The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 103: The King of Zhao gave him a skull as a feast, and Chang'an Jun said that this skull was the best for the King of Zhao

Bai Wuxia's hands were white and clean, without a single callus that is common among martial artists.

The entire arm stretched into the water like a white snake, wrapped around Ying Chengjiao's body and rose up.

Ying Chengjiao, who was still thinking, had just woken up from his social death when he felt like he was flying. His whole body and head were wrapped in a quilt and taken away in the dark.

After a bumpy ride, when he raised his head again, he was already in the carriage.

"Master Bai, you are too impulsive." The young man narrowed his eyes and said, "Even if I leave, I won't fight for this moment. If Lin Xiangru really wants to kill me, why did he pass on this letter?"

Bai Wuxia is confused because of her concern.

She only cared about the safety of her little apprentice and completing the mission given to her by her father and the king.

After listening to Ying Chengjiao's analysis, the anxiety on his face disappeared for the most part.

"That makes sense." The girl looked thoughtful. "This isn't two hundred years ago. If you want to go to war, you have to notify us in advance and agree on the time and place. Duke Xiang of Song's way is already outdated. The Lin Xiangru that my grandfather mentioned is not a pedantic person."

The boy nodded in agreement, looking serious.

"So, what does he want to do? Master Bai, do you have any idea? Can you teach me?"

Bai Wuxia gave his little disciple a cold look, his large black and white eyes flashing with dissatisfaction.

"I am your martial arts teacher, not your literary teacher."

"Is that so?" The young man looked thoughtfully at his teacher who sat down. "Then why didn't Master Bai send someone to invite Master Huang Shi? If it was a few hours later, once the Zhao army arrived, Master Bai wanted to die with me?"

Bai Wuxia had a rosy and delicate face, looking shy and fierce, and she slapped her little disciple on the head.

"You're not allowed to hold your tongue! You're teasing me!"

After a brief moment of anger, he got back to business, lifted the curtain and asked someone to invite Mr. Huang Shi to come into the carriage for a chat.

Ying Chengjiao suffered a not-too-serious blow and stared at the girl's back with dissatisfaction.

After his teacher changed into short clothes to follow the local customs, the slender figure that was originally hidden in the wide sleeves of the robe was revealed. The twisting of her waist was both gentle and powerful, and her tight buttocks were full of flesh.

Bai Wuxia gave a few instructions and went back to the carriage. When he turned around, he saw the guilty look in his little disciple's eyes, and his original anger turned into amusement.

She raised her right hand and pointed her slender index finger at the center of her little disciple's eyebrows.

"Master knows you want to touch me, but I won't do that outside."

“Puh, puh, puh!” Ying Chengjiao yelled with a red face: “Who wants to touch your breasts? Who wants to touch you, wuwuwuwu!”

The sound was so loud that Bai Wuxia quickly covered his little disciple's mouth with his hands.

His eyes were filled with shame and anger, and contained a strong threat, as if he would kill anyone who dared to shout again.

"What are you yelling about!" The girl's face flushed. "You can't say that in public! Stop yelling! Do you hear me?"

Seeing the little apprentice nodded, the girl slowly let go of her hand.

While loosening his grip, he stared at his little disciple with extreme vigilance, ready to cover it up again at any time.

She treated Ying Chengjiao as her apprentice and child.

She felt sorry for her apprentice who had to bear so much pressure at such a young age, and her maternal love overflowed, so she allowed her apprentice to treat her as her mother.

Although she has a clear conscience, this matter cannot be made public.

Ying Chengjiao snorted lightly, turned his head away, and muttered softly:

"Anyway, I didn't want to touch it, but you forced me to touch it..."

"Really?" Bai Wuxia spoke word by word.

She bit her silver teeth lightly, making a "ding ding ding" sound, and walked closer to her little apprentice.

Ying Chengjiao was shrouded in Bai Wuxia's shadow. He used his two little arms to pull the quilt tightly around him and kept shrinking back.

"What are you going to do?"

