In the grand hall.
Qin Shi Huang sat upon the Dragon Throne.
He wore no crown. His black hair hung loosely, yet the pressure radiating from his bones was heavier than Mount Tai.
Below the steps,
civil and military officials stood in neat rows on both sides.
No one dared breathe too loudly.
The crown prince of Dayuan stood in the center of the hall, his legs still trembling.
Yesterday’s scene lingered in his mind like a nightmare he could not shake.
But he could not show fear.
He was the face of Dayuan, and behind him stood envoys from the Thirty-Six Western Regions.
If he knelt today, he would return home only to be swallowed whole by the other states.
“Cough.”
The Dayuan prince cleared his throat and forced himself to stand upright.
He clapped his hands.
“Bring it in!”
Two Hu guards led in a crimson horse.
A fine horse.
Although it had wet itself in fear yesterday, after being cleaned, it still looked magnificent—its coat like flowing fire.
“Honorable Emperor of Great Qin,”
the Dayuan prince said with forced arrogance.
“This is the treasure of my Dayuan—the Heavenly Blood Horse.”
“It travels a thousand li in a day and eight hundred at night. Its sweat is like blood.”
“This is a heavenly steed.”
When he said the words “heavenly steed,” his voice rose deliberately.
The Western Region envoys also straightened their backs.
This was their confidence.
So what if Qin had many men?
Did they have a divine horse like this?
“Pfft.”
An extremely inappropriate laugh echoed through the silent hall.
Everyone turned.
Ying Ziye was sitting on the steps below the throne.
He crossed his legs casually, tossing several white objects in his hand.
“Heavenly horse?”
He curled his lips.
“Sweat like blood?”
“Isn’t that just sick?”
He looked at the Dayuan prince as if he were an idiot.
“If it’s sick, it needs treatment.”
“Bring a sick horse like that into Great Qin and it’ll spread disease.”
“I say we should either slaughter it for meat—or send it to the millstone to grind grain.”
The Dayuan prince’s face instantly turned the color of liver.
“You!”
“You ignorant child!”
“This is a divine steed! Your Qin horses aren’t even worthy of carrying its shoes!”
He trembled with rage.
Insult him was fine.
Insult his horse—unforgivable.
“Alright, alright.”
Ying Ziye waved his hand as if swatting a fly.
“Stop bragging.”
“That kind of thing? In Great Qin, it’s only good enough to deliver messages.”
The Dayuan prince gritted his teeth.
He stepped forward and pointed at Ying Ziye.
“Fine!”
“If Your Highness the Ninth Prince looks down on my heavenly horse…”
“Then may I ask: during this northern expedition, aside from dragging back a bunch of foul-smelling slaves, what rare treasures has Great Qin obtained?”
All the envoys looked at him, waiting for a joke.
The steppe was a barren land.
Aside from cow dung and wool, what good could possibly come from there?
Ying Ziye yawned.
He extended his hand.
In his palm lay several long, jade-like objects.
“Here.”
“This.”
The Dayuan prince leaned in to look.
Then—
He burst out laughing.
“Hahaha!”
“And I thought it was some treasure.”
“It’s just stones?”
“Or unfinished jade scraps?”
The Western Region envoys behind him also erupted in laughter.
“So Qin has gone poor.”
“Traveled so far just to bring back a few stones.”
“In our lands, this isn’t even fit for paving roads.”
“It seems the Qin treasury is empty—using garbage to save face.”
Mocking laughter rose and fell.
Li Si frowned deeply, unable to understand either.
They really just looked like white stones.
What was the Ninth Prince doing?
Ying Ziye said nothing.
He simply stood up.
Fingering the so-called “dragon tooth rice” in his hand.
“Stones?”
He tilted his head and glanced at the jade plate holding fruit in the Dayuan prince’s hands.
That was Hetian warm jade—worth a fortune.
“It seems you people really don’t have anything good.”
The moment the words fell,
Ying Ziye flicked his wrist.
“Whoosh!”
The “dragon tooth rice” turned into a streak of white light and shot out.
Its target was the jade plate in the Dayuan prince’s hands.
“Crack!”
A sharp sound rang out.
The priceless jade plate shattered under everyone’s eyes.
It exploded into powder.
Meanwhile, the “seed” fell to the ground with a clang.
Completely unharmed.
It even bounced twice, producing a crisp metallic ring.
The laughter stopped instantly.
The Dayuan prince stared at the broken remains in his hands, completely stunned.
The entire hall fell into dead silence.
That was jade!
Hard, valuable warm jade!
And it was smashed by a “seed”?
“This is called dragon tooth rice,”
Ying Ziye said as he walked over and picked it up, blowing the dust off it casually.
“Eat one grain, and you won’t feel hungry for three days.”
“Boiled, steamed, or even used as a hidden weapon to throw at people…”
“It’s all far better than your so-called fruits and delicacies by ten thousand times.”
He stuffed the grain back into his robe.
The Dayuan prince swallowed hard.
Looking at the jade powder on the ground, his throat went dry.
This… is Qin’s food?
People raised on this kind of thing must have bones harder than steel.
“And there’s more.”
Ying Ziye reached into his robe again.
This time, he took out the blue glowing sphere.
The spiritual spring eye.
The moment it appeared, the air inside the hall changed instantly.
The dry, heavy, oppressive atmosphere was swept away.
In its place was a refreshing clarity.
Like a forest after rain.
Like snowmelt from high mountains.
“Hiiiii—!!”
The previously proud “heavenly horse” suddenly went wild.
It violently broke free from the guards’ reins.
But it was not trying to escape.
It charged straight toward Ying Ziye.
“Protect His Majesty!!”
Meng Tian roared and was about to draw his sword.
“Don’t move.”
Qin Shi Huang said calmly.
Everyone watched as the “heavenly horse” rushed up to Ying Ziye.
Then—
Its front legs suddenly weakened.
It knelt directly on the ground.
It stretched out its long tongue, desperately trying to lick the glowing sphere in Ying Ziye’s hand.
Its big eyes were filled with desire and flattery.
Even drool dripped down.
There was not the slightest trace of a divine steed anymore.
It looked exactly like a starving dog begging for bones.
The Dayuan prince was completely dumbfounded.
This was the ferocious horse that no one but him could ride!
And now, just because of that sphere, it had become so disgraceful?
“What… what kind of sorcery is this?!”
He trembled as he pointed at the glowing orb.
Li Si leaned closer.
He inhaled deeply.
His entire body felt as if every pore had opened in comfort.
“Your Highness… did you bring this back too?”
Li Si’s voice was trembling.
“Water,” Ying Ziye said, tossing the sphere up and catching it again.
The horse’s head followed the movement up and down.
“But not ordinary water.”
He looked at the Dayuan prince, his expression full of mockery.
“You call yours a local specialty.”
“This is what I call immortal water.”
“Throw it on the ground, and the desert turns into a oasis.”
“Soak something in it, and even dead fish come back to life.”
The Dayuan prince refused to believe it.
“Impossible!”
“There is no such thing in this world!”
“This is an illusion! A trick!”
He shouted loudly, trying to mask his fear.
Ying Ziye smiled.
He had no interest in arguing.
He turned and grabbed Qin Shi Huang by the sleeve.
“Father.”
“It’s pointless explaining to these country bumpkins.”
“Let’s go.”
He pointed outside the hall.
“Let’s go to the imperial garden.”
“Plant this thing.”
“And let these frogs at the bottom of the well see what the world really looks like.”
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