Chapter 1: Journey to Sandhill, The Death of Qin Shi Huang

The thirty-seventh year of Qin Shi Huang's reign.

The second day of the seventh month.

The Sandhill Temporary Palace.

On a bed lay a figure with a pale face and a withered, emaciated body.

That paper-white complexion marked someone who had breathed their last long ago.

Beside this bed.

Stood two men, their expressions gloomy and unsettled.

Occasionally, a few low words escaped their lips.

As if they were plotting some earth-shattering affair.

These two were Zhao Gao, the Director of the Imperial Carriage Office, and Li Si, the Left Chancellor of the court.

The other was Li Si, the current Left Chancellor.

And lying on the bed was the reigning Emperor—Qin Shi Huang!

Yet now, Qin Shi Huang had been dead for quite some time.

The corpse on the bed was gradually stiffening.

The two men looked at the corpse on the bed without a shred of reverence in their eyes.

Zhao Gao and Li Si had been conspiring here for a long time.

This was their first collaboration.

News of Qin Shi Huang's sudden death was temporarily suppressed.

Outsiders did not know that Qin Shi Huang had died suddenly at Sandhill.

"Chancellor Li, what do you think of my strategy? Is it acceptable?"

"Time is short; we must decide quickly!"

Zhao Gao wore a look of ruthless ferocity, staring sinisterly at Li Si.

If Li Si dared utter a single word of refusal, he would find a way to eliminate him.

Li Si's expression was extremely grim.

Qin Shi Huang had toured to Sandhill and suddenly died.

Zhao Gao's proposal was actually to forge the last edict!

He wanted to collaborate with him to fabricate a false testament establishing Hu Hai as the next Emperor.

How could this not shock Li Si?

How did Zhao Gao dare to act so?

This was treason!

If discovered, it would lead to the extermination of three generations of their clans.

Merely thinking of the contents of the edict made Li Si lose his composure.

Qin Shi Huang's last edict explicitly stated that Crown Prince Fu Su was to be established as the next Emperor.

It was issued on the eve of his sudden death, but the edict had now been intercepted by Zhao Gao.

The news had not leaked out.

Li Si's face looked terrible indeed.

Fu Su favored the Confucian school; if Fu Su ascended the throne, Li Si would lose all his power.

He had climbed step by step from a scholar to his current position as Chancellor; only he knew the bitterness involved.

He truly did not wish to lose everything he now possessed.

If Fu Su ascended the throne, sooner or later he would lose all he currently held.

But if Hu Hai ascended the throne, he could share power with Zhao Gao and control the court!

Thinking of this, Li Si's heart stirred violently.

His heart pounded loudly.

This was a mad decision.

It left his inner self unable to calm down for a long time.

Ultimately, to prevent his power from being stripped away.

Under the greed for supreme power.

Li Si agreed to Zhao Gao's proposal.

He did not want to lose all that had been so hard-won.

He had endured countless hardships to reach this point.

Now that Qin Shi Huang was dead, he no longer needed to remain loyal.

He had been loyal to Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng, but now Qin Shi Huang was gone.

As long as he coordinated with Zhao Gao flawlessly, everything could proceed.

Li Si glanced at Zhao Gao.

He saw Zhao Gao looking at him with sincere eyes, awaiting his decision.

"Only if Fu Su cannot become Emperor can we survive."

"Your proposal... this Chancellor agrees."

Upon hearing these words, Zhao Gao immediately broke into a smile.

"Good!"

Zhao Gao burst into loud laughter.

But quickly, he clapped a hand over his mouth.

Terrified that someone outside might hear.

"Then from now on, let us work together to assist Young Master Hu Hai!"

"Let us join forces to forge the last edict anew."

"Young Master Hu Hai is at Shaqiu right now; we need only go and hint at it shortly."

As Zhao Gao spoke, he glanced at the figure on the couch, revealing a ruthless expression.

Hu Hai was his student and listened to almost everything he said.

Once Hu Hai ascended the throne, he could manipulate the court from behind the scenes.

He was confident he could control Hu Hai.

With that thought, Zhao Gao left without looking back.

Li Si also looked toward the figure on the couch.

A trace of shame appeared on his face.

But very quickly, he suppressed that slight shame.

Then he turned and followed, departing from the place.

Now that Qin Shi Huang is dead, he must also consider his own future and that of his family.

Hu Hai's residence.

When Hu Hai learned that his father had suddenly died, he was so frightened that his soul nearly left his body.

Moreover, Zhao Gao and Li Si had brought the last edict with them.

