Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 81 80. Fuso Kingdom
Qin Shi was unaware of Ji Heng's deep worries.

She made a difficult trip to the ironworks and came up with several methods for improvement, which were no longer minor matters of food and drink, but rather the most pressing issues of agriculture and warfare for the entire Qin state.

Therefore, it cannot be considered that he is merely occupying a position without doing any work, and that he is receiving so many preferential treatments and rewards for nothing.

In the dead of night, she reflected on her behavior of relying solely on the king, then thought about Ji Heng's gentle expression, and the dragon-tiger seal he had bestowed upon her...

After all this hard work every day, I finally feel a sense of peace!
Then he fell into a deep sleep and slept soundly for a while.

The woman waited quietly until the breathing in the inner palace gradually calmed down, then ordered the other maids to serve her, and then, holding a lamp, she slowly withdrew.

Upon arriving at the side hall, Wu Ziyi, Ming Fucai, and others were already waiting there.

"Red Maiden!" Wu Zi asked anxiously, "Was the Dragon Tiger Seal truly mentioned by the King himself?"

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, clearly indicating that after so much time, her emotions were far from stable.

How can this be stabilized?

Even the Crimson Maiden took a deep breath, her fingers trembling: "It was the King himself who said that this mutton fat jade was too small, and he also ordered it to be made into a seal!"

At this moment, in the side hall, where there was no ice or wind, only a single lamp flickered, and all was silent.

After a moment, Yi Ming clenched his fist tightly: "Qin Jun is in good health. I have examined him for a long time and found no serious illness at all. In fact, he is exceptionally robust."

"If I had known this would happen, I should have stayed by the King's side and told him to take good care of himself. That way, I could have ensured that when the King of Qin became Queen, he would give birth to a son and produce a crown prince for our Qin Kingdom!"

Yes!

Everyone is deeply saddened!

Although Chi Nu Wu Zi didn't say it, the servants were even more perceptive and realized that the king must have contracted a life-threatening illness during his westward journey!
And now that I'm over thirty-six... oh dear!

Yi Ming was deeply remorseful: It's all because I wasn't brave enough back then, which is why I haven't been able to take good care of the king!
Although the king's physique is already exceptionally good, with extraordinary energy and few rivals in his ability to wield a bow and control a horse.

But compared to Qin Jun, he is still somewhat inferior!

The Red Maiden thought the same thing, but being young and composed, she comforted herself:

"Your Majesty's physique is already outstanding; I think even the palace guards are lacking in it! Moreover, you possess extraordinary strength, are brave and heroic, and the King of Qin even praised Your Majesty's beautiful hands!"

Then the physician said, "In the future, you should also prepare some skin-nourishing soup for the king and dissolve it in a basin of water. Although the king's hands are beautiful, I'm afraid they will become rough and old over the years, and the King of Qin will not like them..."

Yi Ming solemnly agreed.

Fu Cai also took a deep breath: "Each of you ladies is beautiful in your own way, and I wonder what kind of beauty His Majesty prefers now? I'll make another gold-threaded brocade skirt with auspicious beasts and glass inlays for Qin Jun tomorrow!"

The Red Maiden hurriedly said, "Keep it simple! The King of Qin doesn't like things that are too heavy—change the glass to agate and turquoise."

Wu Zi was overjoyed: "The Qin king's treasury has many treasures. Since you are going to be the queen, should you also take them out to make some clothes and shoes for the king?"

She was quick to learn, and at that moment she said, "I saw that when King Qin presented the lotus flowers and seeds from the Orchid Pond to the King, the King was very pleased!"

If lotus flowers and seeds can be offered, then clothes and shoes can too, right?

Everyone was filled with excitement, whispering among themselves late at night, clearly unable to contain their emotions.

When Qin Shi woke up the next day, he found several maids in high spirits and looking excited. He couldn't help but ask, "Was the palace distributing salaries today?"

Is this the only time that working people can truly be happy?
The Crimson Maiden smiled slightly, seeing that Qin Shi still hadn't figured it out, and didn't remind him—

They had already discussed it last night. Since even the Prefect of Zhou hadn't told Qin Junming, it proved that what the King cherished was this natural and unrestrained demeanor.

They warned in advance that if the King of Qin acted cautiously and failed to please the king, it would be undesirable.

In that case, let's keep it as a surprise.

Therefore, she replied, "Although we haven't received our salaries yet, Lord Qin has been rewarding us one after another, which makes us very happy."

Qin Shi understood: "Just say it! More rewards will help improve initiative."

Yi Ming then presented a box of medicinal powder: "Didn't Your Majesty want to wash your hair? I've just made a new box of medicinal powder that can make your hair fluffy and shiny. Let's try it today."

