Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

The situation on the King of Qin's side... can be described as quite lively.

More than ten days have passed since the King's birthday banquet, and the Korean delegation, needless to say, was completely wiped out.

The envoys from Qi, Chu, and Wei were all safe and sound, but they hadn't been idle these days. They sent letters every day, using all sorts of tricks to try and buy those rare goods from the Baiwu Department.

The State of Qi was particularly eager, as Qi was a prosperous land of commerce and industry, and its capital, Linzi, was the richest in the world. They had always coveted such rare and exquisite treasures, and after several attempts, they finally managed to get their hands on them at the King of Qin's palace.

Tian Jia, the chief envoy of the State of Qi, was a member of a collateral branch of the Tian family and was in charge of the country's commerce. He was a man of great talent and eloquence.

Upon entering the hall, he bowed and smiled broadly, his face full of kindness, a smile so warm it seemed to exude honey:

"May Your Majesty be blessed! Since the time of our late king, Qi and Qin have maintained a long-standing friendly relationship. This time, I have come on Your Majesty's orders to present gold, silk, and rare treasures, solely to congratulate Your Majesty on your long life. Although Qi and Qin are far apart, our hearts are connected and our friendship is deep and unwavering, which is incomparable to that of any other country."

He subtly changed the subject, his tone becoming increasingly earnest, but his eyes kept glancing at the brand-new candlesticks on the side of the hall.

"Your Majesty, I have long heard that the Xianyang Department of Hundreds of Items has recently produced a variety of ingenious and convenient items, which are truly rare in the world. The people of Qi are eagerly anticipating them and are willing to pay high prices to purchase them. I humbly request Your Majesty to grant the Qi envoy permission to purchase them, so as to appease the people of the East."

Ying Zheng was casually playing with his folding fan when he heard this, and his hand paused slightly.

So you've been visiting every official in my court these past few days, even sending three invitations to Zhou Neishi, who is "so badly injured that the whole city is in an uproar and he's clearly unable to receive guests," and being turned away countless times, all for this?

You should have said so earlier!

Why not take advantage of a lamb that's delivered right to your door?

Ying Zheng remained expressionless, only nodding slightly and pondering in silence.

The Qi envoy stared at him expectantly, his smile almost frozen, but he still tried his best to maintain that "I am very sincere" look.

After a long silence, Ying Zheng finally spoke slowly, his tone tinged with reluctance:

"Since Qi and Qin are friendly states, I should naturally grant their request. However, this matter involves the Bureau of All Things, which contains many rare and precious items. The Qi envoy is probably already aware of this. Even I myself, for the sake of benefiting those below, cannot easily make an exception. This..."

As he spoke, he stroked the folding fan he had been granted as an exception, a slight, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips.

He knew exactly how much each of the ingenious items from the Department of Hundreds of Items cost.

The Qi envoy, as expected, immediately stepped forward and continued speaking:

"The King of Qin's benevolence is known throughout the land, and his ministers deeply admire him. How could we possibly put the King of Qin in a difficult position?"

"I only hope that the King of Qin, considering the diplomatic relations between our two countries, can allocate some of the precious items. Your humble servant is also willing to offer gold and jade to fulfill the wishes of the people of Qi and to ensure a lasting friendship between Qi and Qin."

I've been waiting for you to say that!

Ying Zheng was secretly pleased, but his face remained silent and thoughtful, as if he was weighing his options and was in a dilemma.

The hall was quiet for a moment, with only the faint sound of the folding fan tapping gently in the palm of the hand. Tian Jia's heart pounded in his chest.

After a long while, he slowly raised his eyes and uttered a soft sentence:

"...Very well, I will discuss this matter with my close advisors and then make a decision."

Tian Jia thanked him profusely and withdrew, his smiling face remaining until he exited the palace. Whether he felt a pang of embarrassment afterward is unknown.

However, this so-called "discussion with close ministers" was not entirely a pretext. Ying Zheng did indeed summon Li Si, Wei Liao, and others to the palace for a proper meeting.

However, the specific content of the discussion is... that's none of anyone else's business.

Anyway, after Li Si came out of the palace, he was all smiles and walked like the wind. Without saying a word, he went straight to the Zhou residence and, before he could even catch his breath, he started asking a barrage of questions.

After getting the answer, he rushed to the store and registered all the most "magnificent" and intricately crafted treasures one by one, taking inventory of the stock all night.

Three days later, it is said that after several debates between the King of Qin and his close advisors such as Li Si and Wei Liao, the King of Qin finally relented, "reluctantly" agreeing to the terms, out of consideration for the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

—Of course, this was after they had paid off truckload after truckload of gold coins.

