Even the old King of Qin was speechless when he saw Zhu Xiang, who was just in his early twenties and had premature gray hair.
The musician was still playing with his head shaking, and the big Qin man in black armor was still singing love songs with a stern face and a tone of shouting for war.
When the King of Qin and Zhu Xiang were silent, the people around who heard the King of Qin's questions felt that the scene had become quiet.
The old King Qin had prepared many polite words, but now the words were stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter a single word.
He went from being an unpopular hostage to being a king for decades, and it was very rare for his emotions to be affected.
The old King of Qin couldn't help but think of Zhu Xiang who was sent to Changping, and for the first time he felt a little pity for Zhu Xiang.
"Thank you for your hard work." The old King of Qin raised his hand and patted Zhu Xiang on the head, "Go back to Xianyang."
This was the second time he was soft-hearted towards Zhu Xiang. The first time was when Zhu Xiang didn't care about her own life but kept pestering him to praise Zheng'er and look forward to a bright future for Zheng'er when he grew up.
Speaking of which, where is Zhenger
The old King of Qin lowered his head and saw the short man behind Zhu Xiang.
He couldn't help but blurt out: "Is this Zheng'er? He's really a little fat."
When Ying Xiaozheng was thinking about how to greet this great-grandfather whom he had never seen in his dream so as to leave a good impression on him, he heard these words that shocked his heart.
Ying Xiaozheng immediately raised his head and asked, "Uncle, did you say bad things about Zheng'er in front of my great-grandfather?"
Zhu Xiang said with a serious face: "How could that be? I only know how to praise Zheng'er."
Ying Xiaozheng said: "But my great-grandfather said I was fat!"
Zhu Xiang explained seriously: "Zheng'er, a fat child is not fat, but plump and blessed. If he is not fat when he is young, how can he grow taller when he grows up? How can he be strong? So your great-grandfather is praising your uncle for raising you well. You are really blessed!"
Although Ying Xiaozheng is very smart, he is still often confused by Zhu Xiang's words.
He looked at the old King Qin with a pleading look: "Great-grandfather, is that so?"
Zhu Xiang reminded: "Zheng'er, you have to pay respect to your great-grandfather first."
Ying Xiaozheng knelt down obediently and kowtowed, then raised his head and continued to look at the old King of Qin with eyes full of curiosity.
The old King Qin felt a little numb on his scalp.
Is this kid too casual in front of me? Why isn't he afraid of me at all? Not to mention his father, even his grandfather Dazhu is trembling in front of me.
Because no one dared to be familiar with the old King of Qin, he was unsure how to treat Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng, two shameless juniors.
If it was anyone else, he would have reprimanded them for being rude. But now the Qin man behind him was still singing a love song, and he couldn't let Zhu Xiang down in front of everyone.
The old King of Qin thought for a while, then put on a kind smile that Zhu Xiang often saw in Changping, took the initiative to help Ying Xiaozheng up, and said, "I am indeed praising you for being strong."
Ying Xiaozheng stood up and put on the most obedient and joyful smile. He bowed to the old King of Qin and said in a vigorous voice: "Thank you for the compliment, great grandfather! Zheng'er also feels very strong! Zheng'er can already dance with a sword. If great grandfather is free, Zheng'er will dance with a sword for you to see!"
The contents of Zhu Xiang's diary resounded in the old King Qin's mind: "Sword dancing? You can't do sword dancing now, and you were knocked to the ground and burst into tears after swinging your sword?"
Ying Xiaozheng’s smile froze.
He tilted his head to look at his uncle: "Uncle, you said bad things about Zheng'er."
Zhu Xiang explained seriously: "Zheng'er, I was praising you for your hard work in sword training, how can that be considered bad-mouthing?"
Ying Xiaozheng's mouth sank: "Uncle, do you think I will believe it?"
Zhu Xiang patted Ying Xiaozheng's head, which was wearing a fluffy tiger hat: "Trust me!"
Zhu Xiang looked at the old King of Qin: "Your Majesty, you know my character best, and everything I said is true!"
The old King of Qin was so moved by the uncle and nephew's concerted efforts that he thought he was a friendly great-grandfather who had come to meet his great-grandson whom he had not seen for a long time.
Are you two chatting with me, the King of Qin
The old King of Qin, who had never had such a novel experience, pondered for a while and followed Zhu Xiang's words and said, "He was praising you for your hard work. He also said that you drew a villain on the sleeping Lian Po's face, which was also praising you for respecting your elders."
