At Yin hour.
An aged figure stood at the entrance of Ying Zheng's bedchamber, shouting loudly, "Emperor Ying Zheng of Qin! Have you forgotten the Great Qin's ancestors' generations-long ambition to unify all under heaven?"
Ying Zheng abruptly sat up from his bed, a look of resolve flashing in his eyes, and responded in a deep voice, "Zheng! Not for a moment dare I forget!"
Immediately, Ying Zheng, dragging his weary body, began to get out of bed.
Although he had already unified all under heaven, Ying Zheng dared not be negligent, still having the Ying ancestor call out daily at Yin hour to remind himself not to slacken in governing the court!
At Mao hour.
In the imperial court.
Many ministers were still opposing Ying Zheng's burning of books and suppression of Confucianism.
The opposition from those Confucian officials was the most pronounced.
After the court session, Ying Zheng's temper was quite volatile.
Returning to Zhangtai Palace, a Eunuch's report came.
Zhao Gao had been beaten with thirty rods and needed several days to recover, so other Eunuchs would temporarily take over Zhao Gao's position.
"Your Majesty, Lord Meng Yi requests an audience."
"Let him in!" Ying Zheng said in a deep voice.
Meng Yi walked in quickly, cupping his hands in a salute.
As a High Minister, and even more so as Ying Zheng's close friend, Meng Yi did not need to kneel every time he saw Ying Zheng.
Seeing Ying Zheng's gloomy and ashen face, Meng Yi hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Ying Zheng waved his hand, dismissing the Eunuch.
Only after the Eunuch had left did he slowly say, "I didn't take the elixir yesterday, and my mood became even more irritable, my head aching as if it would split, tossing and turning, truly unable to sleep. And in court today, those Confucians came to scold me again. I couldn't help but want to chop them all down!"
Meng Yi quickly said, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. You have always employed people based on their virtue, disregarding past grievances, which is why all the talented scholars under heaven have gathered in Xianyang. You absolutely must not earn the reputation of wantonly killing your subjects again!"
Currently, many great Confucians were unwilling to serve as officials in Xianyang; although many were recommended, they were actually persuaded through various means to come to Xianyang.
Because during this period, Ying Zheng's reputation was indeed not good.
Otherwise, everyone would not call him a tyrant.
Ying Zheng impatiently waved his hand and asked in a deep voice, "Have you investigated thoroughly?"
Meng Yi's expression darkened, and he cupped his hands, saying in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, yesterday, according to your instructions, the elixir was crushed and fed to ants, sparrows, and poultry for observation. After the ants consumed it, they died within moments. The sparrows died an hour later, and the poultry died three hours later."
"Upon dissecting their internal organs, they were found to be blackened, a sign of poisoning!"
Bang!
Hearing this, Ying Zheng slammed the table and stood up, his face full of rage, "You scoundrels! How dare you conspire to harm me!"
"Damn them! These people all deserve to die!"
"I gave them countless rewards, gold, silver, and jewels were never lacking, yet they use such poisonous elixirs to harm me!"
"And that Zhao Gao! If not for me, he would still be like a wild dog today!"
"I gave them so much, yet they still want to poison me!"
Ying Zheng was furious, so angry that he overturned the table, knocking over all the copper lamps beside it, spilling lamp oil everywhere.
After a long while, Ying Zheng finally slumped down, gasping for breath, his eyes still filled with fury.
By then, his back was covered in cold sweat.
If he hadn't listened to what that person said and continued to take the immortal elixir, he would probably have died here soon!
It was very likely, as that person said, that he would die on his inspection tour!
Damn them!
These people all deserve to die!
The anger in Ying Zheng's heart surged again!
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Meng Yi's shouts reached Ying Zheng's ears.
He suddenly came to his senses and looked at Meng Yi.
Meng Yi was full of worry, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Your imperial health is paramount!"
Ying Zheng paused, looked at the table and lamps he had smashed to pieces, and his heart involuntarily tightened. He said in a deep voice, "My temper has become increasingly volatile, already somewhat out of control!"
This was not due to Ying Zheng's lack of self-control; it was truly because after heavy metal poisoning, people become deranged. For Ying Zheng to be like this was already considered good.
