[Various] The Deposed Crown Prince's Survival Story

Chen Ping was from Huyou Township, Yangwu County. His family was poor, but he loved reading and often traveled around to study.

When he was young, he was praised by the villagers for distributing pork fairly. However, he was not proud of it. Instead, he said that when he was in charge of slaughtering, he would distribute pork as fairly as he did today.

To achieve this goal, Chen Ping traveled to Xianyang shortly after the fall of the Wei Kingdom, hoping to become famous overnight like Li Si and Shang Yang.

In that era, to become an official, one had to have prestige and have everyone know your name. Although Chen Ping was young and talented, what he lacked most was prestige—because he had no money. Without money, it was difficult to move an inch, and no one would advocate for him.

Living in Xianyang was not easy. Chen Ping had lived there for more than half a year, and he was penniless. He had already planned to leave Xianyang, but unexpectedly, good fortune came from the sky and he met a great benefactor like Fusu.

At first, Chen Ping thought Fusu was a rich young man from a wealthy family in Xianyang. He was rich, smart, but naive, so calling him "Silly Sudu" was not unjustified.

But unexpectedly, this silly Sudo was actually the eldest son of the Qin Dynasty, the legendary Prince Fusu, who was incredibly intelligent, proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and skilled in all the weapons. He had once encountered an immortal on Mount Li and subdued a tiger, and was known by the common people as the "Little Golden Boy."

Are you kidding me?

Although he is quite handsome, with the appearance of a golden boy, and is also very intelligent with a vast amount of knowledge and reading, how could he be the eldest son?

The Qin state is doomed!

Chen Ping complained as he served as Fusu's retainer. He originally wanted to be a quiet retainer, but Fusu was still too young, while Ying Zheng was in his prime. If he wanted to get promoted by riding on Fusu's coattails, he didn't know how many years he would have to wait.

But unexpectedly, Lord Changping rebelled.

To save his own life, Chen Ping decisively organized all the servants and guards of the eldest son's residence, preventing Changping Jun's men from storming the residence—even though the eldest son was not at the residence at the time.

Well, Chen Ping originally thought that this merit would at most give him a powerful official position, but unexpectedly, someone informed him today that His Majesty wanted to see him.

Ahhh! I'm so excited! I'm so thrilled!

Upon hearing that he was to meet the King of Qin, Chen Ping was about to explode, and the names of countless verbal masters flashed through his mind.

Chen Ping thought about Su Qin, Zhang Yi, Li Si, Shang Yang, and other famous figures who persuaded successive Qin kings with their eloquence and eventually rose to high positions.

Chen Ping felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen. He was experiencing emotional turmoil, difficulty breathing, oxygen deprivation in his brain, and a drop in his IQ.

Seeing Chen Ping's nervous appearance, the eunuch in charge of leading the way smiled understandingly, "Don't be afraid, it's not a bad thing."

Chen Ping followed the eunuch out the door and found that the courtyard was already filled with fully armed soldiers, and a carriage was parked at the gate.

The eunuch gestured for Chen Ping to get into the carriage, and then followed him in. Looking at the still very nervous Chen Ping, he said in a gentle voice, "Don't be afraid, the king just wants to see his meritorious officials."

"I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid!" Chen Ping shook his head and said, trembling.

Seeing Chen Ping sweating profusely, the eunuch knew he was still very nervous, but he stopped talking about meeting Ying Zheng and instead changed the subject to inquire about Chen Ping's family background.

Although Ying Zheng had already thoroughly investigated Chen Ping's background, such casual questions about how many people were in his family, how many acres of land he owned, and how many cows he had, were helpful in calming Chen Ping down at this moment.

At least for now, Chen Ping is still trembling, but not as badly.

Ying Zheng's temporary palace in Yingdu was the former royal palace of the King of Chu. The State of Chu had been developing this place for hundreds of years, and the palace was now a fortified and impregnable fortress.

Unlike the solemnity of Xianyang Palace, the Chu royal palace, though deep and vast with high gates and walls everywhere, had a more playful and gentle feel, which made Chen Ping look around involuntarily as soon as he got off the carriage.

Seeing Chen Ping's appearance, the eunuch hurriedly advised, "Don't look around, or people will mistake you for an assassin. When walking in the palace, keep your head down, don't look around, don't make any big or violent movements, and definitely don't run. These things will make people think you're an assassin."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ping immediately lowered his head and said, "Thank you for your guidance."

"Come with me." The eunuch turned and walked towards a palace.

Chen Ping lowered his head and followed the eunuch. They walked along the imperial road for about half an hour, passing through countless corridors and turning countless corners. Along the way, they encountered countless patrolling Qin soldiers before the eunuch led him to a large gate and said, "Take off your shoes."

As soon as Chen Ping took off his shoes, another eunuch came forward to lead the way.

As for the eunuch who started it, he bowed and stepped aside.

Chen Ping lowered his head and followed the newly arrived eunuch forward, until they reached a large hall.

