[Various] The Deposed Crown Prince's Survival Story

After the fall of the Wei Kingdom, its ruler was taken back to Xianyang, and the army returned to the capital. Fusu naturally followed them back to Xianyang as well.

To welcome back his meritorious minister, Ying Zheng personally went to Hangu Pass to welcome Wang Ben's army back to the capital.

Everyone envied Wang Ben's good fortune in gaining the king's trust. It seemed that after Wang Jian resigned, Wang Ben would be the next key figure in the Qin army.

Only Wang Ben himself knew that the king hadn't come to pick him up at all; he had come to pick up his son. Ever since he called the eldest son in, the king's eyes had been glued to the eldest son, and he had no eyes on anyone else.

Wang Ben suddenly felt superfluous and an eyesore.

Wang Ben took his leave, leaving only Ying Zheng and Fusu in the tent.

Ying Zheng looked Fusu up and down, whom he hadn't seen for nearly two years. He saw that his son had not only grown much taller, but also that the childishness on his face had been replaced by composure and calmness. He was overjoyed and smiled approvingly, "Su'er has grown up."

"Father." Fusu skipped forward, hugged Ying Zheng's arms, and looked Ying Zheng up and down, comparing their heights with his hands. A hint of frustration appeared on his handsome face. "Why am I still not as tall as Father?"

"Hahahaha!" Hearing Fusu's slightly coquettish voice, Ying Zheng couldn't help but burst into laughter.

With Ying Zheng's laughter, the slight estrangement between Ying Zheng and his son Fusu, caused by their two-year separation, vanished instantly.

“Su’er, you’re only fourteen. If you want to grow as tall as your father, it will take at least another four or five years.” Ying Zheng placed his hand on Fusu’s head, palm down, and then moved his hand toward his own body, all the way to… his navel. He nodded in satisfaction and said with a smile, “You’re this tall.”

"Father! How could Su'er be so short? You've gone too far!" Fusu instantly bristled, placing his hand on his head, palm down, and moving it towards Ying Zheng, this time directly above Ying Zheng's head. "Look! Father, Su'er is taller than you!"

Fusu stood on tiptoe and said with a mischievous smile.

"What a naughty child. I thought you would become more mature as you grew up." Ying Zheng reached out and pinched Fusu's cheek like he did when he was a child.

On Fusu's once fair and delicate face, bright red finger marks immediately appeared, as if he had been abused, making them particularly noticeable.

"How come your face still looks the same as when you were a child? It's so tender!" Ying Zheng asked with a hint of surprise.

"Hmph! I have good skin! Are you jealous?" Fusu said smugly.

Ying Zheng looked at Fusu, who was covering his face and looking very happy, and snorted coldly, "A boy who is so cute and has such good skin, doesn't anyone say that you are a little sissy?"

"Who dares to say that? I'll beat them to death!" Fusu brandished his fist in front of Ying Zheng in a show of defiance. His fingers were slender and fair, with a faint pink tinge, looking like the hands of a young girl playing the zither.

But did Ying Zheng know that when Fusu first joined the army, he used those soft, boneless hands to beat up dozens of tall, strong men before securing his position in the army?

"You kid, you are really..."

Before Ying Zheng could finish speaking, a clear, slightly childish voice came from outside the tent, "Father."

Then, the tent flap was lifted from the outside, and a small black figure rushed in like a whirlwind, crashing into Ying Zheng's arms and saying sweetly, "Father, hug me."

Ying Zheng didn't find it strange. He picked up the little figure and held him in his arms, kissing and rubbing him affectionately for a long time before pointing at Fusu and saying to the little figure, "Little pig, do you still recognize your big brother?"

Hu Hai?

Fusu glanced at Huhai, a little boy dressed in a black prince's robe. At the age of five or six, he was at his most lively and adorable. His features were exquisite, and his appearance was extremely cute. In particular, he looked quite like Ying Zheng himself.

"Little Pig, do you still recognize your elder brother?" Fusu smiled slightly at Huhai and asked.

Hu Hai looked at Fu Su with a grin and said in a childish voice, "I recognize you, you are Brother Fu Su."

Holy crap! Is this Fusu? Is this his older brother Fusu? How come he's completely different from the one in the last life? In the last life, Fusu was still being breastfed in Xianyang Palace at this age, how could he be so awesome? Later... later he went to Jiuyuan, and then... he came back to visit relatives once, and his face was so dark.

The aristocracy's aesthetic standard was fair skin and straight teeth. Who was that little dark-skinned boy with rough skin and a tree-like face? I'm ashamed that my father could still lie to Fusu when he was like that and say, "After years in the army, my son has indeed become much more valiant."

Hmph! Father is just biased towards Fusu. Even when his elder brother was in such a state, Father still praised him for being handsome.

But this guy looks different! He's been in the army for so long, how come his skin is still so good? It's even whiter than a woman's, and he's more handsome than before.

"Little pig is so clever." Fusu patted Huhai's head and praised him with a smile.

She wore a smile, but a slight pang of sadness lingered in her heart. When did her adoptive father and Hu Hai become so close? They weren't this intimate when she left. What had happened in between?

