"The late emperor's will?" A hint of mockery flashed in Ying Yuan's eyes. "What a late emperor's will! I want to see if this will is true or false!"

Ying Yuan turned around abruptly and walked down the mountain with big strides, leaving Meng Tian and a group of soldiers with a confused look on their faces.

……

In Xianyang Palace, the atmosphere was suffocatingly depressing.

The Queen Mother sat on a high seat, looking elegant and graceful, but with a sinister look between her brows. Below, Prince Fusu was dressed in white, gentle and elegant, but there was a hint of ambition hidden deep in his eyes.

"Empress Dowager, Ying Yuan has executed Zhao Cheng," a eunuch hurried in, knelt on the ground and reported.

"I understand. Go away." The Queen Mother waved her hand without any expression on her face.

"Mother, Ying Yuan has eliminated Zhao Cheng. What should we do next?" Fusu stepped forward and asked respectfully.

A cold light flashed in the Queen Mother's eyes: "Zhao Cheng is just a chess piece. Now that the chess piece is gone, it's time to replace it with a new one."

"What your Majesty means is..." A hint of excitement flashed in Fusu's eyes.

"I have already sent someone to invite General Meng Tian," the Queen Mother said slowly, "as long as Meng Tian leads his troops into the capital and supports you as emperor, this great Qin kingdom will be yours!"

Fusu was overjoyed, but he still pretended to be worried: "But, Ying Yuan is the legitimate emperor after all. What should we do if he insists on not abdicating?"

The Queen Mother sneered, "Him? He's just a brat, he can't make any big waves! I have my own way to make him obey."

At this moment, a guard ran in in a panic: "Empress Dowager, it's bad! Ying Yuan... Ying Yuan is leading his troops into the palace!"

The Queen Mother and Fusu's faces changed drastically, their eyes filled with shock...

The Queen Mother and Fusu looked as if they had swallowed a fly. Fusu's lips trembled as he pointed outside the palace: "He...how dare he!?"

The Queen Mother took a deep breath and calmed herself down: "Why are you panicking? He's just a young boy. I want to see how brave he is!" She stood up suddenly, her eyes wide open, and shouted sternly, "Someone come! Protect the emperor!"

Before he finished speaking, Ying Yuan had already stepped into the hall, followed by a mass of imperial guards, full of murderous intent. He was dressed in a black dragon robe, like a Shura from hell, with a cold look in his eyes that made people shudder.

"You are so bold, Ying Yuan! How dare you lead your troops into the palace! Do you still have me, the queen mother, in your eyes?" The queen mother shouted angrily, trying to overwhelm Ying Yuan with her momentum.

Ying Yuan sneered and approached the Queen Mother step by step. Every step seemed to be stepping on the Queen Mother's heart: "Queen Mother? I think you are more like an old witch! Zhao Cheng is dead, you will be the next one!"

"You...you are so outrageous!" The Queen Mother pointed at Ying Yuan, shaking with anger.

"How dare you?" Ying Yuan grabbed the empress dowager's hand and squeezed it hard. The empress dowager immediately screamed, "Who do you think you are? How dare you tell me what to do! If you hadn't colluded with Zhao Cheng and forged the late emperor's will, how could my brother..." At this point, Ying Yuan's voice suddenly choked and a trace of pain flashed in his eyes.

Seeing this, Fusu was secretly delighted and hurried forward to say, "Ying Yuan, you killed the emperor and usurped the throne, which is an unforgivable crime! Now the Queen Mother wants to depose you and support me as the emperor, which is in accordance with the will of heaven and the will of the people! You'd better surrender obediently!"

Ying Yuan turned to look at Fusu, his eyes full of mockery: "Brother, do you really think you can sit on the throne whenever you want? Do you think the Queen Mother is really doing this for you? She just wants to use you to control the Qin Dynasty!"

Fusu's face changed, his eyes flickered: "You are talking nonsense! My mother is devoted to me, how could she use me!"

"Devoted to you?" Ying Yuan laughed, "How ridiculous! Look at you now, do you look like a prince? More like a puppet! A puppet controlled by the Queen Mother!" Fusu was hit in the sore spot by Ying Yuan's words, and he said angrily, "Ying Yuan, stop slandering me! Come on, take down this traitor!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the imperial guards rushed forward and surrounded Fusu. Fusu realized that the situation was hopeless. He looked at the queen mother in despair, but found that she had already collapsed on the ground with empty eyes, as if she had lost her soul.

Ying Yuan walked up to Fusu and looked down at him with pity in his eyes: "Brother, I didn't want to be your enemy, but you insisted on standing against me. Now, what else do you have to say?"

Fusu lowered his head dejectedly. He knew that he had lost, completely.

"Come here, take Fusu to the jail and wait for his punishment!" Ying Yuan ordered in a cold voice.

The imperial guards immediately took Fusu away, leaving only Ying Yuan and the empress dowager, who was lying limp on the ground, in the hall.

Ying Yuan walked up to the Queen Mother, squatted down, and looked at her without a trace of emotion in his eyes: "Queen Mother, you have schemed so hard, but you still failed in the end. I will give you a quick death, which is also a kindness to you."

After saying that, Ying Yuan stood up and left the hall without looking back.

……

Three days later, the Queen Mother was sentenced to death, and Fusu was demoted to a commoner and exiled to the frontier.

Ying Yuan completely controlled the Qin Dynasty. He worked hard to govern the country and rectified the government. Under his rule, the Qin Dynasty gradually regained its former prosperity.

However, deep in Ying Yuan's heart, there was always a shadow that could not be shaken off. He often woke up in the middle of the night, dreaming of Zhao Cheng, the Queen Mother, Fusu, and those he had killed with his own hands.

He began to become suspicious, irritable, and moody. He no longer trusted anyone, even his own confidants.

He was afraid of losing power, afraid of being betrayed, and afraid that one day he would die like Zhao Cheng.

In order to consolidate his power, he began to massacre meritorious officials, eliminate dissidents, and even spared no effort for his own brothers and sisters.

Gradually, he became more and more like Zhao Cheng, the person he once hated the most, a cold-blooded and ruthless tyrant.

One day, Ying Yuan was walking in the Imperial Garden when he heard a melodious sound of a zither. He followed the sound and saw a woman in white sitting in a pavilion playing the zither. The sound was so sad and heartbreaking.

Ying Yuan had never seen such a beautiful woman before. He was deeply attracted by her beauty and the sound of her piano, and he walked over involuntarily...

The sound of the piano is melodious, like a clear spring in a mountain stream or a solitary orchid in a valley. In this quiet imperial garden, it seems particularly clear and moving.

Ying Yuan followed the sound of the piano and parted the flowers. He saw a woman in white sitting in the pavilion with her back to him. Her slender fingers plucked the strings of the piano. She performed the song "High Mountains and Flowing Water" to perfection.

Who is she and why is she in this heavily guarded imperial garden?
Ying Yuan was confused, but did not say anything. He just stood there quietly, immersed in the beautiful sound of the piano.

When the song ended, the woman seemed to sense something and slowly turned around.

When their eyes met, Ying Yuan felt his eyes light up, as if a bolt of lightning had struck his heart, causing him to forget to breathe. (End of this chapter)