"Huh..."
Hearing Xiao He say this, Jian Shang, Liu Bang, Xiang Yu, and many others sank into thought. On closer consideration, there really were signs of it.
All that talk of "in consideration of the Huan King honoring our agreement from years ago" and "Princess Huating" had merely been Qin Shi Huang's excuses. Everything he had done earlier had been laying the groundwork for these words.
"Xiao He, the civil minister renowned through the ages?!"
While the others pondered in doubt, Qin Shi Huang paid them no mind. Instead, he looked at Xiao He with interest and asked, then continued with a faint smile, "I wonder how the civil minister renowned through the ages compares with the chancellors of my Great Qin, such as Li Si and Lü Buwei?"
"They are my seniors. How could I dare place myself alongside them?" Xiao He replied with a modest smile.
Liu Bang, who had intended to remain quiet and keep a low profile, could not help pointing out, "Your Majesty the First Emperor seems to have changed the subject again?"
"The Lord of the True Dragon?! So what? Neither of the Two Civil-Martial Tombs will go to you anyway. What business is it of yours who gets them?"
Qin Shi Huang cast Liu Bang a disdainful glance and rebuked him without the slightest courtesy.
Liu Bang had taken part in the Battle of Bolang Sands years ago. Although he had merely played a supporting role on the sidelines, he had still caused Qin Shi Huang considerable trouble. Moreover, Qin Shi Huang was the Ancestral Dragon, while Liu Bang styled himself the Lord of the True Dragon. What did that make Qin Shi Huang?! As for the Lord of the Nine Dragons, that title had already been bestowed anyway, and Qin Shi Huang,