64 Chapter 64
◎Fate.◎
The petty thief was brought to justice. As for enforcing law and order, the King of Qin gave the order and someone would do it.
Fusu was busy trying to coax his father into being happy again, not wanting him to be affected by a little thief, as they still had to continue their visit to the cement road in Xianyang.
"Father, we'll deal with this corrupt trend in Yan and Zhao in the future." Fusu tilted his head. "Why don't we think about whose house we should go to for a meal today?"
Upon hearing his eldest son's words, Ying Zheng could no longer care about being angry. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "Your little head is thinking of bad ideas again. Whose house do you want to go to?"
Fusu thought for a moment and said, "Meng Hua is going home today, so let's go play with him."
Ying Zheng tapped him on the head and said with a smile, "Are you still thinking about Meng Hua learning horseback riding and the fact that you can't learn it, and are deliberately trying to scare him?"
"Father," Fusu sighed, "Why do you miss your son so much?"
Ying Zheng laughed and said, "Because you are a little bad guy."
"I don't see Zi Chong, but I see Jiao Tong," Fusu said with a grin. "It's destined from the name!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Fusu saw a group of familiar figures again, especially the girl in pink clothes, the smile on his face froze.
Is there really some magic in this poem?
What kind of luck is this today?
This time, they met Meng Hua and his four companions, their brothers and sisters, and a large number of followers.
They hurried over to pay their respects to Ying Zheng and Fusu. Li You said that they planned to go out of the city to hunt and would not be back tonight. Their family had a farm outside the city.
Meng Hua added softly, "We discussed this in the palace, but the eldest son still can't... uh, ride a horse, so we didn't tell him. It wasn't intentional."
Fusu: “…”
Mi Qing coughed awkwardly and then explained, "Originally, there were only four of us going. When we got home, we heard that they wanted to go too, so we... just brought them all along to play."
Fusu: “…”
Fusu looked at the group of little kids behind them. They all lowered their heads, except for the little girl in pink who quietly raised her eyes to look at him. When their eyes met, she immediately widened her eyes and lowered her head in fright.
With this little episode, Fusu's tone dropped a few notches when he spoke: "They can all ride horses."
Meng Hua murmured, "So... let's go play."
There’s more to fun than just horse riding.
Moreover, who could have known that by such an unfortunate coincidence, they would run into the king and the eldest son before they even left the city! One really shouldn't do anything that would go against one's conscience, and just this once, they were caught red-handed.
Fusu pretended to be willful and said, "Then I want to go play too."
Li You stole a glance at the king who was resting under the shade of a tree in the distance, and whispered, "My dear, it's not that we don't want to take you with us, it's the king... He definitely won't agree with you leaving the palace overnight."
Fusu couldn't help but look at the little kids behind him. Compared to his own age, they were indeed at least two years older than him!
There is no age limit for participating in politics, but there is an age limit for going out and having fun.
Fusu pursed his lips in dissatisfaction, but Li You was right, his father would definitely not let him spend the night outside the palace.
"I can't ride a horse, but I can hunt." Fusu patted Meng Hua's shoulder and said with a smile, "Catch me a rabbit. I want to eat roasted rabbit heads."
Meng Hua nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, don't worry, Master. I'm not going to eat my head. I'll catch you two... no, three rabbits!"
Fusu smiled and said, "You are very ambitious. I will wait for your rabbit."
Having said that, Fusu then quietly told Mi Qing to take good care of Meng Hua. Jokes aside, Meng Hua was just starting to learn horseback archery, so he still had to be more cautious.
Fusu did not want to delay their journey, so after exchanging pleasantries, he said, "You can go now."
Everyone took their leave, and when Fusu said goodbye, he glanced at the little girl in pink calmly.
She was talking to her brother, and her expression looked a little anxious. Li You explained something, and she looked at Fusu again.
Fusu stood there quietly, looked at the little girl and smiled, which made her stunned for a moment.
"Shi Lan?" Li You said softly, "Don't worry, the eldest master doesn't know you made the snacks, and you didn't put them in the wrong place on purpose. I'll go back and explain to the eldest master, he won't mind such a small matter."
Shi Lan nodded absentmindedly, and when she turned around again, the person she wanted to see was only a back.
Ying Zheng didn't want to get involved in the children's affairs. After taking a break and drinking some tea, Fusu just happened to come back. He smiled and said, "What's wrong? There's nowhere to eat today. What are you going to do?"
Fusu suppressed his other emotions and smiled: "I still have my father. I can still eat at his table."
Ying Zheng beckoned him to come closer, then ruffled Fusu's hair with his hand before smiling with satisfaction, "Well... Father has granted you a free meal."
Fusu had messy hair and his thoughts were also in a mess.
They are all just young people, and they still have to wait for many years before considering marriage, so there is no need to worry about it.
but……
Maybe... they are not destined to be together in this life.
Fusu suddenly felt a sense of inexplicable regret, perhaps...
