“Come on, have some watermelon!”
Ying Qingye picked up a slice of watermelon and handed it to the Empress.
“No, no, the young master should eat first. There is no principle where a subordinate eats before the master.”
The Empress quickly waved her hands in refusal, but Ying Qingye stubbornly shoved it right into her hands.
“Come on, you guys eat too!”
Ying Qingye waved at the rest of them, but they didn’t dare to move. In this feudal society, the distinction between superiors and inferiors was strict. Subordinates were not supposed to eat together with their master. Seeing that they didn’t dare to move, Ying Qingye immediately understood.
“Eat up, don’t worry about those tedious formalities!”
“Hurry, I order you to eat!”
Ying Qingye deliberately put on a stern face, and only then did they cautiously step forward, pick up a slice, and take a bite.
Mmm~
Fresh, sweet, and juicy!
“How does it taste?”
“Mmm! Young master, old man Huang has never eaten a fruit so sweet and full of juice before.”
“It’s so sweet!”
Old Huang looked at the watermelon in his hand with astonishment.
“So sweet, Young master!”
The Empress took a bite and praised it repeatedly as well.
“If it’s delicious, eat more. There’s plenty to go around!”
“Remember, don’t eat the rind!”
A group of people were frantically devouring the watermelon. Ying Qingye was fine, after all, watermelons weren’t scarce in his past life.
The Empress and the others were a different story. Eating it for the very first time, they just kept stuffing themselves until they finally stuffed themselves completely full.
Xianyang Palace!
Hu Hai’s Palace!
Hu Hai was Ying Zheng’s eighteenth son, and Ying Zheng doted on him quite a bit.
You could tell how much Ying Zheng favored him just by the fact that he was still living inside the palace. After coming of age, all the other princes had to move out of the palace, but he didn’t.
Moreover, when Ying Zheng went on his imperial tours of the east, he even kept Hu Hai by his side—otherwise, why would Hu Hai have been right there when Ying Zheng passed away from illness at Shaqiu in history?
It was purely because of Ying Zheng’s doting affection for him!
“Teacher, what did you say?”
“The Fifth Brother also attended court?”
Hu Hai looked at Zhao Gao in shock.
Who didn’t know that the Fifth Prince was a good-for-nothing? How could a master of grand strategy like Ying Zheng ever let a good-for-nothing attend court and deliberate on state affairs?
“When I first saw him, I was also completely baffled. The Emperor used to completely ignore him.”
“However, when I saw him engaging in a war of wits against all the scholars at today’s court session, I finally understood why His Majesty allowed the Fifth Prince to attend court.”
Zhao Gao’s eyes narrowed into slits, his expression somewhat gloomy.
Having Fusu standing in the way before was already troublesome enough, and now another Prince Ye had popped up.
Things were getting harder and harder to handle!
“Teacher, is Royal Father planning to elevate the Fifth Brother?”
Even a fool like Hu Hai could figure that out.
“That possibility cannot be ruled out. After all, His Majesty completely ignored him before, but now treats him this way all of a sudden.”
“Even a fool can see it. What makes me curious, though, is how the Fifth Prince managed to win His Majesty’s appreciation?”
“How could he possibly make His Majesty’s attitude toward him undergo such a massive shift in such a short amount of time?”
“Could it just be because he helped Meng Yi capture the anti-state rebels of the Six States at the Drunken Moon Pavilion?”
“But with just that tiny bit of superficial merit, it’s simply impossible for His Majesty to treat him like this!”
Zhao Gao racked his brains, completely unable to figure out the reason behind it.
“Could it be that Royal Father feels he hasn’t shown him enough care in the past and wants to make it up to him?”
Zhao Gao shook his head, immediately dismissing the idea.
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“If it were simply because of that, Your Majesty could have just rewarded him with more treasures.”
“At the very least, he could have allowed him to move back into the palace. There is no way he would make him attend court and participate in state affairs.”
“Even you, My Lord, do not enjoy such a privilege yet.”
