In order to become a Heroic Spirit, I had no choice but to cause trouble in history.

Yeah, I almost died.

On the way back by carriage, they could still hear Xiang Bo groaning in the carriage, "My steed, my steed..." The resentful voice made Xiang Yu and Xiang An outside the carriage break out in a cold sweat.

How did Xiang Yu get his steed, the Black Steed with Cloud-Treading Falcon?

Xiang Bo bought it, but didn't ride it; Xiang Yu tamed it.

Where did the turbulent waves that Xiang An sat on come from?

Xiang Bo took a liking to him, but was kicked unconscious, and Xiang An was tamed.

Xiang Liang couldn't help but sigh, "Third brother, it seems you're not destined to be a thoroughbred. Let's not even think about it. Just enjoy riding your chestnut horse..."

Xiang Bo felt even worse.

The black horse that Xiang An tamed on a tributary of the Huai River was named "Da Lang Tuan Ji" by Xiang Liang after a song he composed. When Xiang An tamed it, it was as if it were galloping in the great waves of the Huai River, hence the name.

Both Xiang An and Tuan Chi were very satisfied with the name.

However, there are still some other minor surprises...

It seems that Tuanchi and Wuzhui had a minor collision.

It's not exactly friction... more like a competitive spirit or something?

Horses are naturally competitive, especially spirited steeds like the Thoroughbred.

Both Wuzhui and Tuanchi were exceptionally strong horses, and their sudden collision was obviously disastrous.

"Brother, how about... a match?" Xiang An's emotions seemed to be affected by the torrent, and he also became more determined, giving Xiang Yu a provocative look.

"Wuzhui, what do you think?" Xiang Yu smiled and lowered his head to stroke Wuzhui's neck.

"Neigh—" Wuzhui neighed, looking at Tuanchi with disdain.

"Uncle—!" Xiang An chuckled, lowered his body, and prepared to accelerate.

"Xiang An and I—we're going first!" Xiang Yu lowered his head, his fighting spirit high.

"That......"

"start!"

Winter winter winter————

The rhythmic, violent sound of horses' hooves striking the ground rang out. Before Xiang Liang could respond, the two brothers and their two fine horses had already shot off like arrows, the dust they kicked up forming a huge curtain in the sky.

"These two brats..." Xiang Liang lifted the curtain, then quickly closed it again, waving his hand to disperse the dust, looking disgusted.

"You get carried away just because you have a thoroughbred horse..." He said with envy.

That's a thoroughbred, a thoroughbred!

Xiang Bo, who was lying next to him, felt as if he had been stabbed again.

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Chapter 826 Central Plains Security and Integrated Management Collection [Epang Palace]

This was not an official match, and the two brothers drew.

"Brother, your Swiftness... is really strong..." Xiang Yu said breathlessly, looking at Xiang An with a smile.

"Brother, your black horse... isn't bad either..." Xiang An was also very tired, and said with a smile.

The two of them were currently at the entrance of the Xiang residence.

It was only early afternoon.

Neither horse seemed particularly tired; they continued to glare at each other, looking defiant.

Who can stand a draw? Let's go!

"Big brother, second brother, you're back!" A joyful shout came from the side of the road. It was the third and fourth sons of the Xiang family, Xiang Jing and Zijuan, walking over.

"You! Baixing, Xiaojuan!" Xiang An dismounted and stroked Tuanchi's mane. This time, Tuanchi did not dodge.

"Hmm? Second Brother, your horse..." Xiang Jing squinted his one eye, looking at Tuan Chi with great interest.

"Neigh—" Wuzhui neighed, feeling a little angry that Xiang Jing was looking at Tuanchi instead of him.

"Hey, hey!" Xiang Yu noticed Wuzhui's little mood, chuckled, patted Wuzhui's neck, and led Wuzhui away.

"Second Brother, where did you find this horse? It's so handsome!" Xiang Jing's eyes gleamed as he circled the galloping horse.

Perhaps because he had just won against Wuzhui, Tuanchi was in a good mood and did not fail to impress Xiang Jing. Instead, he kicked all four hooves together, showing off his well-built body.

"Oh! This horse is really interesting!" Zijuan exclaimed happily as she watched Tuanchi pacing around.

"Hmph, this is a thoroughbred that my third uncle and I found by the Huai River! It's just as good as my eldest brother's Black Steed!" Xiang An, like a king of the kids, put his hands on his hips and showed off to his younger siblings.

"This is so cool... There isn't a single hair of any other color on its entire body!" Xiang Jing exclaimed in amazement. As a descendant of a military general, he had seen many fine horses, but one with such a pure color was truly rare.

"Hehe, I'll take it to the stable first, I'll come find you guys later!" Xiang An also led Tuanchi towards the stable, holding its reins.

The two horses, Tuanchi and Wuzhui, had to be placed in separate stables, otherwise Xiang Yu and Xiang An feared they would fight.

A fight between ordinary horses is dangerous enough, let alone two thoroughbreds. Damaging things is one thing, but if the two thoroughbreds get injured, that would be a huge loss.

The carriage carrying Xiang Liang, Xiang Bo, and others returned near dusk. Xiang An saw his old companion, the old yellow horse he had been riding ever since he returned to the Xiang family.

"I probably won't be able to ride you anymore," Xiang An said with emotion, stroking the old yellow horse's neck and pressing his head against its forehead.

The old yellow horse was very docile, sticking out its tongue to lick Xiang An's hair. Xiang An was amused, patted the old yellow horse's cheek, and mounted the horse.

