It is said that Qin Shihuang was controlled by a daughter

Chapter 600 The Lost Years, One After Another
"I don't know what you're talking about. Since you're not buying, I'll go back."

She tightened the basket of herbs on her shoulder and turned to leave, but Zhang Cang wouldn't let her leave so easily. He used his whisk as a sword to block her way.

"I have no intention of harming Your Highness. I only wish for Your Highness to cooperate with me in completing a task. This task will not cause you any harm; it is merely a small favor."

“I told you I’m not a prince.”

"Aren't you curious about whether what's written on this silk is true or false?"

"Curiosity killed the cat." She ignored him and took a few steps forward indifferently, but Zhang Cang caught up with her.

"The emperor has unleashed a massacre in this area. Aren't you worried about your neighbors at all?" Zhang Cang paused. "Can you just stand by and watch your neighbor suffer this calamity?"

"If the emperor is determined to kill, will others' worries be of any use? One minute you're saying the emperor wants to kill me, the next you're saying he's going to massacre everyone here. You don't even understand the situation yourself, so what are you talking to a commoner like me about?"

Her words were fluent and simple, yet they made Zhang Cang pause. He tentatively asked, "Do you know? I got this silk scroll from Han Fei." He opened it in front of her. "This is Mo Qi's, no, it's Tang Zhipei's last will and testament."

Xu Zhi tried to push him away, but the person insisted on shoving the thing in front of her eyes. "...I don't know what you're talking about. Move aside."

The last two words were short and powerful, but her face showed complete ignorance and bewilderment.

Zhang Cang paused for a moment. He had finally discovered the key to the celestial anomaly and was about to get some information from Ying Hehua, but she had actually lost her memory after killing Zhao Gao.

Xu Fu was probably right. In any case, once Ying Hehua was found and brought back to the camp, she would surely speak when she met Ying Zheng.

How could Zhang Cang know that Xu Zhi had developed exceptional escape skills through years of being hunted down?

Instinctively, she threw the basket on her back at his face, then turned and ran away...

Seeing that Ying Hehua could run quite fast, Zhang Cang became even more certain that she must still remember something!
For almost a year, he had been in seclusion, interpreting divination texts. This time, to maintain secrecy, he emerged without anyone. His martial arts skills were considerable, but he couldn't sustain running for long, leaving him breathless as he chased after them… However, Zhang Cang knew that because of Ying Zheng's arrival, there were many patrolling soldiers. Ying Zheng had announced to the world that Ying Hehua was praying for blessings at Mount Tai; he couldn't directly confront him.

But he desperately wanted to stuff the memories back into her mind!

So he ran while shouting, "Catch the criminal!"

This shout attracted many people, including many officers and soldiers.

It's too peaceful here; there aren't many caves to hide in.

Xu Zhi felt incredibly unlucky to have encountered something like a 'murder and robbery'! She couldn't quite understand her feelings at that moment. Her mind had truly been damaged; she actually thought 'escaping' wasn't a big deal, to the point that she could calmly and astutely observe her surroundings, move herself into a deep patch of reeds, and slowly conceal herself within…

The reeds were very tall, so she was quite safe hiding inside. She crept carefully inside, her hand instinctively reaching for her waist, but there was nothing there except a sachet filled with herbs that Li Xian had told her to wear.

She gripped it tightly, trying to soothe the weariness rising within her, and prayed that she could find her way home along the reeds.

She hadn't gone far when she heard a clattering sound.

She wasn't listening carefully; it wasn't the sound of a millstone being turned, but rather the sound of chiseling stone.
Suddenly, a person wearing a straw raincoat emerged from the reeds. Xu Zhi's breath caught in her throat, as did the person's.

He was a thin, small middle-aged man, his face covered in sweat, with a hemp rope tightly tied around his waist.

A voice suddenly rang out behind him, "Old Wu, what are you doing? Is it a wild rabbit or a wild goose? Hurry up, let's catch it, eat it, and get to work. If we don't finish today, we'll be finished if the higher-ups blame us!"

Hearing this, Xu Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.

The man looked simple and honest, and he was holding a chisel in his hand, so he was probably a stonemason.

The man looked her over suspiciously, noticing she was clutching a sachet... People from Chu were quite prone to making wild guesses, and this old Wu was no exception. He thought of his own youth and suddenly understood, whispering quickly, "...Oh dear, you little lady really know how to pick a place to meet your lover. This isn't the place for you to wait for someone. Go somewhere else, hurry up."

