Qin Shi: I only work eight hours

Chapter 286 Sowing discord between the Queen Dowager of Chu and Xiang Yan

After half a cup of tea.

As the parrot's song reached its climax, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

Yingge moved up a little, barely suppressing her displeasure as she asked.

"I."

"Are you okay, sister?"

"Li Ji asked."

"No."

"I've already gone to bed, sister, you should go and rest too."

After confirming from the voice that the person was Li Ji, Ying Ge spoke.

Although she and Li Ji had a good personal relationship, what happened just now was not something to be told to outsiders, not even Li Ji!
"it is good."

"It's okay."

Li Ji nodded.

Then they left.

After Li Ji walked away, Ying Ge, whose face was flushed, breathed a sigh of relief.

Then it moved down a little.

Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back.

……

the other side.

Shouchun, the capital of Chu.

After receiving Ying Zheng's letter, Yao Jia traveled by carriage to the homes of several Chu nobles who had previously had a good personal relationship with Lord Chunshen, Huang Xie.

Because he was willing to spend money, Yao Jia soon met Zhu Xiong, Qu He, Zhao Liang, and others.

Seeing that the box was full of money, Zhu Xiong and the others were overjoyed and dismissed their attendants.

The three major royal families of the Chu Kingdom are Qu, Jing, and Zhao. Although Qu He and Zhao Liang are not the representatives of their families, they are both outstanding young people with unlimited potential!
Yao Jia sought out Zhu Xiong for two reasons.

First, although Zhu Xiong held no official position, he had connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds.

Secondly, Zhu Xiong was a close friend of Zhu Ying, a retainer of Lord Chunshen (Huang Xie), and had always wanted to avenge Zhu Ying.

Last year, when King Kaolie of Chu was seriously ill, Zhu Ying said to Huang Xie, "You have served as the Prime Minister of Chu for more than 20 years. Although you are nominally the Prime Minister, you are actually the King of Chu. Now that the King is seriously ill and his life is hanging by a thread, you should do as Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou did and wait for the new king to come of age before handing over the power to him."

"As far as I know, Li Yuan has kept many assassins. After the King's death, Li Yuan will surely rush into the palace to seize power and kill you to silence you."

"You can arrange for me to be a physician. After the king passes away, Li Yuan will surely rush into the palace first. At that time, I will kill Li Yuan for you."

After hearing this, Huang Xie said, "Li Yuan is a weak man. I treated him very well. Why would he kill me?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ying sighed helplessly and, fearing that it would bring trouble upon herself, left Shouchun.

Several days later, King Kaolie of Chu died. As expected, Li Yuan rushed into the palace first and set up an ambush at the Thorn Gate. As soon as Lord Chunshen Huang Xie entered the Thorn Gate, he was caught by assassins raised by Li Yuan from both sides.

Li Yuan personally beheaded Lord Chunshen, Huang Xie, and threw his head outside the Thorn Gate. At the same time, he sent officials to execute the entire family of Lord Chunshen.

A month ago, Li Yuan's men found Zhu Ying, a retainer of Lord Chunshen (Huang Xie), and had him cut in half at the waist in the street.

"What do you need us to do?"

Qu He took out a gilded wine vessel from the wooden box, played with it, and asked a question.

"Do you think the three states of Zhao, Wei, and Chu could win if they formed an alliance to attack Qin?"

Yao Jia asked calmly.

Then he personally poured some wine for Qu He and the others.

“A sudden locust plague has broken out in the Qin state.”

"At this moment, our Great Chu is allied with the states of Zhao and Wei, which seems..."

Zhao Liangdao.

He instinctively wanted to say "tyrannical Qin", but considering that Yao Jia was a Qin person and he had received money, he quickly changed his words to "Qin State".

Zhao Liang was interrupted by Yao Jia before he could finish speaking.

What if the locust plague in Qin has already been resolved?

Yao Jia asked with a smile.

"So fast?"

"impossible?"

Qu He was somewhat skeptical of this.

“You are all key ministers of the State of Chu. You can send people to Qin’s Hexi region and other places to take a look.”

"Hearing is believing, seeing is believing!"

Yao Jia suggested.

