Chapter 31 Prince Zheng Ascends the Throne as King of Qin (Part 2) "Two Hearts Heal..."
Ying Zheng was also genuinely curious about the taste of the tea.
"Tea has always been used for medicine or sacrifice. It tastes bitter, so how can it be eaten?" Even the salty milk tea used by the grassland people must be salty and bitter, mixed with a milky smell. How can it taste good?
Banban told him to stop nagging, saying he'd been nagging all along, and that his cousin would know once he tried it.
Upon arriving at Taxuexuan, the cooks were frying tea on a stove, filling the room with the aroma of tea that lingered in the air for a long time.
Ying Zheng was convinced the moment he stepped inside.
For no other reason than the unique aroma filling the room, he was already convinced that the milk tea would taste good.
That's true. My cousin is very picky. How could something she praises be bad?
Some chestnuts were scattered by the stove, their shells roasted to a golden brown. Qian Yin and Cong Yun kept turning them over. Once roasted, they were scooped out, their shells peeled off with a 'sizzle, sizzle' sound, and placed in a porcelain container. The eunuch then used a small pestle to crush them into powder.
Ying Zheng's expression was strange. "Aren't you going to put these chestnuts into the milk tea too? Won't the flavor be too complicated?"
“This isn’t,” Banban said, pulling him to sit around the stove. “This is the dipping sauce for roasted meat.”
“Dried dogwood is ground into powder and mixed with steamed and roasted chestnut powder. Add some fine sugar, and you have a spicy dry dipping sauce.”
Ying Zheng listened carefully and smiled, "So, tonight we'll be having roasted meat?"
Banban was very proud of himself. "Tonight we'll have milk tea and roasted pork. My cousin is in for a treat!"
Turning to the eunuch, she instructed, "Quickly go to the kitchen and get more pickles and bean leaves. They taste better when rolled up together. The pickles should be sour, and some spicy ones too, since my cousin likes spicy food."
"We want chicken, duck, pork... Oh, and some lamb too, sliced thinly. Remove the muttony smell beforehand and bring it over."
"If the fish isn't good after being grilled, then let's order a fish soup instead. My cousin loves fish, so just remove the fishy smell and add some salt. No other seasoning is needed; it'll taste best when it's fresh."
Ying Zheng listened to his cousin's instructions with his hands tucked in his pockets, nodding occasionally with a smile, appearing to be completely obedient to her.
During the conversation, the tea was ready, its aroma filling the air. The cook poured in the hot milk and stirred it, waiting for it to boil before ladling it into the white porcelain bowl that had been brought out earlier.
This porcelain bowl is small and narrow, only about half an inch wide, but a foot deep.
Banban wished she had a straw, but unfortunately the peach gum her cousin found melted at high temperatures.
Ying Zheng looked at the milky-brown beverage and said, "This set of utensils is for drinking wine."
Banban said, "Let's drink something else."
The milk tea was still hot. Ying Zheng waited for it to cool down a little, then gently blew away the roasted tea leaves. The first moment the milk tea entered his mouth, a novel flavor exploded on his taste buds.
He moved the porcelain bowl aside and examined it with great curiosity.
"Neither fishy nor bitter."
The perfect balance between the milky flavor and the bitterness of the tea creates a completely unique taste.
His first thought was that the salty milk tea must be different from what he had imagined.
Having shed his prejudices, he began to accept everything.
"Is it good?" Banban asked with a sweet smile.
"It tastes good." Ying Zheng nodded.
"Then cousin, drink more." She was pleased and instructed someone to keep the milk tea warm so she could drink it anytime.
This winter is the season for barbecue and milk tea.
It's a pity that beef isn't allowed at this time, as slaughtering cattle is against the law. As a result, beef tallow couldn't be extracted, and the other ingredients were so-so. I only found Sichuan peppercorns, scallions, and ginger, but no garlic. I can't recreate the spicy hot pot I wanted to eat.
