The woman had skin whiter than snow, eyebrows and eyes as picturesque as paintings, and a pair of clear and bright eyes like autumn water, as if they could see through people's souls, but with a hint of sadness, making people want to hold her in their arms and take good care of her.

"Who are you?" Ying Yuan finally found his voice, but still couldn't hide the surprise in his tone.

The woman smiled slightly, stood up, and bowed: "I am Shen Qingge, a commoner, meeting your majesty."

Her voice is as clear and sweet as an oriole, but with a hint of the soft Wu dialect of a Jiangnan woman, which makes people feel moved.

"Shen Qingge..." Ying Yuan repeated her name in a low voice. He felt that these three words seemed to have a kind of magic that made him want to get close to her and understand her.

"Why are you here?" Ying Yuan asked, with a barely perceptible tenderness in his tone.

Shen Qingge sighed softly and said quietly, "I have been learning the art of playing the zither since I was young. I heard that Your Majesty loves music, so I dared to come here to perform, hoping to relieve Your Majesty's worries."

"Relieve worries?" Ying Yuan laughed at himself, "I am the emperor, I rule the world, what worries do I have?"

Shen Qingge shook her head and said softly, "Your Majesty, you are too serious. Although I am just a woman, I also understand that it is lonely at the top. Although Your Majesty is now the ruler of the world, he has also lost a lot, such as..."

She paused, her eyes fell on Ying Yuan's face, a complicated look flashed in her eyes, "Like freedom."

Ying Yuan was shocked. Shen Qingge's words were like a sharp sword, piercing the softest part of his heart.

Yes, since the moment he ascended the throne, he lost his freedom. He was no longer the young man who could laugh and scold at will, but an emperor who shouldered the fate of the entire country.

His every word and action, every move, is related to the safety of people in the world. He can no longer act arbitrarily or do whatever he wants.

"What do you know?" Ying Yuan turned his head away, not wanting Shen Qingge to see the fragility in his eyes.

Shen Qingge didn't say anything, but walked to the edge of the pavilion, gently stroked the carvings on the railing, and looked into the distance.

"Your Majesty, do you know that there is a scene in this imperial garden called 'Looking over the Autumn Water'?"

Ying Yuan's heart moved, and he followed Shen Qingge's gaze. He saw a rockery not far away, and under the rockery there was a clear spring. The spring water was crystal clear, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds. The scenery was beautiful and pleasant.

"I know." Ying Yuan said lightly.

"Your Majesty, do you know the origin of 'Looking across the autumn waters'?" Shen Qingge asked.

Ying Yuan shook his head. Although he knew the name of this scenery, he had never delved into its origin.

Shen Qingge sighed and said slowly: "Legend has it that after Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, he imprisoned a woman from the south of the Yangtze River here. The woman was both talented and beautiful, and was deeply loved by Qin Shihuang, but she was forced to separate from her lover. She stood on this rockery day and night, looking in the direction of her hometown, and eventually died of depression."

"Later, people named this scene 'Looking over the Autumn Waters' to commemorate this infatuated woman."

Shen Qingge's voice was so plaintive, as if she was telling a tragic love story, which made Ying Yuan's heart flutter.

He looked at Shen Qingge's beautiful profile, and suddenly an inexplicable impulse surged in his heart.

"What about you?" he asked. "Why are you so sad?"

Shen Qingge turned around and looked at Ying Yuan steadily, tears flashing in her eyes. "Because..." She bit her lip, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

"Why?" Ying Yuan asked, feeling inexplicably nervous.

Shen Qingge took a deep breath, as if he had made a major decision, and spoke slowly:
"Because I, like that girl from Jiangnan, fell in love with someone I shouldn't have..."

Her voice became lower and lower until it was almost inaudible.

Ying Yuan felt as if his heart was being plucked hard by someone, causing him so much pain that he could hardly breathe.

He wanted to find out who Shen Qingge loved, but he was afraid to hear the answer.

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps in the distance, accompanied by the eunuch's sharp shout:
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something bad has happened! The Prime Minister wants to see you! He said he has something urgent to report!"

Ying Yuan's face suddenly changed. He knew that something big must have happened, otherwise the prime minister would not be so panicked.

He looked at Shen Qingge deeply, suppressed the waves in his heart, and said in a deep voice:

"Please leave first. I will come to see you later."

After saying that, he left the Imperial Garden without looking back, leaving Shen Qingge alone, standing there, looking at his back, with a complicated look in her eyes...

Ying Yuan suppressed his irritation and waved his hand to dismiss the eunuch. Shen Qingge's words were like a thorn, piercing his heart. Who is the person he shouldn't love? Could it be... He didn't dare to think about it, and a nameless anger surged up. He was an emperor, with three thousand beauties in his harem. What kind of woman could he not get? How could someone dare to compete with him?

He paced in the imperial study room in agitation. The prime minister was still waiting outside. Extremely urgent? What kind of extremely urgent matter could be compared to the annoyance he felt at the moment? Ying Yuan sneered. He wanted to see what kind of "extremely urgent matter" could make him swallow his anger.

"Xuan!"

Prime Minister Li Si hurried in, fell to his knees with a thud, and after shouting "Long live the emperor", he quickly reported: "Your Majesty, the Xiongnu have marched south in large numbers, have breached Yanmen Pass, and are heading straight for Yunzhong!"

Yanmen Pass? Ying Yuan stopped abruptly, a cold light flashed in his eyes. Yanmen Pass is the fortress in the northern border of the Qin Dynasty, easy to defend but difficult to attack, how could it be breached so easily? "Waste! A bunch of waste!" He roared, his voice echoing in the empty imperial study.

Li Si was so frightened that he trembled all over and hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, please calm down! The Huns are coming with a fierce force this time, their military strength is far greater than before, and..." He paused, seeming to find it difficult to speak.

"And what? You're being so hesitant. How disgraceful!" Ying Yuan interrupted him impatiently.

"Moreover, according to the reports from the spies, the Huns' southward march this time seemed to have been influenced by... influenced by..." Li Si hesitated and was still afraid to say the name.

"Who hurt you? Tell me!" Ying Yuan said this word almost with gritted teeth.

"Under the orders of... Ji Wuya, the descendant of King Yan!" Li Si finally mustered up the courage and said the name that made Ying Yuan furious.

Ji Wuya! It's him again! Ying Yuan felt a surge of blood rushing to his head, and his eyes went dark. Ever since he ascended the throne, Ji Wuya has always been a thorn in his heart. Although the State of Yan had been destroyed, Ji Wuya escaped the pursuit and had been working in secret, plotting to restore the country.

Now, he actually colluded with the Xiongnu and intended to overthrow the Qin Dynasty! Ying Yuan was extremely angry and laughed, "Good, very good! I want to see how capable he is!" (End of this chapter)