At the entrance of the imperial prison.
Ying Zheng suddenly asked Meng Yi, "Is my cell ready?"
Meng Yi's heart sank.
How was he supposed to answer that?
Ying Zheng was the Son of Heaven, the Supreme Sovereign. Who would dare arrange a cell for him?
To make the Son of Heaven enter a cell—was he suggesting there were too many people in their nine generations of relatives?
However, he couldn't *not* answer Ying Zheng's question, so he braced himself and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, your servant has ordered the cell next to Young Master Fusu's to be cleaned."
Ying Zheng nodded in satisfaction.
Inside the imperial prison.
The musty, decaying smell and the stench of feces had significantly reduced, but a foul odor still lingered.
This was a prison, after all; the prisoners handled everything within their cells and couldn't wash, so the smell was bound to be unpleasant.
This was already the scene after the jailers had painstakingly cleaned it.
Ying Zheng didn't mind the smells and went straight to the cell next to Fusu and Zhao Jinghong's.
The cell had already been cleaned, and a table with tea on it had been set up.
Ying Zheng sat down directly, waiting patiently.
Meng Yi knelt behind Ying Zheng, waiting patiently.
After quite a while, there was movement in the adjacent cell.
"Fusu!" Zhao Jinghong called out.
"Teacher!" Fusu's attitude was very respectful.
"After we get out, you have to treat me to a big meal!"
Fusu said, "I will certainly treat Teacher well."
"I want to eat beef!" Zhao Jinghong said.
Fusu frowned, "Plow cattle are the foundation of the people; they cannot be eaten!"
In this era, eating beef was illegal.
The official sources of beef were basically old plow cattle that could no longer work, or cattle that had died.
Zhao Jinghong rolled his eyes, "I want to eat pork!"
"Pork?" Fusu frowned, "Pig meat is foul and inedible; common people rarely eat it. How can I let Teacher eat pig meat!"
Zhao Jinghong, helpless, asked dejectedly, "Then what can I eat? I don't care! I just want to eat meat!"
Fusu said, "Teacher needn't worry. After we are released, Fusu will treat you to venison."
Zhao Jinghong nodded, "Venison is fine too, as long as it's meat! I'm starving!"
Zhao Jinghong's mindset was still that of a modern person; he had an obsession with eating meat.
Better to go a day without vegetables than a day without meat!
"Oh, right, are there any brothels or imperial music houses? I'm still a virgin, and you have to arrange my little brother's happiness for me. We're brothers who've been in jail together, after all!" Zhao Jinghong asked.
Fusu frowned.
Although he didn't know exactly what an imperial music house was, he knew what a brothel was. "Teacher! We are scholars; how can we be so unrestrained, debasing ourselves, harming morality, and damaging our image!"
"I'm not some scholar!" Zhao Jinghong waved his hand, "I can't stand the classical prose. If not brothels, then arrange beautiful women for me. I'm at least your strategist, right? Rewarding me with a few beautiful women isn't too much to ask!"
Fusu didn't understand why Zhao Jinghong paid so little attention to the image of a gentleman and sighed helplessly, "If Teacher needs it, Fusu will certainly arrange it for Teacher. With Teacher's talent, he is certainly worthy of the daughters of dukes and marquises."
"That doesn't mean much to me; I just want beautiful women! The prettier, the better!" Zhao Jinghong chuckled.
Fusu was helpless, feeling that Zhao Jinghong was truly a bit dissolute.
Ying Zheng, in the next cell, heard their conversation and couldn't help but smile.
Having desires was a good thing.
In his opinion, the more desires a person had, the easier they were to control.
However, Ying Zheng started to feel a bit dejected.
What was wrong with Fusu?
Zhao Jinghong possessed such great talent; Fusu should have humbled himself and learned diligently, asking for good strategies to govern the country. Why was he silent?
After quite a while, Fusu's voice came from the next cell.
