Bonus chapter for 23,000 nutrient solutions: "Why did my cousin steal..."
The news of Changping Jun Mi Qi's disappearance quickly spread throughout the Qin state, and his younger brother Changwen Jun became the target of the entire country's vigilance.
Although neither Ying Zheng nor Banban suspected him, he still shared the same blood as Lord Changping. The people of Qin hated traitors the most, and since the situation could not be developed for the time being, everyone was calling for his execution. He stopped going out and stayed at home except for attending court.
Mi Dian, clinging to hope, thought, "Perhaps he has been kidnapped by someone. Why make such assumptions about him?"
Li Si cut him a piece of roasted venison rib, nodded reassuringly, and said nothing. In this situation, Mi Dian didn't need approval; he was clearly convincing himself.
Who exactly was Mi Qi? Others didn't know, but he knew best.
Wang Jian led an army of 600,000 eastward out of Hangu Pass to meet the Chu army head-on, but no battle broke out. Instead, he built a strong fortified camp and held firm.
This was destined to be a protracted tug-of-war.
In her spare time, Banban would teach Xingshu to speak. Although it was called teaching, in reality, she would just say a sentence and Xingshu would basically repeat it, so it didn't require much effort.
Strangely, she ignored Ying Zhao's advice.
It's clear that the memory of lying in the cradle is still in her mind; she can't forget being held and nibbled on by her older brother.
After this happened several times, Ying Zhao cried loudly, looking extremely pitiful, saying that his sister didn't like him.
Banban was at a loss for words, not knowing how to coax her. She couldn't very well say that Banban was talking too much nonsense and that her sister was getting impatient with her.
Perhaps seeing his mother's distress, the little guy thought for a moment and took his brother's hand as if to comfort him.
Ying Zhao was always easy to coax, his tears came and went quickly, and he was quite emotional. In less than a quarter of an hour, he was carrying his younger sister and playing around.
He was very strong. Although he was only five or six years old, he could already carry his younger sister steadily. He would often carry her on his back and crawl around. After crawling for a while, he would tug at Banban's feet and boast, "Mother, I am a magnificent wild horse!"
"She doesn't look like a horse, but more like a wild boar charging around. Xing Shu is still young, so don't climb so fast. What if you drop her?" Ban Ban calculated, taking a moment to check on Xing Shu's posture.
She held onto her brother's hair with both hands, but it wouldn't come off.
"My little sister is amazing, she won't fall!" Ying Zhao said, then imitated a horse's neigh and leaped off, while Xing Shu on his back chuckled happily.
"...brother."
Suddenly, a tender voice, like a newly sprouted bud, rang out.
The mother and son stopped abruptly and immediately looked toward the source of the sound.
As Ying Zhao lifted Xing Shu down, he held his breath, his eyes shining brightly like stars in the night sky: "Xing Shu, are you calling me?"
The person lying on their back looked left and right, then raised their foot and stepped on the face that was so close.
Ying Zhao, whose face was stepped on: "Ugh ugh ugh!"
That night, he was so excited that he ate an extra bowl of rice. Ying Zheng glanced at him and warned, "Your sister is not your toy."
"I didn't treat my sister like a toy," Ying Zhao muttered in protest.
Since Xing Shu came into his life, Ying Zhao has been involved in how she grows up every day. He is very responsible towards this younger sister, believing that she was born under his expectations and that their blood ties are extraordinary. She is a completely different playmate compared to Meng Huan.
"Some people say that my father was a henpecked husband."
Ying Zheng paused in his action of picking up food.
"And I'm a doting sister, so our family is complete."
Ying Zheng gave an "oh" and said calmly, "In that case, your mother's younger sister can't be missing either. We need two rabbits, and it would be best if we could shoot them with one arrow."
Ying Zhao: "!!!!" His little face immediately fell.
Xing Shu, who was sitting in a wooden baby chair made by Banban, suddenly raised her hands and exclaimed, "Bunny! I want it!"
She hadn't grown much hair yet; it was soft and inherited its parents' jet black color, like a layer of fluffy black short hair. Her bright, clear eyes blinked, and her thick eyelids fluttered along with them. At only one and a half years old, you could already tell that her nose bridge was slightly higher than that of an average baby, and her lip shape was quite similar to that of Ying Zheng.
Ji Changyue was astonished by her beauty after she grew up, saying that she looked exactly like Ying Zheng when he was a child, so much so that they couldn't tell them apart.
When his younger sister said she wanted some, Ying Zhao became dejected, buried his head, and quickly ate his rice. After finishing, he put down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and ran away, saying, "I'm going to practice martial arts!"
Ying Zheng shook his head and said, "Zhao'er is sincere, warm-hearted, kind, and intelligent with a keen mind. He will surely be highly sought after."
Even if he is occasionally arrogant, he is surrounded by good people who will deliberately suppress him. Although he will be angry for a while when he is mocked, he will get over it after a while. His solution is to bury himself in hard work and make sure that he will not be criticized as arrogant when he says those things again.
Not only the ministers, but the people would also like such a monarch.
Xing Shu ate some porridge, and was then carried away by Qian Yin to have another feeding.
Banban said happily, "My cousin will also be admired and loved by many people, even though people hate you now... The public's eyes are discerning."
"Last time you told Jing Ke that the suffering today would benefit future generations. People a thousand years from now will know your good intentions, and great scholars will defend you!" She praised him enthusiastically, borrowing words she had overheard.
