The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 250 Return

Chen Ping bowed again, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Prince Fusu's face. This prince should be thirty years old, but he still looked like he was around twenty.

Compared to himself, it's hard to imagine that this young master is already thirty years old; it seems that time has left no trace on him.

In Chen Ping's opinion, some people just don't look old, and the young master is probably one of them.

After Prince Fusu and the Prime Minister left, Chen Ping stood alone in front of the plum trees for a moment, looking back at the two plum trees that had not yet blossomed.

For some reason, upon arriving at the Prime Minister's residence, Chen Ping almost instinctively bowed to the two plum trees. He then reluctantly withdrew his gaze and returned to the front hall of the Prime Minister's residence to find Zhang Cang, the Junior Chamberlain.

At the other end of the Prime Minister's residence, Fusu was seeing his teacher off as he left the palace.

Li Si said, "I congratulate you, my lord, on acquiring Chen Ping."

Fusu said, "It will take some time to refine him. In the future, could Chen Ping be handed over to Prime Minister Feng for arrangements?"

When asked about the Right Chancellor Feng Quji, Li Si thought for a moment and said, "Either is fine."

Chen Ping made a great contribution in capturing Modu Chan, but he was a commoner who advised Zhang Han as a strategist. Only when Prince Fusu recognized his merits could he be promoted to the position of Imperial Censor.

When teaching in rural areas is linked to the selection of officials through examinations, the selection of officials will become more rigorous, and very few people will be able to enter officialdom through exceptional means.

Nowadays, there are only two ways to appoint officials: one is to join the army and be appointed based on merit, and the other is to take an examination.

Chen Ping doesn't want to take either of these paths.

Zhang Han was a good man. If Zhang Han hadn't recommended Chen Ping, Li Si felt that Prince Fusu might not even acknowledge Chen Ping's contributions, and Zhang Han wouldn't have needed to mention Chen Ping in the military report.

In the eyes of powerful figures like Li Si, Chen Ping's current position was only possible because of Zhang Han and Prince Fusu.

Chen Ping is an extremely intelligent person; he is capable of figuring things out.

In other words, the young master's kindness to Chen Ping was actually greater.

Upon reaching the palace gate, Li Si stopped, bowed, and said, "Young master, there's no need to see me off any further."

Fusu smiled and said, "I will still be waiting for you, teacher, at Zhangtai Palace tomorrow morning."

Li Si bowed and took his leave.

After returning to Xianyang, Chen Ping repaid Zhang Fu's kindness by giving Zhang Fu's family a house in Xianyang. If Zhang Fu passed away, Chen Ping would leave the house, observe mourning for Zhang Fu, and then Chen Ping would no longer owe them anything.

Chen Ping can repay some people tenfold, but he can also be ruthless towards others.

After returning to his residence in Xianyang, Chen Ping smiled and told Zhang Fu that he had met Prince Fusu that day.

Zhang Fu, leaning on his cane, looked at his son-in-law with admiration.

The family sat down to eat, and Chen Ping, who was once looked down upon by Zhang Zhong and Zhang Shi, now sat in the seat of honor in the family, and the whole family depended on him.

At night, a curfew was imposed on time in Xianyang City.

And west of Xianyang, near the border of Longxi, lies Chencang.

Zhang Han's troops rested in Chencang County. It would be two more days' journey back, and they were already very close to their home in Shangyan Mountain.

Zhang Ye said, "I've almost forgotten what my brother looks like."

When Zhang Ye left home, he was only four years old, and now he is ten.

Zhang Han missed his son dearly, and they only exchanged letters occasionally. He also heard that Zhang Jing was now living with his two young sons.

With Shusun Tong raising his child and the young master taking such good care of him, Zhang Han felt that his life had been worthwhile. Even if he died on the battlefield, he would have no regrets, as he had no need to worry about his family.

Let the children go back to the carriage to rest early. The wind is biting cold tonight, and we can't travel through the night. We can only stay at the county government office in Chencang County for now.

Inside the county government building, Zhang Han listened to the soldiers' speeches. These men were so eager to return home; how could they not miss their families?
"Come with me to Sichuan, and I will treat you to our Sichuan glutinous rice."

"Is glutinous rice delicious?"

"Our glutinous rice from Sichuan is the most fragrant," the young man said happily. "I come from Jiangyuan County. If you don't believe me, you can go and ask Jiangyuan County in Sichuan about their glutinous rice."

Zhang Han listened to their discussion with a smile. The young man had only recently come to serve in the military, and he mentioned someone who was a volunteer teacher in a rural area.

Unexpectedly, the students who were once sent to teach in rural areas have now joined the army.

The next day, as soon as the sky began to lighten, Chen Ping changed into his official robes early, as it was his first time attending a court meeting.

After making the necessary arrangements, Chen Ping headed towards the palace gate.

That winter was filled with many firsts for Chen Ping.

At this moment, there were no pedestrians on the streets of Xianyang. On the wide streets, Chen Ping could even walk in the middle of the road, which felt great.

As they got closer to the palace gate, figures finally appeared in front of them, followed by more and more figures. Some were walking together in twos and threes, talking, some were standing alone in front of the palace gate, and some were eating.

Chen Ping stood in the crowd without speaking, quietly observing. He heard someone say that their stomach would feel uncomfortable if they didn't eat something in the morning, and others were asking each other about the matters discussed in the court.

