Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

"Li Tingwei! Gu'an! Gu'an!"

Wei Liao called out repeatedly, his voice growing more anxious with each call. He carefully shook Li Si's shoulder, but the person in his arms had his eyes closed, his face as pale as paper, and he did not respond at all. He leaned limply against Wei Liao's arm, with no trace of the sharp demeanor he had shown in court just moments before.

Upon seeing this, Ying Zheng's raging anger was abruptly suppressed. He strode down the jade steps and quickly knelt down in front of Li Si.

He reached out and gently touched Li Si's forehead, only to find it icy cold. The hair at his temples was already soaked with cold sweat and stuck to his cheeks. He was barely breathing, and his lips were stained with blood, making him look extremely disheveled.

"Summon the imperial physician! Immediately issue Physician Lü's decree!"

Ying Zheng gave a sharp shout, and the eunuchs waiting outside the hall were so frightened that they scrambled out of the hall. In their panic, their robes swept across the pillars of the corridor, causing the palace lanterns hanging under the corridor to shake violently. The light and shadow in the hall flickered, adding to the chaos.

"Let me help Li Tingwei lie down first," Wei Liao said.

Ying Zheng nodded slightly, then clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles turning white, as he forcefully suppressed his surging emotions.

One crisis followed another. Zhou Wenqing's fate was uncertain, and Li Si suddenly fainted. All of his right and left arms had fallen. At this moment, as the king of Qin, he could not afford to lose his temper.

Wei Liao gently laid Li Si flat, pulled a soft pillow from the side and placed it under his head. He then quickly took off his plain outer robe and carefully covered Li Si with it to ward off the chill. He seemed calm and collected, but his slightly trembling fingertips betrayed the turmoil in his heart.

Ah Zhu knelt down beside him, his face pale, his eyes red, tears welling up in them, but he bit his lip hard to stop himself from crying out loud, but his shoulders were still shaking and he couldn't stop.

He gazed at the unconscious Li Si, his eyes red-rimmed, his voice choked with sobs as he murmured, "Mr. Li... the master is still in danger, you absolutely cannot be hurt... as long as you can wake up, I, A-Zhu, will be willing to copy any amount of official documents or do any amount of chores from now on, and I will never complain again..."

He was genuinely terrified.

He had not yet recovered from the bad news of his master's death, and this was the first time he had ever witnessed such a majestic and imposing appearance of a monarch. The thunderous rage and the murderous aura made it almost impossible for him to breathe.

Immediately afterward, Li Tingwei, whom he had just begun to admire, collapsed silently—like a mountain crumbling before his eyes.

Ah Zhu was completely panicked, filled with worry, fear, anxiety, and confusion, not knowing what to do.

Not long after, Physician Lü was dragged in by the guards, panting heavily, his head covered in sweat, his clothes askew, and he was completely out of breath.

He hastily cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, his voice still catching his breath: "Your subject..."

"Physician Lü, go and see Minister Li quickly," Ying Zheng interrupted him, pointing in the direction of Li Si.

"promise."

Physician Lü never expected that the one who fell ill would be Li Si, who had just been so imposing in the court and had berated all the officials.

A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, but he said nothing. He immediately squatted down, his fingertips firmly resting on Li Si's wrist, and focused on taking his pulse.

The pulse under his fingers was disordered and weak. He frowned slightly, waited a moment, and then withdrew his hand, letting out a slow sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it was just a case of anger and overwork, and there is no immediate danger to his life.

only……

Not long ago, several court officials were carried out of the main hall and taken to his imperial physician's office, all suffering from heart problems caused by anger, all due to Li Siting's words. Now, someone has actually managed to drive Li Siting to the point of fainting—

Who on earth has such ability?

Could it be the King?

Ying Zheng, unaware of Lü Yiling's thoughts, stood to the side with his hands behind his back, his aura still heavy. The overwhelming killing intent from before had largely subsided, leaving only a solemn expression. He asked in a deep voice:

"How is Li Tingwei doing?"

Physician Lü immediately composed himself and bowed to report: "Your Majesty, please rest assured, the Minister of Justice is not seriously injured. It is just that he has been overworked for days, which has greatly depleted his mental energy. He was also suddenly shocked by the incident, and his emotions fluctuated greatly, which caused him to faint. I will administer acupuncture immediately to revive him. I will also prescribe a calming and restorative decoction. He will recover after taking it and resting for a few days."

Ying Zheng nodded, his tense shoulders finally relaxing for a moment: "That's good, administer the acupuncture immediately."

Physician Lü dared not delay. He immediately took out silver needles from his medicine box, disinfected and cleaned his hands, and then precisely inserted them into several acupoints on Li Si's head, such as Baihui and Laogong.

The silver needles had been inserted into his body for only a moment when Li Si let out a heavy groan. His face was ashen, his brows furrowed tightly, and his eyelashes trembled violently several times before he finally slowly opened his eyes, his breathing still somewhat weak.

"What am I doing...?"

"Don't move. You've fainted from the stress. The needles haven't been removed yet," Wei Liao said, squatting down beside him to comfort him.

Li Si paused for a moment, his gaze gradually focusing. He looked at Wei Liao, then at the silver needles on his body, as if only then realizing what had happened.

