If it were possible, please use my life to exchange for his life. If it were possible, let my death replace his death. He is the most wonderful person in the world—why must he bear the greatest suffering in this world?
Tears flowed down line after line, and a tremendous sense of powerlessness deeply tormented her heart.
How she wanted to chase after that person, even if she herself would bleed from the pain—she still hoped to see his warm smile. However, he wouldn’t be happy. He was that kind of person—he would rather his own heart bleed while he smiled watching others’ happiness.
If so, then let it be this way—loving you secretly with the deepest heart, hoping you can escape fate’s cycle of reincarnation, break free from destiny’s entanglement, and find your own happiness.
On the empty long street, a thin horse gradually disappeared into the morning mist, carrying a simple bundle, leaving only a faint shadow behind.
“Miss Mu Lian.” Li Xian suddenly called out loudly.
Mu Lian, riding on horseback, turned her head with indifference, slightly raising her eyebrows as she looked at this young boy.
“You’re leaving?” Li Xian looked at her with slight confusion. Yesterday she had been injured in the leg by someone, and it was he who had carried her all the way back. He hadn’t expected those eight Southern Border witch doctors to heal her so quickly.
“Yes.” Mu Lian nodded.
“Where are you going?”
Mu Lian said, “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know where you’re going? Then why are you still leaving?”
Mu Lian smiled and said, “In this world, who really knows where they’re going?”
“I’m leaving now.” Mu Lian smiled—this was a smile she had never shown before, peaceful and warm, seeming to carry the relief of having let go of something. For a moment, it was so brilliant that Li Xian couldn’t keep his eyes open. When he came to his senses, Mu Lian had already gone very far away, no longer visible.
“Sigh! She’s still gone. She’s a good child, but her fate is too bitter.”
An aged, low sigh suddenly came. Li Xian turned his head to see Uncle Xiang standing nearby trembling, gazing in the direction Mu Lian had departed, murmuring these words.
“Uncle Xiang, what did you say?”
The old man sighed, “She was framed by Prince Yan back then, which harmed her clanspeople, making her a traitor abandoned by heaven and earth. She then ended up in the Northern Border camp as a military prostitute. The Mulian people were expelled from the Xiongnu tribes because of her, and later sought refuge with our Great Qin for a time. Her brother was the leader of the Mulian people. When he came to pay respects at the Northern Border camp, he specifically requested her to serve him, then in front of everyone, he raped her and had all the Mulian people rape her. She was only sixteen then, and for two consecutive days on the martial arts field, she was violated by those beasts from the Mulian tribe. Fortunately, His Highness happened to be inspecting the Northern Border camp at that time. When he learned of this, he immediately killed three Mulian men who were abusing her and expelled the Mulian tribe from Great Qin’s vassal states. However, from then on, she couldn’t speak for two years and was in a daze. His Highness took her to Southern Border to seek medical treatment. The Grand Elder of the Southern Border witch doctor tribe treated her for over a year before she gradually recovered.”
“Sigh!” Uncle Xiang shook his head and sighed, “Poor child, now her leg is lame too. The world is so big—if a girl gets bullied, what can she do?”
The old man chattered on, pulling over a dark red horse, wanting to lead it to the stable.
Li Xian stood in place, somewhat dazed, his eyes staring straight ahead, not knowing what he was thinking. Some complex thoughts gradually came to mind. He suddenly remembered when he first heard about this woman at Bailu Plain, his expression had been so contemptuous. But gradually, gradually, through bit by bit of contact, some things slowly changed.
The world is so vast—if a girl with a lame leg gets bullied, what should she do?
A sunny smile gradually appeared on his young face. He suddenly snatched the horse’s reins from Uncle Xiang’s hands, leaped onto the horse, shouted once, and chased after the direction Mu Lian had disappeared.
Uncle Xiang was greatly alarmed and called after him, “Little Li, where are you going?”
“Uncle Xiang, I’m going to find her!”
Uncle Xiang was very anxious and called out, “Where will you look for her? She’s already gone far! Are you coming back or not?”
Li Xian’s laughter came back from afar, carrying the confidence and determination of youth, echoing loudly in the air: “If I can’t find her, I’ll keep looking. If I find her, I won’t come back!”
The sunlight was brilliant, a golden radiance. The morning sun finally jumped out from below the horizon, filling the world with dazzling sunlight.
Behind the corridor, the man in white robes watched the direction the two had departed, smiling peacefully.
That smile was so tranquil, yet carried a trace of barely concealed envy.
The situation of that era was like a magnificent, surging river—a huge stone thrown in could only create tiny ripples but couldn’t stop the great current of water rushing eastward.
