorrow? Especially you."
Qin Shi Huang said, "As long as I summon you to the palace, I will explain everything."
I clapped my hands and said, "That's settled then. Kezi should go back too. Let's leave tomorrow to fate."
I then instructed Ersha: "Kezi, make sure the blood bag is hung in the right place, or you'll suffer. Also, be careful when you walk, don't tear the blood bag."
I turned to face Fatty Ying and said solemnly, "Brother Ying, the deciding factor tomorrow still lies with you. Remember to restrain yourself. My life and Ke Zi's life are in your hands!"
The good thing is that it seems the most difficult phase has passed. Since I came in, Fatty Ying hasn't had a relapse. As for Ersha, besides being relatively stable, there's another guarantee: his relapse period is the same as Fatty's. In other words, when Fatty is confused, he might not be confused, but when Fatty is clear-headed, he definitely is.
I slept very well that night—that heartless fat man, just like Xiang Yu, didn't even assign me a servant to attend to me. I don't know if he did it on purpose or not; all the people serving me were male servants. This made me very depressed. Putting aside how high a rank the King of Qi was, and considering the fat man and I were practically sworn brothers, I didn't even receive any "arrangements." It's clear that in their minds, Baozi's influence is terrifying. But why do they all have three thousand concubines while I have to be a good man? Luckily, I didn't take any concubines, or the fat man might have buried Li XX alive if he got upset!
The next morning, I rushed to Xianyang Palace. Fatty had already gone to court. At the palace gate, Ersha and Qin Wuyang were quietly waiting. I glanced at Ersha. On the surface, I couldn't see anything amiss. Moreover, the fool was holding his breath and staring intently, and his expression showed no abnormality. I kept winking at him, but he ignored me. I never expected that Ersha was actually a shrewd person.
After a while, the long, drawn-out voice of the eunuch inside announced, "Summon the envoy of the Yan state, Jing Ke (Qin Wuyang), to pay his respects."
The fat guy sent a signal!
At the palace gate, Zhao Gao, accompanied by another eunuch, came forward to conduct a routine body search. I quickly stepped forward and stood in front of Jing Ke: "Eunuch Zhao, I will search this myself!"
When Zhao Gao saw that it was me, he first greeted me with a flattering "King of Qi", and then said in a charming and coquettish tone, "King of Qi is so concerned about Your Majesty's safety that he personally does this kind of work that only servants do."
This is a crucial step in our plan: Ersha's body cannot be searched by others; those blood bags are so fragile they break easily, and anyone searching them would expose us. Actually, we also face other risks in this process: after Ersha hangs the blood bags at home, he might inevitably give himself away on the way, because no one can guarantee he'll be conscious the entire time.
Zhao Gao and another eunuch went to grope Qin Wuyang, so I carefully pinched all over Jing Ke's body—I hadn't finished speaking yet, and the bigger risk we were facing was: if Ersha didn't wake up, he might forget to hang those blood pouches!
I carefully ran my fingers along Ersha's chest, shoulders, and sides of his legs, and found that those areas were soft, as if there were large blisters there. I looked up at him, and Ersha was staring straight ahead at the fat man in the hall, looking very solemn. But no one noticed that this fool had subtly winked at me.
I felt relieved and gestured to the man that he wasn't carrying a weapon. Then I quickly ran up and stood next to the fat man.
At this moment, Qin Wuyang had also been searched. I kicked the eunuch who was delivering messages next to Qin Shi Huang to the ground and presumptuously announced, "By order of the King, the envoy of Yan is to be summoned to the palace."
Upon hearing the summons, Jing Ke slowly walked into the main hall, carrying a box in his hands. We know that this box contained the head of Fan Yuqi. Qin Wuyang followed closely behind Jing Ke, carrying a map of Dukang in the Yan state. Everyone in the hall was solemn, and only the sound of their footsteps could be heard as they entered. Jing Ke knelt on the ground and performed a kowtow, with Qin Wuyang kneeling behind him, following closely behind.
