"Your Majesty, General Murong requests an audience."
"Have him wait in the main hall. I shall be there shortly."
I gazed at my reflection in the bronze mirror. I was only thirty-four, had never raised a child, yet I was already the Grand Empress Dowager of the Great Qin Kingdom, wielding power over all under heaven.
But I was not happy at all. A Yi, I am so tired. I can hardly hold on any longer.
"Qinghuan, promise me you'll live. Qinghuan, only by reaching the very pinnacle of power can you stay alive. Qinghuan, for my sake, for our child's sake, live..."
Power. Wealth and glory.
I never really cared about any of those things. The only thing I cared about was that my Qinghuan could enjoy a lifetime of peace, that she could have the lifetime of peace I had promised her. But Qinghuan, I may not be able to keep that promise.
Live, Qinghuan. Live, for our child's sake, live...
