Chapter 552 Taking Charge

[Has she finally gone mad with anger?]

Inside the Hall of State Affairs, all the palace servants were driven out. Ying Zheng held Fusu in his arms, gazing at him quietly for a long time.

Only when Fusu's heartfelt words resonated again did Ying Zheng stir, reaching out to pat his head: "Fusu, my eldest son."

【What? You didn't know before? So, you must be furious, right?】

The little boy rolled his eyes without any politeness, but Ying Zheng didn't mind, mainly because he wasn't polite either. He put his hand inside Fusu's clothes to warm it.

[Hiss—Am I a hand warmer?]

Ying Zheng lowered his eyes. A good idea.

Looking at the soft little bundle on his lap, Ying Zheng finally accepted his status. Perhaps because of Zhao Ji's situation, he suddenly felt the so-called father-son bond.

Although faint, it was something he had never experienced before.

If before this, Fusu was a "rare treasure" in his heart that needed to be tested, then now the way he looked at him had become more human and gentle, truly looking at him as a father, or rather, willing to admit that he was looking at him through a father's eyes.

In response, Fusu, who had turned over in Ying Zheng's arms and looked drowsy with his head buried in his chest, gently curled the corners of his mouth.

...

In front of the Taizu Temple in Xianyang, the black banner fluttered in the cold wind.

Ying Zheng, dressed in a ceremonial robe with twelve imperial symbols, slowly strode up the thirty-six blue stone steps, the tassels of his crown striking the ground with a clear, cool sound. The vermilion gates of the Imperial Ancestral Temple were wide open, and inside the sacrificial hall where bronze vessels were arranged, the ever-burning lamps before the ancestral tablets cast his shadow onto the bronze gui vessel, transforming it into a mottled, illusory image.

The master of ceremonies held up the bamboo slips inscribed with tadpole-like characters, his aged voice echoing through the dome: "In the forty-second year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, his great-grandson Zheng received the Mandate of Heaven..."

Ying Zheng knelt on the prayer mat, took the bronze ewer from the Minister of Works with both hands, and poured clean water from the ewer's spout, splashing fine water droplets in the jade plate.

He dipped his finger in water and sprinkled it lightly on the ground. Then he took the ox shoulder blade from the official in charge of ceremonies and imprinted the inscription written in cinnabar on it—the oath he had personally written the night before, each word sharp as a knife: "To cleanse the world and make the fortress impregnable forever."

The following day, bells and drums resounded in front of Zhangtai Palace, and thirty-six golden-armored warriors lined up on both sides of the Danbi steps, their black banners fluttering in the wind.

Ying Zheng sat upright in the hall, the tassel of his jade-hilted sword moving without wind.

Civil and military officials filed in, and the people below the steps knelt and bowed in obeisance.

Lu Buwei knelt respectfully at the lower end, holding a bronze treasure box containing the Imperial Seal of the State, symbolizing the highest power of the Qin State, and half of a tiger tally. The heavy weight made his back even more hunched.

"Chancellor Lü Buwei, relinquish power!" The master of ceremonies' shrill shout pierced the sky.

Lü Buwei crawled on his knees, his aged knees striking the cold jade steps with a dull thud.

He tremblingly opened the treasure box, holding the jade seal and tiger tally above his head, "Please, Your Majesty, assume personal rule!"

The officials echoed in unison: "We beseech Your Majesty to assume personal rule!"

Ying Zheng calmly accepted the imperial seal and tiger tally, symbols of power, from Lü Buwei. He solemnly pressed the imperial seal onto the purple clay sealing the edict, and the vermilion seal bloomed like blood.

"From this day forward, all government decrees shall originate from me!"

His voice pierced through the nine-tiered main hall, causing the chime bells in the corridor to resonate.

In the seventh year of his reign, the King of Qin officially assumed personal rule.

...

"Didn't you take control of the government? Why do you have time to bother with me?"

Hearing Fusu's rambling complaints, Ying Zheng put down the bamboo slips in his hand and looked at the chubby little dumpling sitting on the couch, scattering toys everywhere.

"Fusu".

"ah?"

The little dumpling raised his head perfunctorily, his cheeks jiggling with the movement. Ying Zheng paused, swallowing back the words he was about to say, and instead said, "You've gotten fatter again."

"ah!"

[Where are you fat! Where are you fat! If you can't speak properly, then don't say it! How awful!]

Fusu turned away angrily, but Ying Zheng pulled him back with a large hand.

Ying Zheng looked very serious, then reached out and poked his cheek, belly, and calves with his finger, saying, "You're all fat."

He spoke his mind and cursed directly. Ying Zheng raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised that the first word he clearly uttered would be "bad," but considering the kid's personality, it was normal.

However, now that he can speak... Ying Zheng reached out again, gently pinched his cheek, and calmly said, "Call me Father."

Dream on!

Fusu kept her mouth tightly shut and didn't say a word.

Ying Zheng was not annoyed. He pulled the person into his arms, picked up a bamboo slip, and spread it out for him to see. "Then I will teach you to read."

"Huh? Even pulling up seedlings to help them grow shouldn't be done like this! I've only just started talking, and you're already making me recognize characters? Do you think I'm some kind of prodigy...? Okay, I am, you have some good eye, Daddy, but I won't show it. Children should act like children—"

"Call me Father," Ying Zheng said, pointing to the bamboo slips on the table. "Recognize the characters."

[Is this forcing me to choose between two options? Calling him "dumb dad" wasn't wrong at all! Speaking so concisely, did he really think I could understand? Damn it, I actually understood! Unyielding to power...]

"father!"

Ying Zheng smiled slightly and patted his fluffy little head. "Good boy."

"Your Majesty, General Meng requests an audience."

"pass."

Ying Zheng did not have anyone carry Fusu away, and just waited for Meng Ao to come in.

"Greetings, Your Majesty; greetings, Eldest Prince."

"Get up."

【Huh?】

Meng Ao subconsciously looked up and was caught off guard by a pair of golden eyes, so much so that he didn't hear Fusu's thoughts at all.