('After saying this, Ying Zheng ignored the commotion of the officials, but looked at Xiaodouzi and said, "Prepare the incense burner."
"Slave, I obey." Xiaodouzi hurriedly kowtowed, then stood up and quickly disappeared into the hall. After a while, he led two young eunuchs up to the hall carrying a table with a bronze incense burner on the table.
A stick of sandalwood is emitting green smoke.
The incense table was placed in front of the officials, like a reminder, reminding them all the time.
"Xiaodouzi." Ying Zheng called out again when he saw that the incense table was ready and the position was very much in line with his wishes.
"My slave is here." Xiaodouzi responded hastily.
"Prepare a huge cauldron, fill it with oil, and light the fire to cook the cauldron. The oil will boil." Ying Zheng said with a very cold voice and cold eyes.
Xiaodouzi shuddered, not daring to hesitate, and said hurriedly: "I obey the order."
Ying Zheng's words were like flying knives, piercing into the hearts of all the officials, beating their hearts every word.
"Censor Feng Jie." Ying Zheng shouted directly.
A middle-aged minister behind Li Si stood up, bowed his head to Ying Zheng and said, "Your Majesty... I am..." But his voice was trembling, his face was very pale, and he did not dare to look up at Ying Zheng.
"You are the head of the admonishing officials, and you have the important responsibility of supervising all the officials of the Qin Dynasty. What do you have to say?" Ying Zheng said in a very calm tone.
"I...I will give you evidence, Your Majesty." A trace of sweat fell from Feng Jie's forehead from his pale face, and his hands clasped together on his chest trembled slightly.
"Say." Ying Zheng's voice was still very calm.
"Yu Shi Zhongcheng, Fan Li." Feng Jie was mentally exhausted and frightened at this moment, so he hurriedly said a name.
"Your Majesty, Dr. Feng Jie, the imperial censor, is slandering others. I am wronged, and I am willing to give evidence." Behind Li Si, another civil servant stood up, bowed to Ying Zheng, and then glared at Feng Jie, with a look of anger on his face.
"Oh? Who are you giving evidence for?" A sneer appeared on Ying Zheng's face, but his heart felt a little sad and filled with emotion. Is this human nature?
"I give evidence that Feng Jie, the imperial censor, once bribed the second young master with ten thousand taels of gold and ten boxes of jewels." Fan Li, the censor's chief minister, said not to be outdone.
"Fan Li, you also accepted Zhao Gao's benefits, so don't slander anyone." Feng Jie, the imperial censor, immediately counterattacked.
"Shut up." Ying Zheng frowned slightly when he saw the two arguing with each other.
"I am guilty." The two of them were suddenly shocked and said in unison.
"Huh, here we come, take these two down, strip them of their official uniforms, and put them in jail pending trial." After Ying Zheng finished speaking, he waved his hand.
The four guards skillfully took off the official uniforms of the two men, and then drove the two men out of the hall like they were carrying chickens.
"The incense has been extinguished. Since you are unwilling to plead guilty, once the matter is investigated and found to be true, it will be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the Qin Dynasty and will not be tolerated." Ying Zheng snorted coldly, then looked at the official who had fainted on the ground and said to the guards;
"Take this person off his official uniform and put him in jail pending trial."
Soon, two more soldiers stripped the unconscious official of his clothes and carried him out of the Qin Emperor's Palace.
"Li Changqing." Ying Zheng shouted again.
"I'm here." Li Changqing stood up with a calm expression. There was no trace of fear on his face, but he was very respectful.
"I will appoint you as a censor to supervise all officials. Are you confident that you can do a good job?" Ying Zheng looked at him and asked directly.
"My minister, Li Changqing, will definitely live up to your majesty's great trust and die in a mess." Li Changqing was neither humble nor arrogant, and said very proudly.
"Okay, I will appoint you as the new imperial censor, ranking among the nine ministers." Ying Zheng nodded appreciatively, and then continued; "This case of Zhao Gao's gang members will be left to you with full authority to handle the investigation. I only want the results.
, do you understand?”
"My lord, thank you for your grace." Li Changqing knelt down and bowed three times, then raised his head and raised his hands to Ying Zheng and said, "My lord, I understand that I must live up to your majesty's high expectations, but I have a request, and I hope your majesty will grant it."
"Oh? Negotiate terms with me?" Ying Zheng felt very interesting. This Li Changqing was really different. All the civil and military officials were cold and frightened in front of him. Even Li Si was also afraid and cautious.
"I don't dare, my Majesty, but your Majesty won't allow it. Your Majesty, my status is too low to convince everyone." Li Changqing still went his own way and said without any scruples.
Ying Zheng understood what he meant. After thinking for a moment, he still pretended to be confused and said, "What do you want?"
"I'm not asking for power, but I'm asking for a letter from His Majesty," Li Changqing said vaguely.
"Okay, but now that I have said something ugly, what should I do if the investigation proves fruitless?" Ying Zhengyi pointed out.
"There is an oil cauldron outside the palace, I'm going to go!" Li Changqing said firmly, without any fear on his face, as if he would say something trivial.
"Well, you are very courageous, but I don't know if you are smart enough." Ying Zheng nodded, and then said, "Stay back!"
"Your Majesty, I obey." Li Changqing thanked him and slowly returned to his original position.
"You all get up!" Ying Zheng glanced at the officials who were still kneeling on the ground and said calmly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The officials suddenly felt as if they were receiving a general amnesty, and they hurriedly thanked him. Then they returned to their original positions and stood quietly, still with lingering fears.
"Li Si." Ying Zheng looked at Li Si again and shouted.
"I'm here." Li Si came out again and paid his respects.
"Take the second young master Hu Hai." Ying Zheng frowned, his tone a little unnatural.
"I obey." Li Si bowed, then slowly stepped back a few steps, then turned around, walked straight to the door, and quickly disappeared outside the hall.
Ying Zheng waited patiently. He had a very complicated heart towards Hu Hai. Historically, he hated Hu Hai very much, but in the memory of the First Emperor, he loved Hu Hai very much. It was not because he was the youngest son, but because Hu Hai had been extremely smart since he was a child.
, and he was studious, cunning as a fox, forbearing, ruthless, and regal, and the First Emperor liked him very much.
But he had a strong mind but lacked the overall situation. When choosing his successor, the First Emperor was always hesitating between Fusu and Hu Hai, because both of them had different imperial qualities. On this tour, I brought Hu Hai with me because I wanted to inspect Hu Hai for the last time.
After a while, Li Si ran up to the hall in panic, but he did not see Hu Hai.
"Your Majesty." Li Si's tone was a little nervous and his expression was very unnatural.
"What's the matter? Where is the second young master?" Ying Zheng raised his eyebrows and said a little unhappy.
There was fear on Li Si's face and he opened his mouth, but he didn't know how to speak. It seemed very difficult to speak.
"I, what's your question?" Ying Zheng reminded angrily.
"Your Majesty, Li Si is guilty, please punish me." Li Si was startled by Ying Zheng's angry tone and hurriedly apologized.
"What's the crime?" Ying Zheng suppressed his inner displeasure and asked calmly. From the moment he saw Li Si entering the palace alone, he had a suspicion in his mind.
Li Si knelt down and said, "Second Young Master...Second Young Master, he..." He really didn't know how to explain, and for a moment he didn't know how to speak.
"How is he? It's okay to speak frankly." Ying Zheng sighed. He didn't know why he sighed. Was it a pity? He felt a little self-deprecating in his heart.