Hearing this sentence, Lao Ai responded in a humble tone and answered, “Yes.”
Then he loosened his clothes and untied his belt, removed his robe, and walked over to the wooden wheel that Lü Buwei had previously specifically ordered people to place here, not far from him, and displayed to this Qin State Chancellor the “special ability” he possessed, which anyone who had ever heard of it would praise with nothing but admiration.
Watching the wooden wheel, under Lao Ai’s driving, complete three full circles within this room, and seeing that the man performing all this still had a calm and composed expression on his face and was clearly still very energetic, Lü Buwei’s gaze toward him could not help but become even more satisfied. He raised his hand and stroked his beard, and only then called for him to stop.
Afterward, he praised him with a sentence: “Your ability, I am very satisfied.”
Hearing this, joy instantly surged in Lao Ai’s heart, and the corners of his mouth could not help but rise slightly, but he still forced himself to press it down.
Lü Buwei rose from his seat, took a few steps, came to stand before Lao Ai, and said, “Everyone under heaven knows that I am a merchant who loves to invest.”
Lao Ai raised his eyes, his gaze slightly surprised, and asked, “Does my lord believe that Lao Ai is worth your investment?”
Lü Buwei merely smiled faintly, and within that smile were two traces of inexplicable cunning. “This Chancellor can give you a fortune that reaches the heavens. It is just that I do not know whether you are willing to take it.”
However, although he was speaking in the form of a question, his tone was affirmative.
He had already investigated Lao Ai thoroughly, turned over his entire life history, and knew what kind of person he was, and therefore knew that Lao Ai would definitely not refuse him. Even if… this fortune was also a great gamble.
Sure enough, after his words fell, Lao Ai did not even have the slightest hesitation for even a brief moment. He immediately bowed to Lü Buwei, his voice resounding and firm, speaking as if even if Lü Buwei were to ask him to die, he would certainly obey, “It is rare for the Chancellor to value me. Lao Ai is willing to go through fire and tread on blades for my lord!”
Seeing this, Lü Buwei reached out and patted Lao Ai’s shoulder. “Do not be nervous. Since I said I would give you a fortune that reaches the heavens, I will certainly not make you climb mountains of blades or descend into seas of fire.”
Afterward, he added meaningfully, “In the future, I may still have to rely on your care.”
Since the day when it was already dusk yet he still lingered at Ganquan Palace and was encountered by Ying Zheng, who had returned from Liyang, upon returning to the royal palace, he had been searching for a suitable man to present to Zhao Ji.
Ever since the former king passed away, during this period he had maintained an ambiguous relationship with Zhao Ji, who had been promoted to Empress Dowager. Lü Buwei had never felt that this was anything excessive, nor that he had done anything wrong — she was originally his woman, his beloved concubine.
But now everything was different. As Ying Zheng grew older, that boy whom he had personally welcomed back to Qin from Zhao State, whose gaze was alert everywhere, who was like a wolf cub that would fight desperately with anyone who wanted to harm him and his mother, had now gradually transformed into a young ruler whose emotions did not show on his face, and whose every gesture was filled with imperial authority. Previously, he had already gone to see several generals of Qin State, and given some more time, he would certainly reclaim all the great power of Qin State and hold it entirely in his own hands.
When the ruler is weak and the ministers are strong, and the maternal relatives wield power, one can naturally act without too many scruples. Even if one tangles with the Empress Dowager, engaging in the pleasures of men and women, there is no fear or concern in the heart. But when the ruler is strong and the ministers are weak, then naturally one must act cautiously, lest others catch hold of one’s small braids and impeach one, thus gaining the king’s dislike.
Lü Buwei was a person with a clear mind. Indeed, he liked Zhao Ji, who was now the Empress Dowager — such a peerless beauty like a stunning beauty, how many men in the world could not love her? But compared to beauty, he loved power more.
Back then, when he saw the former king who was still a hostage in Zhao State and not valued, and resolved that even if he scattered all his family wealth he would still stockpile this “rare commodity” that could be lived upon, Lü Buwei did so in order to grasp power and magnify his family’s prestige. Therefore, at present he must sever his relationship with Zhao Ji, sever it completely and cleanly. The only connection between the two of them could be that she was the Empress Dowager of Qin State, and he was the Chancellor of Qin State — nothing more.
But although he wanted to withdraw and leave, Zhao Ji would not easily comply with his wishes. Shut within the deep palace, lonely in the inner chambers, Zhao Ji was also naturally romantic by temperament. Finally having such a true “man” like Lü Buwei to accompany her, she would not easily let him go. Therefore, Lü Buwei could only temporarily not let Zhao Ji know of his desire to extricate himself from this forbidden relationship with her, first stabilize the Empress Dowager within the palace, and then secretly search for his own “replacement,” to compensate Zhao Ji with a solid, genuine “man.”
After all, the crux of this matter was entirely because that man was him.
