Li Si's story begins in 270 BC. At fourteen, he left his hometown and traveled to Qi to study under the great Confucian scholar Xun Qing. After completing his studies, he returned and became a disciple of Lü Buwei, one of his three thousand retainers, and served as chief editor for the compilation of Lü Buwei's Spring and Autumn Annals. He was not born into a powerful family, but he enjoyed a modestly comfortable life. Later, a woman changed the course of his life. He entered government, began fighting for power, and gradually rose to great heights. But he eventually cast that woman aside, leaving her to become a casualty of political power struggles. Li Si later became chancellor of the Qin dynasty. Exceptionally capable, he made an indelible contribution to Qin Shi Huang's unification of the country, rising to a position second only to the emperor, The Outcast. Yet his immense power also made him a deeply controversial figure, and in the end he fell into disgrace and ruin.