Zhao Gao looked calmly at Hu Hai.
Among all the princes, Fusu was the only one permitted to attend court and deliberate on state affairs. Now that a Fifth Prince had been added to the mix, many people could not figure out what Ying Zheng was thinking.
Could it be that he wanted to cultivate a prince to stand as a rival to Fusu?
But wouldn’t that plunge Great Qin into factional strife?
Originally, there was only one primary heir apparent, so the ministers only needed to support one person—or even if they didn’t support him, remaining neutral was enough. There wouldn’t be any fierce infighting, let alone turmoil.
However, with a second contender suddenly appearing, it couldn’t help but make the ministers’ imaginations run wild.
“Could it be that Royal Father is dissatisfied with Eldest Brother?”
“A few days ago, when Royal Father tested us, Eldest Brother proposed reviving the enfeoffment system. Although Royal Father didn’t say much on the surface…”
“I could tell that he was extremely unhappy.”
“Do you think he wants the Fifth Brother to replace Eldest Brother?”
Hu Hai’s remark immediately caused Zhao Gao’s eyes to light up. If that were the case, it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for Zhao Gao.
After all, he and Fusu were completely at odds; if Fusu were to ascend the throne in the future, he definitely wouldn’t come to a good end. If Ying Qingye ascended the throne instead, not only would he not die, but his status might remain unchanged.
“That is entirely possible!”
Zhao Gao nodded and said.
“Then if that’s the case, wouldn’t I have no chance at all?”
Hu Hai furrowed his brow tightly.
Fusu frequently associated with scholars and spent all day trying to restore the feudal enfeoffment system. This had deeply dissatisfied Ying Zheng. He could completely take advantage of this point to continuously deepen the rift between Fusu and Ying Zheng.
That way, he would still have a chance.
But if it were Ying Qingye, what chance did he possibly have?!
Ying Qingye was a staunch supporter of the commandery and county system, which deeply aligned with Ying Zheng’s own intentions.
Moreover, given Ying Zheng’s current attitude toward him, trying to undermine Ying Qingye would be far, far more difficult than dealing with Fusu.
Zhao Gao glanced sideways at Hu Hai, his mind starting to scheme once more.
Even though Ying Qingye taking the throne wouldn’t mean his death—after all, he had no personal grudges with him—his position and power would likely stagnate entirely.
But if Hu Hai ascended the throne, this fellow was relatively easy to control. If Hu Hai took power, his own status and authority would soar to unprecedented heights.
He would be able to manipulate the entire court as he pleased!
To summarize:
If Fusu ascended the throne, he would undoubtedly die!
If Ying Qingye ascended the throne, he wouldn’t die, but his position would remain static.
If Hu Hai ascended the throne, not only would he survive, but his power and status would undergo a massive transformation, allowing him to control the entirety of Great Qin.
At this thought, his determination to support Hu Hai grew a bit firmer.
Seeing the deeply worried expression on Hu Hai’s face, Zhao Gao slowly spoke up:
“My Lord need not worry!”
“Although the Fifth Prince hides his capabilities deeply, he currently lacks any foundation in the imperial court and has no senior ministers backing him.”
“Wanting to gain a firm foothold in the court is no easy task.”
“Furthermore, the Eldest Prince’s relationship with His Majesty has already reached an extremely delicate stage.”
“And you, My Lord, are not without your advantages. You still possess His Majesty’s deep affection and favor.”
“You can fully utilize this to request some official duties and errands from His Majesty. As long as you handle those tasks brilliantly…”
“And make His Majesty look at you in a completely new light, the throne will undoubtedly be yours.”
Upon hearing this, Hu Hai’s eyes instantly lit up.
“I’ll go find Royal Father right now.”
“There’s no rush; go tomorrow. His Majesty is currently resting in the inner harem, and going at this hour will only disturb Him.”
Hearing this, Hu Hai had no choice but to sit back down, exercising patience as he waited for the next day.
Inside the prison!