Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Zhou Wenqing sat quietly to the side, never standing up once throughout the entire process, taking in the advances, retreats, attacks, and defenses within the hall, secretly pleased with himself.

Having reliable teammates to carry you is so much easier!

He merely initiated the conversation, Li Si picked it up brilliantly, Wei Liao followed closely, and finally the King concluded the discussion, swiftly and decisively, without the slightest hesitation.

From beginning to end, he didn't even need to use his brain too much; he could just sit quietly and watch the show, and this difficult task was accomplished smoothly.

At this moment, Han Fei asked to resign, and the king agreed. Li Si immediately stepped forward and led him out, smiling brightly and calling him "Junior Brother" warmly. This led Han Fei, who had originally respectfully addressed him as "Li Tingwei," to also change his address to "Senior Brother."

Wei Liao also bowed and took his leave, then followed him out with his hands behind his back. His figure was hurried, and it was unclear whether he had some strategy to deploy.

As the number of people in the hall gradually dwindled, Zhou Wenqing took the opportunity to stand up, straighten the wrinkles in his robes, and quietly moved half a step towards the door, intending to slip away unnoticed.

He still has most of his precious day off left. Time to go back and snuggle in his rocking chair and soak up the sun!

"Zhou Aiqing".

Ying Zheng's voice drifted from behind, neither too loud nor too soft, perfectly timed with the rhythm of his steps.

Zhou Wenqing paused, his neck stiffly turning around.

Before anyone knew it, Ying Zheng had stepped down from his throne and stood in the hall with his hands behind his back, holding the bowl of ginger soup that had been refilled once again.

The porcelain bowl was warm, and a thin layer of steam rose up, making his eyebrows and eyes appear to be smiling but not smiling, as his gaze fell on Zhou Wenqing.

"The soup isn't finished yet."

Zhou Wenqing: "..."

Your Majesty, how come you still remember this!

------

As soon as the carriage came to a stop at the Zhou residence, Zhou Wenqing heard a noisy commotion coming from inside.

Zhou Wenqing pushed open the door and went through the corridor. He saw a yard full of little kids, like sparrows having a meeting. It reminded him of his days teaching in the village, when a group of children would gather in the yard and make a ruckus.

The courtyard was a mess, with chestnut shells and pine nut shells scattered all over the ground. A bamboo mat was half-discarded in the center, with some crumbs that looked like dried medicinal herbs on it.

Hu Hai, looking filthy, was squatting under the old tree in the corner of the yard, curled up in a ball, his little face puffed up with anger, looking like a wronged little quail. He wouldn't lift his head, only resting his chin on his knees, grumbling and turning the back of his head to everyone. His round back seemed to say, "I'm so wronged, come and comfort me."

Fusu squatted down next to him, one hand on his shoulder and the other on his knee, his face full of helplessness. His lips moved, and it was unclear what he was trying to persuade him about. Every now and then he would look up and say a few words to his sister who was laughing and joking across from him. It was clear that being an older brother was not easy.

Princess Yinman hadn't been seen for a long time. She had grown taller since the last time, but her personality hadn't changed at all. She was pointing at Hu Hai with one hand and clutching her stomach with the other, laughing so hard she was almost in tears. She was also saying something under her breath, looking like she was enjoying the show.

Standing next to her was Ji Qing. The little girl still had two braids, but with two red beads tied to the ends, swaying back and forth. Her little face was full of worry, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes. She tried to step forward several times, but then retreated. The two red beads swung back and forth with her movements, as if they were more anxious than their owner.

On the other side, in stark contrast to the noisy scene here, Ah-Zhu and Ji-Ming stood solemnly by a stone table. Something was placed on the table, and the two little heads were huddled together, shoulder to shoulder, completely blocking each other's view, busily tidying up something.

Zhou Wenqing paused at the gate of the courtyard for a moment before stepping inside.

Ji Qing was facing the courtyard gate when she saw him first, and her eyes lit up instantly: "Mr. Zhou is back!"

"Sir." Fusu quickly stood up, straightened his sleeves, and bowed respectfully. "This student greets you, sir."

Zhou Wenqing nodded, signaling him to get up.

Yin Man quickly stepped forward and greeted him cheerfully, "Hello, Mr. Zhou!"

"Little princess, it's been a long time." Zhou Wenqing smiled and nodded. "What made you decide to come here?"

"Hmph!" The sullen girl pouted, pointing her finger straight at Hu Hai under the tree. "Father is biased! Why can he go out of the palace with my elder brother, but I can't? I'm not happy about it, so I pestered my elder brother to take me out with him!"

She blinked her big eyes, tilted her head back, and looked at Zhou Wenqing pitifully:

"Mr. Zhou is the best, he definitely won't send me back, right? I promise I'll be obedient and never cause trouble, I'll be a hundred times better behaved than that little pig over there, please, Mr. Zhou, please~"

A little piglet? It looks quite resentful.

Zhou Wenqing was both amused and exasperated.

If you knew how he managed to leave the palace clutching his backside, you probably wouldn't think your father was biased.

Thinking this to himself, his hand involuntarily rose and gently stroked Yinman's little head, then turned to look at Fusu:

"Does your father know that you brought the little princess and the others out?"

Fusu nodded: "I know, Yin Man has been making a fuss for several days. I informed Father King before, and Father King said that Master is not so busy here. If she is still bothering me next time I come, I will let her be."

"When I came out this time, it seemed that my father was discussing some matters. However, my father knew that I always came to see my teacher at this time, and I also left a message for the palace servants to inform my father."

"That's good." Zhou Wenqing nodded, his gaze returning to Yin Man's face. He said in a deliberately serious tone, "Then you can stay. But you must agree that you are not allowed to wander off. When your elder brother returns to the palace, you must go back with him."

"Yay!" Yin Man cheered, jumped up and down on the spot, and then happily retreated.

The next second, something that looked like a small ball pounced on him and clung tightly to Zhou Wenqing's leg.

"Mr. Zhou, waaaaah~ Mr. Zhou, you're finally back! They were all bullying me!"

Oh no! Don't wipe your snot on my pants!

Zhou Wenqing quickly bent down and peeled the little guy that was stuck to his leg off.

He pinched Hu Hai's cheeks, lifted his little face to take a look, and thankfully, it was just a dry howl, all thunder and no rain, his face was clean and dry, without even a trace of water.

"What's wrong with you?" Zhou Wenqing breathed a sigh of relief, his tone tinged with amusement. "What happened?"

Hu Hai puffed out his cheeks, his little face turning red, and glared fiercely at Yin Man before quickly turning back, saying with a wronged expression, "She laughed at me!"

"So what if I laughed at you?" Yin Man retorted from behind, hands on her hips, completely unconcerned. "Who told you to say you wanted to be the older brother? You don't even know how old you are, and you want to be the older brother?"

"I know!" Hu Hai shouted, his neck stiff.

"So, how old are you?"

"I..." Hu Hai paused, counted on his fingers, but still couldn't figure it out, and stamped his feet in frustration.

"I just know!" He stood with his hands on his hips, pointing menacingly at Ji Qing:

"I'm taller and stronger than her. She used to call me 'brother,' so why is she suddenly older than me? That's not fair!"

"It's not that I suddenly became older than you. Ji Qing has always been older than you, so there's nothing unfair about it!"

Seeing that the two little ones were glaring at each other and about to fight, Zhou Wenqing quickly separated them.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing! Fusu, tell me what happened. Did someone overturn my desk?"

Hu Hai, who had been standing to the side with an aggressive air, immediately shrank back upon hearing this.

"Sir, it's like this..." Fusu bowed helplessly and recounted the whole story.