Slumber

"He? He, he, he, he—"

Hong Luan couldn't get a single word out.

Verdant Green Maiden grabbed her and gently rubbed her head, soothing her. "What are you afraid of? In these past few hundred years, have we not seen enough dead people? Just at Changping, didn't we see hundreds of thousands of them?"

"How is that the same?"

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

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

"Zhao Gao! A—future notorious treacherous minister! I killed him ahead of time." Verdant Green Maiden thought it over, then decided to tell Hong Luan about it.

After she finished speaking, she stretched, yawned, and said, "I'm a little sleepy. I'll go rest first. Have someone take care of this."

"Oh, all right."

Hong Luan nodded and flew out of Verdant Green Maiden's hand.

She watched Verdant Green Maiden walk alone into the Jade Maiden Shrine to rest, then circled Zhao Gao's corpse a few times. In the end, she flew off to find Ying Zheng.

When he learned that Verdant Green Maiden had killed someone with her own hands, Ying Zheng was silent for a moment before saying he understood and ordering someone to clean up.

Seeing how calm he was, Hong Luan grew curious. "You're not going to ask why?"

"If Master killed him, she must have had her reasons! In any case, the man surely deserved to die. Why should I ask any further? Hong Luan, rest assured: my trust in Master will never change. There's no need to ask."

Hearing that, Hong Luan was even more puzzled. "Why are you saying all that?"

Ying Zheng froze at her words. After a pause, he waved at Hong Luan and said slowly, "Go on, Hong Luan. I still have some things to attend to."

The bird flew off, tilting her head in utter confusion.

After she was gone, Ying Zheng stood alone in the hall, silent for a long time.

Several days later, at the grand court assembly, Ying Zheng promoted Li Si to replace Lord Changping Mi Qi as Prime Minister of Great Qin. The move made the ministers who had thought Ying Zheng would drive out all foreign officials blanch.

Li Si... was a man of Chu, too!

But soon, Ying Zheng's second order caught everyone even more off guard.

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

Fusu, standing below the steps, froze for a moment, then a trace of astonishment flashed across his face.

At those words, even with Ying Zheng's formidable authority, some ministers could not help stepping forward to remonstrate.

"Your Majesty, think twice!"

"Lord Changping has betrayed Qin and set himself up as King of Chu. Young Master Fusu's mother is a woman of Chu. If he is made Crown Prince, it may undermine the prestige of Great Qin..."

"We beg Your Majesty to withdraw your command!"

The Qin ministers dropped to their knees in a great throng, while the foreign officials gathered behind Li Si and bowed to Ying Zheng as well.

Li Si said respectfully, "We beg Your Majesty to decide!"

Forcing the court might have worked on other Qin kings, but they could not have chosen a worse target than Ying Zheng.

"Lord Shang was a man of Wei; Xi Shou Gongsun Yan was a man of Wei; Zhang Yi was a man of Wei; and Empress Dowager Xuan was a woman of Chu..."

Ying Zheng looked down at the assembled ministers. His voice was calm, but carried a trace of chill. "The reason Great Qin grew powerful was that the talents of all under Heaven were put to use by Great Qin! By driving out foreign officials and suppressing the talents of other states, do you want Great Qin to end up like Wei did in the past?"

The ministers went pale and hastily knocked their heads to the ground. "We would never dare!"

Ying Zheng shot them a cold glance and called, "Fusu!"

Fusu strode forward and bowed to Ying Zheng. "Father!"

"Do not disappoint me."

Leaving those words behind, Ying Zheng swept out of the hall, leaving the court to Fusu. The foreign officials came forward one after another, cupping their hands in greeting and respectfully offering their congratulations.

As the Eldest Son, Fusu had always been treated with courtesy and respect by the ministers, but never like this!

The title of Crown Prince had brought him an entirely different kind of treatment!

"Honored ministers, I ask that we work with one heart and one mind for Great Qin!"

