Xiang Yu asked me in a low voice, "Are you coming the day after tomorrow?"
I thought for a moment and said, "Then come on over. Anyway, you're treating, so I might as well take advantage of the meal. It's been half a day already, by now Yu Cai's place should have been fighting tooth and nail to the bone."
Xiang Yu nodded; he understood my concern. Yu Ji stood beside him, watching us get into the carriage, then waved goodbye. Baozi habitually leaned out, holding up his thumb and pinky to his cheek: "Make a phone call—"
Baozi rolled up the glass and suddenly said, "Oh dear, we should get some food from Big Guy's house."
I said, "Don't bother, this time it'll only take ten minutes."
"Wow, our two houses are pretty close—" Baozi's dreamy mood gradually calmed down, and she grabbed me, saying, "Now you should tell me, right? What exactly happened?"
I sighed and briefly recounted to her the story of how Jing Ke's death had affected the will of Heaven. Baozi pondered for a moment, then said, "Doesn't Bangzi recognize Big Guy yet?"
I nodded.
"Won't they turn on each other?"
"There won't be any more infighting, but I'm afraid it will be difficult for everyone to get together." Fatty still has projects to work on, Liu and Xiang still have the world to fight for, and only Shishi is a free spirit who has been snatched away by that kid Jin Shaoyan.
As they talked, they arrived at the Warring States period—the two families were not far apart.
Our car, like a well-trained dog, parked itself at the place where I used to live. The three striking simplified Chinese characters "Xiao Mansion" on the gate were written by my own hand...
This time, the guards recognized me better and stood at attention, saying, "Welcome home, Principal!" The male servants and maids, hearing of my return, quickly lined up to greet me. Baozi stared at me for a while, then suddenly muttered under his breath, "Ha, I didn't realize you had a garden villa outside that I didn't know about!"
I hurriedly said, "There are no women inside, no women..."
"I'm here, and that's it!" Baozi was the first to jump off the car. Immediately remembering that women of status in ancient times were all gentle ladies, she quickly crossed her hands in front of her lower abdomen and moved in with small, delicate steps like a Japanese woman. I called out from behind, "That's your mistress."
A group of servants prostrated themselves on the ground and said, "Greetings, Mistress."
Baozi hurriedly said, "Oh no, that won't do, get up quickly."
The commotion drew someone out from inside, who peeked over the screen. This man was broad-shouldered and had a slender waist; he was quite handsome, but his eyes were a bit odd. While one eye was looking at you, the other was darting around in its socket… I shouted, “Ke Zi!”
Jing Ke grinned, stepped out from behind the screen, and strode over with outstretched arms.
I smiled and reached out to greet him. Jing Ke walked straight to Baozi, took her hand, and said affectionately, "You've come?" I was left standing there, my hands flailing about as if trying to activate a light-sensing wave...
Chapter 131 The God of Cookery
Baozi and Ersha held hands and skipped around the yard like they were playing a game of finding friends before stopping. Ersha looked at me and said, "You're here too?"
I was speechless; that's when he finally noticed me...
I asked Ersha, "Kezi, what have you been up to lately?"
Ersha said, "Eating and sleeping are so boring."
"Isn't Brother Ying going to play with you?"
Ersha complained, "He's busy eating and sleeping too."
"Let's go find him."
I had my things unloaded from the car, and then rode a few horses towards Xianyang Palace. I said apologetically to Ersha, "Kezi, I'm sorry, I didn't buy you that little human-shaped phone. Even if I did, you wouldn't be able to listen to it; there's no signal." As I spoke, I took out my phone and checked it; sure enough, there was no signal. I guess I'll need to get another amplifier from Fei Sankou and put it in the Three Kingdoms area, and that should be enough.
We arrived at the outside of Xianyang Palace in no time. The messenger, having already received the news, saw our arrival and ran inside, shouting, "It's terrible! The Prince of Qi is here..."
I said dejectedly, "It's the King of Qi who's here, not the Japanese invaders."
Li Si, dressed in his new official robes, walked out with a smile and said, "Don't blame them. After you left, the emperor talked about you almost every day. Now that you're here, they'll probably get a reward."
I greeted him with a smile, "Guest Li, it's nice to see you again."
Li Si smiled and said, "Now I am the Prime Minister."
I whispered, "Your Majesty? The fat man has already declared himself emperor?"
Li Si said, "It's only a matter of time."
Baozi hesitated after hearing our conversation and said, "This is..."
I quickly introduced Baozi: "This is Brother Li Si."
I handed a few photos to Li Si and said, "These are recent photos of my sister-in-law and my little niece. My sister-in-law shares expenses with the teachers at our school every month."
Li Si stroked the photo, wiping his eyes repeatedly. I said, "I originally wanted to bring the mother and daughter along, but I was worried that you would feel awkward since you also have a family here."
Li Si said in a hoarse voice, "It's enough to know they're doing well, I'm doing well too."
Before long, an entourage appeared. Ying, the fat man, wearing a jeweled crown, a black robe, and with his long sword resembling a donkey hanging at his waist, strode over with an air of authority.
Baozi lunged forward, about to shout, "Fat..."
I pulled her hard: "Call him Your Majesty."
It didn't matter what Xiang Yu called them, since they were all his own people. After all, the fat man was the emperor of a country, so he had to give him some face.
Baozi and I pretended to shout, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"
The fat man glanced around furtively and waved his hand, saying, "Get back, everyone get back."
When only a few of us were left, Qin Shi Huang walked towards us with his arms outstretched. This time, I was quite self-aware, and demurely looked up at the sky with my hands behind my back…
Sure enough, Fatty Ying greeted Baozi warmly, "You're here?"
Baozi chuckled and said, "Can I call you Fatty?"