It is said that Qin Shihuang was controlled by a daughter

Chapter 579 Xiao Fu's Wedding, His Feelings

It's funny, Xu Zhi hadn't walked the streets with a single soldier in a long time. Originally, she chose to leave the palace so easily today because she thought that after seeing her brother, there was still one more thing to do.

At that time, she was just about to be released from detention. Li Xian explained that the court had already issued an edict to reissue her salary and fief.

So, in a joyful atmosphere, Xu Zhi promised Xiao Fu that she would attend her wedding.

Li Xian was standing to the side, mumbling "okay" indistinctly.

After he took over from Feng Jie, he would come every few days, whether there was something to do or not, as if he wanted everyone in the palace to know that this was his special privilege of being able to enter through the main gate.

Xiao Fu entered the palace very late; little did she know that the open-air courtyard of Zhilan Palace, before becoming experimental fields, had once been a place of romance and elegance. Ten years ago, there were many flowers here, and the land was not idle. In the past, Ying Zheng planted a plum grove for Zheng Li, which was not enough; later, his daughter also planted roses all over the palace for someone.

“Your Highness cannot be so domineering as to force others not to accept my good intentions,” Li Xian said.

He seemed to have no concept of face. In Zhilan Palace, he was neither the cold and cruel supervisor nor a guest of Zhilan Palace. He even tried to speak politely to others by relying on the things he had picked up from Mo Qi's book.

However, Li Xian is a man who, once he wants to flatter someone, can do so flawlessly.

Xu Zhi had already seen through his act, and a month passed in this back and forth.

The palace maids gossiped, and with someone's deliberate embellishment and spread of the story, Xiao Fu suddenly realized—it turned out that the princess was childhood sweethearts with Inspector Li, which was why she refused to go to Chu to become queen and instead wanted to elope with him!

His attempts to curry favor with the princess through various intermediaries were as obvious as day.

"My love and I will remember the great kindness of Her Highness the Princess and Minister Li for the rest of our lives..."

Lee Hyun greatly appreciated this compliment that put their names together.

A few days later, he brought a sealed document—a house deed.

Xu Zhi told him to return the property deed, saying she had her own plans.

"Does Your Highness really want me to return?" Li Xian asked. He looked at her, "If you don't want to compensate her, why did you send Shen Zhi to search for vacant houses in the city?"

Xu Zhi didn't say anything.

After a long pause, she spoke, "But that's my business."

He was most unhappy with her attitude.

The more she tried to draw a clear line between them, the less he would allow it, and the more he wanted her to know that they were an inseparable group of interests.

He chuckled, “What time is it now? The princess should know. There’s no need for me to analyze the pros and cons for her one by one. If you want to leave the palace smoothly, then the various expenses in Zhilan Palace must not give anyone cause for complaint.”

Xu Zhi chuckled to herself. She was self-aware; she had spent all her money manipulating and setting up schemes, and had little money left to hold onto.

She is currently unable to punish Hu Hai and genuinely wants to make amends to Xiao Fu.

She had Shen Zhi investigate. She had no concept of money before, but ever since she was fined, the saying that Xianyang was expensive was no exaggeration.

In addition, Xu Zhi also remembered some historical documents: during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, the price of a mansion in the northern part of Chang'an was as high as 400 gold coins, which was equivalent to the salary of a county magistrate in Chang'an for eighty years.

Moreover, Xianyang was the capital of the empire, so its land prices would only be higher.

She looked at the property deed he had placed on the table. "This will cost a lot of money."

Seeing that her attitude had softened, he quickly changed his tune, looking into her eyes, "It was my fault for not handling Hu Ji properly from the beginning, I am also at fault... If there is to be compensation, I should have given you everything I had. Your Highness, how can you say that I had nothing to do with this..."

…Little did she know, once Li Xian started to act pitiful, most of Xu Zhi's respect for his money vanished.

“In this way, Xiao Fu can see her husband often, and she will be very happy,” she said.

"I only wish to please Your Highness," he said.

He wore an expression of indifference to fame and fortune, yet he could never quite achieve that nonchalant ease.

