Chapter 137: Ying Zheng's Wrath Ignites the Xianyang Palace

With matters settled, everyone returned to their respective origins.

In the State of Qin.

Upon returning, Ying Zheng could not stop pondering the bizarre events that had transpired at the farmstead. The sequence of uncanny occurrences left him feeling profoundly unsettled.

Inside the grand palace of Xianyang, Ying Zheng issued an imperial edict without a second thought, summoning all the civil and military ministers of the court to assemble immediately.

As Prime Minister, Li Si was the first to receive word of the imperial decree.

Naturally, this first-hand information came from Zhao Gao's network of informants.

Li Si was the first to arrive at the gates of the Xianyang Palace, where Zhao Gao was already anxiously craning his neck in anticipation.

Walking with hurried steps, Li Si was intercepted by Zhao Gao, who greeted him swiftly, "Prime Minister Li, let us step aside for a word."

Li Si cast a glance to his left and right, noticing that outside the massive palace gates, aside from the imperial guards, there was not a soul in sight.

Observing Zhao Gao's secretive demeanor, Li Si complied with his request.

"Prime Minister Li, last night, His Majesty mysteriously vanished for the entire evening, returning only around the *yin* hour. We have no idea what transpired during that time, yet he has summoned all the ministers in such great haste. Something major must be about to happen."

At this moment, Zhao Gao harbored an intensely ominous prehension, his heart gripped by lingering anxiety.

Li Si frowned deeply. "What? His Majesty vanished for the whole of last night? This... where did His Majesty go? Does the Chief Shaanxi-Officer know what His Majesty was doing?"

Zhao Gao shook his head, his face a mask of utter bewilderment. "It is precisely because I do not know that I feel so uneasy. Furthermore, General Meng Tian returned alongside His Majesty last night."

"Meng Tian? No... wasn't Meng Tian dispatched to the northern frontier by His Majesty? When did he return? How could that damned fool Zhang Han know absolutely nothing about this?"

A wave of pent-up anger surged within Li Si.

Back then, Zhang Han had been a frustrated man unrecognized for his talents. This young man's intellect and military acumen were by no means inferior to Meng Tian's, and in terms of age, he was even younger than Meng Tian.

Zhang Han's capabilities were on par with Meng Tian's, but unfortunately, due to his humble origins, he had remained merely an imperial guard.

With his discerning eye, Li Si had recognized Zhang Han's extraordinary potential and recommended him to Prince Huhai, appointing him as the commander of Huhai's elite palace guards.

Yet why had Meng Tian been secretly recalled from the frontier by His Majesty?

How could they have been left completely in the dark?

"Prime Minister Li, the fact that Meng Tian was secretly recalled by His Majesty... the entire affair is rather suspicious. Now is not the time to assign blame to Zhang Han. His Majesty's sudden summons strongly suggests that a momentous event is afoot."

The ominous feeling in Zhao Gao's heart grew stronger by the second.

Inside the grand hall, the ministers who had been abruptly summoned wore expressions of total confusion.

The Emperor had missed the morning court session, and now, well past midday, he had suddenly summoned them all. Could a major crisis have occurred?

The ministers gathered in small clusters of twos and threes, discussing the situation in hushed, anxious whispers.

"His Majesty has arrived! Silence, everyone!"

Suddenly, accompanied by the shrill cry of a eunuch, the clamorous hall fell instantly silent.

Ying Zheng strode in with large, resolute steps, and trailing right behind him was none other than General Meng Tian.

This... this development was entirely out of the ordinary.

Every official present knew that Meng Tian had been sent to the frontier half a year ago. For the senior general to suddenly reappear behind the Emperor could only mean there was a hidden plot afoot.

After the officials paid their formal respects, Ying Zheng's sharp, eagle-like eyes locked directly onto Zhao Gao and Li Si.

Cold!

His icy gaze was like a pair of daggers, instantly cutting off their breath and causing their chests to heave.

"Guards! Meng Tian, hear my command: immediately take Zhao Gao and Li Si into custody and throw them into the dungeons!"

What... what kind of terrifying catastrophe had just occurred?

At Ying Zheng's command, the entire Xianyang Palace seemed to tremble.

Before the bewildered officials could even comprehend what was happening, Zhao Gao and Li Si were seized by the palace guards led by Meng Tian, dragged away to face imprisonment.

Zhao Gao collapsed to his knees, his entire body trembling violently. "Y-Your Majesty! What is the meaning of this? Why is Your Majesty doing this to your servant? I am wronged! I beg Your Majesty to give an explanation!"

Li Si was equally shaken to his core. "Your Majesty, what crime have I committed? I implore Your Majesty to state the reason, otherwise I... I cannot accept this!"

"Hmph! Truly, you two are well-deserving of the names Zhao Gao and Li Si! Excellent! Then I shall tell you right now why I am having you arrested."

Ying Zheng descended the dais step by step until he stopped right in front of Zhao Gao and Li Si. "Zhao Gao, you are cunning by nature. Your compliant behavior over the past few days was merely a façade masking your true intentions."

"In reality, you are honey-mouthed yet sword-hearted, harboring wild ambitions. You monopolize power, you even went so far as to call a deer a horse, and you conspired with Li Si to poison Prince Fusu. You... are utterly heinous and deserve to die!"

"Ah... Your Majesty, your servant has done no such thing! Even if given the courage of a bear or a leopard, your servant would never dare to harm Prince Fusu..."

Startled out of his wits by Ying Zheng's words, Zhao Gao nearly lost control of his bladder.

Ying Zheng shifted his gaze to Li Si. "Prime Minister Li, hmph, I truly never would have guessed. You always projected an upright and honorable demeanor, yet as Prime Minister, driven purely by selfish desires, you colluded with this wretch Zhao Gao to forge an imperial decree. You deceived Prince Fusu into trusting you, ultimately leading to his tragic death under your treacherous plot... You, too, deserve to die!"

"Your Majesty, it is not..."

Good heavens!

What kind of madness was this?

Ying Zheng's blinding fury blazed with an intensity capable of incinerating a living man to ashes in an instant.

The ministers were thoroughly terrified by this abrupt and shocking turn of events.

Some of the more faint-hearted officials needed the support of their peers just to keep from collapsing onto the floor.

"Meng Tian, drag these two away at once. I do not wish to lay eyes on them a moment longer."

The great empire of Qin would perish in a mere fourteen years?

That unfilial wretch Huhai...

Following the imprisonment of both Zhao Gao and Li Si, shockwaves rippled through the entire Xianyang Palace.

Immediately afterward, Ying Zheng issued another summons, calling for Prince Huhai to be brought before him.

Huhai was only twelve years old this year, a quintessential, unruly brat.

Yet it was precisely this unruly child who, seven or eight years down the line, would undergo a earth-shattering transformation in temperament.

By murdering his brothers and usurping the throne, he would become the second ruling emperor of the Great Qin Empire.

It was this very scoundrel's series of catastrophic missteps that had directly driven the Great Qin Empire to its ruin.

Summoned in frantic haste, Huhai arrived only to be met with the suffocating, raging fury of his imperial father.

Unaware of what had transpired, Huhai assumed some unfortunate minister had managed to displease the Emperor.

With a cheeky smile, Huhai probed, "Father, what is wrong? Has some blind fool of a minister provoked Your Majesty's displeasure? If so, why not simply have him executed to save Father from further annoyance?"

"You unfilial wretch!"

With a sudden, thunderous bang!

Ying Zheng delivered a swift kick that sent Huhai sprawling onto the floor.

All the ministers were struck dumb with shock, utterly paralyzed by the sight.