I am not a seventh-generation descendant of Lord Wu'an from the Qin Dynasty.

"What is all this nonsense?"

When Lü Buwei saw the information that His Highness's guests had all gathered, he was furious.

Early this morning, he received news that Empress Dowager Zhao Ji of Ganquan Palace was leaving the city in her carriage, intending to enter Yongcheng.

At first, he thought she was just being petulant because he had offered her Lao Ai the night before.

Then, Empress Dowager Xia Ji's carriage also left the city, and the politically astute man immediately sensed that something was amiss.

Empress Dowager Xia Ji was powerless her entire life, only showing her strength once when King Zhuangxiang of Qin made her Empress Dowager. She was so power-hungry that she would never leave the capital without permission.

He immediately sent people into the palace to investigate in detail.

But by then, it was too late.

The moment Empress Dowager Huayang's imperial carriage appeared on Xianyang Avenue, two strands of Lü Buwei's hair turned white.

He didn't understand why Empress Dowager Huayang, who had always been in charge of the deep palace of Qin, would also join in this fun.

Lü Buwei's first impression was that "something big has happened in Xianyang Palace."

Immediately, a chill ran through him. "The Third Empress Dowager left Xianyang Palace, so who's next?"

Not long after, news came that Lord Chang'an, Chengjiao, had volunteered to go north to Longxi to defend the border for the country, and he was almost driven crazy with anxiety.

Because no one understood better than him what this truly meant.

The three empress dowagers represent the innate regency power over King Zheng of Qin, while Lord Chang'an, Cheng Jiao, represents the potential threat to the throne should the throne change hands.

Without these people by his side, Lü Buwei's regency became nothing more than empty words.

"Someone is working for the government, specifically targeting and eliminating obstacles to taking power!"

"The three empress dowagers have relinquished power, and the first prince has backed down. The treacherous ministers who will hinder the young King of Qin from ruling in his own right are now clearly emerging."

Without needing to think it through, Lü Buwei knew that tomorrow the court and the public would be filled with calls for the King of Qin to take personal control of the government.

The Qin court officials, eager to achieve success in the imperial court, needed a target to vent their emotions.

The Qin foreign minister hindered the Qin army's eastward expansion, frequently employed Qi generals during his tenure, and was an traitor to other states...

One incident after another, perhaps no one was more suitable than Lü Buwei, the awkwardly positioned uncle, to unleash the young King of Qin's ambitious and enterprising spirit.

It should be noted that although the Qin state had many powerful ministers from outside the imperial family, none of them met a good end.

In the distant past, there was Shang Yang, who was torn apart by chariots; in recent times, there were four dismissals of Wei Chancellor, the death of Rang Hou from worry, the death of Ying Hou from illness, and the suicide of Wu An Jun.

Although Lü Buwei was unaware that an outsider's adopted son could not be truly worthy, the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

Soon, news from inside the Xianyang Palace and rumors from within Xianyang City flooded in all at once.

All sorts of messy news and exaggerated rumors were driving him crazy.

After venting his anger without thinking, Lü Buwei calmed down and quickly locked onto his target.

"Compile all of Bai Qizi's movements after he entered Xianyang."

The guests in the hall immediately organized and summarized the information.

On the first day, Bai Qi and the King paid homage to Lord Wu'an together in the suburbs, chatting happily before entering Xianyang...

The next day, Bai Qi entered Xianyang Palace at the invitation of the Third Empress Dowager. Empress Dowager Huayang mentioned attacking Han, but Empress Dowager Xia Ji avoided seeing him, and Empress Dowager Zhao Ji...

Lü Buwei asked displeasedly, "Why is there no news from Ganquan Palace?"

The group of retainers looked at each other in bewilderment. After a long while, an old face whispered a reminder.

"Your Excellency, according to precedent, all related information about Your Excellency's nighttime visit to Ganquan Palace must be destroyed."

"Damn it!" Lü Buwei's face darkened. "Was Bai Qizi also at Ganquan Palace that night?"

He seems to have figured out the origin and details of the matter.

"When did he leave the palace?"

The retainer paused for a moment, then immediately looked down to examine the document. A short while later, he handed over a message.

On the third day, in the afternoon, he met the King of Qin in the garden, where they had a pleasant private conversation, and he left the palace at the end of the Shen hour (3-5 PM).

Lü Buwei turned his stiff neck, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"So, Bai Qi stayed at Xianyang Palace for two days and one night, his whereabouts unknown during that time? Where did he sleep?"

"Uh, well, well... Your Excellency, perhaps you forgot to record it?!"

"No, it's definitely not a mistake."

Lu Buwei, with his sharp mind, said confidently, "The record of the second day might be wrong, but the record of entering the palace on the third day should not be missing."

"Unless, he didn't leave Xianyang Palace at all that night, two days and one night... someone must have been helping him conceal his whereabouts, perhaps at Ganquan Palace?"

On the fourth day, Bai Qizi spurred his horse and galloped through the palace, followed closely by the Six Sword Slaves...

"Yes, who else but Ganquan Palace could have such a grand gesture?"

Lu Buwei's face turned ugly, and a surge of anger, as if his home had been raided, suddenly rose in his heart.

He could accept sending that harlot away, but he couldn't accept someone taking advantage of the situation.

