Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 41 40. I am the Son of Heaven
The scorching sunlight could not penetrate the grandeur and breadth of the Zhangtai Palace. Thousands of mermaid-oil candles burned all night long, blending with the outdoor skylight into a ball of light and dark colors.

Ji Heng stood on the platform, his tall, muscular body casting a long, dark shadow. It was as if a danger, like a dragon or a flood, was lurking, ready to emerge at any moment and wrench off the heads of those who opposed him.

He had handsome eyebrows and eyes, and his eyes were quietly looking down the stairs.

Qin Qing was standing at the bottom of the stairs.

She raised her head and looked into the eyes of the supreme emperor, her neck as slender as the crane in the fairy legend.

There was a calmness and sincerity on the fair and smooth cheeks, and all the emotions were revealed in the eyes as black as pure ink and jade.

She said those words with a smile and confidence, and naturally she deeply admired the emperor.

Until Ji Heng met her eyes.

She couldn't help it, so her smile widened.

Then, after a moment's silence, he asked again, "Your Majesty, did I ever say anything about usurping the throne?"

Then the flames swept over him, and his whole body felt hot as if it were burning.

Ji Heng seemed to hear the ambition and tyranny of dominating the world growing vigorously in his body, and stared at Qin Shi below without blinking.

His heart was beating wildly.

At this moment, he realized that he should not be hearing these words in this quiet Zhangtai Palace, but should be climbing Mount Tai and standing on the top of Zhongji!
Sacrifice to heaven and tell the people, everyone bows their heads.

He was then called emperor after the people shouted "Long live the emperor".

Such words, such devout admiration! He should have listened solemnly above all others!
His eyes were filled with suppressed emotions that were rolling like a sea of ​​clouds, but the people below who knew nothing about it still looked up and stared back at him quietly.

Zhou Jushi stood beside the King of Qin and could clearly see the fingers and palms in the other's wide sleeves constantly stretching and clenching, and the tendons on the back of his hands and knuckles were exposed.

The king's body is as still as a mountain, but beneath his body, his lofty passion is still boiling like magma, never ceasing.

He therefore looked at Qin Qing below the stage with complicated eyes.

The other party still looked clueless, as if those words were no big deal.

but……

He couldn't help but look at Ji Heng again, and with the same raised corner of his lips, he also said: "Your Majesty, no, Your Majesty, this is the will of heaven."

He had served the king for thirty years and felt he knew him well enough. The king had a generous and informal side, but he was also overbearing and authoritarian, tolerant of anyone's objections.

Under him, everyone is divided into useful and useless, useful and unusable.

The entire Qin Dynasty relied on his hegemonic ways. Once a decree was issued, thousands of clerks from across the nation rushed to carry it out. Orders were as heavy as a mountain and as gentle as rain. Even the common people would follow them, without missing a single detail, and no one dared to resist.

It is such a great king that even though he is already 36 years old, none of the ministers dare to say a word about the prince.

Even though the remnants of the six kingdoms sometimes rebelled, the King was like a towering mountain. Even the rebels probably never thought they could conquer or defeat him.

But now, I, who was the best at guessing the king's thoughts, lost to Qin Qing, who had only been with the king for two days.

He had been following the king and the three dukes and nine ministers in determining the title of "Emperor" for an unknown period of time. [The subjects addressed the emperor as "Your Majesty", the emperor's decree was called "Edict", the emperor's command was called "Zhao..."] He was a hundred times more familiar with all the details than Qin Qing!
But now, at this moment, the other party can blurt it out.

Every honorific, every word, is deeply engraved in the king's heart, even deeper than the king himself.

There is also the title of [Son of Heaven]!
Since the King of Zhou proclaimed himself the Son of Heaven, he has been the common ruler of the world!

Afterwards, the princes split up and many heroes emerged, but no king dared to call himself the Son of Heaven!
But Qin Qing was so bold!
[Your Majesty is Qian, the Son of Heaven.]

Such a light sentence, but it was like a huge weight hitting the king, making his whole body burst out with the unspoken feelings!

