Adeline Yen Mah

Eunuch Zhao was now so powerful that he wished to be the Emperor himself. Only one man stood between him and the throne -the Second Emperor. He decided to test the ministers to see how far they would follow him.

Prime Minister Li announced that the First Emperor was dead and Prince Hu was now Second Emperor. Not long afterwards, a power struggle began between Prime Minister Li and the wily eunuch. The Second Emperor sided with his former tutor, Zhao. He had Li executed, and appointed Zhao Gao to be the new prime minister.

To hide the odor, Prime Minister Li filled the coach with salted shellfish and spread the word that the Emperor had a sudden craving for preserved abalone! They continued touring until the messenger returned from the Great Wall and reported that Prince Fu was safely dead. Only then did they dare to hurry back to the capital.

They announced to the attendants that he was unwell and wished to stay in his coach. But the weather grew hot and the corpse began to smell.