It is said that Qin Shihuang was controlled by a daughter

The night was already very dark, and the rain was pouring down on the banana leaves of the shed, making a strange, pattering sound that made it hard to fall asleep.

After a long day of travel, they finally found this shed and saw Ying Hehua fast asleep. Only then did the old friend who had come with Xiao He finally feel relieved.

She tucked the cloak draped over her shoulders and watched as the flickering flames reflected on her face, which only accentuated her exhaustion, especially when she saw the new wounds on her arms.

Shen Zhi was annoyed that she couldn't have arrived in Lingcheng sooner!

How could she possibly place her hopes on someone else!
Ying Zheng issued a secret order to capture Yong'an alive.

Without hesitation, Shen Zhi revealed the news to the Empress. That night, the Empress wrote a long letter to Ying Zheng. Chen Ping acted as the messenger, and as the Vice Censor, he went to the Emperor's temporary palace in Chu under the pretext of handling official business.

She was determined not to let Zhang Cang's men find Ying Hehua. The Chu region was complex and difficult to navigate, leaving her with no way to start. Fortunately, in her time of greatest difficulty, she encountered Xiao He. This man was on the list that Ying Hehua had left for her before she went to Lishan.

The night was long, because she discovered that what Li Xian had said in a secret letter a few months ago was true—the princess was ill.

Yong'an no longer recognized her, nor was he familiar with the seal she brought, which was personally carved by the Prime Minister to symbolize her status as a princess.

In a secluded spot, she whispered to her, "Your Highness, do not be afraid. Chen Ping has arrived in Lingcheng with the Empress's edict. I believe His Majesty the Emperor will understand that Xu Fu and Zhang Cang are spreading heresies."

She stared at her as if she were a stranger.

She chuckled softly, then looked at her calmly and said, "I don't understand what you're talking about. The current emperor is extremely ruthless, and everyone in Lingcheng lives in fear. I am not some prince, and even if I were the person you're talking about... would the emperor need any reason to kill someone?"

Shen Zhi was stunned for a moment, she had never heard Ying Hehua speak of her father in such a way. She seemed to finally believe that the impact on the bronze artifacts in the underground palace had taken away almost all of her memories.

Night falls.

There's another person who can't sleep either.

Xiao Ruo pursed her lips and looked at the green-clad woman who had arrived halfway and led them through a narrow path to escape the Qin people's pursuit at a crucial moment.

"Why don't you go and rest?" Shen Zhi asked.

“…It’s raining so hard, Miss Shen,” Xiao Ruo hesitated before continuing.

Shen Zhi recalled that in the afternoon, she, Xiao He, and she were talking on the back mountain. Xiao Ruo said she was going to fetch water, but when she came back, her expression was a little strange.

Shen Zhi stroked the wooden calf in her palm and glanced at Ying Hehua not far away.

Did you hear what I said this afternoon?

Xiao Ruolian said, "No."

The sound of rain started again, and the fire couldn't be lit in the drafty places, so white smoke rose from the wood.

Shen Zhi said, "Aya is sick, very sick. That's what your brother Xiao Lu told your father when he brought her back."

Xiao Ruo said, "Yes, when I met Sister Aya, she had a serious injury on her arm. I begged her to save my mother. Sister Aya is such a good person. She left us the medicine she got by exchanging her earrings."

“Your brother said that her injury was not just a superficial one.”

"...That's true. When Sister Aya left us a few days ago, she told Brother Yan that she didn't want to be a burden to us. I was very sad when she left. When we met her, she was cheerful and would talk to us a lot. She even helped Brother Yan. But this time, when she came back... she was different. She was always silent."

Shen Zhi interrupted her, "I've known her for many years. Even if it was to escape this predicament, I don't like relying on others. How did she carve that sentence on the wooden calf? To become your brother's wife?" She paused, "Could it be that you forced her?"

Xiao Ruo shook her head, "No. That was the seal script carved by Sister Aya herself. She did it to avoid being wanted by the authorities."

"You know she's wanted by the police."

"That's what she and Brother Yan said."

"Have you seen the wooden calf she carved?" "Yes," Xiao Ruo added, "Brother Yan showed it to me and Mother."

"Aren't you surprised that Aya wrote in seal script?"

Xiao Ruo looked up, a hint of amazement in her light brown eyes. "Of course we're amazed! We've never seen such beautiful seal script before."

"Then I have a question."

"What's the problem...?"

"It's not hard to answer." Shen Zhi hadn't finished speaking.

Xiao Ruo immediately added, "My brother's eyes lit up when he saw Sister Aya's seal script. My mother later told us that Sister Aya might be a noblewoman who had fallen on hard times... Her seal script skills were comparable to those of the official government."

“Aya’s seal script is certainly extraordinary.”

Ying Hehua's handwriting is not like official documents, but it is official documents in fact.

Shen Zhi thought that she had been practicing calligraphy with Li Si since she was a child, while Li Xian was a student of his father. Over time, their handwriting became extremely similar.

Now, Li Xian has taken on the post of the Secret Pavilion in Lingcheng and is also responsible for the task of searching and investigating. The inscribed bamboo slips have been adopted as official writing.

Therefore, the wooden calf written by Ying Hehua was almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

Xiao Ruo sensed the other party's aggressiveness.

Shen Zhi said, "This afternoon, Aya said she didn't know me and refused to talk to me. So, Miss Aruo, do you know me?"

Xiao Ruo shook her head, "I don't know you."

"Alright. It seems that Aya traveling with you was really an accident."

Xiao Ruo was about to let out a long sigh of relief.

Shen Zhi suddenly smiled and said, "Perhaps your mother can tell what kind of tone I'm using?"

Xiao Ruo's brow furrowed.

Shen Zhi said, "The seal script has only been promoted for a year. Even though the nobles of the six states studied it diligently to please the Qin court, they could not write such seal script very well."

She looked at her. "You deliberately approached her to get her to save your mother?" Her grip on the sword tightened. "You knew her true identity all along?"

"I don't know who Sister Aya is."

“So it is.” Shen Zhi blew out the fire in the bamboo tube, stared at her, and said, “...She wandered here, was injured, and had nowhere else to turn. She wrote the wooden calf. Do you still dare to say that you did not induce her?”

"No! No. It really was Sister Aya who wrote it herself. At that time, the imperial court was right there, and they had already arrested many people without identification. She took the initiative to ask my brother to help her escape this calamity!"

"I don't care whether you overheard my conversation with Aya this afternoon, whether you encountered the injured Aya by chance, or for some other reason..." Shen Zhi stopped being polite, "Your father and I met on the road. He was dealing with the death of the Korean nobleman Han Cheng on the way, and he handled it somewhat improperly, so the whole family sought refuge in the south. But I know there's more to this story..."

Xiao Ruo stopped breathing.

"Are you really a daughter of the Xiao family?"

"How could it not be!"

“When the world was unified under Qin, and people traced their origins, there were countless deaths, injuries, and disappearances. Even large families would have some oversights.” Shen Zhi changed the subject, “But some people in Pei County would never have such oversights.”

Xiao Ruoxin felt a chill. Had the Xiao family been under surveillance for so many years?!
"Xiao He did indeed have two sons and a daughter this afternoon. However, Xiao Yan's younger sister died in the womb before she was born; how could she possibly grow to twenty?!" (End of Chapter)