"Lin Qing passed away?!" The old King Qin dropped the scroll in his hand onto the table and asked in disbelief, "How did Zhu Xiang know?"
He hasn't received the message yet!
The secret guard said, "Duke Zhu Xiang seemed to have dreamed of Lin Qing coming to say goodbye last night."
The old King Qin was stunned for a long while before he held his forehead and slowly sighed, "Is that so?"
He stood up by the table, walked out the door, and looked at the new buds sprouting in the courtyard in silence for a long time.
The old King of Qin had heard of dreams before, and this must be a connection that only blood relatives with extremely deep feelings can have.
He did not appear in his dreams when his elder brother died while lifting a tripod; he did not appear in his dreams when his eldest son died alone in the State of Wei; he and his queen mother were separated by only a palace wall, but she did not appear in his dreams when she passed away.
He naturally knew that as a monarch, his family ties were extremely weak.
Lin Xiangru and Zhu Xiang were not blood relatives, but could they communicate with each other in dreams when they were separated by life and death, thousands of miles apart
Although it was only a brief moment, a very slight touch flashed through the old King Qin's heart.
Humans are not plants or trees, so who can be heartless? Even the king of Qin is the same.
"Go to the Changping Lord's residence," said the old King of Qin, "and take the documents with you. I want to stay at Zhu Xiang's house for a few days."
"Yes." The secret guards and palace servants responded in unison.
Their lowered faces had solemn expressions and their minds were in turmoil.
The King of Qin used to only respond to Hou Tebu, but now there is another one, Lord Changping.
When Zhu Xiang fainted, Xue arrived at the Prince's Mansion.
This time, Lady Huayang did not make a fuss. She had prepared everything well in advance, even bringing along Xia Ji, whom she had always looked down upon, and waited anxiously for Xue to arrive.
After the prince told her about Changping Jun's abilities and status, she did not dare to look down on him even though Xue was a commoner.
"Madam Changping, I'm not feeling well. My apologies." Xue had just entered the room, and before she could greet him, Madam Huayang stepped forward, shook Xue's hand and said.
Xue glanced at Madam Huayang's rosy face and was speechless.
When her husband wanted to escape from Mr. Lian's punishment, he would put some wax and powder on his face. If she hadn't seen that Mrs. Huayang was indeed panicking, she would have thought that Mrs. Huayang was deliberately provoking her.
"Madam Huayang, you are not feeling well. Please lie down and rest." Xue hurriedly helped Madam Huayang lie down and made up for the gift.
Xia Ji, who was standing by, was very surprised. She didn't expect that Lady Changping could recognize her identity without anyone introducing her.
Xia Ji felt very uncomfortable.
Like Lady Huayang, she was also very unhappy that a child born to a Zhao woman was favored by the king and was about to become Yiren's heir.
As long as Yiren could become the king of Qin, she didn't care that he had another mother. As Yiren gradually gained favor, her family finally began to pay attention to and support him. Lady Huayang chose a Chu woman for Yiren, and she also chose a Han woman for him.
Between a woman sent by her mother whom she had just met and a woman sent by her biological mother with whom she had shared hardships, Xia Ji believed that Yiren would definitely be closer to the Han woman she had chosen.
Who could have thought that the Zhao girl actually had a wise brother who was valued by the king
Xia Ji had been treated coldly for many years, and her mentality adjusted quickly. She had to let her son have a child with the Han woman as soon as possible. Although she did not dare to disobey the King of Qin and would not do anything against Zheng'er, Zheng'er was still young and might not grow up in the future. Even if he could grow up, it would be good for Qin to have another prince who was close to Han.
Xia Ji responded to Xue gently and respectfully, then stepped aside like a maid and did not speak to Xue.
Lady Huayang was very satisfied with Xia Ji's tact.
She took Xue's hand and said, "Sister, you don't have to be so polite. You are the wife of Lord Changping, appointed by the king himself. How about we call each other sisters?"
Xue: “…” She was just thinking about what her husband had taught her, and Madam Huayang’s words almost shocked her.
Xue said quickly: "My husband is Xia... a friend of Master Zichu, and the Crown Prince's wife is Master Zichu's mother. How dare I call her sister?"
Madam Huayang was stunned for a moment before she realized the problem.
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Xue quickly took out the food box and said, "My dear and I came to Qin State with nothing. Although we received the king's reward, I still feel that it is not thoughtful enough as a gift. So my dear and I made some cakes for you, Madam. Please don't dislike it."
After saying that, Xue opened the food box, revealing a soft thousand-layer steamed cake dotted with jam.
There was no oven in the new house, so Zhu Xiang used a frying pan to spread the egg skin and glued it together with plum jam with a lot of sugar to make a simple version of the thousand-layer cake.
Although vinegar was available, the manufacturing process was underdeveloped, so plums were the most important sour condiment.
Zhu Xiang said he had nothing, but he actually brought a lot of paper, seasonings and other things whose value was difficult to measure. The new house was originally the prince's villa, and the high-end seasonings of that era were very complete, including plum jam. He used a lot of cane sugar to boil the plum jam again to make it sweet, making a jam with both caramel and plum flavors, and secretly hid it without telling the old Qin King and others.
He was worried that if the old King of Qin tasted it once, he would eat up all the gifts he prepared for Lady Huayang.
Madam Huayang looked at the snacks with unique and novel shapes and was a little afraid to eat them.
Xue took out a small silver spoon, scooped a little crepe cake into her mouth, then took out another small silver spoon and said, "Madam Huayang, do you want to try it?"
Her eyes lit up: "The cook in Changping Jun's wife's house is really amazing! Is this the cake from the Zhao Palace?"