Thus, the envoys from the three kingdoms, satisfied, led their respective kingdoms' carriages, laden with treasures such as soap, candles, folding fans, paper umbrellas, and ink sticks, away from Xianyang quietly but swiftly.

They were afraid that if they were a step too late, the Qin ministers who had been lining up in front of the Baiwusi office, their eyes already red with envy, would snatch them away.

For a time, most of the guesthouses in Xianyang were empty, except for the delegations from Yan and Zhao, who remained in the city and did not move for a long time.

At that time, the border between Yan and Zhao was already lined with troops facing each other, with armored soldiers in sight and the flames of war about to rise. Zhao intended to go north and annex Yan to strengthen itself, so it sent envoys to stay in Xianyang, hoping to persuade the King of Qin to tacitly allow Zhao to attack Yan, and even to seek peace between Qin and Zhao and to share the land of Yan.

But the State of Yan was not about to give up. On the one hand, it wanted to make peace with Qin, and on the other hand, it kept a close eye on the movements of the Zhao envoy, fearing that the State of Zhao would persuade the King of Qin first.

As long as the Zhao envoy did not leave Xianyang, the Yan state dared not retreat lightly, and thus the two sides were deadlocked.

Unfortunately, the two countries' embassies are located very close to each other, so close that they dare not open the windows every day.

If you push it open, who knows, someone might pop their head out from the other side, and the two of you will stare at each other and start spitting on the spot. It's a small matter if the spitting goes up and they start fighting, then it will become an international dispute.

So both sides held their breath, the windows were tightly shut, leaving only a crack, and they peeked out furtively, glancing at each other, neither willing to blink first.

The Qin state was naturally happy to see this situation, as it wanted the Zhao and Yan states to fight each other so that Qin could reap the benefits.

Moreover, the Qin envoy who went to Korea has not yet returned, so they are not in a hurry to urge him.

Once South Korea is stabilized, the conflict here will escalate completely. Then, appease both sides and close the net completely.

However, at least the Yan state had a respectable reason for staying.

The envoy, Ju Wu, was quite old, with white hair, yet he still put on a show of beating his chest and stamping his feet in grief in the hall.

Tears streamed down his face as he recounted the various crimes of the deposed Crown Prince Ji Dan—his wolfish ambition, treacherous intentions, rebellious and immoral behavior, and outrageous actions…

Every word he uttered was earnest and sincere, pouring all the blame onto Ji Dan alone, pleading with the King of Qin to see clearly that this matter had nothing to do with the State of Yan and should not affect the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Speaking of Ju Wu, he was Ji Dan's former teacher. Now, standing in the hall, he was making his own student sound so bad that he wanted to dig him out of his grave and scold him again.

His decision to abandon the useless son was so decisive and resolute that all the officials in the court couldn't help but applaud him in their hearts.

After the play was over, Ju Wu didn't rest. Under the guise of "teaching the new hostage to show the sincerity of the Yan state," he openly stayed in Xianyang, keeping a close eye on the movements of the Zhao delegation every day.

As for the Zhao envoy…

Right now, they're pacing anxiously around the building.

As is well known, the new king of Qin has a very close relationship with the state of Zhao.

The King of Qin was once a hostage of the State of Zhao. It's easy to imagine that his life during that time was far from pleasant. If they were to brazenly plead their case in the palace like the delegation from the State of Qi, it wouldn't be impossible for the King of Qin to remember the past and drag them out and execute them as well.

The blood splattered on the Korean envoy hasn't dried yet!

But they had no suitable reason to request an audience, like the envoy from Yan, to do so with a clear conscience.

Normally, in this situation, if one wanted to see the King of Qin, one would first have to pave the way with important officials in the court, pass on a message, and sound out his intentions.

But the person they had their eye on long ago, Zhou Wenqing, the favorite of the King of Qin and the one whose words were said to carry great weight, was seriously injured and bedridden!

They had already prepared the gift list and were just waiting to send out the invitations, but now all their hard work was for nothing.

Left with no other choice, they gritted their teeth and changed the person, prepared new gifts, and looked for a new way. This time, they set their sights on Li Si, one of the "Pisces".

It is said that this man was deeply trusted by the King of Qin and his words carried considerable weight. The Zhao envoy gritted his teeth, prepared another generous gift, and sent a letter through a messenger, anxiously awaiting a reply.

The reply did come, a brief sentence: "Li Tingwei, concerned about Zhou Neishi's injuries, stayed at Zhou's residence for a short while."

Zhao's envoy: "..."