The time when Zichu succeeded to the throne was about the same as when he originally succeeded to the throne.
The age when Ying Xiaozheng became the crown prince was almost the same as the age when he was the King of Qin.
It's just that the situations of both of them are completely different from what they were back then. Even though Ying Xiaozheng is only a prince now, he has more power and can act more freely than when he was the King of Qin.
Seeing that his father and uncle were still in grief and his eldest mother was so sad that she fell ill, Ying Xiaozheng took Cheng Jiao with him to reduce the burden on his elders.
Cheng Jiao was born when King Zhaoxiang of Qin was seriously ill. He is only three years old now and can speak fluently.
When Ying Xiaozheng was three years old, he was already sitting in Lin Weng's arms listening to Lin Weng's lessons. Cheng Jiao couldn't even dress himself.
When Ying Xiaozheng saw that Cheng Jiao couldn't even dress himself, he was shocked at his brother's stupidity.
The people serving Cheng Jiao were very shocked by Prince Zheng's shock.
Let alone whether such a young child in the folk can dress himself, it is normal for Prince Chengjiao to never dress himself in his life. Why was Prince Zheng shocked that the three-year-old Prince Chengjiao could not dress himself
They tried to tell Ying Xiaozheng that this was normal, but Ying Xiaozheng said with a straight face: "I teach Cheng Jiao, and you don't need to interfere."
While helping Cheng Jiao put on his clothes, he also instructed Cheng Jiao how to dress himself.
After helping Cheng Jiao put on his clothes, he asked Cheng Jiao to take them off and put them on again.
Ying Xiaozheng took out a bag of sweet-scented osmanthus cake from his sleeve and said, "If you can put on your clothes by yourself, I'll give you one."
Cheng Jiao said: "I often eat gaogao."
Look up, it’s not rare!
Ying Xiaozheng broke off a small piece of osmanthus cake and stuffed it into Cheng Jiao's mouth: "The osmanthus cake made by my uncle is different from that made by others."
Cheng Jiao chewed with a frown on his face.
Osmanthus cake is osmanthus cake, the taste is no different.
He swallowed the sweet-scented osmanthus cake and was about to tell his brother his conclusion. But seeing his brother's proud attitude, Cheng Jiao doubted his taste.
Is this sweet-scented osmanthus cake really more delicious? Is it just that I didn’t taste it
Cheng Jiao is only a three-year-old child. Although he is quite smart, a normal three-year-old child is inevitably a little silly. Under Ying Xiaozheng's guidance, he gradually believes that the sweet-scented osmanthus cake made by his uncle is a delicacy in the world, which is completely different from the one made by the palace chef.
"I'll learn!" In order to have the most delicious osmanthus cake, Cheng Jiao carefully learned how to dress himself.
Wearing clothes is not a difficult task, but the numerous accessories on the body are very complicated.
Cheng Jiao tried it many times, then lay down on the bed and stopped playing.
Ying Xiaozheng picked up Cheng Jiao, helped him put on the accessories, and said, "You did a good job today. Let's learn more tomorrow."
He gave a piece of osmanthus cake to Cheng Jiao and ate it together with Cheng Jiao.
Cheng Jiao was covered in crumbs. Ying Xiaozheng looked disgusted.
When he was young, he was much smarter than Cheng Jiao. Children are really troublesome.
After Ying Xiaozheng fed Cheng Jiao some osmanthus cake, he took Cheng Jiao to study.
Before an incense stick of time had passed, Cheng Jiao fell asleep on the table. Ying Xiaozheng was speechless.
Is the younger brother of Emperor Ying Zheng in the dream also so lazy and stupid? How could such a lazy and stupid Cheng Jiao have the idea of treason
Maybe it's because he's stupid.
Ying Xiaozheng had originally had some grudges against his younger brother because of the dream. Now seeing Cheng Jiao being so stupid and lazy, Ying Xiaozheng felt ashamed of his grudges against him.
Even if he didn't have an uncle, Cheng Jiao would not be a threat to him.
