"Is Li Si about to suffer misfortune?"...
Banban was very curious about Xia Wuqie. After returning to the palace, she washed up and waited for him in Chengzhang Hall.
Xia Xingshan read fortunes for countless people throughout his life, encountering countless rare events. Even just a few of these stories could keep Banban and Ying Zheng entertained.
Ying Zhao was a man of few words, and he would always ask questions when he didn't understand something, to the point that Xia Xingshan would have to stop after saying a few words to explain the meaning of a certain word or a certain matter to the Crown Prince.
Banban couldn't wait any longer: "Let him finish speaking. He doesn't understand that his mother is trying to help him."
“I don’t want to,” Ying Zhao said. “When Xia Wuqie comes over later, you will definitely drive me away. I want to understand now so that I can tell the master tomorrow.”
...Okay, so you and Han Fei are this close, right?
Even hearing a juicy story makes me want to share it with him.
"Does your father always chase you away?" Banban asked.
Ying Zhao: "Every time Xia Wuqie comes over, Father won't let me listen."
Banban glanced at Ying Zheng with suspicion.
Ying Zheng: "..." He turned to let Xia Xingshan continue.
Before long, Qin Ju led Xia Wuqie in. He was a strong and robust man, not at all as weak as one might expect.
He was impeccably dressed, his robes were neat and his gait was steady. He carried a black medicine bag on his waist. Perhaps he did not know why the King of Qin had summoned him, because the medicine bag was bulging with all the medicine he could find.
Upon seeing the man beside the King of Qin, Xia Wuqie froze, his steps halting instantly. After a moment's hesitation, he quickened his pace and rushed over, calling out, "Father!"
The father and son hugged each other and cried.
Ying Zhao stared at it for a while, then suddenly jumped off the small stool, ran over, and hugged Ying Zheng.
Ying Zheng: "What are you learning?" Despite saying this, he still patted his son's head.
Ying Zhao patted his father's arm with his small hand in a serious manner, "Your son is leaving now." He still remembered what Xia Wuqie had told his father that he couldn't listen to him.
He then leaned over and listened to Banban's belly, then kissed her cheek, saying, "Goodbye, Mother."
"What can you tell from it?" We haven't heard anything yet.
Banban was both amused and exasperated. She waved to him and instructed the palace servants to take good care of the crown prince.
When asked, Xia Xingshan said, "My son and I have been drifting in different places for many years. It was only two years ago that we had stable communication. I learned that my son was serving the king in the palace. I thought that communication would be easier in the future. I never expected that I would have such an opportunity to meet the king and queen in Liyang."
Banban said, "If you have no real talent or learning, the King and I will not take you back to the palace."
The implication is that if you want to thank someone, thank yourself.
The four talked until late at night. When Banban was about to rest, Ying Zheng dismissed the two of them.
The couple returned to Zhaoyang Palace. The lights in the side hall had been extinguished early, and Ying Zhao had already gone to sleep. His personal eunuch, Gao Yang, was leaning against a vermilion pillar, dozing off. Hearing the noise, he was startled awake and quickly came over to kneel down and pay his respects.
Ying Zheng casually said, "Zhao'er has grown up. When he turns six, let him move to the East Palace."
This is a good thing from every perspective, so Banban naturally wouldn't refuse. "I can't walk anymore, cousin, carry me."
In the Qin palace, the East Palace and the West Palace were actually just the locations of the palaces, not their names. The West Palace and the East Palace were collective terms for a whole palace complex.
The Western Palace, which can be referred to as the 'Six Western Palaces' in general understanding, was mostly vacant. It was originally the residence of the Qin King's consorts. However, Ying Zheng did not take any consorts, so the Western Palace gradually became the residence of the princesses.
The Eastern Palace complex consisted of the residences of the Crown Prince, and included many palaces.
The Crown Prince's palace is Xuanji Palace, with its high terraces and beautiful rooms. I have been there before. The name of this palace has a great origin, meaning to spread virtuous governance and inherit the ancestral temple and the state.
To the left front is Chengkun Palace, where the crown prince usually attended classes and received court officials. When Ying Zheng was the crown prince, he attended classes in Chengkun Palace every day.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked, noticing she seemed to be lost in thought.
Banban snapped out of her daze, wrapped her arms around Ying Zheng's neck, and said, "I remember when my cousin lived in the Eastern Palace, I went to find you to play. When I got tired, I would rest at Xuanji Palace. Wang Jian was my cousin's playmate and also his tutor. He taught you how to shoot rabbits. When I woke up, I saw that you had killed a lot of rabbits, and I started to argue with you."
"...And you're telling me, you skinned and roasted those rabbits at night, sprinkled them with some seasonings and dogwood powder, and you ate them with more relish than anyone else."
As she cried, tears streamed down her face.
Banban was speechless, thinking to herself that he always knew how to stop her from crying.
Unable to argue back, he simply buried his head in the crook of his neck.
After cuddling for a while, she touched his waist, "Cousin..."
He ruthlessly grabbed her misbehaving hand, "You can't even think about it, wait two more months."
