It is said that Qin Shihuang was controlled by a daughter

Chapter 581 Prince Huaiqing Ben

Xianyang Restaurant
The woman wore her hair in a high bun and a purple robe, exuding elegance and grace, with every gesture revealing her composure and ease.

The wealthy female merchant of yesteryear was granted a thirteenth-rank noble title for her business dealing in cinnabar.

Throughout the Qin Dynasty, apart from royal princesses, only Huaiqing was granted a title.

The waiter led her up the road, saying, "Honored guest, please take a seat."

Huaiqing has many more wrinkles around her eyes, and the passage of time is obvious.

On the table lay what Xu Zhi wanted—a map of the main area of ​​the underground palace of the Lishan Mausoleum.

"If you are willing to lend me this map, I will surely repay you handsomely in the future."

Huaiqing looked at the princess in front of her. They exchanged letters more often than they met in person.

“There’s no need for a big thank you. Princess, you’ve already helped me a lot. If it weren’t for you and Li Xian keeping me in Xianyang, this title wouldn’t have come so quickly… And back then, I only hoped that you wouldn’t antagonize her, but you not only protected Yuanman, but also gave her the imperial decree for the marriage.”

“My elder sister treats me well, so I will naturally treat her well in return.”

The map showed the routes for transporting mercury.

Fifteen years ago, an earthquake struck Shu County. After the earthquake, the underground mines were discovered, and the mercury mines were measured in mountains.

Prefect Sima Cheng reported this matter to the imperial court.

Mercury was transported from southern Sichuan.

"The transportation project of the Lishan underground palace was already a very difficult problem 20 years ago."

“The princess is right,” Huaiqing said. “Regarding the transportation matter, Inspector Li and the prefect discussed and resolved the issue.”

The raw material for cinnabar was mined jointly by Huaiqing and the government, and the profits were used for the subsequent construction of Dujiangyan.

"There is something I must ask you to tell me honestly."

"Princess, please speak."

Is cinnabar used in the refining of elixirs of immortality?

Huaiqing smiled, took a sip of tea, and didn't seem to notice anything unusual. "Is the princess also interested in immortality?"

"also?"

Seeing her puzzled expression, Huaiqing looked at her with a smile and said, "Your Highness, cinnabar is also called vermilion. The floral hairpins you used a few years ago were made from this, and they were all the rage in Xianyang."

Her floral headdress... was it all the rage in Xianyang?
At that time, Meng Tian was serving as her bodyguard, keeping a close eye on her. She was bored in the palace, and one day, on a whim, she thought of the aesthetics of the Tang Dynasty.

She used cinnabar to make a dot on her forehead.

After she came of age, she drew flower patterns.

That all happened after Ying Zheng returned from Handan.

"Five-colored flowers..."

“Yes. This must be the makeup you wore when you were the Empress or Consort Zheng,” Huaiqing said. “I heard from Azhi that you have been in a bad mood for many years and have many dreams at night.”

Xu Zhi took a sip of tea.

Huaiqing said, "If cinnabar is taken, it may be used for sedation and hypnosis."

During the Warring States period, alchemists from the Yan state, such as Song Wuji, Chong Shang, and Zheng Boqi, had already begun using cinnabar to refine so-called elixirs of immortality.

Xu Zhi couldn't be the only one flipping the table and cursing when everyone else was treating it like a treasure.

Others would only think she's mentally unstable.

“It’s a good thing.” She smiled, picked up the small brown bottle, and tentatively said, “Then I’ll just take this whole bottle at once, and I’ll have no worries all night long.”

Huaiqing's expression changed. "Princess, although it can prolong life, it is not good to take it for a long time."

Xu Zhi's expression remained unchanged, but her tone suddenly turned cold. "Since it's not good to take it regularly, why did you offer it to me as medicine?"

"The pursuit of immortality and the desire for eternal life is something that people yearn for," she said.

Xu Zhi was taken aback. Did her father still hold this idea?
She subconsciously felt nervous.

"your Highness."

Before leaving, Huaiqing took something out of his sleeve and gave it to her.

"This is something Tao Yao asked me to bring to you."

A sandalwood whistle.

She slipped it into her hand on the city wall many years ago.

Xu Zhi closed the box and returned it to Huai Qing, saying, "This is for A Yu."

Huai Qing smiled, "Tao Yao told Your Highness not to refuse. She said that A Yu will be very safe in Zhilan Palace, and you might need it if you go to Lishan. There are countless Mo family traps and mechanisms there, and many Mo family members. It will be easier for the princess to act if she has this."

