The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 111 Heavy Rain
After the banquet, Wang Ben thought his father would go home, but he waited in front of the palace gate until late at night and his father did not come out.

It's already April, but it's still quite cold late at night.

Before long, a palace attendant rushed in to report, bowing and saying, "The young master said that Duke Pinyang stayed at Gaoquan Palace today."

Having received the words, Wang Ben led several prepared servants toward his home.

The next day, while Duke Pinyang was still asleep, many people stood waiting outside the palace. When Duke Pinyang woke up, a group of eunuchs and palace maids performed their respective duties, handing over clothes, bringing hot water, and some even brought combs and hair ornaments, totaling more than ten people.

Wang Jian asked, "Is this always like this here?"

Granny Wang stood to the side and explained, "This was all ordered by Attendant Tian."

Wang Jian sat on the couch, not in a hurry to get dressed, but let out a long sigh and said, "Oh dear, I'm troubling you again, young master."

"Young Master said to treat Duke Pinyang well."

Wang Jian looked around again, then slapped his hand on the couch and clicked his tongue, saying, "Send someone to deliver a message, and tell them to come and take this old man back after noon."

It is said that Wang Jian built a magnificent mansion in Pingyang, and the old man was so content to live there that he refused to leave.

After Wang Jian finished dressing and washing up, he went outside the palace.

There was little movement outside the palace at this moment; it was very quiet. The eunuchs and palace maids stood in their respective positions, seemingly waiting for instructions.

Wang Jian walked to the back hall and saw his granddaughter and her three-day-old baby, and held her in his arms.

"grandfather."

Hearing his granddaughter's words, Wang Jian chuckled and said, "Oh my, this child looks so robust."

Fusu sat by the fishpond, reading a book.

Tian An was looking at the fish in the pond, examining them closely. However, Tian An's eyes were red, probably because he had cried for a long time last night.

The sunlight had just shone from the east, falling directly on Wang Jian, whose hair and beard were white, and on the face of the baby in swaddling clothes.

After last night's banquet, there are still two days of rest for the court.

Seeing that Duke Pinyang had also woken up, Tian An said, "Breakfast is ready for today."

"Okay, let's eat first."

Upon hearing the young master's words, Tian An had the food brought in.

Bowls of noodles were brought in, and Wang Jian said with a smile, "Li Si often says how delicious the food you send to Zhangtai Palace is."

Tian An served the noodles one by one.

Wang Jian took a bite of noodles and a sip of soup, then nodded and said, "It's delicious. How is this mutton soup made?"

Tian An smiled but didn't say anything more.

Fusu placed a piece of mutton on the old man's plate and asked, "How have you been lately?"

Wang Jian lowered his head and said, "These are all chronic illnesses that have been accumulating for years and cannot be cured. I'll live one day at a time and hope to die soon."

Upon hearing this and seeing his granddaughter's displeased expression, Wang Jian changed his words, saying, "Live one more day at a time."

After the meal, Tian An cleaned up the dishes.

Watching his granddaughter leave with the child, and the young master also going to the front hall, Wang Jian looked at Tian An in front of him and said, "I still remember when Empress Dowager Huayang was alive, you protected the Empress Dowager and the young Prince Fusu."

Tian An gazed at the blue sky in the morning, the sky at its bluest at this time, and said in a low voice, "I also remember how you led your troops into Xianyang back then."

Wang Jian chuckled and said, "I was young back then."

Tian An and Wang Jian were contemporaries, and they had a lot in common when they sat together.

“Back then, all those who looked down on the King of Qin died,” Tian An said slowly. “Only you did not show the slightest contempt; you held the King of Qin in high esteem.”

Wang Jian nodded with a smile.

Back then, the First Emperor was still a young King of Qin. At that time, many people thought he was just a child with no power and no one to rely on.

This very child stormed into Xianyang, became the King of Qin, and later unified the six kingdoms.

Wang Jian stayed at Gaoquan Palace for half a day.

No matter how much Fusu tried to persuade him to stay, the old man insisted on leaving.

Wang Jian got into the carriage, not looking at his granddaughter, but waving his hand impatiently before getting into the carriage.

The coachman drove the carriage out of the palace.

Fusu stood there to see him off. The old man's temper became more and more eccentric with age; he was indeed an unfathomable person.

During the days when he was free from court duties, Cheng Miao would still often come to the Prime Minister's residence to sit. In fact, he was not required to be on duty every day; he probably had nowhere else to go.

Today, Cheng Miao saw a scroll on the young master's seat. When he opened the scroll, he found records about the calendar and solar terms. The twenty-four solar terms surprised Cheng Miao, but that was all he found surprising.

Cheng Miao didn't look at it any further and put the file back in its original place.

Before long, Zhang Cang also arrived at the Prime Minister's residence.

Cheng Miao hesitated and said, "Why do you reek of alcohol?"

Zhang Cang replied, "I was drinking at the Shao Fu Ling's residence last night, and there were quite a few beauties there. Why didn't you come?"