"I am not a talkative person, but I am quite capable of doing things with my hands."

Bai Wuxia was supporting herself on the back wall of the carriage with her hands, and between her two white arms was Ying Chengjiao's little head.

Her pretty face got closer and closer, forcing Ying Chengjiao to shrink back continuously, until the back of his head was pressed against the back wall of the carriage with nowhere to retreat.

The girl lowered her body so that her face was almost touching that of the boy.

She didn't know if it was an illusion, but she smelled a faint milky scent.

To verify, she moved a little closer, put her upturned nose lightly on Ying Chengjiao's face, and sniffed hard twice.

His eyes widened a little, showing a hint of surprise.

"It does smell like milk, you really haven't been weaned yet?
"No wonder you don't want to eat. You're looking for a wet nurse."

Ying Chengjiao's heart was beating very fast, but all his romantic thoughts disappeared after hearing those words.

My heart beat faster, I was angry.

"go away!"

Human body odor is innate. Who says that if there is a milky smell, it must be from drinking milk!

The boy's eyes that seemed to be about to spit fire did not scare Bai Wuxia. Instead, it made Bai Wuxia angry and he felt that he had lost his authority as a teacher.

Just as she was about to lose her temper, she heard hurried footsteps getting closer and closer, and she knew that it must be Huang Shigong coming.

"You insulted your teacher, boy. Just wait, I won't let you call me mother!" the girl threatened.

"Bai Wuxia, you're so talkative! You talk so much nonsense!" The young man was not willing to be outdone.

The girl and the boy, the teacher and student, looked at each other with their heads pressed against each other and glared at each other, neither of them willing to admit defeat.

This was the scene Huang Shigong saw when he boarded the carriage.

The old man was very angry as he rushed over as soon as he received the news, fearing that he would be delayed for even a moment.

"It's urgent, what are you two doing!"

The boy and girl each snorted and turned their heads away.

The high carriage pulled by four horses stopped in place. Dozens of elite soldiers from the Qin State left the carriage three steps away, circled it three times, and made three turns.

A quarter of an hour later, inside the carriage.

Huang Shigong looked hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

When the old man was the prime minister of Qin, he always acted decisively and never dragged his feet.

Now that he is no longer the prime minister and serves as a servant of Master Chengjiao, he really doesn't know what to do.

"It's too risky." The old man finally said in a deep voice: "You two kids, go back to Xianyang. If the King of Zhao comes, I will use the name Wei Zhe again."

He could die for the development and strength of Qin, but he could not accept that Prince Chengjiao died here.

Young Master Chengjiao is only seven years old. He hasn't even grown up yet. His future is limitless. How can he die here?

The young man shook his head and rejected Huang Shigong's proposal.

He tilted his neck back and pointed at the five red fingerprints that had faded a little.

"If I leave, all this will be in vain. I will be accused of plotting to murder Zhao Sheng, and this mission will be in vain."

"How can you say it was a wasted trip? Zhao Sheng and Mao Sui's death were all the credit of the weakened Zhao!" Huang Shigong advised with a rebuttal.

"Not enough. The deaths of Zhao Sheng and Mao Sui will not affect the overall situation."

"I don't agree with you gambling with your life! Lin Xiangru and the King of Zhao combined are not worth your life!"

"Duke Huang Shi, you may have forgotten that I am the mastermind because I am young." Ying Chengjiao declared his sovereignty and licked his lips: "What I am betting on is not Lin Xiangru or the King of Zhao, but the fate of our country."

The young man seemed to have forgotten what he had said when Bai Wuxia broke in, that if he could survive this time, he would return to Xianyang.

Willow head on the moon, after dusk.

The carriage coming out of the Zhao Palace stopped in front of the posthouse.

The eunuch, wearing short clothes, walked into the post house to pick up the Qin envoy to attend the king's banquet.

Zhao Sheng, Lord Pingyuan, a pillar of the State of Zhao, had just died during the day. The King of Zhao was heartbroken and held a royal banquet in the evening to invite him.