The Empress Dowager of Qin State could have a lover, could have male favorites, but no matter who the object was, it absolutely could not be someone who was unclear and ambiguous with him, the Chancellor, because that would be an enormous provocation to Ying Zheng, the ruler.
— You, a Chancellor with such great power, have an ambiguous relationship with the Empress Dowager, defiling the inner palace. What are you trying to do? For the sake of your merits to the Qin State, whether it is forcing the palace or rebelling, choose a crime for yourself and wait to die.
Lü Buwei looked at Lao Ai, his gaze gentle, as if a brother speaking patiently to a younger brother, but in his heart he was making his own calculations.
Zhao Ji was infatuated, and this naturally endowed, extraordinary, “big-yin” man Lao Ai could indeed satisfy her better. As long as Lao Ai served her well, it could also make Zhao Ji no longer think of him himself. In this way, it would also serve as an explanation to Ying Zheng, who he could not yet tell how much he knew about their relationship that could not see the light of day.
Thinking of Ying Zheng, Lü Buwei seemed to suddenly remember something, and his gaze abruptly changed.
Speaking of which, the king was already sixteen this year, and it was almost time… for him to take a consort.
A thought suddenly arose in Lü Buwei’s heart.
Registering for “Great Qin” and reaching the fifth day of playing the game, during which he had engaged in countless keyboard battles with haters and grown more and more fierce, determined not to fall behind even a little, the player named Eating Cat’s Squid finally could not help but have his heart broken at this moment.
Because he died, but he could not revive on the spot. And from a perspective of “soul returning to the heavens,” he could still see his companions mercilessly whipping his corpse.
The cause of all this was nothing else — it was entirely because his hand was itchy.
Originally, he was following the game NPC bosses to build brick kilns together, but his third profession was, after all, a game streamer. After recording the brick kiln production in the game for several days, he felt that always filming how bricks were made and then editing and uploading it for fans to watch would be rather boring, so he discussed with the companions in the fertilizer group to swap with someone and change the flavor of his recordings.
However, he never expected that on the very first day he came to report to the fertilizer group, he would trigger a dangerous situation that none of the group of player companions had ever encountered before — an explosion.
Because while he was at the sealed large clay jars where fermented fertilizer was placed, he caught a few bugs he had eaten when he was young. Because the game’s historical background was too faithfully restored, and in “Great Qin” he had been eating wheat porridge and really wanted to snack on something in the game, he felt an itch in his heart and lit a small fire pit. He never expected that fertilizer would also explode when exposed to fire, thoroughly and personally putting into practice the idiom “playing with fire.”
This also led to the fertilizer group companions, who had recently been “striving upward, working hard to grow strong, studying materials” for the sake of the game, angrily whipping his corpse. But fortunately, except for that jar of fertilizer, which seemed not to have been properly sealed and caused the explosion — the “source of all evil” — everything else was safe and sound, which could be considered a blessing in misfortune.
But very soon, Eating Cat’s Squid realized that he had celebrated too early, because his game revival option was dim! Dim! What kind of plant was this? Why couldn’t he revive?
Obviously, when he had just entered the game before, some people had deliberately courted death by treating the city walls of Liyang as a disco dance floor. Even leaping down from the walls, they could revive on the spot and return!
Eating Cat’s Squid could not understand. And before he could even begin to be shocked, his gaze suddenly saw a tiny question mark at the very bottom of the dim revival page, one that near-sighted people would have difficulty seeing. He could not help but touch it, and then, Eating Cat’s Squid once again welcomed a new heartbreak, double joy.
After clicking that question mark, the page that appeared provided a detailed introduction to the revival system of “Great Qin.”
When Li Xi was configuring the game, she had adjusted many aspects, and “revival” was also included among them.
In order to avoid letting players act recklessly and seek great death because they had the chance to revive anytime and anywhere, Li Xi specifically set the revival mechanism of “Great Qin” so that, aside from the beginner protection period — that is, the first three days after logging in, during which one revival opportunity was available each day — afterward, if any accident occurred and one unfortunately “died,” then one would need to use one’s own game “contribution points” to exchange for revival opportunities.
However, it is worth mentioning that if a player wanted to revive on the spot, then they must have exchanged for the revival opportunity in advance the day before death in order to use it. And each exchanged revival opportunity would only be retained for three days — three days in the game. After three days, whether it was used or not, it would automatically be cleared.
According to Li Xi’s own words, “When playing a game, generally speaking, between spending money and grinding hard, one always has to choose one. But I am rather greedy — I want both.”
So naturally, she set the game this way. After all, her “game” had so many advantages in so many aspects, and naturally had the qualification to be willful. Moreover, for the vast majority of people in the world, only by paying more and investing more energy would they care more about that thing.
There is a saying — where the money is, there the love is. This matter is precisely that principle.
