The Great Qin Dynasty: The egg of the Black Bird was revered as a national guardian beast.

Young Master Gao is currently riding high on his success.

His elder brother, Fusu, the eldest prince of Qin, was ordered to stay at home for unknown reasons for offending their father.

The stay-at-home order has now been lifted.

However, he lost the emperor's favor, so much so that his father ordered him to attend court with Jiang Lü to listen to government affairs.

The First Emperor had many children.

Previously, this honor was reserved for Fusu alone.

But things are different now. Even a fool could guess that the Emperor's move was to make Lü He compete with Fusu for power.

They were vying for the position of crown prince.

They also strive to transform into a black bird, soaring up ninety thousand miles.

See the view from the heights that my father once saw, and feel the supreme power of my father who trampled the world under his feet.

"When an eagle flies in the sky, it raises only one eaglet, but it does not lay only one egg."

"A fledgling eagle, unable to spread its wings, fell and died."

"Immediately, countless fledglings will step forward and display their wings to the eagle."

"Now, it's finally my turn to show my wings."

Prince Gao thought to himself, and then pondered how he should demonstrate his power to his father, the emperor.

Although eager, they didn't know where to look for opportunities.

After all, he only had the right to listen to the proceedings from the sidelines; he could not interfere in the deliberations, and had no right to speak or vote.

It would be better to remain still and wait for things to develop.

But he was unwilling to do nothing and lose this hard-won opportunity to show his power to his father.

Such a good opportunity, is he really going to let it slip by?

With such conflicted and complicated thoughts, Gao was preoccupied on his way back to his residence.

........

"What is the deeper meaning behind Father's actions?"

Having just been released from confinement, Fusu returned to his long-abandoned residence from the palace and asked this question.

Once the young master is grown up, he will be able to establish his own residence outside the palace.

During this period, Fusu was confined to the palace and had not set foot in this mansion for a long time, so he was somewhat uneasy.

Fortunately, none of his advisors or retainers left.

"Who can fathom His Majesty's intentions? It is already a great fortune that you were able to escape, so you must not show any dissatisfaction."

An elderly man with white hair, stroking his long beard, stood beside Fusu and offered words of comfort.

This man was known as Lord Shen, and was renowned for his virtue.

Fusu had heard of his virtuous reputation a few years ago, so he went to visit him, but he politely declined, saying he did not want to leave his seclusion.

However, after Fusu visited him several times, he was taken in as a staff member.

In addition, the establishment of mansions was mostly to accommodate talented people who came to him for refuge, and to make them his retainers.

"My lord, the best course of action now is to be loyal and filial, respectful and obedient, and never disobey His Majesty again."

"Only by doing this can we avoid making mistakes!"

Shen Gong felt that although Fusu was the eldest son, he had never been able to win, and he could not continue to act as he had in the past.

As the eldest son, the fact that he was not made emperor for so long is enough to explain the First Emperor's attitude.

Moreover, the First Emperor has now granted two other princes the right to attend court hearings.

As long as he doesn't make any mistakes, Fusu still has a good chance.

Compared to the other two princes, Fusu had a great advantage, and his virtue was known throughout the land, with dozens of advisors and retainers.

Having advisors to devise strategies for Fusu is certainly better than those two princes fighting alone.

"I love my father, but I also fear the night."

Fusu raised his head and looked up at the sky: "But the sun in the sky is just too intense!"

"Scorched grass and trees kill insects; how can we turn a blind eye to this?"

"Even if I cannot obscure the light, I will do my best to soothe the parched and cracked earth."

"My lord!" Lord Shen bowed, "You must be patient. You can wait. You must not act rashly."

"The bright moon must never compete with the sun for brilliance!"

"Can't you see His Majesty's meaning? This is His Majesty's last chance for you, so don't do it."

He looked at Shen Gong, remained silent for a long time, and then smiled and said.

"Shen Gong, do not speak further. How could Fusu not know this? Since Father Emperor has so wished, then I will grant his wish."

"Although Gao was intelligent from a young age, he was short-sighted and quick-tempered, only caring about the present and not the future. He was just like that."

After a pause, Fusu continued, "As for Jianglu, he is definitely not as he appears."

"Although he is very good at hiding his abilities, I know he is a smart man, much smarter than Gao Congming."

"But given his temperament, he probably wouldn't want to get involved, though he often spent time with Ziying."

"We can disregard the village."

"But Ziying is someone we need to pay close attention to."

"Good!" Shen Gong nodded with a smile: "His Majesty's intention is that he hopes the young master can compete with others."

"If you value brotherhood, my lord, and yield step by step..."

"Then, not only will he fail to become the crown prince, he might even be kicked out of Xianyang by His Majesty."

"That's wonderful, that's wonderful indeed."

Shen Gong nodded repeatedly. "You know what, it's actually a good thing that the young master is confined to the palace by His Majesty."

At the very least, his temperament has changed somewhat.

Hahaha.

........

"Jiang Lü, do you want to be the crown prince?"

In a palace, as Prince Jianglu and Prince Ying were drinking together, Ying suddenly asked this question.

Jiang Lü was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said.

"Jiang Lü is neither talented nor virtuous. He spends his days playing with Ying and is content with that. Why should he bother becoming some kind of crown prince?"

Jiang Lü was the third son of the First Emperor.

Ahead of him were the eldest son, Fusu, and the second son, Gao. He knew from a young age that he would never be the crown prince.

Now the First Emperor has granted him the right to listen to court proceedings.

Unlike Prince Gao, who was eager to show his power to his father, he was somewhat flattered.

Ziying was also stunned for a moment upon hearing this.

The position of Crown Prince—the Crown Prince never imagined that Jiang Lü would receive such an honor bestowed upon him by the First Emperor.

This is such an attitude!

It wasn't the kind of hypocritical excuse or insincere statement.

Instead, they genuinely have no interest, as if it's not a blessing but a punishment, which is quite interesting.

Why?

Ziying was somewhat surprised and puzzled, and asked.

He thought that Jiang Lü's previous lack of interest in power was because he simply couldn't reach it.

But now it seems that's not the case.

This is interesting. As a member of the royal family, born into royalty, he doesn't want power.

This is an anomaly.

Jiang Lü smiled, placed the wine cup on the table, then looked up and said with some emotion.

"From my birth until I began my education."

"My father forbade others to have any contact with me. When I came of age, he sent me to study law and literature and to study the works of Han Feizi."

At this point, he raised his eyes and looked at Ziying.

"Infant, you must have studied laws and regulations and read the works of Han Feizi."

"Not bad," Ziying nodded and said.

Jiang Lü chuckled, poured wine into the goblet, then shook it. "So, do you know..."

His eyes narrowed slightly: "Li Renlian, is that you?"