"Let me ride you around one last time!" Xiang An said, riding the old yellow horse towards the outskirts of Kuaiji City.

......

The First Emperor has been very irritable lately.

His ministers have recently been reminding him to establish an heir, which is making him feel uneasy.

As an emperor, it is appropriate to have a qualified successor, but the First Emperor was somewhat reluctant to do so.

Among his own children, there were some outstanding and highly respected ones, the most famous being Prince Fusu and Ying Huhai.

However, he didn't want to make either of them the crown prince. It wasn't that he disliked the two children; rather, it was...

Fusu is a gentle and obedient boy, skilled in both literature and martial arts, and exceptionally talented. He is currently the most popular candidate for crown prince, and the First Emperor also favors him greatly, but...

The First Emperor felt that this child was a bit too honest, too honest... a bit too honest.

He was even like a heartless filial piety machine, doing whatever the First Emperor asked him to do, no matter what it was, which was... extremely absurd.

Moreover, Fusu was backed by the powerful maternal relatives of the Chu state. The place with the most remaining power among the six states was probably the First Emperor's harem, among which there were two of the most powerful factions, the most powerful being the maternal relatives of the Chu state.

In addition, given Fusu's high popularity among his ministers and the support of his maternal relatives, if the First Emperor were to actually appoint Fusu as crown prince, the ministers and maternal relatives would likely stage a coup the very next day to force him to abdicate. Although Fusu himself might not do so, there are plenty of people who would want him to.

Although the First Emperor was not afraid of this move, he would not provoke this conflict. How should the relationship between father and son be handled then?

As for another prince with a relatively high chance of winning...

The two powerful maternal relatives mentioned earlier were, firstly, the Chu maternal relatives who stood behind Fusu, and secondly, the Zhao maternal relatives who stood behind Huhai. This is why Huhai was able to maintain the second-highest popularity among the officials, second only to Fusu, even when the political situation was extremely unfavorable.

The First Emperor disliked Huhai, but his ministers favored the Zhao family's relatives. Although the First Emperor was aware of the ministers' ulterior motives, he could not completely ignore their opinions and could only choose to suppress them, thus delaying the time for him to establish an heir.

Anyway, I'm still young and have a long life ahead of me. Is there any problem with delaying the establishment of an heir?

no problem.

The First Emperor tossed the memorial aside, rubbed his temples, sighed, and waved for the palace maid who was holding his lamp to leave.

The First Emperor sat up from his seat in front of the altar, stretched, and walked towards the back of his palace.

That was the site of the Epang Palace.

Since Ji Chao's death, the First Emperor had been in a state of considerable anxiety.

Chao Di's expectations, the expectations of the world, his own dreams—this entire Central Plains rested on his shoulders alone. No one could share his joy and sorrow, but he carried it all with a smile. However, this did not mean he was not tired.

Therefore, he became interested in mystery.

Mysterious and powerful, capable of helping him, a lonely man, accomplish many things.

The Qin state left behind a considerable amount of mysterious technological remnants. Could other countries also have such remnants?

He sent people to search for the ancestral lands of the six states and indeed found many remnants. After integrating these mysterious technologies, he deduced and associated them to construct new technologies belonging to the First Emperor. Based on the remaining information, he successfully cultivated magic power by using the underground palace that remained beneath the original Qin palace.

He used new technologies he developed by integrating magic and residual techniques to begin transforming his palace.

Following Ji Chao's naming conventions, he named his magical palace—

The Central Plains Security and Integrated Management Collection [Epang Palace].

However, the First Emperor, having acquired the Epang Palace, was still not satisfied. He ordered the alchemist Xu Fu to sail the seas in search of more mysterious remnants, for the Qin Dynasty needed this technology.

However, the First Emperor was completely unaware of the immense burden this unorthodox cultivation of magical power would place on his body.

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Chapter 827 The Poppy That's Clearly Something's Wrong

In Xu Fu's courtyard, in front of a garden, a beautiful woman stood still.

She gazed intently at the blooming flowers, her cherry lips slightly parted and her willow brows furrowed gently.

"Lord Yu, what are you thinking about?" Xu Fu walked up from behind Yu Meiren. Standing next to Yu Meiren, Xu Fu looked rather thin and small. "Ever since you drifted from beyond the Great Wall to this Central Plains and found yourself, you have always seemed gloomy. Is there any reason for this?"

This was a year after Yu Meiren arrived in the Central Plains.

After learning of Yu Meiren's true identity, Xu Fu had no other thoughts. He simply felt that such an elderly person should be respected, so he addressed Yu Meiren as Lord Yu.

"Ah, Xu Fu." After a year of getting acquainted with the Central Plains, Yu Meiren had become much more dignified and smiled as she replied to Xu Fu, "I was just thinking about something, it's alright."

"Are you thinking about things before you gained self-awareness? I remember you said, Lord Yu, that even without self-awareness, those memories still exist in your mind." Xu Fu walked to Yu Meiren's side, bent down, and gently touched the flower in front of him.

“Yes…” Yu Meiren sighed softly, “Xu Fu, you should still remember what I told you before about how I gained my self.”

"You mean... those two machines we encountered outside the Great Wall?" Xu Fu was taken aback.

From Yu Meiren, he also learned about a series of events that had a great impact on the Central Plains that had occurred outside the Great Wall, among which two machines were of paramount importance.

"Yes, it was one of those two machines that gave me my sense of self and made me understand... what pain is." Yu Meiren clutched her chest with lingering regret, her face involuntarily flushing slightly.