"Xu Lin, the Grand Preceptor of the State of Chu, is a man of unparalleled talent and is extremely skilled in invention and creation. With his assistance, it is not impossible to solve the locust plague within one or two months!"

Zhu Xiong spoke up.

Upon hearing this, Qu He, Zhao Liang, and the others nodded in agreement.

"Even if the Qin state solves the locust plague, the chances of winning against three opponents are still not high."

Qu He continued.

"You are all old friends of Lord Chunshen." "You all know better than I, an outsider, how Lord Chunshen died."

"If Xiang Yan defeats the Qin army at the front, given Li Yuan's personality, would he let you go?"

Yao Jia asked with a half-smile.

Li Yuan is petty and narrow-minded, and has no tolerance for others; this is common knowledge!
If Xiang Yan had lost to the Qin army, that would have been fine!
If Xiang Yan had defeated the Qin army, given Li Yuan's bloodthirsty nature, would he have let these potential threats go unpunished?

"That's all I have to say."

"Whether the locust plague in Qin has been resolved, given Li Yuan's personality, whether he will indiscriminately kill people is for you to judge."

Yao Jia said.

After saying that, he turned and left.

After Yao Jia left, Qu He and others immediately sent people to Qin to investigate the locust plague.

After confirming that the locust plague in Qin had been resolved, Qu He and others began to create panic in Shouchun. For example, they asked whether the late king had not intended to make King Han of Chu the crown prince, and whether Xiang Yan, who held a large army, would become too powerful.

For a time, the people of Chu were filled with unease.

……

Three days later.

Shouchun, the capital of Chu, the Empress Dowager's palace.

While a palace maid was combing Li Huan's hair, she suddenly picked up a silver hairpin from a box and stabbed it into Li Huan's neck.

If Li Huan hadn't reacted quickly, he would have been seriously injured, if not killed.

The palace maid was quickly brought under control.

"Who ordered you to do this?"

"Tell me, and I'll give you a quick death!"

Li Huan's voice and expression were both stern.

Her uneven breathing caused her chest to rise and fall violently.

“No one ordered me to do that!”

"Lord Chunshen once did my family a favor, and I am here to avenge Lord Chunshen!"

The palace maid answered.

Then he chose to bite poison and commit suicide.

"Chunshenjun Huang Xie?"

"How long has that old guy been dead?"

"To avenge him?"

"Do you think I'm a fool?"

After the palace maid died, Li Huan's phoenix eyes were filled with anger.

Then he ordered a thorough investigation into the matter, insisting that it be investigated to the very end!
……

The next day.

Li Huan replaced all the palace maids in his bedchamber with his own people.

Upon learning that the palace maid who attempted to assassinate her yesterday was connected to the Xiang family, Li Huan frowned and then had someone summon Li Yuan.

The young boy is still young; we cannot allow the Xiang family to become too powerful!
There have been recent rumors that Xiang Yan had a good personal relationship with Xiong Fuchu, the son of a Qin princess. Who knows what Xiang Yan was really thinking?

Before long, Li Yuan arrived in front of Li Huan.

"Meet the Queen Mother!"

Li Yuan bowed respectfully.

"No gift."

Li Huan waved his hand.

Then he dismissed the people around him.

"I heard that a palace maid attempted to assassinate the Empress Dowager yesterday. Is the Empress Dowager alright?"

After the maids had gone some distance, Li Yuan asked with a concerned expression.

He had intended to come last night, but he was busy dealing with the rumors in Shouchun, so he only arrived now!
"Near miss."

"I have heard that Xiang Yan enjoys high prestige in the army. Is this true?"

Li Huan asked.

Her phoenix robe was embroidered with intricate patterns, giving it an elegant and luxurious appearance.

Yesterday's assassination attempt made her realize that she could no longer remain apolitical!
She wants to share power with Li Yuan!
"Yes."

"General Xiang Yan spent his entire military career with very few defeats, even..."

Li Yuan nodded.

He was interrupted by Li Huan before he could finish speaking.

Aren't you afraid he has ulterior motives?

Li Huan looked at her delicate, slender fingers and asked.

When King Kaolie of Chu was alive, he told her that she had to learn to maintain a balance of power, otherwise something bad would happen sooner or later!

Is it a good thing that the Chu army now only follows Xiang Yan's lead?

(End of this chapter)