89 Chapter 89
◎After returning home. ◎
It was already mid-September when Fusu returned to Xianyang. Ying Zheng sent the prime minister, the court judge and other older princes out of the city to welcome him.
After they exchanged greetings, Ying Gao said with a smile, "Brother, you've been away from home for a year. We've all been looking forward to your return!"
Fusu laughed and said, "Are you thinking about me or the candy?"
"After eating the candy that my elder brother sent me, I miss you even more." Ying Gao said with a smile.
"I have brought back a lot. After I see my father, I will distribute them to you." After saying this, Fusu turned around and talked to the prime minister and others.
"Is Your Majesty busy with government affairs recently?" Fusu asked.
Of course he was busy. Among the 365 days in a year, the First Emperor had only a few days to relax.
Ying Zheng stood in the corridor with his hands behind his back. Someone had come to report to him that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had already entered the palace. He did not return to the palace, but came to pay his respects to His Majesty first.
Just as he was getting anxious, another eunuch came to report: "Your Majesty, His Highness has entered."
Ying Zheng said calmly: "Yes."
After looking ahead again, Ying Zheng calculated Fusu's pace and turned back to the main hall.
The eunuchs and palace servants who served His Majesty looked at each other in bewilderment, almost unable to react. They turned around in panic and followed His Majesty back into the palace.
——Ever since the news of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince returning to the capital reached Xianyang, His Majesty would stand in the corridor and look out for a while every day. Today, he was even more eager to go out and take a look. Now that His Royal Highness was about to come in, why did His Majesty go back instead?
——The emperor’s heart is truly unfathomable and the saint’s heart is as deep as the ocean.
As Ying Zheng sat down in the main seat, a loud young voice came from outside the door: "Father! Fusu is back!"
A smile immediately appeared on Ying Zheng's face. Before his brain could react, his body had already stood up again, ready to greet him.
"Greetings, father!" Fusu ran in and bowed respectfully.
Ying Zheng straightened his sleeves, trying to hide his true intentions. He coughed lightly and said, "No need for formalities. You're not slow to come back. I thought you were going to spend the New Year away from home."
Fusu ran to his father and said with a grin, "That won't do, Father. Of course we must be together for the New Year!"
Ying Zheng stared at his eldest son for a moment and said with a smile, "You've grown quite a bit taller. You haven't suffered much during your year away."
Fusu held onto his father's arm, and the father and son sat down together. "I am your father's crown prince. Your father is a powerful figure throughout the world. No matter where I go, who would dare to make me suffer?"
Ying Zheng tapped his forehead with his fingers: "You haven't tasted bitterness, but it seems you've eaten a lot of sweets. Your mouth has become more talkative."
"Alas, father has been wronged." Fusu sighed, "I have been away from Xianyang for less than a year, and there is no one in the court who can say a single kind word to comfort father?"
Ying Zheng nodded and smiled, "That's right. Among all the nobles in the court, no one can compare to our Crown Prince."
Fusu said seriously, "Then I will never dare to leave my father's side again."
"That's what you said..." Ying Zheng interrupted and changed the subject, "I didn't ask you to do that. If you want to go out again in the future, don't blame me for not responding."
Fusu understood his father's implication and shook his father's arm. "I miss you too, Father. Since you miss me too, why don't you write to me more often?"
Ying Zheng allowed him to act coquettishly, saying seriously, "I'm busy with government and military affairs, how can I have so much free time? Besides, I see you've been away for a while and have a lot to do. I'm afraid you don't have much time to read my letter."
"Alas." Fusu sighed again, "I think it's because my father thinks Fusu's two letters a month are too long-winded that he doesn't want to write to me more often. But I don't understand and insist on writing to you."
Ying Zheng gently twisted his ear and laughed, "Where did you learn this? It's so unbecoming."
Fusu tilted his head and smiled: "As long as it can make father laugh, I will put aside the matter of propriety for now."
The father and son chatted and laughed, and neither of them had the intention of talking about business for the time being. It was not until after dinner that Ying Zheng started a conversation.
"The new sugarcane has not yet grown, but the sugar-making method you improved is good. The sugar produced is much finer." Ying Zheng said.
Fusu then explained the situation in each of the places he had inspected, and added, "Although the system has been established, I am afraid that in the future there will inevitably be people who break the law and violate etiquette. Father, we must set up an oversight agency."
Ying Zheng nodded: "I also have this idea."
There is no end to the government affairs to talk about. After talking about sugarcane, rice, and people's livelihood in various places, Ying Zheng paused the topic.
"You're tired too. Go back and have a good rest." Ying Zheng said, "Come back tomorrow."
"Okay... Father, there's one more thing I almost forgot." Fusu stood up to leave when he suddenly remembered and quickly sat down again. "Father, is Mi Qing... still with Feng Qing?"
Ying Zheng said, "I don't know if he's here today. Feng Yi recommended him to me earlier, saying he'd read the book you gave him and gained a lot from it. He wanted to serve Your Majesty and Your Highness, so he wanted to become Feng Yi's disciple. I had someone examine him, and he turned out to be quite good, so I asked Feng Yi to keep him."
"So that's how it is." Fusu said.