They started off speaking politely, but somehow they ended up sitting opposite each other at the same table.

He covered her hand with his.

But Xu Zhi quickly pulled her hand away from his.

He glanced at her. "Your Highness is quite cold."

She was stunned. Could someone really portray a pitiful appearance so vividly?
"...Then, thank you?"

He just knelt there, head down, and after a while, he said, "Ah Zhi, you like to thank people, but I never want you to thank me."

"..."

"Does what I've done only earn me a 'thank you' in His Highness's eyes?"

Countless sorrows were hidden in his long, narrow eyebrows and eyes.

Xu Zhi was puzzled by this expression. "If I don't thank you, then what should I do?"

“…The princess is the ruler, and I am the subject. You should say, as is the natural order of things.”

He quite likes to take on this feudal oppression.

She didn't want to argue with him about these vague, ancient and modern debates. "Alright, I didn't say you weren't allowed to go to Xiao Fu's wedding."

"...I naturally wish to go with the princess."

She smiled and said, "Indeed, you've spent money, so you still need to go out for a meal. But you're right, we really don't need to say thank you. We can thank each other later when we've saved everyone's lives."

He remained silent and did not speak.

But she hadn't taken two steps when her waist tightened...

If Xu Zhi was even slightly moved by him just now, that man would immediately show her what it means to be completely exposed!

"You'd better let me go..."

"No." "I won't let go." With that, he held her even tighter.

Xu Zhi hadn't noticed that his voice was excessively hoarse, and that his gaze had been lingering on her since he started looking at her.

Fearing he might do something else, she blushed and blurted out in a panic, "Do I have to stab you before you'll let go?"

His indifferent calmness and sharp words can still wound Li Xian even today.

"Then go ahead and do it."

As he spoke, he wrapped one arm around her waist and the other around her collarbone, as if he wanted to possess her absolutely, control her absolutely, and make her the only one for her.

He's getting a free ride and then acting all innocent; he's practically strutting around like he's got a tail between his legs. Xu Zhi really wanted to stomp on his tail!
You've gotten too cocky!

She lowered her head and bit his arm hard.

He buried his head in her shoulder, and Xu Zhi could hear his heavy breathing. She didn't know what he was thinking. No matter how much she bit and kicked, he wouldn't let go of her.

She may be slow-witted, but her body is sensitive; the warmth of the person behind her was so unmistakable that it seeped through her robes.

For the past four years, no one else has had this kind of physical contact with him.

Then she felt something damp and cool touch her skin behind her collar.

Not right.

In fact, Xu Zhi was just as stupid as Li Xian. If she wanted him to let her go at this moment, and if she wanted to keep it as if nothing had happened, she should have pretended to be ignorant, not said anything, and just slapped him across the face as usual.

His eyes were as deep as the sea, and even more so, they held a hint of obsession and madness. This made it impossible for her to ignore his emotions.

She looked at the newly carved green bamboo slips hanging in the council hall before her.

She stopped moving and sighed, "After all these years of effort, Zhao Gao is still Zhao Gao, and Xu Fu is still Xu Fu. I failed to kill him, and now my father is so suspicious of me, and every other day I have to be on guard against someone trying to take my life..."

Although she hadn't hugged Meng Ye yet, she was still fully aware of her own physical condition. She didn't know how much longer she had to live. After thinking for a moment, she swallowed those words.

"Why are you crying? I'm the one who should be crying."

Li Xian let go of her and turned her around.

"Xu Zhi, all these years, you insist on making me watch you leave me without looking back... You can think I'm crazy if you want, but I'm a person, not an object, and my heart also aches."

Xu Zhi noticed that the corners of his fox-like eyes were red, but his brows were cold. Without saying a word, he cupped her face and kissed her fiercely.

If things really came down to a fight, with her martial arts skills, how could she possibly actually draw her dagger?

