Chapter 8, The Death of Qin Shi Huang (Excrement)
"No, no, Fu Su absolutely cannot become emperor. Alas, it seems that Zhao Gao's historical task must be completed by me." Zhou Tian sighed, realizing that forging an imperial edict was unavoidable. However, since Qin Shi Huang's words were left unfinished, perhaps Fu Su would interject a couple of phrases, followed by a turning point. My high school homeroom teacher loved to do such things.
"What kind of edict are you issuing at this time? Changing the foot binding cloth is what truly matters. Although Zhou Tian silently cursed in his heart, he still responded accordingly with his words
Seeing the state of Qin Shi Huang, Zhou Tian felt that something was amiss. He stepped forward to check his breath and discovered that Qin Shi Huang had indeed passed away. The notion that Qin Shi Huang died while defecating is hard to believe; perhaps some would accept it, but the historians would certainly not dare to record it.
"Good, good." Zhou Tian quickly stepped into the carriage, only to see that Qin Shi Huang was currently hunched over the table, groaning. It seemed that this bout of diarrhea had severely afflicted Qin Shi Huang.
After rewriting a decree, Zhou Tian sent someone to summon Hu Hai. Of course, before Hu Hai arrived, Zhou Tian had already changed Qin Shi Huang into a new set of clothes. Although Qin Shi Huang was already dead, he was still an emperor, and it was important to present him cleanly in death, just as in life. Zhou Tian naturally kept the foot wrappings that had been removed, but the odor from those wrappings was quite strong. Even with a stuffy nose, Zhou Tian found it somewhat suffocating. He rummaged through the carriage and finally found a small box to store Qin Shi Huang's foot wrappings. Fortunately, the box was well-sealed; otherwise, carrying those wrappings would have been akin to transporting a biological weapon.
What should I do? On Sunday, looking at the fact that seven-eighths of the deaths were caused by Qin Shi Huang himself, I felt a mix of emotions. With Qin Shi Huang's death and the crown prince yet to be established, the world is bound to fall into chaos, and who knows what might happen in such turmoil. Although I possess the imperial edict from Qin Shi Huang, the person he intended to appoint was Fusu, and I am not on good terms with him. Even if Fusu is benevolent, he is unlikely to show me mercy in this situation, as I am his political enemy! Moreover, Fusu has two military generals, Meng Tian and Meng Yi, on his side. Everyone knows that military generals are unreasonable; with a new emperor backing them, they will certainly take action against me. By the time I reach Xianyang Palace, I will definitely be unable to enter, and I might even end up being buried alongside Qin Shi Huang.
Although he was scolded thoroughly, he finally waited for the moment when Qin Shi Huang changed his foot bindings. Many of the palace maids who changed Qin Shi Huang's foot bindings were his trusted confidants. As soon as Qin Shi Huang changed his foot bindings, the bindings would naturally be placed in their hands at the first opportunity (truly disgusting)
Although Hu Hai is foolish, he is not stupid and naturally understands Zhou Tian's intention, quickly jumping onto the carriage
His Majesty called for me? Zhou Tian sent someone to summon Hu Hai, naturally doing so in the name of Qin Shi Huang; otherwise, given Hu Hai's temperament, he would not have come so quickly
Fortunately, Zhao Gao was the favored minister of Emperor Qin Shi Huang; otherwise, based solely on this incident, Zhou Tian could have died once or twice.
I wish to issue an edict. The First Emperor of Qin managed to utter a few words with great effort. (It is likely that the First Emperor of Qin was somewhat hesitant to exert himself, otherwise those below would have spoken first)
I decree that the situation is dire, yet I have not established an heir apparent. Now, Prince Fusu is intelligent and wise, possessing the qualities of an emperor
Father, what is this?" Hu Hai looked at the motionless Qin Shi Huang and said in surprise
What? Zhou Tian was taken aback, having not heard clearly what Qin Shi Huang had said
"Rise... rise to the edict." In this matter, Qin Shi Huang was clearly even weaker than before, and his speech was somewhat intermittent.
