23 Chapter 23
◎Preference. ◎
Although his beloved ministers and son tried to persuade him, Ying Zheng was stubborn and refused to listen. He insisted on getting on the horse and trying it first. Meng Yi had no choice but to ask to ride on the horse and accompany him. He also ordered Ying Zheng's entourage to be on high alert just in case.
Ying Zheng was very disdainful of their cautiousness. He grabbed the reins and jumped onto the horse.
Fusu had been ordered to step aside and was now craning his neck to look.
Li You advised from the side: "Don't worry, my lord. The king is skilled in archery and horsemanship, and he has the protection of heaven. He also has his personal guards by his side. He will be fine."
Fusu nodded perfunctorily: "Thank you."
Li You looked at Mi Qing helplessly, wanting him to persuade the eldest son to relax. The king was just going to ride a horse, not to go to the battlefield, so he shouldn't be so cautious.
Mi Qing couldn't think of anything new to say, so she could only repeat Li You's words dryly over and over again, and got the same thank you from Fusu.
Li You turned around and looked at the two younger ones. However, Wang Li and Meng Hua were so focused and curious on looking at the king that they didn't notice this side at all.
Li You: “…”
Fortunately, Ying Zheng had successfully ridden his horse forward. He had good riding skills and the horse was obedient. After returning safely, Meng Yi and Fusu both breathed a sigh of relief.
Fusu said: "It seems to be successful."
After all, it was the first time that Fusu was trying to make the Takahashi saddle and stirrups, and he was afraid that any shortcomings would cause accidents, so he was so nervous.
When Ying Zheng heard this, he dismounted and walked over. He quickly bent down, held Fusu's armpits with both hands and lifted him up.
"I'll take you to learn horse riding." Ying Zheng had a cheerful smile on his face, and it was obvious how good his mood was after running this lap. The Takahashi saddle and stirrups must have made him very satisfied.
"Oh!" Fusu was startled. He shook his feet slightly, "Father, I want to walk by myself."
Being held in arms would be fine, but being dragged around like this is too embarrassing.
Ying Zheng placed Fusu on the horse, still holding him with both hands, and said with a smile: "Is this your first time riding a horse, father? You are so frightened, it's really embarrassing for me."
Fusu explained, "I am just worried, not frightened. Father, you can't wrong me."
"Sophistry." Ying Zheng patted his head and said, "Come, let me teach you the tricks of riding a horse."
Ying Zheng took Fusu's hand and grabbed the reins. He then lowered his eyes to look at his short legs and couldn't help laughing. "It's good to be careful. Fusu, if you want to learn how to ride a horse, your feet must be able to reach the stirrups."
Fusu blushed when he saw it and said, "Father, your horse is too big. I need a pony to ride."
Ying Zheng shook his head and said, "You can't ride the pony either. This isn't a joke."
Fusu said dejectedly: "Oh, I will listen to my father."
Ying Zheng rubbed his head and said soothingly, "But I can have someone pick out a pony for you to raise first. It just so happens that you have already taught the eunuch in your palace, so let him raise it."
Fusu smiled again and said quickly, "Thank you, father!"
After talking with his son about their father-son relationship, Ying Zheng was about to return to the palace, as there were still many political and military affairs waiting for his decision.
Before leaving, Ying Zheng ordered Meng Yi to have people make Gaoqiao saddles and stirrups, and to ensure that all cavalrymen were equipped with them before the next battle.
After receiving the order, Meng Yi and everyone else respectfully sent the king off.
As soon as Ying Zheng left, Fusu also wanted to return to the palace, but when he saw that the four study companions who came with him could only stand there from beginning to end, he immediately felt embarrassed.
Fusu said, "Mr. Meng, except for Meng Hua, all three of them can ride horses. Do you think there are any horses here that the three of them can ride?"
Before Li You and the other three could say anything, Meng Hua shouted, "I can, too, Master. I can ride a horse, too!"
Fusu said flatly: "You can't."
Meng Hua said dejectedly, "Yes."
"Mr. Meng?" Fusu looked at Meng Yi again.
Meng Yi was almost amused by his nephew. He cleared his throat and said, "Yes, I will go and pick one... You gentlemen can also come along and pick a horse you can handle."
Li You and others thanked Fusu with great gratitude and hurried to follow Meng Yi.
Meng Hua stayed where he was and accompanied Fusu, and he did not forget to try again: "My lord, I can ask my uncle to teach me how to ride a horse."
Fusu stood beside him and compared their heights, then cruelly rejected him again: "No, you are too short to learn horse riding."
Meng Hua was, after all, two years older than Fusu and naturally taller. He also felt that Fusu was a good-tempered person who would not get angry with him, so he smiled and said, "My dear, you are shorter than me."
"Yes." Fusu sighed, "But my father said that he would ask General Meng Tian to come and teach me tomorrow. After I learn martial arts, I will be able to learn to ride a horse in two years."
"Ah?" Meng Hua looked at him sympathetically. "My dear, my father is very capable. Can't you ask the king to find you a new teacher?"
Fusu asked in return: "Which teacher is not strict?"
