HCT – Chapter 149 Clay Pot Stewed Lotus Root

Li Mu actually cursed someone. Zhu Xiang hurriedly dragged Zichu back to Nanjun.

As they left, Zhu Xiang muttered to himself, “When an honest man who rarely gets angry finally does, it’s terrifying. If Li Mu doesn’t cool off, we’ll just throw Xia Tong out to appease him.”

Zichu swore under his breath and told Zhu Xiang to go deal with it himself.

Wang Jian gave an awkward yet polite smile.

“Your Highness, could you please mind your image a bit? You’re going to be the King of Qin one day. Are you planning to fool around in court like you do with Zhu Xiang?”

Oh wait, Zhu Xiang doesn’t attend court. Then it’s fine.

As long as Zhu Xiang isn’t around, the Crown Prince is fairly normal.

“I’m leaving the heavy cavalry to you. Let me know if you’re short on anything,” Zhu Xiang reminded before leaving.

Wang Jian chuckled, “You won’t need to worry about that. I do know a thing or two about drilling troops.”

Zhu Xiang waved a hand and boarded the large boat heading east with Zichu.

Though the Three Gorges are notoriously treacherous, traveling in a fleet meant that if one boat broke, you just switched to another. The real danger was to the woodcutters, not the passengers.

Their departure from Ba Commandery was just as the poet Li Bai described in “Setting Off Early from Baidi City”:

“At dawn I leave Baidi amidst colorful clouds,
A thousand li to Jiangling takes but a single day.
Along both banks, the cries of monkeys never cease,
While my light boat skims past ten thousand mountain peaks.”

In the blink of an eye, Ba Commandery was left behind.

Zhu Xiang stood at the bow as it split through the waters, arms wide open, singing into the rushing wind.

Zichu: Urgh!

Zhu Xiang turned around, annoyed. “You’re seasick again?”

Zichu held a handkerchief to his mouth and shot Zhu Xiang a look. “Urgh.”

Zhu Xiang lost the mood to sing, had the boat dock temporarily, and waited for Zichu to recover before continuing.

Useless Xia Tong, slowing down my journey!

Zichu lay on the deck like a dead fish.

He wasn’t seasick per se—the speed of sailing downstream was just too fast for him to bear.

By the time they made it back to Wu Commandery, it was nearly the end of the year.

While passing through Nanjun, they happened to run into Meng Wu in the city.

Seeing Zichu’s haggard face, Meng Wu genuinely thought he hadn’t recovered from serious injuries and was so startled his voice changed.

When he found out it was just seasickness, Meng Wu’s lips twitched.

He said, “I heard Lord Chunshen is visiting Wu Commandery to test whether the Crown Prince is truly injured. If he sees the Crown Prince like this, he’ll definitely believe the rumors.”

Zhu Xiang, worried, said, “Then we must write to His Majesty and clarify that Xia Tong is fine, just seasick. Meng Wu, please help me send an urgent letter.”

Meng Wu looked at Zichu, and only after Zichu nodded did he agree. “Alright.”

Zhu Xiang pretended not to notice that Meng Wu had looked to Zichu first before responding to her.

What did that mean?

It meant Meng Wu had already sided with the Crown Prince—he regarded the Crown Prince as his true sovereign now.

“Do we have any sour plums at home? I’ll take a jar to help settle Xia Tong’s stomach,” Zhu Xiang said. “Lord Chunshen is already in Wu Commandery. We’ll have to speed up from here.”

Zichu, pale-faced, said, “I’m fine. I can handle it.”

This time, before Zichu could even finish, Meng Wu went himself to fetch the jar of sour plums.

Zhu Xiang said, “See, Xia Tong? No one believes you.”

Zichu tried to kick Zhu Xiang, but his body was too weak. Not only did he miss, he got mocked by Zhu Xiang again and almost fainted from anger.

He seriously suspected that if he died young, it would be from Zhu Xiang infuriating him to death.