At this moment, Ji Heng was indeed breathing deeply and slowly: "Qingjue, am I the Son of Heaven?"

Qin Shiyou guessed that her words would make the emperor on the stage very happy, but she greatly underestimated the constraints of the times and the kingly way on a new monarch.

The Zhou Dynasty ruled for eight hundred years, and many heroes competed for supremacy during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Even the unification was achieved by the current King of Qin. Before that, who dared to claim to be the Son of Heaven and expose his ambitions to the scorching sun?

Even the king who is high above does not have such ambitions, so how can the three dukes, nine ministers and other subjects dare to speak up?
Only Ji Heng.

He risked the world's disapproval, abandoned his previous virtue of modesty, and instead believed that his achievements were as great as those of the Three Sovereigns and his virtue was as great as that of the Five Emperors. All the details of the Great Qin Code have been revised to this day, not only because there are so many details, but also because this matter is so shocking.

But his pride and arrogance were so deep-rooted that he would not tolerate any compromise.

Now, all these things that were buried deep in my heart, the lofty ambitions in the silent night, all burst out because of Qin Shi's words "Son of Heaven".

Qin Shi laughed again.

She really didn't know any etiquette and smiled all the time, like a deer in the forest without anyone chasing it, as if she didn't realize that the other person held the power of life and death.

At this moment, she still showed her white teeth and sighed, "Your Majesty, if you are not the Son of Heaven, who dares to be?"

Ji Heng finally laughed out loud.

He strode down the stairs, and at this moment his handsome and tall body came in front of Qin Shi. His physique was so strong that it was visible to the naked eye, like a mountain, making her look so small in contrast.

Then the emperor held her hands, his large, warm hands holding both of hers. Before Qin Shang could react, Ji Heng had already expressed his feelings:
"You are right. I am the Son of Heaven! I rule over all the lands and mountains! I am the Emperor, and my great unified dynasty will be remembered for generations to come!"

"You are truly destined for me!"

His passionate emotions were clearly visible, and it seemed that he rarely expressed them like this. Zhou Ju, who was standing beside him, had already widened his eyes, completely losing the calmness of a reserved governor.

Qin Shi stared back blankly, not yet understanding the other party's excitement. Her words were half-baked, so she must be far inferior to Zhou Ju, Wang Fu and others, right?
However, this does not prevent her from giving emotional feedback immediately:
"Yes! This is what Your Majesty deserves!"

"Your Majesty is truly remarkable! To have such a Majesty is a blessing for the Qin State for eternity!"

Ji Heng's straight shot to express his emotions had already left Zhou Ju dumbfounded.

But her straight ball is straighter and more passionate:

"Your Majesty is handsome and majestic, with a profound and imposing demeanor and a majestic aura. You are naturally unprecedented! Everything should start with Your Majesty, and all things in the world are under Your Majesty's control!"

Which emperor doesn’t want to be the sole ruler?
She must be right in praising him like that!

Ji Heng laughed out loud again.

His chest was shaking, and he held Qin Shi's hands even tighter, causing his arms to tremble. His joyful voice echoed in the empty Zhangtai Palace.

The soldiers outside the palace were shocked, wondering what kind of great event could make the usually calm and composed emperor look so happy.

[Holding Hands and Looking] It wasn't that the King was sentimental, it was simply that the era's expression of emotion was so passionate—more accurately, famous emperors expressed their emotions directly and passionately. The ministers, unable to resist, were moved and devoted themselves to the cause.

The word "僭越" was used by Duke Xiang of Qin.

The first complete record is currently in the books of the Northern Qi Dynasty.

The Son of Heaven was the self-proclaimed title of the Zhou king. Qian, in oracle bone script, resembles the upward-curving growth of grass, so it came to represent heaven. The emperor was called the Son of Heaven because, firstly, his power was granted by God, and secondly, he was intended to be the common ruler of all things under heaven.

Later, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the princes were divided and no king dared to use the title of Son of Heaven.

All the details here are picked out. Although it is fictional, it should be written well!

Shouldn't it be boring?

[Part of this knowledge comes from Mr. Feng Shi’s interpretation of astronomy and calendar.]