It is said that Qin Shihuang was controlled by a daughter

Chapter 586 Discontent with Fate, Zhang Cang Makes Calculations (First Update)
The Fuqiu Palace in Xianyang Palace had never been so gloomy, because a secret meeting was being held inside, and everyone was as silent as a cicada in winter.

A few days ago, a guest visited the Prime Minister's residence late at night; he was none other than the highly regarded Immortal Master.

Before Ying Hehua went to Mount Li. After court, Ying Zheng would stay in Yunyou Palace for one or two hours. Apart from that, even the Empress did not know his whereabouts.

The immortal master's visit that night set off alarm bells for Li Si.

Preparations for the fifth tour were underway, but Li Si was preoccupied with trivial matters and did not want to be distracted by Zhang Cang at this crucial time of route planning.

But when Zhang Cang arrived, he even took down the curtain.

Li Si felt that his uninvited arrival was a provocation.

In the detached courtyard of the Prime Minister's residence, Zhang Cang did not mind Li Si's gloomy gaze. Seeing Li Si raise his hand to dismiss his entourage, he then spoke: "Prime Minister, it has been many years since we last met. The last time we brewed tea and wine like this was in Lanling."

After many years, Zhang Cang had lost a lot of weight, but his face was still very handsome. Unlike the Han people, the Wei people were not prone to overthinking, and his demeanor was very composed.

"Back then, when you were a student of your teacher, you were disdainful of worldly affairs and studied the teachings of Dao Zhuang. Now you have changed your identity to enter the court and gain the emperor's trust, but is it to investigate the death of your nephew?"

Li Si's words were always sharp and incisive. He was like that thirty years ago, and thirty years later, his style remained unchanged.

Zhang Cang poured wine to cover up his misunderstanding, saying, "A few months ago, the Prime Minister needed to suppress the Confucian scholars in one fell swoop and make these pedantic and corrupt people disappear, but Princess Yong'an interfered with his plans."

Li Si hadn't forgotten Mo Qi's reminder, especially since Han Fei had specifically reminded him as well. In Lanling, Zhang Cang never revealed his thoughts, simply watching them argue with a smile. He never offered any evaluation, just quietly observing them. Meanwhile, Zhang Cang enjoyed dabbling in divination and fortune-telling, things Li Si disliked from the bottom of his heart.

Therefore, he was far less tolerant of this fellow student who was more than ten years younger than him than he had been of Zheng.

“Yong’an,” Li Si glanced at Zhang Cang, “when has Yong’an ever offended you?”

Zhang Cang smiled and said, "I think Senior Brother is confused."

He took a sip of wine, always feeling that humans were so insignificant and ignorant in the face of fate and destiny.

And these facts have been proven true today.

For example, Li Si, it's unclear how Ying Hehua came to regard him as a monstrous threat. Yet he spoke up for her, asking such a ridiculous question.

"Yong'an actually ordered Chen Ping to devise a plan to trap the late Master in Xianyang, burn the late Master's letters, and even wanted the late Master to argue for political legitimacy in court. Such actions are no less than those of her father, the Emperor."

Li Si said coldly, "Baqiao Palace has not set any restrictions. If you really want to see your teacher, you can go through Mo Qi's Zhongnan Mountain."

Zhang Cang interrupted, "The defenses at Baqiao Palace are incredibly tight. Do you know that I learned of my teacher's passing from the State of Zheng?"

“Yong’an is relentlessly pursuing my good friend, my nephew, in Yongcheng. How could I not have been on guard against her sooner?”

Li Si paused slightly, then said in a deep voice, "You're telling me that you want me to go with you?"

"After what happened with Qi Ru, and the words Yong'an said in the main hall, didn't the Prime Minister find them familiar?" Zhang Cang laughed. "Yong'an and Mo Qi are so similar. Do you think the Emperor would allow such ideas to spread?"

“Senior brother, when we were studying, I was surprised by your choice to go to Qin and abandon Chu, but I thought you made the right choice, so later, I also came to Qin. When I first arrived, I made a special trip to Zhongnan Mountain and saw Mo Qi. So, now, I realize that your choice was not entirely right.”

Zhang Cang stared intently at Li Si, and the longer he looked, the more he felt that Li Si was radiating the ominous aura of the impending demise of the Qin Dynasty.

He represents a completely new dynasty!

In Zhang Cang's eyes, Mo Qi understood the will of Heaven, while he attempted to start over, failing time and again. Thus, his life was a tangled mess, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not defy fate. Eventually, he was exhausted and died in despair.

—That day, Mo Qi coughed up blood, which splattered onto the jade scroll of the Zheng family's secret scroll. He wiped away the blood, grabbed Zhang Cang's sleeve, and pleaded bitterly. "My time is running out. My life has been a hasty one, and I do not wish to come back again. In this lifetime, I only ask that this map be completed, and I do not wish that anyone will follow in my footsteps... If in the future, war breaks out, please use the calculations to determine the coordinates of the underground palace, anchor it at one point, and open the Heavenly Gate."

