However, besides Ying Zheng, Ying Yiren also had a son named Chengjiao (pronounced like "jiao").
In the Qin state, including Lord Yangquan, there were many military forces that supported Cheng Jiao as Ying Yiren's successor.
If Lü Buwei fails to rescue Ying Zheng and Zhu Ji back to Qin in time, he is very likely to fail in the future power struggle.
If Cheng Jiao were to become Ying Yiren's successor, then Lü Buwei's grand plan of "hoarding rare goods" would be doomed to failure.
The situation is urgent and pressing!
Therefore, Lü Buwei had no choice but to send his trusted general to rescue Ying Zheng and Zhu Ji during the opportunity of mourning King Xiaocheng.
Li Yao and his two companions rode to the hostage residence and found two groups of people engaged in a fierce battle in front of the residence.
One of the groups was the Mohists and Imperial Guards that Li Yao had arranged near the hostage residence.
The other group was entirely dressed in black and masked.
Without a doubt, these masked men in black were the Qin people brought by Guan Zhongxie to rescue Ying Zheng and Zhu Ji.
Li Yao noticed that there were several masked men protecting a carriage, rushing towards the other end of the street.
Li Yao ordered Shan Rou and Zhao Zhi, "Kill these masked men."
Immediately, he cracked his whip and spurred his horse to chase after the galloping carriage.
He quickly caught up with the carriage and stood in front of it.
The men in black guarding the carriage looked at each other in surprise, not expecting someone to suddenly appear.
Without saying a word, they brandished their swords and charged towards Li Yao.
Li Yao leaped off his horse, simultaneously extending his right hand and a thought forming in his mind.
A streak of light flashed, and suddenly a brocade spring knife appeared in his right hand.
The men in black were all stunned, not understanding why Li Yao suddenly had a strangely shaped knife in his hand.
However, given the urgency of the situation, they didn't think twice and continued charging towards Li Yao with their swords drawn.
Li Yao's gaze sharpened, and he exuded a terrifying aura that sent chills down everyone's spines.
The men in black were momentarily stunned by the terrifying aura emanating from them.
In the brief moment that the men in black hesitated, Li Yao's blade had already rushed towards them.
With a few soft thuds, before the men in black could even react, they were covered in gruesome bloodstains.
Li Yao sheathed his knife, and then, with a few loud thuds, several men in black fell to the ground, lifeless.
"So weak?"
"The evil spirit in the tube shouldn't be among them!"
Li Yao shook his head slightly and collected all the attribute orbs on the ground.
Then, he stared calmly at the carriage and said loudly, "Madam, no matter what, our Great Zhao has entertained you and your son for so many years. Do you intend to just leave without saying goodbye?"
The carriage was shaking violently, but no one inside answered.
Li Yao was not in a hurry; he simply waited quietly.
A moment later, the carriage curtain was lifted from the inside, and a woman of extremely alluring beauty appeared before Li Yao.
The woman's face was slightly longer, her nose was slightly curved, and her lips were fuller.
However, when paired with her beautiful eyes, it creates a captivating wildness and allure.
She was Zhu Ji, the birth mother of Qin Shi Huang.
In fact, Li Yao had been in Handan for so long, but had never seen Zhu Ji.
Zhu Ji looked Li Yao up and down and said charmingly, "You must be Grand Tutor Li. I have long heard of your greatness and extraordinary talent, but I have never had the chance to meet you. I am deeply honored to meet you today."
Li Yao asked, "It's so late, is Madam planning to return to Qin?"
Zhu Ji felt a chill run down her spine and a sense of panic when Li Yao swept her with his cold gaze.
At that moment, a young man rushed out of the carriage.
The young man knelt down in front of Li Yao with a thud, trembling all over, and begged for mercy repeatedly: "Grand Tutor Li, please spare me. I didn't want to leave Handan at all. They forced me to."
Li Yao kicked the young man to the ground, then pointed at him and said to Zhu Ji, "Madam, is he your son Ying Zheng?"
Zhu Ji didn't even blink before decisively saying, "That's right!"
Li Yao said calmly, "Then why didn't you show any concern when I kicked him away? Isn't it said that a mother and child are of one heart?"
A flicker of panic crossed Zhu Ji's eyes, but she did not answer.
Li Yao said, "Since you won't answer, I'll answer for you."
Then, pointing at the young man lying on the ground, he stared at Zhu Ji and said, "Because he is not your biological son, Ying Zheng."
Zhu Ji's body trembled, and her eyes began to flicker, not daring to meet Li Yao's gaze.
She had no idea that Li Yao would discover the identity of the fake Ying Zheng.
Indeed, this young man was not her biological child, Ying Zheng.
