Chapter 34 Demon Brother Geng'er "The King listens to his sister very well."...
"I didn't say anything, why are you so nervous?" Ying Zheng brushed aside her skirt and leaned down.
Banban was terrified and quickly bent down to push his head.
He grasped her wrist and, in her panic, rubbed the seam of her trouser leg with his fingertips. Then he stood up and shook his head. “The stitches are dense and hidden; it’s definitely not my cousin’s own embroidery.”
"What's wrong?" he asked again.
Banban seemed somewhat bewildered, as if her earlier tension and fear were completely unnecessary, and that her cousin was merely curious about the stitching on the trouser leg.
“…Indeed, I didn’t sew it.” No one in the Qin Palace had ever heard of such a strange request before, and they could only find her incomprehensible. Naturally, “It was sewn by Yun.”
After a moment's reaction, she turned around and said, "What do you mean by 'definitely not my embroidery work'!"
Ying Zheng immediately changed his tune, "It was just a joke, just a joke."
It was no joke; I just wanted to make fun of her.
Banban understood perfectly. She stood up, smoothed her still-delicate hair, and snorted softly, "Your Majesty, please continue with your business. My aunt has also been very busy lately. I'm going to play at Qiuchan's villa with Yang Jiang."
Ying Zheng asked her to bring more palace servants, and she readily agreed, leaving in a hurry.
In fact, he wasn't as busy as his cousin thought. Prince Zhuangxiang of Qin, Chu, had passed away, and Ying Zheng appointed Lü Buwei as his prime minister. More than a month had passed since then, and the prime minister and the empress dowager were acting as regents, excluding the young King of Qin.
He did not show any particular affection for the "Prime Minister," and even resisted Lu Buwei's probing attempts to suppress him.
However, Ying Zheng knew that the way to get along with his ministers was not so simple. Last night, he made a special visit to the Prime Minister's residence to discuss the grand plan to attack Wei.
Lü Buwei was a man of great wisdom and foresight, a good minister to the country and its people. He was very capable, and it would be a waste of his talents to be a prime minister. There were indeed many things that Ying Zheng should learn from him.
He immediately appointed Lü Buwei as his uncle, bringing their relationship to its peak.
What is Zhongfu? In ordinary families, Zhongfu is the father's younger brother.
Ying Zheng gave Lü Buwei a great deal of face, setting aside the subtle rivalry between the two in the past few days. He praised him highly, and Lü Buwei was indeed pleased and willing to teach him more or less.
However, aside from the daily court meetings, Lü Buwei would only discuss state affairs with Empress Dowager Zhao.
In court, the officials acted solely according to the prime minister's wishes. Empress Dowager Zhao was not knowledgeable about state affairs and was very willing to listen to the prime minister's opinions. If Ying Zheng showed any reaction, she would patiently persuade him: "Zheng'er, just focus on your studies. The prime minister and your mother are taking care of the affairs of state for you. You are still young, so don't rush."
Ying Zheng realized at this point that although he had become the King of Qin as he wished, a new round of forbearance had begun.
Chancellor Lü Buwei, also known as Marquis Wenxin, is now the regent and holds supreme power in the Qin state. Although the officials respect the emperor, they listen to Lü Buwei even more.
But it doesn't matter, Ying Zheng is best at patience.
Qiu Chan's Villa is located due west of the Qin Palace. According to Banban's understanding, it can also be considered a kind of imperial palace. Because she heard her cousin talk about Empress Dowager Xuan and King Yiqu, she became curious about this grassland.
Autumn is the perfect time for horse racing, unlike the heat of summer.
Banban and Yangjiang changed into comfortable riding clothes. The palace servants in the villa, having heard that Princess Chaoyang was coming to ride horses, prepared several gentle and obedient horses the night before.
"Can you ride a horse?" Banban asked Yang Jiang.
Yang Jiang tilted her head. "I bet you don't?" she said. "Our Great Qin has an inextricable connection with horses. It is no less than the famous Hu-style riding and archery of Zhao. The Qin army is also extremely skilled in riding and archery. Ever since I could walk, I have been helped by palace servants to learn to ride horses."
"..." Okay, okay, I know you guys are all amazing.
Banban replied, "I really don't know how."