"Your Majesty, whatever you say will suffice; I will remember it, no need to wait for me... Is that really so?" Zhou Tian, hearing Qin Shi Huang suddenly pause, initially thought he was worried about not being able to remember. However, upon looking up, he discovered that at this moment, Qin Shi Huang's face had turned ashen, essentially gasping for breath.
"My condolences, young master." Seeing Hu Hai in such a state, Zhou Tian suddenly felt a wave of emotion: Who says that the royal family is heartless? Our little Hu Hai has shown us what deep father-son affection truly means
At this moment, Zhou Tian's first reaction was naturally to quickly remove the foot-binding cloth of Qin Shi Huang and then ride away on horseback. However, upon further reflection, if he were to do so, others would certainly think that Qin Shi Huang's death was related to him (although that is indeed the case). Whether he could escape was one thing, but whether he could even enter the palace gates was another issue. It should be noted that although he could ride a horse, his skills were limited to merely "being able to," which was incomparable to those couriers who ran long distances every day. It is estimated that before he could even cover half the distance, the entire Xianyang would already know that "Zhao Gao conspired to harm the emperor and fled in fear of punishment."
Zhou Tian's failure lies in his impatience, neglecting the issue of the leader's face. Just think about it, which leader would like others to see them in a compromising situation? This is simply too damaging to their image
Zhou Tian picked up the silk and brush from the table, striking a pose in a pretentious manner, "Who can tell me how to write an edict!"
"Your Majesty, you summoned me." Zhou Tian stepped forward and observed closely, discovering that Qin Shi Huang had not yet changed his foot bindings. Could it be that Qin Shi Huang had a particular fondness for this?
As the saying goes, heaven does not disappoint those who are determined, and even an iron pestle can be ground down to a needle. Is this phrase appropriate here? On that pitch-black night, Qin Shi Huang finally lost the race against feces. In the moment between pulling up his pants and taking them off, he hesitated. The once resolute Qin Shi Huang actually hesitated, and the result of this hesitation was that Qin Shi Huang soiled his pants
What an exhilarating piece of news! In contrast to the indecisiveness of Qin Shi Huang, Zhou Tian appears much more resolute. The moment an anomaly was detected, Zhou Tian charged into Qin Shi Huang's carriage like a bullet leaving the chamber
Therefore, rolling up the foot binding cloth and escaping through m.hetushu.com is no longer a viable option
"Yes, Your Majesty is looking for the young master to discuss an important matter." Zhou Tian gave Hu Hai a glance, urging him to get into the carriage quickly
"What! Father has already ... ... ." Hu Hai's voice trembled slightly, clearly indicating his profound shock at the death of Qin Shi Huang
"Master Zhou, please hurry, the Emperor is getting anxious," the palace maid urged, observing Zhou Tian's inappropriate daze.
You didn't notice that your father is dead. Of course, Zhou Tian couldn't say it like that, but the meaning is quite similar
"Lord Zhao, Lord Zhao, the Emperor requests your presence." Just as Zhou Tian was fantasizing about leaving this dreadful place with the foot-binding cloth in hand, a palace maid suddenly leaned out of the carriage, urgently calling for him.
Facing the rather awkward Qin Shi Huang, Zhou Tian remained composed, smiled gently at the emperor, and said with deep affection: "Your Majesty, shall we change the foot binding cloth?"
"Let me in?" Zhou Tianyi was taken aback. Could it be that he wants to personally bestow upon me the foot-binding cloth? This is clearly a bit far-fetched
Emperor Qin Shi Huang looked at his loyal minister, who had rushed to the carriage at the first opportunity, and felt a surge of emotions. He squinted his eyes, gathered his energy, and smiled at Zhou Tian, saying: "Get out of my sight!"