Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Wang Wan took a deep breath, suppressing the anger surging in her chest, but her voice still carried a hint of gritted teeth:

"Guanchi is currently imprisoned in the Court of Justice, watched day and night by Li Si's men. If you lay a finger on him, you're giving Li Si leverage. Do you think our father and son haven't been thoroughly exposed yet?!"

Wang Ke shrank back, muttering a reply he dared not utter a sound.

Wang Wan glared at him, growing angrier with each word:

"And another thing! Your father told you to act discreetly, to only place a few men in front of the Zhisu Neishi Temple, and to stop there. But you went and sent so many people to the Baiwusi Temple, which alerted the enemy and made Zhou Wenqing suspicious, causing him to expose the matter prematurely!"

His voice deepened: "Now that this matter has been exposed prematurely, causing a huge uproar, we're caught completely off guard. How foolish you are!"

Wang Ke's face turned pale, and he stammered:

"Son... I just wanted to share your burden... Zhou Wenqing is currently enjoying the Emperor's favor, and only a few lowly commoners have frozen to death. I'm afraid that won't be enough to shake him. I also thought that he's in charge of the Bureau of Hundreds of Items. If we could bring down that fellow Li Si as well, wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone? That's why... I took it upon myself to arrange for more people..."

"You want to drag Li Si into this too?!"

Wang Wan was so angry that his beard trembled. He slammed his hand on the table, making the teacups clink and rattle.

"Don't you have any idea what you're capable of, and what Li Si is capable of?!"

Wang Ke was thoroughly angered by the barrage of insults. Somewhat resentful, he quietly pursed his lips and muttered:

"Your son meant well... Father, you always frown and become displeased when this man is mentioned at home. This Li Si is always going against you, Father, yet you have never laid a hand on him. He is so ungrateful, your son is indignant on your behalf!"

"And then Zhou Wenqing arrives. They come from the same background. Why should we attack him, but not Li Si as well?"

"you--!"

Wang Wan pointed at him, her fingers trembling, and it took her a long time to catch her breath:

"Young and impetuous, utterly arrogant!"

Looking at his son's still resentful face, he could only grit his teeth and explain to this clueless child, word by word, in a clear and detailed way:

"In the imperial court, one must be cautious and proceed with utmost care; how can one make enemies carelessly?"

"If Li Si is still highly valued by the king, it is only natural for him to be promoted. No matter how high he rises, he is still just a lone minister with no foundation. He can't threaten us, let alone cause any trouble."

"But Zhou Wenqing is different!"

Wang Wan's gaze suddenly sharpened:

"This person clearly hates our meritorious aristocracy. Those papers, those patents—aren't they all aimed at our very foundation?"

"I have a premonition that he has other tricks up his sleeve. Each of those tricks is designed to undermine our foundations and dig us out bit by bit. The best course of action is to eliminate this threat before it fully unfolds!"

He paused, staring into Wang Ke's eyes:

"Li Si? What is Li Si? How can he compare to Zhou Wenqing?!"

It's a pity Zhou Wenqing isn't here, otherwise he would definitely be shocked by the old man's sensitivity.

He had only amassed some wealth from the nobility, and with the addition of paper and patent rights, he had already shown some promise. His accompanying movable type printing technology was still hidden and hadn't been revealed yet, but it had already been discovered!

Wang Ke turned pale after being scolded. His lips moved, but he didn't dare to talk back.

Wang Wan sighed deeply. Seeing that her son was only now realizing what was happening, the anger she had been suppressing resurfaced.

"You think you can sway him by sending more people? Foolish! I've been navigating the court for decades, when have I ever miscalculated like this? How could I have given birth to such a brainless wretch!"

He closed his eyes briefly, his voice lowering:

"Now look what's happened! Not only has he escaped being smeared, but he's used this incident to wash away all his filth. And my Wang family? We're being watched by countless eyes right now. One wrong move and we're doomed!"

Wang Ke was completely speechless this time.

When Wang Wan opened her eyes again, the sharpness in her gaze was gone, replaced by a deep weariness and alertness.

"That's enough, it's too late to say anything more."

He stared at Wang Ke, speaking slowly and deliberately:

"You absolutely must not make any rash moves with Guanchi. Be careful with your words and actions these next few days, and keep a low profile. If they can't find any clues, they'll have to suppress it. Once things calm down, His Majesty will surely remember my diligence over the years and let it go. Do you understand?"

Wang Ke nodded repeatedly, afraid that if he nodded too slowly he would be scolded again:

"Yes, yes, yes! I understand! I will definitely not touch him, absolutely not!"

Wang Wan waved her hand, as if shooing away a fly.

Wang Ke felt as if he had been granted a pardon and bowed as he withdrew.

The moment the door closed, Wang Wan leaned back in her chair and remained motionless for a long time.

------

A few more days passed.

Zhou Wenqing was pinned down in a side hall by Physician Lü, who pricked him with needles countless times and poured bowl after bowl of medicinal soup down his throat. His whole being reeked of herbs—he himself smelled like a walking, sentient medicinal dreg.

Finally, after Physician Lü examined his wrist repeatedly, looked him up and down, and finally nodded reluctantly, Zhou Wenqing was released back to the Zhou residence as he wished.

Ying Zheng was still uneasy, fearing that Zhou Wenqing had not yet recovered, and worried that Zhou Wenqing would feel guilty and leave behind resentment if the matter of the heated kang was not thoroughly resolved.

After much thought, he decided to have Fusu move in with his teacher so that he could take care of him and remind him of things at all times.