Cheng Miao suddenly realized that Wang Ben must be very happy to have a grandson, and belatedly remarked, "Many beauties?"

Zhang Cang said, "Yes, Wang Ben likes beautiful women."

During the court recess, not only was the Zhangtai Palace celebrating, but Wang Ben's residence was also filled with guests.

Zhang Cang added, "Even Zhang Han sent five cartloads of wheat to Wang Ben."

Cheng Miao asked curiously, "Wang Ben accepted it?"

“They accepted it.” Zhang Cang recalled, “Zhang Han carried those sacks of grain into Wang Ben’s residence, saying that the wheat from Weinan was the best in Guanzhong.”

Cheng Miao nodded without commenting, but based on his years of experience eating wheat cakes, he concluded that the wheat from Weinan was indeed the best.

Seeing that there was no one else in the Prime Minister's residence, Zhang Cang sat down, opened a scroll of bamboo slips, picked up a brush and was about to write when he said, "The Prime Minister has gone to Zhangtai Palace."

Cheng Miao whispered, "Are they really going to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai?"

Zhang Cang sighed, "Some people want the First Emperor to become the Son of Heaven of Zhou, but the Prime Minister will not, and neither will the First Emperor."

Cheng Miao sighed with emotion.

Both the First Emperor and Li Si understood that if they truly pleased the scholars of Qi and Lu, the land that the Qin Dynasty had conquered over generations would have been lost in vain.

The First Emperor and Li Si would never do such a thing. Therefore, the prefecture-county system would never be changed. They would implement the prefecture-county system to the end and would not allow the six states to be restored.

If the Qilu scholar could persuade the First Emperor, the Qilu scholar would gain merit, but the blood of six generations of Qin soldiers would have been shed in vain.

Whenever he thought of this, Cheng Miao would put down his pen and feel extremely uncomfortable.

In the remaining days, people heard that Chancellor Li Si visited the First Emperor at Zhangtai Palace several times. Just half a month after the beginning of spring, an imperial edict arrived at Zhangtai Palace, ordering the casting of ritual vessels for the Fengshan ceremony.

The debate over the Fengshan ceremony, which lasted for nearly three years, finally ended with an edict from the First Emperor. The First Emperor accepted the proposal to perform the Fengshan ceremony, but made no mention of the scholars from Qi and Lu or the old nobles of the six states.

Fusu was reading a book at Lü Buwei's old residence in Xianyang when Tian An hurried over carrying a scroll of bamboo slips. He said, "Young Master, this was sent by the Prime Minister."

Fusu put down the book in his hand and took the bamboo slips that Tian An handed him.

After reading it, he put the bamboo scroll away and asked, "Instruct Wang Shaofu to arrange for people to repair the Xiaohan Road and the Qilu Highway."

The fact that the First Emperor issued an edict to cast sacrificial vessels for the Fengshan ceremony indicates that the Fengshan ceremony was now officially established. However, the First Emperor would not announce to the world when he would ascend Mount Tai.

Fusu received the route drawn up by the Prime Minister, which was the route the First Emperor would take to reach Mount Tai. It went from Xianyang to Luoyang, then to Mount Yi, and after Mount Yi came Mount Tai.

The route was simple, and the transportation of provisions and supplies was once again entrusted to this young master.

After taking a few books from Lü Buwei's residence, Fusu left and went straight to Zhangtai Palace after returning to the palace.

Inside the main hall of Zhangtai Palace, Ying Zheng stood on a map spread out on the ground. This map was a defensive line map of the Great Wall. The First Emperor's gaze was majestic, as if he were searching for which pass the Xiongnu might enter the heart of the Central Plains.

Upon seeing his son, Ying Zheng's expression relaxed considerably. He said, "Meng Tian appreciated your suggestion and has ordered people to stockpile grain at the beacon towers."

Fusu said, "Your subject also learned this method from many military books."

Ying Zheng placed the oil lamp aside and said in a low voice, "Did Li Si tell you about the Fengshan ceremony?"

Fusu nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I have instructed the Minister of the Imperial Household Department to send people to repair the roads."

"Li Si told me that to unify the people of the six states, we must perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai. Only in this way can the world remember that the world has been unified again."

Fusu listened quietly with his head down.

Ying Zheng then asked, "Tell me, after I perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, will those scholars from Qi and Lu still gossip about me?"

Fusu replied, "Your subject dares not say that those scholars will not discuss this anymore, but Han Fei once said that the wise are not perplexed, the benevolent are not worried, and the brave are not afraid."

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng suddenly smiled.

Seeing that his father did not reply, Fusu stood aside in silence.

Ying Zheng turned his gaze away from the map, sat down, looked at the sky outside the hall, and asked, "Have any skeletons been unearthed from the Jingye Canal?"

"We dug out some more, but they were all fragmented. Some of them may have fallen into the ditch and been washed away by the water."

"Fusu, do you think governing the world is difficult?"

"Disaster."