When Lü Buwei and Ying Yiren fled from Handan, they did not take her with them. She had just given birth to a son, who was not yet full-term, and she was worried that the Zhao people would kill her to vent their anger.
So she ordered her servants to go out into the night to find other babies to replace the real Ying Zheng.
That's how the fake Ying Zheng came to be.
This fake Ying Zheng was seduced by Zhao Mu with wine and women, and his body was already weakened by them, making him no different from a useless person.
Chapter 66 Man and Blade as One, Another Level Up
After Li Yao exposed Zhu Ji's secret of being a fake Ying Zheng, she remained silent, but her expression was extremely flustered.
Li Yao took out an exquisite jade pendant engraved with dragon patterns from his pocket and threw it in front of Zhu Ji. "Madam, do you still recognize this jade pendant?"
At this moment, Zhu Ji's face was deathly pale, and her delicate body was trembling uncontrollably.
She picked up the jade pendant, her hands trembling uncontrollably. Suddenly, she pulled out the jade hairpin from her hair and lunged at Li Yao, intending to stab him to death with the hairpin.
Li Yao grabbed Zhu Ji's wrist and with a slight pull, Zhu Ji felt a sharp pain in her wrist, and the jade hairpin in her hand fell to the ground.
Li Yao shook off Zhu Ji's wrist and said coldly, "You think you can kill me?"
Zhu Ji collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, and said, "It was you...it was you who killed my Zheng'er?"
Li Yao shook his head and said, "Your Zheng'er is indeed dead, but I didn't kill him. He died on the battlefield."
Zhu Ji did not believe Li Yao's words and said fiercely, "Don't deny it. You killed my Zheng'er. If I have the chance, I will definitely kill you with my own hands."
Li Yao laughed and said, "I'm afraid you won't have that chance!"
By this time, several Mohists had arrived.
Li Yao ordered, "Bring Zhu Ji and this fake Ying Zheng back to the hostage residence."
Several Mohists agreed and dragged Zhu Ji and the fake Ying Zheng into the carriage, then headed towards the hostage residence with Li Yao.
Li Yao spared Zhu Ji's life because she was still of use.
With Zhu Ji in hand, they could restrain Lü Buwei and Ying Yiren of Qin.
Li Yao returned to the hostage residence and found that Shan Rou and Zhao Zhi were working together to deal with a masked man.
The other masked men have all been killed.
This masked man is quite skilled; even with Shan Rou and Zhao Zhi working together, they couldn't defeat him.
Presumably, this masked man is Guan Zhongxie.
However, although Guan Zhongxie was a master swordsman, he was entangled by Shan Rou and Zhao Zhi, and was surrounded by many Mohists and Imperial Guards, making it difficult for him to break free.
Li Yao dismounted, asked a Mohist for a replica of the Embroidered Spring Blade, and then called out, "Shan Rou, Zhao Zhi, step aside and let me meet this famous swordsman from Qin."
Shanrou and Zhao Zhi immediately stepped aside.
Li Yao jumped into the battle and swung his sword at Guan Zhongxie.
when!
Guan Zhongxie used his sword to block, but felt a sudden numbness in his arm, and at the same time felt a powerful force that forced him to retreat several steps.
Li Yao smiled and said, "You must be Guan Zhongxie, Lü Buwei's future son-in-law? Your swordsmanship is quite good!"
A look of surprise flashed in Guan Zhongxie's eyes. He hadn't expected that the other party would discover his identity, and he was even more surprised that the other party was a master.
However, he would never admit that he was Guan Zhongxie.
We must get out of there as soon as possible.
So he quickly twirled his sword a few times and attacked Li Yao's face.
Li Yao slashed left and right, his blade flashing, easily deflecting Guan Zhongxie's sword strikes.
Guan Zhongxie's aggressive attack was feigned; his true intention was to seize an opportunity to escape.
Unfortunately, his wishful thinking backfired.
Li Yao's sword shadows firmly entangled Guan Zhongxie, making it impossible for Guan Zhongxie to escape.
Guan Zhongxie had no choice but to concentrate fully and engage in a fierce battle with Li Yao.
This is exactly the result Li Yao wanted.
Guan Zhongxie's swordsmanship is quite good, and he must have a lot of attributes.
Therefore, Li Yao's swordplay followed a light and agile approach, trapping Guan Zhongxie in his sword shadows, making it impossible for Guan Zhongxie to win or escape.
This made Guan Zhongxie very depressed!
Shan Rou, Zhao Zhi, and the others held their breath, watching intently as Li Yao and Guan Zhongxie fought.
They felt that the master's knife skills had reached a level of consummate skill.
Sweeping, chopping, parrying, slicing, sweeping, striking, cutting, and thrusting are all done at will and naturally.
No matter how fierce Guan Zhongxie's sword strikes were, Ju Zi could easily neutralize them.