When Prince Zhu came to Zhu Xiang's house with a cart full of gifts to apologize, the diligent old King Qin had not left yet.
After digesting the food for a while, they asked Zhu Xiang to cook some beans in brine as a side dish. While waiting for the servants to clean up the courtyard for Fan Ju, Bai Qi and Zichu to live in, they drank and chatted.
When Prince Zhu arrived, the three old men sitting at the table all looked up at him. The younger old man, who was still very dignified at home, immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
"Duke Zhu, Zhu Xiang, Huayang was too ill to get up today, and I was afraid that the illness would be passed on to Zheng'er. I was very sad that I couldn't see Zheng'er the first time, so I asked me to send something to Zheng'er." Prince Zhu pulled Zhu Xiang's sleeve and shouted "Help" with his eyes.
Zhu Xiang didn't understand why the prince acted so familiar with him after just one meeting, but he immediately helped out, "If Zheng'er wasn't weak, he should go visit Madam Huayang. Tomorrow, Xue will go visit Madam Huayang on behalf of Zheng'er. I don't have anything, so I can only make some snacks and send them over. I hope Madam Huayang won't mind."
"How could that be?" Prince Zhu breathed a sigh of relief, "You're so polite..."
Before Prince Zhu finished speaking, the old King Qin asked, "What kind of snacks?"
Zhu Xiang said: "Egg cakes, baked cookies... I will make more and send them to the palace."
The old King Qin nodded with satisfaction and said to Prince Zhu, "Come here and play chess with me."
Prince Zhu sat down opposite the old King Qin happily, twitched his nose, and said in surprise: "What's that smell? It smells so good."
Zhu Xiang presented the five-spice beans. Prince Zhu originally wanted to go back early in the evening to continue comforting Madam Huayang, but now he immediately changed his mind and prepared to have a free dinner.
In the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, whether to eat two or three meals a day depended on one's social status. Commoners ate two meals, while scholars ate three meals. For example, in "Strategies of the Warring States: Qi Strategies 4", "Scholars cannot be satisfied with three meals, while the emperor has surplus food" shows that even the retainers of the nobles had three meals a day. This goes without saying for the King of Qin and others.
Zhu Xiang was indeed penniless after arriving in Qin. Even though the King of Qin rewarded him with many things, some of them could not be converted into cash, and even if they were converted into cash, they could not support his reputation as "Lord Changping". Only after a year, when the tribute from Changping was received, Zhu Xiang's life would become more comfortable.
The King of Qin and others knew Zhu Xiang's situation and brought their own food.
Prince Zhu immediately patted his chest and promised that he would send cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, fish and servants right away, and Zhu Xiang did not refuse.
The old King of Qin also found that Zhu Xiang's family had too few people, and said he wanted to give Zhu Xiang some servants.
"But my family has its own rules, and servants need to abide by them." Zhu Xiang was not afraid of others planting spies, but he was worried that the servants sent by others would take advantage of the people behind them and disobey. "Your Majesty, if they take advantage of the fact that they are sent by the nobles and disobey, can I send them back?"
The old King Qin was at a loss whether to laugh or cry: "Can't you just kill him? Do I have to worry about a slave?"
Zhu Xiang smiled bitterly: "I can send the slaves to the government and sell them again, but beating and killing them..."
"Alas, no wonder Lin Qing carries a ruler with him." The old King of Qin wanted to give Zhu Xiang two slaps. He was very puzzled as to how Zhu Xiang survived until now. Lin Xiangru had worked so hard. "Wu'an Jun lives in your house. You should tell Wu'an Jun to send the disobedient servants to the barracks."
Bai Qi said: "The barracks are always short of people."
Zhu Xiang bowed and smiled, "Thank you, Lord, and thank you, Lord Wu'an."
When Prince Zhu saw how gentle the old King of Qin was to Zhu Xiang, his scalp went numb. Fortunately, he acted quickly, otherwise Huayang would have been too sick to get up.
His favorable impression of Zhu Xiang increased a little. As a well-known kind-hearted person in the Seven Kingdoms, Zhu Xiang must have guessed that Huayang was pretending to be sick, but he could see that Zhu Xiang was really not angry at all and was willing to help him smooth things over.
It is rare to find such good people in Qin State!
After Prince Zhu ate a whole braised chicken and packed a braised duck at Zhu Xiang's house, he became more fond of Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang was at a loss whether to laugh or cry as he watched Prince Zhu's favorability level slowly rising.
It is rare to find such good people in Qin State.
"Your father is such a good elder." In the evening, the old King of Qin and the Crown Prince finally left, Fan Ju and Bai Qi returned to their own courtyards, and Zhu Xiang whispered to Zichu.
Xue was tired after a day's work, and went to bed first with Ying Xiaozheng who was equally tired. Zhu Xiang, Zichu and Cai Ze lit up some mutton-fat candles and chatted under the lamps.
Zichu rolled his eyes, "He is not a good elder to me. His Majesty values you, so he is your good elder."
Only one day, Cai Ze deliberately joked in a familiar manner: "It seems that you are very resentful?"
Zichu said, "Yan Qin has more than 20 sons, and many of them are resentful of him. But nobles are like this, Zhu Xiang, don't be deceived by their gentle faces."
Zhu Xiang pointed at himself and said, "Do you think I'm stupid?"
"Stupid." Zichu said, "Brother Cai must think so too."
Cai Ze said tactfully: "He believes that human nature is good."
Zichu sighed and said, "Didn't he learn from Xunzi? He said in front of Xunzi that human nature is good, and Xunzi wasn't angry?"
Cai Ze nodded and said, "Be angry and chase him and beat him up."
