It is said that Qin Shihuang was controlled by a daughter

In the fifth year of the First Emperor's reign, 700,000 laborers were mobilized from Mount Li to build the imperial mausoleum.

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Xu Zhi came out from the back alley where she originally entered the mansion.

Ying Zheng did not indicate that she would be released from confinement immediately.

She was about to ask Ah Zhi to help her open the back of the carriage when she suddenly heard a commotion three or four meters away, along with the voices of guards.

"What happened?"

"This humble servant will go and check immediately. Your Highness, please get into the carriage."

Ying Hehua had survived countless assassination attempts, and Qin Wei stood guard around her, completely surrounding her.

Because it was broad daylight and precautions had been taken beforehand, there was practically no one on Zhengyang Street.

The sudden noise surprised Xu Zhi.

After a while, the guard returned and spoke a few words to Shen Zhi with a solemn expression.

It's a very simple matter: the people of the six states who couldn't bear the forced labor.

Shen Zhi assumed Ying Hehua wouldn't care about such a trivial matter. After all, she was currently in a precarious situation herself. Regaining the trust of Li Si and other court officials, winning back Ying Zheng's favor, leaving Zhilan Palace, and returning to Fuqiu Palace were her immediate priorities.

Therefore, when Shen Zhili recounted the events to Ying Hehua from under the car, her tone was very calm.

But Ying Hehua's reaction exceeded her expectations.

"Have someone bring that person over."

But those words came from behind the heavy red and black cloud-patterned curtain.

"Your Highness?" Shen Zhi asked in confusion, "Didn't Your Highness say that the most urgent task was to write to His Majesty to inquire about the Prime Minister's proposal?"

"Let Chen Ping investigate Li Si's suggestion before making any further plans."

Shen Zhi nodded.

Xu Zhi glanced at the Xianyang official standing beside the car and paused for a moment. "He's already come this far, do you want him to continue walking?"

“You’re right. Quickly, bring them here.” The official who had accompanied them immediately raised his voice.

Shen Zhi lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, and the official then realized it was Princess Yong'an, instantly becoming apprehensive.

If something like this happens in the capital region and reaches the emperor's ears, he'll be beheaded.

"...This humble official's negligence has alarmed Her Highness the Princess; this humble official deserves to die..."

As he spoke, a very young man followed behind the guard and knelt down outside the car with a thud.

He was very thin, his body was dirty, his hair was messy, and he was dressed in thin clothes, so he couldn't stop shivering.

The official said, "Your Highness, this man claims to be a citizen of Wei, now under the jurisdiction of our Great Qin, and has a dispute with us over the matter of corvée labor. But in my opinion, that is not entirely true."

Xu Zhi raised her hand to stop him from speaking, and the more she looked at the person on the ground, the more she felt that something was wrong.

"Let him explain first. How did he get here? What complaint does he want to file?"

He Lou couldn't recognize whose carriage it was. Forced to this point, he had traveled fifty miles to Xianyang, hoping for a sliver of hope.

How did he get here?

It's quite a legend, really.

He told the whole truth.

He was carrying a bamboo tube he had found on the road, which contained a person's identity document. Because of this, some people on the road mistook him for a nobleman, while others mistook him for a member of the Qin State Secret Service. Surprisingly, the officials along the way did not stop him.

He Lou traveled all the way from remote counties and townships to Xianyang, but when he arrived in Hanzhong, the document became unusable. A village head named Liu Bang was shouting that he wanted to arrest him.

He ran very fast, but his business couldn't wait.

Despite repeated inquiries, no one in Xianyang dared to take charge of the matter.

This opportunity was hard-won. He had finally found out that the person in charge of this matter in Xianyang was not Zhao Gao, the Chief of the Imperial Carriage Office, but Li Xian, the Senior Minister.

He Lou discovered Li Xian's residence and banged his head on the ground, bleeding profusely from the head wound.

Li Xian was known for his cold and ruthless nature, so asking him for help was already a last resort. Unexpectedly, he encountered Yong'an, whose reputation was even worse and who was tyrannical and domineering.

“…Princess, Your Highness…” the official tried to interrupt.

He spoke first, “This humble subject, He Lou, kowtows and bows. I risk my life to submit this petition, not for personal gain, but to beg Your Highness for mercy on the lives of two members of my family. If my words are disrespectful, I beg Your Highness to forgive my impudence. My family has lived in our ancestral land for generations, hoping for a peaceful life. However, the conscription of the past brought utter destruction upon our family… My father, brothers, and uncles all died in the war of conscription, and to this day, their remains have not been recovered. Only my younger brother remains as a male member of the family. I thought that with the two of us brothers, we could barely support our elderly mother in her later years, but fate has been cruel. My younger brother has contracted a leg ailment and needs a cane to walk, let alone bear the burden of corvée labor. Now, the government has issued another order for corvée labor, and they intend to forcibly conscript my younger brother as well… My mother is over seventy years old and has no one to care for her; I fear she will not live long enough…”

Xu Zhi was initially sitting in the car listening, thinking it wasn't a big deal, but as she listened, her mood grew increasingly heavy. The Great Wall construction had just come to an end, and the empire was moving the construction of the imperial mausoleum to its second phase, which would again involve conscripting a large number of laborers.