She opened the box, and a faint, almost imperceptible fragrance wafted out.

Qin Shi immediately liked it: "Give it a try."

Then Chi Nu asked, "King Qin, yesterday the King ordered craftsmen to make a small seal with a dragon and tiger design for you. I have already ordered the Minister of the Imperial Household to summon the craftsmen. Should we summon them now?" She had also instructed him in advance to keep the secret and not to show anything unusual so that King Qin would notice.

Wu Zi had already deftly presented a lump of mutton-fat jade from the box.

It feels oily, smooth, and delicate to the touch.

If this were in later generations, it would be priced by the gram.

But nowadays, she's even being rejected because she's too small, and we can only reluctantly make her a private seal to play with—it's really hard to bear!

But she even had dozens more pieces of mutton fat jade of the same quality.

Therefore, Qin Shi nodded and said, "Summon them."

The morning was busy: washing up, changing clothes, trying on shoes, carefully organizing the treasures the king had bestowed upon me on several occasions, washing and conditioning my hair, and finally summoning craftsmen to carve the seal...

At noon, Qin Shi was quietly waiting for today's meal when he saw Chi Nu hesitate several times before asking, "Won't Qin Jun go to dine with the King today?"

Qin Shi: ...

She frowned: "Something's not right with you guys."

Without waiting for their explanation, he immediately added:

"His Majesty said yesterday that if you are busy, you don't need to go."

Although he didn't say it explicitly, it was understandable; he was annoyed that she was interfering with his work every day.

Although they meet at night, it's because they have something to discuss. It's really hard to tolerate being disturbed by a workaholic two or three times a day.

but……

The woman was conflicted: she was a noblewoman in the palace before, but now she was the future queen, so naturally things were different.

Qin Shi, however, looked at the lunch menu and suddenly craved stir-fried pork with chili peppers.

Stir-fried eggs with chili peppers are also fine.

but……

She sat up straight and asked again, "Has Magistrate Zhou sent any message? Have he found all the merchants I want to see?"

If the Han Dynasty was able to open up the Silk Road, then it should be possible to do it a little earlier now, right?

Ten, twenty, or even thirty or fifty years—you'll have to have a taste of it at least once in your life, right?
Furthermore, in the Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Tang Dynasty's Book of Liang, "Biographies of Barbarians," it is said that six hundred years after the Qin Dynasty, a monk named Huishen traveled around the world and said that "there is a country called Fusang, which is 20,000 li east of the Han Dynasty."

This Fusang country is probably the Mexico that has everything: chili peppers, cotton, and everything else.

So... if she could go six hundred years later, could she have made some progress six hundred years ago, with the Qin cavalry, the Qin Dynasty's shipbuilding technology, and the giant trees that have been lost to later generations, also go?

she does not know.

But it all depends on man.

Even if she never receives a reply throughout her life, future generations will one day still be able to enjoy the abundance and warmth brought by these introduced species.

The tide of time is unstoppable, and history books, even after thousands of years, only record emperors and generals.

Every grain of sand of disaster that falls on an individual will bring pain and despair.

All she could do was reduce the amount of sand, and then reduce it even further.

It's here! Sorry for the wait! To be honest, I've been thinking about the plot. The characters' values ​​and beliefs follow their established personas; everything serves the story's plot!

I personally agree that the Classic of Mountains and Seas is a geographical treatise centered on China—extraordinary! Extraordinary! Remarkable!
It was later heavily edited and deleted (which infuriated those idle scholars!!!)
In addition, there is a book called "Blue and White Society" for male readers that offers excellent interpretations of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, or another book by the same author, [Demon Moon] (I can't remember exactly), which also contains very, very insightful interpretations.

[The Book of Liang, Biographies of Foreign Peoples states: Fusang is more than 20,000 li east of the Han Dynasty, located in the east of China. Its land is abundant with Fusang trees, hence the name.]

[The "Fusang" mentioned here is said to refer to Mexico, Japan, various countries in the Western Regions, or Qufu.]

In his book *Wen Shi*, Zhang Taiyan argued that Fusang was Mexico. The distances and locations recorded in the *Book of Liang* correspond to Mexico, and the Mayan chieftain of Mexico was called "Dui-Lu," a pronunciation similar to the "Dui-Lu" used for nobles in Fusang in the *Book of Liang*. Furthermore, Fusang's system of two prisons, north and south, and the rule of enslaving the children of serious offenders, also resembled the Mayan system in Mexico. In addition, cotton, originally from Mexico, possesses some characteristics of Fusang.

[This article uses the "Mexico Talk" approach because they have great things like kapok, cotton, and chili peppers!]

Those who are living a good life... well, let me tell you what I mean.