Chapter 547 Born with Knowledge
When Landis lazily delegated the task of character design extraction to Wu Mo and Fei Bai (for the third time) —
Fei Bai: You're completely clueless! Don't you understand workplace culture?! Your framing is too obvious; it's easy to see through! So, this time, we can't use any underhanded tactics or the Easter egg character design. We'll just draw once normally, and then blame the first two draws on Wu Mo O(∩_∩)O——
Fei Bai: As expected of me, the genius of the system—
[I've been selected for the "straightforward and outspoken" persona]
——
In the sixth year of King Zheng of Qin's reign, his eldest son, Fusu, was born.
His birth mother, Lady Mi, was a princess of the State of Chu. Therefore, Empress Dowager Huayang was particularly close to this grandson who was related by blood, while his biological grandmother, Empress Dowager Zhao, had a lukewarm impression of him.
As for his biological father... it was during a crucial time when the five states were attacking Qin, and he hadn't seen him since Fusu was born.
No one thought there was a problem, and no one thought that the eldest son, who was just born and had little awareness, would have a problem.
But the eldest son didn't think so.
Therefore, when the King of Qin had some rare free time, he came to Chu Ji's palace after several hints from the Queen Dowager Huayang.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Lady Mi bowed obediently to the King of Qin.
"Hmm." Ying Zheng nodded indifferently, treating her no differently than he would any other subject.
Seeing that the King of Qin had taken his seat, Lady Mi spoke gently: "I have had someone bring the prince to see Your Majesty."
Ying Zheng nodded without saying anything more.
The wet nurse knelt respectfully below Ying Zheng, holding the swaddled baby. Ying Zheng looked down at the baby, whose pink and white face was wrapped in a cloud-patterned swaddle, like a snowball that had just fallen from a branch in winter.
A slight itch ran through his fingertips, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly. Ying Zheng asked, "How old is he?"
"It's been five months." Lady Mi's voice remained unchanged, showing no concern that the King of Qin didn't know the age of his son.
At the same time, a childish, mocking voice rang in Ying Zheng's ears.
[He doesn't even know how old his own son is, is he a fake father?]
Ying Zheng's jaw tightened abruptly, his gaze sweeping across every corner of the hall like a hawk's, finally settling on the infant in swaddling clothes. He met the infant's large, clear eyes with a gaze as deep and unfathomable as a cold pool.
As the atmosphere in the hall grew tense, Ying Zheng heard that voice again.
What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a child born with innate knowledge?
Ying Zheng's eyelashes trembled slightly as he glanced at the oblivious wet nurse and Lady Mi. He stretched out his hand, and the sleeves adorned with dark gold silk threads slipped down, revealing strong and powerful arms.
The wet nurse restrained herself from looking at Lady Mi, not daring to disobey the King of Qin's order, and carefully handed over the swaddling clothes.
[Wow! Do you even know how to hold me? Just me? Be gentle, do you think I'm made of cotton? Raise your arms a little higher, are you trying to slip me out of my swaddling clothes, you scheming little devil...]
From the moment he took the baby from the swaddling clothes, the baby's chattering voice never stopped. Ying Zheng frowned slightly and subconsciously adjusted his holding position according to the hints in the baby's voice.
[Huh? You're learning pretty fast. I reluctantly agreed to let you hug me.]
Seeing that the King of Qin had quickly adjusted his carrying posture, Lady Mi's eyes flickered, and she breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Ying Zheng looked down at the child in his arms, whose origins were unknown. Was he born with knowledge? What was he hearing? The child's inner voice?
What impact will this child have on the Qin state? Should we keep him...?
What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen such a cute child? Keep looking, keep looking... I'm going to sleep!
"..." Looking at the child slowly closing his eyes, Ying Zheng remained silent for a while. It seemed that being born with knowledge didn't have much of a threat.
She stared at him for a while longer, and his cold expression made Lady Mi's heart leap again.
"Take good care of him."
"only."
