The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 220 Further Discussion of the Eastern Tour
Fusu sat in the hall, ignoring the pleading looks the two children cast at him several times.

It wasn't until the two children washed clothes until their hands were red and raw that Tian An and Granny Wang felt sorry for them and allowed them to return to the palace.

Standing outside the hall, Tian An said to Granny Wang beside him, "Young Master was very sensible even when he was young."

Grandma Wang said in a low voice, "Aren't all children like this? They're all the same no matter whose child they are."

Tian An was too lazy to argue with Granny Wang, because Young Master Fusu was different from ordinary children when he was young. Back then, the young master never made a fuss, but only quietly read books and did things.

The young master was aloof from a young age, but he was also very precocious.

On the third day after arriving at Qinian Palace, the sacrificial ceremony officially began.

Below the sacrificial altar, Fusu had his two sons carry the jade disc up to the altar and kowtow there.

As Fusu stood beneath the altar, he recalled how he himself had once knelt and prayed here.

Seeing Hei Bo's expression, Fu Su said, "From now on, I will personally preside over all the sacrificial ceremonies here."

Uncle Hei said, "Okay."

Fusu saw some sympathy in Hei Bo's eyes.

That's right, it's sympathy and pity.

In the eyes of Hei Bo or the other people in Yongcheng, this young master Fusu was perhaps pitiful because he had no uncles or elders to take care of him.

But Fusu didn't think he was doing anything wrong. In fact, he felt at ease this way, as sacrificial rites and rituals were much simpler than state affairs.

Today's sacrificial ceremony is over, and we can stay in Yongcheng for another half month.

During this half-month period, there were no state affairs, no military affairs, and no visiting officials.

This was an exceptionally relaxing two weeks; for me, this two-week break in Yongcheng was a rare vacation.

Another freezing rain fell in Guanzhong. The rain fell with the wind, and the ice pellets fell to the ground like layers of sand until there were no more ice pellets in the sky, only rain.

The rain fell all night, and Heng and Li sat in the warm Qinian Palace.

The two children sat on a stool, eating noodles together and listening to the rain.

"Brother, when are you going to the army?"

"My father said he would wait until I turned fifteen." Heng chewed his noodles, still holding rather long chopsticks, and struggled to put the wide noodles into his mouth.

Li chewed his noodles vigorously and said, "I really want to grow up too."

After Heng finished eating, he handed the bowl to Tian An, who was standing next to him. He rested his chin on his hand and said, "When I grow up, I will go to the north to fight the Xiongnu."

Li said, "Brother, the Xiongnu people are all frozen to death, why do we still want to fight them?"

Upon hearing this, Tian An suddenly smiled.

The two children are very noisy during the day, but they go to bed early at night.

As night deepened, the rain intensified. Tian An carried an oil lamp as he walked through the main hall of Qinian Palace, looking up at the roof to check for leaks.

The Qinian Palace is only visited once a year; the rest of the time it is uninhabited.

Every year before coming here, people are arranged to renovate Qinian Palace.

The repairs were also done very well this year, and there are no signs of leaks.

After looking around twice and confirming that it wasn't raining, Tian An finally put down the oil lamp he was holding, feeling relieved before he could fall asleep.

The next day, Yongcheng was still damp, with a light drizzle falling.

Originally, we were supposed to leave Yongcheng for Shanglin Garden today, but the rain this season is too cold.

The rainwater was almost freezing on the ground and eaves. The two children, wearing straw hats, were taken by Tian An to herd sheep.

Li, shivering in the cold wind, exclaimed, "It's cold!"

Heng was also shivering from the cold and shrank his neck. He said, "If you're afraid of this little bit of cold, how will you ever be able to go to the army?"

The two children, shivering from the cold, went to herd sheep outside the city.

They don't know how to let their sheep graze freely; they're all out here freezing. Only Tian An takes care of the flock and, incidentally, the two children.

It rained for three days, and the two children herded sheep here for those three days.

Uncle Hei chuckled and asked, "Young masters, how easy are my sheep to raise?"

Heng said, "Easy to raise."

"Hmm." Uncle Hei nodded and said, "We slaughtered and ate all the sheep that were difficult to raise."

"I raised them for half a month, how could I just kill and eat them so easily..."

Heng muttered something in his heart, clearly unwilling.

Uncle Hei chuckled and said, "The purpose of this sheep is to be eaten."

Fearing that the two children might develop an attachment to the sheep, Tian An asked Uncle Hei to kill a sheep that very night, so that the living sheep could become mutton.

When the mutton was dipped into the copper tube, Li opened his eyes wide with delight and said, "Brother, this meat is delicious."

Heng was already enjoying his meal.

Tian An nodded with satisfaction, feeling that he had taught the two young masters a good lesson.

A month after the winter solstice, Prince Fusu first went to Yongcheng to pay respects to his ancestors, and then went to Shanglin Garden to prepare for the agricultural ceremony, which required planting crops in Shanglin Garden.

It is said that the emperor was getting old, so his son, Prince Fusu, performed a farming ceremony in the Shanglin Garden and planted two acres of land after the sacrifice.

It's too early to plant crops this season, and the weather hasn't fully warmed up yet.

The young master stayed in Shanglin Garden for another month until the weather warmed up and the beginning of spring arrived. Only then did he prepare to leave Shanglin Garden and return to Xianyang City.

Before returning to Xianyang, Fusu made a special trip back to Xianyang City via Xianyang Bridge.

As Heng passed by Xianyang Bridge, he saw Zhang Jing standing by the bridge.

