HCT – Chapter 175 Roasted Meat in White Buns

Zhu Xiang asked himself in his heart: Why?

Was this perhaps the kind of romance unique to transmigrators?

“Interesting?” Zhu Xiang said.

Ying Zheng rolled his eyes hard once again. “Do as you please.”

Zhu Xiang sighed. “Zheng’er, have you noticed that your temper is getting worse and worse these days?”

Indeed, Zheng’er had entered his rebellious phase. Thirteen years old—truly, the very peak of rebellion.

Who knew how many years this phase would last? Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

Ying Zheng folded his arms. “No! I’ve always been like this!”

Zhu Xiang said, “Forget it, it’s not really a big issue. You still keep yourself under control most of the time. Just remember, it doesn’t matter how you raise your voice at your uncle, but you must show respect to your sovereign father. Your sovereign father is the King of Qin. You are the Crown Prince. Be mindful of your status…”

Ying Zheng’s gaze went blank. Nagging. Uncle is nagging again. So annoying.

Still, he endured and listened to Zhu Xiang finish his lecture, responding perfunctorily with a few “mm-hmm, mm-hmm.”

Of course he knew that since his sovereign father had ascended as King of Qin, things were no longer the same as before. But since his father had yet to show the slightest intent of forcing him to act the part of a Crown Prince, he simply treated his father in whatever way made him feel comfortable.

When his father’s attitude changed, his own attitude would naturally change as well.

The two chatted idly as they made their way to the dining hall of the Xianyang Academy. Zhu Xiang and Ying Zheng asked for no special treatment. They lined up with their “staff cards” and got themselves freshly roasted meat stuffed inside white steamed buns.

Zhu Xiang’s appearance was striking enough to be recognized anywhere at a glance. The stern-faced boy in black by his side could only be the Crown Prince.

The sight of Lord Changping and the Crown Prince eating the simplest meal at the Xianyang Academy left many students so stunned that the buns in their hands slipped to the floor.

Using his own stipend and rewards, Xunzi had arranged meal subsidies for the Academy. Zhu Xiang had also memorialized King Zhu, requesting him to supply the Academy with produce from the royal estates. As a result, the dining hall food was cheap and plentiful. Most students, who had come from distant places, ate their meals there.

But cheap and plentiful also meant the food was not very refined. Students with a looser purse often went to another dining hall where they could “order dishes.” That hall even offered delivery services.

This had been Zhu Xiang’s idea: earn money from the wealthy, then use the profits to subsidize the cheaper dining hall, reducing the burden on the state treasury.

By rights, Lord Changping and Crown Prince Zheng should have eaten at the higher-class hall. Yet the two of them seemed not to care about the noisy environment at all. They quickly finished off their buns without leaving a single bite behind.

After filling their stomachs with one bun apiece, Zhu Xiang and Ying Zheng headed off to “audit” a lecture, listening in on debates from newly arrived scholars.

Only then did the students in the dining hall let out the breaths they had been holding.

Earlier, they hadn’t even dared to breathe too loudly.

“What are you all so surprised about? Lord Changping often takes the Crown Prince to walk through the fields, teaching him firsthand the hardships of farming. The Crown Prince has eaten with commoners in the fields before. Now he comes here to eat, to inspect the dining hall that provides meals for impoverished students—what’s so unusual about that?” An older student said unhappily. “Your shock right now is nothing but an insult to them.”

Zhang Cang said, “Ah, ah, yes, yes, it’s the roasted meat and white flatbread that Lord Changping bought. Here.”

Meng Yi hurriedly stuffed the roasted meat into the flatbread, imitating Lord Changping by eating it as a roasted meat sandwich.

Sure enough—delicious!

While gnawing on his roasted meat sandwich, Zhang Cang sighed inwardly. Just moments ago, Meng Yi had dragged him off to review their lessons, but halfway there suddenly decided he wanted to see what Lord Changping was eating—and so pulled him along to the cafeteria.

Watching from the corner as Meng Yi stared at Lord Changping and the Crown Prince eating roasted meat sandwiches had been unbearably awkward. His friend’s admiration for Lord Changping was definitely not normal, was it?

