The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 202 Yingluo Shouxin
Normally, Zhang Cang would never argue with the Prime Minister.

Most of the time, Zhang Cang followed the Prime Minister's orders, but now there was a dispute over whether to confirm the celestial signs first or to take precautions first.

In Zhang Cang's view, the first thing to do is to guard against the rumors that may arise due to Mars guarding the heart, and it is necessary to issue a ban on false speech, for fear that someone might incite a mutiny.

In the Prime Minister's view, it is necessary to first confirm whether the conjunction of Mars and Antares will actually occur; at present, these are merely predictions.

Fusu quickened his pace as he listened to the two arguing, not wanting to interrupt their debate.

Only a few people in front of us know about this.

At that time, people were willing to believe in celestial phenomena, and they felt that the appearance of bad celestial phenomena meant that something big was going to happen to the country.

Zhang Cang believes that if such rhetoric becomes widespread, it will pose a threat to national governance.

Fusu thought Zhang Cang was right, but it wasn't a big deal. People could talk about it if they wanted. At worst, they could arrest some people with ulterior motives, as long as those people dared to seize territory and restore their country, and dared to raise an army.

Qin could then send troops to destroy it.

Furthermore, Zhang Cang didn't actually believe in astrology, especially after he acquired the armillary sphere and was able to calculate some of the patterns of motion between the Earth and the Moon, which made him even less skeptical.

Zhang Cang's mathematical skills are truly exceptional; he simply lives with a clear mind and hasn't told anyone.

The teacher's clarity of mind is correct, and the teacher hopes that the world can also be clear-headed, but this is difficult.

But Fusu remained confident and carefree about the future.

Li Si still needed to confirm whether the imperial star had truly changed.

The argument only stopped in front of the Prime Minister's residence.

Fusu remained silent throughout.

Back at the Prime Minister's residence, the affairs of state were handled as usual. Li Si and Fusu dealt with state affairs as normal, without mentioning the earlier argument at Zhangtai Palace or the events in the inner palace.

The same applies to Zhang Cang.

National affairs remain as busy as ever.

While the young master was busy, Tian An instructed a few people to tidy up the scholar's residence.

The Academy remains empty to this day, with no one holding office there. Most of the scholars appointed by Prince Fusu and the Prime Minister are teaching in various places.

The only one who said he wanted to come back was Gongzi Gao.

Gongzi Gao has studied history for many years and will surely be able to preside over the Academy in the future.

But Gongzi Gao always said he would come back and help his elder brother manage the affairs of the Academy.

Gongzi Gao is still in Longxi, and it is unknown when he will return.

There is also Princess Yinman, who now lives in the library in Xianyang City, which is the former residence of Lü Buwei. She organizes books for Prince Fusu and often visits the prince's wife.

As Tian An pondered this, he led his men to push open the heavy wooden door of the scholar's residence. He stood outside the door watching the eunuchs enter and begin cleaning.

Although the scholar's residence is empty, it still needs to be tidied up, as instructed by the young master.

After the eunuchs cleaned up the scholar's residence, Tian An returned to Gaoquan Palace to prepare a meal. He first looked at the young master Li, who was building with blocks, while his wife and Granny Wang were mending clothes for the child.

Arriving under the eaves, Tian An lit the stove and began preparing today's meal. Ever since the old man learned to make noodles, he had always enjoyed cooking.

Kitchenware is also his favorite.

Today, Grand Commandant Wang sent some beef over. Tian An chopped the beef and put it in a pot to stew. Then, with his hands still busy, he started chopping vegetables at the other end.

As he chopped, Tian An could hear the conversation between the lady and Granny Wang.

It's said that young master Heng has gotten a bit chubby.

When he was in the palace, the young master wasn't fat, but now that he's studying away from home, he's eating more and more.

Tian An finished chopping the vegetables and was in a good mood. He wasn't worried about the young master, who was going to join the army in the future. He was fat now, but he might lose weight in the future.

Half an hour later, Tian An had prepared the meal.

It was dusk when the young master returned for dinner.

The young master, his wife, and their young son sat together, quietly eating.

Tian An packed the stewed beef soup into a food box and personally delivered it to Zhangtai Palace.

Inside the Zhangtai Palace, Ying Zheng was still looking at the documents submitted by Li Si, which recorded matters related to Mars guarding the heart.

Tian An entered Zhangtai Palace and placed a pot of stewed beef aside.

Ying Zheng was indeed hungry. He picked up a wooden spoon and drank a mouthful of meat soup.

Tian An packed up the food box and stood aside.

"Did Fusu really know about Mars guarding the heart of the sky through the armillary sphere?"

"Yes."

Ying Zheng didn't look up, but chewed on his beef while keeping his eyes on the book. He asked again, "Will he go to look at the stars again tonight?"