Sigh, the more you can't have something, the more you want it.
Try to hypnotize yourself and fall asleep as soon as possible.
As winter approached, Banban's research on wool had yielded little success. She had originally planned to sew wool into the middle of clothing, making it like a down jacket. However, upon reflection, she realized that some people on the grasslands directly skinned sheep to make garments to wear on the outside, which provided better protection against the cold, although it was less aesthetically pleasing and too wild.
It would be better to twist the wool into yarn. Although she doesn't know how to knit, she can embroider the yarn into cloth to make clothes. It's just that the yarn has to be made extremely fine.
Such clothing is not only warm and highly elastic, but also absorbent and soft to the touch—wouldn't that be even better?
The embroidery skills in the palace were superb. When they heard that the Queen wanted to make wool into embroidery thread, they began to think of a way to achieve this, which was not difficult.
Banban listened to their detailed explanation for a while. It was about combing, stretching, twisting, and winding. It seemed very troublesome, but the embroiderers and the slave workers made a living from it and were very skilled at it.
After their birthdays, the first woolen robe was created.
Perhaps those below knew that Ying Zheng loved to wear black, because this robe had been dyed black. Ying Zheng stroked it, "It feels excellent, soft and dense, but I don't know if it's itchy."
"You'll know once you try it on, cousin."
Once she was dressed, she couldn't wait to ask, "How is it?"
Ying Zheng sensed it and thought, "Much lighter."
Many of Qin's clothes were not only cold and stiff, but also heavy. "Wool is definitely lighter! Doesn't it feel warmer?"
After touching it, it felt soft and comfortable. Even though the embroiderer had pressed the wool thread tightly to prevent it from deforming, it was still soft.
"I can't feel it yet."
So the two waited for a long time. Snow was falling outside. Ying Zhengzhi was wearing a woolen robe, and he soon broke into a sweat. He was amazed and said, "It is indeed wonderful."
Normally, no matter how strong the underfloor heating is in the house, the two of them only wear one or two thin layers of clothing, and the temperature is just right. But this woolen garment actually made him sweat.
Banban reached in and touched his back. Sure enough, it was damp with a thin layer of hot sweat. She quickly wiped her hands with a handkerchief and had a sudden idea. "If we set up a government-run textile workshop and sell our products at a low price, that would be a new source of income. As for the wool, we can have Yiqu send it as tribute on time. The amount of wool sheep shed each year is enormous. How many people are there? Even if everyone wore sheepskin coats, they still couldn't wear that much."
"With the money we make, we can give the Qin army one of these items for free every year, so they won't have to worry about the cold when marching and fighting in the winter!"
"You always have so many ideas, and I think they're all good too."
Banban immediately had someone make a small wool sweater for Ying Zhao to wear. He was full of energy and couldn't sit still all day. In his spare time, he would go to the training ground with Ji Chenghong to fight. In the cold winter, he was afraid that he would get sick from sweating.
Ying Zhao put on the new clothes and said with curiosity, "These clothes are so light. I feel like I'm not wearing anything at all, like I'm naked."
What a terrible metaphor.
Banban rolled her eyes at him and told him to take the newly made robes and leave the palace to find Ji Changyue. "When you go out, don't act like a prince. We'll be quiet, and don't call the Empress Dowager 'Empress Dowager,' call her—"
"Sister-in-law!"
Ying Zhao covered his mouth and said, "Mother, Father won't let me call you that. It's not proper."
“He doesn’t know.” Banban pouted. “Your aunt is still so young. She’s just living under an assumed name outside, doing some business to pass the time and having fun. She’s not really your aunt.”
"She's been missing you lately. You should stay and have a meal with her, understand?"
Ying Zhao nodded obediently and then asked her, "What would Mother like to eat? I'll bring it back!"
Banban was slightly embarrassed, thinking to himself, "What kind of property does your mother not have? Why do you need to go and buy it?"
However, she didn't want to dampen her son's enthusiasm, so sending him out of the palace was like giving him a few tasks. He was eager to complete them perfectly.
"I heard that pan-fried meat patties are becoming popular outside the palace. Buy a few and bring them back."
He solemnly replied, "Your subject obeys!"
The Crown Prince was leaving the palace, and although it was within Xianyang City, he was still young, not even four years old. Banban sent Congyun along, and also sent Jiang Yujing to accompany him.
A few people had left, and it was finally quiet. I rested comfortably for a while and invited Yang Jiang to watch the snow and drink tea with me.
Yang Jiang: "What 'viewing snow and sipping tea'... what a refined taste you have."
She rolled her eyes and urged Han Fei to hurry up and get ready, "The Crown Prince is on leave today, are you not going to keep bothering her at Zhaoyang Palace?"
Han Fei remained silent, dressed himself, then helped her with her hair, straightened her collar, and told her to wear more clothes because it was cold outside.
Yang Jiang said, "You must keep your promise to me."
"Hmm." A hint of unease flashed across Han Fei's face as he kept a straight expression. "Wait a minute, I'll go first, it's better to avoid people." With that, he left first.
