Qin Gong

Chapter 708 Arrival in Xianyang

Chapter 708 Return to Xianyang

Xianyang City.

Bai Yan took the official carriage and arrived at the streets of Xianyang City. He saw that the streets were bustling with people, whether it was the wide streets or the winding alleys.

Pedestrians and common people are running for their livelihoods. The nobles are walking on the streets in bright clothes, elegant and calm, chatting and laughing. The dandies in gorgeous clothes are arrogant and walk past the common people on the side of the road with a little contempt.

The ancient mansions, tall restaurants and shops full of guests that stand along the street all highlight the characteristics of the architecture. The street vendors' stalls are arranged in an orderly manner in all directions, but they cannot stop the bustling footsteps of pedestrians.

Sitting in the carriage, Bai Yan listened to the bustling sounds outside the carriage and wondered why Ying Zheng urgently summoned him.

for a long time.

When the carriage, which had been driving with difficulty all the way, came to a stop along the gradually quiet alley, Bai Yan finally came to his senses.

"General! We've arrived at the mansion!"

The sound of a buttock came from the front of the carriage. Upon hearing it, Bai Yan stood up and left the carriage. When his mansion came into view, Bai Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

After entering Guanzhong, in order to avoid running into Qin's relatives and acquaintances from the aristocratic families, Bai Yan could only ride in the government's general carriage. Even his close confidants, after using the carriages, split into two groups and headed for Luoyin and Xianyang.

All this is because I don't want to be asked to meet with the clan members halfway.

Bai Yan politely rejected Li Si on the surface, his purpose was to let the clan members know. If he were to meet with the clan members halfway, in Ying Zheng's eyes, it would undoubtedly be a confirmation of his advocacy of enfeoffment.

Inside the mansion.

Tian Feiyan was reading bamboo slips in the study, which recorded in detail some rare treasures, even the rare thin clothes in the Baiyue land and the rare white fox fur of the Yuezhi, all of which were listed one by one.

“Those clan members are willing to give it up!”

Tian Feiyan smiled slightly, and after she finished speaking, she handed the bamboo slips to the maid beside her: "Order someone to register them separately, and send all the things to the Lu family's mansion at night."

The maid nodded and stepped forward with her head lowered.

Bai Junzhu was kneeling behind the wooden table, holding an ancient book. When she heard what Tian Feiyan said, she couldn't help but reveal a puzzled expression on her pretty face and looked up at Tian Feiyan.

"Fei Yan, you won't return the property? Those clan members..."

Bai Junzhu was a little worried. It was obvious that the clan members and those princes' vassals knew that Bai Yan was going back to Xianyang, so they sent rare treasures in advance. If he rashly accepted them, Bai Yan might be dissatisfied when he found out.

"Don't be in a hurry to retreat. If you retreat now, you will be on a strange road, making many enemies and isolating yourself. It is an unwise move! When Bai Yan returns, he will meet Ying Zheng. If there is no trouble, then Lu will replace him and return with the same ceremony. If you encounter danger, you still have this letter..."

Tian Feiyan looked at Bai Junzhu with a smile, picked up the bamboo slips, shook them, and then handed them to the maid.

"As for the rare treasures, they can be exchanged for money. Whether it is to leave Xianyang or to save your life, they will be of great use!"

As Tian Feiyan finished speaking, Bai Junzhu's eyes were full of surprise. Looking at Tian Feiyan, who was younger than him, Bai Junzhu couldn't imagine that Tian Feiyan had thought of such thoughtful things after reading the bamboo slips.

Before Bai Junzhu could say anything, a servant came to report that Wu Liejun had returned to the mansion.

The smile on Tian Feiyan's pretty face disappeared in an instant. She bit her thin lips lightly. When she heard Bai Yan coming back, her beautiful eyes gradually turned red with her slightly rapid breathing.

In the courtyard.

Bai Yan returned to the mansion and was communicating with the servants when he saw Tian Feiyan and Bai Junzhu walking towards him in the distance.

After not seeing each other for a long time, Bai Yan looked at the two girls with a look of longing in his eyes. However, as Tian Feiyan approached, he saw Tian Feiyan's angry and glaring look, and he suddenly did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Apparently, Tian Feiyan was still feeling resentful because of her previous haste to leave.

After a while.

