Chapter 27: Not Intentional Coldness "His cousin also possessed qualities he had learned..."
So far, every argument between Banban and her cousin has worked smoothly, and the eunuchs and maids have the most direct feeling that their relationship seems to be better and more natural.
Banban is a very self-reflective person, but the original Ying Zheng was not like that.
He doesn't talk much when he's angry. Due to his childhood experiences, his mind is always the fastest, no matter when or where. He tends to assume the worst about everyone and is suspicious and prone to misjudging others.
But this approach didn't work on Banban. The reason was that he knew his cousin too well. She wasn't the kind of person with complicated thoughts; on the contrary, she was straightforward and said what she meant without ever beating around the bush.
Therefore, he usually remains silent when he argues with her.
He knew all too well what people would say in a fit of anger, and that words could often be deadly. No matter what he said, she would believe it and be hurt by it.
So he simply kept quiet, and all he could do was stare at her coldly, or angrily storm off.
In the late autumn of their seventh year, the two had a serious argument and were in a cold war for half a month. Afterwards, he took the initiative to speak, as if they had made up, but that was not the case.
He Yingzheng could hardly remember the reason, but the image of her wiping away tears and crying was deeply imprinted in his heart.
The question that struck me most was: "If my cousin doesn't say anything, and we make up like this, it's just a fake reconciliation. Why doesn't he say anything?"
He asked, "What did you say?"
He thought that keeping quiet was for her own good. Did he think that arguing and hurting each other was what everyone wanted to see?
She didn't understand at all; she couldn't comprehend where his condescending attitude came from.
She spoke haltingly, uttering many incoherent words.
He believes that cherishing something means avoiding arguments.
She believes that while cherishing each other is important, it's even more crucial to remove the thorns in each other's hearts, dispel misunderstandings, comfort each other, and embrace one another – that's true reconciliation.
Naturally, these were the meanings that Ying Zheng himself extracted from her jumbled words.
The first instance of this was when she took the initiative to apologize after they truly reconciled. She listed out all the grievances and pain points in his heart and apologized to each of them.
It was a wonderful taste.
He only knew that the thorn in his heart seemed to have truly softened and been pulled out.
That was also a strange feeling.
Because he was never 'apologized'.
Therefore, he will not apologize.
It was during this time that he suddenly realized his cousin was an extraordinary person, because in this world, apologizing and admitting mistakes are never easy things.
Even the elderly may not be able to face themselves squarely, let alone the young... no, perhaps it is precisely because she is a child who has never been tainted by the dust of the world that, even if she cares about her image, she will not be swayed by it.
How many people in the world can truly reflect on themselves in everything they do?
There are things he can learn from his cousin.
He remained suspicious, thoughtful, and doubtful, but he faced it squarely, understood its causes, and did not despise himself for it.
After that, no matter how much the two argued or how angry they got, he would quickly regain his composure, and even if he was still angry, he would not remain completely silent.
Just like this time, he stormed off and soon returned to Taxue Pavilion. He was still angry, but he would make things clear.
On this point, he and his cousin were always of one mind.
Therefore, they can never truly break up; they will only become closer and more inseparable.
Hearing that Taxuexuan had summoned the palace maids to make up for the night after he left, Ying Zheng knew what he had said and that his cousin had taken it to heart, which pleased him greatly.
With winter halfway over, Ying Zheng's eleventh birthday arrived. At the same time, Meng Ao won a battle, and Zhao was no match for the fierce attack of the Qin army. Thirty-seven cities, including Taiyuan, Yuci, Xincheng, and Langmeng, were captured, and Zhao was severely weakened.
For Ying Zheng, this was the best birthday gift he could receive.
In March of the same year, the Qin army set off again, this time heading straight for the State of Wei. They won the battle, capturing Gaodu and Ji in Wei and establishing the Taiyuan Commandery.
This was originally a very smooth and good thing, but not long after, the State of Wei joined forces with five other states to launch a counterattack against the Qin army, directly defeating Meng Ao and forcing him to retreat to Hangu Pass.
Prince Chu of Qin was furious.
The entire Xianyang Palace was eerily silent, the atmosphere heavy with tension.
Banban was having a meal with Ji Changyue at Ganquan Palace. "Sister-in-law, you don't look well. What's wrong?"
Ji Changyue was indeed in a bad mood, and she was willing to tell Banban, "Meng Ao was defeated and trapped at Hangu Pass. His Majesty was furious, not only because of the Qin army's defeat, but also because of the alliance of five states that intended to attack Qin. How could His Majesty not be terrified and indignant?"
In addition, there is another important matter.
"The king was furious and sent troops to arrest the crown prince of Wei, who was a hostage in Qin, in an attempt to imprison him, but this was opposed by the court officials."
Looking at the disdain and anger on his sister-in-law's face, Banban was lost in thought for a moment.
Before Zichu became King of Qin, he was a hostage in the State of Zhao. On that day, the State of Zhao also suffered a defeat and, out of anger, wanted to arrest Zichu, perhaps by imprisoning him or by killing him outright.
Now he was going to treat the Crown Prince of Wei in the same way. She didn't know how to describe the situation.
"Does your sister-in-law also support Your Majesty's imprisonment of the Crown Prince of Wei?" Banban wondered.
Ji Changyue sat down again and snorted indifferently, "You're still young, you don't understand. Whether I support it or not doesn't matter. What matters is that I am one with the King. What the King cannot do is what I cannot do. I naturally feel the same way as the King. In other words, it's the same principle. If the Queen is humiliated, the King is humiliated."
As she spoke, her expression turned serious, and she gently stroked Banban's soft hair. "Remember, no matter when or where, you must stand on the same side as your king."
