Ying Fusu

In the minds of later generations, only the eldest son Fusu, who was forcibly executed by imperial edict, and the second emperor Huhai, are considered relatively "famous" members of the First Emperor Ying Zheng's family.

At most, it would be adding a third generation of Ziying.

Even the other sons of the First Emperor—the sixteen elder brothers of the Second Emperor Huhai—are completely unknown to later generations.

Not to mention the orphans and widows left behind by the eldest son, Fusu, who was ordered to commit suicide.

But just think about it: when Fusu committed suicide by imperial decree, he was already over thirty years old.

At the same time, the First Emperor died at the age of forty-nine in Shaqiu.

The father and son are less than twenty years apart in age.

The First Emperor was not yet twenty years old when he had his eldest son, Fusu.

Fusu died at the age of thirty-something, so how could he have no offspring?

—Not only do they exist, but there are quite a few!

The eldest son is quite old!

At this moment, Fusu was in a hall called "Xuande Hall" on the side of the central palace of Xianyang Palace, meeting himself—or rather, the original owner's wife and eldest son.

"This concubine, Lady Li, greets His Majesty the Second Emperor..."

Sitting on the edge of the couch, looking at the woman in front of him who was bowing to him with a hint of unease, Fusu was at a loss for how to react.

On the other hand, the eldest son, Ying Piao, first hesitated and looked at Fusu, then turned his head to look at his kneeling mother, Li Shi.

Then he turned his gaze back to Fusu and stared at him for quite a while.

Finally, as Fusu's lips curled up slightly, revealing a gentle smile, she rushed forward with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face.

"Father~"

"Waaaaah..."

Having lived two lives, I am now a father for the first time.

A strange feeling welled up in Fusu's heart.

Her hand, seemingly driven by the lingering obsession of the original owner, gently stroked the back of the head of the eldest son, Ying Piao.

After a long while, Ying Piao finally calmed down a bit, and Fu Su helped his eldest son to his feet.

After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately did not reach out to help Empress Li, but symbolically raised his hand to gesture for her to sit down beside him.

—This feeling is very subtle.

In fact, Li was Fusu's wife;

However, Fusu's subjective perception constantly reminded her that her husband was someone else.

Amidst this strange and conflicted feeling—neither being close nor distant, neither seeming right—Fusu subconsciously moved away from Li Shi the moment she sat on the imperial couch.

Although it was an almost instinctive and extremely slight movement, it still did not escape Li's perception.

Li's eyes dimmed slightly, and then, with tears in her eyes, she moved closer to Fusu.

Then, there was a brief silence.

Fusu was somewhat bewildered.

I don't know what to do.

Li was on edge, her head trembling slightly as she lowered it, constantly observing Fusu's reaction out of the corner of her eye.

After waiting for a long time, and seeing that Fusu never moved away a second time, Lady Li finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Perhaps it's because we've been apart for so many years, and I'm finding it a little hard to get used to it..."

With this thought in mind, Lady Li finally calmed herself down and looked at Ying Piao, the eldest son of Fusu, on the other side.

In an instant, the apprehension and doubt in Li's eyes were replaced by boundless peace of mind.

No problem.

Even if they were separated for two years and Fusu had found a new love, to the point that he was unwilling to be close to her anymore, it wouldn't matter.

She was, after all, the principal wife and had already been crowned Empress.

His own son was, after all, Fusu's eldest son—and the eldest legitimate son at that!

Speaking of being crowned Empress...

"There is something I dare not hide from Your Majesty."

The extremely soft, extremely peaceful whisper made Fusu subconsciously turn his head to look.

His gaze swept over the blush on Li's cheeks, then he looked away somewhat uncomfortably, and deliberately looked at his eldest son, Ying Piao, again.

He didn't forget to reply, "It's only the first day, and you already have 'something' to say?"

His casual yet subtly intriguing reply made Li's heart tighten again.

It took me a while to calm myself down before I finally managed to suppress my unease.

After hesitating several times, a pair of fair and delicate hands tentatively covered the back of Fusu's hand.

"Since His Majesty issued the edict to establish me as Empress, there has been much criticism both inside and outside the court."

"Many people say that since the First Emperor never established an empress during his lifetime, it is inappropriate for Your Majesty to break the 'ancestral system' established by the First Emperor as soon as you have succeeded to the throne."

"With so many people talking about it, I feel inexplicably uneasy."

"I always feel that it was I who forced Your Majesty to do something wrong that would be criticized by the whole world..."

...

Previously, Fusu didn't know what to say, and Li Shi didn't know whether she should speak or not—neither of the 'husband and wife' spoke, so the atmosphere was naturally a bit strange.

Once the two of them started talking, the strange atmosphere in the air dissipated considerably.

The strange feeling that Li had sensed seemed to have completely disappeared.

As she spoke, her emotions stopped fluctuating, and Li's volume and tone finally returned to normal.

"I think perhaps I shouldn't have become Empress."

"Yet they dared not disobey the imperial decree."

"I don't know what to do, that's why I thought of troubling Your Majesty to think of a solution for me..."

As she spoke, Li's tone was full of sincerity, without the slightest hint of ambiguity or coy reluctance.

