I became an extra in The Legend of Qin, and all I wanted was to quietly watch the drama unfold.
But Han Fei bled to death on the steps, Zhang Liang's eyes were bloodshot with rage, and the refugees who had starved to death before my eyes were not yet cold.
The sweet potato seeds hidden in my sleeve dug painfully into my skin. This world needed a new way to live.
When I presented grain seeds that yielded a thousand jin per mu, Ying Zheng fixed his gaze on me. “What reward do you want?”
I looked toward the towering Xianyang Palace behind him. “Your Majesty, please allow me to revive the old institutions of the Shang dynasty and establish new laws for the Great Qin.”
The entire court erupted in an uproar, but he gave a slight nod, the strings of his crown swaying. “Granted.”
Later, the flames of book burning were replaced by agricultural texts, and scholars debated the value of pi at the academy.
And on the bamboo slips spread before the court historian, I slowly carved the first word: Shang...