How did she know? Because in her past life she had heard that beef tallow hot pot was the most fragrant! But she had never eaten it.
However, there were no chili peppers, only dogwood. Although dogwood also had a spicy taste, it was different from the spiciness of chili peppers. The more she thought about it, the more she craved it.
Where did these things come from?
She doesn't know, sigh.
However, she knew that before the Silk Road, many things were not available in the country.
Unfortunately, the Silk Road... she only remembered those four words. What was the purpose of the Silk Road? Which countries did it go to? She knew nothing.
At night, as the two were eating roasted meat and drinking milk tea, Banban suddenly remembered something. "By the way, what happened when my cousin and Liyang had a fight in front of Taxue Pavilion last year? I've been wanting to ask, but I forgot about it."
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng sighed softly, "She wants to move Mi Liangren's cenotaph to the former Zhou king's location."
"Did my cousin refuse?" Banban bit her chopsticks.
"At first I refused, but after thinking it over carefully, I couldn't resist her constant pestering, so I helped her get it done."
"?" Banban didn't react in time. "Would the King agree?"
Ying Zheng glanced at her and raised his eyebrows. "Of course, it was moved secretly."
Banban was stunned for a moment before she came to her senses. She looked at her cousin strangely, finding his tone of voice rather cute. She wasn't sure if he was teasing her or if he was serious. "I don't believe it."
Ying Zheng picked up a piece of roasted mutton, rolled it in the dry dipping sauce to make sure it was fully coated, and put it in his mouth. After chewing a few times, he said, "Father doesn't care about Mi Liangren. As you said, he doesn't love Mi Liangren, not even to the point of liking her. In his eyes, the dead are nothing more than a handful of yellow earth. If he really had feelings for her, he would have posthumously honored her after her death, but unfortunately he didn't."
Banban harbored resentment and silently mouthed to him, "The royal family is heartless."
Ying Zheng chuckled softly, glanced at her helplessly, and silently asked, just like her, "Does that include me?"
He pretended to think for a moment, then laughed, "Not included!"
However, Li Yang found a way to get help from her brother, the king. It turned out that she could get help by pestering him. This made her feel a little bit of family affection in the ruthless royal family. In the vast Qin Palace, only her brother treated her with some kindness.
With the marriage between Consort Ji and the Crown Prince finalized, everyone in the palace knew that she was the future wife of the Crown Prince and the sister-in-law of the princesses.
Even Yang Jiang's face twisted into a much more docile expression. Of course, this was only on the surface; her habit of rolling her eyes hadn't changed at all, and Banban basically got a glare from her every day.
But she's also very strange.
Of all the princesses who attended classes with her, she was the only one who would share the food and drink she brought with Banban, even though she would always say, "You've definitely never eaten this before. After all, you used to be in the State of Zhao, so let me show you." After class, on average, one out of every four days, Banban would say that she had something to do and wanted to travel with her.
If you ignore her, she'll start yelling, "I'm talking to you!"
Gradually, Banban recovered. So this princess really liked her?
She seemed to have no friends in this deep palace. I never heard of her getting close to anyone. On the contrary, it was true that she was not favored by Xia Ba Zi. He was very generous and felt sorry for her, so he took her along to play.
Yang Jiang rolled her eyes at her, and she rolled hers back fiercely.
The two often flipped and tumbled around in the classroom, competing with each other, and then their double eyelids would twitch.
Yingyue's journey to win back her husband was long and arduous. After the New Year, she heard that Meng Tian had made things clear to her, stating that he had never had any feelings for the princess, which deeply hurt her.
The ordinary years passed by peacefully.
Just as the King of Qin was plotting to launch another attack on the State of Wei to avenge his previous defeat, he fell ill again.
Illness strikes like a landslide, and this time it seems quite serious.
