I am not a seventh-generation descendant of Lord Wu'an from the Qin Dynasty.

"Li Si, I heard that your cousin used the 'Eight Hundred Li Express' courier service to deliver military intelligence?"

The residence of Prime Minister Lü.

As soon as Li Si left Xianyang Palace, he was brought here by the eunuchs of the Prime Minister's residence.

Looking at Lü Buwei, whose face was dignified, Li Si showed no surprise whatsoever.

Because the Xianyang Palace is now completely unguarded for the man in front of him.

But since he dared to gamble himself, he must have had a plan in mind.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, His Majesty intends to rule personally!"

One sentence was enough to make the man in front of him, who ruled the most powerful empire, twitch his brow.

"It finally happened!"

The world only saw Lü Buwei use a tactic of hoarding rare goods to gain immense power and influence.

Little did he know that deep down he was walking on thin ice day and night, often waking up in a panic.

"Your Majesty?"

Lü Buwei's voice was dry. He paused slightly, then asked in a gentle tone, "What do you intend to do?"

Li Si did not hesitate at all.

"Build the Shanglin Garden, summon the Qin army's trusted and valiant soldiers to practice martial arts and warfare there!"

"Limited to military and weaponry?"

"Only military force."

Li Si lowered his head, a slight smile appearing in his eyes. "First comes the army, then everything!"

Lu Buwei, whose body and mind were tense, suddenly breathed a long sigh of relief.

"It seems that Zheng'er has matured early for his age, and finally understands that the Qin state cannot do without me!"

Lü Buwei smiled broadly. "The report Li You gave was about the progress of the younger generation of the Meng and Wang families in suppressing bandits?"

Li Si spoke frankly, "The Shanglin Garden is home to the sons of the Meng and Wang families."

"But it's not just the sons of the Meng and Wang families!"

Holding onto the last vestiges of a powerful minister's wariness, Lü Buwei asked, "Where are the letters?"

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 12199.99]

"Xianyang Palace!"

Li Si respectfully replied, "If the Prime Minister is willing, Li Si can recite it from memory immediately."

"No need."

Lü Buwei reassured him, "As His Majesty grows older, he has more private matters to attend to. Minister Li need not worry. In any case, it's the same whether you see it sooner or later."

Despite this, Lu Buwei's slightly relaxed expression still hinted at another difficult matter.

"Zheng'er is getting married and has learned about human affairs. What about Ganquan Palace..."

Seeing Lü Buwei deep in thought, Li Si silently stepped back.

time flies.

It wasn't until the city lights came on and the darkness made it difficult to see anything that Lü Buwei finally came to his senses.

Just then, a palace maid with light footsteps hurriedly came looking for them.

"Prime Minister, the Empress Dowager is experiencing heart palpitations and loss of appetite; she urgently summons you, Prime Minister..."

"Nonsense! Wasn't it just yesterday...?"

Lu Buwei was startled to realize that he was speaking too loudly, and looked down at the government affairs on the table that were only half finished.

He raised his hand to rub his lower back, where the patella was bulging with flesh, and sighed, feeling powerless to do anything about it.

"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, if I am ill, summon the imperial physicians; if I have a poor appetite, reprimand the imperial chefs. I, an old man, still have state affairs to attend to; how can I possibly travel to Ganquan Palace for a month?"

"Your Excellency, this..."

"Just this once!"

The palace maids and servants left dejectedly.

The matter of Ganquan Palace made Lü Buwei increasingly agitated, and he paced back and forth.

Normally, he would have summoned his retainers, including Li Si, to discuss the matter.

But Li Si's unusual actions today almost openly declare his ambition to align himself with the new King of Qin.

He knew Li Si was very talented, but he was too impatient; he didn't want to retire yet.

After racking his brains for a long time, Lü Buwei could only come up with a solution that was hardly a solution at all.

"Someone come here!"

The attendants on duty immediately entered.

"Issue an order immediately: throughout the seven kingdoms, seek out individuals with exceptional talents."

The retainer was stunned. "Prime Minister, what aspect of extraordinary talent are you referring to? Architecture? Water conservancy...?"

"Idiots, a non-traditional skill is a non-traditional skill. Do I need to personally teach you this?"

Lu Buwei's eyes widened. He wanted to find a tall man with special abilities to offer to the lewd Empress Zhao Ji, so as to get rid of her entanglement. But this was something that could be done but not talked about.

Seeing that his retainers did not understand, Lü Buwei thought for a moment and had no choice but to personally mark the direction.

"Um, is Lord Xinling dead? He had three thousand retainers; have they stopped receiving their stipends?"

