Chapter 164: Ying Zheng is Shocked, Could It Be That Sir and Mother…
Li Mo pursed his lips, “That doesn’t count.”
Sister Zi and Ming Zhu are also like that; it doesn’t mean anything.
“What color?”
Li immediately responded, “Very white.”
“Not that.”
Li paused, then after some thought, said, “Milky white.”
Li Mo then asked, “What about the abdomen, are there any lines?”
Li shook her head, “No, it’s snow-white, flat, and very beautiful.”
“Not on the waist either?”
Li confirmed, “No, nothing there.”
Li Mo took a deep breath.
Murmured, “Nothing at all?”
“It shouldn’t be like this.”
“This kind of thing, even if it healed, would leave marks.”
“Could it really be as I think?”
Li stood respectfully by the side.
From Li Mo’s words, it seemed like he was looking for something on Zhao Ji.
But what could be on her?
She couldn’t hide anything anyway.
With that plump body, if she hid something, it would be easy to see.
But, other things aside, the empress dowager’s figure was really good.
Where she should be slim, she was slim; all the flesh grew where it should.
Though in her thirties, her skin was still as fair and tender as a young girl’s.
No worse than Li’s original body.
Li Mo pondered and nodded, his expression calming down.
Li waited for a moment without him speaking, and cautiously said, “Master, Lu Buwei has replied.”
“Hmm? So quick?”
Li Mo snapped out of his contemplation.
He had been thinking about the empress dowager earlier and almost forgot the main business.
Li took out a bamboo tube from his chest and respectfully handed it over.
The bamboo tube was still sealed with beeswax, showing it had not been opened.
Li understood protocol very well.
She only did what Li Mo asked her to do.
Also knew what should and shouldn’t be done.
She was a very thoughtful subordinate.
Such a person was very pleasant to use.
Li Mo lightly pinched the bamboo tube, breaking it and shaking out a rolled-up note.
Before he invented paper, they used bamboo slips or silk cloth.
For secret messages, not many words could be written.
But this note was different, densely packed with at least a hundred words.
Li Mo quickly scanned through it.
Then calmly put it away.
Seeing his calmness, Li asked in surprise, “Master, is there no useful clue on it?”
Li Mo’s lips moved slightly, pointing to the note in his chest, “This is the clue.”
“You can go back now, I’ll go to see emperor Qin.”
Whenever Li Mo entered the palace, he usually went to see Ying Zheng first, and then to the empress dowager.
So when Ying Zheng saw Li Mo returning, he was clearly surprised.
“Why is sir back?”
Ying Zheng was browsing memorials in the imperial study.
The memorials had already been approved, he was just observing and learning.
The one who approved them was naturally Prime Minister Lu Buwei.
Before gaining full power, he had no right to personally write approvals.
So every day, he could only look at the approved ones, calling it ‘learning’.
When Li Mo entered, Ying Zheng was sitting upright, with Gai Nie guarding by his side.
After Ying Zheng finished reading one, Gai Nie handed him another.
Then taking the finished one, neatly stacking it to the side.
The two cooperated harmoniously, like a perfect match—no, lovingly at ease—ahem.
Wrong words used.
Anyway, it looked very harmonious and warm.
Li Mo suddenly understood why, ever since Gai Nie came to Qin, Wei Zhuang had always found him annoying.
He was jealous!
Why else would the two reconcile after Gai Nie betrayed Qin in the original story?
This was quite a discovery!
“Someone, bring tea and a seat for sir.”
Ying Zheng was much more courteous than his empress dowager mother.
When Li Mo came, there was always tea served.
Unlike Zhao Ji, who wouldn’t even offer water.
Li Mo sat down, not speaking immediately, slowly sipping tea and observing Ying Zheng.
Despite his youth, Ying Zheng was mature and steady.
Already exuding a regal aura.
Zhao Ji’s was arrogance, high and mighty.
But Ying Zheng, he felt that Li Mo was acting a bit strange today.
Not saying a word after arriving, just sitting there drinking tea.
Only he didn’t know that Li Mo had already observed him several times over.
