The Lesser-known Stories of the Emperors - The Mystery of Emperor Qin Shihuang's birth

Compiled from Secrets of the Chinese Palace

        In 267 BC, Crown Prince An of Qin had a discussion with his consort, Lady Huayang. He was seeking her opinion on who should succeed him, as his father was old and sickly. So, it was a matter of time before he succeeded the throne. She suggested that he picked one of his 20 sons. He agreed and left it to her to decide who should be the new Crown Prince.

        At that time, it was a practice for the rulers of the various states to exchange sons as a show of goodwill. Zichu, the son of Crown Prince An’s concubine, Xia Ji, was one of those sent to live in Zhao. Lu Buwei, a wealthy merchant from Wei, befriended Zichu during a business trip to Zhao and brought up the succession issue with Zichu. Zichu responded by saying that he was the least favourite amongst the sons. As such, he didn’t have much hope of being selected as the new Crown Prince.

        Lu Buwei was interested in politics, as he felt that it was way better than doing business. So, he agreed to help Zichu become the new Crown Prince upon his return to Qin. A delighted Zichu promised to reward Lu Buwei if he became the next Crown Prince. Lu Buwei gave Zichu gave some money to Zichu and instructed him to use it to build up his connections in Zhao for it may play to his advantage when he returned to Qin.

        Lu Buwei later paid a visit to Lady Huayang’s sister and presented her with a present which was supposedly from Zichu. She was touched by the gesture. He went on to mention that Zichu was a bright, young man with good intentions and that he missed His Highness and Lady Huayang very much. When Lady Huayang next saw her sister, she was full of praise for Zichu and suggested that Huayang make him her heir (since she was childless). She added that by doing so, Huayang would have someone to rely on when His Highness was no longer around. Huayang thought her sister had made a good point and suggested Crown Prince An make Zichu his heir.

        When Lu Buwei learnt that Zichu was attracted to his concubine, Zhao Ji, he readily agreed to let Zichu have her. Zichu happily thanked him and promised to make her his first wife. Shortly after Zhao Ji married Zichu, she gave birth to a son. They named him Ying Zheng. In 251 BC, King Zhao died and was succeeded by Crown Prince An, who took the title King Xiaowen. When Zichu succeeded King Xiaowen upon his death and became King Zhuangxiang, he made Zhao Ji his consort and Lu Buwei, the Prime Minister.

        In 247 BC, King Zhuangxiang died after ruling for a mere 3 years. He was succeeded by his 13 year old son, Ying Zheng, who was to become the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuang. His mother, Zhao Ji, was known as the Empress Dowager. Lu Buwei became the Regent. At that time, the Empress Dowager was secretly sleeping with Lu Buwei. Fearing that the emperor would find out, Lu Buwei secretly arranged for a commoner by the name of Lao Zi to impersonate a eunuch and sent him to serve the Empress Dowager.

        When the Empress Dowager became pregnant with Lao Zi’s unborn child, the couple plotted to leave the palace so that they can far away from the emperor. When she told the emperor that she wanted to move to somewhere quiet, he suggested that she stayed at the palace in Yongcheng 200 li from the emperor’s palace. She happily agreed and left with Lao Zi. Little did they know that the emperor had found out about his mother’s relationship with Lu Buwei and wanted her as far away from Lu Buwei.

        The couple had two sons within two years. Lao Zi suggested making one of their sons the new emperor once Ying Zheng had died. The Empress Dowager liked the idea as that would mean she could finally marry Lao Zi. When the emperor paid a visit to his mother, she mentioned that Lao Ai had been taking very good care of her, and as such should be rewarded. The emperor agreed and made him a duke.

        It wasn’t long before both Lao Zi and Lu Buwei became rivals. In 236 BC, the emperor turned 24. Despite having ruled for two years, the emperor was still powerless as both Lao Zi and Lu Buwei were the ones who held reins of power. He finally decided to get rid of them and ordered Lao Zi and his supporters to be arrested. When Lao Zi learnt about this, he panicked. He quickly instructed his general to send soldiers to the palace on the pretext that a burglar had broken into the palace, and use the mayhem to kill the emperor.

        When the soldiers surrounded the palace, the emperor informed them that duke was the burglar and offered a reward for his capture. Lao Zi was eventually arrested and his two sons killed. After being subjected to torture, the emperor finally got a written confession from Lao Zi. In his confession letter, he stated that Lu Buwei was the emperor’s biological father and that it was Lu Buwei who introduced him to the Empress Dowager. Lu Buwei was immediately stripped of his post and sent back to his hometown. Upon returning to his hometown, Lu Buwei committed suicide by poisoning himself.

        The emperor considered putting the Empress Dowager in isolation for the rest of her life. However, since she was his mother, he decided to let her return to the palace.