After the ceremony was over, I whispered to Qin Shi Huang, "Brother Ying, what should we say?"
The fat man's face was ashen and expressionless. He was trying to look cool when I asked him this question, and he could only helplessly say, "Why would I ask them?"
I immediately shouted, "The King is asking you what you've come here for?"
Chapter 101 Zhao Bailian's Biscuits
When the assembled officials heard me ask such a blunt question in such a solemn setting, they couldn't help but exchange bewildered glances. However, due to my overwhelming power, none of them dared to laugh. A few senior officials couldn't hold back any longer and turned away to cough a few times.
Jing Ke replied without hesitation, "I am entrusted by the Crown Prince of Yan to sue Your Majesty for peace on behalf of the entire Yan Kingdom. To show our sincerity, I bring with me the head of Your Majesty's traitor, Fan Yuqi, and the most fertile land in Yan, Dukang. The Crown Prince is willing to offer this city to Your Majesty!" Jing Ke placed the box on the ground, and naturally someone took it to verify its authenticity. Even I knew it was genuine—don't you think old Fan Yuqi died a rather unjust death? He's already lost his head twice this time; if I do this a few more times, will he turn into a hydra? But Ersha already repaid the debt he owed him in his past life; now, this head is just a simple prop to us.
Someone reported this to Qin Shi Huang, and the fat man nodded in a mocking manner. It seemed that the next thing to do was to watch the performance of the Dukang map. But there was a prerequisite: only Er Sha had to step forward, and Qin Wuyang should be looking trembling with fear. Only then could Jing Ke take advantage of the situation and approach Qin Shi Huang alone with the map in hand.
But an unexpected event occurred at this moment. Although Qin Wuyang was acting somewhat suspiciously under the watchful eyes of the magnificent Qin Palace and everyone else, he was still far from being "trembling with fear." When Jing Ke was asked to come forward and explain the map, it was inevitable that Qin Wuyang would follow him.
I couldn't help but ask anxiously, "Brother Ying, why isn't he scared?"
Qin Shi Huang whispered, "Think of a solution quickly!"
I was sweating profusely with anxiety. He Tiandou was right; historical events can indeed veer off course due to the slightest accident. If Qin Wuyang were to come up, Fatty would most likely be in grave danger, and his ability to protect himself would probably be even worse than last time—his sword had been sharpened into a stick. The worst part was that I had no time to waste. Nobody knew what would happen to Ersha or Fatty in the next second. In this critical moment, I blurted out, "As is customary, now, please have the two envoys recite together the Fifty Honors and Fifty Shames of our Great Qin..."
Qin Wuyang asked in surprise, "Didn't we say we didn't need to carry it?"
I took two steps forward and slammed my hand on Fatty Ying's table, shouting, "How dare you! No noise is allowed in front of the King!" Qin Shi Huang's table probably wasn't wiped every day, let alone slammed on it so hard. This slammed up all the dust on the table, and Fatty choked and waved his hands.
I pointed at Qin Wuyang and scolded him, "Hurry up and memorize it, or I'll drag you out and castrate you for half an hour."
Qin Wuyang asked in astonishment, "What do you mean... castration for half an hour?"
I randomly pointed to a few eunuchs and said, "See them? These used to be envoys from various countries. They turned into this because they couldn't bear the fifty honors and fifty shames."
It has to be said that the Qin Wuyang in front of us is much braver than the one described in the book; he just gave a cold snort.
I slammed my hand on the table again, but before I could say anything, I heard someone behind me exclaim in surprise, "Huh?" A chubby hand tugged at my clothes and asked with some suspicion, "Who are you, Si Sui?"
My heart sank. Fatty was having an attack at this critical moment! I frantically waved my hands behind me and whispered, "Brother Ying, stop messing around, bear with it."
The fat man flew into a rage and shouted, "Guards!"