The nearby palace servants quickly put on ingratiating smiles and offered to help her up. "Princess, let me help you mount the horse. This horse is docile, so you can try it out first. If you find it fun, I'll call a skilled horse trainer to take you for a ride."
Yang Jiang, being competitive, refused any help and, with her hands gripping the reins, flipped herself onto her horse in two quick movements.
Banban was being helped by palace servants. She had never ridden a horse before and was a little flustered. When she was lifted up, she frantically tried to find a foothold on the horse's belly, but after trying for a while, she couldn't find one. She couldn't help but turn her head and bend down to look.
Completely stunned, the horse's belly was completely empty.
—No pedals?
It was completely different from her stereotypical image of horseback riding!
The horse tack only consisted of a saddle pad and reins. Had it been forgotten, or was it simply missing? She stammered, genuinely puzzled, "How... how will it maintain its balance?"
As she asked the question, she unconsciously glanced at Yang Jiang's horse, and sure enough, there were no stirrups under its feet.
The palace servant didn't understand what Princess Chaoyang was asking and was confused. "Huh?"
Yang Jiang interrupted, "Of course you maintain your balance by squeezing your legs tightly against the horse's belly, you idiot!"
The palace servant nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, that's right." He was also afraid that she would get hurt, otherwise he would not have enough heads to lose. He became nervous and said, "Your Highness, I will call more people to protect you."
“That’s not what I meant,” Banban retorted. “You’re the stupid one.”
"Go and fetch paper and pen!" she commanded the palace servant from her high perch on horseback.
Although papermaking technology had only been implemented for a little over a year, the entire Qin palace was already using paper, and some ordinary people had opened papermaking shops to make a living from it, but it had not yet been widely used.
When the royal family heard about this technique, they found it useful and began to imitate it.
The palace servant ran to fetch paper, ground the ink, moistened the brush, and carefully presented it to Banban.
Yang Jiang frowned. "What are you keeping me in suspense for?"
She dismounted and came closer to see what she was drawing.
After a while.
Yang Jiang: "What is this?"
Banban replied, "Can't you tell? This is—"
Yang Jiang: "Pig?"
"?" Banban turned around abruptly. "That's a horse!"
Yang Jiang: "???"
She turned to look at the palace servant, "Tell me, is this a horse? Does it look like a horse?"
Banban: "How can this not be a horse? Pigs don't have limbs that long!"
Two pairs of eyes stared at him, and the palace servant felt immense pressure, cold sweat pouring down his back. "This..."
“It’s both a horse and a pig. Both princesses have a point,” he said, pointing to the painting. “You see, the upper body looks more like a pig. Horses are not usually this fat. The lower body is that of a horse. Pigs certainly don’t have such long limbs.”
"I think it's because the hooves of horses and pigs are somewhat similar, so it seems like there's no doubt about it."
Yang Jiang rolled her eyes at him, "You smooth talker, get lost."
"Hey, hey, hey." The palace servant escaped unscathed and nimbly rolled to the side.
"Why draw it?" Yang Jiang crossed her arms, looking left and right, puzzled.
Banban pondered for a while, then turned to look at the horses and drew out their horse tack one by one.
"With your drawing skills, you'd only make a laughing stock if word got out," Yang Jiang mocked her.
Banban ignored her and carefully thought about how to draw it. She tried hard to recall the saddles and stirrups she had seen in modern times.
The brush moves continuously, sometimes lightly touching and sometimes gliding.
The sarcasm on Yang Jiang's face gradually faded, replaced by doubt. "You drew the saddle wrong, didn't you?"
With the last stroke completed, Banban lifted the painting, blew on it, and explained, "This is the saddle I envisioned. Look at this arch; it can be forged using a halberd-making tool and fixed to the saddle. This way, people can step on it, making it convenient and easy to control the direction, and they can even stand on the horse."
She looked at Yang Jiang with the eyes of someone looking at a fool, and patiently said, "When a person uses their thighs to squeeze the horse's belly to maintain balance, wouldn't their thighs rub together and bleed after riding a horse for a long time? Or even become sore and unable to walk? What good would that do you?"
Yang Jiang hesitated, a heavy look of thought on her face. "Then this arched tool is needed now, but it can't be forged today. It will have to wait until at least tomorrow."