Hearing his son's quick reply, Ying Zheng said, "Climb Mount Tai with me."

Fusu bowed and said, "Your subject obeys."

A palace maid brought over some millet cakes. Ying Zheng picked up a piece, put it in his mouth, and chewed it, saying, "Li Si told me that those scholars from Qi and Lu should not participate in the ceremony, and the Zhou rites should not be used."

Fusu replied, "What the Prime Minister says is correct."

"Hehe..." Ying Zheng chuckled again and said, "If it were you, you would have killed those Qi and Lu scholars long ago."

Without a doubt, these words were spoken by the Prime Minister to the Emperor.

Spring was short again this year, and thunder rumbled after summer arrived. Tian An raised a flock of sheep in Lü Buwei's old house. The donkey that used to pull the millstone was still there, and it was said that the donkey was now very fat.

By July, when summer was approaching, Tian An had slaughtered the sheep, made soup from the sheep bones, and minced the mutton into meat filling.

The four-month-old Prince Heng liked to crawl around the palace, and he was often followed by many people. The people in the palace were afraid that the little prince would fall or get hurt.

Today is the Beginning of Summer, and Fusu plans to make some dumplings and steamed buns.

Cooking is another hobby of the young master. There is a kind of old dough raised by the young master in Gaoquan Palace. In fact, the old dough is simple. It is mainly fermented with yeast.

It's rare that the young master has nothing to do lately, so he spent half a day making several baskets of dumplings and buns.

As the dumplings were being cooked, Fusu asked, "Are the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Imperial Household still at Zhangtai Palace?"

"Reporting to Young Master, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department has completed the repairs of the Qi-Lu Highway and only returned today. He is still reporting to the Zhangtai Palace."

Once the dumplings were cooked, Fusu took out a pot of vinegar, which was old vinegar brought by people from Wei back then.

Gongzi Heng climbed onto the table. The child wanted to eat dumplings, but his wife picked him up and wouldn't let him eat them.

Fusu and Tian An carried food boxes to Zhangtai Palace. Today, thunder rumbled in the sky, and dark clouds covered Xianyang City. The thunder continued, but not a drop of rain fell.

This kind of rain either doesn't fall at all, or when it does, it's a sudden and heavy downpour.

Fusu walked to the outside of Zhangtai Palace and met Prime Minister Li Si, Wang Ben and his father the emperor. He could also faintly hear voices from inside the palace.

"Let's enter the hall."

Upon hearing this, Fusu carried a food box into the palace.

The food box was opened to reveal steaming buns and dumplings. Fusu first placed a plate of mutton dumplings and a plate of mutton buns in front of his father, and then poured a small bowl of vinegar.

Then he also served two dishes to his father-in-law and the prime minister.

Ying Zheng ate the dumplings with great curiosity and even looked at the meat filling.

Li Si asked, "My lord, how is this kind of food made?"

Seeing the steamed buns in the Prime Minister's hand, Fusu explained, "It's just a hobby I have in my spare time. Please forgive my ignorance, teacher."

Wang Ben said, "Young Master's hobbies are quite remarkable. If the common people could have more food, it would be a blessing for the world."

The First Emperor said he would cast sacrificial vessels, but he didn't say when he would ascend Mount Tai. However, the sacrificial vessels for the Fengshan ceremony were completed about half a year ago and have already been sent to Mount Tai.

These matters were all arranged by Fusu himself, but what he heard outside the palace was about the old Grand Commandant, who was too old to handle state affairs anymore.

However, the position of Grand Commandant could not remain vacant, as the First Emperor had not yet decided who should take charge of the position.

If Meng Tian had remained in the north to guard the Great Wall, the position of Grand Commandant would most likely have gone to Wang Ben, whose military achievements were high enough.

This matter was also related to him, Fusu knew that as long as Wang Ben became Grand Commandant and ranked among the Three Dukes.

The position of Shaofu Ling (Minister of the Imperial Household) would be his own. He would be promoted to one of the Nine Ministers and participate in national construction. The power that was previously held by Wang Ben would also fall into his own hands, including the construction of the Qin Emperor's Mausoleum and the Great Wall.

The position of Shaofu (Minister of the Imperial Household) was ranked among the Nine Ministers. It allowed officials to report directly to the First Emperor and also to oversee the allocation of land resources and their usage rights.

Ying Zheng ate a steamed bun and said, "After the summer harvest this year, I will go to Lu."

Upon hearing this, Li Si and Wang Ben quickly stood up and bowed.

Fusu looked outside the palace. A flash of lightning appeared outside, and a torrential downpour followed. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; the heavy rain had finally stopped.

A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the hall, and the roar of heavy rain entered the hall, bringing a brief respite from the summer heat.

Fusu then took out a bamboo scroll, placed it in front of Li Si, and bowed, saying, "Prime Minister, this is the 100,000 shi of grain that was owed back then. The 100,000 shi of wheat from Longxi has been transported to Xianyang."

(End of this chapter)