Tian An said, "Young Master said that the stars can actually be calculated, and the answer that can be calculated... is inevitable."

"inevitable?"

Tian An added, "It's a cycle that will inevitably repeat itself."

Ying Zheng nodded knowingly and said, "Alright, I understand."

After waiting a while longer, until the emperor finished his beef soup, Tian An cleaned up the dishes and left Zhangtai Palace.

The young master said that the emperor's health is very important, so the emperor should eat well and rest well. Tian An also thought so.

Night had fallen, and Ying Zheng, having lost interest in the matter, first reviewed the documents, then went outside the palace to gaze at the starry sky.

The starry sky was beautiful. Fusu rotated the orbit on the armillary sphere and moved its scale by one division, which was only one inch.

Fusu saw that his teacher and Zhang Cang were both looking at the starry sky.

Looking up, Mars is even closer to the Antares constellation in Scorpio.

The turmoil in this world is never caused by celestial phenomena, but by the chaos created by conspirators.

Li Si frowned as he gazed at the starry sky, not far from the astrological prediction of Mars guarding the heart of the constellation Antares.

"Teacher, it's getting late, you should get some rest."

Li Si snapped out of his daze, bowed, and said, "My lord, I am not tired."

Fusu looked at Zhang Cang beside him.

Zhang Cang replied, "I will not rest either."

Both teachers wanted to observe the stars, so Fusu let out a sigh of relief and allowed them to do so, while he returned to Gaoquan Palace to rest.

The following day, during the court meeting, Fusu noticed that both of his teachers were not in good spirits; they had probably been stargazing all night.

When the court meeting ended and the Prime Minister's office was at its busiest, Cheng Miao found that he was about to submit a document to the emperor, but the Prime Minister was nowhere to be seen. He looked around but Zhang Cang was nowhere to be seen either.

Fusu took the document from him and said, "Just give it to me."

Cheng Miao handed the document to the young master and then went to attend to his own business.

When the Prime Minister is not here, many state affairs are handled by Prince Fusu, which has become an unwritten rule in the Prime Minister's residence.

Because the prime minister is often not in the prime minister's residence.

But barring any unforeseen circumstances, Prince Fusu is definitely at the Prime Minister's residence.

For officials at all levels in the Qin Dynasty, the existence of Prince Fusu was an extremely reassuring thing.

Life was the same as usual today. After finishing his state affairs, Fusu had a meal at Gaoquan Palace and then took the children to the armillary sphere to observe the stars.

Tian An watched as the young master Li chased after a butterfly with amusement, a smile spreading across his aged face. Even if the child fell, he would get up without a sound, and only return dejectedly after he could no longer catch the butterfly and watched it fly away.

But the child's disappointment was short-lived; he was soon drawn to another toy: a Rubik's Cube.

The Rubik's Cube is a very interesting toy. Although it is ingenious, it is actually not difficult to make.

When the young master described what the Rubik's Cube looked like, Tian An knew how to build its internal structure.

This copper Rubik's Cube has various patterns on it, and it is not easy to put all the patterns together.

The Rubik's Cube was quite heavy. Little Prince Li's hands were small, and he held the Rubik's Cube in his hands while sitting in his father's lap, struggling to turn it.

Tian An felt that this young master would definitely be very smart in the future.

The setting sun cast its rays upon the heavy and towering armillary sphere. In the afterglow of the sunset, Li Si stared intently at the southwest direction, his eyes slightly bloodshot.

As the last rays of the setting sun pierce the darkness, and day gives way to night, the stars appear and disappear.

This time he saw it; he really saw the imperial star obscured and the red star appear in the west.

This is the conjunction of Mars and Antares, which Li Si witnessed firsthand, and which Prince Fusu also foresaw.

Zhang Cang was still standing there, appreciating the beauty of mathematics, when he saw the Prime Minister running quickly towards Zhangtai Palace.

The prime minister, whose hair was already completely white, ran very fast.

Zhang Cang remained calm as he said, "Young Master, rumors are likely to spread throughout the land."

Fusu gazed at the setting sun in the southwest sky and the bright imperial star, and whispered, "Hmm, there will be rumors."

Zhang Cang said, "What should we do?"

Fusu, holding his son in his arms, said, "What? Do they intend to use the celestial phenomena to launch a rebellion and restore their kingdom?"

Li echoed his father's words, "Is it impossible to restore the country?"

“Hehe…” Tian An laughed along, saying, “Young Master is right, they will certainly not be able to restore their kingdom.”

Seeing the composed young master now, Zhang Cang really hoped that Li Si could also have the same mindset; it was just a strange celestial phenomenon.