Yang Jiang: "...Pretending to be so serious, if you're so capable, then stay serious all the time." She muttered under her breath.
Upon arriving at Zhaoyang Palace, Yang Jiang had barely sat down when she first gave her a disdainful look.
Banban, shameless as ever, pretended not to see anything and personally poured tea for her, saying, "Try it, it's made with melted snow, it has a unique flavor."
"Snow? Snow water is drinkable? Isn't it dirty?" Yang Jiang asked disdainfully, staring at the teacup.
This answer is similar to the one given by Ying Zheng.
As expected, few members of the Ying family were fond of poetry and romance; they were all practical people.
"Snow water is colder. Hot tea enters the mouth, while cold snow enters the heart. Can't you taste the difference?"
"I can't tell. Do you have milk tea? I'd like to drink that."
"..." Banban speechless, ordered someone to stir-fry milk tea.
The snow fell silently, and a fresh chill permeated the corridor. Banban began to talk about Han Fei and Li Si, "Do you know that Han Fei and Li Si have been targeting each other in court recently?"
Han Fei had rendered meritorious service in educating the crown prince, and in the nearly two years since, Ying Zheng had allowed him to enter the court to participate in government affairs.
“If talking badly about each other counts, then I do know that.” Yang Jiang was speechless when this was mentioned. “The two of them, as fellow disciples, behaving in this way is truly laughable.”
Han Fei criticized the King of Qin for heavily relying on Li Si and Wei Liao, saying that they were foreign officials who would not serve him sincerely. He also mentioned Yao Jia, saying that he used to be a bandit who specialized in stealing people's things, and now he was being sent to persuade other states to sow discord among their loyal ministers. This was the behavior of a petty person, and the King of Qin should not have used them.
Without hesitation, Li Si immediately filed a complaint, saying that Han Fei harbored resentment over the Qin king's destruction of his country, which was why he was unwilling to serve sincerely, and that it would be best to dismiss him immediately.
"These two are always up to no good with each other, and the king is caught in the middle and wishes he could punish them both by making them leave court together." Banban heard Ying Zheng say yesterday that Li Si was up to no good and deliberately provoked Han Fei. Han Fei stuttered and couldn't out-argue him, so he winked and stuck out his tongue at him.
"Well, after court that day, they started fighting outside the palace." Yang Jiang's temples twitched. "I heard that my brother was very angry."
"Huh? They started fighting? Who won?" Banban got so excited that he wanted to eat some sunflower seeds, but there weren't any, so he had someone roast some chestnuts instead.
“Of course it’s my cousin,” Yang Jiang said smugly. “He may not be good with his mouth, but he’s very good with his fists.”
However, she quickly became angry again, "That scoundrel Li Si is so eloquent. He raised his fist and ran away, shouting that his junior brother was going to hit his senior brother."
Banban laughed so hard she almost fell over, able to picture Li Si's sly and shameless appearance. "He loves to pretend to be a refined and capable minister, he's very good at flattery and strategizing, and the king likes him very much."
Yang Jiang looked around and lowered her voice to Banban, "I gave him an idea: before tomorrow's court meeting, put croton powder in Li Si's teacup."
Banban asked, "Will he drink it?"
"Yes, he cherishes everything his brother bestows upon him, and he will certainly drink that tea in one gulp."
Banban couldn't wait, "Then I'll go take a look tomorrow!"
Yang Jiang got excited and said, "I'm going too! I'm going too! Sister Wang, take me with you!"
Even Wang's wife brought it up, which shows she really wants to go.
The two were of the same mind, wanting to watch the show, and agreed to get up early the next day so as not to miss the court meeting.
That night, Ying Zhao returned, bringing with him freshly fried meat patties. He ate one, hugged and kissed her, and coaxed her to go back to studying.
When Ying Zheng saw his wife smiling all the time that evening, and heard from Cong Yun that she had spent the afternoon chatting with Yang Jiang, his lips twitched slightly. He guessed that the two women had probably talked about something unspeakable.
Ever since she bluntly said that "my cousin is better than six actors," he had a good idea of what they were going to say. Even if it wasn't that, it was still a bad idea to play a trick on him.
Sure enough, before dawn, Ying Zheng got up, and she followed suit, getting up to change and wash.
"You?" Ying Zheng asked, his expression filled with surprise and doubt.
"I would also like to see the court ceremonies today!"
Ying Zheng looked around and asked, "Then why didn't you have Cong Yun bring out your court robes early this morning?"
"Oh dear, I don't want to sit up there. I made an appointment with Yang Jiang to watch from the side gate." She said in a hurry, and asked Cong Yun to bring her favorite dress to change into.
Ying Zheng: ?
Ying Zheng remained silent.
"Is Li Si going to be in trouble?"
Banban: "?? How did you know, cousin?"
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Author's Note: I'm going out of town, so I'm not sure if I can write an extra chapter. If it's not by 11:30, then it's over. Don't wait up, everyone! Today is the last day of the holiday, so I'll send you all a red envelope. Mwah!
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