He put down the book and pinched Cheng Jiao's cheek to wake him up.
Ying Xiaozheng said with a straight face: "Memorize this article. If you can't memorize it today, I will replace all your snacks with sour plums."
Cheng Jiao opened his eyes wide and tears immediately came out.
As soon as he opened his mouth he burst into tears, saying that he was going to complain to his grandmother that his brother had bullied him.
Ying Xiaozheng hugged his arms and looked at Cheng Jiao crying.
Seeing that Ying Xiaozheng was unmoved, Cheng Jiao lay on the ground and rolled left and right.
“Prince…” The person serving Cheng Jiao looked embarrassed.
Ying Xiaozheng picked up the scroll and said calmly, "I have said before that I have taught Cheng Jiao, and there is no need for your servants to interfere. This is the second time, there won't be a third time."
The palace maid immediately shut up.
Cheng Jiao rolled on the ground for a long time and his voice became hoarse.
Ying Xiaozheng finished reading half of the book with full concentration amid Cheng Jiao's noise pollution.
Cheng Jiao rolled to Ying Xiaozheng's feet and howled at him.
Ying Xiaozheng said without even looking up: "There is water on the table, drink it yourself if your throat hurts."
Cheng Jiao: “Ahhhhh.”
Ying Xiaozheng is reading a book.
Cheng Jiao: “Woo woo woo.”
Ying Xiaozheng was still reading.
Cheng Jiao got up, stood on tiptoe to get the water, and drank it all in one gulp.
Only then did Ying Xiaozheng put down the book in his hand, ordered someone to bring warm water to wipe Cheng Jiao's face, and tidy up Cheng Jiao's appearance and clothes.
Cheng Jiao looked at Ying Xiaozheng with resentment.
"I'll give you one hour." Ying Xiaozheng said, "I don't think you're so stupid that you can't even memorize an article of more than a hundred words."
Cheng Jiao looked at the book that Ying Xiaozheng handed over and wanted to cry again: "I don't understand it."
Ying Xiaozheng said disdainfully: "You can't even read?"
Cheng Jiao pursed his lips.
Ying Xiaozheng sighed and ordered his men to pick up Cheng Jiao.
Cheng Jiao looked expectant, leaning on the servant's shoulder and said, "Don't you need to carry me?"
Ying Xiaozheng said with a straight face: "You are too stupid. I can't teach you. I will find you a new teacher."
Cheng Jiao's chubby face wrinkled and he opened his mouth to howl again.
Ying Xiaozheng threatened: "If you cry again, you won't be able to eat snacks today."
Cheng Jiao immediately covered his mouth and almost bit his lips.
No matter how he rolled on the ground and cried, his brother remained unmoved. This caused great hurt to his young heart and made him somewhat afraid of this unfamiliar brother, the prince.
Where are you, Grandmother? I'm scared!
Zhu Xiang was accompanying Zichu in sorting out government affairs.
The spirit had to be guarded, and government affairs had to be handled. Although according to etiquette, the Qin king who was in mourning should delegate government affairs to the ministers to help handle them, and he himself should be in mourning quietly. But no Qin king would do so, let alone Zichu who had a strong desire for power.
Although Zichu had been regent for a while, being a crown prince regent was completely different from being the king of Qin. After he became the king of Qin, he realized that he still had so many trivial matters to deal with.
Zichu, who thought he could easily serve as the King of Qin, was actually a little overwhelmed.
Xunzi was old and frail, and he lost his energy after crying for the deceased, so Zichu did not want to disturb him. Lin Zhi and Cai Ze accompanied Zichu to sort out government affairs after the daily routine of keeping vigil and burning incense.
Zhu Xiang made noise on the side and said sarcastic remarks like "That's it", "You are so slow", "You can't even do this".
Zichu almost broke the pen.
Cai Ze sighed: "Zhu Xiang, what's wrong with you again?"
Lin Zhi said angrily, "He just saw that we were all busy, and he was very happy to have nothing to do, so he came to provoke us. Your Majesty, quickly arrest Zhu Xiang and put him in jail."
