Slumber

"Him? He he he he--"

Hong Luan couldn't even speak properly.

Qing Nü grabbed her, gently rubbing her head, and soothed, "What are you afraid of? In the past few hundred years, haven't we seen enough dead people? Just from that one incident at Changping, we saw hundreds of thousands of dead people!"

"That's not the same!"

Hong Luan mumbled, "I've never seen you kill someone with your own hands!"

It glanced at Zhao Gao and asked, "Who is this, anyway?"

"Zhao Gao! A... future infamous great traitor! I killed him in advance." Qing Nü thought about it and decided to tell Hong Luan these things.

After speaking, she stretched, yawned, and said, "I'm a bit sleepy, I'm going to rest. You get someone to handle this."

"Oh, okay."

Hong Luan nodded and flew out of Qing Nü's hand.

It watched Qing Nü walk alone into the Jade Maiden Shrine to rest, circled Zhao Gao's corpse, and finally flew to find Ying Zheng.

Upon learning that Qing Nü had personally killed someone, Ying Zheng was silent for a moment before saying he knew and would have someone clean it up.

Seeing how calm he was, Hong Luan was a little curious and asked, "Aren't you going to ask why?"

"When Master kills someone, Master naturally has his reasons! In any case, that person must have deserved to die. Why should I ask more? Hong Luan, don't worry, my trust in Master will never change. You don't need to ask again."

Hearing this, Hong Luan became even more puzzled. "Why are you saying so much?"

Ying Zheng was stunned, paused for a moment, then waved his hand at Hong Luan and said softly, "Go, Hong Luan, I still have some things to do."

The bird looked bewildered, tilted its head, and flew away.

After it left, Ying Zheng stood alone in the hall, silent for a long time.

Several days later, at the grand court. Ying Zheng promoted Li Si to replace Lord Changping Mi Qi as the Prime Minister of Great Qin. This move caused the faces of the ministers who thought Ying Zheng was going to expel foreign officials to change.

Li Si... was also from Chu!

However, Ying Zheng's second decree soon caught everyone completely off guard.

"I have decided to establish Fusu as the Crown Prince of Great Qin!"

Fusu, standing below, was stunned for a moment, then a flicker of surprise flashed across his face.

As soon as these words were spoken, even though Ying Zheng's authority was immense, some ministers could not help but step forward to dissuade him.

"Great King, think thrice!"

"Changping Jun has rebelled against Qin and declared himself King of Chu. Fusu's mother is a Chu woman. If he is made Crown Prince, I fear it will diminish the prestige of our Great Qin..."

"Your Majesty, please retract your decree!"

A large group of Qin officials knelt down. The foreign officials gathered behind Li Si, also bowing to Ying Zheng.

Li Si respectfully said, "Please, Great King, make a decision!"

The officials' pressure might have worked on other Qin Kings, but they had made a grave mistake in choosing Ying Zheng as their target.

"Lord Shang was from Wei, Xi Shou Gongsun Yan was from Wei, Zhang Yi was from Wei, and the Empress Dowager was from Chu..."

Ying Zheng looked down at his ministers, his voice calm but with a hint of coldness. "The reason our Great Qin is strong is precisely because we employ talents from all under Heaven! Are you trying to make our Great Qin like Wei was back then by expelling foreign officials and suppressing talents from other states?"

The officials' faces turned pale, and they hastily kowtowed, "Your subjects dare not!"

Ying Zheng cast a cold glance and called out, "Fusu!"

Fusu stepped forward, bowing to Ying Zheng. "Father King!"

"Do not disappoint me."

With that, Ying Zheng flicked his sleeves and left, leaving the Imperial Court to Fusu. The foreign officials flocked to Fusu, cupping their hands in greeting and respectfully addressing him.

As the Eldest Son, the court officials had always treated him with courtesy and respect, but never like this!

The status of Crown Prince alone brought him a completely different reception!

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"Esteemed Lords, I implore you to work together with all your might for our Great Qin!"

Fusu cupped his hands towards everyone.

They hastily returned the gesture, "Your subjects are humbled!"

After leaving the Imperial Court, Ying Zheng dismissed his attendants and went to the Jade Maiden Shrine. Just as he entered, Hong Luan stopped him. Before he could speak, he saw Hong Luan acting anxiously, circling him a few times.

From Hong Luan, Ying Zheng learned that Qing Nü had been asleep since the day she returned and killed Zhao Gao, and had only woken up today!

Ying Zheng hurried after Hong Luan to the back chamber of the Jade Maiden Shrine and saw the sleeping Qing Nü.

Hong Luan flapped its wings anxiously, "Ying Zheng, what do we do? No matter how I call her, she won't wake up! It's not even Winter Day, why is she suddenly sleeping so much?"

Ying Zheng's brow furrowed. He comforted Hong Luan, "Hong Luan, do not worry. I will send someone to investigate immediately! You take good care of Master."

"Yes! You must hurry!"

Hong Luan nodded, urging Ying Zheng on.

But Ying Zheng ordered people to consult the canon, yet could not find any clues. He also did not dare to let anyone examine Qing Nu's body.

Only Afang was permitted by him to approach Qing Nu and care for her at all times.

After half a year passed like this, Qing Nu finally woke up. The moment she opened her eyes, she stretched and cried out.

"Ugh--!!"

The commotion alerted Hong Luan and Afang. One person and one bird quickly flew over.

Seeing her awake, Afang exclaimed in surprise, "Master!"

Hong Luan, however, threw herself directly into Qing Nu's arms, crying, "Stupid Snake, sob sob sob... you're finally awake! I thought you were going to sleep forever!"

Qing Nu rubbed her messy hair and asked blankly, "How long have I slept?"

"Five months, Master!"

Afang watched Qing Nu from the side, pursed her lips, and asked, "Is your body alright?"

Hong Luan also asked, "What exactly happened? You've been sleeping ever since you killed Zhao Gao. Could you have been scared?"

Qing Nu scratched her head, pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I don't know."

She just felt very sleepy at the time, and then she came back to sleep!

She also found sleeping for so long strange.

"Could it be..."

Qing Nu's pupils contracted. She suddenly realized something. Could this be punishment for her altering history?

But why?

When she saved Ying Zheng from Jing Ke in the Grand Hall, there were no problems. Yet, after killing Zhao Gao, she encountered this issue?

As Qing Nu pondered, Afang had already gone to report to Ying Zheng.

Upon learning that Qing Nu had woken up, Ying Zheng and Fusu put down their work and practically ran all the way to the Jade Maiden Shrine. Seeing her tidying her hair, they both breathed a sigh of relief, then hastily retreated to wait for her to finish dressing.

Qing Nu was naturally beautiful and looked lovely even without makeup. After simply smoothing her hair, she let the father and son enter.

"Master!"

The father and son bowed to Qing Nu.

Qing Nu hummed and said, "I've heard about what happened these past days from Hong Luan! Ying Zheng, you did well!"

Even though Ying Zheng was now thirty-seven years old, he still felt a sense of being recognized.

"It is the Master's excellent teaching!"

Then, without waiting for Verdant Green Maiden to say more, Ying Zheng continued, "Master, from now on, all affairs will be completely handed over to I and Fusu! Whoever the Master wishes to find, or kill, just tell I! It is not suitable for the Master to act personally."

"That's right, Master! From now on, you only need to recuperate peacefully. Fusu and Father King will handle everything!"

Fusu also nodded lightly, saying to Verdant Green Maiden.

Looking at their serious expressions, Verdant Green Maiden knew their intentions and sighed softly, "You are thoughtful. Rest assured, I value my life very much."