After a brief rest in Wu Commandery, they set off again. This time the ship raised its sails and took to the oars—flying downstream like a bird in flight.

Zichu took some calming medicine, laid flat with hands over his belly, and slept all the way until they docked.

Li Mu came in person to greet them. But Ying Zheng and Xue Ji were nowhere in sight.

Zhu Xiang slung the still-sleeping Zichu over her back, gave him a bounce, and asked as she climbed into the carriage, “Where are Xue and Zheng’er?”

Li Mu replied, “It’s the weaving season—Xue’s been busy and isn’t in the city. As for Zheng’er… I’ll explain on the way.”

Zhu Xiang felt a jolt in his heart and quickly dipped a handkerchief in cool water to rouse Zichu, so the father could hear too.

Zichu, still groggy, asked, “What happened to Zheng’er?”

As the carriage began to move, Li Mu pulled down the curtain and said, “Zheng’er ran into a lot of resistance while implementing the new land law in Wu Commandery.”

Zichu shook his head, trying to clear the fog of sleep and recall the law. “The new land law… Why resist it? Isn’t allocating land by household registration a good thing?”

Zhu Xiang paused in thought. “Did Zheng’er use the new land law as an excuse to survey hidden lands and unregistered households?”

Li Mu sighed. “Yes. Not only that, he also strictly prohibited the wealthy from keeping too many slaves and banned their household retainers from possessing iron weapons.”

Zichu finally sobered up a bit. Pressing his temples, he said, “Zheng’er is still too young, too impatient. After hitting a wall, he locked himself in the governor’s office and refuses to come out, didn’t he?”

Li Mu shook his head. “He didn’t suffer any setbacks.”

Zichu looked up in surprise, his hand frozen mid-rub on his brow.

Zhu Xiang lowered his eyes and let out a soft sigh.

Zichu looked at Zhu Xiang, who seemed to have already guessed the outcome, and asked in disbelief, “No setbacks at all?”

Li Mu replied, “Even though almost every wealthy household in Wu Commandery opposed the matter, Zheng’er didn’t encounter any setbacks.”

He paused, his voice tinged with an indescribable complexity. “Zheng’er had anticipated everything and was fully prepared. On that street in Wu City where the rich were concentrated, almost every household is now in mourning.”

Zichu’s mouth opened slightly. Then his hand dropped, and he suddenly slapped his thigh hard. “This really… he takes after the late king completely.”

Li Mu thought inwardly, The late king might not even have been as decisive and ruthless as Zheng’er.

Zheng’er’s actions this time were meant to plunge all of Wu City into mourning.

He was not often in Wu Commandery and frequently traveled south. When Zheng’er made his move, he even factored in Li Mu and Xue Ji’s absence, choosing that moment deliberately to personally lead troops to eliminate the strongest opponents.

Before this, the enforcement of the new land law in Wu Commandery had gone quiet, limited only to wastelands, as though they had conceded.

No one knew that after lying low for two months, Prince Zheng would suddenly bare his fangs and wipe out all the powerful families who opposed the new land law.

These families had entrenched themselves in Wu Commandery for years. Almost everyone with any ability was related to them in some way.

Prince Zheng executed all the ringleaders and sent their families and retainers to Hangjiahu Plain as laborers to reclaim land.

The scholars in Wu City were in uproar, every household mourning the brutally slain local gentry, cursing Prince Zheng as unworthy of being Lord Changping’s nephew.

Yet Prince Zheng did not send troops to arrest them. He allowed the scholars of Wu City to wear mourning clothes and curse him to his face, while continuing to implement the new land law.

After Li Mu returned to Wu Commandery and learned of this, he immediately ordered the Qin army to tighten security and wrote to Zhu Xiang.

He didn’t dare spell it all out in the letter, worried Zhu Xiang would be overly anxious and rush back recklessly.

“This child… he’s far too bold,” Zichu said, shocked, but a proud smile crept onto his lips.

Clearly, in Zichu’s eyes, there was nothing wrong with Ying Zheng’s actions.