Perhaps because his friend’s father and brothers were all serving as officials away from home, he had grown up… a little crooked?

Hopefully, once they studied together under Master Xunzi, his friend’s conduct could be corrected.

By the time Meng Yi and Zhang Cang started eating their roasted meat sandwiches, the other students had caught on, rushing en masse toward the roasted meat counter.

Even those usually frugal students, who almost never ate meat, clenched their teeth and pulled out Qin coins to buy the exact same roasted meat sandwich that Lord Changping and Crown Prince Zheng were eating.

The cafeteria instantly became a hubbub of noise.

It was only when Zhu Xiang and Ying Zheng left the Xianyang Academy that they realized they had caused such a stir.

Uncle and nephew exchanged a glance and smiled.

“What a pointless fuss.”

“Yes, hahaha, but if I were them, I’d probably do the same thing.”

“Hmph, I wouldn’t.”

“Of course Zheng’er wouldn’t. I’m going to check on Zhang Liang. Want to come along?”

“No, I’m going to visit Master Xunzi.”

“Alright. Will you be home for dinner tonight?”

“I won’t return to the palace tonight.”

“Then I’ll come back early and make roast duck for you.”

“Mm!”

At the gates of Xianyang Academy, Zhu Xiang and Ying Zheng went their separate ways—Zhu Xiang mounted his horse and rode off to the place where Zhang Liang was being held.

Although Ying Zheng had said that Zhang Liang was thrown into prison, there were distinctions among prisons.

Zhang Liang was locked in the prison designated for high officials. Most of these officials merely stayed there for a short while before being released to resume office, so the conditions were fairly decent.

But for a child, being confined in a dark prison, staring at the iron bars, barely managing to stop crying before bursting into tears again out of fear—it was terrifying.

At this moment, Zhang Liang finally remembered all the frightening rumors he had heard about Qin. Spoiled at home and never afraid of anything, only now—locked in prison—did he finally feel fear.

When Zhang Sheng saw his younger brother bawling his eyes out, his own heart, which had been filled with anxiety, couldn’t help but relax, and he actually laughed.

Zhang Liang cried even harder. How could his elder brother laugh while he was being locked up in prison?! He would go and complain before their father’s memorial tablet that his brother was unfilial!

Zhang Sheng chuckled and said, “Serves you right! Being thrown into prison by the Qin Crown Prince is still considered light punishment. If you had been kidnapped, you might have lost your life!”

Zhang Sheng wasn’t too worried about Zhang Liang’s safety. Although Han could not raise its head before Qin, the King of Qin would not lower himself to quarrel with a child in a diplomatic mission. He would surely release Zhang Liang.

Seeing Zhang Liang still crying, he pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve and passed it through the iron bars to wipe away his tears and snot.

Zhang Liang finally stopped crying. When he saw that his elder brother wasn’t the least bit worried, he realized he was probably not in any real danger. With his courage returning, he began complaining to his brother about the strange things he had seen in Xianyang.

After listening, Zhang Sheng sighed and said: “Liang, do you think you could roam around Xinzheng so freely just because of your cleverness and wit? You’re mistaken. It was Father who secretly instructed the city guards, and only then did they turn a blind eye to your clumsy little performances. Every time you went out, there were servants following you.”

Zhang Liang’s face flushed red. “Clumsy?!”

Zhang Sheng nodded. “Clumsy.”

Seeing his younger brother’s pitiful expression, Zhang Sheng did not have the heart to scold him further, but he still couldn’t hold back his anger. So he told him outright: the “arrogance” Zhang Liang had displayed in Xinzheng had always been backed by their elders’ protection.

The two brothers sat on the ground, talking through the bars.

Zhang Sheng had long harbored resentment toward Zhang Liang’s swagger in Xinzheng, but the elders had always indulged him. Elders are like that—favoring the bright and lively child.

The Zhang clan had few descendants. Their third brother was born late in life to Zhang Ping and was still a baby in swaddling clothes. For a long time, Zhang Liang had been the youngest in the family, and the amount of love he received was obvious.