Zhu Xiang held his forehead with his hand. "Stop, stop, stop. Didn't you two just meet today? Why are you two singing the same tune to insult me? Are you two that familiar with each other? Did your friendship develop rapidly while you were laughing at me?"
Zichu and Cai Ze looked at each other and laughed.
It was at this point that their relationship truly entered the ranks of ordinary friends. Complaining about Zhu Xiang was indeed the catalyst for their friendship.
Zichu sighed and said, "This matter was indeed caused by Lady Huayang's displeasure that Zheng'er was born to a Zhao woman, but her refusal to see Zheng'er should not have been instigated by others. It is her willfulness that must have made the people behind her panic."
Willful? Zhu Xiang and Cai Ze pondered.
Zichu explained the causes and consequences of the incident in detail.
Prince Zhu has many sons and daughters and concubines, but Lady Huayang is so favored because she has a simple heart.
Lady Huayang was infertile, and even though she was favored, the people of Chu did not pay much attention to her. Her brother, Lord Yangquan, was also not very capable, and he enjoyed wealth and honor only because of Lady Huayang's connections. This made Prince Zhu feel at ease.
For the sake of their own status, even if Crown Prince Zhu had a child born to a Chu woman, in Lady Huayang's eyes, they were all enemies trying to steal her status, and she would not support them. Therefore, the Chu foreign relatives were indifferent to Lady Huayang's three siblings who were standing in their way.
This changed when Lü Buwei persuaded Lady Huayang to adopt Prince Zichu as her adopted son. Lady Huayang finally entered the game of competing for the throne, and the Chu people in the Qin court came closer to her and gave her advice.
"Although Lady Huayang is favored by Yan Qin, she is still saddened by the indifference of other Chu people in Qin. So she attaches great importance to this 'mission'." Zichu took a sip of water and continued, "But she has been naive for most of her life and cannot become a scheming person. Yan Qin likes her willful appearance, and she is used to being petty. This time she must have lost her mind."
Cai Ze thought for a while and nodded in agreement: "Neither Lü Buwei, who sent you back to Qin, nor the Qin ministers of Chu who were able to gain a foothold under the Lord, would make such a mistake."
Zhu Xiang pinched his chin. "Really? I thought someone was deliberately trying to make me offend Madam Huayang, and then offend the crown prince, and then make Xia Tong and you conflict with Madam Huayang, your biggest ally, to weaken your competitiveness... What are you looking at me with?"
Zichu and Cai Ze were extremely surprised.
Zichu asked, "How could you think of such conspiracies?"
Zhu Xiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Of course I can think, I'm really not stupid."
Cai Ze said: "Zhu Xiang was able to persuade the King of Qin and Bai Qi, and perhaps he can really see through other people's plots and schemes, but he just doesn't use them himself. Zhu Xiang, what you said is possible. If it is according to your statement, who would do such a thing?"
Zhu Xiang said, "Whoever benefits will do it. Xia Tong, don't you have a brother named Ziqi who was the most powerful and had many followers in the court before you came back?"
Zichu sneered, "He is indeed the most powerful, so he was the first one to be eliminated in the competition among Yan Qin's sons. If it were him, he would indeed make such a stupid move."
The older the old King of Qin got, the more he valued power. Even Prince Zhu was walking on thin ice, so what reputation could a mere prince have in Qin? Qin was not another country, and it could not accommodate a famous prince of the Warring States Period.
Zichu cultivated his reputation in Zhao! After returning to Qin, he cultivated the image of being diligent, studious, and down-to-earth. Apart from often visiting his "benefactor" Lu Buwei's home and giving Fan Ju a generous gift, he hardly made friends with people of prestige in the court.
"Hearing what you said, I also think it might be Ziqi's doing." Zichu said, "Given Madam Huayang's slowness, I'm afraid she wouldn't immediately react to the fact that Zheng'er would become my legitimate son. Based on her usual behavior, she would definitely not take a child born to a Zhao woman of low birth seriously."
Cai Ze was curious: "Even Zhu Xiang's reputation can't make her take Zheng'er seriously?"
Zichu chuckled, "She doesn't understand the court. Lady Huayang will be a good queen and queen mother. But Zhu Xiang, what do you think of Ziqi's plan?"
Zhu Xiang said, "Since he has attacked me, wouldn't it be impolite if I don't fight back?"
Zichu and Cai Ze were full of disbelief: "You will fight back?!"
Zhu Xiang was speechless: "If I fight back, he won't die. At most, I will become a worry-free and unsuccessful prince of Qin. Why shouldn't I fight back?"
Although Zichu and Cai Ze still didn't believe that Zhu Xiang would fight back, since Zhu Xiang had said so, they still politely asked Zhu Xiang how he would fight back.
Zhu Xiang said proudly, "I have already written the manuscript. Let Xue recite it to Madam Huayang tomorrow. Let Madam Huayang confess to the prince about the instigation against her. Since Madam Huayang was favored by the prince because of her innocence, it is normal for her to tell the prince everything after she realizes her mistake. The prince will definitely vent his anger on Madam Huayang's behalf, right?"
Zichu: “That’s it?”
Cai Ze gave Zhu Xiang an indescribable look.
Zhu Xiang slammed the table and said, "What do you mean by that? If the prince knew, he would definitely take action! Do you believe that if there is someone behind Madam Huayang, that person will come and apologize to me soon?"
Zichu: "Then?"
Cai Ze: "After that?"
Zhu Xiang was puzzled: "What then?"
Zichu yawned, stood up and said, "I'm sleepy, I'm going to sleep."
Cai Ze also stood up: "Me too, see you tomorrow."
Zhu Xiang: "Hey, hey, hey! What do you two mean?!"
Zichu and Cai Ze: "Let's go."
Zhu Xiang: "Hey!!"
(End of this chapter)