Even Bai Wuxia, who relied on his martial arts and disliked literary matters, could see that something was wrong.

The Zhao eunuch who read out the king's order bowed and left. While waiting outside, he said with a cold face:
“No banquet is good!”

Ying Chengjiao, who was invited, smiled as he changed his clothes:
“If you are not active in eating, there is something wrong with your thinking.

"The King of Zhao invited me to dinner even after my uncle died. This shows how much he values ​​me.

"Bai Wuxia, don't slander people for no reason."

Huang Shigong lay at the door and gently pushed it open a crack.

Through this gap, a row of torches lit up his eyes.

At a glance, there were at least a batch of Zhao troops visible outside the open gate.

[There are more than fifty people. Are they inviting me to a banquet or escorting prisoners?]
The old man closed the door, and three wrinkles appeared on his brow.

He turned around and wanted to say, "Let's go back to Xianyang," but the words lingered on his lips and only a sigh remained.

It's too late to say this now.

Lu Buwei and the king escaped from Handan before the Zhao army arrived.

The five hundred elite Qin soldiers in the delegation were able to kill almost all of the Zhao troops outside.

But it is impossible to break out of Handan City even at the risk of one's life.

The old man walked up to Ying Chengjiao, straightened the collar of this child prodigy whom he had never seen before, and finally said only two words.

"Be careful."

"It's okay, it's okay." Ying Chengjiao laughed, "Bai Wuxia is an empty-headed man, you shouldn't be like this. All 130,000 Zhao soldiers were transferred to the east by Lian Po to fight against Yan. The northern border troops are guarding against the Xiongnu and cannot return to the Central Plains. In this situation, if he kills me, is he not afraid of the Qin army's invasion? Will we really destroy him together with Yan?"

The old man forced a smile and didn't want to argue.

If the Qin State was really capable of fighting, Your Majesty would not have to take the risk of destroying the Eastern Zhou State in a flash to establish his prestige.

Years of natural disasters and man-made disasters, as well as massive engineering projects, tied up most of the Qin State's manpower.

If any country dares to attack Qin, Qin will naturally make them understand what it means to be the overlord of the world outside Hangu Pass.

Foreign wars require long expeditions.

You can fight, but you shouldn't fight, or you will suffer a huge loss.

Moreover, if they attacked Zhao, they might not only be facing Zhao, but another coalition of various nations.

"Bai Wuxia, why are you following me?" After getting ready and putting on a small felt hat, Ying Chengjiao stood in the doorway and said, "The King of Zhao invited me but not you. Don't be so shameless."

"Rap!" Bai Wuxia uttered the two words.

He held Master Cheng Jiao in one arm, pushed open the door and walked out.

Her face looked a little angry, but her heart was calm.

Ever since she saw the five fingers on her little disciple's neck, she made up her mind not to leave even a step.

He accompanied her whenever she went to the palace or to a banquet.

You have to guard against both hidden attacks and open attacks.

If Zhao doesn't agree, then kill her.

A seventeen-year-old child is not afraid of death. Bai Wuxia, as the granddaughter of Wu'an Jun Bai Qi, is fifteen years old and is even less afraid of death.

The boy struggled.

"Hey, hey, hey, let go! I don't want to save face!

"You idiot, what else can you do except brute force? If you really want to kill me, can you stop me?

"You really want to die in the same grave with me, just because I touched you oooooooooooooo!"

The girl covered the boy's mouth and scolded him shyly.

"Shut up!"

Zhao Wang Palace, Changle Palace.

King Dan of Zhao sat in the chief seat.

The first person on the lower right is the Shangqing Lin Xiangru.

In order to take care of Lin Xiangru's cold body, a brazier was placed behind Lin Xiangru, burning only for him.

The flames were jumping behind Lin Xiangru, making crackling sounds from time to time.

The ministers who came to the banquet already had some guesses in their minds, but they were still a little surprised when they saw Lin Xiangru.

