It is said that Qin Shihuang was controlled by a daughter

Chapter 587 Execution of Zhao Gao (1)

Lishan Underground Palace
When Zhao Gao mentioned the name Tang Zhipei, Ying Hehua, as expected, tactfully dismissed the people he had brought.

Li Xian was almost completely naked, with shocking scars branded on his body, making him a horrifying sight.

When Ying Hehua ordered Zhao Gao to remove the shackles, she was met with Zhao Gao's contemptuous laughter.

"Untie him? How could I possibly have that ability? Hahaha, Princess, you should think carefully. With Lord Li's status, who would dare to torture him like this?"

Unexpectedly, Ying Hehua did not argue with him, but instead drew the sharp blade that she always carried with her, which could cut through iron like mud.

He watched coldly as Ying Hehua cut the chains binding Li Xian.

Suddenly, Zhao Gao felt that this scene was quite familiar.

Zhao Gao suddenly laughed.

In that dream, these things were reversed.

The person who did these things while awake was Li Xian.

He should be thankful that in his dream, he had Hu Hai kill Ying Hehua first under the guise of Li Xian.

Otherwise, Li Xian wouldn't have confessed so quickly.

In his previous life, he confessed to the crime of causing tens of thousands of deaths and injuries during the forced labor at Mount Li, which finally earned Zhao Gao's approval. After being released from prison, Li Xian spent many days digging through the chaotic burial pits, defying the world's condemnation and disobeying the emperor's orders, wrapping the corpse in his official robes and taking her away from the Mount Li mausoleum.

Before his death, he ordered that she be buried in an empty coffin and moved to a large tomb in Gansu dating back to the reign of King Xiang.

Zhao Gao knew all about these things. He already held great power and felt it was no different from watching a play, especially watching them make these futile struggles and seeing Hu Hai bow down to him, thus mocking how vulnerable the Qin state was.

He enjoys this sense of control.

Today, Zhao Gao, misled by Li Xian, understands that Ying Hehua, like him, carries the memories of her dream—which, for Zhao Gao, explains Ying Hehua's precocious intelligence.

Zhao Gao suddenly realized that Ying Hehua had been thinking about how to kill him in a 'reasonable' way since she was a child!
But to the end!
The person who ordered her killing was neither him nor Li Xian, but her closest relative.

This made Zhao Gao even more interested.

If what Xu Fu said is true—everything will continue along its trajectory, and no turning point will change.

Now, after being manipulated by her and Li Xian, it is unlikely that Hu Hai will ascend to that position.

"Ying Hehua will die at the hands of her closest relatives," Xu Fu said.

So, who killed her—Ying Zheng or Fusu?

Zhao Gao always enjoyed the pain people felt after learning the truth, and he was particularly skilled at tormenting them.

Thinking of this, he glanced at Li Xian. "Does the princess feel it's not enough?" Zhao Gao laughed. "Hehe, I originally intended to turn Lord Li into a human pig and throw him in front of the princess, but I didn't expect Your Highness to arrive so quickly. It's a pity you won't be able to see such a spectacle. Would you like me to explain to you what a 'human pig' is?"

Zhao Gao originally thought Ying Hehua was unaware, but she tried to help Li Xian up, but he was too heavy, and she realized that he could not wake up quickly, so she gave up and let him lean on her shoulder.

Ying Hehua turned to look at herself.

His eyes were as black as ink, radiating coldness, and he smiled with a sense of relief.

"Lord Zhao's methods of torturing people are indeed ruthless."

Historical records vividly describe the torture Li Si endured. Li Xian had a deep knife wound on his right shoulder that pierced his collarbone, and a branding iron mark on his waist and abdomen.

All that could be seen was dried blood-brown on the front of his black collar, and bloodstains were still visible at the corners of his mouth. Given this condition, it was probably due to damage to his internal organs.

She had known this might happen and was quite mentally prepared, but at this moment, a chill ran down her spine, her hands went numb, and she hesitated again and again as she tried to check his breathing…

In the end, she could only barely muster the courage to force herself to calm down. Li Xian was still breathing, albeit very weakly. She wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with her fingertips and emphasized once again, "We will not lose, we absolutely will not."