Xue shook her head: "It was made by me personally. Cooking is my hobby. King Zhao has never eaten it. If you like it, you can send a cook to my house to learn. When you recover from your illness, I hope you will come to my house as a guest."
"It was actually made by Lord Changping himself..." Although Lady Huayang was naive, she was not too stupid. She immediately knew that Lord Changping was showing his goodwill by giving her the cakes he made himself.
She felt much better. Although she knew she needed to apologize to Changping Jun, she still couldn't do it for the sake of face. She was happy that the other party gave her a way out first.
Xue saw that Madam Huayang's expression was somewhat relaxed. She recalled Zhu Xiang's words and entered the next stage.
"Madam Huayang, the king had dinner at my house yesterday." Xue said.
Madam Huayang clutched the quilt tightly with her fingers, looking panicked: "Did the king say anything about me?"
Xue didn't answer, and asked, "Madam Huayang, do you know what country I am from?"
Madam Huayang asked in confusion, "Why does Madam Changping ask this question? I know you are from Zhao."
Xue shook her head: "No, I am from Qin."
Lady Huayang was surprised: "Are you a Qin person who migrated to Zhao?"
Xue shook her head again and said, "No. I was originally from Zhao, but now I am from Qin. My husband is the Lord Changping of Qin, and I am the wife of the Lord Changping of Qin. Just like you, my lady, are the wife of the Crown Prince of Qin."
She looked into Madam Huayang's eyes calmly and said, "Madam Huayang should understand that among the seven kingdoms, the stronger ones all want to rule the world. Qin is already working on destroying the six kingdoms. The same will happen after the crown prince ascends the throne."
"I, I understand." Madam Huayang saw Xue's expressionless face and overly deep eyes, and felt a chill in her back. "What does Madam Changping mean?"
Xue closed the food box and said, "I respect you because you are the mother of Prince Zichu. But as a minister of Qin, I have something to advise you. Whether it is the current King of Qin or the future King of Qin, they will only value the people of Qin. You are the future Queen of Qin. Your family is the nobles of Qin and will enjoy the wealth and honor of Qin together."
Xue continued to look directly into Madam Huayang's eyes, her tone even more indifferent: "Madam Huayang, our honor and disgrace all depend on Qin. No matter how good Chu and Han are, what can they give us? If you can't figure this out, we will all suffer on the road to Qin's unification of the world."
She thought about it for a moment, and now it was time to smile bitterly: "When my beloved entered Qin, the people of Zhao accompanied him for thousands of miles. They wore out their straw sandals and their soles bled. But my beloved is now a Qin citizen. If Qin wants to destroy Zhao, my beloved will have to make plans for Qin."
Madam Huayang looked at Xue's red eyes and was moved.
She was wondering, was this what Changping Jun wanted to tell her, or was it what the King of Qin, who visited Changping Jun's house yesterday, asked Changping Jun's wife to convey
"Qin wants to destroy Zhao..." Madam Huayang whispered.
"It will also destroy Chu." Xue sighed.
It will also destroy Han... Xia Ji said in her heart.
Xue looked up and her eyes met Xia Ji's.
Xia Ji looked away in embarrassment, her heart in a state of panic. She did nothing... at least she didn't have time to do anything. Did the king also ask Lady Changping to punish her
Xue looked at the horrified expressions of the two princes' wives and concubines, and her lover's words flashed through her mind.
"The emperor has great prestige. Even the crown prince will panic in front of him, let alone his wives and concubines? First, make them feel relaxed, then point out that the emperor was in my house yesterday, and then scold them. They will listen. This is called "the fox borrows the power of the tiger to bully others."
"Your Majesty ordered Chu to move its capital twice and annexed large tracts of land from Han. If Lady Huayang and Xia Ji really cared about their natal families, they would have been terrified. As long as the fear they dare not admit is ignited, they will not dare to have any more contact with the foreign relatives of Chu and Han."
At that time, the beloved sighed deeply and shook his head: "The prince is very smart and clear-headed. When he was the Lord of Anguo, the wives and concubines he chose were all from poor families and were cowardly and naive. Such wives and concubines are easily bewitched by their own families and easily frightened by their husbands' families. They will lean towards whichever side gives them the most pressure, alas."
Xue was confused as to why there was pity in her lover's tone.
Seeing Lady Huayang and Xia Ji trembling, she understood.
She has no feelings for the State of Zhao, but her beloved has elders and friends in Zhao, and there are many people in Zhao who are willing to die for her. Does her beloved pity Lady Huayang and Xia Ji, or is he lamenting for himself
Xue Xin thought of this, her eyes turned red and tears fell.
Madam Huayang looked at Xue's sorrowful expression and asked in a trembling voice, "Did the king ask you to warn me?"
Xue said with tears in her eyes, "No, it's not. Why would the king worry about us? It was my husband who reminded my lady."
"Is that so? That's true." Madam Huayang lay on the jade pillow, feeling as if she was really sick.
The three women cried quietly to each other in the room. A maid quietly left the room and told the prince what had happened.
Prince Zhu asked Lü Buwei, "Lord Changping is from Qin. What country are you from?"
Lu Buwei kowtowed and said, "Of course I am from Qin!"
Prince Zhu tapped the table twice with his fingers, snorted coldly, and said, "I will send you a visiting card for introduction. You can go to see Lord Changping in a few days. Lord Changping is very sad because of Lin Qing's death at night, so he is not in the mood to see you."
Lu Buwei breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Prince!"
"Go away." Prince Zhu waved his sleeves and asked Lu Buwei to leave, sneering in his heart. As a businessman, he would become very shrewd when he suffered losses.
(End of this chapter)