Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 138, Section 137: Baiyue Banana
As Yan Ying spoke, her eyes quickly scanned the environment of the carriage.

At this moment, she was certain that the king was indeed going to establish a queen.

Firstly, this chariot was originally reserved for the royal carriage, but it has now been bestowed upon the King of Qin.

Secondly, on this very trip, there were two jars of ice in the carriage.

If the princesses and princes realized this, they would only need to look at their own carriages to know who was truly important to the king.

This is also what Qin Shi found childish about Princess Wen—

As for Wang Ziqian, he was carefree and had boundless energy, so summers were always hot. Whether it was hotter or hotter, it didn't make much difference to him.

Add to that intelligence... In short, people are always more tolerant of little idiots.

Princess Wen, however, always prided herself on her maturity and wisdom, and had already arranged affairs within her own palace. Yet, she only saw what she deemed important: why the King had bestowed upon her the carriage, and why the ice chest was always full…

She is unaware of these things, and she wouldn't even consider them.

Indeed, there is nothing here.

Looking at Qin Shi again, her eyes sparkled as she saw Yan Ying arrive. Though she didn't return the greeting, her gaze was exceptionally sincere.
"The Commandant is a relative of General Yan, so on the way back, you should naturally follow his arrangements."

"Rest assured, Commandant, during the rest period, I will stay by the prince and princess's side at all times and will not waste any time."

We must neither delay the appointed time nor allow the two of them to do anything foolish.

This is the purpose of Yan Ying's visit.

At this moment, she was relieved by Qin Shi's understanding, so she was not in a hurry to get out of the car. Instead, she gave him more instructions:
“Liyang is a major transportation hub, and laborers conscripted from various places have always transited through here. It is also only thirty to fifty li away from the Lishan Underground Palace, and it can be reached in a day from here.”

"Therefore, before the tenth of each month, laborers are conscripted from various places to come to Liyang."

"If you are going to do something important, please bring enough men with you to avoid being offended."

Qin Shi nodded: "Don't worry, Commandant."

She glanced at Prince Qian beside her and said, "Prince is diligent and eager to learn. He is currently copying the Analects of Confucius and Han Feizi. If he doesn't understand them thoroughly, he will naturally not want to get off the carriage."

As she said this, Wang Ziqian had already angrily raised his head and glared at her:
"Qin Jun, you mustn't—"

"I will show it to the King," Qin Shi said calmly.

Prince Qian's anger came to an abrupt halt.

He turned and stared at the few dozen lines of text he had painstakingly copied—oh dear! Without bamboo slips to write them line by line, his copying wasn't very neat either!

hateful!

The boy gritted his teeth and sat back down dejectedly.

As for the princess...

She was still staring at her paper bark, not even glancing at Yan Ying.

Qin Shi was truly at a loss.

At this moment, she even felt some empathy for Ji Heng.

It's wrong of him, as the father, to not teach his child well and to suppress his education.

However, the palace had its own tutors, and they were not restricted from contacting their mothers or ministers outside the palace, yet they still developed such personalities...

Although Yan Ying's position as Prefectural Commandant may not seem to be among the Nine Ministers, he is a powerful local military commander.

Given Ji Heng's character of insisting on centralized power, the person to whom he would relinquish military power must be someone he absolutely trusts.

When an official stationed at the border personally boards the carriage to request an audience, even Ji Heng would politely say, "You've had a long journey!"

Qin Shi then spoke up: "Princess, the Commandant of Yan Commandery is stationed in Baiyue, maintaining a balance of power with the local fierce tribes. He is truly a young hero. If you, Princess, possess such courage in the future, His Majesty will surely be even more pleased upon seeing him." Therefore, you should also exchange a few polite words with the Commandant of Yan Commandery!
She was able to guard Baiyue as a woman. If the princess were to take charge of her own guards and had any questions or wanted to recruit some skilled people, wouldn't she be the best candidate?

