Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 84, Section 83: Death and Division

Qin Shi had nothing to say about the breakup.

When she realized she had a preference for the strong, she understood that in this relationship she thought was true love, her boyfriend loved his sense of honor as the pillar of the family.

Being able to become the pillar of the family, no matter how hard or tiring it is, he is proud, confident, and happy to do it.

She loved herself, and she firmly believed in her success.

Neither of them was wrong, nor were they bad people; they simply had different values.

She didn't date for several years afterward because she was surpassing her past self, and every day was more exciting than the last.

Even as she faced her terminal illness and drew to a close, she continued to uphold her beliefs. She planned to return to her hometown, chose her burial plot, and considered how she would leave her mark on history…

Then, the world gave her another extraordinary encounter.

As she drank the warm, bitter tea, she became certain that she could not and should not refuse the position of queen.

My thoughts at this moment are precisely what Zhou Ju reminded me of that day—

If Qin Qing feels it is inconvenient to order around the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers...

Yes, once she becomes the Queen of Qin, she can command troops, discuss politics, support her confidants... and even directly participate in the court after the King's death!

Whatever she wants to do, she can command it, and as long as it doesn't disobey the king's orders, the highest officials and ministers must obey.

She wanted to see the merchants, and when the news spread, all the merchants in the Qin Dynasty had to come to Xianyang Palace in response to the summons!
Even if she does nothing, as the mother of the nation, she can still pass on all her political ideas, values, and behaviors to her children.

Even though there is a chance of deviation, but... what in the world is foolproof?
Isn't this position better than that of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers?

Thinking back on it now, she almost wanted to burst into laughter!
To be the Queen of Qin... Good!

There is no better identity than this.

She wasn't forced into it; she did it willingly and openly.

As for the Chi-tiger Seal...

Qin Shi sighed: as far as she knew, only empresses of the Western Han Dynasty were explicitly recorded as using the dragon-tiger seal. This was because the empress held the most power at that time, while later generations…

There are too few historical records; she only remembers that the Chi-tiger seal was exclusively for the emperor.

However, since the Qin Dynasty hasn't even finalized the Imperial Seal yet, she still considers it a privilege bestowed upon her by the King of Qin.

Unexpectedly, the fact that there was no crown prince in the country led King Heng of Qin, a man of high efficiency and strong execution, to take a liking to him so quickly.

Empress Wei of the Han Dynasty, who received the seal of the dragon and tiger, wielded immense power and committed the most ruthless acts despite her gentle demeanor and humble origins as a singer.

He managed the imperial harem, participated in politics, launched a rebellion, and ultimately committed suicide when all hope seemed lost.

Qin Shi took a deep breath.

The next moment, she looked at the four kneeling maids, then at the empty waterside pavilion around her—

They are the ones most afraid of this important matter being leaked.

So she laughed again: "Alright! I didn't mean to blame you, don't be afraid."

"But... since Your Majesty intends not to say, then I will pretend I don't know."

Chi Nu Wu Zi raised her head and visibly breathed a sigh of relief: "Yes. We will proceed as arranged by Lord Qin."

Now, she should sort out her thoughts and go to Zhangtai Palace as soon as possible.

After all, Zhou Ju came specifically to ask, which must be a reminder to her that it is very likely that Prince Qin Heng is in a bad mood right now.

If she were merely a noble person, one should stay far away from her at this moment.

But she has ambitions for the future—just like what she told Princess Wen, rights are something you have to fight for yourself.

How can we strive for it?

Naturally, one must take on challenges that others cannot and do things that others cannot.

...Qin Shi arrived at Zhangtai Palace with great confidence and waited quietly.

Because she hadn't been notified beforehand, she needed to wait a little longer. Sitting comfortably in the side hall, she could see that three officials had already been dragged away...

They were quite lucky; they were not subjected to corporal punishment, only caning.

If the punishments were even more severe, there would be tattooing (branding characters on the face), nose amputation (cutting off the nose), foot amputation (cutting off the feet)...

At this moment, the punishment is so direct.

To be honest, when Qin Shi was being beaten, he even felt that everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Ju was both surprised and delighted to hear that she was coming.

He sent a message to Qin Shi, intending to divert attention, but in essence, everyone was trying to avoid the enraged King of Qin. Even if the other party didn't come in person, a few words would be helpful.

However, now that Qin Shi had come in person, he couldn't help but feel a little worried. Therefore, braving Ji Heng's anger, he went to the side hall to greet him and explained the situation in a few words—

Dongjun, which is the area around Puyang in Henan in later times.

A meteorite suddenly fell from the sky here, attracting countless people to come and see it. However, no one knows who carved the words "The King of Qin died and the land was divided" on the meteorite.

The prefect couldn't find out who it was, and instead allowed the situation to escalate, causing widespread panic in Dongjun...

Zhou Ju sighed, "The Grand Astrologer failed to detect the meteorite, and His Majesty was already unhappy. Now..."

Qin Shi understood.

The word "divided" in the phrase "divided upon death" has two meanings.

The first is enfeoffment.

It has been almost a year since the Qin Dynasty unified the six kingdoms, and all the rulers have already been rewarded for their merits. However, Ji Heng is determined to abolish the Zhou Dynasty's enfeoffment system and has not yet been granted any land or title.

This was very bad news for the powerful families, officials, and generals who had followed along.

Secondly, the world fell apart.

The king is thirty-six years old. Once he passes away, the Qin state, which he has just forcefully suppressed, and the remnants of the six states will immediately rise up to attack him, ultimately causing the land, the world, the rule of the king to fall apart.

Despite the current inconvenience of transportation, this inscription on the meteorite spread throughout the Qin Kingdom in a short period of time. The forces involved, including powerful officials and wealthy families of Qin and the remnants of the six states, must have been more than just one side.

This is the true nature of Ji Heng's anger.

Because someone is trying to undermine his centralized rule.

What remains are the emotions stemming from the incompetence of the subjects and the daring and reckless actions of petty villains.

She frowned and pondered for a moment, then silently glanced at the outline she had ordered her scribe to prepare. She made some adjustments in her mind and carefully went through the draft again...

In his rage, the king might cause trouble at the slightest provocation. It's wise for her to do her homework.

Therefore, once everything was ready, he said to Zhou Ju, "I understand. I will wait here for now. When Your Majesty has time, please summon me."

Zhou Ju acknowledged and withdrew. Qin Shi considered his increasingly respectful attitude and understood—the Chihu Seal was indeed as she had thought.

At this moment, after disciplining another minister, Ji Heng finally couldn't help but rub his forehead and waved for everyone to disperse.

The high-ranking officials and ministers withdrew in a panic, but Zhou Ju could not leave even for a moment.

He merely observed Ji Heng's expression and, as the maid carefully served tea, asked, "Your Majesty, Minister Qin requests an audience outside, saying that the Ironworks has made some progress and wishes to share this with Your Majesty."

At this moment, Ji Heng didn't want to see any more stupid or mediocre people, but Qin Shi...

He frowned, but still announced, "Grant her an audience."

Here it is! Some readers have had some disagreements about the story setting, so I'll address that in a separate chapter later.

[Currently, there are no historical records indicating that Empress Wei used a dragon-tiger seal; it is only confirmed to be from the Western Han Dynasty. This usage is used here for reference.]

[The dragon-tiger seal was indeed reserved for the emperor's exclusive use. Historically, the King Wen of Nanyue also had one made, an act considered usurpation. This demonstrates the immense power the empress wielded at that time.]

The phrase "death and land division" is my own summary; please forgive any omissions.