A Close Attendant’s Eye on the Greatest Emperor of All Time

As the First Emperor's personal attendant, he was the most conflicted figure by the emperor's side: closest to the heart of power, yet farthest from power itself. Late at night, he could replenish the oil lamp as Ying Zheng reviewed memorials, glimpsing the weariness and loneliness the emperor occasionally let show. In a corner of the court, he could also watch Li Si's cunning, Wang Jian's inscrutability, and Zhao Gao's humility and ambition with cool detachment. He was a witness to history, not one who shaped it.