But for Zhu Xiang’s sake, he added with feigned concern, “He’s still young. Probably just got too worked up. Don’t be mad—I’ll go beat him up and make him reflect on his actions.”

Zhu Xiang rolled his eyes. “Reflect on what? How to move even faster next time?”

Zichu gave a dry cough. “You… don’t seem very angry?”

Zhu Xiang said, “I knew Zheng’er would carve his own path. Just like you—you’re both kings of Qin. Ruthless decisions like this won’t be rare. So I prepared myself long ago.”

Of course, he wasn’t at ease.

Through enforcing the new land law, Ying Zheng had swept away all the entrenched gentry in Wu Commandery who fancied themselves local lords. It was indeed ruthless.

Most of those wealthy families didn’t deserve death—they had merely stood in his way.

But to a king of Qin, anyone who blocks the path must be crushed like ants, without a shred of mercy.

The fact that Ying Zheng hadn’t killed or enslaved the mourning scholars meant he had partially accepted Zhu Xiang’s ideals—he had shown restraint.

Li Mu patted Zhu Xiang on the shoulder. “Although I’m surprised by Zheng’er’s decisiveness, I support him. I only worried that after hearing this, you might be angry with him.”

Lowering his voice, he added, “That’s what he’s afraid of, too. That’s why he refuses to come see you.”

Zichu was speechless. “He’s sulking? If he’s worried Zhu Xiang’s mad, shouldn’t he be apologizing?”

Li Mu said, “That’s probably your fault for spoiling him. When he guessed Zhu Xiang might be angry, he got mad first.”

Zichu: “…”

Zichu turned to Zhu Xiang. “You’d better reflect—look what kind of nephew you’ve raised!”

Zhu Xiang: “…” You’ve only sired, never raised the child, and you’ve got the nerve to talk? I’ve never seen anyone so shameless! Even Lin Li’s better than you!

Zhu Xiang rubbed his hair. “Enough. I get it. Tell me about the current situation in Wu Commandery.”

He’d only been gone half a year, and Zheng’er had already decimated the local gentry.

What a “surprise.”

Zhu Xiang’s heart felt heavy.

Meanwhile, Ying Zheng sat restlessly in the commandery governor’s office. After a while, he got up and started pacing the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

Li Si, Han Fei, and Meng Tian watched from the side. The three exchanged looks, hoping one of them would step up and console Prince Zheng—but none dared.

Li Si: Han Fei, you’re the closest to Zhu Xiang and Prince Zheng. You go!

Han Fei: I’m Young Master Han. I must stay above it all. Not going! Meng Tian, you’re the son of a Qin noble, you go!

Meng Tian: No way. You two go!

They stared each other down, silently accusing the others of cowardice, but no one opened their mouth.

“If Uncle scolds me, I’ll scold him back!” Ying Zheng suddenly stopped and declared angrily. “If he dares hit me, I’ll run away and find Aunt!”

The three men: “…” Yeah, sure…

Zhu Xiang hadn’t even gotten angry yet, but Prince Zheng was already about to explode. What even was this situation?

After muttering angrily for a while, Ying Zheng continued pacing with his hands behind his back.

After a long silence, he muttered again, “If Uncle won’t forgive me and wants to break ties, then I’ll…”

His voice trailed off, mind spinning in chaos.

So annoying! I didn’t do anything wrong! If Uncle’s mad, it’s his fault!

I’m furious! What right does he have to be angry?! I did nothing wrong!

Ying Zheng, furious, drew his sword and hacked violently at a small tree in the courtyard.

When Zhu Xiang stepped inside with heavy footsteps, he saw Ying Zheng hacking at the tree while muttering angrily to himself, looking utterly aggrieved.

As soon as Ying Zheng saw Zhu Xiang enter, he threw the sword aside and complained with a wronged expression, “I only killed the ones who deserved it—why should Uncle want to drive me away?”

Zhu Xiang: “?”

Li Mu: “……”

Zichu held his forehead with one hand and covered his mouth with the other.

