Chapter 22: The assassin confesses, the brothers take a bath

“Are there any other relatives or friends at home?”

“I have a wife and a daughter, and three brothers…”

As the interrogation continued, Lu Buwei would repeat a question several times to see if it was the same as what he remembered.

“…I have said everything the Master asked me to say. Can I die now?”

On the execution stake, the assassin, who hadn’t answered a new question for a long time, had eyes full of desire and only wanted to die quickly.

Lu Buwei blew on the ink stains on the bamboo slips.

The originally blank bamboo slips were now densely covered with words.

[…He has a wife named Bainu and three brothers. The eldest brother…]

“I will give you a quick death, but not now. I still have other people to interrogate.

“If the testimonies of others are the same as yours, you will all be escorted to Caotan Execution Ground tomorrow and executed in public.”

When the assassin heard that he would be executed in public, he was stunned for a moment and felt even more grateful.

As a mortal man, he now asks for a name.

He died in the Tingwei prison and no one knew about it.

He died on the Caotan execution ground, surrounded by many people from Xianyang. Only by roaring and letting others know him could his loyalty be praised.

Perhaps he can be like Yu Rang who lacquered his body and swallowed charcoal, and leave his name through the ages.

He couldn’t wait to assure:
“Go ahead and ask me, sir. Everything I say to you is true. If I tell you falsehood, you can cut me with your knife.”

Lu Buwei waved his hand.

The officials untied the assassin, took him down from the stake, and took him away.

As the assassin was dragged away, he kept yelling:

“Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!”

The Right Chief Justice who was carrying out the execution looked at the Left Chief Justice, and both saw strange looks in each other’s eyes.

The two have worked together for so many years and have seen countless prisoners, but they have never seen a prisoner being severely tortured. After the strict interrogation, the prisoner was grateful from the bottom of his heart.

How strange!

Lu Buwei seemed to have heard nothing and spread out another blank bamboo slip.

Thanks to him the voice faded.

A new assassin was tied up in front of him.

Same process.

Without asking anything, I’ll just start with Ling Chi…

“I admit it all! Sir, I admit it all!”

“I also have a master who understands your suffering…”

“Thank you, sir. I will answer all your questions!”

“First, tell me, what did your master give you that made you fight so hard?”

“I gave you ten gold coins, and…”

“Well, who else is home?”

“There is also an old mother and a sister…”

Lu Buwei interrogated 19 people in a row and hung two large torches on the wall of the interrogation room.

The night wind coming in through the window made the flames fluctuate, and the light on Lu Buwei’s face changed from gloomy to bright.

The nineteenth assassin was taken away, and the twentieth assassin has not yet been brought in.

During this time gap, the Left Supervisor of the Imperial Court brought in a basket of new bamboo slips and asked:
“Lü Gong, are we not going to kill these assassins today?”

Lu Buwei picked up a roll of bamboo slips and spread it flat on the table.

At his left foot, nineteen bamboo slips were stacked together.

“No, I will keep my word. I will take you all to the grassland at noon.”

“Then I’ll ask someone to go and give fertilizer to Mr. Bie first.”

“Send fertilizer? What do you mean?”

“Fertilizer, give fertilizer to Mr. Bie.”

“Fertilizer belongs to the farmers. This is the business of the Grain Administration. What are you giving me? Are you talking in your sleep?”

“Lü Gong was not working in the Supreme Court, so he didn’t know. All the prisoners who died in the Supreme Court were taken to the residence of Duke Biao, who buried the bodies in the fields as fertilizer.”

With a soft “click” sound, the brush fell to the ground, covered with blood.

Lu Buwei picked it up, sat on the chair, and said calmly:
“Send it there.”

“only.”

The Left Supervisor of the Supreme Court went out to call for someone.

Lü Buwei’s hand holding the pen was stained with blood and was shaking constantly, making it difficult for him to write.

“The Qin State is violent.

“If you want to gain a foothold, you must first fight violence with violence…”

Late at night.

The torches in the torture chamber went out.

The Imperial Court was temporarily quiet. However, the palace complex in the central palace was very noisy.

Before coming to Qin, Ying Zheng was full of longing.

Although the people of Zhao kept telling him that the Qin people were barbaric and the Qin State was uncivilized, he never felt any ill will towards the Qin State.

