In the thirty-sixth year of the First Emperor’s reign, just as the elixir is about to pass his lips, two lines of small-seal script suddenly appear before Ying Zheng’s eyes:
The Emperor’s lifespan: ten months.
The Great Qin’s fate: two years.
Refusing the elixir might extend his life, but it cannot save the Great Qin from its certain destruction two years later. Worse still, from then on, whenever he truly prepares to issue a complete edict, both figures change.
Executing everyone beside the stone makes the dynasty’s fate even shorter. Halting corvee labor still cannot save the Great Qin. Sometimes, two decrees that are harmful on their own can, when enacted together in a particular order, extend the Qin’s life.
The anomaly reveals only the consequences. It gives no answers and makes no distinction between loyal and treacherous. No visitor from the future offers advice, and no immortal clears the court for him. With only the eyes and laws of a Qin man, Ying Zheng must investigate people, verify documents, and test policies again and again, pulling the Great Qin, destined to fall after two generations, out of its dead end before his own time runs out.
In this life, can the edict at Shaqiu still kill the First Emperor?
It's quite novel. It just doesn't make sense that you know your life expectancy and don't take care of your posthumous affairs first. Write a few more imperial edicts to see who has the longest national fortune.