Chapter 99 Qin Er Shi was actually myself 11
“Since we are in Chu, what we see is naturally Chu,” Zhu Qing’ai stared intently at the fishing rod, as if she could actually fish something out of the stream. “How would I know what she said?”
'Since we are in Chu, the land we see is naturally Chu'...
Liu Bang pondered this statement repeatedly. This place could no longer be considered Chu territory. According to his logic, what he saw now was no longer 'Chu', but rather the world was now called 'Qin'.
Liu Bang instantly imagined many possibilities, but he didn't immediately believe everything He said. Instead, he maintained a degree of skepticism, such as regarding the latter part of the question, "How would I know what she said?"
It was impossible to openly contradict Him, so Liu Bang directly flattered the 'Qin' before him: "You are too modest. You are a god, naturally you know everything from astronomy to geography, how could you possibly hide such trivial matters from mere people in the past?"
Zhu Qing'ai chuckled: "Heh, you're quite clever."
"You flatter me. Bang is just a little clever."
Zhu Qing'ai offered no comment, only saying, "A little cleverness? Hmm."
Liu Bang said a few words, but Qin didn't say anything about startling her fish. He guessed that she had probably already caught what she wanted, so she didn't care whether anyone was talking next to her.
The fish he had just caught really piqued his curiosity. Combining his past memories with his current experiences, he was incredibly curious about the spirit that was named after the nation.
Whether it's the 'Chu' we've seen before, or the 'Qin' we're seeing now.
What troubled him even more was that all of His actions indicated that He knew what 'Chu' had said to him before, but He acted as if He didn't care.
This is extremely important to him. No matter what, Chu's comments about him are deadly. If Qin doesn't care, that's fine. But if Qin does care, who can guarantee that she won't get rid of him one day on a whim?
If 'Qin' didn't care, that would be best. But summarizing all the clues he had observed, Liu Bang believed that this spirit named after the state truly didn't care about him (crossed out).
Could he interpret this as meaning that 'Qin' didn't actually care who the 'Son of Heaven' was?
Is it because he's too charming?
A shameless thought popped into Liu Bang's mind, but he suppressed it with reason.
Once he had this thought, he really wanted to know. Ever since he met the First Emperor's carriage in Xianyang, he would often recall the scene of that day, remembering how he murmured "A true man should be like this" before seeing Him.
Therefore, there must be some connection between them.
Liu Bang was still secretly gathering his words to test Qin, but Zhu Qing'ai was already getting bored and starting to drift off, not listening to anything Liu Bang was muttering to himself.
She has her own keyword filtering program; if the program doesn't give a warning, it means it's not important, so she can relax and not slack off.
"When Bang was a child, he was the most popular person in the surrounding villages..."
"Hmm." (Perfunctory reply)
She was thinking about her host: should he focus on farming or become a man of both literary and martial talents, skilled in leading troops into battle?
Sometimes I feel that I can't do without military power, and sometimes I feel that if I'm too good at fighting, I'll be purged.
She didn't think she could completely control Liu Bang and prevent him from settling scores later. In fact, the people he killed were indeed destabilizing factors for the Han dynasty at that time.
"When I was little, there was no blah blah blah when I went to catch fish in the river..."
"Oh." (Perfunctory reply)
However, this is based on the premise that the current emperor is incompetent. If Liu Bang's son were Li Shimin, would he have bothered with this? In the end, Liu Bang knew his son's character too well and was afraid that the Han dynasty would also perish after only two generations.
"Having such a virtuous wife is truly a blessing in life... blah blah..."
"..."
The thought of her students made Zhu Qing'ai want to laugh. She wondered if Liu Bang would still have gone to such lengths to pave the way if he knew that Liu Ying was not the one who would succeed him.
So she glanced at Liu Bang, her tone seemingly both admiring and implying something else: "Then you are truly blessed to have married Lü Zhi."
Liu Bang's eyes lit up; 'Qin' was speaking to him! And didn't seem to find him annoying!
So he chose the right topic, and Liu Bang began to praise his wife, and incidentally mentioned how he became the son-in-law of the Lü family.
After hearing him proudly say that he had inflated the amount of the gift money, which enraged Old Master Lü, Zhu Qing'ai turned the situation around with her eloquence and even caught Old Master Lü's eye, she was speechless. He really was something, making swindling sound so elegant and refined.
However, she felt that although Liu Bang's actions were shameless, they were still better than those who actually gave gifts to their superiors' friends in order to curry favor with them. The truly bizarre one was Old Master Lü, or perhaps he really was skilled in physiognomy.
Anyway, Zhu Qing'ai couldn't tell anything from her face. She glanced at the calculated data and still believed more in science.
Liu Bang's mouth was dry from talking, and he couldn't think of anything else to talk about, but the topic hadn't yet steered to what he wanted to discuss, so he decided to keep trying.
However, Zhu Qing'ai did not give him a chance. In the blink of an eye, the bamboo bridge and the spirit in front of him had disappeared.
Before Liu Bang could react, the bamboo bridge disappeared, and he swayed and fell into the stream.
He paused for a moment, then wiped the water from his face. The cool stream water constantly reminded him that this was reality, not a dream.
