Chapter 1: My Teacher Han Fei

In the winter of Xianyang, biting cold winds blew from the northwest, and many houses within Xianyang City still had thick layers of snow.

Whether they were pedestrians in Xianyang Palace or people in Xianyang City, everyone appeared very hurried.

In Fusu's view, the entire Xianyang City appeared ancient and solemn; the Xianyang City that Shang Yang had overseen the construction of back then still maintained the awe-inspiring presence of its sudden emergence.

This year, Guanzhong was colder than ever before.

Today, white cloth hung everywhere in Xianyang Palace, and most of the people coming and going in the palace kept their heads lowered, for Huayang Taihou had passed away just two days prior.

Currently, the funeral was still being held, and Fusu stood with a group of Qin royal relatives in front of the main hall of Gaoquan Palace.

As for who these relatives were, Fusu did not know them at all, so he tried his best to remain silent under a solemn expression.

Fusu raised his head slightly to see the coffin inside the hall; Huayang Taihou had been the wife of King Xiaowen of Qin, and whether now or in the past, within that Xianyang Palace of complex interpersonal relationships, Huayang Taihou had been an extremely special person.

To the Emperor, Huayang Taihou held a very significant meaning in his life.

It was rumored that whether before Lv Buwei died or after, Huayang Taihou was the person the Emperor respected most.

Now that Huayang Taihou had passed away, the Emperor was also the most heartbroken.

Having arrived in this world, Fusu had taken a long time to adapt; at the very least, when facing these Qin relatives before him—some of whom he did not know or might have known—some were former Chu people, Zhao people, or Yan people...

Closing his eyes and listening to his own breathing, Fusu could hear the relatives behind him whispering, as well as faint, rising and falling snoring; someone must have fallen asleep while kneeling.

"Prince, breakfast at Zhangtai Palace is ready."

Hearing the voice behind him, Fusu straightened his robes and left with this Attendant.

Xianyang Palace was truly vast, and walking through it was quite tiring.

Zhangtai Palace was the largest palace on the south side of Xianyang Palace, where the First Emperor would handle state affairs on a daily basis.

Arriving near the main hall, Fusu straightened his clothes, followed the Attendant into the hall, and saw his father, the current First Emperor.

Fusu stood in the hall and performed a salute, bowing with his hands cupped, waiting for a word.

The Emperor remained silent; in the vast and quiet hall, one could even hear the sound of him chewing venison.

After standing in place for a while longer, the Emperor still did not speak, merely chewing his meat calmly.

Fusu first went to a table at the side led by a palace maid and sat down, then a bowl of hot venison was placed before him.

The palace was very quiet; Fusu ate his meal to himself, and father and son remained silent.

In fact, in his memories, this Emperor was always taciturn; in his memories, Fusu had never seen his biological mother, but he remembered that his mother was a Chu person.

And the current environment... was in contrast to the Qin people after Shang Yang's Reforms.

To this day, the customs of the Qin people under the First Emperor's rule remained pragmatic and simple.

People from the former lands of the Six States still retained their past lifestyles and customs to this day.

The warlike and brave Qin people, the Confucianism of the Central Plains' Qi and Lu cultures, the rough and warlike Yan and Zhao, and the romantic Chu people.

In the evaluation of most Qin people, the Chu people were like this; they said Prince Fusu's biological mother was a Chu person, and having a romantic Chu mother was how he got the name Fusu.

Taking a Chu woman as a queen had almost become a tradition of Qin; Huayang Taihou was a Chu person, so following people's habitual way of thinking, Prince Fusu's biological mother must also have been a Chu person.

Fusu ate two bites of venison and looked at the Emperor sitting in the seat of honor; he sliced a piece of venison, placed it in his mouth to chew, and stared ahead as if in thought; there was still no speech in the hall.

Since Qin destroyed the Six States, this First Emperor had been the heart of this massive empire; he was like a political machine cold to the freezing point, managing the skeleton and every capillary of this vast empire.

This empire still had many crises; Qin had unified the Six States, but the old nobles of the Six States still existed.

Rebellions with various reasons for restoring their states continued to emerge one after another in various places, as well as the anti-Qin armed forces buried in various places that might rise again in a few years, such as that man named Xiang Yan who shouted the phrase, "Though Chu has only three households, Chu will surely destroy Qin."

In this period just after the Zhou Dynasty, when the old era of enfeoffment had just ended, most people in this day and age were confused about the future.

After all, the world was unified, and people were all guessing how such a vast world should be governed.

Seeing the Emperor leave again, Fusu hurriedly stood up to salute and see him off.

Watching the First Emperor's back disappear from view, Fusu then left the quiet Zhangtai Palace; there was not a single word between father and son, so estranged they did not seem like father and son.

So be it; in any case, Fusu was no longer Fusu.

The surroundings were still filled with the bleakness of deep winter; the soldiers standing on the drum tower in the distance saw the figure walking in front of Zhangtai Palace and heard the person standing guard next to them say that he was Prince Fusu.

There were still many rumors in the palace regarding Prince Fusu; it was rumored that Prince Fusu was skilled in medicine, back when Huayang Taihou was critically ill.

The old Imperial Physician said that it was because the Prince treated Huayang Taihou's illness that the Empress Dowager lived until now, seeing more than ten extra years of the world.

The child Huayang Taihou loved most was none other than Prince Fusu.

By the time Fusu returned to Gaoquan Palace, night had already fallen; the relatives and guests here had all left, and only one person was still standing there.

This person was about forty years old, wore a short beard, had a gentle smile on his face, and was dressed in dark gray court robes.

"Prince."

Seeing the other party salute very respectfully, Fusu also saluted politely.

The person before him was none other than the current Commandant of Justice, Li Si.

Fusu looked at the coffin still placed inside Gaoquan Palace and said, "I just went to dine with the Emperor."

The funeral of Huayang Taihou had reached its final stage, and she would be buried tomorrow morning.

Li Si stepped forward half a step and asked, "I hear the Prince has recently enjoyed reading the books of Han Fei?"

"Yes."

"I have heard that the Prince previously also read the classics of Confucianism?"

"Mm."

Fusu responded with a nod.

"If the Prince has any confusion regarding the words in Han Fei's scrolls, I can provide answers."

As he spoke, Li Si still wore a gentle and friendly smile.

In the impression of this transmigrator Fusu, this Commandant of Justice of Qin was always like this, with a smile on his face that had remained the same for years.

Some said Li Si and Han Fei studied under the same master, and one wondered what their relationship was like back then.

But from the perspective of the King of Qin back then, which was the current Emperor, things had already reached this point.

Perhaps, was the deceased Han Fei more valuable to Qin, and was the current Li Si more convenient for Qin to use?

Fusu stopped his footsteps, looked at the overcast sky and said: "Although Han Fei is no longer in this world, in my heart he is already a teacher."

Those who could have a place in the imperial court of Xianyang were all the outstanding figures of that era, and Li Si was just such a person, regardless of whether he was the mastermind who caused Han Fei's death.

In fact, the knowledge regarding the Legalist school currently preserved by Qin is even more brutal in its analysis of the relationship between the individual and the state.

For Fusu, who had received the education of later generations, every time he read those books it was like repeatedly crushing his own kind nature; what was written in their books was... simply inhuman.

(End of this chapter)