Ji Changyue and Crown Prince Ying Zheng spent almost all their time attending to Ji Changyue at his bedside, while the power of state affairs was entirely controlled by Chancellor Lü Buwei.
Since entering the palace, apart from the time Ying Zheng took her for a stroll around the North Palace when she first arrived, and when she attended various palace banquets, Banban has never stepped into the North Palace gates again.
Xianyang Palace was located in the North Palace, and she instinctively avoided going that way.
However, Ying Zheng and Ji Changyue have suffered a lot in the past month, and she has had to make two trips as well.
Cong Yun accompanied her, carrying a food box full of food, and said in a low, high-pitched voice, "This servant has noticed that the Queen looks very tired these days, and she is too exhausted to eat."
"Even if you can't eat, you still have to bring it to me." Banban walked forward. "I want my aunt to know that someone cares about her. Whether she needs it or not is her business."
How can one not serve one's elders just because one thinks they don't need it? She didn't have any elders in her previous life, and that's what she thought too.
"It's not that I don't want the princess to deliver food to the queen, it's that I'm afraid of running into important officials of the former court..."
In this respect, Yun Tianran harbored a sense of fear towards the court officials. After all, she was not a palace slave who had been trained in the Yongxiang Palace since childhood, and Qian Yin was much more reliable than her.
But Yun understands Banban better and holds a greater place in Banban's heart.
Therefore, Banban was willing to comfort her, "Don't be afraid, even if you encounter court officials, they will be the ones bowing to me."
As we were talking, we actually bumped into one.
Banban instinctively flinched, her heart pounding like a drum.
Cong Yun was so frightened that she covered her mouth, unable to see who it was.
"I want you on my side!"
A familiar voice suddenly uttered a low, harsh sound.
It was my aunt's voice.
Banban paused for a moment, then cautiously peered over there.
Under the long corridor, dark clouds loomed. Queen Ji Changyue, dressed in a deep crimson robe and heavily made up, could not hide the dark circles under her eyes despite her stunning beauty, suggesting that she had not had a proper rest for many days.
And who else could it be but Lü Buwei opposite her?!
Startled, Banban immediately pulled her head back, trying to calm herself as she patted her pounding heart. She gestured to Congyun not to make a sound, and then cautiously peered out again.
Lu Buwei raised his hands to make sure he didn't touch Ji Changyue's body, and said with a helpless but earnest tone, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
"How can I not be anxious? What do you think!" Ji Changyue's suppressed anxiety finally broke through, her eyes reddening. "Did you hear that! What are you pretending to be stupid for!"
“What do you mean by playing dumb?” Lü Buwei sighed deeply. “The Crown Prince’s ascension to the throne is a foregone conclusion, so why are you in such a hurry?” He paused slightly and then advised, “At such a crucial moment, how can you reveal your true colors? If the King sees this, he will only become suspicious of you and the Crown Prince, which will only cause more trouble.”
"I know." Ji Changyue said in a deep voice, "I said I want you to stand on my side, do you understand?"
"Alright, alright." Lü Buwei repeated the words several times. "You first..." He looked at her hands gripping his arm and chest, his expression subtly revealing a hint of embarrassment.
Ji Changyue released him abruptly, then shoved him several more times in anger, yelling, "You call yourself a man?!"
Lü Buwei touched his nose, knowing he was in the wrong, and didn't retaliate.
"Tell me! What should we do next?" Ji Changyue paced back and forth. "The King's illness came so suddenly, and Empress Dowager Huayang is already making moves! The Chu faction is making frequent moves, trying to secure Chengjiao's right of succession!"
She gritted her teeth, her voice filled with malice, "That old hag, she was against me from the very beginning! I wish I could kill her to vent my anger—"
Lü Buwei cried out, "Hey, hey, hey!" as he covered her mouth, "You're confused, hurry up and shut up!"
"How old are you now? You're no longer the little girl you used to be. I thought you'd grown up after being queen for a few years, but you still speak so recklessly."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Ji Changyue pushed him away, her voice trembling violently. "I will not allow anyone to take my Zheng'er's throne!"
