Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Zhou Wenqing was speechless for a moment.

It's quite a coincidence, isn't it?

He silently recalled those grand pronouncements from earlier, dusted them off, swept them up, and tossed them all into a corner.

Thankfully, these words only lingered in his mind and were not actually uttered aloud, otherwise Li Si would have been harping on about them until next year.

The person in front of me...

It's impossible to chase them away.

There's no way I could ever chase them away in this lifetime.

Not only should they not be chased away, but they should also be invited in respectfully.

Zhou Wenqing took a deep breath, suppressing the slight embarrassment that no one else knew about, and quickly switched to a proper smile. He and Li Si bowed together and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"Get up quickly." Ying Zheng raised his hand to help Zhou Wenqing up and smiled, "You've been polite enough at the banquet during the day. Now that there are no outsiders, you two don't need to be so formal."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhou Wenqing straightened up, smiled and nodded, then turned to the side and gestured "please," his tone natural and familiar:

"There are still a few folding fans left. If Your Majesty doesn't mind, please come inside with Wenqing to take a look."

The group moved into the study, where Zhou Wenqing led Ying Zheng to the desk. There were seven or eight folding fans neatly arranged on the desk, with smooth ribs and elegant fan surfaces, each supported by brocade.

These are all items he carefully selected from his personal collection.

Ying Zheng's gaze swept across the table, his eyebrows slightly raised, a hint of surprise in his eyes: "I didn't expect that Minister Zhou would have such a fondness for these folding fans, keeping so many of them."

He remembered that Zhou Wenqing was usually indifferent to rare and precious objects, and he had never seen him collect anything so deliberately.

So these are what my interests are?

Zhou Wenqing felt a little embarrassed by the look, touched his nose, and chuckled dryly, "Ahem, well... I just... kept a few to play with."

Ying Zheng raised the corners of his lips slightly, did not ask any further questions, and casually picked up the topmost one.

The fan ribs are made of Xiangfei bamboo, with mottled patterns like tear stains; the fan surface is plain white, with only a few strokes of light ink in the corner, sparse and scattered, along with a line of small characters, extremely elegant.

He gently unfolded it, and with a crisp "whoosh" sound, it was particularly clear and melodious in the quiet room.

"This fan..." Ying Zheng examined the ink bamboo on the fan surface, then suddenly looked up at Zhou Wenqing, "Minister Zhou, did you paint this?"

Zhou Wenqing waved his hands repeatedly, smiling innocently:

"Your Majesty overestimates me! My skills are passable for writing, but painting? I'm afraid I'd make a fool of myself."

As he spoke, his gaze drifted to Li Si beside him, a hint of mischief in his voice:

"This is all thanks to Brother Gu'an for providing his valuable work."

Li Si straightened his chest and raised his chin slightly, looking so proud he was practically strutting around, yet he still waved his hand dismissively:

"It's hardly a masterpiece, just a casual splash of ink, not worth mentioning!"

That tone, that expression, clearly said: Praise me, praise me!

Upon seeing this, Wei Liao couldn't help but stroke his beard, chuckle, and shake his head, saying:

"Li Tingwei is right. It truly lives up to its name as 'casual ink splash.' Look at these exquisite seal characters, look at these perfectly placed ink marks. This casual ink splash is so skillful!"

Upon hearing this, Li Si shook his head helplessly: "Mr. Wei Liao's mouth has truly... impressed me today!"

Wei Liao stroked his beard and chuckled, not replying, taking it as a compliment he accepted.

"Very well," Ying Zheng was amused by their back-and-forth, "In my opinion, 'casual ink splash' is better than the others. What do you think, Minister Zhou?"

"I believe Your Majesty is right."

Zhou Wenqing nodded affirmatively, then suddenly changed the subject, his tone carrying just the right amount of regret:

"But... there's one more folding fan that's just a little short of being perfect."

Ying Zheng raised an eyebrow slightly: "Oh? Which one?"

