The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 234 The Past of the Six Kingdoms
The two young masters entered the palace gate and saw Tian An standing by the palace gate and city wall.

With a smile on his face, Tian An first looked at Gongzi Gao and then said, "The young master is at the Prime Minister's residence."

Young Master Gao nodded and headed towards the Prime Minister's residence.

He bowed and asked, "Brother?"

"Ah."

"How come Uncle has so many books?"

Heng said, "I heard that my father asked him to compile the history of the seven kingdoms."

"History books?"

The two children followed Tian An's footsteps, talking in hushed tones.

Tian An smiled.

Li raised his head and asked, "Grandpa Tian, ​​do you know anything about history books?"

Tian An shook his head.

Heng then said, "Grandpa Tian knows all about the old stories of the six kingdoms."

Li said, "Why has Grandpa Tian never told me this?"

Tian An had already entered Gaoquan Palace and begun preparing a meal.

In fact, the place had already been busy long before the two young masters arrived in Xianyang.

Every time they come back, the young master eats the most.

Once all the ingredients were ready, Tian An put on an apron and got to work as if he were on a battlefield.

Li was always sensible. As soon as he returned, he went to his mother's side and told her about his experiences in Jingye County, recounting everything in detail, including what he had witnessed today, such as the execution.

As soon as Young Master Heng returned, he helped Tian An cook.

Normally, the young master and his wife eat very simple meals.

Only when the young master returns will the family have a sumptuous meal.

Even the deer kept at Takasengumi Palace have become much more active.

Inside the Prime Minister's residence, the other officials had finished their work before the Winter Solstice Festival and had already left.

Cheng Miao was the last to leave, and he happened to run into Gongzi Gao.

The young master now sported a short beard and bowed, saying, "Imperial Censor Cheng."

Cheng Miao was somewhat surprised to see the person in front of him, but quickly came to his senses and bowed.

Gongzi Gao hasn't returned to Xianyang for many years; he's been in Longxi all these years.

Inside the Prime Minister's residence, Fusu was organizing files when he saw Gongzi Gao arrive. He smiled and said, "You can rest for a day before coming over."

"Gao wants to see his father and brother as soon as possible."

Fusu placed the scrolls of documents on the bookshelf and then took him to the Linguang Palace in the northern suburbs of Xianyang.

Cheng Miao thought that since Prince Gao had been in Longxi for so many years, he must have many things to report to him.

Unexpectedly, the young master took him to see the emperor.

Cheng Miao stood in the cold wind for a while longer, thinking that there should be wine at Wang Taiwei's house today, so Zhang Cang went there early in the morning.

Even in the busiest of lives, there should be a sip of wine.

Today marks the Winter Solstice, which is also the start of the New Year.

When Cheng Miao arrived at the gate of Grand Commandant Wang's residence, he saw that there were already quite a few people there, including the Minister of Justice Feng Jie and the Right Chancellor Feng Quji.

Cheng Miao was invited into the main hall and accepted a bowl of wine from Grand Commandant Wang, taking a large gulp.

The entire city of Xianyang is now celebrating the Winter Solstice.

Outside Xianyang City, a troop of soldiers escorted Prince Fusu and Prince Gao to the temporary palace in the northern suburbs.

Inside the Linguang Palace in the northern suburbs, the First Emperor, with his hair and beard half gray, was examining the warhorses in the stables.

"Prince Fusu has arrived with Prince Gao."

Ying Zheng was looking at the mane of a warhorse when he said, "Bring it here."

"Yes."

Fusu led his younger brother to his father and said, "Father, Gao has returned."

Upon seeing his father, whose hair and beard had turned gray, Gao's eyes suddenly reddened, and he quickly lowered his head to greet him, saying, "Father."

Ying Zheng glanced at his son and said in a low voice, "Having been in Longxi for so many years, have you neglected your duties?"

"Your subject dares not neglect his duties in the slightest."

Gao's voice trembled.

After several years away from home, he returned only to find his father in such a state.

Ying Zheng looked at his son, whose shoulders were still trembling slightly, and placed his hand on his shoulder, saying, "Everyone in this world will grow old, and so will you."

Gao lowered his body even further; from childhood to adulthood, his father, the emperor, had always been supreme in his eyes.

Even my older brother is that kind of person.

But the towering father in his heart had turned white-haired, and his heart ached as if struck by a boulder.

Ying Zheng looked at the two brothers in front of him and said, "Let's go inside the hall to talk."

After speaking, seeing his father walk towards Lin Guang Palace, Fusu led Gao Ye towards Lin Guang Palace as well.

Entering the main hall, after his father sat down, Gao Zai began to recount his achievements in the north and the history he had compiled. He had indeed included the legendary story of King Goujian of Yue in the history book.

In Gao's historical records, everyone has a story, whether it's the arrogant King of Wei or the King of Zhao who listened to slander.

Ying Zheng listened attentively without offering any opinion, and even when the prince's claims were inaccurate or exaggerated, he did not interrupt.

History books are for people to read. In addition to recording what happened in the world, at least now there is a relatively complete set of books that records the events that happened during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

Prince Gao then said, "Your subject also wishes to compile a history book." Gao's history book reached the point of the fall of the six states, and ended after the page on Qin's unification of the world.

