The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 31 I'm Your Big Brother

Cheng Jiao bowed obediently: "Greetings, mother. Greetings, big brother."

Zhao Ji smiled at Mi Yu and said, "Hello, sister."

He looked at Cheng Jiao and praised him, "What a good kid."

Ying Zheng returned the salute and stepped forward to help Cheng Jiao up.

He smiled gently and said, "Brother, get up quickly!"

"My mother and I depend on each other in Zhao State. It is difficult for us to go out. I often feel lonely and just wish I had some brothers."

"I came home today and found a younger brother. It couldn't be better."

Then he asked Cheng Jiao, "Is your brother's name Cheng Jiao?"

Cheng Jiao nodded obediently.

Ying Zheng smiled at him and said, "Brother, my elder brother's name is Zheng. Do you remember it?"

Cheng Jiao nodded again.

Ying Zheng patted Cheng Jiao's head and praised him, "You are so good."

Zichu saw that the atmosphere had eased a lot after Ying Zheng's few words.

He said to Mi Yu: "You take the child down first. I will accompany Madam to familiarize herself with the residence."

Mi Yu smiled and said, "My dear, my sister just came back. Is there anything I can help you with? I will go and help my sister clean up."

Zichu frowned and said, "How can you be of any use to such a small matter? You should go back first. My wife Zheng'er and I still have something to say."

Mi Yu replied in a positive tone, and then smiled at Zhao Ji and said:
"If there is anything you are not familiar with or need in the palace, you can call me anytime. I will be at your service at any time."

Zhao Ji also smiled and said, "I appreciate your kindness, sister. Go and have a rest. Your husband will help you."

Mi Yu bowed to Zichu and said, "My dear husband, I will take my leave."

Ying Zheng also said to Cheng Jiao: "Brother, I will go to play with you after I have settled down."

Cheng Jiao nodded obediently and left with Mi Yu.

Zichu brought Zhao Ji to the palace arranged for her and asked the maid to pack up all the things they brought from Zhao State.

He sat down holding Zhao Ji's hand and sighed.

He said to Zhao Ji and Ying Zheng: "I worshipped the queen as my mother, and it was all thanks to the queen that I could become the crown prince now. There are many people from the Chu State in the court now, and the queen also has her considerations."

"A few years ago, she chose a woman from her family and assigned her to me as her concubine. I couldn't refuse."

He also comforted Zhao Ji, saying, "Madam, don't worry. Mi Yu is just a concubine, and she has always been respectful and well-behaved. She dares not and will not be disrespectful to you."

"Tomorrow, we will go to Zhangtai Palace to pay respect to our father. When the time comes, you will be included in the clan register and a jade butterfly will be compiled for Zheng'er. You will be the crown prince's wife, and in the future, the queen of this Great Qin."

Zhao Ji leaned on Zichu's arms and said, "My husband, I understand everything. It's not easy for you in Qin. You don't need to say so much. I believe you."

"It doesn't matter to me, as long as Zheng'er doesn't suffer any injustice in the future."

"Zheng'er has suffered so much over the years." Zhao Ji's eyes turned red as she spoke.

Zichu tightened Zhao Ji's hand and said, "Madam, rest assured. From today on, you and Zheng'er will never suffer any more."

He turned to look at Ying Zheng and said in a gentle voice: "Zheng'er, father has already arranged a place for you to live. You will definitely like it. I will take you there later."

Ying Zheng said obediently: "Everything will be arranged by father."

"I have two more requests, please agree to them." "You tell me, I will agree to them."

"In the past few years, I have been neglecting my studies without a good teacher. Teacher Zhong Cang is a man of profound virtue and profound knowledge. I would like to ask Teacher Zhong Cang to be my teacher and give me daily guidance."

Zichu was very satisfied and said with a smile: "It is rare that you have such a strong desire to study. Father will agree to this."

"It's just that Zhong Cang now holds an important position as the Minister of Justice and is in charge of the judicial system of the Qin Dynasty. He has a lot of things to do on a daily basis, so I'm afraid I don't have much time to teach you."

"One good teacher is better than a hundred mediocre ones. It is enough for the child to receive some instruction from Mr. Zhong Cang on a daily basis, and he can also study on his own on weekdays."

"Besides, I have heard that there are many talented people in Xianyang Academy, so I will often go there to ask for advice. By combining the strengths of all schools, I am sure I can also learn by analogy. It is enough for Teacher Zhong Cang to give me some guidance on the right path every day."

Zichu hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay, I'm sure Zhongcang is willing to do so. Since Zhongcang came back from Zhao State, he has been full of praise for you and is very satisfied with you."

"Now that we can continue our relationship as master and disciple, Zhong Cang will definitely be happy."

"Add Lü Buwei to the mix. Lü Buwei is also a man of great talent and learning. Let him teach you on a daily basis, and you will definitely benefit a lot."

He also reminded Ying Zheng: "Zheng'er, these two are both talented people. You must study hard under them."

"In addition, I will also select some talented people in the academy for you to teach on a daily basis, which can broaden your horizons."

"But Zheng'er, you have to remember that each school of thought has its own strengths and weaknesses. There are many truths and some things that are common to each other."

"But the foundation of our Great Qin is still the Legalist doctrine. You should focus on Legalism when studying, and you must not shake the foundation of the country."

"Our Great Qin has leapt from a weak country in the west to the strongest country in the world, all thanks to the Legalist doctrine. You can learn from the opinions of various schools of thought, but remember that you can only use them as a reference and not put the cart before the horse."

"A father teaches his child to understand."

Zichu nodded: "What's the other thing?"

"Father, these are my mother and I's guards, Geng Ying and Yan Jin from Luowang. They have performed their duties conscientiously and worked hard over the past few years. Please reward them generously. In addition, we are familiar with these two people. I hope they will continue to guard my mother and me in the future."

Zichu laughed: "This is a small matter, I will take care of it, don't worry, you also need to add more guards, it's not enough to have only one expert around."

"Thank you father."

Ying Zheng looked at Zichu and Zhao Ji, who had been sticking together ever since they met.

She said very sensibly, "Father, you and mother haven't seen each other for many years, so you must have a lot to talk about. I want to go and clean up my own place first. Father, please send someone to take me there."

Zichu coughed twice when he heard this and said, "Well, you should take a good rest after the long journey. Go and rest for a while, and we will have a reunion dinner together in the evening."

Ying Zheng nodded.

After Ying Zheng left, he picked up Zhao Ji and said, "Madam, you want to die too."

Zhao Ji embraced Zichu's neck, her face full of shyness. Her beautiful eyes sparkled as she looked at Zichu, and silence was more powerful than words.

Ying Zheng followed his maid to his own palace. It was intricate and exquisite with carved beams and painted rafters. It was luxurious and noble, but the most important thing was that it was really huge.

At this time, the Qinling Mountains were lush with trees, and there was no shortage of huge thousand-year-old trees. The Qin royal family just liked big things. The entire Xianyang city also showed off its bigness.

It is indeed a nice place, and I like it. But it is not right in the middle.

At night, Zichu and Zhao Ji bathed and changed their clothes again, and called Ying Zheng to have dinner together.

There were only three of them, without Mi Yu and Cheng Jiao.

The family was having a great time at the dinner, full of laughter and joy, and it was obvious that Zichu was very happy.

　Thanks to @星星跌碎成日光 for the reward.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)