Looking at the detailed introduction on the revival page, Eating Cat’s Squid could not help but sniffle. At this moment, he suddenly understood the true meaning behind the sentence Li Xi had spoken when they had just logged into the game and were still on the altar:
“Although all of you possess immortal bodies, transcending the five elements, you will still be injured and feel pain like ordinary people. Therefore, Xi hopes… that everyone will respect and cherish their own lives.”
At the same time, the feeling of being cared for by the goddess at that time also shattered into a pile of crumbs.
Fake, all fake! All of this was garbage planning, forcing grinding, thereby forcing more grinding, a conspiracy!
Damn it! Such a heartbreaking thing…
Eating Cat’s Squid decided to quickly share his “major discovery” with his companions. Everyone was good brothers — there was no way only he alone should have his heart broken, right?
But before that, he had to wait for the revival cooldown — after all, even if he bought a revival opportunity now, he would still have to wait until “tomorrow” to revive.
Thinking of this, he once again cursed the planner for being cunning, then after cursing, temporarily logged off, deciding to use this waiting time for the revival cooldown to edit a video:
— #How many steps are needed to turn a game livestreamer into an editing uploader?
Answer: Just one — an official game with absolutely high playability, detailed design that can practically be called unparalleled, looking across domestic and foreign markets unable to find even a single substitute product, and with mysterious and aloof officials.#
As for the thing he had once worried about ultimately happening, Li Xi did not give it a single extra glance from beginning to end.
After hearing about it from the system, she directly skipped over it. After all, the “damage” caused was only a single player, and it could be considered a slight lesson learned for him.
Compared to the fertilizer group, Li Xi was currently more concerned with the brick kiln group, because yesterday she had seen from the system screen that the brick kiln group’s “experimental field” had produced its first batch of bricks. Although they were not yet up to standard and the fired bricks were still subpar, at least it meant that the direction of progress there was correct. Presumably, it would not be long before they could fire bricks that could truly be put into construction use.
And when that time came, her next goal could immediately follow up.
She thought.
After firing bricks, then making cement, and then one could build houses and repair roads. There is a saying that goes, if you want to get rich, first build roads. Once transportation is developed, circulation will improve, and thus the economic level will naturally rise.
Although now Qin State was no longer the poor small border state of the west that it once was, and had grown strong and wealthy, Qin State fought a lot. War is something that eats money the most, and every time Qin State accumulates even a little family wealth, it has to take it out to fight wars.
Looking across the period after Duke Xiao of Qin and Shang Yang’s reforms — the Battle of Yique, the Battle of Yan Ying, the Battle of Changping, the Battle of Handan — these major famous battles of the Warring States period were almost all battles in which Qin State was the main participant. And besides these, the Battle of Jimo, with Yan and Qi as the main battlefield, Qin State was also inseparable from it, because it was a joint attack by the six states against Qi State.
Being subjected to “wheel battles” by multiple states — even if there were gold mines at home, one could not withstand such money-eating methods, let alone Qin State did not have… wait —
Qin State… according to geographic coordinates, it seemed that it actually did have gold mines?
Suddenly remembering something, a thoughtful expression appeared on Li Xi’s beautiful face.
Xianyang. Royal Palace.
Within Ganquan Palace, everything was filled with singing and dancing. Ying Zheng was escorted in by palace attendants serving Zhao Ji. As soon as he stepped into the palace gate, he saw Zhao Ji walking over with a smiling face, grabbing the youth’s arm and leading him inside.
Seeing Zhao Ji treat him with such gentleness for the first time in a long while, for a moment it seemed as if he had returned to the days when they were still in Zhao State. Ying Zheng could not help but be slightly stunned. “Mother, this is…?”
Zhao Ji did not answer her son’s question, but instead pressed Ying Zheng into a seat and let him watch the singing and dancing. Although Ying Zheng felt puzzled by Zhao Ji’s actions, this kind of small matter that was fundamentally harmless was something he was still very willing to go along with his mother.
Afterward, when a segment of dance music ended, Zhao Ji tilted her head and, with a face full of spring breeze, asked Ying Zheng, “Does Zheng’er like it?”
The youth merely said calmly, with some coldness in his tone, “This is Chu State’s singing and dancing.”
It was what he had seen the most when he had first returned to Xianyang Palace, and it was also what he disliked the most.
His tone became even colder, even lighter. “If Mother has something to say, then just say it directly to your son.”
Seeing Ying Zheng like this, the smile on Zhao Ji’s face immediately could not quite be maintained, but she still forcibly maintained her smile and said, “Zheng’er is sixteen this year, and it is time to take a wife and have children.”
“I heard that in Chu State there happens to be a princess around the same age as Zheng’er, with a proper temperament and appearance…”
At this point, she did not continue, because Ying Zheng directly interrupted her.
In the youth’s pair of eyes whose pupil color was extremely gentle, there was an expanse of coldness. Ying Zheng directly gave Zhao Ji the simplest, most straightforward, and easiest-to-understand two-word reply,
“Not marrying.”