[Various] The Deposed Crown Prince's Survival Story

Within half an hour, news spread throughout the Xianyang Palace that the eldest son, who had been missing for a month, had returned.

"Have you heard? The eldest son is back."

"I've heard about it! I've heard that the eldest prince rode such a huge white-browed tiger with drooping eyes, appearing at the gate of the Xianyang Palace like a celestial being descending to earth. He majestically shouted to the guards at the gate, 'I am Fusu, the eldest prince of the Great Qin Dynasty. Who dares to stop me?' Then the tiger beneath him roared to the sky, startling half of Xianyang City."

"What's this? Do you know? Not only did the eldest young master return safely, but he also looks completely different. He's now imposing and incredibly handsome. If he weren't so young, I'd want to..."

"Yes, the eldest son is really handsome. I used to think that the most handsome young man in the palace was the second young master and the most beautiful princess was the fifth princess. Now I know... my heart is in turmoil."

Do you know why the eldest son has become like this?

"why?"

"You know? Tell us quickly, what exactly happened?"

"I heard that the eldest young master encountered a deity on the mountain."

"Gods? Gods really exist? How could there be gods in this world?"

"How could there be no immortals? Think about it, how could a child like the eldest son have survived alone on the mountain for a month if he hadn't encountered immortals? How could he have subdued such a big tiger and become so handsome in the end?"

“I believe it! I heard it when I was a child that after taking the medicine of the immortals, not only can you be young again and live forever, but you can also get rid of your mortal body and rebuild your immortal body. Don’t you think the current young master looks like a little golden boy by the side of an immortal?”

With the encouragement and encouragement of certain individuals, the news of Fusu's encounter with immortals in the mountains spread wider and wider, gradually flowing from the Xianyang Palace to the common people of Qin, and then from the common people of Qin to other countries.

This strange event sparked a great deal of discussion and conflicting opinions. Some even wrote anecdotes based on the story, while others, including the "novelists" of the Hundred Schools of Thought, created their own versions.

I reckon it won't be long before we hear the folk songs from the Book of Songs related to this fairy tale.

After all, the Ying family has produced many legendary figures; the story of Princess Nongyu riding a dragon is still circulating among the people.

Meanwhile, the central figure in the gossip, the resurrected little golden boy Fusu, was sitting in front of a huge table made up of several desks. His expression was painful, his eyes were troubled, and his bottom kept twitching, showing that he was restless and wanted to run away at any moment.

"Why is your butt twitching like that? Is it itchy because your mother hasn't hit you? If your butt is itchy, let your father give you a good spanking." Ying Zheng sneered and waved his five fingers in front of Fusu.

Fusu silently lowered his head. Spanking didn't hurt, but it was embarrassing to do it in front of his sister.

"My mother is the best. She never hits me."

"But Mother would rather beat me. Anyway, she's weak and soft-hearted. She'll start crying after a couple of hits."

"Little sister, come back quickly. Mother's love is too strong, and I can't bear it alone."

As Fusu was muttering his complaints, he heard a series of orderly footsteps outside the door.

Upon hearing this, Fusu immediately perked up, straightened his back, pulled in his stomach, and put on a serious face.

As soon as Mi Ji walked in, she saw Fu Su looking like this.

At first, when Ying Zheng told her that the boy who looked like a celestial child was Fusu, Mi Ji refused to believe it. She felt that Ying Zheng was insulting her intelligence—even if he wanted to find a fake person to comfort her, he should at least find someone who looked somewhat like him, or at least a chubby little boy.

But as soon as Fusu spoke, Mi Yan knew that the handsome boy in front of her was her own child. Just as his face had changed, his expression and actions when he spoke were clearly those of her precious son.

Besides Fusu, what other child could be so well-behaved, cute, lively, intelligent, sensible, naughty, and troublesome?

A mother's eyes always spot on her child; personality disorders are not the point at all.

"Su'er, look how thin you've become. Your mother will cook for you herself to nourish you properly." Mi Ji sat down next to Fu Su, lovingly stroking Fu Su's head and smiling gently as she spoke.

"Thank you, Mother." Fusu smiled, but her voice sounded like she was about to cry.

Mi Ji covered her mouth and smiled, exchanged a glance with Ying Zheng on the other side, and then clapped her hands three times.

Upon hearing the applause, two rows of palace maids, each carrying a wooden tray, filed in with small, quick steps.

The palace maids placed the dishes from the wooden trays onto the table in front of Fusu one by one, then bowed and withdrew. The whole process was quiet and silent, demonstrating their high level of professionalism.

Ying Zheng gave Mi Ji an approving look. Mi Ji lowered her head and smiled slightly. She picked up the chopsticks on the table and personally served Fu Su several dishes. As she served, she said in a particularly gentle voice, "Su'er, these are all made by your mother. You must eat more. Look at you, you've gotten so thin... Children are cuter when they're a little chubby. Eat more vegetables and get a little fatter."