Lu Buwei pondered for a moment, then said, "Don't be afraid, I'll take care of it."
Ji Changyue was finally satisfied. She pointed at him and sneered, "You better not lie to me, or I'll kill you."
Lü Buwei chuckled, skillfully playing along with her temper, "How dare I, how dare I? I will certainly obey the Queen's command."
Upon hearing this, Banban turned her back, her heart pounding like a drum. She had never known that the prime minister and the queen of the country interacted in this way. Only now did she truly understand the fact that the two had been married in the past.
But what made her heart race was not just their actions, but also what Ji Changyue said.
The frequent changes in the Chu faction, do you mean the Chu state, the maternal home of Empress Dowager Huayang?
Banban's heart skipped a beat.
This is precisely because Ji Changyue was a relative of the Qin state. She was not a member of the Zhao royal family, which meant that Ying Zheng did not have a strong backing, resulting in him having no power to contend with the Chu faction. No wonder she was wary of Empress Dowager Huayang.
As Banban came to understand these things, a sense of fear arose in his heart.
She didn't know how she waited for people to leave, or how she got to the Qin King's bedroom in the North Palace.
She felt her legs go weak, as if she were walking on cotton. If Xingyun hadn't been supporting her, she would have fallen.
This was the first time she realized the hardships her cousin had endured. All she knew was that he would ascend the throne, become the King of Qin, and then the Emperor…
At this time, the King of Qin was seriously ill, and Ying Zheng must have felt like he was walking on thin ice.
Lü Buwei controlled the government. Whether Ying Zheng or Cheng Jiao was chosen, it wouldn't prevent him from acting as regent, because both the prince and the crown prince were too young to rule in his own right!
No wonder Ji Changyue went crazy and wanted Lü Buwei to stand on her side.
Just as Banban reached the door, she bumped into Ying Zheng, who was about to leave.
"Banban, what brings you here..." Before he could finish speaking, he immediately touched her face. "Why is your face so pale? Who bullied you?"
He stared sharply at Cong Yun beside him, only to find that Cong Yun was also trembling and his jaw was chattering.
What exactly happened?
"No, no." Banban's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz as she told her cousin everything she had just seen. Her face was pale. She was not good at acting, and even though she tried to force a smile, she didn't seem genuinely happy. "Cousin, cousin, am I like my aunt and unable to help you?"
She was referring to the wife's family.
But at least the aunt was still trying to win over Prime Minister Lü Buwei, albeit through a combination of threats and madness.
However, not only was Ji Changyue not a royal princess, but Ying Zheng himself was not either. He had no powerful maternal clan, nor would he have a powerful wife's clan in the future, which destined him to fight alone.
"Why are you thinking about these things?" Ying Zheng lifted her face, a hint of anger rising within him, but it wasn't directed at his cousin. "This isn't something you should be thinking about. Just be happy every day!"
Banban puffed out her cheeks, her voice trembling, "I'm afraid someone will hurt my cousin!!" How could she not think of that?
Ying Zheng was taken aback. He looked at her face without saying a word, then pulled her into his arms tightly, his eyes welling up with tears.
Banban hugged her cousin's shoulders even tighter, but felt his thin, bony frame.
The two embraced, one panicking at not being able to help her cousin, the other blaming herself for making her cousin worry about her.
Their hearts drew ever closer.
After a long while, Ying Zheng whispered almost imperceptibly in her ear, in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I thought about these things long ago, after I first said I would marry you. Over the years, I have long had a plan, so don't be afraid."
"Besides, who knows if having no wife's family or mother's family is necessarily a bad thing... Who knows, the opportunity he mentioned is destined to fall on me."
He almost mumbled the second half of the sentence.
Banban didn't know who her cousin was referring to as 'he,' but perhaps it was 'a countermeasure'?