“Sir, have you encountered any difficult problem?”
After asking, Ying Zheng felt his question was pointless.
If even Li Mo found a problem hard to solve, then who else in this world could understand it?
Li Mo shook his head, put down his teacup, and said, “It’s nothing, I just came to chat with Emperor Qin.”
Ying Zheng also put down the document in his hand, his tone amiable, “What does sir wish to talk about? Statecraft, or court affairs?”
Li Mo pursed his lips and slowly said, “Neither. Today, let’s talk about something else.”
“Let’s talk about the past when you were in Handan, Zhao state. How about it?”
Ying Zheng was momentarily stunned, then smiled and said, “Why is sir interested in that?”
The former Emperor of Qin was a hostage in Zhao state, so Ying Zheng was born in Zhao.
He was also a hostage from birth and grew up in Zhao.
During his time in Zhao, he took his mother Zhao Ji’s surname.
And because he was born in the first month, he was named Zhao Zheng.
When Ying Zheng was two, Qin state besieged Handan.
This undoubtedly angered the people of Zhao, who wanted to kill hostage the emperor.
Lu Buwei got wind of this and bribed the gatekeepers.
The emperor abandoned Zhao Ji and their son, escaping to Qin with Lu Buwei.
When Zhao discovered emperor’s escape, they intended to kill Zhao Ji and Ying Zheng.
Zhao Ji took Ying Zheng and hid for a while before safely escaping the danger.
It wasn’t until Ying Zheng was nine that they were sent back to Qin.
This tragic childhood left a deep impact on him.
He harbored a deep hatred for Zhao.
It was surviving in such an environment that taught him how to endure and conceal his emotions.
Hence, Ying Zheng was much more composed than his peers from a young age.
In his heart, Zhao Ji held a higher status than his father, who abandoned them.
Ying Zheng’s experiences were mostly known to Li Mo.
After hearing Ying Zheng’s account, Li Mo pondered for a moment.
He asked, “How much do you know about your mother?”
Ying Zheng was slightly taken aback.
“My mother?”
If this was before, Ying Zheng would have unhesitatingly claimed he knew her well.
But after learning the truth about the Cheng Jiao case, he couldn’t say that with confidence anymore.
Because in his mind, Zhao Ji was the fragile woman who protected him through hardship in Qin.
But through the Cheng Jiao incident, he realized his mother might not be as he imagined.
How could such a fragile woman say, “To accomplish great things, even family can be sacrificed”?
Moreover, since arriving in Qin, Zhao Ji’s behavior had drastically changed to domineering and assertive.
She fought for the Empress’s position herself.
Otherwise, it might have gone to Cheng Jiao’s mother.
At that time, Ying Zheng was only eight or nine years old.
Though mentally mature beyond his years, he didn’t sense anything amiss.
If Zhao Ji hadn’t fought for the Empress’s position, their lives in Qin would have been miserable under Cheng Jiao’s mother.
After pondering for a long time, Ying Zheng slowly shook his head and said, “My mother… she’s extraordinary.”
Li Mo nodded calmly, “Raising you alone in Zhao, avoiding pursuit, and nurturing you, is indeed extraordinary.”
Ying Zheng acknowledged, “Yes, perhaps those experiences changed her a lot.”
Li Mo’s hand paused while lifting the teacup.
Then he calmly said, “Wasn’t the empress dowager always like this before?”
Ying Zheng recalled, “In my impression, my mother was always easygoing and uncompetitive.”
“But now…”
He smiled bitterly, “As you can see, despite me having the power to govern, my mother still wields authority.”
He, the emperor, couldn’t even command a thousand soldiers.
It would be laughable to speak of it.
Li Mo noticed this from his first conversation with Zhao Ji.
Not only does she hold her power tightly, but she also wants to make me serve her, using me to influence the future Emperor of Qin.
It was because of this idea that Li Mo called her an old witch.
The harem falsely imagines governing the state, influencing the court’s situation.
What difference is there between her and the old witch Cixi two thousand years later?
Ying Zheng thought that he had had enough of the days of fear and trembling in Zhao State back then.
