Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Zhou Wenqing slowly stood up, pondered for a moment, and then cupped his hands to Ying Zheng, saying:

"Your Majesty, if we were to exert pressure on the State of Han, I... have some rudimentary ideas."

"Oh?" Ying Zheng raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "Minister Zhou, tell me quickly."

"Since the Qin dynasty first entered Xianyang, the Han envoy has repeatedly sought an audience with me privately, but I have refused to meet him each time, always feigning illness."

Requesting a private meeting?

Wang Jian was puzzled. He opened his mouth, but then felt it might be inappropriate to interrupt, so he swallowed his words, his beard trembling as he held back.

Meng Wu's heart skipped a beat, his eyebrows furrowed sharply, and he subconsciously clenched his fists. A hint of anger appeared on his face, but seeing that neither the King nor Li Si had spoken, he had no choice but to suppress his anger, though his chest still rose and fell slightly.

Li Si's eyes met Zhou Wenqing's. As one of the few people who knew Zi Cheng's background, he immediately understood why the Han envoy had come to see him again and again. A faint, cold smile appeared on his lips.

Wei Liao knew very little about Zhou Wenqing's background. At this moment, he simply stroked his chin, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Wenqing's face as if deep in thought.

Ying Zheng already knew about this, but his expression remained calm and composed, without the slightest ripple. However, a cold glint flashed quickly in the depths of his eyes, disappearing into the shadows of the candlelight in an instant, unnoticed by anyone.

Zhou Wenqing paused for only a few breaths before explaining:

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. The Han envoy's visit to Qin is ostensibly to offer birthday greetings, but in reality, he must be probing to see if Qin intends to attack Han. If so, he wants to know if Qin can resolve the conflict through persuasion. As a former Han official, I am exactly the thread they want to grasp."

"I have repeatedly refused to see them, and they have been eagerly awaiting my audience. They must be quite anxious. At today's banquet, I recognized one of them as an old friend. How could the Han envoy not recognize me?"

He paused, a slight smile playing on his lips:

"Since they are old friends, and have personally witnessed my immense prestige and deep trust in Your Majesty, how could they not be tempted?"

Meeting Ying Zheng's gaze, he continued frankly:

"After the banquet, the Han envoy will surely come again with a formal invitation. They already believe they have some leverage over me. If I were to request an audience at this time... wouldn't they think that I'm feeling guilty after seeing an old friend?"

"inevitable!"

A glint of light flashed in Li Si's eyes, and he almost immediately picked up the conversation:

"They will surely speculate in their hearts, and perhaps they will be even more confident in that so-called 'handle,' so their words will naturally be... more assertive, even a bit aggressive. And Brother Zicheng..."

He paused, then looked up at Zhou Wenqing with a smile in his eyes, a hint of amusement in that smile:

"It's well known that he's always been very sensitive to stimulation..."

"Hey! What do you mean by 'everyone knows'?" Zhou Wenqing protested, slightly annoyed.

Li Si pointed at him from a distance, a knowing smile in his eyes:

"Alright, then everyone's heard about it. But Zicheng must have been planning this all along, otherwise why would he have refused again and again, waiting for them to get to him?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wenqing finally couldn't help but smile and cup his hands in a gesture of respect:

"My friend Gu'an truly understands me!"

The words were spoken so clearly, how could the others not understand?

Although he didn't know what the so-called "handle" was, since Zicheng brought it up, it must be harmless. Wang Jian wasn't worried at all; instead, a hint of excitement appeared in his eyes.

As for other people in the know, they have even less to worry about.

What leverage? It's nothing more than that Zicheng was sent by the King of Han, and thus entered Qin like Zheng. The King already knew about this, but didn't care at all. He personally went to invite him, and the relationship between the ruler and his subject was already harmonious.

Do you think everyone is as narrow-minded, jealous, and suspicious as their King Han?

madness!

Wei Liao lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then looked up at Ying Zheng and slowly spoke:

"Your Majesty, I believe that Zicheng should be given a try. This plan... may succeed."