Lü Buwei felt remorseful; he suddenly realized that he seemed to have done something terribly wrong.

He was constantly preoccupied with paperwork and grew thinner day and night, truly unable to cope with Zhao Ji's endless demands.

He believed that Empress Dowager Zhao Ji still needed him, the Prime Minister of Qin, who protected her from harm.

Little did they know, three years had passed.

After King Zheng of Qin took the Queen of Chu as his concubine, Queen Dowager Huayang gradually relinquished power, and the throne of Qin became increasingly secure.

Now, the tide has turned.

Empress Dowager Zhao Ji could easily relinquish power because she was receiving her own son, King Zheng of Qin.

Empress Dowager Huayang was also willing to gradually relinquish power because King Zheng of Qin had taken the Chu woman she admired as his queen.

Empress Dowager Xia Ji...

Lü Buwei frowned deeply. "What exactly happened in Empress Dowager Xia Ji's palace yesterday? Why is there no record of it here?!"

The retainer said aggrievedly, "Prime Minister, have you forgotten that Xianyang Palace is closed and locked? Even the eunuchs we bribed can't get any messages out."

"What reason?"

"Your Majesty and Queen were stargazing last night and caught a chill. The palace will be closed for three days."

Lu Buwei's lips twitched. This unreliable reason sounded like it belonged to someone.

But he also knew that the key to everything might lie here.

"Someone come here!"

Four masked figures emerged silently from the darkness.

"Use all available resources; I must know everything that happened in Empress Dowager Xia Ji's palace yesterday."

The four men in black bowed silently and disappeared in an instant.

The guests of the Prime Minister's mansion below the hall were not surprised, because they all knew that this was Lü Buwei's biggest bargaining chip in wielding power in the court.

The symbol of royal regency: Black Ice Guards spread across seven kingdoms, a perfect intelligence organization!

Here, while we wait.

Lu Buwei looked down again, and in his hands were either Bai Qizi's Horse Trampling the Palace, Bai Qizi's One Spear Killing Three Empresses, or Empress Dowager Xia Ji's Monthly Battle Against Fifty Han Warriors...

A sense of relief washed over him.

"Is Bai Qizi deliberately trying to mislead Benxiang by spreading misinformation?"

"And Li Si, we can't let him continue to interfere in the affairs of Shanglin Garden."

"Zheng'er, what exactly do you want?!"

……

"Your Excellency, news has arrived from the palace: Last night, the Grand Master of Ceremonies entered the palace under cover of darkness..."

"Fifty crossbowmen dressed in Qin heavy armor and carrying Han crossbows were found in Empress Dowager Xia Ji's palace."

"Suspected to be elite assassins kept by Empress Dowager Xia Ji within the palace. There are underground tunnels inside, but the details behind it are unknown."

"The king was terrified and immediately locked the palace gates. He and the queen are now living in seclusion elsewhere, and their whereabouts are difficult to find."

"The Grand Master of Ceremonies is currently searching the palace eunuchs and arresting them all, intending to have them removed from their eggs again."

The amount of information was too much for Lü Buwei to handle at once, leaving him bewildered.

"You mean the king was assassinated?"

"Suspected."

"How are the injuries?"

"The Empress Dowager Xia Ji's palace was in a mess, with bloodstains everywhere, but there were no crossbow bolt marks on the walls."

"So that means Empress Dowager Xia Ji and her entourage were wiped out without any chance of resistance?"

"That should be the case."

"It's good that Your Majesty is alright. What about Bai Qizi? What role did he play in all of this?"

"I don't know."

"Do you not know, or do you simply not want to say?"

The man in black twitched his lips twice, his eyes filled with complex emotions, and he reached out and pulled out a sheet of information from a pile of documents.

"The remaining palace servants in Empress Dowager Xia Ji's palace said that Bai Qizi's horse trampled the palace gates, Liu Jiannu and Ba Linglong fought each other, Chang'an Jun was captured, Bai Qizi trampled on Chang'an Jun, and forced the Empress Dowager to..."

"Enough!" Lü Buwei was exasperated. "You dare to flaunt such unreliable information in front of me?"

The man in black opened his mouth, but had nothing to say.

You don't believe me when I tell you, and you're unwilling if I don't. You're really hard to please.

Without them even realizing it, the men in black had grown impatient with Lü Buwei.

The powerful minister is about to lose power.

But Lü Buwei was not so pessimistic.

The current situation seems to be shrouded in a foggy swamp, making it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

The powerful Lu family mansion was like a spider web, but in reality, everything could be changed with a flick of the wrist.

"Someone, prepare the horses!"

"Enter the palace?"

"No!"

Lu Buwei chuckled and said, "Go find our Empress Dowager Zhao Ji and obediently bow your head and admit your mistake."

He discovered that the power of the Prime Minister's residence, which held immense influence in the court, was deeply intertwined with that of the Regent.

Now, it's not that Empress Dowager Zhao Ji can't live without Prime Minister Lü, but rather that Lü Buwei can't live without Empress Dowager Zhao.

As long as he can win back Zhao Ji's favor and retain his power as regent, Lü Buwei will be in an invincible position in Qin.

Lu Buwei reached into his robes and rubbed the round bottle of Lao Ai's magic oil, his confidence soaring.

"That lowly harlot Zhao Ji? Watch as I, the Prime Minister, will surely make her repent!"