Li Nian thanked and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty's grace!"
He also wanted to see what reactions Qin Shi Huang would have after learning about what Hu Hai and Zhao Gao did.
Li Nian said, "Before we proceed with the discussion, the common folk would like to ask Your Majesty a question: What do you think, Your Majesty, about which prince will inherit the great treasure and ascend the throne after your reign comes to an end?"
With this question, Meng Yi also gave it a side glance, thinking that the man really dared to speak out, as this question involved two possible taboos that might offend the monarch: one was discussing the death of the sovereign and the other was about the succession to the throne.
Is it normal for a subject to ask the ruler so directly?
He might feel overwhelmed by the family pedigree!
But the man came from a later era, asking this question must have its reason. According to the names he wrote before saying his origin, could it be that Prince Hu Hai eventually ascended the throne?
Upon thinking this, Meng Yi's heart tightened. The Meng clan had placed their bets on Prince Fu Su. Although the King had not officially appointed a successor, everyone knew that the King had a preference for Prince Fu Su.
If in the future, it was Prince Hu Hai who ascended to the throne, where would Prince Fu Su be? What would happen to the Meng clan?
He thought of the man pointing out specifically for him to deliver that bamboo script, Meng Yi had a bad guess in his heart...
Meng Yi could think of it, and Qin Shi Huang could too. "I'm not hiding anything from you," he said, "In my opinion, Prince Fu Su has the ability to inherit the great treasure."
Actually, Qin Shi Huang was not particularly satisfied with Fu Su, so he had not officially designated a successor for many years. Among the shorter sons, Fu Su was chosen as the heir because none of them were as capable as him. Therefore, it was almost certain that the throne would eventually be given to Fu Su.
This was Qin Shi Huang's true thoughts, but now hearing this man's intention, his thoughts should have failed and Hu Hai instead got the throne.
Li Nian said, "Many people thought so as well, but unfortunately, it was Prince Huai who ascended the throne!"
Qin Shi Huang furrowed his brow and said, "What you mean is that Huai used some means to ascend the throne? This also involves Zhao Gao, Li Si, and others?"
Li Nian nodded: "Yes! In the 35th year of Emperor Qin's reign, due to the king's mass execution of forbidden scholars, Prince Fu Su submitted an advice letter to the king, but it angered the king so much that he ordered Prince Fu Su to go to Shangjin Prefecture to supervise General Meng Tan and assist him in building the Great Wall of China against Huns."
Qin Shi Huang?
Qin Shi Huang noticed the word "Shi Huang" and immediately realized what it meant. This was a name given to him by later generations, or was it something he himself came up with?
Qin Shi Huang thought it might be himself. When he received news that Qi King Jian was being sent to Xianyang, he had wanted his achievements to surpass the Three Emperors and Five Emperors and give himself a higher title - Emperor!
Looking deeply at Li Nian, Qin Shi Huang became more convinced that Li Nian came from a later era. His desire to be called "Emperor" had not been shared with anyone else, and this person knew about it, which must mean they learned it from historical texts.
However, why did he kill those practitioners of magic?
He could see that sending Fu Su to Shangjin was both a punishment and a way for Fu Su to learn about military affairs, get closer to Meng Tan, and gain support from the Meng clan in preparation for his future as the heir.
At this point, Qin Shi Huang felt there was nothing wrong, and it shouldn't be wrong. So, where was the problem?
Only to hear Li Nian say again, "From the perspective of Your Majesty, this arrangement should be fine. Even if there are any problems, they should be nothing serious. However, this event caused one result - Prince Fu Su has become distant from you!"
"Your Majesty is the ruler of Qin. Although Prince Fu Su is a prince, his power actually comes from Your Majesty. By distancing himself from Your Majesty, he has also distanced himself from the core of power in Qin, giving others an opportunity."
Qin Shi Huang's eyes narrowed sharply. He roughly understood: as the source of Fu Su's power, he naturally had the authority to strip Fu Su of his princehood and power!
Usually, Fu Su and Qin Shi Huang were in Xianyang, and they were close by. If there were any issues, they could meet and communicate with each other. Other people naturally would not dare to harm Fu Su openly.
However, if Fu Su was far away from him, Qin Shi Huang and Fu Su could not communicate directly and in a timely manner. This gave others the opportunity to harm Fu Su, such as fabricating his orders to strip Fu Su of his princehood or even have Fu Su commit suicide.
Thinking of the latter point, even with his excellent ability to control his emotions, Qin Shi Huang couldn't help but look a bit stern. He was increasingly convinced that the latter possibility might come true: since Huai had conspired with Zhao Gao and Li Si to ascend the throne, they would undoubtedly find a way to remove Fu Su, who posed the biggest threat.
Anger surged from Qin Shi Huang's heart. It was both anger at the boldness of those people and at Fu Su's stupidity. Without thinking, he knew that those people must have fabricated his orders to have Fu Su commit suicide. Otherwise, relying on Meng Tan's large army in the north, even if Huai had already declared himself king, he could still knock Huai down.
And from the words of this person, Huai indeed ascended the throne without being obstructed by Fu Su. This could only mean one thing—Fu Su was dead!
"Foolish, pedantic, and loyal to the core. How could I have a son who is so foolish and obedient?"
Having guessed the whole story, Qin Shi Huang was not only angry at Fu Su's loyalty and filial piety, as he chose to die by suicide based on a forged order, but also somewhat relieved that Fu Su was so loyal and filial to him.
"In the 37th year of the First Emperor, Your Majesty once again toured the world. In July, when he was traveling to Shapou, he became seriously ill. He ordered his Chariot Officer Zhao Gao to write a testament addressed to Prince Fu Su, which stated that Prince Fu Su should return to Xianyang to handle the affairs of the deceased emperor and inherit the throne."
"According to some later sources, the testament was already sealed at that time, but it had not been sent out yet when Your Majesty unfortunately passed away."
"After Your Majesty's death, the Chariot Officer Zhao Gao, the Prime Minister Li Si, and Prince Huai, among others, felt that their chance had come. They believed that since Your Majesty had passed away and the testament he left behind had not been sent out yet, they could make changes to the testament."
"So, these few people altered Your Majesty's testament, making Prince Huai the prince-designate and simultaneously forging a testament for Prince Fu Su, accusing him and General Meng Tan of crimes. The forged testament ordered them to commit suicide!"
"With Your Majesty's talent, he should have been able to guess the outcome afterwards: Prince Fu Su and General Meng Tan committed suicide, and Prince Huai ascended the throne of the Emperor!"
Meng Yi listened with a racing heart. How could his brother Meng Tan die like this?
No, the death of his brother Meng Tan was just the beginning, and others in the Meng clan, including him, were likely to suffer as well.
"Why this man asked me to deliver that bamboo scroll, why he trusted me so much, not fearing that I might be on the side of Prince Huai...," Meng Yi thought to himself in the dark. Now he finally understood everything.
Since Fu Su is dead, the Meng clan that supported him would naturally be cleansed, and he himself had offended Zhao Gao. If Zhao Gao had the opportunity, he would certainly make him suffer grievously.
His fate was probably the same as his brother's——death!
Li Nian seemed disappointed. After he had spoken these things, Emperor Qin Shi Huang didn't lose his temper and immediately summoned Huai to give him a beating. But when he thought about it, it made sense. Who could prove that what he said was true?
What if Li Nian intentionally fabricated this accusation against Prince Huai, Zhao Gao, and Li Si?
It was normal for the Emperor to not immediately react, indicating that he was calm and rational and would not be easily swayed by someone's words!