It’s not that he doesn’t want this relationship.
…
After having dinner at his father's house, Fusu found an excuse to take a nap and returned to the palace.
Of course he didn't sleep, but the main reason was Li Ying, not Fusu's own wild imagination.
"The bicycle is ready, young master, would you like to come and see it?" Li Ying shouted excitedly.
Fusu thought for a moment, then got up from the couch and said, "Let's go and take a look."
As he said this, Fusu bent down, put on his shoes and was about to leave.
"Young Master, your hair!" Li Ying hurriedly reminded him, "and your clothes!"
Fusu looked down and saw that his clothes had been wrinkled.
Li Ying called the monks outside to come in and serve him, while he stood aside and waited. He really didn't know how to help people dress and comb their hair.
After Fusu had taken care of everything, he and Li Ying left the palace one after another.
Li Ying asked in a low voice: "Young Master, you are unhappy."
"No." Fusu denied without thinking, "Why am I unhappy?"
Li Ying said firmly, "You look unhappy everywhere. What's the matter, young master? Can you tell me? Maybe you'll feel better if you tell me."
Fusu asked, "Are you married?"
"No..." Li Ying answered first, then reacted, his eyes shining, "Oh! Are you thinking about your wife?"
Fusu: “…”
Fusu rubbed his face and said, "Since you can't provide experience in this matter, please don't ask too much."
"Oh." Li Ying scratched his nose, still unable to help, "But you two are both children now, even if it's puppy love, it's too early. Besides, your wife is a real child, young master, you've changed a bit..."
Fusu looked at him expressionlessly.
Li Ying shut up immediately.
Fusu didn't say another word until he saw the bicycle. Li Ying had a lot to say, but when he saw Fusu's face, he couldn't open his mouth.
The silence between the two was broken when they saw the bicycle. Li Ying excitedly pushed a wooden bicycle to Fusu.
"How is it? Young Master, we've done experiments and it's absolutely safe. Do you want to... Oh, this one is too high, you can't ride it. Wait, we'll make you a shorter one."
While Li Ying was chattering, Fusu had already circled the bicycle twice.
It is certainly not as sophisticated as the bicycles of later generations, but as a starting point, it is indeed perfect.
Fusu said, "Make some small ones like this and give them to the princesses and princes to ride on."
Li Ying thought for a moment and asked, "Master, I remember there are those with two small wheels on the back. They are very safe for children to ride. How about making one of those?"
"Okay." Fusu nodded, "I'll take this one to show my father."
When it came time to meet Ying Zheng, Li Ying didn't want to go with him, so Fusu asked Sun Qiao, a disciple of the Mohist school who was making bicycles with him, to push the bicycle.
Ying Zheng was still meeting with his court officials. Fusu did not ask the eunuch to inform them immediately, but stood outside and waited for a while.
Although it was afternoon, the sun was still hanging in the sky. The eunuch on duty outside was afraid that the eldest son would get heatstroke, so he hurried over to persuade Fusu to take shelter in the shade.
Fusu smiled and said, "It's okay."
The eunuch looked up at the sun in the west and felt that it was still a bit of a hindrance. He was about to persuade him again when the king's attendant came out from the hall to invite the eldest son.
The eunuch breathed a sigh of relief, bowed respectfully, and was about to leave when he suddenly heard the eldest son tell him, "Look at this."
Sun Qiao handed the bicycle to the temple servant and followed Fusu into the hall to meet the emperor.
After a while, the temple servant who was guarding the bicycle saw the king, the eldest son and the court officials all come out and watch Sun Qiao demonstrate how to ride a bicycle.
The temple attendant looked at the two-wheeled vehicle that could move forward steadily with the help of a person sitting on it and exerting force with his feet. He looked at his own hands. How could he have just touched such a magical thing?
Unlike the monks' reaction, the court officials were quite disgusted with bicycles.
They are nobles who live high and mighty, wearing layers of clothes and long robes that trail on the ground every day. They cannot do such crude actions as straddling a bicycle.
But no matter what you think in your heart, this is something that was handled by the eldest young master, so you still have to praise him.
But before they could open their mouths to flatter him, Fusu had already explained to Ying Zheng the uses of the bicycle.
Bicycles were made for minor officials to use. They needed a means of transportation to deliver documents or to go on business from county to county.
Horses are strategic materials and are strictly controlled. Cows are used to plow the land, but there are no restrictions on donkeys and mules. However, livestock are not only expensive but also difficult to raise.
The advantages of a bicycle can be shown when traveling short distances. It is most suitable for minor officials to use it with a school bag or a book box.
Ying Zheng would definitely agree to anything that could improve work efficiency.
Seeing that the king agreed, and this was not a big deal, none of the court officials wanted to spoil the fun.
【Author’s words】
"Guofeng·Zhengfeng·Shan You Fusu": I don't see Zi Chong, but I see the cunning boy.
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