Fusu cupped his hands to them.

The ministers hurriedly returned the gesture. "We are deeply humbled!"

After leaving the court, Ying Zheng dismissed his attendants and went to the Jade Maiden Shrine. But the moment he stepped inside, Hong Luan stopped him. He was just about to speak when he saw her flying around him in agitation.

From Hong Luan, Ying Zheng learned that ever since Verdant Green Maiden had returned that day and killed Zhao Gao, she had slept without waking until now!

Ying Zheng hurried after Hong Luan to the rear chamber of the Jade Maiden Shrine, where he saw Verdant Green Maiden asleep.

Hong Luan beat her wings anxiously. "Ying Zheng, what do we do? No matter how much I call her, she won't wake up! It isn't even winter. How can she suddenly sleep so much?"

Ying Zheng knitted his brows. He soothed Hong Luan, saying, "Don't worry, Hong Luan. I'll have people look into it at once! Take good care of Master."

"Mm! You'd better be quick!"

Hong Luan nodded and urged Ying Zheng on.

But Ying Zheng had people search through the classics and they still found no clues. He also didn't dare let anyone examine Verdant Green Maiden.

Only Afang was allowed to approach Verdant Green Maiden and care for her at all times.

So half a year passed before Verdant Green Maiden finally woke. The moment she opened her eyes, she stretched and let out a strange cry.

"Ugh—!!"

The noise startled Hong Luan and Afang, and the two of them hurried over.

Seeing that she had woken, Afang cried out in delight, "Master!"

Hong Luan flew straight into Verdant Green Maiden's arms, sobbing, "Stupid Snake, boo-hoo-hoo... You're finally awake! I thought you'd slept yourself to death!"

Verdant Green Maiden rubbed her disheveled hair and asked blankly, "How long did I sleep?"

"Five months, Master!"

Afang watched Verdant Green Maiden, pressed her lips together, and asked, "Are you feeling all right?"

Hong Luan asked too, "What happened? You've been asleep ever since you killed Zhao Gao. Were you frightened?"

Verdant Green Maiden scratched her head, thought for a moment, then shook it. "I don't know."

At the time, she had just felt sleepy, so she came back and went to bed!

She found it strange herself that she had slept for so long.

"Could it be..."

Verdant Green Maiden's pupils contracted as she suddenly realized something. Could this be the punishment for changing history?

But why?

When she had saved Ying Zheng from Jing Ke at the Grand Hall, nothing had happened. Why had there been a problem only after she killed Zhao Gao?

As Verdant Green Maiden pondered this, Afang had already gone to report the news to Ying Zheng.

When he learned that Verdant Green Maiden had woken, Ying Zheng and Fusu dropped what they were doing and practically ran all the way to the Jade Maiden Shrine. When they saw her gathering up her hair, they both breathed a sigh of relief, then hurriedly stepped outside to wait for her to finish getting ready.

Verdant Green Maiden was naturally beautiful and lovely even without makeup. She simply smoothed her hair, then let the father and son come in.

"Master!"

The two bowed to Verdant Green Maiden in greeting.

Verdant Green Maiden gave a quiet hum and said, "I heard about what happened these past months from Hong Luan! Ying Zheng, you did well!"

Although Ying Zheng was already thirty-seven, he still felt the satisfaction of being recognized.

"It was because Master taught me well!"

Then, without waiting for Verdant Green Maiden to say anything more, Ying Zheng continued, "Master, leave all future affairs entirely to Fusu and me! Whoever you want to find, whoever you want killed, just tell me. Master shouldn't have to take action herself."

"Exactly, Master! From now on, you only need to rest and recover. Fusu and Father will take care of everything!"

Fusu nodded as he spoke to Verdant Green Maiden.

Looking at their earnest expressions, Verdant Green Maiden understood what they meant. She sighed softly. "You're thoughtful. Don't worry, I value my life."