Prince Chu of Qin: “…” He was really considering seriously whether or not to lock Zhu Xiang up.
This guy is quite irritating!
Just when Zichu was thinking about how to deal with Zhu Xiang, Ying Xiaozheng brought Cheng Jiao to look for Zhu Xiang.
Ying Xiaozheng was not ashamed at all, and said confidently: "Cheng Jiao is still illiterate, I can't teach him. Uncle, you teach him."
Zhu Xiang: “Ah?”
Qin Wangzichu: "What?"
Cai Ze and Lin Zhi looked at each other, then shrugged and sighed at the same time.
Zichu became the King of Qin and Zheng'er became the Crown Prince, but how come they haven't grown at all and are still the same as before
Although it has only been less than half a month, it is unlikely that they will change much.
Zhu Xiang said to Zichu, "If a son is not taught well, it is the fault of his father. Cheng Jiao is still illiterate. Xia Tong, you should reflect on yourself."
Zichu scolded him, "How many times have I told you to call me the King or Your Majesty? If you call me by my name again, I will punish you! If someone hears you, they will accuse you of being arrogant and disobedient, and I will be too lazy to clean up the mess for you."
Zhu Xiang said, "Your Majesty, your son Cheng Jiao is now illiterate. It is the fault of the father if the son does not teach well. Please reflect on this."
Zichu said, "I have long said that I would hire a teacher for him, but his father always disagreed, saying that Chengjiao was still young."
Zhu Xiang said: "You should argue with reason."
Zichu asked, "And then was he scolded by the Queen Mother?"
Cai Ze stopped the two of them: "Stop, stop, stop, both of you stop!"
Lin Zhi put his hands in his pockets and said, "We should ask Zhu Xiang to go back to Southern Qin and continue farming. With him around, Your Majesty doesn't look like a great king."
Zichu: “…” He accidentally started quarreling with Zhu Xiang.
With Zhu Xiang chattering beside him, it was easy for him to forget that he was already the King of Qin and had to have some dignity.
Zichu put his hand to his mouth with a half-clenched fist, coughed a few times and said, "Zhu Xiang, since you have nothing to do, go and teach Cheng Jiao to read."
Zhu Xiang said, "You said I have nothing to do, so I have nothing to do? Seeing your inefficiency, I am anxious even if you are not anxious. I will help you. Zheng'er, even if your brother is stupid, it is not a reason for you not to teach him. Go and teach him yourself."
Ying Xiaozheng said with a straight face: "I will help my father, and my uncle will teach."
He took care of Cheng Jiao for a while, just like his uncle had done before. Then he became very annoyed and wanted to throw this kid out who could only scream and cry.
Ying Xiaozheng quickly gave up on being a good brother.
Zhu Xiang looked at Ying Xiaozheng's resolute look and sighed, "Okay, I'll lead the way, right here."
The palace servant who served Cheng Jiao immediately asked: "How can we be here..."
Ying Xiaozheng frowned and interrupted, "I have said that there is no such thing as a third time."
He bowed to Zichu and said, "Father, please re-select the people around Cheng Jiao."
Zichu waved his hand and said, "These trivial matters are up to you to decide."
Ying Xiaozheng said: "Yes."
He glanced at the servants in the palace, randomly selected two of them to silence the woman who had expressed her opinion for the third time, and carried her out of the palace.
Cheng Jiao, confused, tried to catch up: "Nurse..."
Ying Xiaozheng held Cheng Jiao and said with a straight face, "There is no such thing as a wet nurse. She is just a servant and cannot be called the mother of Master Qin. No one taught you this before, so remember it now."
Cheng Jiao's neck shrank and his eyes were about to shed tears.
Zhu Xiang held Cheng Jiao in his arms and patted his back, disapprovingly saying, "He is only three years old, what can he understand? If you want to teach him, you shouldn't use a threatening tone. When you were three years old, if anyone dared to talk to you in this tone, you would have hit him with your little fist."
Ying Xiaozheng's face froze, and he immediately said, "I won't."