“Father, it’s Brother Zhang Jing.” Heng said from inside the carriage, pointing outside.

Fusu knew Zhang Jing. Zhang Han's son had always been Shusun Tong's most prized disciple, while Heng was, in Shusun Tong's eyes, the most foolish child.

"Go ahead, you don't need to go back to Xianyang first..."

Before he could finish speaking, Heng jumped off the carriage, ran down the Xianyang Bridge, and went to Zhang Jing's side.

Li looked in the direction his brother had left and asked, "Father, why is my brother in such a hurry?" Fusu replied, "When he gets a few years older, he will have to suffer. It's better to let him enjoy himself for a few years first. It's a life that is more arduous than herding sheep and farming, and it will last for six years."

Wang Tang'er suppressed a laugh as she watched her youngest son's reaction.

Li then asked, "Does that mean I also have to suffer?"

Fusu nodded.

Li asked with a wronged expression, a slight stutter, and difficulty, "Then... if I stop playing and making a fuss now, can I avoid suffering?"

Fusu said solemnly, "No."

Li looked at his mother with a bitter face, but seeing that his mother ignored him, he could only sit in the middle with a bitter expression.

However, the child is still young. Perhaps when he is Heng's age, he will forget what he heard today.

The spring of the thirty-seventh year of the First Emperor.

When Fusu returned to Xianyang, it was the busy farming season.

After a two-month vacation, Fusu was about to throw himself back into state affairs.

After returning to Xianyang, he went to the northern suburbs to visit his father, the Emperor.

In the imperial palace in the northern suburbs, Li Si stood before Ying Zheng.

Cheng Miao stood outside the palace. The weather was fine and sunny today, but many ministers looked unwell because the emperor had brought up the eastern tour again.

I've tried to persuade them time and time again, but it seems I can't convince them this year.

Cheng Miao stepped forward and said, "Young Master, the Prime Minister is already offering advice."

Upon hearing this, Fusu first nodded, then gave everyone a reassuring look before going into the palace.

The ministers outside the palace all looked at each other. As long as Prince Fusu returned, the ministers' hearts were at ease.

Inside the main hall, Fusu strode in and saw the scrolls lying on the ground, the prime minister standing there, and his father, the emperor, sitting at the head of the table.

Picking up the files from the ground, Fusu said, "Father, the world is at peace today, why bother with an eastern tour?"

Ying Zheng said in a deep voice, "Some people in Qi have started a rebellion and fled overseas."

Fusu glanced at the contents of the dossier and said, "Father, this is not rebellion. The Tian brothers have been captured for many years. They only started to rebel after they were caught."

Ying Zheng said, "There are also dozens of people in Chu who have refused military service."

Fusu said, "I will make arrangements with the Prime Minister regarding this matter."

Looking at the two people before him, Ying Zheng asked again, "Do you think I shouldn't have made an eastern tour?"

Fusu then said, "Once the affairs of the country are stable, I will personally accompany Father on his eastern tour."

Ying Zheng nodded and left the hall.

Inside the main hall, Fusu faced Li Si and bowed, saying, "Prime Minister, rest assured, I will persuade my father."

Li Si said, "Xia Wuqie said that the emperor is unwell and should not travel far. He asked us to persuade the emperor that if he falls ill again during his journey, it may be difficult to treat him."

Fusu was unaware of his father's health condition, as it had been the Imperial Physician Xia Wuqie who had been taking care of him.

Xia Wuqie was extremely loyal to his father, the emperor, and even he, as the son, was not allowed to inquire about his father's specific health condition.

After all, this was the First Emperor.

Even his family members were kept in the dark about the First Emperor's illness.

Because it concerns the stability of the world.

After the Prime Minister and his officials left, Fusu entered the inner palace.

After venting his anger in the front hall, the emperor remained calm and composed in the back hall.

Fusu stepped forward and said, "Father, the Tian brothers in Qi are causing trouble. They will be captured sooner or later. There is no need to rush."

"You think so too?"

"The Prime Minister once said that the Emperor said there are too many rebels in the world to catch or kill."

Looking at the fish swimming in the pond, Ying Zheng slowly said, "I'm not really angry, I just want to go out for a walk to clear my head."

Fusu said, "Hei Bo in Yongcheng often looks towards Xianyang, thinking that Father Emperor will go to offer sacrifices this year."

"It has indeed been a long time since I visited Yongcheng. How is it there?"

"It's all pretty good."

"What about Shanglin Garden?"

"The agricultural ceremony went smoothly."

The father and son talked in hushed tones. The pine trees by the fishpond were still full of vitality, and Fusu hoped that his father's vitality would also be better.

Fusu stayed at the imperial palace in the northern suburbs for two days.

These past two days I've been discussing state affairs with the emperor.

Li Si would come to the Northern Suburbs Palace every day to see the emperor.

Today, Li Si did not see the emperor, nor even the prince. Outside the main hall of Lin Guang Palace, he met the Imperial Physician Xia Wuqie.

Xia Wuqie said, "I don't know what the young master said to the emperor, but the emperor's mood has improved a lot."

Li Si said, "That should be a very good thing."

Xia Wuqie added, "Fortunately, the emperor no longer wants to make an eastern tour."

What else could the young master say to the emperor? Promises about the future, perhaps.

Li Si understood what the emperor was thinking, and the emperor also understood what Li Si was thinking. The emperor was getting old, and so was Li Si.

Outside the Lin Guang Palace, Li Si saw Xia Wuqie off, and he waited outside the palace for an audience.

……

P.S.: Xiao Zhang will make up for the missed updates at another time, while maintaining regular updates.

(End of this chapter)