Zhou Wenqing walked calmly to the table and slowly pulled out a blank fan from behind the row of folding fans.

The fan ribs were made of the finest jade bamboo, as lustrous as jade; the fan surface was pure white, clean and spotless, without a single word on it.

Wei Liao leaned closer to take a look, turning the fan over to examine it closely, then turning it over again to examine it closely, his brows furrowing slightly, his face full of confusion:

"This... isn't it empty? This is way off from being perfect!"

Zhou Wenqing took the fan, his gaze falling on Ying Zheng's face, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Just a little bit short."

He paused, his tone becoming increasingly sincere, but a hint of cunning lurked in his eyes:

"With just one more stroke of the King's brush, this fan will be perfect!"

Wei Liao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized and echoed:

"Wonderful, wonderful! Zicheng is right, it's just a little bit missing from Your Majesty to be perfect."

Ying Zheng took the folding fan from his hand, examined it under the lamp for a moment, then looked up at Zhou Wenqing, his gaze sweeping over the "I'm very sincere" smile on his face, before glancing at Li Si, who was trying hard to suppress his laughter.

A slight smile played on his lips, his tone tinged with a hint of helpless amusement:

"Minister Zhou, I see that you've become increasingly cunning after learning from Minister Li."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Si's smile froze on his face, and he hurriedly cupped his hands and cried out that he was innocent:

"Your Majesty is wise! What does this have to do with me? Don't be fooled by Brother Zicheng's seemingly gentle and refined appearance; he's actually full of tricks and wicked schemes. He can easily outwit me. Why would he need to learn from me?!"

What does it mean to be full of bad intentions?

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wenqing raised an eyebrow slightly and turned his gaze to Li Si with a deep look, as if to say: Are you sure you want to say that?

Li Si's eyes widened instantly when he was looked at like that. He turned sharply to Ying Zheng, his expression of grievance becoming even more exaggerated:

"Your Majesty! Look! He's actually threatening me right in front of you! You must stand up for me and see what's going on!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Seeing the two of them like this, Ying Zheng couldn't help but laugh loudly. He tapped the blank folding fan lightly in his hand and glanced between the two of them.

"Very well, then I will grant your request."

He held the blank folding fan, tapped it lightly, then suddenly picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write with a suspended wrist.

On the plain white fan surface, four powerful characters slowly emerged—

"I know."

Zhou Wenqing's eyes lit up, and he stared intently at the folding fan, his lips curving upwards in an uncontrollable smile.

This is a folding fan with calligraphy by the First Emperor himself! Now it's in his private collection, who can resist getting excited?

He briefly turned his head and waved at Li Si, his posture one of magnanimity and uprightness:

"Alright, alright, His Majesty has spoken, so we will not hold it against you today."

Li Si's eyes widened instantly, and this time the disbelief on his face was exceptionally genuine.

He was the one who was being bullied, so how come it turned out that Zicheng was the one who showed leniency and let him off the hook?

Seeing Zhou Wenqing's delighted expression, he could only shake his head helplessly in the end.

Okay, okay, whatever makes you happy.

Zhou Wenqing carefully moved the still-wet ink fan to the corner of the table, gently pressed down the edges with a paperweight to ensure it was laid flat to dry, before turning around.

The childish smugness on his face vanished, replaced by his usual gentle smile.

He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Ying Zheng:

"Thank you, Your Majesty. It is I who have received such generous gifts at Your Majesty's birthday banquet; I am truly ashamed. I only wonder if Your Majesty has come at this time to instruct us on anything?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the playful atmosphere gradually subsided, and everyone straightened their expressions.

Ying Zheng pondered for a moment, his gaze slowly sweeping across the three faces before finally settling on Wei Liao, where he nodded slightly.

Wei Liao stepped forward, his expression solemn: "Zicheng, you should know best that the national treasury is now full, the people's hearts are at peace, and the grain and fodder are plentiful. With the harsh winter coming to an end, I personally believe that it is time for Great Qin to plan its next move."