No matter how bad the Qin State is, it will not be worse than the Zhao State.

At least in Qin, no one would take pleasure in humiliating him.

In Zhao State, he was called Qin Dog by the prince of Zhao State.

In the State of Qin, he was also a prince, a prince of Qin.

He dreamed of life in Qin State several times.

No one bullied me, the food became better, I could live in a big room, and sleep on a soft bed with good bedding…

It’s a sweet dream every time.

But those beautiful dreams are not so beautiful.

After leaving the Supreme Court, his younger brother took him to Chengjiao Palace.

When he first entered the palace, he suspected that he had read the plaque on the palace gate wrongly – Chengjiao Palace?

Watched it several times.

That’s right, it was Cheng Jiaogong, he knew the character Qin.

He couldn’t help but confirm with his brother again. Only after getting his brother’s affirmative answer did he finally confirm it.

Among the large palace complexes in the central area of ​​the Qin State, there was one palace complex built for his younger brother, Chengjiao Palace.

He was shocked more times that day than in the past nine years combined.

He thought that no matter what happened next, he would not be shocked again.

He had already prepared himself mentally for his brother’s extraordinary abilities, otherwise why would he be called a child prodigy?

But he was still shocked when an entire palace complex named after his brother appeared directly in front of him.

He had not been well prepared.

From ancient times to the present, has anyone ever built a palace for a seven-year-old prince?

After entering the gate of Chengjiao Palace, he was taken by his younger brother to a palace called Huaqing Palace.

After entering the palace gate and walking a few dozen steps, a large pool as calm as a mirror appeared before his eyes.

Two eunuchs stood beside the pool, their arms were bare, their upper body was a single garment without sleeves, and their lower body was a loose trousers that only reached the knees.

This set is even simpler than the Hu clothing. It was the first time that Ying Zheng saw it, so he took a few more glances.

The age difference between the two eunuchs can be clearly seen from their appearance.

After Ying Zheng took off his clothes, the eunuch who led him to soak in the hot spring was very young. While massaging Ying Zheng’s shoulders, he introduced:
“Bathing in the water of Huaqing Palace regularly can strengthen the body and prevent all diseases. It is brought from the Lishan Hot Spring in Lishan Palace and is changed twice a day.

“The predecessor of Lishan Palace was Ligong, which was built by King You of Zhou. The Lishan Hot Spring was originally called Xingchen Hot Spring, and King You of Zhou built Ligong just to bathe in this water frequently.

“King You of Zhou, do you know what happened? He lit beacons to trick the princes.”

Ying Zheng lay on his back by the pool, feeling lazy. All his fatigue gradually dissipated the moment he entered the water.

The eunuch beside him massaged him just right. He closed his eyes, feeling so comfortable that he didn’t want to talk.

The mouth is closed and speech is entirely nasal.

“Ah.”

Seeing that the eldest son showed little interest, the young eunuch turned his eyes and said:
“My lord, do you know why King You of Zhou often bathed in this water and built a palace around it?”

“Ah.”

“Because of Bao Si.”

“Hmm?” Ying Zheng opened his mouth and said, “Tell me in detail.”

The eunuch chuckled silently.

“Legend has it that Bao Si only laughed twice in her life, once when she lit beacons to amuse the princes, and the other time when she first bathed in the hot springs of Mount Li.

“In order to win the beauty’s smile, King You of Zhou built the Li Palace in Mount Li and enclosed the hot springs of Mount Li as his private land.

“In the bathing area, there is no roof above to cover it, and no wall below to block it.

“With trees as fences and bamboo as doors, I look up to see the stars and look down to see the beauties, and I feel very happy.

“The hot spring pool was named Xingchen Hot Spring and it always overlooked the Li Palace.”

Ying Chengjiao was laughing on the other side.

“Ok.

“Um?

“One note of difference exposed my brother’s love for beautiful women.”

Ying Zheng didn’t understand what his brother was laughing at.

“Don’t you love it?”

He was so straightforward that Ying Chengqiao could not fool him.

Young Master Cheng Jiao was stunned for a moment, realizing that this was the Warring States Period, not the modern world, and the customs were very different.

[Sometimes it’s hard to tell which side is feudal.]
He thought about it, washed his face with hot spring water, and announced loudly.

“Love! I love beauties the most! The more the better!”

(End of this chapter)