People in the Qin Dynasty sought good fortune and avoided misfortune.

Chapter 497, Xu Qing's Advice (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)
Zhao Ji's pulse was straight and long, tense and strong, a typical wiry pulse, which is also a typical pulse pattern of liver qi stagnation and emotional distress.

At the same time, his pulse also showed typical signs of excessive yin fire and insufficient qi.

Xu Qing felt Zhao Ji's pulse and couldn't help but look up at her. He seemed a little unsure of the result he had given, so he tightened his fingers slightly and felt Zhao Ji's pulse even more carefully.

The force from her wrist brought Zhao Ji back to her senses. She felt Xu Qing's strong hand, her fingers trembled slightly, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Lord Zhaoming, have you figured out what you're saying?"

Zhao Ji blinked slightly and looked at Xu Qing, asking a question.

Xu Qing withdrew his hand, looking at Zhao Ji, unsure how to answer her question.

By examining the patient's pulse, he naturally understood the cause of their illness. In his previous life, he would have simply told the patient to go back and find a boyfriend.

But his current patient is Zhao Ji, so he can't very well say to the Empress Dowager, "Your illness is caused by an imbalance of Yin and Yang, leading to an imbalance of internal Qi and thus stagnation of liver Qi, can he?"

Saying this is utterly disrespectful and cannot be ignored.

However, Xu Qing was also very curious. Why would Zhao Ji act like this? With Lao Ai serving her, how could she be sexually unsatisfied? Unless something happened to Lao Ai.

Seeing Xu Qing's serious expression and his reluctance to answer her question, Zhao Ji couldn't help but feel nervous. She was worried that Xu Qing might have really found some hidden danger, otherwise why would he have such a serious expression?
"Lord Zhaoming, please speak your mind. I can handle it," Zhao Ji asked nervously.

Xu Qing snapped out of his reverie and looked at Zhao Ji. After organizing his thoughts briefly, he began to speak.

"Your Majesty, your health is not seriously affected. It's just that your liver qi is stagnant, which has led to your bad mood and subsequently caused various symptoms. I will prescribe a medicine for you when we get back, have it brewed and sent over. You should feel better after drinking it for two or three days."

"Liver qi stagnation? Isn't this the same conclusion as the other imperial physicians? Your Majesty, are you trying to deceive me?"

Zhao Ji clearly did not believe Xu Qing's words. Her face darkened slightly, and she withdrew her hand, speaking in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, I would never dare to deceive you. Your pulse is indeed like that. However, different prescriptions for the same symptoms may not be accurate. I will reprimand them when we return."

As Xu Qing spoke, she put away the pulse-taking pad and handkerchief, and continued...

"Your Majesty, I am aware of your condition. I have other matters to attend to later, so I will take my leave now."

Zhao Ji glanced at Xu Qing's calm face and felt a little relieved. Although there was nothing wrong with her body, she would not let Xu Qing leave so easily.

After all, Xu Qing was the key to healing her; without him, no matter how much medicine she took, she might not get better.

Just as Xu Qing was about to get up, Zhao Ji reached out and grabbed Xu Qing's wrist.

Xu Qing's heart tightened, and he tried to break free from Zhao Ji's hand by squeezing his wrist, but Zhao Ji held on tightly to Xu Qing's wrist and leaned forward slightly, showing signs of pressing down on Xu Qing.

Xu Qing immediately stopped moving, fearing that Zhao Ji would unleash a double-mountain crushing attack on him.

"Empress Dowager, what is the meaning of this?" Xu Qing asked in a deep voice.

"I don't mean anything by it, but why is Lord Zhaoming in such a hurry to leave? Is there anything in Qin that is more important than my health? You have done a great job persuading Nanyang to surrender to Qin, and I haven't properly rewarded you yet."

Zhao Ji narrowed her eyes slightly, raised the corners of her mouth slightly, leaned slightly towards Xu Qing, and said softly.

