The King of Qin boasted, "Ying Zheng fell silent."
Ying Zhao learned his habit of raising his hand to ask questions from Banban. He had a strong learning ability, which made Banban afraid to show any bad habits in front of him, so he set an example.
Recently, Ying Zheng has been particularly fond of his eldest son, and loves to take him with him wherever he goes.
Banban was initially worried that his first murder at such a young age might cause him psychological trauma, but it turned out to be a completely unnecessary worry.
He could eat and drink well every day, practice martial arts with Meng Tian, and was scolded by Han Fei for his impulsiveness that day. He could also excitedly run to Xianyang Palace to listen to the morning court session.
This continued for six or seven days. Just in case, I found an opportunity to have a heart-to-heart talk with him.
Ying Zhao understood his mother's worries and shook his head earnestly. "Mother, Father was so powerful in the palace that day. Even Jing Ke couldn't touch a hair on his head. I also want to be like Father. Unfortunately, I am still young. I was able to kill Qin Wuyang only by surprise. He was a coward by nature."
"I want to become strong so I can protect my mother and little sister."
“I was indeed scared at the time. I was afraid that he might really hurt my father, frighten my mother, and make my little sister feel bad. I just wanted our whole family to be safe and sound!”
"You silly child..." Banban gently stroked his little face, "Aren't you tired? Your father makes you go to court every day, can you handle it?"
“There are many things I don’t understand,” Ying Zhao said honestly, “but the gentlemen are all willing to explain them.” Most importantly, in the first few days after he arrived, he couldn’t keep up with what he was hearing, and he would start to feel sleepy because he couldn’t understand anything.
Ying Zheng sat on the high platform, mocking, "If the Crown Prince really doesn't understand, then go back to Zhaoyang Palace to sleep."
How could Ying Zhao possibly listen to such words?
Unfortunately, the person was a crybaby, stubbornly wiping away tears while maintaining a round face, his fists clenched tightly, standing menacingly beneath the prince.
Han Fei was heartbroken. He specially consulted Ying Zheng and then stood next to him, explaining the meaning to him from time to time.
After court, Ying Zheng would often speak sarcastically about Han Fei, saying that he was a truly good teacher who served the crown prince wholeheartedly.
At these times, Han Fei would show an expression that seemed to indicate he was enjoying himself, and then serve the Crown Prince even more attentively.
After finishing this story, Ying Zhao said, “Father said that Mr. Han Fei does not understand the ways of a ruler and is an honest fool. I understand what he means by saying that. Father said it on purpose so that Mr. Han Fei would teach me things diligently every day in order to get revenge and make Father unhappy.”
"You know it all too well?" Banban rubbed his head.
Ying Zhao covered his mouth and chuckled slyly.
Soon, Banban's due date arrived. Having had the experience before, she was no longer so nervous and afraid. Ying Zheng, on the other hand, silently stood guard at the door. He did not avoid Ying Zhao and took him along.
In his mind, his younger sister would come out when she grew up, but he didn't know exactly how.
Apart from the midwife's occasional instructions, not a single word came from my cousin in the delivery room.
This made Ying Zheng extremely anxious. He couldn't wait even a quarter of an hour, so he ordered Qin Ju to watch over the Crown Prince and rushed in himself.
As luck would have it, the child came out just as he went in. This time, Banban didn't collapse from exhaustion; she leaned against the bed, staring blankly at him at the doorway.
The midwives and palace servants had prior experience, so they weren't so frightened that they screamed, but they were still quite unaccustomed to it and felt a little apprehensive.
He disregarded everything else and took out a soft cloth to wipe her sweat, his expression serious: "Cousin, you've worked hard."
She opened her arms slightly, and he immediately bent down and embraced her.
Princess Mi Chenke of Chu was also there. Upon seeing this, she was shocked and kept glancing over there. Throughout history, the number of men who have entered the delivery room can be counted on one hand. She had delivered babies for women in Shu, and unless there was a difficult labor and severe bleeding requiring them to give their last words, men would not easily go to the delivery room.
They say it will bring bad luck to the family and attract evil spirits.
Mi Chenke cursed and swore, "What could possibly be wrong with your three little ones?"
The second child was indeed a princess.
Soon after, the imperial edict that the princess was named Princess Zhaowu and given the name Ying Xuange spread throughout the Qin Dynasty.
Xuan Ge is the guardian star of the Ziwei Enclosure, which governs conquest and represents military authority in astrology. This name inherits the martial spirit of the Qin people, but also carries some of the limitations of being broken through.
Xuan Ge, though pronounced like a song, is actually a halberd.
Songs were the musical instruments promoted by the Qin state, while halberds were the long spears used by Qin soldiers.
A balance of strength and gentleness.