Knowing he had a plan, she relaxed a lot. "Really?" She gave him the keys to their private vault. "Cousin, I have a lot of money."
“I don’t need anything right now…” Ying Zheng said, both amused and exasperated, wiping away the tears on his cousin’s cheek with his fingertips.
“I really have a lot of money!” Banban emphasized, feeling that he didn’t like using her money. “Since we got engaged, my father and mother have given me a lot of things. They gave me all the shops in Zhao, and the taxes from 100,000 households that we received this year.”
The Ji family was a large and powerful family in the Zhao state, extremely wealthy, and a well-known wealthy family in Handan, owning countless shops.
"How can you do things without paying me?" she insisted, trying to stuff the money into his hand. "You can pay me back another day!"
Now that things have come to this, Ying Zheng wouldn't feel at ease if he didn't accept his cousin; he'd probably be living in constant fear.
He finally accepted the money and kept it safe, promising to repay it a hundredfold in the future. To comfort her, he said, "My cousin has helped me a lot."
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Banban felt much more relieved. She rubbed her cheek against his chest and said sweetly, "I brought you something delicious."
"I happen to be hungry."
The two walked back hand in hand.
As soon as they stepped into the palace gates, they heard the King of Qin roar.
Banban and Ying Zheng exchanged a glance, then Banban hurried inside.
When the eunuch saw the prince leave, he turned back, bowed and scraped, and then bowed to Banban, saying, "Your Highness."
"Chaoyang was worried about Father King and sent him food. Has Father King already taken a bite?" Ying Zheng was just being polite. He naturally knew that Ji Changyue served King Qin every day.
“It’s being used,” the eunuch said in a soft, feminine voice. “His Majesty will be pleased to know of your kindness.” With that, he led the two inside.
As soon as they entered, Ji Changyue's urgent voice came from inside, "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"
It turned out that the King of Qin had smashed the bowl she had brought to pieces, spilling the vegetarian porridge all over her skirt. A group of palace servants knelt down to clean it up, busily wiping her skirt, not daring to ask directly if the Queen had been burned.
"If you don't want to serve here, then get out." The King of Qin looked at him coldly, his face already ashen, but his eyes were sharp and piercing.
"Ying Yiren!" Ji Changyue stood up angrily and glared at him, blurting out his former name.
A maidservant stepped forward and whispered that the Crown Prince and Princess Chaoyang had arrived.
Ying Zheng stood at the door with Banban by his hand, and the two waited until Ji Changyue was in a better mood before going in.
Banban knelt down and bowed, saying, "Chaoyang greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty enjoy blessings for ten thousand years."
The King of Qin glanced at her and said, "Get up."
Despite her nervousness, Banban mustered her courage and calmly said, "Chaoyang has had the chefs at the Imperial Kitchen prepare some easily digestible food. I hope Your Majesty will take some and recover your health soon. Great Qin still needs Your Majesty."
The King of Qin knew his own body well, but no one dislikes hearing kind words. He didn't speak, but asked someone to help him up slightly, which meant he was willing to be used.
Ji Changyue was angry and resented that the King of Qin only vented his anger on her. Could it be that just because they were the closest people, he could treat her like this?
It is true that even the closest of kin are husband and wife.
"Let me do it." Ying Zheng brought out the sweet soup, stirred it, and blew on it to cool it down.
The King of Qin shifted his gaze to the Crown Prince beside the bed.
No one spoke during the meal.
After they had gone to bed with the King of Qin, the group of people came out together.
As soon as Ji Changyue stepped out of the palace gate, two lines of clear tears flowed down her face. She turned to her side and sobbed on her son's shoulder, while her other hand held onto Banban.
Ying Zheng gently patted her back, "Mother, you've suffered."
Ji Changyue was filled with sorrow and resentment. "I have been married to your father for many years. Except for the first two years when he loved me, he ran away with Lü Buwei the year after I gave birth to you, abandoning my child and me in the State of Zhao." How could she not resent? How could she not hate?