Banban replied, "The master said that a wife should advise her husband so that he always stays on the right path."
Ji Changyue denied it, saying, "Advising the king is what a subject should do." Clearly, her understanding of the queen was based on her own experience and lacked a systematic understanding; instead, it was mixed with strong emotional overtones.
Banban thought about both arguments carefully and felt that they both made sense.
That evening, when she saw her cousin, she excitedly wrapped her arm around his and said righteously, "Cousin, people will also advise you in the future, but we will stand on the same side!"
Ying Zheng remained noncommittal, casually resting his chin on his hand, "What did you learn from Mother this time?"
She recounted everything that had happened during the day, and Ying Zheng laughed out loud. He couldn't help but pinch her cheek, and felt that something was wrong with the texture. "It's as if the flesh on your face has been reduced by one layer."
As he spoke, he touched her waist and belly again, and indeed she had lost weight.
“I’m still eating the same amount.” Banban pinched herself along with him, comparing her shoulders to Ying Zheng’s. “I’ve just grown taller.”
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng looked her over seriously and said, "Indeed."
"You've grown so much taller since you turned ten." He'd suddenly grown taller, and while it used to be easy to pat her head, now I had to raise my elbow a little higher.
"Cousin, you've grown taller too!" Banban stood on tiptoe. "Cousin, how did you get so tall? What did you eat?"
“I eat the same things as you.” Ying Zheng brushed her hand away, leaned down to face her, and said with a rather teasing expression, “How are we different?”
"..." She didn't like hearing that.
My second summer in Xianyang wasn't very good. Of course, I'm not talking about my cousin, but about my younger brother turning one year old.
On her younger brother's first birthday, Ying Zheng had important business to attend to and did not accompany her back to the Ji family.
The little one had shed its red, wrinkled skin and was now a delicate, pinkish-white creature. It showed no fear of strangers, its large, bright eyes darting around as it looked here and there.
His formal name was Ji Chenghong. Perhaps knowing that Banban harbored resentment towards the arrival of this younger brother, Zhu entrusted the matter of choosing a childhood name to Banban.
How could Banban possibly come up with a name?
After thinking for a while, he said, "Let's just call it 'Geng'er'."
Pang laughed out loud, "You, you love meat soup, so you call your little brother 'Soup'. You're such a naughty older sister."
Banban pouted, unhappy. "Didn't you all tell me to take it?"
Thus, Ji Chenghong's childhood name was decided as Geng'er.
"Geng'er," Banban murmured, lying on the soft couch.
The baby boy crawling around on the tatami mat seemed to know that this was his name. He suddenly turned around and looked at her, his clear, glassy eyes reflecting her face.
He waved his little hands and 'ah ah~' as he quickly crawled toward her.
Banban was startled and cried out, "Ah!" and backed away.
Zi Chan caught the baby boy who was about to fall. "You don't know, Geng'er is incredibly fast and strong. He's also very mischievous and loves to scare people."
When Banban realized what was happening, he hurriedly went to check if the man had bumped or hurt himself anywhere. He was indeed very strong. When Zichan laid him down to check if his diaper was wet or dry, the man kicked his feet back and forth in protest, leaving a shallow red mark on Zichan's forearm.
"Geng'er, this is your older sister." Zi Chan gently shook his chubby little hand, showing him who she was.
“Of course he recognizes me,” Banban muttered. “I even gave him my name.”
She stayed at home for a day and took leave the next morning. Banban didn't return to Taxuexuan until the afternoon. Madam Lu and she had a lot of tacit understanding, so she knew that Banban would be late and therefore didn't come in too much of a hurry.
Unexpectedly, the two met at the palace gate, both feeling somewhat awkward and uncomfortable.
Upon arriving at the entrance of Taxuexuan, after passing through the bamboo grove, we encountered two people who shouldn't have been there.
—Crown Prince Ying Zheng and his second princess, Li Yang.
The two were talking about something, but the atmosphere was tense.
"Tense and ready to fight" doesn't quite capture it. To be precise, Princess Liyang was more agitated and her emotions were somewhat off, while Crown Prince Ying Zheng maintained his usual calm and gentle demeanor, showing little change.
Since we have already encountered each other, we have no choice but to bow.
Ying Zheng called for him to get up, and Li Yang suddenly calmed down, turning to the side to compose his expression.
Banban knew this wasn't a good time to ask questions, and she hesitated whether she should go in or stay where she was.
Just then, another princess arrived at the other entrance.
Princess Yang Jiang hastily bowed to Ying Zheng, then grabbed Li Yang's wrist, saying, "What are you doing? Let's go!"
"Mind your own business!" Li Yang struggled and shoved Yang Jiang.
Yang Jiang was furious. "I don't care. You're being raised by my mother now. If you make a mistake, it will only implicate her. How can I not care?"
Li Yang cursed, "Xia Bazi doesn't love you at all! You're so concerned for her, I don't know whether to call you stupid or pretending to be blind!"
With a 'snap'.
Enraged, Yang Jiang slapped Li Yang across the face.
Banban: Wow!
She glanced furtively at her cousin.
My cousin's lips twitched. He was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Alright, what kind of behavior is this?"
The two princesses were quickly separated and taken away. That evening, driven by her gossipy nature, Banban dragged Ying Zheng into the Taxue Pavilion.
"Cousin, are you off today?"
"Um."
Banban: "?? Hmm! Hmm? Hmm... Hmm~"
Ying Zheng: "..."
His sarcastic and unsettling tone was palpable.
He changed his story, saying, "Today is indeed my day off, and I came to find you." He had seemed somewhat absent-minded earlier, not intentionally cold.
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