Zhu Xiang walked up and took Ying Zheng’s hand. Seeing the cuts from hacking the tree, he said with heartache, “What nonsense are you talking about? Who’s trying to drive you away?”

Ying Zheng, still aggrieved, asked, “Aren’t you angry?”

Zhu Xiang rolled his eyes at him. “Me? Dare to be angry? I haven’t said a word, and you’ve practically worked yourself into a frenzy. Are you a pufferfish?!”

Then Zhu Xiang turned to the three attendants huddled by the wall and scolded, “What are you standing there for? Go get medicine! You just stood by and watched Zheng’er hurt his hand—couldn’t even try to stop him?”

The three immediately bolted.

“I’m not angry,” Zhu Xiang said, seeing Ying Zheng’s doubtful look. He sighed, “What you did does go against what I would have hoped for, but as long as you didn’t kill indiscriminately, I wouldn’t get mad at you.”

“Really?” Ying Zheng asked.

“If I got angry over something like this,” Zhu Xiang said, “I would’ve cut ties with Xia Tong, Cai Ze, and Lin Li long ago.”

Ying Zheng frowned.

Li Mu added, “Lord Lian and I were forced into Qin by Cai Ze’s schemes to sow discord. Do you think that aligns with Zhu Xiang’s ideals? It turned out well in the end, since we did end up in Qin. But what if we had loyalty to Zhao and chose death over defection?”

Ying Zheng’s brow smoothed out. “That’s true.”

Zhu Xiang quickly cut in, “Can you not say such ominous things?”

Li Mu replied, “It’s just the truth.”

Ying Zheng let out a breath of relief. “Yeah, Uncle didn’t even kick out Father.”

Zichu: “?”

He stepped forward and smacked Ying Zheng on the head. “Where did all your filial piety go?”

Ying Zheng clutched his head. “I’m only learning from how you teach me.”

Zichu raised his hand to strike again, but Zhu Xiang quickly shielded Ying Zheng and scolded, “Aren’t you supposed to be dizzy? But you’ve got the strength to hit Zheng’er? Go lie down!”

Ying Zheng peeked out from behind Zhu Xiang. “Is Father really injured?”

Zhu Xiang replied, “He’s long since healed. He’s just seasick.”

Ying Zheng mouthed, so weak, and then ducked his head quickly behind Zhu Xiang again.

Zichu sneered coldly. He had worried all the way here that Zhu Xiang would truly be mad at Ying Zheng—what a waste of concern.

A disobedient child like Ying Zheng should be kicked out of the house by Zhu Xiang so he can reflect on his behavior!

The three attendants came running back with a medicine box and dragged Bian Que along. Bian Que bandaged Ying Zheng’s hand and reminded him not to get it wet until it healed, then turned to treat Zichu.

After tugging on his beard in frustration, Bian Que finally said helplessly, “Your Highness, you’re suffering from exhaustion—you need to rest more.”

Zichu half-heartedly replied, “Alright. I came to Wu Commandery this time to properly recuperate.”

Zhu Xiang shot Zichu a look and couldn’t even be bothered to respond.

Li Mu, seeing that Zhu Xiang truly wasn’t angry with Ying Zheng, felt a great weight lift from his heart.

“Zheng’er, Zhu Xiang’s back now,” Li Mu said. “If there’s anything you need his help to smooth over, just tell him. Stop being so stubborn.”

“I’m not being stubborn,” Ying Zheng muttered.

He looked over at Zhu Xiang.

Zhu Xiang ruffled his messy hair.

After being away for half a year, Ying Zheng’s hair was now long enough to tie into a little topknot.

“Let’s go to the study,” Zhu Xiang said. “You should’ve prepared the documents for me to review by now.”

Ying Zheng lowered his head. “Mm.”

He had prepared thoroughly for this endeavor, and that preparation naturally included his uncle.

He had acted first—killed the necessary people—and then relied on his uncle to pacify the Wu Commandery scholars, quickly stabilizing the situation.