Zhu Xiang gave Ying Xiaozheng a smile that made him angry, and patted Cheng Jiao on the back, saying: "Even if your father and brother are not the king and prince of Qin, when your father and brother teach you, outsiders should not refute them. They are your relatives."
Cheng Jiao nestled in Zhu Xiang's arms, revealing half of his little face, and looked at Zhu Xiang anxiously.
Zhu Xiang said gently: "You are still young, it is normal that you don't understand these things, uncle will teach you slowly."
He didn't understand, but he was really scared. Only this stranger holding him could give him a sense of security. Cheng Jiao curled up in Zhu Xiang's arms like a bullied little animal.
Cheng Jiao grew up with Queen Mother Huayang and Qin Wangzhu. When Qin Wangzhu passed away, Queen Mother Huayang was too sad to care about him, and Queen Mother Xia also had to accompany Queen Mother Huayang in her grief. He became a person.
Although he knew what a king and father were and what an elder brother was, the little Cheng Jiao did not emotionally accept these two strange relatives.
But Zhu Xiang is different.
Xue Ji had taken care of Cheng Jiao for a long time. Even though Cheng Jiao was young at that time, Queen Mother Huayang always mentioned Xue Ji, and Xue Ji often sent gifts back. Cheng Jiao was very close to Xue Ji, so he also trusted Zhu Xiang.
Moreover, Queen Mother Huayang and Qin Wangzhu often mentioned Zhu Xiang in front of Cheng Jiao. In Cheng Jiao's mind, "uncle" was an omnipotent and very amiable elder. So when he first met Zhu Xiang, he naturally regarded Zhu Xiang as a new protector.
In fact, King Zhu of Qin and Queen Dowager Huayang often mentioned Ying Xiaozheng in front of Cheng Jiao, and Cheng Jiao was originally very close to this brother.
But it only took Ying Xiaozheng a few hours to break Cheng Jiao's filter of closeness to Ying Xiaozheng, and he went from being a "good brother" in the eyes of Cheng Jiao's grandparents to an extremely scary person.
"Okay, stop frowning. You are so young, are you going to become an old man?" Zhu Xiang held Cheng Jiao and sat at the table. "Aren't you here to help your father? Hurry up. At their snail's pace, I'm afraid you won't be able to sleep on time today."
Zhu Xiang shook his head. "I wanted to see how quickly they could finish the work at hand, but I didn't expect them to be so slow. Is this what the King of Qin and the Prime Minister of Qin are like? No way."
Lin Zhi rolled up a stack of papers and put it into Zichu's hands.
Zichu raised the paper roll in his hand and slapped Zhu Xiang hard on the head.
Zhu Xiang shook his head, his expression remained unchanged.
Hard-headed. No pain, no itch.
Cai Ze tried to smooth things over: "Okay, stop making trouble."
He skillfully divided the tasks at hand among others and asked Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng to join in.
Zichu knocked Zhu Xiang's head twice again, then threw the paper roll in his hand away and continued to work.
There were so many things going on that he barely had time to grieve over the passing of his king and father.
There are so many things about the King of Qin... Zichu thought about how his father was at ease and realized for the first time how powerful his father was.
In the past, he actually looked down on King Zhu of Qin because King Zhaoxiang of Qin was often dissatisfied with the abilities of his father.
Zichu originally wanted to emulate King Zhaoxiang of Qin and monopolize power, but as soon as he became the King of Qin, he was frightened by the endless government affairs.
He had been the regent for such a long time, but he didn't expect that the things he handled were just a drop in the bucket.
Perhaps when his father and king seemed to have handed over all the power to him, he had always been in control of the Qin State. This was something he needed to learn.
To learn how to be the King of Qin, it turns out that you can only know after you become the King of Qin.
While Zhu Xiang was helping Zichu to classify government affairs, he was also telling stories to Cheng Jiao.
Ying Xiaozheng's eyelids twitched. The story his uncle told Cheng Jiao was the same one he had just told Zhu Xiang about, the article he wanted Cheng Jiao to memorize.