Once the King of Qin's figure disappeared outside the palace, Lady Mi took the child from the wet nurse's arms, held it close, and breathed a long sigh of relief.
...
Winter arrived in the blink of an eye, and the King of Qin did not see his eldest son for the second time, causing much discussion in the Xianyang Palace. If it weren't for the support of Empress Dowager Huayang, the rumors in the palace would have been even more exaggerated.
The bronze crane incense burner emitted camphor incense, Empress Dowager Huayang rubbed her temples with her fingertips, and the pearl on her phoenix hairpin swayed gently in the twilight.
The fine snow that hadn't yet melted clung to the vermilion pillars outside the corridor, dampening the moss in the cracks of the blue bricks, much like the lingering gloom in her heart.
"Is Your Majesty bothered by Fusu's background?" she suddenly asked, her question tinged with certainty.
The serving maid quickly reassured her, "Your Majesty is overthinking it. It's just that His Majesty is busy and hasn't been able to attend to the eldest son for a while."
Empress Dowager Huayang closed her eyes, her fingertips lightly tracing the brocade on her knees. She still felt that Ying Zheng was wary of Fusu's mother being from Chu, and that his lack of regard for Fusu was actually a warning to their Chu faction.
After a moment of contemplation, she slowly opened her eyes. "Send a message to Lord Yangquan, reminding him to be more respectful to the King in daily life."
"only."
The palace maids responded swiftly, and Empress Dowager Huayang added, "His Majesty's eldest son has been born; it is time for him to assume personal rule..."
She stroked the jade bracelet on her wrist, watched the palace servant who had delivered the message leave, and looked at the rare clear and fine weather outside in winter. She then instructed, "Have Lady Mi bring Fusu here for me to see."
The king may not care about the Chu bloodline, but she will always protect it.
The Huayang Palace was filled with the warm fragrance of incense, and the blue smoke rising from the gilded Boshan incense burner swirled among the gauze curtains.
Empress Dowager Huayang had a Shu brocade cushion on her lap. She watched as the little dumpling on the couch, with her delicate, chubby little legs sticking out, struggled to crawl forward, her plump palms pressing shallow marks into the brocade carpet.
Fine lines appeared at the corners of her eyes as she smiled, her red lips parted slightly, and the gold-inlaid jade hairpin swayed gently with her laughter: "Fusu, you've taken very good care of yourself."
Lady Mi, who was sitting by the couch, lowered her head and looked down. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "Fusu has always been obedient, so I don't need to worry about him."
As soon as they finished speaking, the little dumpling on the tatami suddenly looked up and said "Ah," as if responding to their words.
"Look at his quick wit!" Empress Dowager Huayang burst into laughter. "Does Fusu know we're talking about you?"
A soft laugh rippled through the hall, and the bronze lamps on the walls cast a warm glow upon everyone, filling the room with a cozy atmosphere.
Suddenly, the sound of jade pendants rang out, and a figure in black casual clothes strode in, bringing with him the chill of the air outside the hall. Ying Zheng had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, exuding an imposing aura without anger. The jade pendant with dragon patterns at his waist made a light sound with each step.
Empress Dowager Huayang paused slightly in her grip on Fusu's small fist.
"What brings Your Majesty here?"
Ying Zheng's gaze swept over the little bundle of flesh slowly crawling on the bed, seemingly intending to turn his back to him, and he answered bluntly, "I heard that Fusu is with the Empress Dowager, so I came to see him."
Lady Mi subconsciously straightened her back. After her initial surprise, Empress Dowager Huayang recovered and, like a close elder, said with a touch of affection and reproach, "Your Majesty should take a look; our Fusu can crawl now."
As Ying Zheng expected, the familiar child's voice rang in his mind once again.
[Hey, isn't this my fake dad who never goes home? What, found your way home?]
Ying Zheng walked steadily, approaching in a few steps. He looked down at Fusu, who was seemingly playing with his hands but actually cursing him in his heart. He quickly reached out and touched Fusu's face, then emphasized two words: "You've gotten fat!"
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