Lü Buwei didn't know where to find someone with special skills, but when in doubt, starting with someone in the same industry is always a good idea.

"Don't worry, Your Excellency. Poaching someone from Lord Xinling's side? It's nothing more than money and provisions..."

"This matter is urgent. The funds and provisions will be drawn from the Prime Minister's account. You all must go immediately!"

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

Lu Buwei slumped in his chair, frowning as he looked at the endless pile of official business, and sighed.

Hopefully, it's not too late!

……

Xishui Township, Baihu Village.

Night fell, the chirping of cicadas and the croaking of frogs suddenly ceased, and all was quiet.

The mute girl suddenly woke up.

His large, bright black eyes were filled with terror, but once he saw the familiar surroundings, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

But in an instant, she perked up her ears and listened quietly to the two approaching footsteps outside.

"Did you see it clearly? Is this the one?"

"There was a fence built outside the thatched house. Yes, this is the house of Bai's mute mother."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go! Climb over the wall and let her, a mute woman who can't call out... hehehe!"

The mute girl subconsciously reached for the copper bell, and then her lips unconsciously curled up in a smile as she secretly shook her head.

He got up, put on his shoes, and silently walked through the inner room, casually pulling three bamboo chopsticks from the table.

"Monkey, give your brother a hand, this fence is caught on my pants..."

Under the moonlight, a dark figure, caught between a rock and a hard place on the fence, turned his head while muttering a low growl.

However, what came into view was not a monkey being lifted up, but a pale, lifeless face with bamboo chopsticks stuck in its forehead.

"Huh? Holy crap!"

The dark figure fell off the fence with a thud, and just as it was about to turn and run away, it suddenly froze.

Because on the fence, a beautiful figure was standing on one leg, looking at him with a cold gaze.

"Who sent you?"

The mute girl's voice was clear and melodious, but to the shadowy figure it was no less terrifying than a raging flood.

"You can talk? You're not mute, you..."

Whoosh!

With a flick of her wrist, the mute girl sent a bamboo chopstick flying like an arrow straight into the shadowy figure's brow.

The mute girl landed on one foot, turned her hand to hold onto the bamboo chopsticks that had pierced half an inch into her brain, and then fell backward to the ground as a dark shadow.

He suddenly turned his head and looked at the candlelight flickering in the third house on his right.

"Old man, I think I heard some noise outside. You? Oh, it's gone again now."

"I reckon it's some kind of rat or weasel that's sneaked in. Go to sleep, go to sleep. Why are you getting up with the light on in the middle of the night? Doesn't that cost money?!"

The mute girl remained frozen in place for more than a quarter of an hour.

Only after the candlelight went out and two even breaths began to sound did he lower his head, frown, and look at the two lifeless corpses with a troubled expression.

The mute girl pouted, got up, and jumped into the yard like a raccoon dog, pulling out a hoe from a corner.

He jumped out again, hoe in one hand and two corpses in the other, wiped the bloodstains off his feet, buried himself in the dust, and nimbly disappeared into the dark forest.

In the middle of the night, in the desolate mountains and forests, the sounds of digging graves could be heard.

It wasn't until three days later, in the afternoon.

"Madam Bai! Madam Bai!"

The mute girl's face darkened, and she quickly pulled out a broken bronze sword and slung it behind her back.

He peered out the door and saw a familiar face: Aunt Sun.

After thinking for a moment, the mute girl waved her hand and put the broken bronze sword back. She got up, rubbed her eyes, and stretched out her slightly heaving belly, pretending to be still asleep.

Open the door of the thatched hut.

From afar, one could hear Aunt Sun's joyful voice through the fence.

"Oh my goodness, you're finally awake!"

Aunt Sun was already used to the mute girl's silence; once she opened her mouth, she would chatter on and on.

"Come on, come with me to the village to see the three elders. Your husband has made something of himself."

"In a recruit camp of a thousand men, he managed to get into the top three and was promoted to the rank of general by the general."

"When the township received the news, the three elders immediately became anxious."

"You don't need to work in your ten acres of riverside fields from today onwards. Just relax and prepare for childbirth."

"The local authorities will send people to take care of things, and they've even arranged two female slaves to look after you."

"Once your man achieves merit and earns a title, land, houses, and slaves will be built for you immediately..."

"Girl, you've hit the jackpot!"

The mute girl blinked, pretending to understand but not quite, and followed closely behind.

"Her pretty boy husband joined the army, ranked third among new recruits, and is now a general?"

"Will he be able to return as promised in a month and a half?"

The mute girl touched her stomach, her face full of worry as she counted on her fingers.

"Ten months minus two and a half months, that leaves about seven and a half months. We should be able to recover!"