In the room, Tian Feiyan looked at Bai Yan unhappily, especially when she saw the look Bai Yan gave her.

Bai Junzhu, who was standing by, saw this scene, looked at Bai Yan who raised his hands, then looked at Tian Feiyan with a hint of worry in his eyes.

But in the end, under Bai Junzhu's gaze, Tian Feiyan stepped forward silently, gently stretched out her hand, and helped Bai Yan undress.

"Father has told me that when you come back, he will let you go see him!"

Tian Feiyan looked at Bai Yan unhappily.

"……it is good!"

The smug smile on Bai Yan's face gradually faded. When he thought of his father-in-law Tian Ding, Bai Yan felt a headache. In order to appease Tian Feiyan's father, he told him everything about the demise of Qin II. Finally, he successfully persuaded Tian Feiyan's father to give up his status and power in Qi and give up resisting Qin.

Now, with his marriage to Tian Feiyan, Tian Ding has become his father-in-law, and now, he has arrived in Xianyang.

Tian Ding must be fully aware of what he had done in the past!

But speaking of it...

Bai Yan looked at Tian Feiyan and couldn't help but reveal a trace of guilt in his eyes. When he married Tian Feiyan, due to special circumstances, he did not perform the six rituals.

The so-called "six rituals" consist of six steps. The first one is: if the man likes a girl from a certain family, he must send someone with a gift to propose to the girl, which is the so-called "Nacai".

Second: If the elders of the girl’s family have promised the marriage, the boy still has to confirm with the girl’s family which girl he is promising to marry. This is called “asking for the name”.

Third: After asking for the name, the man has to go to the ancestral temple to ask for divination. If he gets a good divination, he will send someone to inform the elders of the woman, which is called "Naji".

Fourth: If an unlucky hexagram is obtained, it means that the birth dates of the man and woman are not compatible, and the marriage may have to be cancelled. Only after an auspicious hexagram is obtained, the man must bring more generous gifts to the woman's home to formally establish the marriage contract. This is called "Na Zheng".

Fifth: After the betrothal gift is given, the man and the woman discuss an auspicious date, which is called "asking for the date".

Sixth: On an auspicious day, the man must personally go to the woman’s house to welcome the bride home to get married, which is called “qinying”.

After the wedding reception, the so-called six rituals are truly completed.

These six ceremonies were extremely complicated, and Qin and Qi were thousands of miles apart. In addition, there were often bandits, thieves, local tyrants, and enemies from other countries who came to rob brides along the way. Therefore, these six ceremonies were only used between princes and their sons. Even the clans and powerful families would be terrified, not to mention the ordinary gentry.

But now that Tian Ding has come to Xianyang, he is not so cautious. Bai Yan still wants to make up the six rituals for Tian Feiyan.

"Father already knows about what happened in the past. Think carefully about how to explain it to him..."

Tian Feiyan took off Bai Yan's coat and handed it to the maid. When she saw Bai Junzhu handing over the official uniform, she gently picked it up and immediately looked at Bai Yan with her beautiful eyes.

"Qi State has been destroyed. Father will get used to it sooner or later!"

Tian Feiyan knew better than anyone that Bai Yan had deceived his father. Everything was for her father's good. Otherwise, with what her father had done, not to mention that her father would have agreed to King Jian of Qi's surrender to Qin, even if her father was still alive after the fall of Qi, with her father's reputation in Qi, Chu, Yan, and even Wei, he would have been a hidden danger to Qin and would have been eliminated by Qin.

Now my father can live safely in Xianyang, enjoying wealth and power. All this is due to Bai Yan's private request to Ying Zheng that day.

"Even if you're not used to it, does your father have to chase his only son-in-law with thorns in his hands?"

Tian Feiyan gave Bai Yan a cold look, then came behind Bai Yan and helped him put on the official uniform.

Bai Yan grinned.

inside the room.

As Tian Feiyan told the story, Bai Yan gradually learned what had happened since his father-in-law Tian Ding came to Xianyang City. When he learned that Tian Ding did not mind that he had secretly given Ying Zheng advice, Bai Yan could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

However, it is also possible that his father-in-law Tian Ding does not know what the Enfeoffment Order is!

"I'll be there in a minute!"

Bai Yan said.

When Bai Junzhu saw Tian Feiyan finish speaking, her beautiful eyes struggled for a while, but she still looked at Bai Yan guiltily, and began to tell Bai Yan the thoughts of her grandfather, uncle, and the entire Bai family.