Seeing this, Zhao Gao found it strange. "Hehe, it seems that the princess has forgotten both the old and new grudges against Lord Li. In the past, Lord Li never showed any mercy to Her Highness."

Zhao Gao was referring to his previous life, but Xu Zhi didn't understand.

She and Li Xian were indeed entangled in many complicated matters.

But Xu Zhi thought it was the funniest thing to talk about this word with Zhao Gao.

"New and old grudges," she murmured to herself.

As for her, she had no old grudges with Zhao Gao, only new ones—he plotted to have Yan Le kill her in Huaiyin, and a few months ago, he also killed Zhao Jia.

"A life, a body, why bother torturing someone like this, Lord Zhao? Does it really bring you so much pleasure?"

Zhao Gao saw the sadness in Ying Hehua's eyes as she looked at Li Xian, and vaguely felt that Ying Hehua was ultimately a character troubled by love, so he couldn't help but lower his guard a little.

He chuckled awkwardly, then tilted his head back and looked around. "To tell you the truth, Your Highness, this is the core of the underground palace. Once you step inside, there's absolutely no way to get out without stargazing and blueprints."

"Do you intend to perish together with us?"

Zhao Gao was stunned, shocked that Ying Hehua would have such a mindset!
“I would not die. I came to Lishan thanks to the princess and Lord Li. This labor is so heavy that I am in dire need of life and death. I have suffered for so long. Princess, you and Li Xian must at least pay the price.”

"The price?" Xu Zhi chuckled. "Don't you find it a bit ridiculous that you're talking to me about the price of suffering? You've ruined Li Xian like this, and then you tried to kill me at the Lishan Palace. Tell me, Zhao Gao, what exactly do you want to discuss with me in secret?"

Zhao Gao suppressed the smile that had accumulated on his face over the years.

"His Majesty the Emperor is superstitious about ghosts and spirits. Princess, since you remember the past yet are also able to magnanimously forget it, then we should cooperate well. Haha, don't think I don't know that you and Lord Li really want to kill someone. Without my help, killing him would be against the rules."

His voice was filled with darkness as he slowly uttered the words 'Hu Hai'.

“I was going to kill him anyway. Since you want to bring it forward, wouldn’t that be even better?” He glanced at Li Xian. “Why should Lord Li suffer a tragic death to avoid the princess’s fate?”

Xu Zhi sensed something else; it was the 'trajectory' that Mo Qi and Geng Chen had been talking about. But at this moment, she was afraid that she would be bewitched like Li Si, so she gripped a bit of the blade. As pain struck, she reminded herself to stay calm and not to listen to Zhao Gao's words.

Xu Zhi had made thorough preparations this time.

She had no intention of giving him a chance to live.

The underground palace was not well ventilated, so the ever-burning lamps could stay lit. Xu Zhi brought ten people down to this place, and had some others guard one side of the stone door. The wind blew through, causing the lamps to flicker.

Logically, since they didn't leave the door wide open, there shouldn't be so much wind.

The dragon patterns carved on the gray bricks cast numerous shadows, which swayed in the wind within the storage room.

Zhao Gao was confident that these words would sway people's hearts.

Ying Hehua stood up and said...

"But our farce should have ended at the Lishan Palace. No, it should have ended the moment I first saw you."

Zhao Gao didn't know she was Xu Zhi, so he naturally didn't understand what "at first glance" meant in that sentence.

Xu Zhi raised her hand.

Wang Ben's men, born from the battlefield, were all top-tier fighters, skilled in both strength and speed. They wielded long sabers instead of swords. The sabers were wide and thick; a single strike from such a saber would be fatal, even to Zhao Gao, a man of great martial prowess.

He was utterly shocked, never imagining that Xu Zhi's purpose was not merely to rescue Li Xian.

She came to kill him! And she made thorough preparations before and after!

The decision to hold the underground palace visit on a rainy day, and the subsequent suspension of labor services at Mount Li, were all arranged in advance!