Meng Hua thought about it and immediately became even more dejected. He also sighed and said, "Yes, the teacher is really scary."
However, Meng Hua was a very positive and optimistic child. He quickly cheered up and asked Fusu, "My Lord, our eggs will be ready in five days. Is there anything else we can do after that?"
Fusu corrected him, "They are not our eggs."
Meng Hua blinked, not understanding what Fusu meant: "It's our egg, whose else could it be?"
Fusu paused, deciding to skip the question of ownership of the egg. "Well, after it's hatched, I'll calculate the success rate this time and see if I should try again, changing the temperature and humidity."
Meng Hua asked, "Didn't we remove the eggs that couldn't hatch last time? Are there any that still can't hatch?"
Fusu explained, "It's possible. After all, this is our first time doing this, and we can only estimate the temperature and humidity. We can't measure them, so inaccuracies are inevitable. It's unlikely that all the eggs will hatch."
Meng Hua laughed when he heard this and said, "Young Master, temperature is something you can't touch. You can only feel it. It's not water, which people can see. How can you measure it?"
Of course it can be measured, Fusu thought, this is science.
Fusu smiled and said, "Perhaps one day such a fantasy will come true."
Meng Hua tilted his head and smiled, "It would be great if that day really came. It would save us a lot of trouble."
The two men talked aimlessly for a while, and then Li You and the other two were brought back by Meng Yi. They went back to have lunch, but just as they arrived at the palace gate, someone from Ying Zheng came to call Fusu over.
Watching Fusu leave, Meng Hua said cheerfully, "Young Master, give me his chicken leg to eat!"
Wang Li smiled and said, "Eat one more chicken leg. When Mr. Han asks you this afternoon, you will definitely be able to answer it. You won't need the eldest master's help."
Meng Hua suddenly stopped laughing: "Mr. Han is even more terrifying than my father. I really don't know why the eldest master likes him so much."
Li You patted Meng Hua's shoulder and said with a smile, "If you read more of Mr. Han's articles, you will understand why the eldest master likes him."
Meng Hua said: "I read it, but the article is an article and Mr. Han is Mr. Han. They are different."
As soon as these words came out, the other three laughed. Li You said with a smile: "After dinner, tell us what the difference is and see if we can help you."
This was exactly what he wanted, and Meng Hua hurriedly thanked him.
Although the eldest son could help him deal with Mr. Han, he still wanted to catch up as soon as possible. Moreover, seeing that the eldest son had so many things to do, Meng Hua didn't want to always delay him.
…
Fusu thought that this dinner would be the same as usual, with only the two of them, father and son, but when he arrived he was surprised to find that all of his father's trusted ministers were there.
Fusu walked forward and saluted with a normal expression. After being exempted from the ceremony, he exchanged greetings with the court officials present.
After all the formalities were completed, Ying Zheng waved his hand and Fusu sat down next to him. This was a position above all the ministers, second only to the emperor and above everyone else.
The court officials below had all experienced many storms and waves. Seeing this, they just sat upright in their original places without a trace of strange expression on their faces. However, what they were thinking in their hearts, only they themselves knew.
For Fusu, the Mid-Autumn Festival sacrifice was a thing of the past, but for the ministers in the court, the impact of the Mid-Autumn Festival still hung in their hearts and could not be dispelled for a long time.
The fact that the king brought his five-year-old eldest son to participate in the sacrifice had already made his attitude clear. Although the eldest son did not have the title of Crown Prince of Qin, he already had the status of Crown Prince of Qin in reality.
Anyone with eyes can see that the king favors his eldest son. Since the eldest son is the eldest son, he naturally deserves the position of Crown Prince of Qin. The court officials have no objection to this.
The court officials just didn't understand. The king was not a confused man like King Wuling of Zhao, and he didn't look like a person without sense of propriety. If the eldest son was ten years older and a capable person, it would be understandable for the king to favor him. But why should the king pay special attention to this five-year-old child?
The king has so many sons, why is it that only the eldest son stands out? Is it just because he is the eldest?
With such doubts in mind, the court officials would glance at Fusu from time to time without making any expression, and then give him a score in their hearts.
Of course, their appearance is impeccable. The king and the Princess of Chu both have outstanding looks, and the eldest son, as their son, will not be much worse.
Whether it was in terms of etiquette or not, some of these court officials had met Fusu before, and they all had nothing but good things to say about his performance.
As for other aspects, the court officials only knew one thing, that is, filial piety. After all, the reason why they met the eldest son by chance was mostly because the eldest son often came to pay homage to the king.
A small number of people, such as Wang Jian and Li Si, were able to meet the eldest son in front of the king because their children and grandchildren were chosen, and they did not hear any bad words about the eldest son from their own sons.
But these were not enough to convince them. They felt that there must be other reasons why the king favored his eldest son.
What the court officials were thinking, the Qin King and his son did not know. Ying Zheng asked Fusu a few questions about what he had done that morning. After hearing that Li You and the others had gone horseback riding, he and Meng Hua could only envy him and commented with a smile: "He is not as tall as a horse, but he has a big heart."
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