But no matter what happened, I'm jealous now.

Feeling a pang of jealousy, Fusu looked at Huhai, who was being held in Ying Zheng's arms. For the first time, he resented that he was now too big and couldn't shamelessly snuggle into Ying Zheng's embrace like before... Wait a minute? What's a face? Can you eat it?

Face, dignity, and superficial vanity are things that only humans from Earth possess. As a dignified 123 Romance Star person, I follow a down-to-earth, upright, and pragmatic path. What use are these superficial things to me? First, they can't be eaten; second, they don't increase my energy.

Having grasped this point, Fusu suddenly felt a sense of clarity and understanding.

And so, Hu Hai saw something that shocked him greatly: his elder brother, Fusu, the good elder brother in his previous life who was deeply taught by Confucianism, whose every word and action was in the manner of a great ruler, who knew how to be polite and virtuous, actually threw himself into Ying Zheng's arms like a three-year-old child, and even imitated his own behavior by asking for a "hug".

Brother! Where's your face? You're so good-looking, did you just grow it for nothing?

Startled by Fusu's actions, Huhai, who had deliberately left a large space on Ying Zheng's chest, stared in shock at Fusu, whose head was resting on Ying Zheng's chest and whose arms were wrapped around Ying Zheng's shoulders. He was speechless for a long time.

What's this called again? Shamelessness knows no bounds. The eldest brother has already resorted to this tactic to win favor, so what can the younger brother do?

Compared to Fusu's reaction, what shocked Huhai even more was Ying Zheng's reaction. He actually reached out a hand and comforted Fusu by hugging him, then said in a voice like he was coaxing a child, "Hug me, hug me, hug me!"

Ahhhhh! Is this really my father?

Compared to Fusu, whose character had been constantly collapsing and who had never been normal since his rebirth, Ying Zheng was much the same as Hu Hai remembered him as a wise and dignified ruler to his court officials and a loving father to him.

But Hu Hai has no recollection of Ying Zheng ever showing such tenderness towards Fu Su.

In my memory, Ying Zheng always treated Fusu with things like, "Are you out playing again? Have you memorized your books?", "Practice your sword properly and don't be lazy!", and "You're too soft-hearted. You've disappointed your father too much. Go to the border." Isn't this kind of pampering and indulgence all exclusive to him?

These two, father and son, actually had a time when they were so close? I don't recall ever seeing that. Maybe I was too young back then and can't remember clearly?

The little pig felt wronged, the little pig was sad, the little pig was unhappy, and the little pig forbade his father from being nice to other people.

Although Hu Hai wasn't very bright, he still had his prophetic abilities. By deducing the cause from the result, he quickly analyzed that Ying Zheng's current goodwill towards Fu Su was for only two reasons.

First, this older brother is better than the older brother in his previous life. Although the older brother in his previous life was excellent in both literature and martial arts, he was a complete wreck compared to this older brother. Naturally, his father would not urge this older brother to practice swordsmanship for no reason. Second, it is not yet the twenty-third year of Qin Shi Huang's reign. When that event happens in the twenty-third year, his father will naturally abandon this older brother just like in his previous life.

What's this called again? Even if you're like a god, you can't stop your pig-like companions.

In short, on the way back to Xianyang from Hangu Pass, compared to Ying Zheng's naive and sweet self who was "embracing a handsome man on both sides," Fusu and Huhai were quite fiercely fighting for favor. Although they didn't flirt openly, they secretly used each other's birth dates and times to play dirty tricks on each other.

Fortunately, Hangu Pass was not far from Xianyang City. The two mischievous children had only progressed to the point of "you bring your father a midnight snack" and "I'll bring my father another homemade midnight snack." Apart from having to eat all these loving meals because he "didn't want to hurt his sons' feelings," which caused his waist to grow a few inches and his figure to develop from "Ying Zheng" to "Ying Zhengwen," there were no other specific victims or worse incidents. Ying Zheng and his entourage then returned to Xianyang Palace.

The first thing Fusu did upon returning to Xianyang Palace was to visit Mi Ji in her bedroom.

Fusu still liked his mother, Mi Ji, very much, because he knew that Mi Ji liked him too.

For example, when Fusu first joined the army, he was just a sergeant. His daily meals consisted only of bean rice and meat soup without any meat. He was so malnourished that he was starving.

It was Mi Ji who entrusted someone to give him money so that he could buy meat from the peddlers who followed the Qin army every few days.

Every month when the Qin army distributed letters from home, money, and supplies to the soldiers, in addition to the snacks that looked nice but weren't very tasty sent by Ying Zheng, there was also a delicious jerky made by Mi Yan, which, when eaten with a tasty sauce, could keep Fusu eating for many days.

In addition to clothing, Fusu, who grew up wearing the close-fitting clothes sewn by Mi Ji herself, could tell at a glance what clothes and quilts were for each season and month. Although the styles and materials were very ordinary, they were all carefully sewn by Mi Ji stitch by stitch.

Therefore, when Hehua told him that Mi Ji was ill, Fusu was really worried.