Xu Zhi reacted quickly, clutching the sachet to her chest and whispering, "...Yes, yes, Uncle, I accidentally went to the wrong place. I'll wait somewhere else right away."

Old Wu, hearing that the woman spoke fluent Chu dialect and was dressed in their local clothing, had no suspicions and said loudly, "There's no wild game here. Sigh, let's get back to work."

As he spoke, he waved his hand in a certain direction, indicating that she should wait there.

Unexpectedly, Xu Zhi had only taken two steps when she saw several pieces of black robes flash past in the distance...

She made a snap decision and turned to head towards the source of the noise from the large rock.

Old Wu, who had just been talking to her, was now talking to a man with his back to her. The man was wearing a blue and white robe, tall and elegant, with a rather extraordinary air about him.

"The stone you requested, sir, is the only one we could find after searching for many days... Please grant us a couple more days; there must be others. How could we possibly trouble you to personally inspect it?"

Old Wu was speaking when he abruptly stopped. "Young lady? Why are you back again?"

The man's brow furrowed. Had his secret search for the meteorite been discovered?

He gripped his sword tightly and turned around.

On the reeds, the catkins, blown by the wind, drifted before their eyes, like summer snow, seemingly from a bygone era…

Zhang Liang was stunned for a long time. How could she be here? Why was she here?
Conflicts and mistakes have been imposed upon them.

They had clearly decided never to see each other again, never to remember each other again.

But why did fate bring them together again?
Xu Zhi had seen him before; he was the young nobleman in front of the clinic in Lingcheng. The man stared at her with an even more surprised, astonished, and bewildered look than when she was in Lingcheng.

But when she saw his hand still gripping the sword, which he hadn't had time to loosen, her heart tightened, and she wanted to turn around and leave.

This step back was a conditioned reflex of alertness, which was far more hurtful to Zhang Liang than her apparent unfamiliarity.

Zhang Liang then noticed that she was holding a sachet in her hand, made of the simplest red cloth. Through the gaps between her fingers, he could still clearly see the embroidered pattern on the sachet, as well as the embroidery skills, which had not improved much.

That happened many years ago.

It's been a really long time.

She really loves fish, even when giving them as gifts, she still embroiders the same animal.

Zhang Liang realized that he had encountered Zhang Cang and seen many Qin soldiers when he arrived. It turned out that those people a few feet away were looking for her.

Old Wu strode over and asked, rather untimely, "Young lady?" "Haven't you waited for your husband yet?"

Xu Zhi was truly adept at lying. "Uncle, I think my family found out... But I won't leave until he's around." She hesitated, then spoke to the man, "Young master, could you lend me your place for a moment?"

Zhang Liang sensed that these words were not entirely fabricated, and even revealed a hint of probing.

Because of Zhang Liang's own "precedent," he simply couldn't be sure whether her apparent indifference was genuine or not.
He gazed at her intently, countless times, trying to see her very soul more clearly.

He remembered that outside the Lishan Mausoleum, she had fallen into Li Xian's arms, clutching his sleeve and begging him to take her away.

This was a feeling he had never experienced before; that one unwavering trust had never been with him.

Zhang Liang suddenly realized that this was no different from what had happened thirteen years ago on the wall in Xinzheng.

The unexpected event wasn't someone else, but him.

He himself was the one who caused all of this.

Because he answered that kind of perseverance with the assassination at Bolangsha.

Missed years of youth, endless regret.

Old Wu had no idea that his employer was going through a lot of thoughts.

His pain was far harder and colder than the iron and stone he was trying to chisel.

Seeing that Mr. Song remained silent, Old Wu hissed and stepped forward to advise Xu Zhi, "...Miss, this is not a good place to wait for someone. Several young masters are buried here; it's considered unlucky."

Xu Zhi looked around, clearly incredulous. "Here?"

"Yes. The rocks here are perfect for building tombs." "Tsk, there's one not far from here."

"It's situated without any mountains behind it, surrounded by water. It's not exactly good, but it's not bad either. It's just a bit secluded. Who would build their tomb here?"

"Let me think... Oh, it doesn't seem far. I'll look for it."

As Old Wu spoke, he brushed aside the reeds and weeds, revealing several large Chu characters on the gray boulder.

Xu Zhi was stunned. She didn't know what was going on. Seeing this scene, she felt breathless and her hands trembled slightly.

“Look, there’s the tomb of the young master Fu Chu,” Wu Guang said.