Qing Xiao Jade Maiden

"Sorry, I will."

Verdant Green Maiden shook her head and said to Ying Zhu.

But Ying Zhu wasn't swayed by her answer. He asked, "Can the Master really bear to watch Zheng's descendants die by his own hand? Zichu told me you were here before Zheng was born. You even gave him his name and taught him!"

"Master, you must like Zheng!"

Verdant Green Maiden rested her chin in her hands, watching Ying Zhu from atop the artificial hill.

It had to be said: although the King Xiaowen of Qin before her had little presence in the history books, he was certainly worthy of being called a King of Qin!

The old fox sure knew how to talk.

It was true that Ying Zheng was the first person she had watched grow up from birth. Because of the Yellow Emperor and the You Xiong Tribe, she had gone into hibernation; because of Ying Zheng, she had stopped hibernating.

Seeing the faint change in Verdant Green Maiden's expression, Ying Zhu immediately cupped his hands and made his plea. "I beg you, Master, help Zheng!"

The moment he said this, silence fell over the Imperial Garden.

"Great King, she..."

The Yin Yang School members' expressions shifted.

If Ying Zhu wanted Verdant Green Maiden to help Zheng, why had he summoned them to the Imperial Garden?

Were they merely gifts meant to convey Ying Zhu's intentions to Verdant Green Maiden?

The members of the Yin Yang School realized what was happening and immediately tried to leave, but Ying Zhu had already stationed men farther out. They blocked the Yin Yang School members.

In truth, Ying Zhu knew the Yin Yang School were a pack of good-for-nothings. Their claims of having mastered cultivation and being able to communicate with Ghosts and Spirits were all lies!

If the Yin Yang School could really communicate with Ghosts and Spirits, why hadn't the Former King come back to life?

Why hadn't any of the Yin Yang School's ancient sages survived?

The Yin Yang School, who claimed to have mastered cultivation, would die. But Verdant Green Maiden truly existed!

She had really lived for thousands of years!

Ying Zhu knew well enough which mattered more: the Yin Yang School or Verdant Green Maiden!

As for the possibility that Verdant Green Maiden might take the Heart's Blood of the last King of Qin, Ying Zhu had heard about it from Ying Ji, but he didn't care much!

Since the Xia Shang Zhou era, countless states had risen and fallen!

He understood that no kingdom lasted forever.

Rather than worry that the last King of Qin, who might not appear for countless years, would be killed by Verdant Green Maiden, Ying Zhu would rather focus on the present. If he could gain her help, wouldn't Great Qin's eastward advance and its Whale Swallow of all under Heaven be just around the corner?

He knew his own body. He didn't have much time to think about the distant future.

Verdant Green Maiden regarded Ying Zhu with interest. "You intend to make Ying Zheng King of Qin?"

Ying Zhu nodded, then gestured toward the Yin Yang School members. "That's right! From the moment I first saw that child, I had made up my mind! And they are my gift to you, Master!"

"Whether to kill them or release them, I leave entirely to you!"

Verdant Green Maiden braced herself against the artificial hill and leaned forward. "What if I kill them and then refuse your request?"

"I said they were a gift!"

Ying Zhu's expression didn't change. He replied firmly, "A gift comes with no expectation of reward. Whatever you choose to do with them, Master, I will respect your decision. I won't interfere."

Those words struck Verdant Green Maiden right in the heart!

Tsk, tsk, tsk...

With a King like this, it was only right that Great Qin should Unify Under Heaven!

Watching Verdant Green Maiden's expression gradually change, Hong Luan asked quietly, "Are you really going to agree?"

Verdant Green Maiden looked up at the sky. "Bao Si, Pang Juan, Sun Bin, and Zhao Kuo... I couldn't change any of them! Let's try. What if this time I can?"

That was human nature: people always clung to that one-in-a-million chance.

Snakes were no exception.

In any case, what she wanted was the last King's Heart's Blood. The stronger the dynasty, the stronger the King's blood and auspicious fortune would be. She could wait a few hundred more years.

Verdant Green Maiden rose to her feet and stepped onto a jutting rock. Looking down at Ying Zhu, she parted her red lips. "Ying Zhu! Remember your words. The future King of Great Qin will be Ying Zheng! Now, kill them for me! Leave not one alive."

Tian Yuan Palace had stood for more than six hundred years. Even after changing its name and becoming the Yin Yang School, it still couldn't shake its snake-like nature!