The faint smile and the subtle allure between her brows perfectly showcased Zhao Ji's unique charm as a mature woman. Paired with her fiery red phoenix robe, her noble elegance and vulgarity were perfectly combined, making her a sight to behold.

A glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes, his expression turned serious, and he spoke righteously to Zhao Ji.
"Your Majesty, the King did not consider me lowly or despicable. He personally went to Han and risked his life to invite me to serve as an official in Qin. After I entered Qin, the King treated me with great kindness."

“I remember all of this. You have treated me as a national hero, and I will repay you as a national hero.”

“Serving the Qin state and persuading Nanyang to surrender to Qin was merely my duty. I do not seek any reward. Now that Your Majesty has already bestowed upon me the position of Zhaomingjun, I have no other requests and dare not accept any reward from the Empress Dowager.”

As he spoke, Xu Qing exuded the aura of a loyal and upright person. He appeared to be open-minded, honest, and selfless, intending to use this to reveal his attitude to Zhao Ji and thus force her to back down.

However, when Zhao Ji looked at the righteous Xu Qing, a glint flashed in her slightly narrowed eyes, her smile deepened, and she swallowed her saliva.

Yes, that's exactly the kind of Xu Qing she wanted—so upright, honest, and principled.

"Your Majesty, do you really want me to spell it out? I know my illness very well. The Imperial Hospital is indeed helpful, but it's just missing one ingredient."

"As the Imperial Physician, you are dedicated to the health of both me and the King. Now that I am lacking this crucial ingredient, shouldn't you fulfill your duty as the Imperial Physician and do everything in your power to cure me?"

Zhao Ji gently pulled Xu Qing in front of her with a slight twist of her wrist, her beautiful eyes sparkling as she spoke in a seductive voice.

Seeing that Zhao Ji was no longer pretending, Xu Qing suppressed his intention to take action, his expression instantly darkened, and he looked at Zhao Ji with cold eyes.

Zhao Ji forced him to do this.

"Your Majesty, as the Empress Dowager of Qin, you should set an example for women in Qin and serve as a model for the nation."

"And what you are saying now is lawless, disorderly, and utterly shameless. If you let me go now, I can pretend nothing happened. Otherwise, don't blame me." Xu Qing said coldly, his eyes blazing with anger.

Seeing Xu Qing's anger, Zhao Ji's face showed a hint of panic and tension. She hadn't expected Xu Qing to be so upright and unyielding, which didn't match the information she had gathered from South Korea.

Under Xu Qing's cold gaze, Zhao Ji's lustful thoughts subsided, allowing her to regain some rationality and release Xu Qing's hand.

Xu Qing loosened his wrist, which was being gripped by Zhao Ji, and looked at her coldly, saying...
"Your Majesty, you are the mother of the Qin state, and also the mother who has shared hardships with the King. You should cherish your reputation, abide by etiquette, and set an example for the Qin state."

Xu Qing's words were particularly grating to Zhao Ji's ears, and a surge of anger ignited within her.

"How dare you! As a subject, you dare to point fingers at me! Who do you think you are? What do you know? You mere brat, presumptuously guessing my thoughts! Such blatant disrespect! Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?!"

Zhao Ji said angrily, her high breasts heaving with anger, her beautiful eyes fixed on Xu Qing.

"What is the point of living, and what is the point of dying? If the Empress Dowager listens to my words, I will die a worthy death."

Xu Qing looked impassioned, as if he were about to bravely face his death.

"you you."

Seeing Xu Qing's expression, Zhao Ji's finger trembled as she pointed at him, and she didn't know what to say for a moment.

Faced with Zhao Ji's anger, Xu Qing showed no fear and met her furious gaze head-on.

"What do you know?! You know nothing, how could you possibly understand my pain?"

Zhao Ji felt a pang of bitterness in her heart, and her proud head involuntarily lowered. The anger in her eyes gradually disappeared, her expression turned somber, and she spoke with a trembling voice.