His tone was clearly one of admiration, but his cousin worried that he would associate it with her. Ying Zheng muttered "foolish" and picked up some food for her. "You've been working hard lately, cousin. After we conquer Chu, I'll take you out for a walk."
Banban's eyes lit up, and she quickly sat down next to him. "Cousin, he wants to go south. I heard that it never snows in those places in winter, and it's like spring all year round. The scenery must be beautiful!"
"Then let's go to Yue, where naval warfare is the specialty."
When it came to new things, she would chatter on and on, pestering Ying Zheng to tell her more interesting stories.
As night fell, the two drank and made merry. He composed a new piece for her and played the flute to accompany it.
Just as he was about to fall asleep, Ying Zheng returned from his bath and saw his cousin lying on the bed reading a storybook.
"Why are you looking at this stuff again after not looking at it for so long?"
Banban didn't turn around, muttering to himself, "Cousin doesn't understand. Storytelling is something you can't stop reading once you start. If you don't read it, you're fine, but once you do, it's amazing!"
“…” Sentences that have no connection to each other are baffling.
Ying Zheng could only interpret it as having addictive properties, saying, "It's best to watch it less often."
"I don't want to, leave me alone." She dragged out the "leave me alone" part, her toes pointing out the whole thing, and turned her head to give him a furtive glare. "You used to critique my sketchbooks, but now that they've switched to storybooks, you never look at them again."
Ying Zheng's lips twitched slightly. He couldn't very well say that he was young back then and was often speechless because of her quirky personality. He couldn't help but want to find out what she was thinking, so he started with what she liked to watch and play in her daily life, wanting to understand her clearly and even control her thoughts down to the smallest detail.
Now that they have been married for many years, they know each other so well that they naturally don't need to learn about her through other means.
"That's right!"
As she spoke, Banban remembered something important, got up angrily, and said, "My cousin even read my diary! How dare you peek at my diary?"
Ying Zheng sat down next to her and pushed aside the storybooks piled on the bed. "If I had a diary, you would read it too."
Second brother, please don't talk about eldest brother.
"..." Banban, "Then write it." She really wanted to see it.
"I won't write it." He refused without saying another word.
"Write, write! If you're not going to write, why are you trying to seduce me like this?"
When did I seduce you?
"...Don't look around, I didn't say anything about taking off clothes."
"The Book of Rites says that the left historian records words and the right historian records events. It is enough to appoint one historian, which is simple and convenient."
Wouldn't that turn it into an imperial daily record?
"Nothing is as truthful as your own account," Banban retorted indignantly.
"Is what you wrote true?" Ying Zheng curled his lips. "If I'm not mistaken, you lied quite a few times in your diary."
"Where did I lie? I kept a diary, who would lie? I will definitely record the truth!"
“One year you declared that you wanted to lose weight and get in shape, and ordered people to strictly control your diet, and asked me to stop you from eating too much.”
Banban's expression softened slightly, her raised eyebrows gradually lowered, and she looked bewildered.
“I let you eat whatever you want, and you scold me for letting you get fat and not caring, thinking I'm fattening you up to find another beautiful woman; when I actually try to control you, you cry and complain that I brought you to Qin so you wouldn't have enough to eat.”
Ying Zheng remained expressionless.
"..." Banban was unconvinced. "That's true. I recorded it truthfully."
"Qin Ju." Ying Zheng called out, summoning someone into the inner room.
Banban, who was originally confident, couldn't help but doubt her own memory upon seeing this. Her high spirits turned into a deflated balloon. "Sigh... Oh well, it's fine if you don't want to see it, cousin..." she hesitated.
Based on the year and date given by Ying Zheng, Qin Ju carefully searched through the study.
Banban was utterly humiliated. Her cousin even remembered the date so clearly; she completely lost confidence in herself.
Before long, Qin Ju returned carrying a scroll of Qin bamboo slips.
Banban covered his eyebrows, trying to avoid the question, "Uh... cousin, I'm going to take a bath. I need to take a bath, I'm sleepy."
I had just stood up when I was pushed back down.
The Qin bamboo slip was opened, revealing the unpolished handwriting.
The braised pork knuckle smelled delicious today, and I really wanted to eat it. My cousin advised me to be honest with myself, saying that if one is not trustworthy to oneself, how can one gain the trust of others? I thought he was right, so I didn't eat it.
[I truly deserve to be called the most obedient princess in the world. Who else in the Qin Palace could possibly be my consort? Haha.]
The truth is that a princess, upon hearing her cousin's advice, became extremely agitated, throwing a tantrum and accusing him of scolding her, saying she didn't want to live anymore.
Afterwards, with his belly full, he lay down satisfied and started making up stories, creating a persona for himself.
They boast about themselves pretentiously without any shame, shamelessly comparing themselves to the entire harem, believing themselves to be the best.
"Alright, alright, stop looking." Banban quickly rolled up the Qin bamboo slip, wrapped her arms around Ying Zheng's neck, and kissed him several times.
Ying Zheng took the Qin Jian and tapped her on the head. "You've been writing in your diary, who would lie?" He curled his lips and looked at her face. "Indeed, the most clever deception is deceiving yourself. I see you're quite self-righteous."
Banban turned her head away, "It's all because my cousin spoils me."
She would tell little lies sometimes to make herself sound more perfect, but he would never expose her. "I haven't even asked you why you were peeking at my diary, and even my sketchbook. I thought you were just killing time when you had nothing else to do."
Ying Zheng gazed at her quietly and nodded: "Indeed."
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Author's Note: Here we go, a race against time! Ahhh!
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