Chapter 116: The Thoughts of Prime Minister Lü, the Schemes of the Eastern Emperor!

The next day, in the royal court.

Many ministers were prepared to oppose Ying Zheng to the very end.

Ying Zheng had only just held his capping ceremony and assumed personal rule, yet he had vented his anger on the Empress Dowager over trivial matters—this was unfilial. Furthermore, he had slaughtered loyal ministers—this was inhumane. But Ying Zheng was, after all, the King of Qin; they could not simply pull him from the throne and replace him with someone else.

Therefore, they could only choose to remonstrate with Ying Zheng, urging him to change his ways.

So?

Would Ying Zheng voluntarily admit his faults and change?

In the eyes of Lü Lu Buwei, he would not.

He understood Ying Zheng well. Because of the experience of living alone with his mother in Zhao Guo during his childhood, Ying Zheng had suffered greatly, which had forged his resolute and unyielding character—or, to put it another way, he was "rigid and fierce."

Ying Zheng’s handling of the Lao Ai affair had exceeded his expectations.

Knowing full well the scandal between Lao Ai and his mother, he had ultimately suppressed his rage and concealed the disgrace. However, it was precisely because he had concealed it that his anger had not been fully vented. The ministers, unaware of the truth, had begun to accuse Ying Zheng, which in turn ignited the fury that had been festering deep within his heart.

Lü Lu Buwei had anticipated this long ago. What he wanted to see was Ying Zheng committing an irreparable mistake in a fit of rage.

Everything went exactly as he had envisioned.

Ying Zheng had finally turned his butcher’s blade upon the ministers who had accused him.

Once the blood was shed.

A rift had appeared in the relationship between the ruler and his subjects. Even though Ying Zheng had held his capping ceremony and become the true King of Qin, the discord between ruler and subject remained a great calamity, meaning that whatever he wished to do, those beneath him would no longer follow with such willingness.

‘When it comes to governing a country, you are still far behind…’

Lü Lu Buwei had already imagined the scenario where Ying Zheng would come to request his help in managing the state affairs.

If Ying Zheng were given a few more years to hone himself, perhaps he could become an outstanding King of Qin, but for now, this country could not do without him, Lü Lu Buwei.

After the failure of Lao Ai’s rebellion, Lü Lu Buwei had realized that the situation was beyond saving; it was already very difficult to kill Ying Zheng.

Thus, he decisively changed his strategy.

From secretly opposing Ying Zheng, he shifted to cooperation.

After all, he was originally Ying Zheng’s "Zhongfu" (second father), and Ying Zheng was someone he had personally supported to the throne. As long as his actions against Ying Zheng were not brought into the light and the two had not completely torn off their masks, there was always room for maneuver.

If Ying Zheng were sensible and took the initiative to ask him for advice on the Dao of governance, he would not mind guiding him a little.

Lü Lu Buwei had developed these thoughts.

In truth, it was because after the Lao Ai affair, although he had destroyed all the evidence, he still felt a degree of anxiety, and subsequently discovered the fact that his energy was not what it used to be. In other words, he was already… old.

Lü Lu Buwei refused to admit he was old, but he had to accept this cruel reality.

Ying Zheng had held his capping ceremony and was officially an adult, while he himself was old. Even if he killed Ying Zheng and continued to hold onto state power, he could not hold it for many more years… Looking at it now, returning power to Ying Zheng seemed like a decent decision.

However, he believed he could still persist for a few more years, so during these years, he had to find a way to earn a reputation for retiring after a successful career.

This time in the royal court, the ministers challenging Ying Zheng was a difficult problem he had set for the King.

As long as Ying Zheng came to ask for his help as he had envisioned, he would not mind providing some insignificant assistance.

Before the court session began, Lü Lu Buwei had already imagined the scene of Ying Zheng continuing to clash with the ministers.

But when the court session truly began, he was genuinely stunned.

Ying Zheng had actually taken the initiative to admit his faults to the ministers.

He stated that earlier, it had been his own mistake.

Even if Lao Ai had once been the Empress Dowager’s man, what did Lao Ai’s rebellion have to do with her?

He should not have vented his anger on his mother because of that.

Besides that, he also began to admit his faults regarding the killing of ministers in his rage.

When a person is used to being weak, suddenly acting submissive does not attract much attention, as they have always had a weak nature. But if someone with a fiercer temperament suddenly acts submissive, it obviously leaves people stunned.

This was exactly the case with Ying Zheng this time.

The ministers had all prepared to oppose Ying Zheng to the end, but as a result, Ying Zheng suddenly became submissive, which caused all the words they had on the tips of their tongues to be stifled.

Although they did not know what medicine the King of Qin had taken.

However, they also knew that this seemed to be a good thing.

And so, they also chose to take a step back, giving the King of Qin a way to save face.

Seeing that the ministers were no longer opposing him, Ying Zheng could not help but think of the letter Su Xuan had given him, and subsequently proposed the matter of immediately going to Yongcheng to bring his mother back.

As for whether the affection between mother and son would be the same as before after bringing her back, no one could say for sure.

But at the very least, Ying Zheng was prepared to fulfill the superficial requirements of filial piety. After all, he had only just assumed personal rule and absolutely could not provide any pretext for others to accuse him, thereby benefiting someone else.

……

A storm in the royal court ended with Ying Zheng taking the initiative to act submissive and personally going to Yongcheng to bring his mother back.

In the Prime Minister’s residence.

Lü Lu Buwei’s mood was somewhat gloomy. He had already heard that Ying Zheng had brought Zhao Ji back to Xianyang. If it were in the past, before Ying Zheng had assumed personal rule, he would sometimes go to the palace to have secret meetings with Zhao Ji.

But ever since Zhao Ji had favored Lao Ai and repeatedly acted against him, this bond had gradually been severed.

Ying Zheng bringing Zhao Ji back this time made him feel both gloomy and angry.

He had never expected Ying Zheng to play outside the rules, which caused all his subsequent calculations to fall through.

Just at this moment, a low voice sounded, "Prime Minister, your mood seems to be very bad!"

Hearing this voice, Lü Lu Buwei turned his head abruptly to look at the visitor. The visitor had a tall figure, his whole body hidden in a black robe. The robe was wide, as if hiding countless secrets within, and he wore a bronze mask on his face, seemingly possessing an indescribable, mysterious power.

"Playing god!"

Lü Lu Buwei scolded the other party without ceremony; even if the other party was the leader of the Yin-Yang School, Donghuang Taiyi, he did not care.

When the Yin-Yang School first came to the Qin state, they had taken the initiative to offer their services to him. Even though the other party was a prestigious school among the Hundred Schools of Thought and extremely mysterious, judging by the fact that the Yin-Yang School needed to offer their services to him, the Yin-Yang School, while strong, ultimately had to rely on power.

"Donghuang Taiyi, what is your business coming to my residence?"

Lü Lu Buwei did not know the real name of the person in front of him, so he ultimately addressed him by his title within the Yin-Yang School.

Donghuang Taiyi did not care about Lü Lu Buwei’s cold attitude and said, "This seat has learned of the Prime Minister’s recent encounters. The King of Qin is unruly and rebellious; the Prime Minister must be having a headache."

"Hmph!"

Lü Lu Buwei gave a cold snort and did not respond.

Donghuang Taiyi continued, "Does the Prime Minister know that the reason for the King of Qin’s changes is because of one person?"

"What person?"

"His name—Su Xuan!"