“Bi Zhi… Bi Zhi?”
A gentle voice drew near from far away. He saw that face both familiar and strange, bearing an expression of concern. “Bi Zhi, why did you fall asleep? It’s too cold here. Why don’t you go back and rest?”
He looked down at the wide-sleeved green robe he wore, feeling immensely nostalgic.
Throughout his long life, his clothes had always been black, never changing.
But now, standing opposite him was this gentle-faced young man wearing black robes. Though his entire outfit was adorned with only a jade ornament at his waist, making him appear extremely modest, he knew this was the most noble attire in the Great Qin Empire, second only to the emperor himself.
The Qin Dynasty revered black—only the imperial family could wear black clothing. The emperor wore black upper garments with crimson lower garments, while this Crown Prince before him did not yet have the qualification to adorn his black robes with those crimson cloud patterns.
He also knew that this Crown Prince would remain Crown Prince for his entire life, never having the right to wear those most noble black upper and crimson lower garments while alive.
“Bi Zhi, are you frozen senseless? This year’s winter has come rather early indeed.” The handsome young man said with concern, slowly bending down.
He watched this Crown Prince, who stood above all but one, take a spiral copper hand warmer from his chest and press it into his own hands. The warm sensation spread from his frozen palms straight to his heart.
He lowered his head, knowing he was dreaming again—dreams of the past that had repeatedly appeared in his mind over these two thousand years. He could even recite what Fu Su would say next and the sentence after that. Looking at the bamboo slips on the desk, they concerned various matters regarding the construction of the Great Wall. This should be the thirty-fifth year of Qin Shihuang’s reign, when their First Emperor was once again touring the east, leaving Crown Prince Fu Su to oversee the state.
This was the warm chamber of Xianyang Palace, where Qin Shihuang usually handled state affairs. Fu Su had been attending at his side for seven years, learning how to manage government matters, and naturally, he as a study companion had always followed. Now, whenever the empire’s ruler temporarily departed, he would delegate almost all power to his most prideful crown prince, letting him enjoy the wonder of possessing this nation.
Being emperor was certainly good, and being acting emperor wasn’t bad either—except for having to face mountain-like responsibilities. Look, the entire warm chamber was piled with various documents and scrolls, truly like mountains.
He couldn’t help glancing around. Even knowing this was a dream, he found such a scene too oppressive. He always felt that in the next second, these bamboo slips would collapse and bury him alive underneath.
“Your complexion doesn’t look good. Is it because of that pill you took yesterday?” A pair of warm hands reached over, pale fingertips pressing against his forehead. That burning touch made him slightly dazed, unable to react.
When had this happened? How had he never dreamed of such a scene before?
Yes, that pill—the elixir of immortality that changed his entire life. So this was from that time?
“Father Emperor recently… everyone must comply with that edict. Bi Zhi, don’t take it to heart.” The young man withdrew his hand, his gentle and refined face bearing some apology.
He was stunned. This memory hadn’t appeared in his dreams for a long time, so he didn’t know what to say. He carefully recalled the winter of the thirty-fourth year of Qin Shihuang’s reign—the empire’s situation should have become tense. Qin Shihuang had flown into a rage and killed over four hundred alchemists. Though it hadn’t affected the court and countryside, everyone was already terrified, fearing they might bear the emperor’s wrath at any moment. The emperor’s anger meant millions of corpses and rivers of blood. Holding the warm hand warmer, he smiled genuinely and said, “The medicine master left might truly grant immortality.” He spoke the truth, though generally no one would believe such words.
“Then stay here and continue helping me.” The young man’s smile deepened, naturally assuming such words were a joke. This Crown Prince of the Great Qin Empire stood up again, walked back to the desk in the center of the warm chamber and sat down, reaching for the He Shi Bi on the desk to examine it repeatedly. His handsome face appeared even more profound under the warm, gentle light of the luminous pearls. For a moment, time seemed to stand still.
He squinted, reluctantly gazing at this nostalgic scene before him. He was very familiar with this warm chamber, having spent nearly ten years here. He knew every blue brick—which ones had their gold foil worn away at the corners by bamboo slips, which inconspicuous jade stones had been secretly chipped away by light-fingered palace servants, which luminous pearls bore cracks from being deliberately knocked by that spoiled little prince. In the long years that followed, he could retrieve those blue bricks one by one, buy back those luminous pearls, copy those scrolls, and even reclaim that He Shi Bi that held power over the world, striving to recreate all the authentic feeling of this warm chamber. But he could never again see this scene in reality.
For a moment, he felt a sense of weariness.
After two thousand years of solitude, what exactly was he persisting for?
“Bi Zhi, do you think I can possess this Imperial Seal?” After an unknown time, a voice broke the deathly silence here, the young voice mixed with indescribable unease.
He was slightly stunned, remembering that the Crown Prince of that time indeed had undisguisable insecurity in private. Because his father emperor was a very great emperor with a legendary life that no one could surpass.
How had he answered then? Yes, he had often answered this question back then. He steadied himself and slowly said, “Your Highness will become a very good emperor. Though you won’t be as great as the First Emperor, you will certainly be a remarkable Second Emperor of Qin. After you, there will be a Third, Fourth, even Ten Thousand Generations…”
Yes, everyone thought so then. Even the First Emperor, who believed he would live forever, was very satisfied with Fu Su. The only slight flaw was that he felt Fu Su’s character was somewhat indecisive.