Zhu Xiang: "Yes, that's right! Look, Zheng'er, the Lord said that your uncle didn't lie!"
Ying Xiaozheng felt a little overwhelmed.
In his "memory", he had never seen this legendary powerful great-grandfather, but when people around him mentioned this deceased great-grandfather, the awe in their words still lingered, and he was very wary of his great-grandfather.
When they were in the carriage, Zhu Xiang specifically told Ying Xiaozheng to treat the King of Qin with the attitude of a lively child treating his elders. The more scheming and feared a person is, the more he likes the younger generation who is "not scheming" and dares to play tricks in front of him.
When I got off the car just now, my uncle also reminded me to take every opportunity to act like a spoiled child.
But he never expected that this opportunity would give his uncle a lot of bad things about him in front of his great-grandfather!
Zhu Xiang was relieved to see that the old King of Qin cooperated with him so well.
Zheng'er is the great-grandson of the old King of Qin, and is very far from the throne. He is young, and is brought up by an uncle who is of common origin and is well-known for his benevolence and righteousness. He acts like a spoiled child in front of the old King of Qin, and the old King of Qin does not doubt the "intentions" of Zheng'er and the people behind him.
Since he had decided to go to Qin, no matter how many things he had in his heart, Zhu Xiang began to consider the future of himself and his family.
Zheng'er is not loved by his father and his mother. Even though he has a wise uncle who was personally invited back to Qin by the King of Qin, he will probably encounter many grievances when he returns to the Qin court.
This time, the old king of Qin welcomed him with a high profile. This was probably the only time that he would tolerate the behavior of his unfamiliar great-grandson. As long as everyone saw that the old king of Qin was very kind to Zheng'er, no one would dare to touch him after Zheng'er returned to Qin.
"Great-grandfather, Zheng'er is very filial... Mr. Lian said something bad about Mr. Lin, so I secretly drew circles on his face to vent his anger." Ying Xiaozheng explained with a pout, "Mr. Lin often said that Zheng'er was the most filial child he had ever seen."
"Lin Weng... Lin Xiangru?" When the old King of Qin heard this, his eyes lit up, "Lin Xiangru... By the way, I heard that Lin Xiangru treats Zhu Xiangru like his own son, so he will definitely teach you personally."
The old King of Qin waved his hand, and the love song that embarrassed Zhu Xiang and moved and envied others came to an abrupt end.
Ying Xiaozheng had short legs, and if an ordinary child was walking at the speed the old King of Qin was walking at, he would have been dragged to the ground by him.
Ying Xiaozheng was not an ordinary child. When the old King of Qin turned around, he tried his best to run with his short legs, trying his best to keep up with the speed of the old King of Qin.
Zhu Xiang glanced at Ying Xiaozheng, who adjusted his movements in an instant, and felt relieved.
As expected of the First Emperor, he was not afraid of the bloody situation in prison, nor was he afraid when facing the old King of Qin.
He signaled with his eyes that Xue, who was ignored by the King of Qin, should return to the carriage.
When Ying Xiaozheng was dragged away by the old King of Qin, Xue reflexively grabbed Ying Xiaozheng's other hand.
Ying Xiaozheng quickly retracted his hand and gave his aunt a look that said "I'm fine".
Now Zhu Xiang signaled with his eyes, Xue rubbed her frozen hands and turned back to the carriage.
Cai Ze frowned. The King of Qin deliberately ignored Xue Ji, which was not a good sign.
The old King of Qin pulled Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng into his carriage, and the team started moving forward again.
No longer needing to drive himself, Bai Qi also returned to the carriage and rode with Cai Ze. Sima Jin and Wang He also squeezed in.
Sima Jin touched his chest exaggeratedly: "Duke Zhu Xiang is too powerful, how dare he speak to the king in such a disrespectful tone!"
Wang He said: "It's not disrespectful, it's just too... too..."
Cai Ze put down the scroll in his hand and said, "It's too much like facing an ordinary elder?"
Sima Jin nodded vigorously: "Yes! Prince Zheng is also worthy of being a child raised by Duke Zhu Xiang."
Cai Ze said: "Although children who are spoiled and brought up are brave in front of their elders, but Zheng... Young Master Zheng is indeed much braver than ordinary children, and much smarter."
