Chapter 50 Ying Zheng: Visiting His Mother
Upon waking from a dream, Ying Zheng sat up. Although the dream had taken up most of his sleep, he didn't feel sleepy at all after getting up.
He could handle a week's worth of trivial matters on the spot now, and those bizarre and fantastical scenes still flashed through his mind from time to time. So this is what the struggle between nations looks like.
The ever-changing world in the dream was impressive, and when the mother mentioned that 'Wei' had been eaten, it couldn't really be called being eaten. It seemed more like a fusion, with the part of 'Wei's' power completely integrated into 'Qin'.
No wonder the painting Meng Ao presented depicted that kind of scene; it didn't look bloody or cruel, but rather had a sense of beautiful beauty on the verge of collapse.
While he hadn't completely forgotten the scene from his dream, he ground the ink, picked up his brush, and began to paint on the paper...
A quarter of an hour later, Ying Zheng received an abstract painting, which was only slightly better than the painting that Meng Ao had presented him.
Ying Zheng: ...
He felt he needed a professional court painter, rather than doing it himself.
Considering the style of professional painters today, we can see some of it in the paintings presented by Meng Ao earlier. Even professional court painters probably wouldn't be much better.
Ying Zheng first looked around, but did not see the figure of 'Qin'. He then quickly hid the painting and planned to destroy it when he had time.
Zhu Qing'ai, who had just finished working day and night: ...
Actually, she had seen everything. There was no point in hiding it, but she still chose not to expose it. What did Qin's abstract painting have to do with Zhu Qing'ai?
She still serves as the central control center of the monitoring system, overseeing the progress of the popularization of simplified characters throughout the Qin state.
The school does not prohibit young children from entering; in fact, some students even bring their own children in to eat at their school. Normally, a student's daily meal is enough to fill an adult's stomach, but if a child is brought in to share, the two of them will only be half full.
Taishu Jiu had given instructions before the trip: those who didn't go too far should be ignored, but those who exceeded their quota and still begged for food should be kicked out, or they could write an IOU to be repaid later.
Because of the comparison, some adults have discovered that their literacy progress is even slower than that of their children. Ashamed, they have become extra diligent, which can be considered a good thing.
Furthermore, Zhu Qing'ai also discovered that in a time of rampant growth and the supposed collapse of ritual and music, there was actually not much distinction between men and women, as evidenced by the fact that schools enrolled both male and female students.
Perhaps only those whose minds have been corrupted would be filled with thoughts of gender differences and male superiority over females.
She couldn't help but take a deep breath; in an era before Confucianism had poisoned her bones, even the air felt fresh.
Of course, there are downsides as well. At that time, the local people were fierce and short-tempered, and they would start fighting at the slightest disagreement. She had seen several fights and brawls just by supervising the school.
The participants included both men and women. At this point, the peasant woman would smash down with a fist the size of a clay pot and ask you if you were scared.
Zhu Qing'ai was filled with questions. No, school is for learning, not for fighting and brawling!
Fortunately, the school rules also stipulate that those involved in the fight will be placed on probation, and if they do it again, they will be expelled.
With such examples, the learning atmosphere in schools has become even better.
Zhu Qing'ai: As expected, no school rule is useless...
After visiting the schools, I looked at the counties that were under special scrutiny. Very well, those who were going to be perfunctory were still being perfunctory, and those who were going to cause trouble were still causing trouble. It seems that they really had to get that letter of condolence.
While watching the young Zheng practice his sword in the courtyard outside the palace, she conjured a reclining chair next to him and sat down, feeling extremely relaxed.
While rocking back and forth, he said, "The person who made this recliner is a genius. Keep up the good work!"
"Zheng'er, you can try it when you have time. I've seen reclining chairs at both of the Empress Dowagers' residences." You're the only one without one; you're so out of touch!
After Ying Zheng finished practicing a set of sword techniques, he put away the bronze sword and handed it to the attendant beside him before speaking, "I still prefer the office chair. A reclining chair makes one unconsciously lose their fighting spirit." Just as 'Qin' was thinking about whether to secretly put the reclining chair back, Ying Zheng's second half of the sentence stopped her, "Only a national spirit like Mother can overcome the shortcomings of mortals."
“Zheng’er, you’re overthinking it,” Qin lowered his hand from the reclining chair and smiled as he admitted that his country was not perfect. “I am not a perfect god living in people’s imagination. How can I get rid of the shortcomings of mortals?”
"I am made up of mortals, and of course I also have the seven emotions and six desires of mortals. Those without emotions... that is the rule of heaven and earth, which has been there since ancient times, and how it operates is not affected by mortals."
"I love all Qin people equally, but in reality, I also have my own thoughts..."
Ying Zheng praised from another angle: "Mother's ability to speak so frankly has surpassed that of all mortals. There are very few people in the world who can be so open and honest."
'Qin' conjured a fan, a fan that was half round and half-covered her facial expression.
Good heavens, how could anyone refuse a cub's sincere praise? Not even a nation could resist. If she kept listening, she would really start to think she was the invincible number one nation in the universe.
A beacon in the world, a mentor in life (crossed out).
Qin chuckled, moved the fan aside, and gently patted Ying Zheng's head with the fan surface as he walked up to her. She said, "Did you learn that from Cheng Jiao?"
"Think about you two brothers, only he usually likes to say things like that to praise you."
Ying Zheng readily admitted, "It's normal for brothers to resemble each other."