Chen Ping stood silently in the crowd.

No one spoke to the newly arrived censor.

Finally, when the sun had fully risen in the east, the palace gates opened.

The crowd that had been discussing the matter fell silent and entered the palace gates one after another.

After entering the palace gates, there was an extremely open plain. In the distance, as far as the eye could see, stood a magnificent palace with the highest stone steps – that was Zhangtai Palace. In the morning, the orange sunlight shone on everyone's faces. The ministers continued their footsteps, but no one spoke. The only sound was the soft, rhythmic patter of their footsteps.

As the weather grew colder, Chen Ping exhaled a breath that turned into a cloud of white mist in the air, as if gathering his courage, and stepped onto the stone steps.

Upon arriving at the palace gate, Chen Ping, like the other officials, removed his shoes and entered the hall.

At first, Chen Ping didn't know where he was.

A man led him to an empty seat among the officials and said, "I am Cheng Miao, and also an imperial censor. From now on, you will sit in this seat during court discussions."

Chen Ping bowed and said, "Thank you."

Cheng Miao added, "There's no need to always bow."

Having secured his position, Chen Ping felt much more at ease. He quietly waited for the court meeting to begin, while the sounds of discussion arose all around him.

They were all discussing whether the emperor would attend the court meeting.

This year, Prince Fusu has presided over most of the court meetings. With the winter solstice just half a month away, the emperor still shows no intention of taking charge of state affairs.

Currently, Prince Fusu is in charge of all affairs of state in this country.

Today, it's highly likely that Prince Fusu will be in charge of state affairs.

At the foot of the stone steps outside Zhangtai Palace, after the officials entered the main hall, Fusu waited at the foot of the steps.

Although the teacher is old, he can still walk up the stone steps. To say he's old... well, he's not really that old.

This morning, Zhang Cang accompanied the teacher as usual.

Fusu bowed and said, "Teacher."

"Son."

Li Si and Zhang Cang bowed together.

Fusu and the Prime Minister walked up the stone steps together, a scene that symbolized national stability and peace.

Such harmony between a prince, the prime minister, and the court officials is unprecedented and should be a celebrated story for the future.

The discussion ceased when Prince Fusu, the Prime Minister, and Zhang Cang, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Household Department, arrived in the main hall.

As Fusu stepped forward, Li Si announced loudly, "The Emperor is unwell, so state affairs will continue to be managed by Prince Fusu."

Everyone bowed in greeting.

After Li Si finished speaking, he went to the officials and put the prince in charge of state affairs.

Li Si knew that the emperor was in good health recently. After the court meeting yesterday, Li Si even saw the emperor riding a horse in the northern suburbs.

This was Chen Ping's first time attending a court meeting, and he was nervous, listening to the discussions with his eyes closed.

The Nine Ministers informed Prince Fusu of various state affairs, and Prince Fusu responded to each one.

One by one, important national affairs were arranged, and the itinerary of General Zhang Han was also mentioned. This general would arrive in Xianyang in a maximum of two days.

Some people also mentioned Grand Commandant Wang, wondering why he hadn't come to court for several days.
The young master said that Grand Commandant Wang was also unwell.

No one mentioned it again.

Afterwards, some people mentioned the southern generals Zhao Tuo and Tu Ju, asking whether they should summon these two great generals back.
But now that these two generals are back, who can replace them?
Some argue that the two generals who marched south had already established their prestige in the south, and that changing generals at this time would be unwise.

Some suggested that the prince send officials to check the power of the two generals.

Then, the censor named Cheng Miao stepped forward and said that the two generals should be given more rewards in order to stabilize the situation in the south.

After listening attentively for a long time, Chen Ping calmed down. If it were him, he would tell Prince Fusu to first bestow titles and rewards upon the two generals in the south to appease the people, and then ask the two generals to send their children to Xianyang.

To accomplish this task, he needed a lobbyist, but Chen Ping didn't want to go south to be one right now. He needed to complete the tax collection task assigned by the young master first.

Moreover, Prince Fusu did not adopt the opinions of many ministers, and the court meeting ended just like that.

Chen Ping was somewhat surprised. Why didn't the young master adopt one of the suggestions? But then he thought that the young master was wise. The young master could choose not to make a choice, because choosing would lead to a mistake, but by not choosing anyone, he would not make a mistake.

Thinking of this, Chen Ping felt ashamed of his narrow-mindedness. How could he think of the young master like that? The young master must have a better way.

As soon as Chen Ping and the others stepped out of Zhangtai Palace, he put on his boots. He had only taken two steps when he heard voices behind him.

"Chen Ping?"

Chen Ping stopped and turned around to bow.

"No need for formalities. The Prime Minister's residence has many tax records, which you need to organize today."

It was Zhang Cang who spoke. He continued, "As an imperial censor, the young master has ordered you to assist in investigating taxes. You must compile everything today and inform the young master of the results by tomorrow at the latest."

Chen Ping replied sternly, "Yes."

Afterwards, Chen Ping followed Zhang Cang to the Prime Minister's residence. When he saw the stack of files as tall as a person, he was speechless for a long time.

Zhang Cang had a table brought over and said, "Don't worry, the Prime Minister's residence has plenty of writing materials. Just hand over each scroll you've finished recording."

(End of this chapter)