She had also thought about being a good queen mother of Qin, the Empress Dowager of Qin, but how could anyone else understand the bitterness and dissatisfaction in her heart?

Back in the State of Zhao, she wasn't born into a particularly noble family, but her family was wealthy enough to live a life of comfort and ease. However, she fell in love with Lü Buwei at first sight. For Lü Buwei, who was just an ordinary merchant at the time, she gave herself to him without any regard for the consequences, and in the end, she didn't even have a proper title or status.

Zhao Ji didn't care about this; she loved Lü Buwei, not any title or status.

But how did Lü Buwei treat her? In order to get close to Qin Yiren, he directly gave her away to him. Zhao Ji was heartbroken, but in the end, she accepted this outcome.

Just as she was about to forget Lü Buwei and spend the rest of her life after becoming pregnant with Qin Yiren's child, Qin Yiren and Lü Buwei abandoned her and their unborn child and ran back to Qin, leaving her and Ying Zheng to live an inhuman life in Handan.

Later, she and Ying Zheng returned to Xianyang after surviving numerous hardships, but Qin Yiren had already found a new love and had a more beloved child. He had long forgotten about her, the wife who had endured more than ten years of suffering in his place.

She would never forget the coldness and disdain in Qin Yiren's eyes when she returned to the Crown Prince's residence in Xianyang.

From that moment on, Zhao Ji's feelings for Qin Yiren vanished, leaving only the desire to survive in Xianyang. Qin Yiren ascended the throne and became King of Qin, and she finally became Queen, though she still remained alone in the deep palace, enduring bitterness and loneliness.

After Qin Yiren died and Ying Zheng succeeded to the throne, Lü Buwei, in order to seize power, reluctantly resumed his affair with her. At the time, she thought that Lü Buwei had a change of heart and rekindled his feelings for her.

However, Lao Ai's entry into the palace made her realize how ridiculous she was; to Lü Buwei, she had always been nothing more than a tool.

It was precisely because of the repeated abandonment by Lü Buwei and Qin Yiren that she realized one thing: to keep what she wanted, she had to rely on the power in her hands. So, in order to avoid being abandoned again and being alone in the deep palace, she couldn't bear the loneliness and chose Lao Ai, and made him step by step become the Marquis of Changxin.

Now that Xu Qing had rebuked her, Zhao Ji felt a pang of bitterness in her heart. All she wanted was someone who could satisfy her emotional needs.

Is this some kind of unreasonable request?

Xu Qing looked at Zhao Ji, who looked dejected, and didn't know what to say. Zhao Ji's experience seemed very pitiful, as she had been abandoned many times.

However, this is not a reason for the other party to disregard their status, defile the harem, and disrupt the Qin state's order.

Since Zhao Ji was the Empress Dowager of Qin, even if she kept male lovers in private, others would turn a blind eye even if they knew.

Food and sex are the greatest desires of humankind, and there is nothing wrong with that.

However, the other party made a grave mistake by disregarding the overall situation and handing over power to Lao Ai, allowing him to disrupt the Qin state and even instigate a rebellion in the future, nearly destroying the Qin state's accumulated wealth and prestige over six generations.

Putting personal interests before public duty is the worst thing Zhao Ji could have done. Unfortunately, she couldn't stand being alone, wasn't very bright, and still believed in love, so she didn't realize the difference between herself and Empress Dowager Xuan.

After a long silence, Xu Qing didn't think of comforting Zhao Ji, but instead cupped his hands and said...
"You are the Queen Dowager of Qin. If you wish to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. Some things are justifiable, but you cannot let personal matters interfere with public duty."

"I have said all I need to say. I hope you will behave yourself from now on."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Qing picked up his medicine box and walked out of the hall on his own, preparing to leave this place of trouble, without waiting for Zhao Ji to reply.

"If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight; you cannot let personal matters interfere with public duty."

Zhao Ji raised her head slightly, looking at Xu Qing's departing figure with a complicated expression, her thoughts unreadable.

(End of this chapter)