He knew Fu Su wasn’t indecisive, but rather had irreconcilable contradictions with Qin Shihuang’s political philosophy. The First Emperor believed in Legalism, while Fu Su disagreed with this autocratic governing philosophy, preferring Confucian thought—all stemming from the teachings of Grand Confucian Scholar Chunyu Yue. Actually, this thinking was very suitable for great governance after great chaos. If Fu Su could ascend the throne smoothly, the Great Qin Empire would surely last ten thousand generations.
But he knew that this winter, after the First Emperor returned to Xianyang Palace, at a banquet, Chunyu Yue’s dismissive attitude toward the First Emperor’s implemented prefecture and county system and his suggestion to follow Zhou ritual and implement feudalism would be refuted by Li Si and earn the First Emperor’s displeasure, directly leading to Chunyu Yue’s dismissal. Fu Su’s strong opposition to this matter and his written protest would result in the First Emperor sending him to Shangjun to supervise General Meng Tian’s army.
He believed this was the turning point of Fu Su’s life. If he hadn’t left the political center too early, Hu Hai wouldn’t have been able to ascend the throne with just Li Si and Zhao Gao’s support.
“Bi Zhi… sometimes, I really envy Hai’er.” The handsome young man toyed with the He Shi Bi in his hands, but his thoughts had already flown a thousand li away.
Holding the warm hand warmer, he slightly curved his lips in a faint smile: “His Majesty brought him on the tour because he feared he would cause trouble for Your Highness.” Don’t think the First Emperor purely doted on his youngest son—someone as restless as Hu Hai would surely turn Xianyang upside down if left there.
The young man didn’t speak, only showing a bitter smile at the corner of his lips, his gaze still lingering on the He Shi Bi in his hands.
He didn’t continue persuading. Actually, everyone understood these matters. The attitude toward an empire’s heir and a doted-upon youngest son would naturally be different. Thinking of the First Emperor on that dragon throne, after a very long time, he couldn’t help but sigh: “The emperor stands above everyone else with no one for company, which is why he is called the ‘solitary one’…”
Hearing this, the young man trembled, his expression becoming bitter, then changed the subject: “Bi Zhi, do you know the origin of this Imperial Seal?”
He gathered his emotions. Even knowing this had happened over two thousand years ago, he treasured it immensely and dared not treat it with any casual attitude. Yes, this was how he should have answered then. “In ‘Han Feizi: He Shi,’ it’s recorded that Bian He found jade at Jing Mountain and presented it to King Li, who mistook him for a deceiver and cut off his left foot. Later he presented it to King Wu, who cut off his right foot. When King Wen of Chu ascended the throne, Bian He wept while holding the jade in the marketplace until he bled. When asked why, he answered: ‘Not for my bodily harm, but because the jade is shamed.’ King Wen heard of this and had it carved, obtaining beautiful jade like crystal. Thus it was named the He Shi Bi. Bian He was enfeoffed as Marquis of Lingyang but declined the position.”
A long passage of classical Chinese flowed effortlessly from his mouth. After a slight surprise, he couldn’t help feeling melancholy—this was indeed his memory dream, events that had happened over two thousand years ago.
Unchangeable and impossible to change.
A thoughtful expression appeared on the handsome young man’s face. After a long while, he said, “Bi Zhi, why was Bian He so stubborn? He would rather have both legs crippled than not present this jade to the Chu king?”
He had forgotten exactly how he answered then, but he heard his own voice say without hesitation: “Scholar Han used Bian He’s jade presentation story to metaphorically express his own political propositions not being adopted by the ruler and instead suffering persecution. Of course, a deeper meaning is that jade craftsmen should recognize and distinguish jade, and rulers should know people and employ them well. Those who present new theories and treasures must be prepared to sacrifice for them. When Scholar Han was favored by the emperor, this story played a major role.”
The handsome young man turned his head and smiled gently at him: “Bi Zhi doesn’t seem to like this He Shi Bi very much. I’ve never seen you touch it once. I remember once asking you to casually hand it over, and you weren’t very willing. Hai’er absolutely loves this He Shi Bi!”
The corner of his mouth curved in a mocking arc as he smiled coldly: “Implementing benevolent government is the foundation of establishing a nation, and where the people’s hearts turn is the way to stabilize the country. Can obtaining a precious jade make one emperor? This He Shi Bi originally belonged to Chu, later wandered to Zhao, but ultimately it’s here now.” In his view, even the most magnificent precious jade was merely icing on the cake of great ambitions and hegemony. He raised his head and suddenly caught a strange look in the young man’s eyes, feeling slightly stunned.
Had he noticed this fleeting oddity back then?
“Bi Zhi speaks reasonably.” The handsome young man regained his gentle expression, dipped the He Shi Bi in ink pad, and reverently stamped its seal under the government decree about to be issued, then smiled with satisfaction: “Bi Zhi, actually Scholar Han’s story contains another enlightenment.”
“Oh?” Though he used a questioning tone, he already remembered what Fu Su would say next. This sentence had haunted his dreams for two thousand years.
“That is, for the beliefs one persists in, no matter what price must be paid, one will never retreat a single step.” The young man raised his head, and under the deep blue light of the luminous pearls, revealed his handsome face, looking at him with determined eyes: “Bi Zhi, you will always stand behind me, won’t you?”
“I will. I have always been here.”