Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

The last soft sound of the pen holder touching the bamboo frame dissipated in the hall, its lingering echo even more suffocating than the silence that had just passed.

Ying Zheng finally raised his eyes and his gaze fell on Zhao Gao.

Zhao Gao felt a chill creep up his spine, his whole body trembled, and he was so frightened that he almost lost his soul.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

He kowtowed again with a loud thud, his voice hoarse and almost incoherent, as if a burning coal was stuck in his throat.

"Your Majesty, I... Your Majesty, I have never uttered a single falsehood! I am utterly loyal to Your Majesty and have no disloyal intentions whatsoever. How could I dare to reveal even the slightest secret of Your Majesty? Moreover, this matter was done by my own hands. Even if I had a hundred heads, I would not dare to speak nonsense, much less show the slightest disrespect to the Prefect Zhou..."

He lay prostrate on the ground, his forehead pressed tightly against the gold brick stained with his own blood, his voice growing increasingly urgent and broken:

"Your Majesty, please investigate! I am innocent! I am innocent!"

"Are you innocent?"

Ying Zheng finally spoke, his cold gaze sweeping over the prostrate figure:

"That eunuch who once spied on Minister Zhou, was he not one of your men?"

Zhao Gao froze.

He suddenly raised his head, only to be met with a pair of deep, unfathomable eyes.

In that instant, all the color drained from his face, leaving it ashen.

Before leaving the Zhou residence, Zhou Wenqing had specifically asked Ying Zheng whether the King had arranged for someone to leak this information in order to help him quickly gain the trust of the Zhao envoy.

After receiving a negative answer, Zhou Wenqing instantly understood and immediately focused his attention on the white-robed eunuch who had not appeared for a long time.

It has now been confirmed that this person was responsible.

This person was none other than Zhao Gao's spy planted near the Zhou residence.

How could Ying Zheng not be furious?

Zhao Gao collapsed to the ground, as if struck by lightning. He opened his mouth, a gurgling sound rolled through his throat, but he couldn't utter a single word.

That person was indeed arranged by him.

At first, that was indeed the case.

Even before being slapped by the king, Zhao Gao harbored a deep-seated fear and resentment towards Zhou Wenqing, who was enjoying the king's favor. The man was too arrogant and had repeatedly targeted and framed him, causing him to lose favor with the king. How could he forget such hatred?

So he secretly planted a trusted eunuch as a spy by Zhou Wenqing's side. Whenever Zhou Wenqing entered the palace, this person would accompany him, waiting for an opportunity to get close to him and gain his trust.

This man was from the same state of Zhao as Zhao Gao. He was quick-witted and cunning, and was most adept at observing people's expressions and uncovering their secrets. He was highly trusted by Zhao Gao.

Zhao Gao ordered this man to observe Zhou Wenqing's words, preferences, and behavior in preparation for any eventuality, and to find an opportunity to sow discord between him and the court officials, ideally by using someone else to kill him and remove this thorn in his side.

At that time, everything was under his control.

Later, after returning from his nighttime visit to the Zhou residence, the king ordered Zhao Gao to devise a plan to eliminate Yan Dan. Zhao Gao received the order and secretly began to plot—

He deduced that Zhou Wenqing must have had a past grudge against Yan Dan and even the State of Yan. Otherwise, why would he not even tolerate a hostage of low status and humble identity? This shows how deep the hatred was. If it could be investigated, it might be possible to make a story about it in the future.

So he openly and secretly instructed the eunuch: Zhou Wenqing and Prince Dan of Yan have a long-standing feud. You should keep an eye on this matter and report any unusual activity immediately.

His original intention was to use this piece to find out what grudge Zhou Wenqing and Yan Dan had. If the grudge was with someone else, he could interfere, sow discord, and reap the benefits.

But everything changed after Yan Dan died.

He was severely reprimanded by Ying Zheng, and the power over the seal was divided in two. The shadow guards who were supposed to "share the seal" actually kept watch over him day and night, never leaving his side.

Ying Zheng's words, "Maintain your boundaries," were like a sharp blade hanging over his head, instantly bringing him to his senses.

Zhou Wenqing is a highly trusted minister of the king; to harm him is to court death.

Fortunately, the king remembered his past merits and forgave his underhanded tricks. Zhao Gao was still in shock, secretly glad that he hadn't actually made a move and caused any serious consequences, but he was also gripped by a deeper fear.

The spy we planted is still there!

Does this count as "past"? Will the king "forgive and forget"?

Zhao Gao dared not gamble. In order to protect himself, his first thought was to eliminate all traces and eradicate any remaining evidence.

This spy, who knows too much about his thoughts on Zhou Neishi and has reported his observations on several occasions, must not be kept alive.

With the shadow guards watching him intently, he dared not act openly. He could only feign finding fault and use this as an excuse to demote the guard, sending him to the most remote and desolate menial post.

Those in the palace are adept at reading people's expressions and naturally understand his meaning. They torment him day and night, silently trampling him to death, so as to eliminate any future troubles.

He thought that by doing this secretly, he could nip the potential danger in the bud.

But they forgot that even a cornered dog will jump over a wall, and those driven to the brink are most likely to turn on their masters.

That eunuch used to rely on Zhao Gao's influence to frequently show his face in front of the important minister Zhou Wenqing and receive his courtesy. At that time, although he was a low-ranking eunuch in plain clothes, even high-ranking palace maids had to give him some respect. He was also very good at ordering around people of the same rank and was extremely popular.

But once demoted, it's like falling from the clouds into a quagmire.

In the menial office, he suffered endless bullying and trampling, with cold words and scornful looks every day. He was in unbearable pain. The greater his former glory, the deeper his humiliation today. How could he accept this?

At first, he tried to climb back up to the top, but after repeatedly hitting a wall, he finally realized that Zhao Gao wanted to torture him to death without leaving a trace.

Overwhelming resentment and the instinct for survival grew wildly in his heart like a thicket of thorns.

But he knew perfectly well that he was as insignificant as an ant, and as long as Zhao Gao was in Qin, he would have no way to survive. So he made up his mind and bet everything on his motherland, Zhao.

At the King of Qin's birthday banquet, envoys from all the states gathered in Xianyang. The palace was in a state of chaos. He risked punishment and took advantage of the confusion to find the Zhao envoy.

He remembered Zhao Gao saying that Zhou Wenqing had an old grudge against Prince Dan of Yan, and not long after, Prince Dan died, and he too fell into the mire.

So he pieced together fragments of information from various sources, along with secrets he knew, and after speculating, maliciously misinterpreting, and embellishing them, he released them all:

He said that Zhou Wenqing and Prince Dan of Yan had a long-standing grudge, and that Prince Dan's death was not due to stealing maps and resisting arrest, but rather that Zhou Wenqing colluded with Zhao Gao to deliberately frame and frame him.

The eunuch did not seek revenge. Knowing his lowly status and powerlessness to challenge anyone, he only hoped to use this as a "pledge of allegiance" to get the Zhao envoy to take him back to Zhao, find a way to survive, and regain a high position for the future.

The discord between Yan and Zhao is common knowledge. If the Zhao envoy wanted to find a patron in Qin who shared a common hatred, Zhou Wenqing was the only one suitable. His gamble was incredibly risky.

However, he never expected that Zhao's envoy would be so impatient and reckless, taking this half-true and half-guessed "secret" as evidence that Zhou hated Yan State, and barging into Zhou's residence to threaten him, and even more so, bringing this private grudge hidden in the shadows to the king's eyes.