So now Zhao Ji has become more assertive.
The weaker you are, the more you get bullied.
Ying Zheng also understood this principle.
So he didn’t feel that anything was wrong.
Li Mo, while drinking tea, pondered the next issue.
After a moment, he asked lightly, “When did the Empress Dowager become like this?”
Ying Zheng thought for a moment and slowly shook his head.
“I can’t quite remember.”
“After the Empress Mother and I returned to Qin State, we didn’t see each other much.”
“At that time, I was busy catching up on various studies and only went to pay my respects to the Empress Mother in the morning and evening.”
Li Mo then asked, “What about before you returned to Qin State?”
Ying Zheng frowned, seeming not to have a very deep impression of this aspect.
Perhaps because at that time, daily life was filled with anxiety and there was no extra energy to pay attention to this.
“It didn’t seem too different.”
Li Mo raised an eyebrow and pursued, “Different from your impression, or different from now?”
“I can’t quite remember.”
Ying Zheng had never thought about this aspect before.
So his impression was very vague.
He felt that Zhao Ji might have always had this personality, just that it was not apparent when they were in Zhao State.
Li Mo nodded and did not ask any further.
Ying Zheng looked at him curiously.
He found it odd that Li Mo suddenly started talking about these things with him today.
Moreover, Ying Zheng could tell that most of Li Mo’s questions centered around Zhao Ji.
Thinking of this, Ying Zheng’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Could Sir Li and the Empress Mother have… had a conflict?
Zhao Ji had a bad temper and a strong, proud personality.
Li Mo wasn’t someone who would bow and scrape.
You could tell from how Master Xun had to come in person to meet him back then.
No matter how high your status was, he wouldn’t grovel before you.
And Zhao Ji couldn’t stand people being rude to her the most.
She would only be satisfied if, when speaking to her, one bowed so low their head touched the ground.
Thinking of this, Ying Zheng couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.
One was his National Advisor and future mentor.
The other was his beloved Empress Mother.
If these two ended up being like fire and water, it would be even harder to deal with than Lu Buwei’s current situation.
“Sir Li,”
Ying Zheng asked worriedly, “Did you have a dispute with the Empress Mother? Did she get angry with you?”
Even Master Xun, known for his stoic temperament, was driven half to death by Li Mo back then, let alone someone like Zhao Ji.
Li Mo was taken aback.
Angry?
Your Empress Mother gets so mad at me that she wants to chop my head off a dozen times a day, and you call that just ‘angry’?
She probably wants to flatten me, tear me to shreds, and stomp on me a few times to vent her anger.
“No, not really.”
After thinking about it, Li Mo decided not to tell the truth.
Ying Zheng’s question indicated that Zhao Ji hadn’t told him about Li Mo’s irreverent behavior.
And rightly so. How could she say that?
If she did, Ying Zheng would definitely ask for details.
What kind of irreverent behavior? How exactly did he act out of line?
How would she answer?
Your National Advisor was climbing onto my bed without permission, your National Advisor had the audacity to…?
Could she still hold her dignity as a mother? Could she still maintain her face as the Empress Dowager?
Zhao Ji undoubtedly cared a lot about appearances.
So she wouldn’t say it.
Ying Zheng stroked his chin: “Really?”
If not, why are you so insistent on asking about the Empress Mother today?
Li Mo pursed his lips: “Not really.”
Ying Zheng sighed in relief, nodding: “That’s good, that’s good.”
Li Mo couldn’t get a definitive answer from him.
So he decided not to ask anymore.
Otherwise, if he kept pressing, Ying Zheng might start getting the wrong ideas.
Why are you so interested in my mother’s past?
Furthermore, before things are confirmed, he can’t speak recklessly.
So, he changed the topic, saying: “I have one more thing to tell Emperor Qin.”
“Tomorrow at the morning court, Emperor Qin can hold Lu Buwei accountable.”
Ying Zheng’s body shook violently.
He was startled by these sudden words.
“Hold accountable?”
“You mean”
Li Mo nodded and said calmly, “It’s about time.”
“Lu Buwei’s good days are over.”
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