He himself understood.
Although his temper used to be domineering, it would not have been so out of control.
The elixir's poison was already eroding his nerves.
"Lord Meng!" Ying Zheng beckoned to Meng Yi.
Meng Yi quickly stepped forward and helped Ying Zheng up, "My elixir poisoning is deep. This matter cannot be known by anyone else. You must help me find skilled physicians to find a way to detoxify me! Otherwise, my end will be near!"
At this moment, he no longer held any hope for becoming an immortal or achieving longevity.
He ruled all under heaven; if there truly was a method to become an immortal, would he not obtain it?
Instead, he was poisoned by these alchemists with their poisonous elixirs?
Now, he only hoped that he could be healthy and no longer suffer the torment of elixir poisoning.
Meng Yi said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, your subject will do his utmost to search for all the skilled physicians under heaven to detoxify Your Majesty!"
Ying Zheng nodded slightly, "Who is that person in the prison?"
Meng Yi replied, "This person's name is Zhao Jinghong, his ancestral home is Handan. He arrived in Xianyang two weeks ago and repeatedly sought to become a guest minister in noble families, but was rejected due to his shallow talent; in a fit of rage, he caused a disturbance at a banquet in the residence of Scholar Li Ming, and was consequently imprisoned in the Heavenly Dungeon!"
"He was supposed to be subjected to the punishment of foot amputation today, but your subject has already stopped it."
Hearing this, Ying Zheng couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
If Zhao Jinghong were subjected to foot amputation, it would be a huge loss for Great Qin.
He had already decided in his heart that this person possessed extraordinary talent.
Immediately, Ying Zheng couldn't help but sneer, "Shallow talent? How ridiculous! I believe this person possesses astonishing talent! They were unable to distinguish a bright pearl from a fish eye, almost causing me to lose this great talent!"
Meng Yi cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, for finding such an unparalleled talent. If this person assists you, Great Qin will undoubtedly prosper even more!"
Ying Zheng nodded slightly, also believing this to be true.
Meng Yi hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "However, in his words, this person is arrogant and probably has little reverence for Your Majesty or the imperial family."
Ying Zheng waved his hand, not caring about such things, "How can a truly talented person be treated with worldly perspectives?"
This was Ying Zheng's breadth of vision.
Immediately, Ying Zheng thought of something and asked, "This person comes from Handan and is of the Zhao clan. Is he a descendant of Zhao?"
Meng Yi said, "I have already sent people to Handan to investigate this person's background."
Ying Zheng nodded, "Investigate thoroughly and report to me!"
"Yes!" Meng Yi cupped his hands.
"Yesterday, were Zhao Gao and Hu Hai acting unusually?" Ying Zheng asked.
Meng Yi said in a deep voice, "After they were subjected to the rod punishment yesterday, they rested at Wangyi Palace and showed no unusual behavior."
Ying Zheng nodded slightly, "Continue the investigation!"
"Yes!" Meng Yi nodded, then, after observing Ying Zheng's expression, asked, "Your Majesty, Zhao Gao conspired with the alchemists to refine poisonous elixirs. Should he be arrested and subjected to extreme punishment?"
Ying Zheng waved his hand, "No, I want to see what tricks they are ultimately playing with me!"
Meng Yi lowered his head, no longer speaking.
He couldn't fathom what this emperor was thinking in his heart, nor did he dare to make presumptuous guesses.
Ying Zheng thought for a moment, then said to Meng Yi, "Let's go! Come with me to the Heavenly Dungeon again!"
"Ah?" Meng Yi was stunned for a moment, feeling his heart being squeezed.
"I want to hear what else that Zhao Jinghong will say." Ying Zheng's bloodshot eagle eyes were full of anticipation.
"Yes!" Meng Yi lowered his head, secretly lamenting.
Although he admitted that Zhao Jinghong was indeed formidable, capable of predicting so many things from within the Heavenly Dungeon.
However, that Zhao Jinghong's mouth was truly too vicious; one careless remark could lead to the extermination of nine generations!"
He didn't want to hear it! He really didn't want to hear it!