Xu Zhi's heart stirred.

After a long silence, he stopped refusing and gripped the whistle tightly.

"Thank you." This era had legendary female businesswomen like Widow Qing, as well as female artisans who were submerged in the ashes of time.

She was unwilling to cling to class barriers and divide them into two groups based on their social status, even though she had already seen them.

“Xiao Fu is good at farming, Le’er is good at crafts, A Yu is good at medicine, and there are also people studying blueprints and mathematics. Before I was in the palace, you all helped me take care of the workshop and worked hard for my experiments. You are indeed different from ordinary palace maids, but this is not because you are my palace maids, but because you each have your own special skills.”

"I have informed my father that everything at Zhilan Palace is as usual. From now on, when my documents are sent to the palace, please handle them properly."

Many eyes lit up, "We are willing to do our utmost to serve Your Highness."

Some of her words were too radical, and Xu Zhi knew she shouldn't say them, but she still couldn't help but say them anyway.

"The initial efforts made to increase production will never be buried or forgotten; they were made for yourselves and for this era."

Almost five months have passed since the incident at Lishan Palace, from early winter to early spring.

She saw two people standing at the side gate of the palace.

The carriage was unfamiliar.

Only when they got closer did they realize that it was the person Ying Hehua and Li Xian had repeatedly warned not to show their face.

Wang Ben and Feng Wan.

They said that no matter how much they thought about it, they couldn't convince themselves to pretend nothing had happened.

Seeing that various utensils were being prepared throughout the palace for Ying Hehua's trip to Mount Li next month.

Ying Hehua coughed unnaturally because she was speaking too fast.

Feng Wan's heart tightened, she stepped forward, and bowed her head in reverence.

"The incident at Lishan Palace all stemmed from the old case involving the Feng family, causing Her Highness the Princess to suffer such a calamity. We have come to apologize to the Princess. Secondly... my husband has already submitted a memorial to His Majesty the Emperor, requesting that he be persuaded to intervene."

Wang Ben also stepped forward, and he was even more direct than his wife, kneeling down at the foot of the steps.

“I should have petitioned for relocation when I was in Handan years ago. As for my wife’s identity, even if it is a crime, I should not have concealed it. I have been delaying it until now, which has put Your Highness in a difficult position and caused you to quarrel with Zhao Gao.”

Xu Zhi walked up to Wang Ben, pondered for a long time, and felt complicated.

She glanced at Feng Wan, who was kneeling beside him, and said, "Help the general up."

"This kneeling must remain in Handan."

This is a double entendre.

She was referring to the people from Handan who died in Changping back then.

It was also Zhao Jia.

She sighed deeply. She had a lot to say, such as analyzing from an objective perspective that the Battle of Changping had little to do with the relocation of the battlefield, and also wanting to tell him from the perspective of a later person.

If someone wants war to break out, then they will find various reasons to do so, no matter what. The trigger can be any event.

But Zhao Jia died.

She is guilty, and Wang Ben is also guilty.

She said, "General, you should know that it is Zhao Gao who deserves to die."

Wang Ben nodded, "It is my duty to do so."

Xu Zhi said, "The trip to Mount Li."

"Your subject shall select skilled warriors from the army for the princess."

"Thank you for your help. It would be even better if someone familiar with maps could help."

"promise."

-

The day Xu Zhi left Zhilan Palace, the sky was clear and the flowers were in bloom, even though it was not yet April.

It's busier now, with many more people coming in and out of the palace.

Lishan Liyi
During this period, Lishan entered into a project to expand the scale of the underground palace and began to promote the in-depth excavation of "Chuan San Quan".

There is a type of person.

If he dies, all will be at peace; but if he fails to die, he will make those who framed him pay without hesitation.

Xu Fu looked at Zhao Gao.

"If Lord Zhao really wants to return to Xianyang Palace, now is your chance."

Zhao Gao quickly pleaded, "If I can go back, I'll do anything you ask, sir."

He remained bowed, watching the man's departing figure, his lips twitching.

The Tang Dynasty scholar Ma Gao wrote in his "Annotations on Ancient and Modern China": "Qin Shi Huang was fond of immortals and often ordered palace women to style their hair into immortal buns, adorn them with five-colored flowers, and paint them as clouds, phoenixes, and tigers ascending to heaven."

Cinnabar has a sedative and hypnotic effect, though opinions differ; it also has detoxifying and antiseptic properties; when used externally, it can inhibit or kill skin bacteria and parasites.