"Do you often hang out with clan members?"

After hearing what Bai Yan said, he did not feel the slightest bit dissatisfied with Bai Junzhu because of Bai's actions. There were some things that Bai Junzhu, as a girl, had no right to participate in, let alone make decisions.

Moreover, Bai's actions actually helped Bai Yan to appease his clan members and the forces behind many young masters.

"In the Bai family, Sister Junzhu's father has always been speaking for you..."

Tian Feiyan saw Bai Junzhu lowering his head slightly, and looked at Bai Yan who looked thoughtful. She then defended Bai Junzhu and told Bai Yan what had happened and what Bai Yan had said and done all along.

Bai Yan looked at Bai Junzhu with some surprise.

However, Bai Junzhu looked at Tian Feiyan with gratitude.

In Xianyang City.

In the Lu Mansion, upon learning that Bai Yan had returned to Xianyang, Lu Qi, who was in the study enjoying the service of several beautiful concubines, struggled to get up with his fat body. Finally, with the help of the beautiful concubines, he was able to put on his boots.

As Lu Qi ran out of the study, the hat on his head swayed from side to side.

At the beginning, Lu Qi risked his life to raise grain for the Qin army in Qi and squandered his family wealth. After the Qin army conquered Chu, Ying Zheng did not treat Lu Qi unfairly. Not only did he compensate Lu Qi for his losses, he also granted Lu Qi the status of a guest official.

When a minister was a guest minister, he could present a letter to the royal palace. For example, when Li Si was a guest minister, he presented a letter to Emperor Ying Zheng. The famous "Remonstrance against Expelling Foreigners" came from this.

In some special cases, guest officials were not limited to people from other countries, sometimes people from the country could also be granted this position. More than a hundred years ago, the position of guest officials was second only to the prime minister, and they held important positions in the court, such as military and diplomatic affairs, and were sometimes given certain real power. It was not until the reign of King Zhaoxiang that the number of foreign relatives and guest officials increased, and the real power was taken back.

the other side.

In the Xianyang Palace, Ying Zheng, who had just left the court, knelt behind the wooden table, looking at the bamboo slips in his hands.

At this time, Meng Yi brought Wei Liao, Wang Wan, Li Si, Feng Quji and other Qin ministers to the study.

"Kings!"

"Kings!!"

Ying Kan spoke first, and other ministers also saluted Ying Zheng.

After the ceremony, looking at Ying Zheng, who was sitting behind the wooden table with an unhappy expression and slightly frowned, Ying Kan and Wang Wan couldn't help but look at each other. They both knew that Ying Zheng was upset because of the argument among the officials in the court.

The news submitted from various places showed that Qin officials in various places had been unable to control remote areas, and as they discussed solutions, the problem once again returned to the county system.

The Qin's establishment of counties and prefectures was disliked by the old tribes of the six states, who resisted openly and covertly.

"Your Majesty! Lord Wu Lie has returned to Xianyang!"

Han Yezhe hurried to the study, came in front of Ying Zheng, bowed his head and saluted.

In the study, upon hearing Han Yezhe's report, Ying Zheng, who was sitting behind the wooden table, instantly put down the bamboo slips in his hand.

"Bai Yan!"

When Ying Zheng thought that Bai Yan had finally returned to Xianyang, his originally gloomy expression finally brightened a little, and even his gaze was no longer as captivating as before.

"Summon Bai Yan to the palace!"

Ying Zheng gave instructions to Han Yezhe.

When they heard the news that Bai Yan had returned to Xianyang, not to mention Ying Kan, Wang Wan, Wei Liao, Feng Quji and others, even Li Si's eyes flickered for a moment, but fortunately his expression did not reveal anything. However, when he suddenly noticed Ying Zheng's expression, Li Si could not help but feel a little confused.

Previously, Li Si had always speculated that Ying Zheng urgently summoned Bai Yan because Yunyang Jun went to Qi to contact Bai Yan, which made Ying Zheng unhappy. Therefore, he used the excuse of sacrifice to transfer Bai Yan back to Xianyang, thereby depriving Bai Yan of his military power.

But at this moment, Li Si felt a little confused when he suddenly saw Ying Zheng's fleeting expression.