Physician Lü hurriedly and carefully removed the silver needles one by one, disinfected and put them away, instructed someone to fetch the medicine, and then stepped aside, standing with his hands at his sides.

There's no need to write a special prescription—the Imperial Medical Bureau has no shortage of calming and qi-tonifying herbal soups right now; just send over a bowl.

Li Si cleared his throat, his gaze anxiously fixed on Ying Zheng, his voice slightly hoarse: "Your Majesty..."

Ying Zheng raised his hand to stop him, then picked up a cup of warm tea from the table and handed it to him, his gaze fixed on Li Si's pale face: "Wait a moment, don't rush to speak."

Li Si looked at the cup of hot tea that the king had personally handed him, and his heart ached again.

Zicheng was physically weak, which was always his treatment.

But now, Zicheng's fate is unknown. He has fainted in the Xianyang Palace, and this tea... has been handed to him.

With this thought in mind, Li Si took a deep breath, set the teacup aside, and forced himself to sit up, leaning on the edge of the table. A-Zhu hurriedly reached out to help him, but Li Si slightly raised his arm to block him. The next moment, he suddenly grabbed Ying Zheng's sleeve, his voice hoarse but each word like a nail:

"Your Majesty... Wenqing is still in Xiaoshan, his life hanging in the balance. This is an urgent matter. Punishing those responsible is a matter for later. The immediate priority is to dispatch a physician immediately to rescue Wenqing from this perilous situation... I beg Your Majesty to order Physician Lü to rush to Xiaoshan at once. At all costs, you must save Wenqing's life!"

Holding his breath, he spoke, his chest heaving violently, his breath almost breaking, yet he remained fixed on Ying Zheng's deep eyes, each word spoken with a tearful, blood-stained tone:

"As for the grudge of the ambush, we can settle accounts with them one by one after Zicheng awakens. Even if it means cutting them into a thousand pieces, grinding their bones to ashes, or even erecting a monument to desecrate their corpses, it is entirely up to Your Majesty to decide. I will not utter a single word in your way. But right now, we must save him. Zicheng cannot afford to delay any longer!"

Before he finished speaking, his hand, which had been gripping Ying Zheng's sleeve, slowly loosened and fell to his knees. He seemed to have lost the last bit of strength, leaning against the edge of the table, panting heavily.

"Gu'an, you must not be impatient anymore." Wei Liao quickly patted his back.

Ying Zheng looked down at him, at the bloodstains on the corner of his mouth that hadn't been wiped clean, and at the dark circles under his eyes.

He paused for a moment, then withdrew his imposing manner, leaned down, and gently pressed a finger on Li Si's shoulder before rising again and speaking in a deep voice:

"Medical Master Lü".

"Your subject is here."

"I command you to set off immediately and secretly go to Mount Xiao. Prepare fine horses, medicines, and physicians, without any shortages." His voice paused almost imperceptibly for a moment, his gaze fell into the distance, and a trace of pain surged in his eyes. He looked at Physician Lü and continued, "You must bring Minister Zhou back to me safely."

"Yes, sir!" Physician Lü bowed and accepted the order.

"Your Majesty!" Wei Liao hurriedly stepped forward, "I request to go with you!"

"Your Majesty, I also need to see the Master. Please, take me with you!" Ah Zhu pleaded repeatedly.

"No." Ying Zheng looked intently at Wei Liao and the other two, then glanced at Li Si, who was barely breathing and had a deathly pale face.

His heart was burning with anxiety, his fingers clenched tightly, wishing he could immediately don armor, mount his horse, and personally go to Mount Xiao to bring Zhou Aiqing back, but... he couldn't.

If he leaves Xianyang, the court will fall apart, and those who are eager to cause trouble will peek out from the shadows. He cannot leave.

Ying Zheng's gaze fell back on Wei Liao: "Mr. Wei Liao, Minister Zhou is not here, and news of his... danger will arrive soon. Other news must be kept secret. Minister Li is also ill. The court needs you for its affairs. You cannot go."

"But..." Wei Liao opened his mouth in vain, and finally just swung his fist forcefully, turned his head, cupped his hands and said, "...Yes."

"A-Zhu." Li Si's voice was hoarse as he covered A-Zhu's small hand with his hands behind his back. "You have to stay too. The Great Qin Academy needs you to help me."

"I……"

Ah Zhu was filled with thoughts of rushing to Mount Xiao to visit his teacher, but seeing Li Si's weak and frail appearance, he knew that even if he went there, he wouldn't be able to help much. In the end, he sensibly nodded and choked out, "...Okay."

The moment he uttered the word, the tears he had held back for so long finally broke free and streamed down his face. He buried his face in Li Si's chest, not crying out loud, but only managing to mutter two words:

"……gentlemen."

Wei Liao gently patted his back, then looked up at Ying Zheng:

"Your Majesty, although I cannot go myself, I would like to recommend Yao Jia to go. He was originally an envoy of the court. Now that the delegation is leaderless, it is reasonable to send Yao Jia to meet them. I would like to ask Your Majesty to allow him to go to Xiaoshan with Physician Lü."

Ying Zheng's gaze darkened slightly. After a moment's thought, he nodded in approval.

He looked up and gazed eastward, his fingers resting on the empty fan cover at his waist, gently stroking it with his fingertips.

Zicheng.

You promised me you would return safely.