'Qin' nodded, thinking to himself, "Yes, you two have evolved into Qin's praise machines, but Cheng Jiao praises his brother, while you praise 'Qin'."
She gently waved her silk fan and chuckled, "If you said similar things to Cheng Jiao more often, he would be happier, or at least more motivated to study."
Ying Zheng said, "Then Cheng Jiao will definitely float up to the sky first. As Mother said, we should wait until he lands before we talk about it."
"How mischievous..." Qin twirled the fan handle, his eyes darting around before suddenly asking, "Aren't you afraid Cheng Jiao will hear us?"
"Cheng Jiao won't hold it against him; it doesn't matter even if you say it to his face."
"I won't hold it against you?" Cheng Jiao, who was far away, only heard the end of the conversation. He jogged over, stopped abruptly in front of Ying Zheng, and quickly bowed.
"Good morning, Brother Wang. Did you just say that I wouldn't care about anything?"
Cheng Jiao considered it in his mind. His elder brother only had him as a younger brother, and he had no older or younger sisters. His position was unshakeable, so apart from that, he really had nothing else to care about.
So Cheng Jiao straightened his back, and without asking what Ying Zheng had just said, he went along with him and said, "Brother is right, Cheng Jiao really doesn't care."
Surely his mother can't give him another younger brother or sister after his father passes away...
The moment some grand, filial thoughts popped into his head, Cheng Jiao swiftly nipped them in the bud.
Ying Zheng sighed, realizing that his younger brother had truly been spoiled since childhood. While he had suffered in the State of Zhao for eight or nine years, his brother had always lived in the love and pampering of their parents, which made his personality quite reasonable.
He didn't feel jealous of his younger brother. He had his mother, who visited him often, so there was nothing to regret.
Whether or not a father was present during childhood is no longer important.
"I was just discussing what title to bestow upon my younger brother, and after much thought, I think the title of Lord Chang'an is the best."
Chengjiao's eyes lit up as he felt the love from his elder brother. Overjoyed, he didn't forget to bow and express his gratitude.
The two brothers got along well, which made Qin quite gratified. Ying Zichu and his father Ying Zhu were two extremes. Ying Zhu had more than twenty children and a large number of wives and concubines.
Ying Zichu had only two children: his eldest son Ying Zheng and his second son Chengjiao.
He had several wives and concubines, but Qin didn't count. She wasn't that bored, but she figured it couldn't be more than five.
The only ones with known names are Zhao Ji, who gave birth to Ying Zheng, and Han Ji, who gave birth to Ying Chengjiao.
Ying Zheng chatted with his younger brother for a few minutes, and then solemnly introduced him to the 'Qin' who had been watching their interaction with a gentle expression.
Cheng Jiao looked at his brother's side, but it was empty; there was no sign of the 'Qin' his brother had mentioned.
However, Cheng Jiao had been taught by Han Ji to be well-behaved since childhood, and he also liked his elder brother, so he trusted Ying Zheng very much. He bowed respectfully in the direction of 'Qin' and called out 'Mother'.
Qin's smile became even gentler. He raised his hand and gently stroked the top of Chengjiao's hair with the surface of his fan, and some almost invisible golden fragments of light fell and merged into the person in front of him.
Ying Zheng urged his younger brother to express his gratitude, and as for himself, he believed that with his mother by his side, he would naturally receive even more protection.
It wasn't really a big gift; it was just some fragments that served as a visual aid, leftovers from when she dismantled the halo last time.
Some useless little things are neither good to keep nor worth throwing away.
It's not that we can't afford better options, but rather that the remaining spare parts are more cost-effective.
With the money saved, she could give Ying Zheng and Taishu Jiu a longevity elixir, a perfect combination of ruler and minister to deliver a powerful blow.
Everyone felt reassured when Ying Ji arrived!
However, those small fragments were indeed very useful to the ancients, since most people at that time suffered from night blindness.
"Chengjiao thanks Mother." He blinked, as if the world had become clearer, and immediately believed his elder brother's words without a doubt.
Before, my brother said to just believe it, but now it's become absolutely true. My brother is indeed a person favored by the Qin state.
Cheng Jiao, still slightly shy, looked into the air and said, "Mother, I have nothing to give you, but in the future I will be the vanguard of 'Qin' and fight for you to conquer the world."
Qin covered his mouth with his fan and laughed, saying, "Zheng'er, tell him that if he wants to conquer the world for me, he can't not even read a few books."
Ying Zheng relayed the truth to Cheng Jiao, who blushed deeply. He really didn't like reading much. He used to be able to use the excuse that bamboo slips were cumbersome and tiring to carry, but since the Left Prime Minister invented paper, that excuse was no longer valid.
Later, he made excuses, saying that seal script was too difficult to learn. This was simply making things difficult for Chengjiao. His elder brother directly replaced his primer with a book written by the Left Prime Minister that mainly used simplified characters.
Cheng: There's no longer any reason for him to just obediently study. (Qiao)
"I understand, brother. I'm working really hard to learn, and I definitely won't let you down."
Ying Zheng reprimanded with a stern face: "It's not for me, it's for yourself."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 11:30:46 and 20:55:00 on May 8, 2024!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Mo (3 bottles); Zhe Riyue, Yu Xi, Sheng Sheng Bu Xi, Xiao Long Bao Zi, and Wu Wen Wu Wei Wei (1 bottle each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