Once those self-important local magnates who saw themselves as “landed nobles” were dead, their loyal followers would be like monkeys scattering after a tree falls. The remaining scholars in mourning needed only a pretense of comfort to fully submit to Qin.

That excuse for comfort, naturally, would come from his uncle.

He would become King of Qin—he was destined to conquer the realm, to wield the butcher’s blade.

And his uncle would be the virtuous minister who, after the blade had fallen, would counsel him not to shed blood so easily next time and reassure the people.

Though Ying Zheng had made every preparation, he had been unwilling to speak to his uncle about it.

But even without him saying a word, his uncle had already guessed it—and silently acknowledged it.

His uncle wasn’t angry. He hadn’t even asked. He simply moved forward with the plan as if it were his own.

“Why did you stop walking?” Zhu Xiang asked in confusion. Ying Zheng lowered his head and bumped Zhu Xiang lightly with it.

Zhu Xiang gently stroked the top of Ying Zheng’s head, which had already grown to chin height. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Ying Zheng bumped him again like a little calf. “Those assigned exiles—I’ll break them up, reduce them to commoners, and redistribute land to them.”

Zhu Xiang sighed. The heavy cloud weighing down his heart cracked open slightly, letting in a sliver of sunlight.

“Good,” he said. “Zheng’er, if you believe it’s the right thing to do, then don’t hesitate. Your uncle knows how to judge right from wrong.”

Ying Zheng lowered his head. “But what’s right or wrong in Uncle’s eyes… may not be the same as in mine.”

Zhu Xiang replied, “That’s true. But look, even your great-grandfather I was able to accept—do you think you’d ever be more tyrannical than he was?”

Thinking of his great-grandfather, Ying Zheng declared with confidence, “Absolutely not!”

Now that Qin had ample food reserves, he could restrain the Qin army from killing prisoners. And he wouldn’t be paranoid like his great-grandfather, who nearly forced a great general to his death.

“What are you still worried about, then?” Zhu Xiang asked.

Ying Zheng rubbed his nose and bumped Zhu Xiang’s shoulder again. “Let’s not go to the study yet. Since you left Wu Commandery, I haven’t had a proper meal.”

Zhu Xiang replied helplessly, “I don’t think the cooks I left behind would have let you go hungry… Alright, alright, stop bumping me, I’ll go cook for you.”

Ying Zheng tugged at Zhu Xiang’s sleeve just like when he was a child. Zhu Xiang sighed and dragged his now-childish nephew toward the kitchen.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Meat.”

“…Does our household ever lack meat for you? Why do you always want meat?”

“Meat.”

“Alright, alright. I wonder if there’s still any good lotus root left this winter… hmm, winter bamboo shoots should be fine.”

“Meat!”

“We need side dishes too, can’t eat only meat. I’ll make a fish dish too.”

“Meat!! Beef! Lamb! Pork! No fish!”

“Why are you just like Xia Tong? Fish is delicious and healthy!”

Zhu Xiang grumbled, and Ying Zheng kept clamoring.

Li Mu and Zichu, slightly worried the two might be arguing again behind closed doors, came over—only to find the scene exasperating.

Zichu said, “No wonder Zheng’er gets angry at himself after worrying Zhu Xiang might be mad. It’s all because Zhu Xiang spoils him.”

Li Mu said, “I’ve said so all along.”

Zichu, after getting whacked by Zhu Xiang for no reason, followed and shouted, “Zhu Xiang! What did I do to deserve that? Zheng’er won’t eat fish, and you’re blaming me?”

Zhu Xiang snapped, “Just say it—do you eat fish or not?”

Zichu: “No.”

Li Mu shot Zichu a look of disdain. All of Zheng’er’s bad habits clearly came from this Qin crown prince. Zhu Xiang had truly done his best in raising him.

Zhu Xiang said, “Objections are invalid. You’re getting fried yellow croaker today. Didn’t expect to catch some.”