The Qin King’s birthday celebration could ultimately only become a farce in the mouths of future court historians. Ten thousand nations paying homage, Prince Xuan’s wedding, Prince Xiang’s rebellion, the Crown Prince’s execution, Prince Yan’s poisoning, Prince Xuan’s desperate counterattack after being cornered, killing his own brother, preserving Great Qin’s foundation—yet ultimately unable to save the Qin King who had fought all his life. This led to the Qin King’s tragic death in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, receiving the dying mandate, establishing a new generation of imperial sage ruler.
Looking at the overall situation from a high, detached perspective, Prince Xuan was undoubtedly the greatest beneficiary. As a victim, he legitimately eliminated several of the most powerful competitors blocking his succession to the throne—elegantly and without any stain, while winning the support and love of all Great Qin’s military and civilians.
When future storytellers on street corners would eloquently mock Prince Xuan as having honeyed words but a treacherous heart, using others to kill, committing fratricide and patricide, harming his own clan—speaking with absolute certainty—the court in Xianyang nearly came to blows over whether Prince Xuan should inherit the imperial throne. Unexpectedly, Prince Xuan’s teacher, Grand Tutor Zhong, the greatest Confucian scholar of the time, was actually the leader of the faction strongly opposing Qin Zhiyan’s inheritance of the throne. His reason was clear: Qin Zhiyan was terminally ill and feared unable to bear such heavy responsibility.
The court situation immediately became deadlocked. Various large and small vassal states and clan princes of Great Qin were all rubbing their hands together, wanting to use this succession chaos to expand their own power. Almost all major noble families sent their backbone members to the capital to build connections, hoping to gain more benefits while maintaining their existing family influence. For a time, Xianyang City was crowded with people, with leaders from all sides gathering, drilling everywhere, discussing and planning, keeping extremely busy.
The faint melancholy atmosphere originally left by the Qin King’s death had gradually disappeared completely.
However, just when everyone was busy rushing between Prince Xuan’s mansion and military-political offices, the magnificent situation was suddenly disrupted, like a tremendous storm descending. Before this group of people could recover their senses, the tempest had already swept across the entire Great Qin Empire.
The issuance of the Imperial Consolidation Decree, even viewed from later generations, had to be praised as extremely brilliant. This decree, which established Great Qin’s absolutely powerful centralized authority, spread rapidly throughout the nation with lightning speed. It first revoked the military rights of all major clans and princes, changed provincial governors to prefectural counties, retrieved local appointment rights, established imperial examinations with both civil and military tests. The system of local official recommendations was completely abolished, replaced by court appointments. It also retrieved national taxation, with local military salaries uniformly distributed by the imperial house, implementing a rotation system for military commanders, limiting to some degree the commanders’ ability to maintain private armies. It emphasized agriculture, promoted commerce, opened trading cities with various nations. In just a few days, all of Great Qin had been completely renewed. Those clan nobles who had once been like local emperors suddenly became toothless tigers, no longer able to constrain the court as before.
Qin Zhiyan acted so quickly that those local magnates and powerful households had almost no time to react. By the time they realized these policies would greatly damage their interests, all policies had already been fully implemented, current prefectural and county officials had taken office, and their military forces had been recalled. Even with hearts full of anger, they could only swallow it, outwardly celebrating while welcoming their new superiors.
Strong winds reveal sturdy grass; troubled times show heroes. After ten years of suppression, Qin Zhiyan struck once, and all of Great Qin’s situation changed dramatically—no one could block his momentum.
However, while all Great Qin’s clan magnates were secretly cursing, Prince Xuan’s mansion, which should have been infinitely glorious, had once again fallen into gloomy despair.
Today was already the third day since Qing Xia’s departure. Since morning, Qin Zhiyan had been in a comatose state. The eight witch doctors had exhausted all methods and could only barely maintain his weak breathing. The mansion’s main gate was tightly closed, strictly preventing anyone from leaving to avoid leaking news of Prince Xuan’s critical condition. Just when everyone was terrified, Grand Tutor Zhong knocked on the mansion’s vermillion gate and entered through a side door.
On the bed, Qin Zhiyan was already so ill he was unrecognizable. His eye sockets had deeply sunken, his lips were bluish, his complexion pale as paper. Except for his slightly rising chest, there was no sign he was still alive.
Aged Grand Tutor Zhong’s eyes reddened after just one glance at him. Uncle Xiang was panicking and constantly saying, “Lord Zhong, what should we do? Can he pull through? Can he pull through?”
Grand Tutor Zhong forced down the sourness in his nose, signaled everyone to leave, and brought a stool to sit alone beside his bedside.
Qin Zhiyan’s brows were tightly furrowed, his expression extremely pained. Grand Tutor Zhong clearly knew how excruciating the pain was each time he had a poison attack and vomited blood. To treat his illness and find the best treatment method, the eight Southern Border witch doctors had once planted that poison in animals and condemned criminals. However, whether it was the most physically powerful men or fierce, violent wild beasts, none could endure the poison attack three times—most died by beating their heads against walls or severing their own blood vessels, dying in miserable and terrifying states that would chill even the boldest person who saw them.