“Then we’ll come again tomorrow.” Banban waved his hand and pulled her away. “Let’s go first. Girls’ skin is delicate. It’s not worth it to hurt you.”
Yang Jiang's cheeks flushed red. She opened her eyes wide and looked at the two hands clasped together. She tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't.
"What, you don't want to leave?" Banban turned around and looked at her with suspicion.
"No." Yang Jiang, unusually, didn't argue back loudly, and was unusually obedient.
Before leaving, he instructed the palace servants to forge the tea as soon as possible. The two of them left Qiu Chan's villa together and headed back towards Qin Palace. Banban also asked someone to pack two jars of salty milk tea.
“It’s still early before sunset, would you like to come to my house?” she asked.
“I’ll go then.” Yang Jiang nodded. “Isn’t your younger brother almost four years old?”
“His third birthday has just passed, and he’s four years old by the traditional Chinese age reckoning. How do you remember him so clearly?” Banban asked in surprise. “His name is Geng’er. He’s good-looking. You definitely wouldn’t like him if you saw him.”
"?" Yang Jiang thought she had misheard.
Don't most people say that you'll definitely like it when you see it?
There wasn't even a turning point.
Half an hour later, inside the Ji family residence.
As soon as the two entered, they saw a boy of about three or four years old wearing a yellowish-brown outfit, holding a wooden sword high in his hand and chasing after three or four servants.
The servants, each protecting their buttocks, dodged and weaved, not daring to run too fast or too slow.
The boy behind had a fair complexion and clear, dark eyes. He was as delicate as a piece of jade, but his mouth was wide open in a grin and his eyes were wide with excitement. He held the long wooden sword firmly in his small hand, raised it high, and with all his might, slapped it on the bottom of one of the servants with a 'smack'.
Three or four servants took turns being beaten, and he had a good memory; he remembered exactly who had been beaten more and who had been beaten less.
Yang Jiang: "...?" Her expression was slightly blank.
"Ji Chenghong!" Banban roared.
The boy stood up abruptly upon hearing the voice, and with a 'whoosh,' he slung the wooden sword behind his back.
Several servants slid in and grabbed Banban's legs, begging for mercy, crying and snot streaming down their faces, "We brothers have been waiting for you for so long, Princess! Princess, save us! We're about to be beaten to death by Young Master Geng'er! He knows that wooden swords can't stab people, so he uses the back of the sword to gather strength and beat us!"
"Our butts are about to burst!"
"They're talking nonsense." The boy darted forward, pushing the servants aside. He diligently wiped Banban's shoes with his sleeve, pouting and kissing her clothes several times. His big, watery eyes adorned his upturned face. "Sister, hug me." He obediently raised his little hands, his soft, sweet voice endearing.
Yang Jiang silently took half a step back. "Your brother is quite good at changing his expression, huh?"
Without hesitation, Banban pinched the man's face until it turned red, saying, "Didn't I tell you, you're not allowed to treat servants so roughly!"
Geng'er mumbled something on her tiptoes, obediently daring not to argue.
But Yang Jiang clearly saw him glare at those servants.
Seamlessly switching between cute and vicious.
"How about it?"
Yang Jiang said tactfully, "I really don't like it."
She was being tactful; if she had been more direct, she would have said your brother was extremely annoying.
Banban had not given any prior notice before returning home, and there was hardly anyone there. But when Princess Yangjiang arrived, the servant ran to call for her.
“My cousin really likes Geng’er,” Banban sighed, resting his chin on his hand. After thinking for a moment, he added, “but he also gets annoyed with him sometimes.”
For example, if Geng'er clung to her leg and swayed back and forth, Ying Zheng would tear her off her leg and throw her away.
Geng'er is very good at reading people's expressions and knows who is powerful and who is not. The person in the family who can control him the most is Banban, because Banban will really beat him if he does something wrong. Occasionally, when family members see their sister in a crowded place, they will kneel down to pay their respects.
Although the king is the one with the highest status, he listens to his sister, so the sister is at the top of the food chain.
Geng'er pretended not to hear his sister's conversation with Princess Yang Jiang, and glanced at the servants with a grin. "Seven, seven, seven." He was counting the number of times they had been whipped. "Telling me a complaint, betraying me, the punishment is doubled."
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