Sheltered under his elders’ wings, Zhang Liang knew nothing of the harsh winds of reality. All he knew was that his grandfather and father had both served as Chancellor to five generations of Han kings, and the Zhang family was one of the most illustrious hereditary clans of Han. Han was among the strongest states under heaven, and the Han king cherished talent and treated the Zhang family with great favor.

In young Zhang Liang’s eyes, Xinzheng was his entire world. If not for his father’s dying words telling him to study under Lord Fei, and his own curiosity urging his elder brother to bring him along to Qin, he would never have known there was a world outside Xinzheng.

He did not realize how much of the cleverness and eloquence he prided himself on was nothing more than an illusion nurtured by his elders’ indulgence.

When Zhu Xiang came to visit the young Liuhou, now locked in prison, he saw Zhang Liang looking utterly wilted—like a cabbage beaten down by frost.

“Lord Changping, why have you come?” Zhang Sheng quickly stood up.

“Your younger brother pretended to be Chancellor Lin’s son and forced his way into the Xianyang Academy. Before the eyes of all, the Crown Prince personally apprehended him. Without some punishment, it would affect the Crown Prince’s prestige.” Zhu Xiang was blunt, without courtesy. “I’ve asked the Crown Prince to allow your brother to atone by labor—he will serve one month at the Academy as a book boy. Do you have any objections?”

Zhang Sheng’s face went pale. “A mere month? My younger brother is still so young…”

“He is not young anymore. At his age, the Crown Prince was already Governor of Wu Commandery,” Zhu Xiang replied. “The Academy is full of great talents. He can spend this month learning from them. It will only benefit him.”

Zhang Sheng was about to speak again, but Zhang Liang interjected: “I’m willing to serve as a book boy for a month! Did Lord Changping arrange this especially so I could study at the Academy?”

Zhu Xiang looked at him. “You are very clever.”

Zhang Liang asked, “Is this for my father’s sake?”

Zhu Xiang chuckled, the smile edged with irony. “Not just your father—even if the Han king himself stood before me, he could not claim that I would do anything for his face.”

Zhang Liang’s expression changed drastically.

Zhang Sheng gave a bitter smile. “Liang, say no more. This is Qin, not Han.”

Zhang Liang looked helplessly at his elder brother.

Zhu Xiang withdrew his smile and said calmly: “At first, I thought Zhang Ping sent you two to fetch Han Fei back to Han because he disdained him. But after thinking it through last night, I realized that while Zhang Ping may have lacked talent in governance, as a prominent noble of Han, he would not be clumsy in handling people. You two might not know of my friendship with Han Fei, but he would. He would not provoke me.”

His words carried clear disdain toward the brothers’ late father. Zhang Sheng and Zhang Liang wanted to argue back, but Zhu Xiang’s presence was so overwhelming that they dared not speak.

“Once a man dies, his tea grows cold. Though you two will still be looked after in Han and continue to live in luxury, court relations are built on ceremony, not sentiment. If Han Fei returns to Han, the Zhang family’s influence will be of no use.” Zhu Xiang took a deep breath, then added with biting irony, “Because he wants to push for reforms, and the interests of Han’s nobles will all be harmed.”

“Zhang Liang, do you think the Qin guards stopped you only because your false identity was exposed?”

“No—if Lin Li himself had come without the proper seal, he too would have been blocked at the gate!”

“A minister’s son being able to stroll into government halls just because his father gave a word to the Chancellor—that would never happen in Qin today.”

Zhu Xiang continued: “Do you understand now? Even if Han Fei returns, he will still be abandoned by the Han king. Zhang Ping surely knew this, so his true aim was never to summon Han Fei back.”

Zhang Sheng’s eyes widened, as if a realization struck him. “Could it be… Father’s real intention was only for my younger brother to become Han Fei’s disciple?!”

Zhu Xiang glanced at the pale-faced Zhang Sheng, who now showed clear regret, and said lightly: “That should be it.”

“What I can see, Han Fei—who knew your father even better—must also have seen. What he wanted was for Zhang Liang to study under Han Fei, a man trusted by the Qin king, not to drag Lord Fei back to Han.” Zhu Xiang sighed, though whether in lament or mockery was unclear.

“A father’s love for his son always plans far ahead. He knew Han was doomed.”