Fusu accepted the order and moved into the Zhou residence that very day.

There's not much to pack, as the Zhou family already has a room for him, complete with clothes for all seasons and daily necessities. All he needs to do is organize his books.

On his first day back home, Zhou Wenqing did not rest.

Although he did not attend court, he made some preparations and went straight to the Imperial Household Department early in the morning—the accumulated official duties of these days had piled up like a mountain, and if he lay down any longer, the mountain might collapse and bury him.

It wasn't until dusk that he returned home, travel-worn and carrying a stack of official documents, so thick they could kill someone.

In the study.

Zhou Wenqing sat behind his desk, surrounded by piles of unfinished documents. He rubbed his temples, sighed, and picked up his pen to begin reviewing them.

Fusu and Azhu sat opposite him.

The two children also had things to take care of. In the past few days, they had been delayed, and their schoolwork, the progress of the heated brick bed, and the documents sent from various places had also piled up. Each of them had a small stack in front of them and they were busy working on them.

However, he was clearly too busy to concentrate.

As Ah-Zhu was writing, his pen stopped. He secretly raised his eyes and glanced at his teacher. Seeing that his teacher wasn't paying attention, he quickly lowered his head again, pretending to look at what was in front of him. But after a short while, his gaze drifted over there again.

Fusu was more reserved than him. He sat upright, his pen never stopping, but every now and then, his peripheral vision would dart to the side, landing on the gentleman's profile, pausing for a moment, before returning to his own.

It was repeated several times.

Zhou Wenqing finally sighed and put down his pen.

"Fusu, Azhu."

Both children looked up at the same time.

Do you have any questions to ask?

"No!" they said in unison, as quickly as if they had rehearsed it beforehand.

Zhou Wenqing raised an eyebrow, his gaze slowly sweeping across the two faces: "Really not?"

Fusu pursed his lips, gripping the pen tightly in his hand. After hesitating for a long while, he finally spoke softly:

"Really...no, it's just..."

He looked up at Zhou Wenqing, his eyes filled with worry.

"Sir, are you feeling better? You've just gotten back and you're already so busy. Are you alright? Would you... like to take a rest?"

"Yes, sir, actually I...we can...maybe we can be of some help..."

As Ah-Zhu finished speaking, his voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible.

Zhou Wenqing paused for a moment, looking at Azhu's cautious gaze, at Fusu's tightly pursed lips, and at the unease and helplessness that he couldn't hide in his eyes.

His heart suddenly trembled.

He was negligent.

Even as an adult, he was still troubled by this incident and couldn't sleep at night, let alone the two children.

Zhou Wenqing put down his pen, his voice unconsciously softening slightly:

"Fusu, Azhu, come here and let the doctor take a look."

"teacher!"

Ah Zhu took the lead, tilting his little face up, his eyes red, but he desperately held back his tears. Fu Su stood beside him, pursing his lips and not speaking, the darkness in his eyes hidden even deeper and heavier.

Zhou Wenqing reached out and gently put his arms around their small shoulders, one in each hand.

"Were you scared?"

Ah Zhu shook his head vigorously, then nodded, and finally buried his face in Zhou Wenqing's sleeve, saying in a muffled voice:

"Sir... I was terrified when you collapsed that day..."

Fusu didn't speak, but moved half an inch closer to his teacher.

Zhou Wenqing lowered his eyes, gently patted Azhu's back, and said softly:

"Don't worry, it's all over now. Sir is fine, isn't he? Everything's alright."

"Besides, after today, everything will be settled..."

He paused, lowered his head to conceal the fleeting cold glint in his eyes, and when he looked up again, his face was adorned with a gentle smile:

"So there's no need to worry, right?"

Zhou Wenqing's voice was as gentle as ever, but Fusu suddenly raised his head the moment his words fell.

The darkness in those eyes was deeper and heavier than before.

"Sir!" His voice was somewhat dry, unlike his usual clear and gentle tone.

"I...I'm sorry, sir, it was me...did I...do something wrong?"

Zhou Wenqing frowned slightly: "Hmm?"

Fusu lowered his eyes, pursed his lips again and again, and finally spoke the words that had been weighing on his heart:

"Sir, if it weren't for me... if I hadn't failed to explain things clearly to those people, if I hadn't forcefully compelled them to build the kang (heated brick bed), if I had been able to discover beforehand where those people who had been persuaded to leave had gone..."

"Is it...is it just..."

He didn't finish speaking.

But Zhou Wenqing heard clearly what was left unsaid.

—Would that mean there wouldn't be any people freezing to death?

—Wouldn't the gentleman never fall down?

He looked at Fusu's reddened eyes and his tightly clenched fists, and his heart sank.

Ugh.

Is this child under too much pressure?

From the moment the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) was introduced, Fusu never had a moment's rest. He learned how to build it, visited homes, verified information, supervised construction, and persuaded others. He braved the wind and snow to make trip after trip, and when he came back, he still had to deal with the backlog of homework and official documents. He did such a good job that Zhou Wenqing almost forgot that he was only nine years old.

A nine-year-old child should be playing carefree, at most being chased by his teacher to recite a few texts. But what about Fusu?

He explained himself to countless people who doubted and resisted him; he forced those who did not believe him to build kang beds; and he personally witnessed and cared for the frostbitten disaster victims time and time again.

then……

He watched as his husband collapsed.

He learned of those people's despicable and dirty methods.

In the end, he took all the blame upon himself.

This child is getting stuck on something!

How can that be?!