Ying Zheng: “Fried fish is… acceptable.”

Zichu: “That’s fine.”

Li Mu sighed, “Truly like father, like son.”

Both Zichu and Ying Zheng immediately showed expressions of disdain but couldn’t argue back.  After all, they couldn’t exactly deny being father and son.

Zhu Xiang smiled, “Alright. Fried fish, and a pork and lotus root stew.”

He began mulling over the day’s menu while Zichu and Ying Zheng placed orders and Li Mu listened quietly nearby.

Li Si, Han Fei, and Meng Tian, unsure if they’d be needed, had followed as well. Now the three of them were exchanging awkward glances.

Li Si: Should we still be here?

Han Fei: Are we freeloading a meal?

Meng Tian: I want to sneak away…

All three were distressed.

Who would’ve thought the atmosphere would suddenly shift and become so warm? Now they felt completely out of place.

“What are you all dazing off for? Come help!” Zhu Xiang barked at the three corner-huggers. “Freeloaders should at least do some work!”

“Coming, coming!” Han Fei was the first to roll up his sleeves, followed hesitantly by Li Si and Meng Tian.

Li Si was decently skilled. Meng Tian, however, was a complete mess and was dragged away by Li Mu to chop wood in despair.

Meng Tian never imagined that following Prince Zheng would require knowing how to cook.

Why could Li Si and Han Fei cook? Well, Li Si was from a poor background, but Han Fei was a prince of Han! Even if the Han king didn’t favor him, he shouldn’t have to cook himself, right?

Han Fei explained that he didn’t know how to cook originally, but after staying with Zhu Xiang for so long, he picked it up.

“Wash the lotus root clean, put it in a clay pot with pork, then add some seaweed… That’s seaweed.”

“Slice the winter bamboo shoots, stir-fry with meat, thicken with a bit of starch… This powder here, that’s potato starch.”

“I’ll handle the frying. Step aside, don’t get splashed by hot oil.”

Zhu Xiang worked nonstop, orchestrating everyone in the kitchen like a general commanding troops.

Zichu tended the fire, Ying Zheng pumped the bellows. Father and son tossed potatoes into the stove as they went.

Zhu Xiang caught sight of them and immediately scolded, “Into the ashes, not the flames! Do you want roasted potatoes or potato charcoal!?”

The father-son duo quickly pulled the potatoes out, faces and hands covered in ash.

Slicing meat and vegetables nearby, Li Mu sighed again—Zheng’er’s bad habits clearly all came from his biological father. Zhu Xiang truly had it tough.

Elsewhere, in another villa, Lord Chunshen had received word that Crown Prince Zichu and Lord Changping (Zhu Xiang) had returned to Wu Commandery.

“Zhu Xiang carried the Crown Prince off the boat, and the Crown Prince seemed unconscious?” Lord Chunshen frowned.

Was it a ruse or real?

He instructed his men to prepare gifts and planned to visit Zichu and Zhu Xiang the next day.

“Hopefully the Crown Prince is truly injured,” he muttered. “We can’t let Prince Zheng become King of Qin.”

He had seen firsthand the bloodshed Prince Zheng had caused in Wu Commandery.

So young, yet already so ruthless and ambitious—if he became king, he’d be another King Zhaoxiang of Qin.

The Six States could only hope future Qin kings were like the current one—quiet and tame, merely skirmishing with Han and not appearing too aggressive.

There must not be another King Zhaoxiang.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield in the lands of the Three Jins—

General Lian Po let out a huge sneeze and cursed, “Who’s badmouthing me!?”

His guards were confused—why did the general assume someone was cursing him every time he sneezed?

Rubbing his nose, Lian Po found himself missing Zhu Xiang.

That brat down south… I wonder if he’s taking proper care of Zheng’er.

“The king is ridiculous, making me fight slowly, build farms as I go,” Lian Po grumbled. “Never fought such a frustrating war in my life!”

I used to only need to fight—what happened after was someone else’s job. When was it ever this suffocating!