It is said that Qin Shihuang was controlled by a daughter

The charcoal fire in the Prime Minister's Mansion burned very brightly, blocking out all the wind and snow.

"General Meng entrusted the important battle to the young general. The young general is truly a genius. He went from a long period of unresolved negotiations to a resounding victory in just five days."

Guests chatted among themselves, a welcoming banquet was set, but the host never showed up. After repeated urging, a general hurried inside. The snow on his clothes melted away as he entered. "Prime Minister, the general is still on his way. Perhaps the strong wind and snow have delayed him," said Deputy General Liu Feng, clasping his fists.

Most of those present knew that the Li and Meng families had been at odds since the conquest of the Six Kingdoms. Li Zuoche, nominally Li Si's youngest son, must have endured hardships during his years under Meng Tian's command. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been away for four years, not even returning home for such a major event as his eldest brother's wedding.

A trusted official said, "During the court meeting, Prince Jia died suddenly in Mount Li, and his coffin was sent back to Handan. The young general wouldn't..."

Li Si raised his hand and the official immediately stopped talking.

Liu Feng presented something: a large mink fur in a sandalwood carved box.

"Last year, the general hunted a large marten on the snowy plains. It is incredibly effective in keeping out the cold. The snow is heavy in Xianyang, and the general is concerned about the Prime Minister's well-being, so he has ordered me to come here at full speed."

In the past, King Wuling of Zhao wore Hu clothing, rode and shot, and used a sable tail as a crown ornament. King Huiwen of Zhao also wore this kind of sable when attending court.

Sable ornaments were a favorite of the nobles of the State of Zhao.

And looking at its stone-blue color and bright fur, it is clear that it is extremely valuable. Even the royal family and nobles could not get such a precious thing.

In his early years, Li Si knelt and got wet in the rain because of Han Fei, and was even stabbed. In addition, he had never practiced martial arts, so once he was older, he would easily suffer from cold fear.

Sometimes, Li Si felt that his biological son did not care about him as much as this adopted son.

He hadn't thought about Wang Wan for a long time.

Wang Wan died too young, but at this moment, he suddenly thought of him. —Keqing, you are thinking about the king, but you still have to think about your two sons.

At that time, he thought Wang Wan was Cai Ze's lobbyist.

Only in his later years did he realize what it felt like to be coldly connected to his family. Perhaps because he already had wealth and power, he wanted more...

Keeping plans within oneself and holding people accountable for their actions is the proper way for an official to act.

Is it too much?

Li Si did not reveal any attitude, but he could not help but glance at the mink and said, "It's rare that Chengyuan is so thoughtful."

Chengyuan was Li Zuoche's courtesy name. Because of the Qin Dynasty's law, those who had not yet reached adulthood could not be granted official positions. In order to obtain a title earlier, Li Zuoche, who was precocious, was given a courtesy name in three years. Although he was far away in Shangjun, Li Si still followed the etiquette of the Li family's patriarchal family and gave him a courtesy name.

He did not disappoint him and Li Mu, nor did he let Li Si's recommendation two years ago go to waste.

As Yong'an said that day, he was promoted to the position of Zuo Shuchang.

The wind and snow were indeed strong. Li Zuoche held Zhao Jia's coffin and thought about many things.

He carried the jade pendant with the Li family emblem that came from Li Mu with him every day, hiding it in his robe.

People from Zhao and Qin.

There were too many things, too many things, which made his heart excited. However, all these complicated emotions disappeared in this lonely white place.

The pallbearers carried the coffin, and funeral music played, leaving the people on the road to Xianyang bewildered.

The Crown Prince of Zhao, the King of Dai, and General Zhao, now, there is no one to attend their funeral.

He threw away his spear and wanted to tie the white cloth around his forehead.

"General!" the deputy general hurriedly stopped him, "You absolutely cannot do this. If someone sees this, what will the Prime Minister do?"

Li Zuoche paused, then folded the cloth and said, "Okay, I'll tie it to the sword at my waist."

"General, please hurry. General Zhao's death is so confusing... I'm always worried about gossip. The Prime Minister has already hosted a banquet, and it might be bad for you to stay too long."

He waved his hand. "Father knows I chose this day to return, so I must do this." As he walked, he turned and looked deeply at the black coffin. "Besides, without the Emperor's approval, how could I even approach this funeral procession?"

The deputy general was a warrior and was unable to react for a moment. "...By the way, the mink fur you requested has already been sent to the Prime Minister's residence by Deputy General Liu. It will be in the Prime Minister's hands soon."

"Well done."

The deputy general called him again: "General," he said, pulling out a number of bamboo books from his sleeves, "General... Look, General Feng has also sent an invitation, and even General Yang Duanhe has sent people to question us..."

"Oh? So many people are looking forward to my visiting their house?" He always felt that someone was missing, but he couldn't ask.

The deputy general smiled and said, "Young General, you are a man of extraordinary talent and have made many remarkable achievements. We all admire you for reaching the position of Zuo Shuzhang. You also have such a distinguished family background. You will be very popular in Xianyang this time."

His father was the powerful prime minister of the court, and his two older brothers were both high-ranking officials, one a prefect and the other a censor.

How unrestrained, unrestrained and romantic.