This old minister who attended the court was in worse health than the late Lord Pingyuan. The last time he appeared in public was when Li Chong was in the palace.

He attended again today, it seems that this banquet is even bigger than they imagined.

Changle Palace was a royal palace specially used for holding grand banquets. In the past, when banquets were held, there would be Zhao women dancing, actors performing, and Hu women taking off their clothes in the center.

Today, there is nothing.

The amount of food on the small tables of each minister did not shrink.

There are grilled meats and boiled meats, each served with a bottle of fine wine.

But Zhao Wangdan, who was sitting at the table, had a gloomy look on his face and said nothing, so naturally no one started eating.

They are all upper-class nobles who can attend the king’s banquet, and none of them lacks a bite of food.

The meat that ordinary people can only eat during the New Year has long been something they are tired of.

If it is cooked well, it is barely eatable; if it is cooked poorly, it tastes muttony and fishy.

"The envoy from Qin has arrived!" The eunuch's powerful voice reached Changle Palace.

King Dan of Zhao glanced at Lin Xiangru, who was in the first position on the lower right, and saw that the old minister had his eyes closed and was wrapped in a robe, as if he was asleep. He then glanced at Zhao Bao, the Lord of Pingyang, who was in the first position on the lower left.

After the death of Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng, Zhao Bao became his only uncle in the court, and he attached great importance to Zhao Bao's opinions.

His uncle is of the same clan as him and his interests coincide with his. Would he want to harm him?

Moreover, before the Battle of Changping, Pingyang Jun Zhao Bao tried his best not to go to Shangdang.

If he had listened to his uncle at that time, 450,000 Zhao soldiers would not have died, and Zhao State might have dominated the world now.

Zhao Bao nodded slightly.

Zhao Wangdan also nodded slightly to show that he understood.

He raised the corners of his mouth, wanting that hateful guy to see his smiling face as soon as he came in.

Although his smile was fake, it still had a slight effect.

Like a few drops of water, the atmosphere in the palace, which was like an inkstone, was slightly dissolved.

He smiled and smiled until his face became a little stiff.

A certain young man was slow to enter and was stopped in front of the gate of Changle Palace.

Zhao Wangdan was angry.

He is a prince and he is trying to sell his smiles, but he can't make them. What's going on?
He waved.

The eunuch standing beside him stepped forward and bowed to obey the order.

"Go and see what happened!" There was some anger in King Zhao's tone.

"Yes." The eunuch responded cautiously.

Facing Zhao Wangdan, he slowly retreated down the stairs step by step.

When both feet were off the platform, he turned around and trotted towards the palace gate like a gust of wind.

Soon, the eunuch arrived at the steps outside the palace gate.

He gasped and glared at the two axe-wielding officials who stopped Ying Chengjiao and were guarding outside the palace gate.

He pointed his finger at the official and was about to poke him in the face.

"You brat! Why are you stopping the Qin envoy? Let him in!"

Bai Wuxia frowned, she felt a little uncomfortable, even though the eunuch was scolding the official who intercepted her.

In the Qin State, which placed great importance on military achievements, the eunuchs would never dare to speak to the palace attendant in this way.

The Langguans all had military merits and were real officials. Each of them was either recommended by a noble person or had a clean family background.

And the eunuchs, palace maids and so on.

Although they call themselves eunuchs, they are actually no different from servants.

Ying Chengjiao stood by and watched with envy, puffing out his chest as if someone was backing him up.

"That's right! Why don't you let me in!"

[Changle Palace, this palace is still in use, it seems that the State of Zhao has not yet reached the end of its rope.]
[Or is it that the King of Zhao is so stupid that he doesn't care?]
[The eunuch scolded the official, who dared not refute.]
[If this eunuch was not extremely favored by the King of Zhao, then the royal family of Zhao would have violated the law of King Wuling of Zhao and not valued military power.]
The axe-wielding officer looked unhappy.

No matter how conscientiously you perform your duties, you would not feel good if you were harshly reprimanded for no reason in public, especially if you were reprimanded by a eunuch whom you despise.