"He only made up for three short years of my life before—" She still hated him, hated that he was such a short-lived man, that he had wasted more than ten years of her life on him and she had rarely enjoyed any happiness.
When she arrived in Qin, he had many children and a large number of concubines. The emotions that filled her heart had nowhere to be vented. Although the King of Qin compensated her, she never felt it was enough. Status and wealth were not enough to make up for the hurt she had suffered. What she wanted more was affection; what she wanted was love.
He can't give it anymore; he's going to die.
Ying Zheng didn't know how to comfort his mother; he didn't even understand what she wanted.
Banban awkwardly patted Ji Changyue gently, "Auntie, you still have me. I will always be with you, and your cousin will always be good to you."
Ying Zheng knew in his heart why the King of Qin had become so capricious at this point. He had only been the King of Qin for three years and was resentful. He had begun to fear the Crown Prince who would succeed him. However, he also knew rationally that only if the throne was given to the Crown Prince could the Qin Dynasty avoid chaos.
Cheng Jiao had no talent to be a king; he was mediocre and stupid, and there was also the ambitious Empress Dowager Huayang.
But Empress Dowager Huayang was the one who helped him ascend the throne, so he couldn't punish her.
He can do nothing but wait for life to pass away, how can he be happy?
As things progressed, Ying Zheng gained a clearer understanding of the King of Qin's psychology. Therefore, he could not act rashly, could not contact former court officials, and could not have any thoughts about the Huayang faction.
That night, Chancellor Lü Buwei entered the inner palace to serve the King of Qin and, as usual, reported on the daily situation of the court. He stayed there for a long time, about three hours.
Lu Buwei stood there for a long time before personally carrying out the royal decree.
Instead of immediately announcing it to the world, he acted on behalf of the king to summon all the members of the six palaces to see the King of Qin one last time.
Banban knelt far behind and could only see the King of Qin holding the Crown Prince's hand, using his last bit of strength to hand him over to Lü Buwei. "Zheng'er... you should acknowledge the Prime Minister as your father, and he will teach you how to be a king."
Sometimes, Banban is also very curious as to why the King of Qin never felt any fear or suspicion towards Lü Buwei. Did he trust Lü Buwei so much?
But her curiosity remained unanswered. Prince Chu of Qin died, and the throne passed to Crown Prince Zheng. Empress Dowager Zhao Ji and Prime Minister Lü Buwei were appointed as regents. No decree could be officially promulgated without the approval of the two seals of the Empress Dowager and Lü Buwei.
At the young age of thirteen, Ying Zheng ascended the throne.
He was appointed by the late king and could only formally assume power after he came of age.
But the matter did not end there; a crisis was about to unfold. Ying Zheng had not slept and gently patted his cousin's back to lull her to sleep. He calmly gazed at the night outside the window.
Before midnight, the sound of armored soldiers marching in could be heard throughout the Qin palace. Meng Tian and Wang Jian had broken into the East Palace in the dead of night.
Banban was startled awake, or rather, she hadn't been able to sleep much in the first place.
Meng Tian couldn't keep his mouth shut; as soon as he entered, he shouted, "Something's wrong! Something's wrong!"
Ying Zheng asked what the matter was.
Meng Tian hesitated for a moment before turning to Wang Jian, the words almost on his lips.
Wang Jian's face was grave. He clenched his fists and knelt down. "Your Majesty, a voice has appeared out of nowhere, saying that you... are not the late King's biological son, but rather the son of Chancellor Lü Buwei and the Empress Dowager—"
Ying Zheng wasn't particularly surprised, but his face still darkened. "What did you say?"
"In a short time, the news has spread throughout the Qin Palace, shaking the morale of the army. The Huayang faction intends to use mercenaries to purify the Ying bloodline and support Prince Chengjiao in his rebellion!"
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