Great Qin, Yong City, Shuofang Commandery, Zhenxi.
Here was the hometown of Li Si, but at this moment, the face of this Grand Commandant of Great Qin held not a shred of homecoming warmth.
Inside the blacksmith shop, heat billowed.
The furnace burned intensely red, illuminating the stubborn profile of a young maiden.
Her name was Jiang Ling'er, and she was the daughter of the master of this shop.
She was struggling to pull the bellows, sparks dancing about in the dim shop like a swarm of frantic fireflies.
Li Si stood at the doorway, followed by several guards clad in black, completely out of place in this sweltering and chaotic blacksmith shop.
His neatly tailored silk robe appeared exceptionally clean in this smoke-scorched environment.
"Lady Jiang."
Li Si spoke, his voice calm yet carrying the oppression of one accustomed to high positions for long.
Jiang Ling'er's movements did not stop.
The bellows made a huff-huff sound, drowning out his voice.
Li Si's brows furrowed slightly.
A guard beside him stepped forward, his voice cold and stern.
"Audacious! Lord Commandant is speaking to you!"
Jiang Ling'er finally halted the task in her hands.
She turned around and, with the back of her charcoal-stained hand, wiped the sweat from her brow, leaving a black smudge across her smooth forehead.
Her gaze fell calmly upon Li Si.
"I am merely a blacksmith, and I know no lords."
"You will know." Li Si waved a hand to signal the guard to retreat, stepping inside himself.
"I have come to bring you a fortune of monumental proportions."
"The king heard that Shangcai has a virtuous maiden and wishes to bestow a marriage upon you and Li Si's son, Li Meng."
As his words fell, the air in the shop seemed to freeze solid.
Jiang