Everything that seemed like a dream has vanished... no, there's still a little bit left...
He turned to look at the gui (a type of ancient Chinese vessel) he had brought. The gui was floating at a certain height and slowly descending towards the clean beach by the stream.
He couldn't help but recall what He had said before: that the food He cooked was so-so, but He still made Him finish it all. Now, this scene perfectly expressed His unwillingness to waste food.
Liu Bang, sitting in the stream: ...
So he could throw it into the stream at will, but he couldn't throw the millet porridge into it.
Liu Bang: (Tears streaming down his face - jpg)
He's not even worth a bowl of food.
Liu Bang quickly got up and walked out of the stream area. He could already hear voices coming from not far away, but he dared not let the villagers see him sitting in the water.
He took a detour with Gui, avoiding people who came to the mountains to collect firewood and dig for wild vegetables.
When he got home, he was distracted thinking about things in the mountains. Even when Lü Zhi asked if he had used a lot of millet to cook, he just casually agreed.
After agreeing, Liu Bang suddenly realized that he couldn't just agree to this so casually. Fortunately, he didn't accidentally mention the Qin dynasty, so he made an excuse to deal with Lü Zhi: "Oh dear, this is just my first time cooking and I didn't do a good job. I won't do it like this after I cook more often."
Empress Lü's eyes narrowed. She didn't believe that Liu Bang's initiative to cook was without purpose. There was only one possibility: he wanted to steal grain from the house to support someone he couldn't keep in the dark.
“I’m not someone who can’t tolerate others, you…” If there’s another ‘Fat Liu’, just say so.
Empress Lü reminded herself not to get angry, for Heaven will entrust great responsibilities to those who are destined for them, and will first...
Forget it, I'm still so annoyed.
She took care of all the household affairs; Liu Bang just didn't know the value of firewood, rice, oil, and salt!
Liu Bang realized that this conflict might escalate, and he was unwilling to expose his secret over such a trivial matter. So he immediately pushed the gui (a type of ancient Chinese vessel) towards Lü Zhi and said, "Look, nothing is missing. I just couldn't control myself properly and didn't want my father and the others to know. The things are still here."
Lu Zhi glanced down and, based on her years of experience, the number of items did indeed match the amount missing from the rice jar. Her expression softened slightly, and she smiled gently: "If you really want to cook for the family, you can just ask me more often. You don't need to do this next time."
If she masters the skills, it will save her some trouble, and she can do other things.
Liu Bang successfully evaded the question and quickly made a few promises, but it's unclear how many of them he will actually keep.
****
In the days that followed, Liu Bang went to the mountains almost without fail, rain or shine, but he never encountered the Qin again, until one day he went to the mountains as usual.
This time, he could clearly feel the difference in the mountains and forests. The birds were more lively than usual, and there were more traces of small animals. Animals that he had never seen before darted past him.
The lush trees in the mountains and forests, along with the birdsong and fragrant flowers, quickened his pace.
He followed the route he remembered to the stream, and sure enough, there He was!
It was the same familiar bamboo bridge, the same familiar 'fisherman', and not far away on the other side, two white deer were nuzzling each other, and soft light shone through the sparse leaves in the forest.
Liu Bang held his breath, fearing it might be his imagination.
He didn't bring anything this time. He knew from their last meeting that He wasn't interested in human food, so bringing food would be too foolish.
He was so powerful that he certainly didn't lack worldly things, so Liu Bang believed that the sentiment was enough, and that a small gift conveyed deep feelings.
Without turning her head, Zhu Qing'ai replied, "If we are destined to meet, we will meet again on an auspicious day or at an auspicious time."
Liu Bang realized that they had chosen an auspicious day and time to fish here, but he didn't know anything about it. Perhaps he could ask a friend who was knowledgeable in this area later.
Zhu Qing'ai discovered that Liu Bang was indeed very talkative. Even if he was the only one speaking, he could find topics to continue talking, and the things he talked about were not boring at all.
Whether the topics discussed will offend the spirit is unknown, but from a human perspective, chatting with it can indeed provide emotional value.
Even she couldn't help but feel much better, and she answered a few of the questions Liu Bang asked in a rather unimportant way.
As for the important...
She also answered one.
Liu Bang couldn't help but ask about the prophecy spoken by 'Chu', and Zhu Qing'ai looked at Liu Bang with feigned confusion: "Why do you ask this?"
Then, answering his own question with certainty, he said, "Are you afraid I'll kill you?"
'Qin' feigned concern, continuing to watch the movement of the fishing hook in the stream, and said, "As the second Qin emperor, your worries are far too unnecessary."
Liu Bang had just acted as if he had expected this, yes, he said he was Heaven... wait a minute...
Was he Qin Er Shi?
Liu Bang: Huh?
In his imagination, Liu Bang was the chosen one, the one whom fate had selected, the one everyone hoped for.
In reality, He says: You are Qin Er Shi (the Second Emperor of Qin).
Liu Bang gaped open, speechless for a moment, realizing that the First Emperor's own son was actually himself!
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-06-06 21:10:04 and 2024-06-07 21:30:23!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Wang Xun of Liao Kingdom (1 landmine);
Thank you to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Ye Li (50 bottles); I love Huihui (11 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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