Sima Jin was extremely curious: "Really? How brave is he?"
Cai Ze said: "On that day, Zhu Xiang was assassinated by the secret guards sent by the King of Zhao. The jailer died heroically to save Zhu Xiang. Zhu Xiang and Xue Ji sewed up the wounds and limbs of the hero, and Master Zheng wiped the blood off his face so that he could be buried decently."
Bai Qi, who had been looking out the window and pretending that he didn't want to listen to Zhu Xiang and Gongzi Zheng's private affairs, suddenly turned his head and looked at Cai Ze.
Sima Jin and Wang He were both stunned.
Bai Qi asked: "What exactly happened in the city?"
He was stationed outside the city. He only knew that King Zhao had sent someone to assassinate Zhu Xiang but failed, and he did not ask for the details.
As long as Zhu Xiang could enter Qin and King Zhao's reputation would be lowered, his goal would have been achieved and he didn't need to know the details.
But Bai Qi, who was rarely curious, couldn't help but become curious when he heard Cai Ze's words.
Zhu Xiang's hair gradually turned white along the way, perhaps not only because he was far away from his hometown, but also because he was enemies with his former elders and close friends
The old King of Qin pulled Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng into the carriage and asked Lin Xiangru about the details of his life in detail.
He had wanted to ask this before when they were in Changping, but since Zhu Xiang didn't mention it himself, he couldn't ask it, for fear of being misunderstood as if he valued Lin Xiangru too much.
Since Ying Xiaozheng mentioned Lin Xiangru, he could satisfy his curiosity under the pretext of caring about his great-grandson's life.
Although Ying Xiaozheng had just spent four years in the carriage, his speech was very clear and organized, comparable to that of a young boy, and he could answer fluently whatever the old King of Qin asked.
He also took out a candy bag from his arms, poured out colorful candy balls and handed them to the old King of Qin, and politely invited his great-grandfather to eat the candy.
Zhu Xiang boiled sugarcane juice into sugar blocks, dyed them with flowers, fruits and vegetables, put them into ball-shaped molds, and made many beautiful little sugar balls for Ying Xiaozheng, which were Ying Xiaozheng's most precious snack.
After spending a long time with Zhu Xiang, Ying Xiaozheng's speech also brought out some of his uncle's humorous tone that was beyond this era. Coupled with his childish appearance and voice, the King of Qin, who tasted a candy ball and stuffed Ying Xiaozheng's candy bag into his arms, not leaving any for his great-grandson, laughed a lot.
The old King of Qin laughed: "That old man Lin Xiangru often competes with Lian Po in swordplay? He is not afraid of hurting his old waist."
Ying Xiaozheng replied: "Lin Weng's sword is very powerful. Lian Weng is often chased by Lin Weng. Although Lian Weng always says that he is giving in to Lin Weng, Zheng'er still thinks that Lin Weng is more powerful."
The old King of Qin laughed: "Hahahaha, Lin Xiangru is afraid of drinking bitter medicine?"
Ying Xiaozheng shook his head: "Mr. Lin is not afraid of bitter medicine, he just hates the bitter taste. Mr. Lin is not like my uncle who would secretly pour out the bitter medicine."
The old King of Qin laughed: "Lin Xiangru was born in a poor family, yet he is so picky about food."
Ying Xiaozheng explained: "It's not that Mr. Lin is picky about food. Mr. Lin eats everything. It's just that anyone who is used to my uncle's cooking will be picky about other people's cooking."
Be proud and stand tall!
"Really?" The old King of Qin looked at Zhu Xiang, "Why didn't you show much cooking skills in Changping? But that jar of pork doesn't count."
Zhu Xiang smiled and explained, "A good cook cannot cook without grain. Life in Changping is hard and there is a lack of seasoning. When we get to Xianyang, I will prepare a sumptuous meal for you to prove that what Zheng'er said is true."
The old King of Qin nodded and said, "It is settled. I will bring you with me, and you should prepare some soft food for you. The title of Lord is my promise, not your request. You can make other requests to me."
Zhu Xiang bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise! I do have two requests, and I hope Your Majesty will grant them."
"First, I ask to visit Zheng'er more often. Second, I ask the king to confer upon my wife Xueji the title of Lady of Changping. Xueji and I will depend on each other for life, and I promise to be together for the rest of my life, and never marry another woman, nor take a concubine."
The old King Qin's face darkened.
(End of this chapter)