Verdant Green Maiden had no reason to keep these people around.

Kill every last one of them first!

Ying Zhu laughed and swept his hand through the air. The Qin Army soldiers stationed around the garden pounced like ravenous wolves and seized the Yin Yang School members!

They pulled out all sorts of implements and tried to perform rituals, but the Qin Army were tigers and wolves. How could they possibly stand against them?

The Yin Yang School had enjoyed power in Qin for only a few years before falling from favor once more.

As the Qin Army hunted them down in every direction, the Yin Yang School's legacy was nearly wiped out within Qin. The remaining members had no choice but to leave through Hangu Pass and flee to the Six States of Shandong, seeking each state's protection to preserve their school's legacy.

A month later, Ying Zhu issued a command, enfeoffing Ying Zheng as the King's Grandson.

Once Ying Zichu ascended the throne, Zheng would become Crown Prince!

At first, Ying Zhu wanted to grant Verdant Green Maiden a noble rank and establish an official office for her, bringing her into Great Qin's Imperial Court. But she refused every offer.

Verdant Green Maiden had no interest in office or noble titles. All she wanted was meat.

Ying Zhu also ordered the construction of the Qing Xiao Jade Maiden Temple in Xianyang to enshrine Verdant Green Maiden, and had the people of Xianyang offer sacrifices to her regularly.

All the sacrificial meat and grain belonged to Verdant Green Maiden!

Gradually, bamboo slips recording the Qing Nu Myths began to circulate. In them, Qing Xiao Jade Maiden was described as the Frost Snow Goddess, a Sky God who commanded the frost and snow. Verdant Green Maiden could tell at a glance that Ying Zheng had written it.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Frost Snow Goddess, huh?"

Hong Luan looked at the bamboo slips, which showered Verdant Green Maiden with praise, and teased her. "I'm embarrassed for you, and you're not even embarrassed yourself! Stupid Snake, do you really have what it takes to be a Sky God?"

By then, Ice Crystals were already falling from the sky, drifting like willow catkins.

Verdant Green Maiden raised her palm and caught a snowflake on her fingertip. It rested there without melting.

She leaned closer to inspect it, then asked, "Why can't I be a Sky God?"

"If you become a Sky God, will you abandon me?"

Hong Luan tilted her head and asked.

Verdant Green Maiden grinned, picked Hong Luan up, and said, "Bird Sister, come on, it's you and me! Don't worry. If I become a Sky God, you can eat as much ice and snow as you like. Nobody will fight you for it."

Hong Luan cursed, "Stupid Snake, go die!"

Even after being cursed, Verdant Green Maiden remained carefree. "What if I really do die?"

"No!"

Hong Luan cried out in alarm.

Verdant Green Maiden hurriedly stroked her head to soothe her. "All right, all right, I won't die..."

But even if she didn't die, someone else was about to.

On the seventh day of First Snow, Ying Zhu fell critically ill.

His health had always been poor, and throughout the year of mourning, he had grown weaker by the day. At last, three days after officially ascending the throne as King, he collapsed.

The Qin Palace was thrown into chaos.

The King's Command urgently summoned Verdant Green Maiden, Ying Zheng, and the others to the palace.

As Ying Zhu lay on his deathbed, he wouldn't even let Lady Huayang attend him at his side. He waited desperately for Verdant Green Maiden and the others to arrive.

At his bedside, he raised his hand again and again, clutching Verdant Green Maiden's sleeve before grasping Ying Zheng's hand. Suddenly, he seemed to regain his strength, as though in a final burst of life. Eyes wide, he stared at Verdant Green Maiden and murmured, "Master... Master, protect my Great Qin!"

"King Grandfather!"

Ying Zheng cried out.

Ying Zhu didn't expect an answer from Verdant Green Maiden. Instead, he said to Ying Zichu, "Sons of Great Qin, never forget to advance east!"

Ying Zichu knelt beside the bed and bowed his head. "Zichu will remember!"

On the xinchou day of the tenth month in the first year of King Xiaowen of Qin, the King died.

I have to spell it out for you, piece by piece!

The Qin court officially established the Qing Xiao Jade Maiden Temple, which meant that Verdant Green Maiden had been bound to Qin's auspicious fortune!

No one in the previous three dynasties had ever done anything like that. Verdant Green Maiden hadn't known!

That was why Verdant Green Maiden gradually came to feel she had to protect Qin!