Zhang Cang simply said, "I'm sorry, I can't."

On the day Mo Qi died, Zhang Cang was behind the scenes. He watched as his senior brother Han Fei gave a completely different answer before Mo Qi breathed his last. Han Fei called him "Zhi Pei," and he said, "I promise you."

Thirty-eight years ago, Zhang Cang came to the Qin state, where he was still a nobody.

That was the first year that Mo Qi was imprisoned in Zhongnan Mountain by the King of Qin. Legend has it that Ziya Peak in Zhongnan Mountain was heavily guarded by traps and soldiers, and no one dared to visit him.

But Zhang Cang left.

Ziya Peak is not as terrifying as rumored.

What's terrifying is Mo Qi. He's gone mad.

They cried, laughed, cursed, spoke in languages ​​no one could understand, and wrote all sorts of gibberish.

The Qin people thought it was witchcraft. It was probably because the King of Qin gave Mo Qi some face, only shackled his hands and feet, and kept him locked up higher and higher until he reached the most dangerous mountain peak.

If Xu Zhi knew about this past event, she would know that it wasn't witchcraft or incantation, but simply vernacular Chinese from the Republican era, or even Russian.

Looking at the disheveled man, Zhang Cang questioned his teacher Xunzi's evaluation: "Mo Yuan is a man to be cherished as a disciple of Mozi, and also a friend to be missed. He is a god."

But the young Zhang Cang, true to his studious and observant nature, asked Mo Qi some questions.

"Hahaha, good! Zhang Cang, you came to Qin because of Li Si? ... I know your career has been unsuccessful since you came to Qin, so why are you so depressed? Haha, I saw your judgment, hahaha, what are you still worried about?"

My verdict?

As Mo Qi said this, Zhang Cang frowned, anxiously awaiting his reply.

After a long pause, he asked, "Is he better than my senior brother?"

Mo Qi kept his head down, his hands tracing ink lines to form the first warp and weft of his drawing.

"Hahahaha, you mean your senior brother? Your senior brother..." He suddenly stopped, his pupils becoming cloudy, and nodded, "...Whether it's Han Fei or Li Si, you are a hundred times, a thousand times better than them, hahahahaha. Accept your fate, accept it..."

Seeing him laugh wildly, Zhang Cang lunged forward at a broken sword sheath, knelt down, and kowtowed to the Chu sword.

No one knew that it was the scabbard of the sword from which Bai Qi committed suicide.

More than thirty years ago, when Mo Qi arrived at Duyou, all she saw was Bai Qi's corpse.

All he could do was slip the city exit token to Bai Qi's youngest daughter, Bai Xun, under the cover of night.

"Uncle, where else can I go?"

"As long as you live, anywhere in the world, except Xianyang, is a place for you to stay."

Mo Qi, of course, had no idea how Bai Xun and Li Chan met on the outskirts of Zhao, how they supported each other in Handan to become husband and wife, and how they had Li Zuo Che.

His nightmare repeated itself just twenty years later, with the same thing happening to Lü Buwei. He couldn't blame anyone but fate.

Zhang Cang believed that after Mo Qi's death, he understood the will of Heaven.

Death is the price Mo Qi pays for defying fate.

Zhang Cang looked at Li Si and said, "Senior brother, I hope you understand that I am simply fulfilling the destiny I have been given."

Zhang Cang's words hit the nail on the head regarding Li Si's concerns.

Zhang Cang said, "If Princess Yong'an wants to be that outcast, I think even if I don't take action, fate will not let her off easily."

The fact that Li Si was able to get to where he is today, from Shangcai, already indicates that he is a person who does not believe in fate.

"Nonsense! Your talk of destiny is all one-sided. If you continue to stir up trouble, don't blame me for disregarding our camaraderie!"

“Senior brother, you never wanted your son to have much involvement with Yong’an. Now that things have come to this, as long as the Prime Minister turns a blind eye to the matter of the Lishan underground palace, I guarantee that this matter will be of great benefit to you. Besides, you don’t like alchemists, but I see that Princess Yong’an has asked Huaiqing to inquire about elixirs.”

"How dare you mislead the royal family into believing the words of the sorcerers? If you harm the Great Qin, I will not tolerate you!"

Zhang Cang smiled and said, "Senior brother, I was just trying to be helpful."

Li Si roared angrily and waved his sleeves to send the guest away.

Zhang Cang had no idea that Li Si's son was one of the unforeseen events in the divine will that he hadn't anticipated.

His so-called friend Xu Fu had been using him for thirty years.

Xu Fu didn't care about anyone's life or death, didn't care who was reincarnated or reborn, didn't care whether the people of the six states sought revenge, or whether it was Qin or Han; he only cared about whether he could take Ying Zheng's huge sum of money and sail east!