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

"Brother, what's wrong with you?"

Zhao Cheng, the Left General of the Palace Guard, was appointed as the Emperor's attendant when the First Emperor traveled to Lin Guang Palace.

But when he met Zhao Gao,

But then I saw him sitting on the stone steps, looking at the sky, at the setting sun, his expression desolate.

"Look at the sun."

As he spoke, he pointed to the distant sun, which was about to disappear behind the mountains and set in the west.

"I saw it rising, though desolate, its light still shone."

"When I saw it at its zenith, its brilliance shone throughout the land; what a magnificent sight it was!"

"But now, it is nearing its end."

He raised his head, looked at Zhao Cheng standing in front of him, and sighed deeply: "How can I not grieve at the sight of this?"

But in his heart he thought, "Everyone says that the sun hanging in the sky is too scorching."

"It just lies there, and the stars are dimmed in comparison."

"But when it truly falls, without the Great Sun's suppression, who knows how many will claim the title of king in this world?"

"Who would care then? Perhaps only I would be saddened by the setting sun."

Thinking this, I couldn't help but cry again.

Zhao Gao's tears were genuine; after all, he had served him for over thirty years, a relationship of loyalty between ruler and subject that lasted for over thirty years.

But soon after, she wiped away her tears.

After the sun sets, the stars appear, each shining with its own brilliance, vying to illuminate each other.

What should he do if he has no light of his own and can only shine by relying on the sun?

Zhao Gao knew,

Once the day the sun truly sets arrives.

Those who held great power and had grudges against him, such as Meng Yi, could easily put him to death.

However, Zhao Cheng failed to grasp the deeper meaning behind it.

He lowered his head and whispered to Zhao Gao, "The eldest son has truly changed."

"Princess Yangzi made a mistake today, and he, unlike his usual gentle and kind nature, scolded her loudly."

"His Majesty has changed too; I can tell."

"He became depressed, lost his pride, and became aware of his children whom he had never paid attention to before."

You're wrong.

Zhao Gao looked over and said, "His Majesty will not change!"

Even if I'm feeling down for now, I'll eventually lift my head. I will never give in to despair, and I will never bow to fate!

Zhao Gao spoke calmly and confidently.

He spent thirty years with the First Emperor and his ministers, and knew the emperor well, as well as his personality.

He has many advantages.

He was a man of great talent and vision, and decisive and resolute.

In Zhao Gao's mind, all the praise in the world combined would not be enough to describe him.

However, it must be acknowledged that the First Emperor was not a god.

He also has many shortcomings.

He was bewildered, fearful, hateful, angry, and doubtful. He had every single flaw that people in this world possess.

Thirteen years old, the bewilderment upon ascending the throne.

At the age of twenty-one, he felt hatred upon discovering that his mother had been having an affair with Lao Ai and had given birth to two younger brothers for him.

The anger he felt upon discovering that Lü Buwei, whom he regarded as his revered father, had secretly been plotting to undermine him.

He was attacked by Jing Ke, who was holding a dagger.

The fear of chasing and running around the pillar.

The doubts arose when the first campaign against Chu, full of confidence, ended in a crushing defeat.

However, the First Emperor was the First Emperor.

The First Emperor overcame all of these flaws that every human being has.

To fulfill the dying wish of six generations of illustrious deeds, one can shed the illusion.

In order to shed the name of imprisoning one's mother, one can let go of hatred, forgive one's mother, and welcome her back.

For the sake of past friendship, he could put aside his anger, but he only stripped Lü Buwei of his power and exiled him.

Even today, despite overcoming most bad habits,

He also changed from "寡人" (guǎrén, meaning "I, the lonely one") to "朕" (zhèn,

He, the First Emperor, still retained a flaw, a flaw he could never overcome.

Zhao Gao looked at the palace in the distance and closed his eyes.

"pride!"

Because of his pride, he couldn't accept it.

Even someone as great as a god is destined to die, just like the lowly common people.

"He has everything, yet he has nothing."

"And what about me?" Zhao Gao asked himself. Where would his destiny lie?

..........

at night.

Inside a temporary palace.

Since arriving here, Xuan Ye has felt something was wrong; his entire body has been unbearably itchy from time to time.

Why is that?

His eyes were full of confusion.

But before I could think about it, the intense itching sensation returned.

And this time, it's different from the past.

This intense itching sensation was several times stronger.

"Hey!"

Xuan Ye couldn't help but let out a long cry.

The voice was deep and clear, penetrating the main hall and echoing throughout the palace for a long time.

suddenly,

A soft sound rang out from inside the hall.

The sound was crisp, like an iron nail falling onto an apricot wood floor.

Upon hearing this voice, Xuan Ye was taken aback.

Looking down, I saw a jet-black feather lying on the floor.

He narrowed his eyes.

This looks familiar, if I'm not mistaken? These should be the feathers on his body, right?

I go!

How did my beautiful feathers fall off?

Could it be that the princess was given a feather today, and the other princes and princesses wanted it too, so they came to secretly pluck it?

That's incredibly bold!

Little did they know that this was precisely why Hu Hai was exiled.

But something seems wrong. If someone else were to pluck his feathers, wouldn't he have noticed?

suddenly,

An incredibly intense itch surged forth like a tidal wave.

Xuan Ye jumped down from the bronze shelf in the hall, stood in the middle of the hall, and reached out to scratch himself with his claws.

But it was just a light touch.

The feathers on its body fell off one after another and landed on the ground.

Xuan Ye looked up and saw that all around him lay countless fallen feathers, emitting a faint light.

At this moment, in the dimly lit hall.

Xuan Ye narrowed his eyes, as if he knew something.

This must be molting. All birds go through molting as they grow, and he is no exception.

The new feathers that birds grow after molting.

They are often several times harder and more beautiful than the previous feathers.

Thinking of this, Xuan Ye reached out and grabbed at his body.

Feathers fell one after another, shimmering in the light of the surrounding candles, like something out of a fairyland.

.........

at the same time.

The First Emperor was holding a bamboo slip in his hand and looking at it.

But at that moment, Zhao Gao walked in, approached the First Emperor, bowed, and said...

"Your Majesty, the commander of the Black Bird Guard is outside requesting an audience."

The First Emperor was taken aback, then put down the scroll, raised an eyebrow, and after a long while, said.

"The Black Bird Guards stand beside the Black Bird of Destiny."

"Unless something unexpected happens, you wouldn't come to see me. Your arrival tonight suggests you have something to discuss?"

It still concerns the matter of the Heavenly Bird.

The First Emperor rose from his desk, put his hands behind his back, paced back and forth in the hall, and then raised his hands.

"Go, let him in to see me."

"Wait." The moment after saying that, the First Emperor changed his mind again, "I will go myself."