That night, Banban gently touched the little princess's cheek. "Ying Xuange, since you are related to the stars, let your nickname be Xingshu."
"Sister Xing Shu," Ying Zhao leaned over the bed, gazing longingly at his baby sister in her swaddling clothes. He looked at his father, then at his mother. "Why don't I have a nickname?"
"..."
"..."
It seems that's true.
The couple were both a little speechless. After thinking for a moment, Banban said, "Your father didn't have a courtesy name either... Speaking of which, it seems that men in the Great Qin don't usually have courtesy names. Why is that?"
On the contrary, some women who are particular about their appearance will choose a nickname like "Xiao" (小).
Ying Zheng didn't mince words and explained in detail, "If you want to know this, you must first understand what a character is, what its meaning is, and what its function is."
"The practice of using courtesy names originated in the Zhou Dynasty. Simply put, the Zhou people valued propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame. Propriety included courtesy names. It was considered impolite for ordinary men to call each other by their given names when they went out. Therefore, men who had reached adulthood would adopt courtesy names for people other than their family members to use when addressing them."
"Why is it considered impolite to call someone by their name?" Ying Zhao was completely baffled.
"...I don't know." Ying Zheng remained silent for a moment, a rare occurrence.
Banban guessed that he was cursing the Zhou people in his heart, as he was the one who most despised the things that the Zhou Dynasty believed in and followed.
"Over time, the courtesy name became associated with patriarchal society. After a man underwent the coming-of-age ceremony and received his courtesy name, he gained the status to participate in aristocratic politics and could obtain rights and obligations within the clan."
He spoke earnestly and slowly, “A person’s surname represents the paternal and maternal lineage, which is bloodline, while the courtesy name is used for interactions when entering and leaving the world and in places of power and wealth.”
"What are the drawbacks of this? Do you understand?" he asked Ying Zhao.
Ying Zhao pondered for a moment, then hesitated and said, "In this way, wouldn't everyone only act for their own family and clan, and only be loyal to the clan behind them?"
Ying Zheng praised, "Yes, in times of war, clan and family are not important, but if the country is not safe, where is the family?"
“Some clans even believe that the country may perish, but the clan will remain; it is merely a change of dynasty, and they can continue to curry favor with the new ruler.”
"How can a ruler of a country tolerate such disloyal and unjust people?"
"They're just opportunists," Banban scoffed. "To protect themselves, they'll naturally sway whichever way the wind blows; in their hearts, clan is more important than the nation."
“Indeed.” Ying Zheng was facing two pairs of big eyes, which amused him for some reason. “One of the core purposes of Shang Yang’s reforms was to break down the old clan power and turn every citizen into a registered commoner who directly faces the monarch. Therefore, the Qin Dynasty had a strict household registration system and a system of collective punishment.”
"The primary identity of the people of Qin is that of the King of Qin's subjects, not members of any particular clan,"
"Gradually, the naming ceremony, which symbolized the coming-of-age ceremony of the clan, lost its meaning. Moreover, because of the equality of everyone under the military merit system of the Great Qin, the noble bloodline and powerful family no longer had priority. People's value was reflected by their military achievements and farming and weaving. There was no need to use a name to show the so-called clan. Gradually, no one was named anymore."
Ying Zheng scoffed: "Our Qin state advocates minimalist pragmatism. Things like characters that do not contribute to the country's wealth and military strength will naturally be discarded. These are all dross, merely decorative items for etiquette. We adorn ourselves with military achievements, so what use are characters to us?"
Ying Zhao suddenly realized, and said excitedly, "Then I don't want the characters either!"
He wrinkled his nose and said, "Why does my sister need a courtesy name? Mother also has a courtesy name. Do all women have courtesy names?"
"This is because the meaning of characters has changed over time when applied to women," Ying Zheng said gently. "A woman's courtesy name is for her family and husband to call her by, and is not to be known by outsiders. In fact, many poor women only have a courtesy name that they have chosen themselves, and do not have a formal name."
This is very evident in folk customs, where many women have only one character, and it is unclear whether it is a courtesy name or a given name, and it has no real meaning; it is just for people to address them.
Ying Zhao was stunned, incredulous: "Is this why the vast majority of women in historical records don't have given names, only surnames or clan names are recorded? They didn't have their own names?"
This question did reach Ying Zheng, who hesitated for a moment.
Banban glanced at him and muttered, "No, Zhao'er, it's probably because many people feel that women are not qualified to have their names recorded." Even the Empress Dowager Xuan's name remains a mystery.
As expected, the child's thinking was not fixed. Even Banban himself had not noticed these differences, but Yingzhao pointed them out.
"Father, we can't do this."
"..."