The previous letter from Ying Zheng only said that Mi Qing was currently working with Feng Yi, without mentioning the cause and effect. Fusu thought that he must ask in detail when he returned.
Fusu continued, "I gave him those books because I didn't want him to dwell on the past and feel depressed. But I didn't expect to receive this unexpected surprise. Since Feng Qing said he was good, then he must be good. Father, congratulations on having another great talent!"
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "Let's wait until he achieves results. You're quite magnanimous. It's clearly his disloyal and unrighteous father who has implicated him, yet you still bother to plan for him. In the end, I don't think he even cares about your friendship."
Fusu smiled and said, "We are friends after all. Whether he remembers it or not is his business. I did it so that I can have a clear conscience. Besides, since he has done his best for my father and the Qin Dynasty, he must remember my friendship."
"Silly." Ying Zheng said, "Forget it, stop being an eyesore here and go back to your East Palace. You haven't lived there yet, so now's a good time to go and see what's new."
Fusu smiled and bowed: "I'll take my leave."
…
One year after Fusu left Xianyang, the biggest change was this - they moved!
After the new imperial palace was built, all of Fusu's belongings were moved there. Li Ying did not accompany him to see his father, and had already toured the Eastern Palace.
"Your Highness, this is enormous!" Li Ying exclaimed. "I've been to the Forbidden City once before, and just looking at your East Palace, I think it's even bigger than the Forbidden City!"
Fusu said, "The Forbidden City you visited wasn't that small before... but it certainly isn't that big."
Li Ying asked curiously, "Your Highness, is your Donggong Palace more important, or is Prince Wei's Bowang Garden more important? Do you want to ask him?"
Fusu said: "You just want to watch the fun, but I'm in a good mood today and don't want to argue with anyone."
Li Ying chuckled: "But I think your courtyard is definitely bigger than Prince Li's East Palace."
Fusu smiled slightly and said, "I suggest you tell this to Cheng Qian directly."
"Forget it then." Li Ying shook her head repeatedly, "I don't want to provoke him."
Fusu smiled and said, "Just a friendly reminder, Cheng Qian is different from me and Liu Ju. When you work with him in the future, you'd better control your mouth."
Li Ying bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness. I'll remember this!"
Fusu didn't plan to tour the entire new home today. After looking at the first few palaces, he went back to his bedroom to rest.
The next day, Fusu distributed the candies he brought back to the children, and instructed the eunuchs around them to tell their mother not to eat too much candies.
After that, Fusu's life returned to normal. During this period, Mi Qing took the initiative to meet him once, thanked him for the books he had given her, and said that he would follow Feng Yi in the future.
Fusu understood his concerns. No matter what, Changping Jun's betrayal was a foregone conclusion in the eyes of His Majesty. As a son, it was difficult for him to remain immune. As long as he stood in front of His Majesty, people would inevitably be reminded of his father.
However, Mi Qing was the eldest son and had to take on responsibilities.
Among all the Mohist disciples in Xianyang, Feng Yi is the only one who only cares about studying and is not concerned about getting promoted or getting rich. Moreover, His Majesty and the Crown Prince both value him. Following him, one may not get a high position or a generous salary, but will definitely be able to make some contributions that will make His Majesty look at him differently.
Over time, Mi Qing was able to wash away all the traces that Changping Jun brought to their family.
——Mi Qing had another thought of his own, which he did not tell Fusu. He was the son of a criminal, and it was inconvenient for him to have close contact with the prince. He did not want to have the possibility of implicating the prince.
After meeting Mi Qing, Fusu asked Feng Yi again. After learning that Mi Qing was indeed very talented, Fusu stopped asking questions and told them to concentrate on their research and tell him if they needed anything.
The New Year arrived in the blink of an eye. Because the court was on holiday, Fusu and his father rested for a few days. After the beginning of the year, the court began to discuss the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.
In this life, there are still many doctors from Qi and Lu in the Qin court, but they are not the mainstream of the court. After all, what the Qin Dynasty has not lacked the least in recent years is books. Even if the six states in Shandong used to say that Qin was a barbarian and tyrannical Qin, they had to admit that none of those who could serve as officials in the court were not well-read.
It would have been fine if there were no conditions, but later Ying Zheng created the conditions for them and printed cartloads of books. They were all eager to read, and who wouldn't forget to eat and sleep when reading?
Therefore, after the unification of the Qin Dynasty, the knowledgeable local doctors of the Qin Dynasty presented a set of "Qin etiquette" to His Majesty!
Our Great Qin, your Majesty, must of course have our own etiquette and laws. The Zhou rituals are outdated!
Therefore, when Emperor Qin Shi Huang was to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, he wanted to adopt the Qin rituals which were derived from the Zhou rituals but were more in line with his own preferences.
When everything was ready, Ying Zheng, together with the crown prince and all the civil and military officials, set off for Jibei County.
In Ying Zheng's view, the Fengshan Ceremony at Mount Tai was a demonstration of the legitimacy of the Qin Dynasty and his supreme status, and it should not have any other meaning.
If he had not suddenly awakened his memories of the previous two thousand years at the Fengshan Terrace.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