Since the unification of the six kingdoms, the identity of Li Zuoche's biological father was no longer a secret in the inner court. Ying Zheng already admired Li Mu, and when he heard that Li Mu's grandson was still alive, he became even more eager to wait and see.

But Li Zuoche did not like the word "hot". He was admitted to the Mnemonics school at the age of four and experienced the disaster of genocide. He had seen the tragedy of a person being lifted up high and then brought down hard.

However, he was open-minded by nature, and after seeing the desert and plateau, he understood that pain was to remind people not to repeat the same mistakes, not to make people indulge in them.

Li accompanied Zhao Jia in a car for a while and sent him all the way to the west gate of Xianyang.

He did not come alone, but brought handwritten letters from some soldiers in Shangjun. Ruan Wengzhong and Liu Feng also wrote some eulogies for him...

He touched the cloth with the eulogy attached to it, recalling the night before Zhao Jia set off for Xianyang. Did he know then that returning to Xianyang might not be peaceful?
—I give you all the maps drawn by my mentor. Take them. We can't let all your Li family's possessions be destroyed in my hands. My brother, the prince, has wronged your father and grandfather. I, Qian, apologize to you.

"General Zhao, Chengyuan will take you here."

Li Zuoche looked at the dark blue sky in the distance, which was fading into the dusk. That was the distant homeland of Zhao. He turned around and took another look at Xianyang for Zhao Jia. "If you are still alive, please do not forget the promise you made to me on the day we wiped out the Xiongnu."

He seemed to see Zhao Jia galloping across the grassland under the huge red sun, and he said to him: My boy, your grandfather once told me that the stability of the world does not lie in the hands of any king, but in the hands of the military and civilians, who are the only place to return.

As dusk drifted by and the moon climbed up into the sky, Xianyang City returned to its former solemn darkness.

The banquet was also attended, but the deputy general saw that Li Zuoche had no intention of returning to the camp, "General, it's almost curfew, where are you going?"

He looked in the direction of a place adjacent to the Xianyang palace.

It is surrounded by fragrant trees and has waterside pavilions.

...Zhilan Palace.

"General, General Meng informed you of the incident at the Mount Li Palace before allowing you to return. The Emperor was furious, and Zhao Zhongfu was dismissed from office and sentenced to forced labor at the Mount Li Mausoleum. Tingwei Meng remains imprisoned. Princess Yong'an was implicated and now bears the brunt of the punishment." "Lord Li has been punished by the Prime Minister with family discipline... flogging, a severe punishment. Lord Li would certainly not want you to violate this taboo."

Li Zuoche pondered for a moment.

"My second brother once told me how to go to Zhilan Palace without leaving a trace. Don't worry," he smiled, his eyes showing complete calmness, but there was a hint of smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Perhaps this is exactly what my brother meant. Perhaps Her Highness the Princess is preparing a banquet for me."

The Li Zuoche who appeared in front of Xu Zhi again was no longer the little child who could only cry, nor was he the childish boy who practiced sword in the mansion.

Li Zuoche jumped into her plum garden which had been converted into trees, and at first she thought he was an assassin.

He made a sword flower and quietly moved away Shen Zhi's sword.

"Left car?"

If he hadn't seen those eyes and seen him take out the jade emblem with the black bird pattern, Xu Zhi would never have been able to combine memory with reality.

The lights are dim, and time always brings so many changes to people, which are both novel and seem expected.

"it's me."

Perhaps it was because the lights were off, or perhaps it was because the young man was impatient, but before she could speak, Li Zuoche saw an old item in the corner and took a few steps over.

It was an old rabbit lantern.

He thought, she really still missed Uncle Zhang Liang.

He put the lamp oil in, picked it up, dispelled some of the darkness, and walked naturally towards her.

He realized that he didn't need to look up at her anymore, so he lowered his head slightly and asked with concern, "Princess sister, how are you?"

Okay?

When asking this question, Li Zuoche's eyes were almost as bright as the moon.

Four years have passed...How is she?

Xu Zhi didn't know what to say, so he paused and said, "So the person Li Xian wanted to see was you."

"Second brother is wrong. I came to see the princess on my own."

He told me in detail what he had done when he came back.

"You don't doubt me about Zhao Jia's matter?"

"Princess sister, you are a very good person."

Xu Zhi was startled, "Zuo Che, you shouldn't come here at night. I'm still detained..."

"I know." He smiled. "Princess sister, I have grown up. Zuoche was my childhood name. Two years ago, my father gave me a courtesy name."

This child had cried in front of her many times, and she couldn't get used to seeing him pretending to be serious.

He shook his head again and shrugged slightly, "I've already been appointed Minister of the Left, but in the eyes of the princess, I'm still an ignorant child?"

Seeing that he was anxious, he even showed her the appointment documents.

She asked him to put it away and said with a smile, "That's not the case."

"Princess sister, if you call me Chengyuan, that would be wrong."

She didn't know where he had learned this way of speaking. It made her feel like she had seen him before.

She really didn't have the patience to coax the child, and was about to turn around when she saw his extremely lonely look.

Thinking that he was going to see Zhao Jia off today, he suddenly thought of Li Mu's entrusting his son to him many years ago, and also thought of Bai Qi...

"Chengyuan."

Cheng Yuan's voice was overheard by someone else. (End of Chapter)