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After her husband died, Zhao Ji, a woman with an unstable foundation, wondered how to maintain control over the vast Qin State. She quickly turned to her old lover, Lü Buwei.
Through frequent contact, their old feelings reignited.
Every time Lü Buwei finished handling state affairs, he would go to the harem to be with the Empress Dowager. However, as Ying Zheng gradually grew up, he began to exhibit a mature and steady demeanor, along with great ambition and aspirations. He was steadily grasping power for himself, which made Lü Buwei start to feel anxious.
He was unwilling to see everything he had painstakingly built fall into the hands of a woman, so he sought out a peculiar man named Lao Ai. After removing his beard, he disguised him as a eunuch and presented him to Zhao Ji.
It is said that women are emotional beings. The young and beautiful Lao Ai became a special presence in Zhao Ji's life, possessing qualities that others could not reach. Thus, Zhao Ji found herself deeply ensnared in the whirlpool of love.
Before long, Zhao Ji became pregnant. The fact that a widowed empress dowager was expecting was undoubtedly a major scandal at the time, and Ying Zheng would surely not let them off the hook if he found out.
To cover it up, she invited a feng shui master for divination, who concluded that the palace's feng shui was unfavorable for her. She then moved to Yong Palace, located 20 miles northwest of Xianyang.
Not long after, Zhao Ji gave birth to a boy. The two became even more reckless there, resembling a married couple.
Three years later, they had another boy, all while Ying Zheng remained oblivious. Under Zhao Ji's direction, Lao Ai was granted the title of Changxin Marquis and given land in Shanyang, with thousands of servants in their household and visitors coming and going daily.
It was truly remarkable that a fake eunuch could rise to such heights.
However, unforeseen circumstances arose. In his moment of pride and forgetfulness, Lao Ai actually forgot his own surname and conspired with Zhao Ji to depose Ying Zheng and install his own biological son as king.
To everyone's astonishment, the love-struck Zhao Ji did not raise any objections.
In 238 BC, Qin Shi Huang arrived at Yongcheng to hold a coronation ceremony. Lao Ai took the opportunity to steal the Qin Wang's Imperial Seal and the Empress Dowager Seal, dispatching troops and the Guanzhong Guard to assassinate Qin Shi Huang.
Lao Ai, confident of success, was unaware that this moment had already been anticipated by Ying Zheng. As a result, the outcome was inevitable; this rebel force was defeated before they even left Xianyang City, slaughtered by the Imperial Guards.
After being captured, Lao Ai was executed by being torn apart, and his two sons with Zhao Ji were found and killed by being stuffed into bags and thrown to their deaths.
Qin Shi Huang then imprisoned his mother Zhao Ji in Yongcheng, severing their mother-son relationship and vowing never to meet again. Even after 27 people pleaded for Zhao Ji's mercy, they were all executed.
It was not until the 28th plea that King Qin managed to persuade Qin Shi Huang to bring his mother Zhao Ji back to the palace under the pretext of filial piety. Zhao Ji ultimately enjoyed her later years in peace, but she no longer experienced love and lost her bond with her son.
However, the instigator Lü Buwei did not escape punishment from Qin Shi Huang. He was first dismissed from his position and then received a letter from Ying Zheng that made him realize he would never be spared. Consequently, he committed suicide by poison.
Upon learning this, Zhao Ji became even more taciturn; all the men related to her had died, leaving her alone to live out her days in solitude.
In 228 BC, Zhao Ji passed away. Qin Shi Huang posthumously honored his mother as Empress Dowager and buried her alongside Zhuangxiang of Qin in Zhiyang.
However, with Zhao Ji's death, the story did not end but instead left an eternal mystery: who exactly was Qin Shi Huang's father?
According to the Records of the Grand Historian: "Qin Shi Huang is the son of Zhuangxiang of Qin. King Zhuangxiang was a hostage in Zhao and met Lü Buwei’s concubine, took a liking to her, and had Shi Huang. He was born in Handan in the first month of the 48th year of King Zhao. At birth, he was named Zheng and bore the surname Zhao."
Sima Qian recorded in the official account of the Qin Dynasty that Ying Zheng's father was Zhuangxiang of Qin Ying Zichu.
Crucially, he also noted in the Records of the Grand Historian: "Lü Buwei took beautiful dancers from Handan and knew one was pregnant. Zichu drank with Buwei and spoke with him about it; thus he proposed a toast. Lü Buwei became angry, thinking he had already ruined his family for Zichu and wanted to lure him into a trap; therefore he offered his concubine. The concubine hid her pregnancy until it was time to give birth to a son named Zheng. Zichu then made her his wife."
This tells the story of Lü Buwei sending the pregnant Zhao Ji to Zichu, making Zhao Ji Zichu's wife, and later giving birth to Qin Shi Huang.
These two accounts have led to a long-standing controversy in history, with different interpretations in the Records of the Grand Historian adding complexity to this mystery.
Although the Records of the Grand Historian provide two different narratives, modern scholars generally lean towards the belief that Qin Shi Huang is the son of Zhuangxiang of Qin, rather than Lü Buwei.
However, this conclusion is not without dispute and still leaves ample room for discussion and questioning.
So who do you think is the biological father of Qin Shi Huang?
Throughout history, Zhao Ji has been harshly criticized for her promiscuity, but she was merely an ordinary woman in chaotic times. Because of her beauty, she was constantly passed around.
She was unable to refuse and became part of a conspiracy.
Lü Buwei first sent her away to ensnare Zichu, then used her position as the mother of the emperor to become Qin Shi Huang's uncle by marriage, ultimately abandoning her in search of his own escape.
Unlike Empress Dowager Xuan or Mi Bazi, she lacked political ambition and only pursued love with a romantic mindset.
Yet fate repeatedly thrust her into the whirlpool of intrigue.
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