Two people sat facing each other on a high platform deep inside the main hall. Their faces were not clearly visible, but it could be seen that they were a man and a woman, and they seemed to be playing chess.

Around the two men, some maids and eunuchs knelt, waiting to receive their orders at any time.

"Kneel down." The eunuch pointed to a spot on the ground and said softly, "You will only have time to see His Majesty and his wife after they finish their game of chess."

Chen Ping dared not look any longer and immediately knelt on the ground in fear and trepidation, bending his upper body down, supporting himself with his hands on the ground, and pressing his forehead against the cold wooden floor.

Seeing Chen Ping's obedient appearance, the eunuch nodded in satisfaction, took small steps to Ying Zheng and Mi Ji's side, pointed at Chen Ping, and whispered, "Your Majesty, he has arrived."

Ying Zheng glanced in the direction Zhao Gao was pointing, snorted coldly, and said, "Make him kneel."

Compared to Ying Zheng's aloof attitude, befitting a father-in-law, Mi Ji's face showed a hint of excitement. "How is it?"

"Well... if we're just talking about looks, he could be described as a handsome man rarely seen in the world," Zhao Gao said after organizing his thoughts.

Before Mi Ji could speak, Ying Zheng decisively declared, "What use is a man's good looks? He's nothing but a stinking shell. Good looks also make him prone to attracting women and playing chess!"

Hearing Ying Zheng say this, Mi Ji and Zhao Gao dared not object, and could only continue playing chess or retreat one step at a time.

Ying Zheng and Mi Ji were about the same level at chess, and a game of chess between them could last for several hours. They didn't mind, since palace servants would bring them tea and water and massage their shoulders. But it was Chen Ping, who was kneeling below, who suffered.

Anyone with military training experience knows that maintaining one posture for a long time without being able to move, whether standing or sitting, is a form of torture, it's just a matter of which kind of torture it is.

Compared to the palace maids and eunuchs who had received training, Chen Ping was no different from a college student who hadn't undergone military training. He had only been kneeling for less than five minutes when he started to feel soreness in his back and wanted to stretch and move around.

But in front of the Emperor's Hall, Chen Ping dared not even move, let alone stretch, and could only kneel stiffly.

Ten minutes later, I started to feel blood rushing to my head and my whole body stiffened.

Half an hour later, I started seeing stars; in broad daylight, I could actually see stars and the moon.

An hour later, his back pain subsided because he had completely lost consciousness.

It was absolutely brutal and utterly humiliating!

Chen Ping was almost in tears.

Just as Chen Ping felt his body begin to sway slightly, as if he was about to give up, he finally heard a heavenly voice, "Huh? Who are you? I've never seen you before. What are you doing kneeling here? Raise your head."

The girl's voice was soft and tender, sounding sweet like honey.

Chen Ping suddenly wanted to look up and see if the girl with such a sweet voice looked just as sweet.

But he dared not.

Seeing that Chen Ping didn't get up, the girl spoke again, "Father, who is this person? Please tell him to get up."

Ying Zheng rolled his eyes at his daughter, thinking, "Another traitorous little thing," and said with a hint of annoyance, "Get up."

Upon hearing the sound, Chen Ping managed to lift his head, but as soon as he moved, he felt as if he had frozen and was uncontrollably falling to one side. Fortunately, the person next to him caught him in time, preventing him from falling to the ground in a loss of composure.

Sweat dripped incessantly from Chen Ping's forehead. His clothes and hair were soaked with sweat, and even the floor where he had been kneeling was wet.

Through his sweat-blurred vision, Chen Ping strained to look in the direction the girl was speaking. In the hazy light, he saw a pretty girl in a bright red palace dress standing there, tilting her head and smiling gently at him.

Her smile is warm and bright; she's very beautiful.

Chen Ping watched as the girl summoned a eunuch, pointed at him, and said something.

After a while, the eunuch left and walked behind a pillar, and the girl also turned and left the hall.

Just as Chen Ping was feeling disappointed, a eunuch came out from behind a pillar, holding a small bowl of water in one hand and a wet towel in the other. He walked up to him and whispered, "This is a gift from Princess Hehua. It's getting late, isn't it?"

After saying this, the eunuch brought the small bowl to Chen Ping's lips and used his other hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead with a wet towel.

With the help of the eunuch, Chen Ping drank the bowl of water clean, and then took a long breath before his intelligence returned to his mind.

Princess Hehua? What a lovely little princess.

Just as Chen Ping was meeting the emperor and exclaiming, "Princess Hehua is so cute!", Prince Fusu, who had witnessed the whole thing, thought, "Why do I have such a scheming sister? She always manages to save the hero so quickly."

Although the woman wasn't particularly beautiful, and the man couldn't be considered a hero.

Forget it, daughters grow up and leave home; keeping them will only lead to enmity. Having a boss as a father figure is enough to break up any couples.

Fusu sighed, crossed his arms and turned his head to look at the little bean sprout that barely reached his waist. He said with a helpless expression, "What do you want now, little Hu Hai?"