Logically, if Ying Zheng wanted to remove Bai Yan's military power, he would not have mentioned Bai Yan, but showing that kind of look would be...

strangeness! ! !

But before Li Si could think about it, he noticed the glances from Ying Kan and Wang Wan. In an instant, Li Si couldn't help but sigh with melancholy, his face full of gloom.

Fortunately, Li Si received the news that Bai Yan returned to Xianyang and concealed his whereabouts and had no contact with any relatives, which made Li Si feel relieved.

Obviously, although Bai Yan did not want to offend everyone, privately, he did not want to displease Ying Zheng!

........................

Inside Tian Mansion.

Tian Ding was drinking tea with two Qin officials under the pavilion. Wei Gaoyi and Yan Zhang also came with the two officials.

"Ying Zheng has been reluctant to enfeoff for a long time, fearing that his ambition is to stay in the counties! I heard that Lord Mao has already thought about retiring..."

Wei Gaoyi drank tea and spoke to Tian Ding out of the corner of his eye.

"Since the Zhou Dynasty, the world has been divided into fiefdoms for 800 years. This is the will of the people. It is a pipe dream for Ying Zheng to want to rule the world by himself. Look at the number of Qin royal family members and meritorious officials in the court and the public. Does Ying Zheng want to lose the support of the people? Isn't he afraid of being betrayed by his own people?"

Yan Zhang slammed the wooden table and roared indignantly, as if he couldn't wait to see Ying Zheng lose everyone's hearts.

"No reward for meritorious service..."

Yan Zhang wanted to say something but was stopped by Wei Gaoyi.

"Yanzhang!"

Wei Gaoyi put down the teacup and saw Yan Zhang sitting down with an angry look on his face. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Lord Tian, ​​we have known each other for many years. Today, I will not hide the truth from you. We all support the enfeoffment. In the past, the Princess of Wei gave birth to a son for Ying Zheng, who is the Prince of Qin. Although Wei was destroyed, Ying Zheng's enfeoffment also fulfilled the long-cherished wish of us, the Wei clan. Ying Zheng is still the common ruler of the world!"

Wei Gaoyi said to Tian Ding.

After he finished speaking, the two Qin officials standing by nodded one after another. They also agreed with Wei Gaoyi's words.

Under the pavilion.

Tian Ding was drinking tea from a porcelain cup and was not in a hurry to speak. This was not the first time Wei Gaoyi had come to his house to talk about this matter. Tian Ding knew exactly what Wei Gaoyi was planning.

At present, although countless forces are promoting feudal fiefdom, Tian Ding is not in a hurry to express his position.

Thinking back to what his son-in-law Bai Yan had done in the past, Tian Ding had to meet his son-in-law before he could decide.

"Sir, Lord Wu Lie and his wife have arrived outside the mansion and brought a load of valuables and silk!"

Wei Gaoyi was about to say something when a servant came hurriedly and reported to Tian Ding.

Hearing this, Wei Gaoyi and Yan Zhang immediately stood up, looked at each other with joy, excitement in their eyes, and then looked at Tian Ding.

"Congratulations, Sir Tian, ​​your son-in-law, Lord Wu Lie, has returned. Sir Tian will have nothing to worry about in Xianyang in the future!"

Wei Gaoyi said with a cupped hand.

Yan Zhang also smiled and bowed. When he thought about how Bai Yan was friendly and approachable when he first met him in Daliang, Yan Zhang was as excited as anyone else to hear that Bai Yan had returned to Xianyang.

"Go and see!"

When Tian Ding learned that his son-in-law Bai Yan had arrived, he couldn't help showing excitement on his face. With a slight smile, looking at Wei Gaoyi and others who were very excited, Tian Ding stood up and motioned for them to go outside to take a look.

Outside the mansion.

Bai Yan watched the servants moving wooden boxes back and forth into the mansion, and couldn't help but look at Tian Feiyan beside him.

"If you still have a conscience..."

When Tian Feiyan saw Bai Yan's gaze, she glared at Bai Yan with her beautiful eyes, then turned to look at the busy servants and ignored Bai Yan. But when Bai Yan couldn't see, Tian Feiyan couldn't hide a hint of joy and satisfaction in her eyes.

Bai Yan looked at Tian Feiyan muttering to herself and smiled. Having known each other for many years, he was already used to Tian Feiyan's duplicity.

(End of this chapter)