Chapter 164: The person behind the scenes

Wang Jian looked troubled, finding it difficult to speak.

Su Xuan, however, seemed to have seen through the thoughts in Wang Jian's heart. "Is there someone forcing you, old General, to harm the Qin Wang?"

Wang Jian's expression changed immediately. "No, no one has ever forced me. This matter was Wang Jian's own decision. Wang Jian intended to harm the King first, and I no longer have the face to face the people of Great Qin. Only by death can I atone for my crimes to the King!"

Hearing Wang Jian's words again, combined with that understated question Su Xuan had asked earlier, Ying Zheng immediately had the answer in his heart.

"Who exactly is it?"

Ying Zheng asked sternly.

Wang Jian, however, remained silent.

He was determined to keep this secret, not wanting to reveal it.

Seeing this, Ying Zheng said: "Old General Wang, you are muddled!"

"I am the Qin Wang. Regardless of whether I am wise or not, old General, if you kill me, can you really bring about a wiser King?"

"How many storms have been caused by the succession of Kings through the ages?"

"If I die, it would merely give the Six States of Shandong a chance to recuperate; it would be of no benefit to the Qin Guo."

"Conversely, today, you, old General, can atone with your death and hide it for that person once, but what about that person? Will that person choose to let me go?"

"Once the struggle for power begins, it can no longer stop. Old General, you probably don't know yet, but when I was in the State of Han, I also encountered an assassination attempt—from the Luo Wang organization, a Heaven-grade assassination!"

Wang Jian's expression changed again, and he looked at Ying Zheng, who had said this, in disbelief.

Ying Zheng's expression was calm as he continued: "If you, old General, truly acknowledge me as this Qin Wang and acknowledge the things I said earlier, then please tell me who the person behind the scenes is!"

"At the very least, I should be able to know who exactly wants to deal with me!"

Ying Zheng's attitude was sincere; he no longer referred to himself as 'I' (Guaren), but as 'I' (Wo), which could be called a true outpouring of emotion.

Wang Jian's expression changed again and again.

His choice to atone with death was actually also due to his worries.

The succession of Kings through the ages would certainly cause some storms and changes, but Ying Zheng had not yet officially taken personal control of the government, and many state affairs were handled on his behalf by Chancellor Lu Buwei. Most people in the Qin Guo only knew of Lu Buwei and not the Qin Wang. Even if such a King, who originally lacked much presence, were to die and be replaced by someone else, he thought the impact would not be too great.

Conversely, if Ying Zheng were a mediocre person who accomplished nothing, perhaps he could take this opportunity to become a new King with more drive.

But the result exceeded his expectations; Ying Zheng was more perfect than he had imagined.

Such a King was destined not to be an ordinary person.

Therefore, since he could not kill Ying Zheng, then for the sake of the Qin Guo and to prevent greater turmoil, he could only atone with death to keep the secret.

If Ying Zheng were to know who the person behind the scenes was, given the wild words Ying Zheng had spoken earlier and his temperament, he would absolutely not let the matter rest.

Once those two completely tore off the mask and the two sides fought, only one was destined to survive. The destruction caused during this period would not be a good thing for the entire Qin Guo.

However, he had never expected that the person would hate the Qin Wang to such an extent.

One must know that in this matter, the other party had only given him an implicit message.

Whether or not to eliminate the Qin Wang depended entirely on him.

Therefore, he thought there was still room for maneuver, but as a result, he learned from Ying Zheng that Ying Zheng had also encountered an assassination attempt while in Xinzheng, State of Han.

This made Wang Jian realize that the waters beneath the Qin court were deeper than he had imagined.

"Who exactly is it?"

Ying Zheng looked at the changing expression of Wang Jian and asked again and again.

Wang Jian finally made a decision.

Admittedly, King Zhaowang had failed Lord Wuan, but from the fact that Lord Wuan gladly accepted death, it was clear that Lord Wuan had never had a heart of betrayal toward the Qin Guo. Lord Wuan was like this, and so was he.

The Qin Wang had failed him, but he could not fail the Qin Wang.

This was Wang Jian's thought.

He said in a solemn voice, revealing the name of the person behind the scenes: "It is Lu Buwei!"

"Foster Father!"

Ying Zheng's expression changed.

Li Si and Gainie also had their pupils shrink; they were very shocked by this news.

Su Xuan's expression remained as it was, without any ripples, while Yan Lingji's eyes showed a different color. She had also heard of that Chancellor of Qin, Lu Buwei. Starting as a merchant, he became the Chancellor of Qin, who held power over the world; he could be called a legendary figure of a generation.

As it turned out, it was actually this person who wanted to harm the Qin Wang.

Yan Lingji could not help but think of a sentence: "The poison of power, once taken, is hard to stop!"

"This is truly... interesting!"

Ying Zheng took a deep breath and spent a long time digesting this news.

"Old General Wang, do you have evidence to prove that this matter was instigated by my Foster Father?"

Since Wang Jian had already spoken the name of the person behind the scenes, he clearly did not intend to hide it anymore. He continued: "When I received the Chancellor's order to lead the main army to station in the land of Wu Sui and pressure the State of Han, in addition to that formal edict, there also came a secret letter."

"It was also from this letter that I learned the King had secretly slipped out of the palace and followed the diplomatic mission to the State of Han."

"Although this letter did not directly order me to harm the King, it hinted at such a meaning. Coupled with the fact that because of the Lord Wuan incident years ago and various other matters, I had long been dissatisfied with the King, so I gave rise to a heart of treason..."

Wang Jian was very ashamed.

After recognizing Ying Zheng's character, how could he not know that he had been used as a blade by others?

Originally, he was willing to be that blade, but now, he regretted it. ===== CHAPTER 166 =====