In Shu, Zhang Liang also saw the celestial phenomenon while feeding bamboo shoots to the bear beside him.

Listening to the sound of a bear chewing bamboo shoots, I sat with this bear under the eaves, watching the sunset on the horizon.

Zhang Liang had not expected such a celestial phenomenon to occur. Could it be that Heaven was truly going to destroy Qin?
But then I thought again, the world is still not in great chaos, and Prince Fusu is still in Xianyang.

On the night that Mars appeared in conjunction with Antares, many people saw this strange celestial phenomenon, but people continued with their lives as usual. By the next day, the people of Xianyang and even Guanzhong had resumed their normal production and life.

Logically speaking, given yesterday's celestial phenomenon, the emperor should be the most anxious and uneasy person.

But today, Prince Fusu acted as if nothing had happened, and even brought his family to Jingye County to relax.

Looking at the new technology in the papermaking workshop, Fusu noticed that Qingbi had built a platform similar to a conveyor belt outside. In the summer, this would allow the paper to dry faster and be cut into pieces during the process.

The young master praised Qingbi's inventions and rewarded Qingbi's family with a thousand coins.

Shusun Tong accompanied the young master through the mulberry grove at the foot of Shangyan Mountain. The mulberry trees already had some mulberries, and when summer came this year, they would bear dark mulberries.

Shusun Tongdao said, "I have heard that recently there has been a celestial phenomenon of Mars guarding the heart of the sky."

Fusu said, "I know."

"I am worried that there may still be people causing trouble."

"Well, don't worry."

"Can……"

Fusu said, "I suppose the old master doesn't believe in these celestial phenomena either."

"I naturally believe what you say, but I fear the world will believe those who spread rumors of rebellion."

Fusu said, "People in the world don't understand now, but this is only temporary."

"I am very worried."

Fusu said, "It's alright, things will get better in the future."

Shusun Tong didn't know what the young master meant by those words, but he simply nodded in agreement.

Inside the Zhangtai Palace, Ying Zheng sat by a candlestick, reading reports sent from all over the country.

Li Si stood silently to the side.

Ying Zheng asked in a low voice, "What is Fusu doing?"

A palace attendant replied, "After the court meeting, the young master had a meal and then went to Jingye County."

Shortly afterward, someone presented Prince Fusu's account of the day. This account not only recorded the prince's actions in Jingye County, but also included the words he had spoken.

Shusun Tong was worried about the saying that Mars was guarding the heart.

But Prince Fusu said that people are currently being misled by the saying that Mars is guarding the heart, and this is only temporary.

Things will get better from now on.

Ying Zheng looked at the sentence and pondered its deeper meaning.

Li Si said, "I have already sent men to all the prefectures in the country. If anyone takes the opportunity to cause trouble, we will definitely be able to capture them."

Whether they arrest or kill, how many people have been killed and how many have been arrested in order to govern this country?

Ying Zheng put down the book in his hand, stood up and looked at the starry sky outside the palace. Now Qin possessed the most extensive territory, more than the total territory of the six states in their time.

Yet, even with such a vast country, Ying Zheng felt utterly exhausted at this moment.

Li Si had already left by night, and the Zhangtai Palace remained quiet.

Fusu arrived at Zhangtai Palace with a basket of peaches and his son Li.

The young master followed behind his father with his short legs, his steps a little unsteady, but he managed to walk.

Fusu carried the basket into the main hall.

Ying Zheng looked at the document in his hand, and when he heard the eunuch bowing down to report, he looked up and saw his son and a small child.

Only then did Ying Zheng realize that this was Sun Tzu.

He had the same face as Fusu, and his eyes were filled with curiosity.

Fusu handed a basket of peaches to the eunuch beside him and said, "These were picked by my own hands when I went out. Many peaches are grown in Pinyang County. The Duke of Pinyang said that he is so old that he can't even bite a rotten peach. He still wants to cut the peach flesh open and put it into his mouth piece by piece to eat."

Ying Zheng asked, "How is he?"

"The person is very old and frail, but his eyes are still bright and clear."

"That's good." Ying Zheng took a peach, took a bite, and then looked at his grandson.

Fusu picked up his son again and said, "Tang'er is not feeling well today, so I have to take care of him myself. Otherwise, if I don't keep an eye on him, he might run off somewhere again, and he will start to cry if I leave him for too long."

Ying Zheng said, "Li Si has sent people to all the prefectures, saying that if anyone spreads rumors, they should be arrested."

Fusu said, "This matter will trouble you again, teacher."

"You don't seem to care about this matter."

"Your subject thinks it's good to arrest some people; at least it will make things a little quieter."

Ying Zheng nodded slowly.

Fusu, still holding his son, said, "Your subject will return now."

"Ah."

(End of this chapter)