It was as if she was genuinely distressed by being made empress and vaguely sensed that something was amiss.

But he's already been put in a position, leaving him in a dilemma;

Therefore, he sincerely hoped that Fusu could come up with a solution for him.

When the conversation turned to serious matters, Fusu's strange feelings quietly dissipated.

He simply said calmly, "No need to pay attention."

"There are quite a few ancestral rules established by the First Emperor that need to be changed."

"Once the national mourning period is over and the court is stable, I will truly unleash my full potential, and there will be plenty of criticism both inside and outside the court."

"At that time, no one will care whether establishing an empress violates the 'ancestral rules' set by the First Emperor."

These words caused Li to instinctively cover her mouth and chuckle, but the worry in her eyes did not lessen much.

Fusu let out a soft breath and continued, "The First Emperor's death in the field has caused many complications regarding the succession."

"Firstly, there was no imperial edict establishing an heir."

"Secondly, it is because a crown prince was not appointed early on."

"Furthermore, there is no legitimate and popular eldest son."

...

"The reason why there was no eldest son was because the First Emperor never established an empress."

"If I had made my mother empress earlier, even without a will to pass the throne or a crown prince, I could have avoided a lot of trouble."

As the saying goes, "What has happened before should not be forgotten, for it is a guide for the future."

"The death of the First Emperor and the uncertainty of the imperial succession can be considered a lesson for our Great Qin."

"Having learned a lesson, we should be more vigilant to avoid repeating the same mistake in the future."

With Fusu's words, Lady Li was finally at ease and no longer felt awkward about her status as "Empress".

At the same time, Li also gleaned another layer of subtext from Fusu's words.

When the First Emperor died, the succession to the Second Emperor was unclear because there was no will to pass the throne to him, no crown prince to tacitly agree to the throne, and no eldest son of the legitimate wife to tacitly agree to the throne.

To prevent such a thing from happening again, Fusu appointed his principal wife as empress early on.

After Li became empress, her eldest son, Ying Piao, was undoubtedly the legitimate eldest son.

In the future, if something were to happen to Fusu, even without a will to pass on the throne or the appointment of an heir apparent, Ying Piao could still become the sole de facto successor by virtue of her status as the eldest son of the legitimate wife.

Although she had expected this, Lady Li was still happy when Fusu personally explained his considerations for appointing an empress.

The gaze she gave her beloved son, Ying Piao, softened even more.

"When the First Emperor was angry, His Majesty went to Shangjun for two years."

"We've finally returned, only to find that the First Emperor has passed away, and Your Majesty has inherited the ancestral temples and the state."

"—My husband, whom I hadn't seen for two years, returned and became the Second Emperor of Qin."

"This concubine doesn't know how to interact with Your Majesty without angering you..."

...

His seemingly plausible, even confusing, confession surprised Fusu once again.

Coming to my senses, I couldn't help but let out another long sigh.

Clearly, Lady Li had already noticed something unusual about Fusu.

That makes sense;

The couple, bound by marriage and devoted to each other for many years, now have a ten-year-old child.

They already knew each other inside and out, and even after two years of separation, it was impossible for them not to sense the changes in each other.

What Lady Li didn't know was that what had changed was neither her husband Fusu's temperament nor his status as the eldest son becoming the second emperor.

Instead, they simply replaced the person with someone else.

She was given a new soul, "usurped" her husband's body, and reversed history, becoming the second emperor of the Qin Dynasty...

"Your Majesty, didn't I already say so?"

"I went to Shangjun to supervise the army, and I was gone for two years."

"When I return to Xianyang, the First Emperor will have already passed away, and the weight of the ancestral temples and the state will fall on my shoulders."

"Oh…"

"Aren't you afraid the Empress will laugh at you?"

"—Just that one word '朕' (zhen, meaning 'I, the emperor') makes me feel like I'm still in a dream."

"It wasn't exactly scalding hot, but it was still a little awkward to eat..."

His words, which were devoid of lies and even seemed quite heartfelt, made Li cover her mouth and chuckle twice.

After a long while, Fusu finally got up from the edge of the bed, suppressing the strange feeling in his heart, and gently rubbed Li's shoulder.

Don't panic.

"Whether he is the eldest son or the second emperor, he is still Ying Fusu in the end."

"Whether she is the Empress or Lady Li, she is still my wife."

...

"If we feel lost and unsure how to get along because of our changed identities, then my husband and I can simply start over."

"—Today is my wedding day."

"Starting tomorrow, my husband and I will begin to understand each other's temperaments and how to live together in a respectful and harmonious manner..."

As Fusu spoke, Prince Ying Piaoman looked on with suspicion, his gaze constantly shifting between his father Fusu and his mother, Lady Li.

But Li remained stunned for a long time before finally nodding with a smile.

"Your Majesty, it seems you really haven't changed."

"He is still the same gentle and refined eldest son, always humble and modest."

Upon hearing this, Fusu could only shake his head with a wry smile, then patted his eldest son Ying Piao's cheek.

"Recently, there have been many matters to attend to at the court."

"Please take good care of my mother, okay?"