The wolf soldiers of the Baiyue region are particularly fierce and brave; they fight to the death when faced with a fierce battle.

Princess Wenjing looked up quietly, first glancing at Yan Ying, remembering her dark complexion. Her gaze swept over Yan Ying's face as she spoke earnestly:
"Commander Yan, you've worked hard."

Qin Shi waited a while longer.

If I'm not mistaken, Yan Ying was also bowing slightly, waiting for what she would say next.

But... it's gone.

After Princess Wen finished speaking these light words, she looked down at the paper again and thought to herself: If I don't get married and have children, I will still need to apply pearl powder every day. My face is too dark and I am really not beautiful.

While she was pondering, Qin Shi had already stood up and helped Yan Ying to her feet:

"The prince and princess are so engrossed in their studies that they have forgotten themselves. Wu Zi, you stay here and serve them. I will get out of the carriage and walk around with the Commandant."

The closer they got to Liyang, the slower and more evenly the carriage slowed down.

The two got out of the car, and although they were suddenly enveloped in a wave of sweltering heat, they instantly relaxed.

Then the two looked at each other, and for some reason, they both laughed at the same time.

However, Yan Ying was in mourning after all, so she quickly suppressed her smile and could only sigh, "You've worked hard, Lord Qin."

His words seemed nonsensical, but Qin Shi had already smiled: "It's not hard work, because the King has granted them authority, requiring them to obey me. So... it's not hard work."

After these words were spoken, a subtle tacit understanding lingered, and Yan Ying felt like laughing again.

She quickly changed the subject: "Judging from what Qin Jun said, he seems to have a deep understanding of the Baiyue region."

Qin Shi did not deny it: "The land of Baiyue is of great importance. Our Great Qin is preparing for war, and a battle is inevitable sooner or later."

"But many ethnic minorities live in the mountains and forests, where they fight and struggle fiercely, and are extremely ruthless. They also possess abundant resources such as gold, silver, and copper mines..."

"The Commandant of Yan County has been stationed here with his troops, not yielding an inch. These years must have been extremely difficult."

She uttered these words with a sigh, causing Yan Ying to pause for a moment, feeling a mix of pride and bitterness welling up in her heart.

But she finally calmed down and sighed, "I regret that I could have been friends with the King of Qin for so many years, and I regret that I could have taken the King of Qin to travel and enjoy the scenery of Baiyue."

"Although there are mountains and forests with miasma, and dampness and poison that are harmful to people, there are also many beautiful flowers and various kinds of products."

"Among them is a type of banana, which is actually composed of two buds that are like teeth, and its color is either green or yellow. It is sweet and delicious - when it is ripe, it becomes even softer and more fragrant."

"It's a pity that it can't be transported to Xianyang. It becomes soft and tender very quickly after ripening, otherwise I would really like to invite the King of Qin to try it."

Qin Shi smiled: "Those bright yellow, fragrant bananas in the supermarket will easily develop large black spots on their peels if you're not careful, so we have to sell them at a discount..."

It can be described as the most affordable and widely available fruit in modern times.

Therefore, she smiled and said, "When the Commandant returns to Baiyue, if he encounters this, he should pick it when it is turning from green to yellow and then send it to Xianyang—perhaps then I will be able to eat it."

"As for getting to know each other and becoming friends..."

“Commander, it’s not too late for us to meet now.”

"When I return to Xianyang, and you go to Baiyue, if you have any worries or encounter any interesting people, please send me a letter."

She looked at Yan Ying's face, which was like a black pearl, her expression resolute and natural:

"Within five years, the Baiyue will be completely incorporated into the territory of my Qin state."

"At that time, Xiang County, Nanhai County, Guilin County, and other counties that have not been fully brought under control may welcome a prefect named Yan Ying?"

Here it is! [Banana, that's what we call bananas! But the older varieties weren't as delicious as the ones we have now. Mango and passion fruit varieties haven't been introduced yet.]