Cheng Jiao was a little sleepy at first, but after Zhu Xiang told him the story, he became more and more alert and asked more questions.
No matter how naive and stupid the questions he asked were, Zhu Xiang answered them seriously and even made up some content for Cheng Jiao based on his naive and stupid thoughts, as if Cheng Jiao really had good thoughts.
Zichu stopped writing and asked, "Is this how you taught Zheng'er before?" Is this how you talked nonsense in front of Zheng'er
Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "Almost."
Ying Xiaozheng frowned, unhappy that his uncle compared him to Cheng Jiao: "I'm different, I'm smarter and more mature."
Cheng Jiao snuggled into Zhu Xiang's arms, his face full of unhappiness.
Although he was still young, he understood that his brother disliked him.
Zhu Xiang said: "You are indeed more mature and intelligent than Cheng Jiao, and you have suffered much more than him. Thank you for your hard work, Zheng'er."
Ying Xiaozheng's brows relaxed, and he buried his head in the documents in his hands, flipping through them loudly: "After following my uncle, I have never suffered any hardship, and it is not hard at all."
Zhu Xiang rubbed Cheng Jiao's little head in his arms: "You are not as smart and mature as your brother was back then, which is a very lucky thing. There is a saying that children from poor families grow up early. You are so happy now, you can be a child for many more years, and you don't have to rush to grow up."
Cheng Jiao raised his head, then quickly buried his face in Zhu Xiang's arms again.
Although he still didn't quite understand, his mood inexplicably improved.
Zichu watched Zhu Xiang teaching the children with great interest, as if the two children had nothing to do with him.
Cai Ze and Lin Zhi looked at each other again, with disgust on their faces.
This bastard King Qin really took the issue of caring about one's life but not educating it to the extreme, and instead of feeling ashamed of it he was proud of it.
Zhu Xiang, thank you for your hard work.
But looking at Zhu Xiang's expression, he seemed to be enjoying it and didn't need their sympathy.
Zhu Xiang was not just picking on Zichu, Cai Ze and Lin Zhi for their inefficiency.
With him and Ying Xiaozheng joining, Zichu's efficiency in handling government affairs was indeed much higher.
Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng both had photographic memories and were very sensitive to words. With just a glance, they knew what the intentions behind these documents were, and quickly picked out the junk documents to prevent Zichu from polluting his sight.
Zichu trusted Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng very much, so he would not look at the documents they shared.
After Cai Ze and Lin Zhi had classified the books, Zichu would take another look at them one by one.
By saving the time of "glancing", Zichu's efficiency in handling government affairs increased a lot.
Cai Ze and Lin Zhi both knew what was going on.
It’s not that they are really inefficient, it’s just that Zichu trusts Zhu Xiang more.
Zhu Xiang also knew this, which is why he used exaggerated performance to join in naturally.
However, Zhu Xiang might not be exaggerating on purpose, but was really making fun of them. Zhu Xiang was such a person.
"Get it done before dark." Zhu Xiang looked down at Cheng Jiao, who had fallen asleep and had spit all over his chest. "Seeing Cheng Jiao makes me miss Zheng Er. When Zheng Er was little, he also liked to use my clothes as a bib."
Ying Xiaozheng said word by word: "I, didn't, have any!"
Zhu Xiang said: "Admitting your former immaturity is also a sign of maturity. Only immature children will deny their own shortcomings. Zheng'er, you still need to grow up."
Ying Xiaozheng: “…”
He was so angry! If there weren't so many people present, he would have jumped onto his uncle's back and pulled his uncle's hair!
Lin Zhi stretched lazily and said, "Today's work is done. Zhu Xiang, hurry up and make some midnight snacks for us to fill our stomachs."
Zhu Xiang put Cheng Jiao on a low couch beside him and covered him with a thin quilt.
The rooms where the King of Qin handled official business were all equipped with low couches for him to rest.
"Okay, I'll make you some egg white porridge. It's just egg white, not meat." Zhu Xiang said, "In fact, insects really don't count as meat."