When Hu Hai saw that the name written on the edict as the next emperor was unmistakably his elder brother Fu Su,

Hu Hai's face immediately turned extremely ugly.

Though his father was dead, compared to the throne, he cared far more about the throne itself!

Among all his brothers, only he and Fu Su had the greatest hope of becoming Crown Prince.

He had also studied many expedient strategies and imperial arts of rulership from Zhao Gao,

all with the aim of one day becoming Crown Prince.

He had long harbored designs on this imperial throne.

Coming along to Shaqiu this time was meant to be his chance to demonstrate himself before his father.

But now his father had suddenly died, and the last edict bore Fu Su's name.

Thinking of this, Hu Hai's expression suddenly turned ferocious.

Yet very quickly,

Hu Hai sank deep into despair.

With the last edict now established, the matter was settled; what else could he do?

Zhao Gao seemed to perceive Hu Hai's thoughts.

"Young Master Hu Hai, this last edict is fake; we can simply forge another one."

Hearing these words, Hu Hai's mind could not quite turn.

"Fake?"

"Forge another one?"

Could an imperial last edict issued by his father possibly be false?

A moment later,

Hu Hai understood why Zhao Gao had spoken thus.

He saw Li Si, standing nearby, writing a new last edict on the spot.

Meanwhile, his teacher Zhao Gao drew the imperial seal from his robe and stamped it onto the silk document.

Thus, the new last edict was completed!

Hu Hai stared blankly at all of this.

In just this short while, he had become the next emperor?

Hu Hai's heart was filled with utter shock.

These two were tampering with the last edict!

If his father ever learned of this, it would mean the extermination of three generations of his clan!

But then he realized in an instant: his father was already dead!

When he saw that the name written on the edict was his own, Hu Hai,

cast aside all thoughts of exterminating three generations and tampering with the last edict.

As long as he possessed this edict, he would be the next emperor!

As for Fu Su,

Hmph.

Let him go do whatever he must.

Wild joy spread across Hu Hai's face.

Zhao Gao observed the changes in Hu Hai's expression

and smiled with understanding.

After exchanging a few words of deliberation,

he and Li Si departed swiftly from the place.

Their time now was extremely tight.

At noon,

Zhao Gao and Li Si summoned all the hundred officials who had accompanied them.

When the assembly of officials gathered before the gates of Qin Shi Huang's traveling palace,

they saw only Zhao Gao and Li Si.

All were momentarily stunned.

Summoning so many people, they had thought His Majesty had some matter requiring their audience.

Zhao Gao and Li Si exchanged a glance, each seeing in the other's eyes a flicker of fervor.

Meanwhile, Hu Hai stood to one side, feigning an expression of profound grief,

though inside he was trembling with excitement.

Emperor!

This had been his lifelong wish for many years!

Zhao Gao swept his gaze over the crowd,

drew a roll of silk document from his sleeve,

and declared, "An edict from His Majesty! Receive the decree!"

Upon hearing it was an imperial edict, the hundred officials accompanying the procession all bowed in respect.

"His Majesty Qin Shi Huang passed away suddenly today."

"This is a tragedy for our Great Qin Empire; the entire nation mourns!"

"Yet the empire cannot be without a sovereign for even a single day."

"Before His Majesty passed away, he established a last will and testament, designating Hu Hai as the next Emperor!"

"You must all unite in supporting the new Emperor; anyone who disobeys this order shall be executed immediately!"

The hundred officials stared at Zhao Gao, dumbfounded.

Only one sentence remained in their minds.

Has Qin Shi Huang passed away?

Is Hu Hai the next Emperor?

The hundred officials were completely shocked by this sudden news.

Their mouths hung wide open, large enough to stuff an egg inside.

The scene fell utterly silent!

So quiet one could hear a needle drop!

Until a long time had passed.

The scene finally erupted into chaos.

Nearly every voice raised was one of doubt.

"His Majesty has passed away? How is this possible?"

"Impossible! I saw His Majesty just yesterday; he was merely somewhat weak, so how could he have passed away?"

"Could there be some misunderstanding or hidden circumstance behind this?"

"Lord Zhao has already announced it; what misunderstanding could there possibly be?"

"As for hidden circumstances, who knows."

At this moment, the hundred officials who had accompanied the procession panicked.

The news was too sudden.

His Majesty's passing was so abrupt.

If this news were to leak out,

then the remnants of the six states would emerge again to stir up trouble.

By then, the entire Great Qin would once again plunge into chaotic warfare!

Terror filled their hearts; they could not believe this fact.

A wave of panic rose within them.