After that, Gao wanted to write about things after Qin unified the six states.

After meeting his father, Fusu led Gao out of the main hall.

Gao said again, "Brother, the Spring and Autumn Annals before Qin unified the six states are all written in the books of the various states and passed down orally by people, but I also want to write down what happened after Qin unified the six states."

The events that followed Qin's unification of the six states included the arrival of scholars from Qi and Lu in Qin, the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, the southern and northern expeditions, and various other events.

Or perhaps it concerns the descendants of the six states. Fusu said, "Recently, something has indeed happened that relates to the former people of the six states. After Qin unified the world, Qin always treated the former people of the six states well. As long as they did not rebel against Qin, Qin was willing to let them continue to live. But Xiang Liang still killed Han Zhong..."

Gao said again, "I didn't expect so many things to have happened."

Fusu continued, “These things are all recorded. You can go to the Court of Justice, Feng Jie, to inquire. However, I think you should also look at the common people of the world. This history book should also belong to them.”

He nodded.

By the time they returned to Xianyang, it was already night.

Gao temporarily stayed in the old residence of Lü Buwei. In a few days, he would leave Xianyang to travel to various places to find the descendants of the six states.

Fusu returned to Xianyang Palace, carrying a scroll in his hand, one of the volumes compiled by Gao.

Dinner was very lavish tonight, and after the two children returned, everyone in the palace fawned over them.

After dinner, the two brothers played around at the palace gate.

The palace has many toys, and it's always a mess when they come back.

Wang Tang'er said, "All they do is play as soon as they get back."

He could hear a hint of displeasure in his wife's words.

She was quite happy when the two kids first came back, but after just one meal, she got annoyed.

Fusu was reading a book when he heard Heng laughing loudly, holding a wooden sword. The laughter was like a demonic sound.

Fusu frowned, rubbed his ears, and whispered, "When are they leaving this time?"

Wang Tang'er looked at her two sons who were going crazy outside the hall with displeasure, and said, "They didn't say when they were leaving either."

Upon hearing this, Fusu looked at Tian An beside him and asked, "When did Shusun Tong say he would continue to teach them?"

After thinking for a long time, Tian An replied, "He didn't say."

Fusu glanced at his wife's worried face, then at his two sons who were wildly brandishing their swords, and immediately wrote a letter, saying, "Have someone deliver this to Shusun Tong tonight."

Tian An nodded in agreement.

The next morning, it was still a cold winter morning.

Fusu and his wife woke up early; the people of Gaoquan Palace were used to getting up early.

The two young masters were still asleep in their respective palaces; no one knew where they had developed this habit of being so sleepy.

As a mother, she naturally couldn't bear to see her son like this.

He pulled out his two sleepy sons.

They were still wearing only thin clothes, standing under the eaves shivering in the cold wind.

Wang Tang'er pointed at her two sons and scolded, "What have you learned outside? You're greedy for food, playful, and lazy. Is this what your old teacher taught you?"

The lady's scolding was very loud.

Although the people in the palace felt sorry for the two young masters, no one went up to stop them; they only showed sympathy in their eyes.

"Heng! You're the older brother, yet you're still playing around with Li until late at night. How can you be such a brother?"

“Mother, it’s me…” Li was about to speak up to defend his brother when his mother glared at him and stopped him.

It's already the New Year, and these two young masters are having a tough time on their first day of the new year.

The lady remained a strict mother, and the two children received their first scolding of the new year as soon as they woke up.

Because the young master and his wife's lives were so regular, so regular that their sleep and wake times were almost fixed, and even their meal times were not much different from each other every day.

In the eyes of the palace servants at Takasen-gyu Palace, the prince and his wife had lived an extremely disciplined and stable life for many years.

With the two young masters studying away from home, they inevitably lose the good habits they developed from childhood.

The lady was usually very strict with the two young masters, and this time she was scolded for sleeping too long.

Prince Fusu and his wife have always been strict in their education, which is why their two young sons are so well-behaved.

Finally, the two young masters, dressed neatly, were about to be sent back to Jingye County, because the old master had sent a letter asking them to return.

The young master granted his request after reading the letter.

It seems that the letter the young master wrote yesterday had an effect.

Wang Tang'er returned to her husband's side, her gaze questioning.

Fusu said in a low voice, "I told Shusun Tong that these two children can't recite the Analects."

Wang Tang'er said knowingly, "Of course they can't recite the entire Analects."

Fusu handed the letter to his wife and said, "Shusun Tong's letter is full of self-reproach."

After the two children were dressed in their new clothes, Tian An packed them a full bundle of food and then sent them off.

The letter was actually delivered by Zhang Jing himself. Before dawn, he rushed to Xianyang City with the old master's letter, arriving at the palace gates as soon as the city opened, and had someone hand the letter over.

Now I stand under the palace gate, freezing cold.

Zhang Jing had already returned to Jingye County at night, and had only slept for an hour or two when he was woken up by the old scholar, who hurriedly came to deliver a letter to the young master.

Zhang Jing sniffed in the cold wind and saw two small figures walking out of the palace gate.

……

P.S.: There will be another chapter later, in about half an hour.

(End of this chapter)