Zichu held his forehead with his hand: "I haven't eaten meat for a year, and my body will be fine!"
"Okay, I'll give it to you when you're not feeling well again." Zhu Xiang said, "Cow's milk and goat's milk are not considered meat..."
"Go away, stop talking nonsense." Zichu picked up the wooden sculpture that was used as a paperweight on the table and threw it at Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang took the wooden sculpture and handed it to Ying Xiaozheng: "Thank you for the reward! Zheng'er, why don't you thank the king quickly?"
Ying Xiaozheng: “…” Uncle, don’t drag me into your fun with Junfu, I don’t want to join in.
Zichu laughed and scolded: "Okay, this is your reward, now shut up. I'm hungry."
Zhu Xiang said: "Wait, it will be ready soon."
Zhu Xiang went to the kitchen, and Zichu held his forehead and sighed.
"Is it difficult to get Zhu Xiang to treat me as the King of Qin?" Zichu asked with a smile.
Lin Zhi said angrily: "Whenever you tell him seriously that he must treat you as the King of Qin, he will treat you as the King of Qin."
Zichu said: "I have said this seriously many times."
Lin Zhi said, "Oh."
Cai Ze quickly tried to smooth things over: "Your Majesty, Zhu Xiang is just like that. He was also like that to the previous king. He is a rough man, so I am used to it."
Zichu said, "He is indeed a rough man."
Lin Zhi said: "That's true."
Ying Xiaozheng said dissatisfiedly: "Uncle is not a rude person!"
Lin Zhi rubbed Ying Xiaozheng's head hard, causing his hair to tilt. "He really is."
Zichu said, "Indeed."
Cai Ze sighed helplessly.
My Lord, you are still asking why Zhu Xiang doesn't treat you as the King of Qin. When you follow Lin Zhi in speaking ill of Zhu Xiang, are you acting like a King of Qin
But Cai Ze also breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he knew how to adjust his relationship with Zichu, who had become the King of Qin, he was worried that Zhu Xiang would be sad.
Now he doesn't have to worry.
At least now, Zichu is willing to continue to be Xia Tong in front of Zhu Xiang.
Maybe… maybe not just now.
Zhu Xiang quickly prepared a pot of porridge to fill the stomachs of the people who had been busy until dark.
He cut a plate of braised tofu, mixed some vegetables, and cut a salted egg.
As expected, Zichu did not say anything about eggs being meat, and he ate everything Zhu Xiang made.
Ying Xiaozheng drank two large bowls of porridge, and was so full that Zhu Xiang had to rub his stomach.
Zhu Xiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Did Ying Xiaozheng not eat for a day? How could he be so greedy
Fortunately, Zheng'er usually practices sword and archery diligently, otherwise, with Zheng'er's appetite, he would probably really turn from a little fat boy into a big fat boy.
Zheng'er is so handsome and tall now, all thanks to Li Mu's teaching.
Cheng Jiao was woken up by the delicious smell and continued to sleep after eating half a bowl of porridge.
He held onto the corner of Zhu Xiang's clothes tightly while sleeping, looking very insecure.
Zhu Xiang looked at Cheng Jiao with a kind face and said, "Back then, Zheng'er..."
Ying Xiaozheng immediately covered his ears: "Zheng'er was very good back then, very mature, and not like him at all!"
Lin Zhi almost spit out the fried pumpkin seeds in his mouth: "Pfft... cough cough cough, hahahahahaha."
Zichu and Cai Ze couldn't help laughing.
Zhu Xiang smiled and teased Ying Xiaozheng, "Zheng'er, do you know what it means to be so rude?"
Ying Xiaozheng covered his ears and gnashed his teeth, "I don't know! If my uncle bullies me again, I will go find my grandfather..."
When the word "grandfather" was uttered, Ying Xiaozheng and Zichu, who was smiling, were both stunned.
There was complete silence.
After a while, Zichu patted Ying Xiaozheng on the shoulder and said, "If he bullies you again, come and tell me."
Ying Xiaozheng muttered softly: "What's the use of that."
(End of this chapter)