But his words were not angry.

He lowered his head, pointed at the long sword hanging on Bai Wuxia's waist, and said in a muffled voice:
"This woman is not invited to the king's banquet, and she must bring a sharp blade with her."

The eunuch's expression changed immediately.

He stepped back a few steps and hid behind the official, raising his hands unconsciously in a protective posture.

After completing this series of actions, he poked his head out from behind the official and looked at Bai Wuxia vigilantly.

"Who are you? Hand over your weapons!"

The young man, who had just relied on the eunuch's power, took two steps at a time, ran to the eunuch angrily, and kicked him hard again and again.

"Who are you scolding? You are a soldier of the State of Zhao and you are my retainer! You are looking for death! I will kick you to death! You rubbish!

"I was almost strangled to death, so what's wrong with bringing someone to protect me? Why can't I bring a sword? I'll bring it! If you don't let me bring it, I'll kill you!"

Bai Wuxia was a little surprised.

[Why is this kid so angry? Could it be... the political tactics that Grandfather mentioned?]
At the same time, a trace of sadness flashed across the face of the Axe Officer.

In their Zhao State, these soldiers who fought for their country were scolded by eunuchs, and the nobles who were high above them watched.

As for the Qin people, who had a deep blood feud with them, even a little kid who was just as tall as their waist knew how to protect their soldiers and beat up the damn eunuchs.

After the boy kicked him, he looked at the eunuch with disgust and pointed a finger at him.

"Bai Wuxia! Kill him!"

The girl outside was very obedient to the order and immediately touched the hilt of the sword.

The axe officer's expression became serious. He didn't expect that the kid was serious about chopping him to death.

Holding an axe and a halberd, he greeted his colleagues around him.

Seven or eight spear-wielding officials came over with spears in both hands, with the tips of the spears pointed at Bai Wuxia, and formed a circle around him.

The eunuch hurried back to the palace and reported to King Dan of Zhao, he was so frightened that he almost died.

Ying Chengjiao had a look of disdain on his face and patted the thigh of the official holding the axe.

“He scolded you, and you still protected him?

"It is said that the people of Zhao are very generous and passionate, but these rumors are mostly untrue."

The official holding the axe had a cold and stern expression on his face.

"Whether it's true or not, we'll know on the battlefield!"

After listening to this, Ying Chengjiao looked at the expressions of the officials of Zhao State around him.

He saw a common hatred for the enemy.

[The fighting power of the Zhao army's grassroots has not weakened and is still high... They are all elite soldiers.]
King Zhao Dan listened to the eunuch's words with a sullen face and exchanged glances with his uncle Zhao Bao.

"Uncle, look..."

Zhao Bao pondered for a moment.

“I think it can be let in.

"No matter how good this girl's swordsmanship is, can she be better than Mao Sui?
"This little Qin kid was frightened by Mao Sui this morning."

Zhao Wangdan nodded and gave the eunuch a look away.

The same process applies to eunuchs.

Walk back down the steps and jog to the Danchi.

Zhao Wangdan raised his lips to smile and prepared to smile again.

"Uncle, do you think what Prime Minister Lin said is true? Should this boy be killed?"

Zhao Bao pulled his beard as he looked at Ying Chengjiao who was stopped at the palace gate.

"It's hard to say... Let's wait and see..."

Ying Chengjiao finally entered Changle Palace.

He sat in the second seat to the right of Lin Xiangru, and Zhao Wangdan.

Behind him stood Bai Wuxia, with a sword at her waist and a stern face that did not detract from her youthful beauty.

Zhao Wangdan's smile was also betrayed, and Ying Chengjiao saw it clearly.

The King of Zhao waved his hand with great momentum.

"Have a banquet!"

He raised the wine bottle and said loudly:

"Gentlemen! Let's drink together!"

All the ministers responded and raised their cups.

Only two people did not move.

Lin Xiangru, Ying Chengjiao.

After drinking, King Dan of Zhao ignored Lin Xiangru and looked at Ying Chengjiao with a fake smile.