The war in the Central Plains was about to end, but the border regions were still in turmoil. With so many massive construction projects underway, ordinary people had little time to rest. Once a project started, it rarely stopped unless something major happened.

The major projects that later generations have tirelessly pursued and praised have brought suffering to hundreds of thousands of ordinary people.

Despite her best efforts to use modern industrial technology to reduce labor, it will take at least two generations to overcome the limitations of ancient productivity.

The black Qin army, forged from iron and blood, could mercilessly crush those who rebelled against Qin.

However, civilians cannot be included.

She cannot ignore these real and existing pains.

Over the years, Xu Zhi has developed a keen ear and quickly noticed something was amiss.

Suddenly, an official from Xianyang said, "This man from Wei came today seeking an audience with Inspector Li. Perhaps Inspector Li is not in his residence, which is why this man dared to speak disrespectfully to Your Excellency..."

"He's not in now?"

The official paused. "Your Highness means...?" He hesitated for a moment, then respectfully presented the document that the officials from the outer prefecture could not understand.

Xu Zhi immediately understood why. The characters written on it were all in Korean script, with beautiful and flowing strokes, very similar to the style Zhang Liang had taught him years ago, indicating it was written by royalty or nobility.

Most officials in Xianyang are literate in the languages ​​of six different countries, such as the current officials.

“Look at this document, he is a Korean. It is... supposedly the wanted criminal, Lord Hengyang, Han Cheng, who refused to come to Xianyang.”

Xu Zhi only saw the name at the very end.

No wonder no one dared to stop him when he had this document and half of the jade pendant with cloud and grass patterns...

The officials in Qin thought He Lou was a secret agent sent to deliver intelligence.

People from the six states were eager to present Qin's wanted criminals with banners and escort them along the way.

Of all people to pick up, He Lou had to pick up Han Cheng's things and then give them to her.

If Zhang Liang found out, he might do anything to get her to hand over Han Cheng.

……

Xu Zhi thought for a moment, "I'll take this person away to find out what's going on. Now go to Chang Shaofu's residence and invite Lord Li over. Tell him that a fire has reached his doorstep and ask him to come and investigate immediately."

Upon arriving at the outer corridor of Zhilan Palace, Xu Zhi gave a few instructions and quickly went to the study.

She sat at her desk, the ink gradually thinning until it became colorless.

In a room in the rear hall, a robe was placed on a lacquer tray.

He Lou, feeling uneasy, called out to Shen Zhi, "Maid. Your Highness... how did Your Highness know that I, I am a woman?"

Shen Zhi said, “You are an adult, but you don’t seem to have served in the military. Moreover, those who guard the border or garrison the capital are not conscripted during the snowy season. Nowadays, only the night watchmen take turns serving miscellaneous tasks in local government offices. Transporting supplies and repairing government offices. Your brother has difficulty walking, and you are pleading for him.”

"...Your Highness is actually willing to save my brother," the door suddenly opened, and a young girl caught He Liu's attention.

"Are you Sister A-Liu?"

When Xiao Fu saw her childhood neighbor again, she was filled with shock.

"How is little brother Alou?"

One had a long scar on his face, and the other was thin and haggard.

"And you? How are you and your lover?" "Your face... what happened to it?"

After years of wandering and hardship, the war had worn them down beyond recognition. It was a great relief that they could recognize each other, and they could only embrace and weep.

Standing in the snow, Xu Zhi saw this scene and felt both relief and pain; endless throbbing pain fell on her face from the direction the snow was falling.

The icy touch blurred the value of her existence.

Because she had just learned that He Liu's husband, father, and elder brother, as well as Xiao Fu's father, had all died in battle at the Wei Kingdom's passes.

All the men in Hejia Village were subordinates of Xianye, the prime minister of Wei, who had served in the Wei Kingdom. The He family members were all in the same group before the flood that hit Daliang.

On the wasteland, that was an order she personally gave.

Such a decision cannot be repeated a second time… She wiped the snowflakes from her face, becoming even more determined to return to the study, to open Li Xian’s letter again, and to rethink her future destiny.

"Your Highness?" He Liu called to her, but she didn't stop. She stumbled forward, took a deep breath, and knelt before Xu Zhi. (End of Chapter)