"Teacher, Fusu still cannot understand why you said that if I were to inherit the throne, I wouldn't last as long as Hu Hai. Has the destiny of Great Qin already reached a critical juncture of life and death?"
Hearing this, Ying Zheng immediately sat up straight, pricked up his ears, and listened carefully.
Over there, Zhao Jinghong's voice, full of exasperation, immediately came, "Fusu, what is your brain for?"
Fusu remained silent.
Zhao Jinghong reprimanded, "A brain is for thinking, not for decoration!"
Fusu was ashamed and somewhat mortified.
Hearing this, Ying Zheng felt his breathing smooth out, and his headache lessened a bit.
Zhao Jinghong continued to scold, "Fusu, what was the premise when I said that if you inherited the throne, you would plunge Great Qin into eternal damnation?"
Fusu thought for a moment, "Adopting the enfeoffment system and returning the nobles of the six states to their former territories?"
"Yes! Exactly!" Zhao Jinghong nodded.
Ying Zheng, hearing this, felt his head buzz.
Every time he heard this, his blood pressure surged.
Zhao Jinghong said, "It's a very simple principle. Let me analyze it for you!"
"Since ancient times, when Zhou overthrew Shang, did it ever leave behind the monarchs and nobles?" Zhao Jinghong asked.
"They were not left behind; all were killed!" Fusu said.
Zhao Jinghong nodded, "King Wu of Zhou is the monarch your Confucian school extols, isn't he? Called a sagely ruler, correct?"
"Yes! King Wu of Zhou was a divine, benevolent, and virtuous ruler!" Fusu's face was full of pride, as if King Wu of Zhou were his father.
Zhao Jinghong sneered, "Well, in my opinion, this King Wu of Zhou wasn't all that benevolent! At least, compared to your father, Ying Zheng, he was far inferior."
At these words, not only Fusu but even Ying Zheng in the next cell was stunned.
What?
He could compare himself to King Wu of Zhou?
More benevolent than him?
Could it be that in Zhao Jinghong's eyes, he was so unique?
Fusu couldn't help but immediately retort, "How could that be! My Imperial Father is a tyrant! He destroyed the six states, killing more than a million people! How can he be compared to King Wu of Zhou!"
"Holy crap?" Zhao Jinghong was dumbfounded and couldn't help but exclaim.
Ying Zheng in the next cell almost flipped the table in anger.
Meng Yi buried his head very low, wishing he could dig a hole and bury himself.
Young Master, oh Young Master! What can I say about you!
You really read the Confucian classics until your brain went numb!
Zhao Jinghong stared blankly at Fusu, "Fusu, is there something wrong with your brain?"
Fusu snorted coldly and said in a deep voice, "King Wu of Zhou attacked Zhou and destroyed Shang, ending the Shang Dynasty's rule, establishing the Zhou Dynasty, rescuing the common people from suffering, and laying the foundation for a thousand-year enterprise. No one can compare!"
"Heh heh!" Zhao Jinghong sneered, "If you're going to put it that way, then I really need to have a good talk with you!"
Seeing Zhao Jinghong's expression uncharacteristically turn serious, Fusu cupped his hands and said, "Fusu wishes to hear the details. Please, Teacher, enlighten me! If Teacher speaks correctly, Fusu will listen. If Teacher speaks without reason, Fusu will adhere to his own views!"
"Heh heh! Don't be in such a hurry; let me sort this out for you." Zhao Jinghong's cold gaze swept over Fusu. He increasingly felt that he might have chosen the wrong person.
"First, I need to establish one point for you: King Wu of Zhou was absolutely not some benevolent ruler. On the contrary, he was very cruel! This is a fact, you don't need to argue, shut up! Listen to me!"
As soon as Fusu heard Zhao Jinghong speak, he stood up anxiously, wanting to retort, but Zhao Jinghong's gaze pushed him back, and he forcibly held it in.