"Why doesn't the messenger drink?"

The ministers looked at him sideways.

Ying Chengjiao rolled his eyes.

"My father said that I am still young and cannot drink alcohol.

"I dare not disobey the elders' words."

Zhao Wangdan laughed out loud.

"The King of Qin is the king, so the King of Zhao is not the king?"

He laughed heartily and loudly, but no one dared to respond.

When he finished laughing, the king knocked on the small table in front of him, and laughed amid the "knock knock" sounds:

"You better drink it, Envoy. I am also your elder."

Ying Chengjiao picked up the copper wine jar filled with wine by the maid beside him with both hands, and poured it in front of his own small table under the gaze of all the ministers of Zhao State.

The sound of wine and water splashing was the only sound in Changle Palace.

The King of Zhao's complexion became visibly worse, but Ying Chengjiao, who was standing nearby, seemed not to notice.

The young man slammed the wine bottle heavily on the table, took Bai Wuxia's hand and walked out.

Zhao Wangdan stood up.

"Somebody come!"

The palace officials filed in from the palace gate, occupied the long aisle in the middle, and surrounded the young boys and girls in the center.

Bai Wuxia stepped forward, using his body to block his little disciple behind him, and grasped the hilt of the sword with his hand.

Zhao Wangdan clapped his hands and sneered:
"Why did the Qin envoy leave right after arriving? It's fine if he doesn't drink the wine, but he doesn't eat the food either?
"Come here! Bring us the delicious food that I have carefully prepared for the Qin envoy!"

Seven or eight palace maids entered the palace and removed the barbecue and cooked food on the second table on the right.

Two small tripods the size of a palm and a large tripod the size of a human head were brought in, all with lids.

King Dan of Zhao walked down the steps leisurely, approached the three tripods as if taking a leisurely stroll in a garden, and opened the lid of the first small tripod first.

Inside was a nest of fluffy chicks with blood stains on their bodies!

Zhao Wangdan introduced it personally, picking up a dead bird with two fingers.

"The special envoy has mentioned King Wu Ling many times today. It is known that when King Wu Ling was trapped in the sand dunes, the most delicious food he had was a nest of baby birds."

Shake your fingers and the stiff bird will tremble.

"Eat it raw, with the hair on."

Ying Chengjiao's face looked extremely ugly and he didn't say a word.

Zhao Wangdan frowned and held the little boy in front of him.

"Don't like it? This is King Wu Ling's food. It doesn't matter. I have prepared some."

He threw the bird away and uncovered the second small tripod.

Inside, there were earthworms and centipedes entangled and twisting.

"The most delicious food King Wu Ling has ever eaten, but the Special Envoy doesn't like it. So, does the Special Envoy like the last meal King Wu Ling has ever eaten?"

Ying Chengjiao glanced at him with his phoenix eyes but still remained silent.

Zhao Wangdan sighed.

"Oh, this is difficult."

His eyebrows were relaxed and he was smiling.

"Fortunately, I have another delicious dish that the Special Envoy will surely like.

"This was personally ordered by the special envoy. It was not prepared by me in advance."

He opened the lid of the big cauldron.

Inside the cauldron as big as a human head is a human head.

There was an expression of disbelief on the face of the human head. The blood from the broken neck had accumulated into a small pool in the cauldron, submerging half of his face. The blood was still steaming.

Ying Chengjiao recognized the man from the other half of the face which was slightly cleaner and recognized that he was the eunuch who had just run to the palace gate to greet them for the second time.

Zhao Wangdan laughed:

"What do you think of this head? This is the person you said you wanted to kill."

Ying Chengjiao moved his gaze from the eunuch's head to the face of King Zhao and said with a smile:
"Nothing, just a bitch.

"It would be best if the head of King Zhao was inside this cauldron."

In an instant.

Bai Wuxia's pretty face was pale and flawless.

Lin Xiangru trembled, and the king and his ministers of Zhao were all shocked.

(End of this chapter)