He no longer allowed her to have her way, no longer permitting her to draw her sword and place the blade against his neck. Instead, he restrained her hands, gripping them along with her hair, then pressed down on her neck, preventing her from retreating. His assault was forceful; he wanted to plunder her beauty, to make her behave like a prisoner in his hands. He wanted to force her to exert effort to breathe, to raise her chin in response to him.

She will never close her eyes.

He only glanced at them once, but he could never forget those deep black eyes. He noticed that those beautiful eyes were filled with a hint of anger because of him, and that when he kissed them, the intimidation would fade and be replaced by resentment.

He smiled unconsciously and stared at her until she could no longer bear it, until she closed her eyes in shame and anger and stopped pushing him away.

In the past, when he went a little crazy, he would only kiss her and never cross any other lines.

This time, however, he had a different desire. For some reason, the kiss went from her lips to the corner of her mouth, then to her jawline, and finally to her neck.

He was quite skillful, knowing when to advance and when to retreat. The hand that was on her lower back slowly rose. He lingered on her neck, but did not want to leave any marks on her body. His movements were gentle and very light, even flattering. He probably just wanted to wear down her will and ask her to stop resisting.

Their breaths mingled, her eyes were misty, and before she could frown, or even before she could make a move, he quickly embraced her.

Actually, before deciding to go to Mount Li, Li Xian wanted to ask Xu Zhi a question—this path would inevitably come at a price of blood. So, when the news of my death reaches your ears, will you be willing to shed a few tears for me?

But of all the words he wanted to say, he only uttered one sentence.

"Ah Zhi, I can't bear to see you cry."

-

Xiao Fu's house is easy to find.

As dusk fell, the newlyweds entered the hall. The front hall was already bustling with activity, with wine cups clinking and toasts being exchanged. Wei people loved music and drinking, and even Shen Zhi had a drink.

Xu Zhi stepped into the inner courtyard and arrived at the courtyard called 'Wu Garden'.

She was overwhelmed by the garden full of flowers, which had been made into flowering trees, arched bridges, and lanterns of various shapes. Each lantern was decorated with fresh flowers, such as red roses, forsythia, and even early spring red plum blossoms.

The glow of the sunset draped the sky and fell upon the petals, giving them a golden sheen.

"Even in spring, where can you find so many flowers in such a short time? Don't they spoil?"

Moreover, how did people get married in the pre-Qin period?
He Liu, who was standing to the side, turned around and explained how to protect them, "Has Your Highness forgotten? Cultivating trees and flowers is Afu's and my specialty."

"Is this a custom in your Wei region?"

He Liu shook her head and brought up the landlord with his eccentricities.

He sold it to us at a very low price, with only one condition: the flowers in the garden must be well cared for and kept until the wedding day.

He Liu, having been through similar experiences, smiled and easily saw through the trick.

This garden full of spring colors must be Lord Li, who often visits Zhilan Palace, trying to please His Highness Yong'an.

Unbeknownst to her, it was on the night six years ago when she ran away from her arranged marriage with Yong'an that they discussed this topic.

"The princess's wedding dress is too eye-catching."

"I think so too. Where I'm from, people wear red, white, or any color they like for their weddings."

"White, I've heard Mo Qi mention it, it seems to be for ghost marriages?"

"...That's really creepy. You're practically a Chu person, can't you imagine things in a more romantic way?"

Xu Zhi talked for a long time, but he just couldn't understand.

"So what kind do you like?" he asked.

Xu Zhi forgot how she answered, but knowing her personality, she would probably ramble on about some basic knowledge of Western weddings—there needs to be a violinist, a bouquet, and lots of roses.

Where can we find those kinds of roses?

Li Xian asked.

Six years later, Xu Zhi couldn't help but ask.

He Liu then took out a large bouquet of flowers from the hidden corner and handed it to her.

"Your Highness, look," "Is this the rose?"

The flower was extremely beautiful, so gorgeous it was dazzling.

The sunset glows brilliantly, and the fallen roses, still fragrant, sway in the evening breeze on the rose trellis.

After Shang Yang's reforms, Qin established a system of private land ownership and allowed the free buying and selling of land, which further exacerbated the hoarding of land by the wealthy class.