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng frowned slightly but did not speak immediately.

He remained silent for a few moments, met several pairs of expectant eyes, and finally shook his head helplessly.

"It's worth a try, but you must promise me that you will not take this too seriously and hurt yourself."

Ying Zheng's gaze fell on Zhou Wenqing, he paused, and then added:

"Zicheng should know my intentions and trusts you, so there's no need to worry. You can do as you please."

Zhou Wenqing immediately understood the meaning behind the king's words.

No matter what the Han envoy brings out, says, or even tries to sow discord, I don't need to take it to heart. I trust you.

His heart warmed, and he immediately cupped his hands and said:

"Your subject understands."

------

Three days later, the news in Xianyang spread like wildfire, from inns to restaurants, from the marketplace to the government offices, causing a great uproar and creating a city-wide uproar.

In a restaurant in the east of the city, several people sat around a table, not drinking, but just listening intently.

One man slammed his hand on the table, his face filled with righteous indignation, and shouted, "This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

"What's wrong?" The person on the other end leaned closer. "What happened to make you so angry? Tell me!"

"You didn't know?" The man's voice rose several decibels. "Our Great Qin's Grand Historian Zhou was so angered he vomited blood!"

"What?!"

The person opposite them dropped their chopsticks. "Are you talking about that Zhou Neishi?"

"That's Zhou Neishi, the one who ensured we had enough to eat, built heated kang beds in every household so we could stay warm and cozy through this cold winter, and saved countless lives! That devoted official, the best of the best, the most upright and honest Zhou Neishi!"

Zhou Wenqing has only been in Qin for a short time. If we talk about other things, these people may not know, but if we talk about the heated kang (a type of traditional heated brick bed), who doesn't know about it after the big commotion it caused a while ago?

"Oh my, Zhou Neishi?" An old man at the next table put down his bowl and rushed over, his eyes red-rimmed. "He was such a good man! What happened? Tell me quickly!"

"I just heard about it too." The man lowered his voice, but couldn't hide the indignation on his face. "That Korean envoy has been begging to see Prefect Zhou ever since he arrived in Xianyang. Prefect Zhou is already in poor health and busy with official duties, so he rarely has time. Who doesn't know that?"

"Indeed." Someone chimed in, "One of my uncles is also an official in the court. He admires the character of Inner Historian Zhou and once wanted to pay him a visit. However, his rank is not high, and he was afraid of disturbing Inner Historian Zhou, so he never dared to go rashly. Later, somehow, this reached Inner Historian Zhou's ears, and he actually sent someone to deliver a message—"

The man paused, his tone tinged with emotion:

"In the past, when my uncle faced famine, he set up a shed outside the city to distribute porridge, saving the lives of many poor people. These old stories are rarely mentioned even by our own family. However, Zhou Neishi sent someone to convey his high praise for my uncle's actions back then, saying, 'As long as one is wholeheartedly devoted to the people, one is already in tune with their heart. Why do we need to meet?'"

"My uncle was stunned for a long time after hearing this. Later, he told us that he was just a minor official who had done such a trivial thing, yet Zhou Neishi remembered it. From then on, he never mentioned visiting again and just did his job diligently. He exclaimed that Zhou Neishi was a true gentleman!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the people around him nodded in agreement.

"Well said, this is true friendship between gentlemen!"

"That's right, your uncle is a good official too."

"That's right, that's right. Zhou Neishi is extremely busy. His carriage goes out early and returns late every day. I happened to run into it a couple of days ago and even heard coughing inside."

"Sigh, such a good person, how come they don't know how to take care of themselves?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and sighs filled the air.

The man slapped his thigh, his indignation growing even stronger.

"Who can argue with that? Such a good person, yet some people don't know how to appreciate it! That Han envoy kept sending invitations, saying things like 'old friend from the same country,' and kept pestering me. Zhou, the Minister of the Interior, couldn't refuse because of the diplomatic relations between the two countries, so he reluctantly agreed to meet him."