"Waaah..." Fusu looked at Mi Ji with a pained expression, then turned to Ying Zheng with pleading eyes as he looked at her gentle yet unyielding gaze.

Ying Zheng suddenly stood up and said, "I will go and see Hehua."

Watching Ying Zheng's dashing departure, Fusu bit his lower lip, tears welling up in his eyes. What happened to the trust between people? Didn't they agree to be father and son for life?

"Su'er, stop looking. Even if your father or your grandmother came, they couldn't save you." Mi Ji stroked the back of Fusu's head, picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks, and said with a smile.

To be fair, while Mi Ji wasn't a master chef, her cooking skills weren't bad. As a princess sent for a political marriage, cooking was a compulsory course in the lessons they learned about vying for favor and palace intrigue. Even the least skilled princess could still cook a few signature dishes.

only……

Fusu looked around and saw boiled bitter greens, boiled okra, boiled lamb's quarters, boiled... basically any vegetable you could think of that was available in the Qin market, and it was all laid out on the table in front of him. The cooking method was also very simple: put in water, put in the vegetables, add some salt when it was done, and then... and that was it.

Not only is it a table full of effeminate dishes that Fusu doesn't like, but it's all cooked in bland, watery broth. Is this even fit for human consumption? Mother, are you sure you cooked this so that I would gain more weight? What grudge do you hold against me?

It's better to offend a gentleman than a petty person; it's better to offend a man than a woman.

Looking at Mi Ji's gentle, smiling face, Fu Su closed his eyes in despair, and with the courage of a warrior cutting off his own arm, put a piece of bitter vegetable into his mouth...

Mi Ji ate boiled dishes for several months, ruining Fu Su's weight gain plan. After several months, when Fu Su started to gain weight again with meat to eat, he found that his muscles had already memorized his current figure.

That's a story for another time, so let's leave it at that.

While many were happy about Fusu's resurrection, many others gritted their teeth, wishing they could rush up and forcibly stuff Fusu into that empty coffin.

Whether happy or angry, to celebrate the resurrection of the eldest son and to introduce the "new" eldest son to everyone, Ying Zheng held a grand banquet in Xianyang Palace.

When the child dressed in a black robe followed Ying Zheng into the main hall, everyone in the hall was stunned.

Although everyone has heard the story of "the eldest son dying and coming back to life, turning into a little golden boy", most people, except for a few close ministers, have never seen Fusu after he lost weight.

In their impression, the eldest son was a little mischievous but smart and polite... Big white meatball. Although you can praise the eldest son for his plump and auspicious appearance, no amount of praise can hide the fact that he is fat.

Of Ying Zheng's sons, the most handsome was undoubtedly the second son, Gao. But after seeing the eldest son again today, the ministers realized what "truly handsome" meant.

To use the simplest analogy, when the eldest son walks down the street, countless people can't help but turn around to look at him; but when the eldest son walks down the street, countless people will bump into trees.

The crowd couldn't think of any exaggerated words to describe Fusu's appearance. They thought that words like "handsome and elegant," "like an immortal," and "bright and spirited" were too flamboyant and empty. Most importantly, they couldn't perfectly describe Fusu's appearance. After thinking it over, they realized that only the word "beautiful" could perfectly describe their feelings.

After the banquet, the fat men of Xianyang began to regard Fusu as their idol, believing that Fusu had given them a chance to vent their anger.

The fat man was no longer ashamed or sad, and opened his arms to greet the rising sun.

Half of the fat people started to take Fusu as their goal and painstakingly tried to lose weight; while the other half of the fat people continued to eat and drink, and when others complained, "How can you get married when you're so fat?" they shouted, "So what if I'm fat? I'll be a beauty after I lose weight. Please let me be fat for a while longer."

The news that the fat man had transformed into a handsome young man caused a sensation not only in Xianyang City but also among the children in Xianyang Palace.

Ying Zheng had many children. Apart from a few who rose to high positions and received great favor, giving birth to sons and princesses in succession, most of the princes and princesses had different birth mothers. These princes and princesses usually lived with their birth mothers, and were served and played with by their own wet nurses and palace maids.

Apart from a few siblings who had a close relationship and would occasionally play together, the princes and princesses had almost no time or opportunity to spend together except for being summoned by Ying Zheng, taking exams, or attending grand banquets in the palace. Therefore, their relationship was not even as close as that of siblings, let alone neighbors.

To exaggerate a bit, apart from Fusu, the other princes and princesses couldn't even recognize all their brothers and sisters.

Conversely, this means that all of Ying Zheng's children, except for a few who were too young to understand, frequently had to interact with Fusu.