Chapter 377: The Brainless Zhao Ji

According to historical records, not long after Ying Yiren changed his name to Zichu and ascended the throne of Qin, he passed away,

and Zhao Ji, who was in the prime of her life, thus became a widow living alone in her boudoir.

How should one describe Zhao Ji's temperament? It was a bit unrestrained,

and how could she, at a young age, endure the taste of living as a widow?

So, not long after King Zhuangxiang Zichu of Qin passed away, she rekindled her old relationship with her former lover, Lu Buwei.

But at this time, Lu Buwei was no longer the merchant who wanted to hoard goods and

gave his beloved concubine to Ying Yiren, who was still a hostage in Zhao.

At this time, he was already the Chancellor of Qin, a tiger-and-wolf country, below one person but above ten thousand, holding great power,

and if one considered that the newly ascended Wang Ying Zheng of Qin was still young and unable to govern personally,

Lu Buwei at this time had quite the style of Zhang Juzheng, Zhang Taiyue, who said the famous "I am not the Chancellor,

but the Regent!" during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty.

No, without a great eunuch like Feng Bao in the palace to check and balance him,

Lu Buwei's actual power should be three points heavier than Zhang Taiyue's!

As for why Empress Dowager Li, who was also one of the three giants in the early Wanli period, was not included in this description?

Umm...

Although she was an Empress Dowager of a country just like Empress Dowager Li, Zhao Ji was a woman who, if not brainless,

definitely had no long-term vision and only cared about immediate pleasure.

There were several cases in history of Empress Dowagers abolishing or even killing their own sons,

such as Empress Dowager Luo of Western Xia, who joined forces with her nephew Li Anquan to abolish her biological son, Emperor Huanzong of Xia,

and the abolished Emperor Huanzong of Xia "suddenly" passed away three months later while under house arrest;

Empress Dowager Hu Ling of Northern Wei, like the later "Breaking Bad" Zhao Guangyi,

sent her son, Emperor Xiaoming Yuan Xu, to the Western Heaven with a cup of poisonous wine;

her ruthlessness was even several notches higher than that of the "Breaking Bad" Zhao Guangyi,

after all, those sent on their way by the "Breaking Bad" with poisonous wine were fallen monarchs like Li Yu, who could barely be considered his opponents,

and although doing so was a bit unsightly, cutting the weeds and digging up the roots was not incomprehensible.

The first female emperor in history, Wu Zetian, was the best among them:

Of the four sons she had with Li Zhi, except for the eldest son Li Hong, who died of illness at twenty-four,

the second son Li Xian was exiled and died in the place of his demotion;

the third son Li Xian, although he ascended the throne to become Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, was abolished twice and was under house arrest for more than ten years;

After the third son Li Xian was abolished, Wu Zetian supported the fourth son Li Dan to ascend the throne as a puppet emperor, who was Emperor Ruizong of Tang.

And later, she abolished Li Dan again, becoming the first and only emperor of a unified dynasty in the five thousand years of China,

and even changed the Great Tang of the Li family to her Great Zhou of the Wu family.

Compared to the methods of these people, Zhao Ji's behavior of supporting Lao Ai to kill Ying Zheng

and supporting an illegitimate child to ascend the throne didn't seem so excessive,

but these people either had irreconcilable contradictions with their sons,

having to fight to the death, so they chose to strike first;

or they simply chose to not allow a trace of warmth for the sake of greater power,

leading to that supreme position.

But what about Zhao Ji?

Ying Zheng was the King of Qin, and she was the Empress Dowager; if Lao Ai's rebellion succeeded and the illegitimate child successfully ascended the throne,

she would still be the Empress Dowager. What was she risking such a big rebellion for?

Moreover, she herself was honored because of her son; Ying Zheng sat on the throne of Qin, and she was the Empress Dowager.

Why did she think an illegitimate child could successfully ascend the throne?

For a woman like Zhao Ji, Zhang Jie felt that calling her brainless was praising her; she simply had no brain!

Continuing back to how Lao Ai hooked up with Zhao Ji.

After Lu Buwei rekindled his old relationship with Zhao Ji, although he also felt that having an extramarital affair with an Empress Dowager of a country was very exciting,

very happy, but for one thing, Zhao Ji's appetite was too big, and he himself was getting older,

gradually feeling powerless like a man past middle age,

and if he continued to hook up with the soul-stirring Zhao Ji like this, he would definitely die ten years early;

for another, he was the Chancellor of Qin, the role model for the whole country,

and had to pay attention to the influence; if the matter with the Empress Dowager spread, the influence would be huge,

the effect would be very bad, and it would shake people's hearts and greatly consume his political prestige.

For the sake of his physiological life and political life,

Lu Buwei decided to end this relationship that could not be known to outsiders.

But knowing Zhao Ji's temperament clearly, he understood that he absolutely could not just go and tell Zhao Ji,

"Let's end it between us; this way it's good for you, good for me, and good for everyone."

With Zhao Ji's brainless temperament, she would definitely make a huge scene.

In order to cut ties with Zhao Ji quietly, Lu Buwei racked his brains for this.

Finally, a flash of inspiration hit his brain: Zhao Ji had been pestering him,

not because she was so attached to the old relationship in Zhao,

but simply because she was empty, lonely, and cold after losing a man.

Since that was the case, wouldn't it be solved if he found her a better one?

Just like that, Lu Buwei began to scout for suitable candidates throughout the Qin state.

Finally, Lao Ai, who was gifted by heaven and enough to achieve the status of the Wheel-Turning King, caught his eye.

Such a monster would guarantee that Zhao Ji would henceforth be happy and forget him, this old, weak, and useless old vegetable.

After discussing this matter with Lao Ai, Lao Ai was also eager to try:

If this shortcut could be walked through, wouldn't power and wealth roll in?

Moreover, that was an Empress Dowager of a country who still had charm; which physiologically,

psychologically normal man could resist such temptation?

Wheel-Turning King: Chancellor Lu uses such conditions to test the cadres; which cadre can withstand such a test?

Lao Ai, who had sufficient confidence in his ability and technique, unhesitatingly

took on this arduous and challenging task from Lu Buwei.

Having found a suitable candidate, the next task was to send Lao Ai into the harem in one piece.

Although there were clear regulations in the palace that, except for the King of Qin, no other man was allowed to enter or exit the harem,

or stay overnight in the harem, to avoid the lonely concubines in the palace from having an affair with men,

giving the King of Qin a large green hat, or even appearing with a secret pregnancy, changing the seed,

or raising a son for another man, which would affect the bloodline inheritance of the successive Kings of Qin;

but the regulations were dead, while Lu Buwei, this Chancellor, was alive,

and although he didn't agree in principle, the principle itself spoke up.

Under his operation, a fake eunuch who had not been castrated and had intact male functions was thus produced,

and was sent into the harem where Zhao Ji was located in a grand manner.

At the very beginning, Zhao Ji was not very satisfied with this fake eunuch Lao Ai,

after all, she was the dignified Empress Dowager of Great Qin; would she just casually take a fancy to a nobody?

But after the Wheel-Turning King displayed his terrifying talent and ability,

Zhao Ji's heart was filled with joy, and there was no more dissatisfaction.

There is a very interesting record:

When Zhao Ji first saw Lao Ai, she asked: Since you were able to enter the palace after adulthood,

you must have some unique skills; I ask you, what are you good at?

Lao Ai replied: This servant, this servant is good at horse riding... ===== CHAPTER 378 =====

You must possess some unique skill; this palace asks you, what are you good at?

Lao Ai replied: This servant, this servant is good at horse riding...