Ying Zheng rubbed his forehead and sighed leisurely, "Alright, alright, I know."
Ying Zhao cared about his younger sister and would come in to check on her every half hour, but unfortunately she remained asleep without opening her eyes and hardly moved.
Ji Changyue hugged Xiao Xingshu and murmured, "This child is destined to be with me. Xingyue, Xingyue, it turns out I came after her." Even so, she still smiled.
“Xing Shu is unusually quiet, which shows that you did not suffer when you gave birth to her.”
"More than that." Banban said, puzzled. "I was preparing to try my best, but the midwife said she was coming out and didn't say a word. I thought there was something wrong with her, so I patted her bottom and she cried out twice. Fortunately, her voice was loud and clear, so she's healthy."
Ji Changyue covered her mouth and laughed, then asked, "Has the wet nurse found any servants?"
"Yes, Qian Yin gave birth to a son half a year ago. Xu Jinghe went to attack Yan with the army. She has been frequently submitting her nameplate, wanting to be the princess's wet nurse. Since she is someone we know well, we don't need to bother to investigate her background. My cousin and I have both agreed."
"Qian Yin is clever and loyal." Ji Changyue was relieved and nodded repeatedly.
Banban chatted with Ji Changyue for a while longer, talking about the shops outside the city. She mentioned that she had recently met a man who was studying hard and whose mind was full of policy essays. She was a fierce person and whipped him. He was afraid for several days, but he came back again.
With such a source of amusement, life no longer seems so boring.
Now there's nothing she can't talk about with her son Ying Zheng; that invisible barrier has long since disappeared without a trace. Ying Zheng is quite direct: "If Mother takes a fancy to me, just tie me up for your amusement."
Ji Changyue: "..." Did you think I was you?
"Then what's the fun in that?" she told him to leave it at that.
After Ji Changyue left, Banban said, "So it turns out that my cousin believes in kidnapping for amusement."
Ying Zheng: "Hmm?"
Banban: "So you treated me the same way back in Handan."
Ying Zheng: "..."
"I didn't tie you up."
"You grabbed my wrist and wouldn't let me leave, forcibly taking me into the carriage."
"Didn't your uncle and aunt discuss having you come with me?"
"I was unhappy at the time, and I cried terribly."
Of course, when the two talk about this now, it's always in a joking tone, and they don't take it seriously.
What was my cousin thinking at the time?
"Let him cry, he'll be fine once we're in the carriage."
"...???"
She raised her hand and threw the pillow at his face, yelling, "You bastard!"
Ying Zheng caught the pillow and placed it back under his cousin. During this time, she scratched him several times in frustration before stopping. He stared at her fuming little face strangely, which made her feel uneasy.
"What are you looking at?"
"Seeing that my cousin can't get out of bed now and needs to eat nourishing foods," said a cat that was as agitated as a bristling cat, "I'm sure I can kiss you until you faint."
Her eyes widened in shock, and before she could resist, he pinned her to the bed and kissed her passionately.
He didn't actually kiss her until she fainted, but he was definitely out of breath.
After the kiss, he coaxed her, personally served her tea and food, massaged her legs and arms, and even undid her slightly messy hair and combed it back into place when he had nothing else to do.
After combing his cousin's hair, he was a little proud and carefully examined his cousin's hair. "My hair-combing skills have improved a lot. I can become a hairdresser."
Banban: "Then you shouldn't be the King of Qin."
Ying Zheng: "..." He stopped boasting.
Banban could tell that her cousin was a man who acted on a whim, and sometimes his ideas were quite whimsical.
One day, he suddenly had a whimsical idea and said he wanted to expand the hunting grounds. He felt that the current grounds were too small for him to hunt, and his son was also going to start learning these skills. How could it be enough?
He raised the issue directly in the imperial court, and a minister asked how far it should be expanded.
Without hesitation, he decided that the larger the hunting ground, the better, and said, "From Hangu Pass in the east to Yong in the west."
This is a massive project spanning hundreds of miles.
It was also the first time he wanted to undertake major construction projects just to please himself.
unrealistic.
Banban's lips twitched at that moment, unsure how to refute him.
One official chimed in, "Excellent! Your Majesty's idea is brilliant!"
Ying Zheng also thought it was good and was very proud: "My dear minister understands me."
Then the official continued, "Afterwards, we'll raise more birds and beasts in there, such as strong deer, wild boars, and horses. If the eastern states attack, we'll have the deer gore them to death."
Ying Zheng: ?
He remained silent for a while, and then never mentioned it again.
Banban teased him for half a month, making him lose face. "Actually, deer can really kill people with their buttocks, cousin."
Ying Zheng: Alright, that's enough.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Extra chapter today, before 11:30 PM.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
