The First Emperor Is So Hard to Handle at Three, and Fusu Is at His Wits’ End

The variety show Where Did Father Go? suddenly arrives, forcing wronged crown princes from every dynasty to take charge of the kids. Liu Ju, Li Chengqian, Zhu Biao, and Yang Yong all expect their imperial fathers to turn into clingy crybabies. Only Fusu draws a hell-level SSR from the start: a toddler version of Ying Zheng, whose mind has regressed to that of a three-year-old while retaining his instincts as an emperor.

For everyone else, childcare means cozy everyday moments. For Fusu, it's a survival challenge: being at the side of a ruler is like being at the side of a tiger. Three-year-old Ying Zheng says in a babyish voice, “I will execute your entire clan,” yet silently hides his weapons whenever Fusu frowns. He eats without making a sound, refuses sweets, and holds back his tears even when he spills soup. When he wakes in the middle of the night, he doesn't make a fuss. He only presses close to Fusu's clothes, trembling in silence. He doesn't understand love. He can only show he cares through “rewards” and “I won't kill you,” using an emperor's bearing to mask a child's awkwardness and unease.

Fusu goes from fear and despair to gradually understanding this awkward tenderness. Amid the dissonance of caring for a child who's already a master, he glimpses the true heart of Zhao Zheng, the father, erased from the history books of the First Emperor through the ages. When the show ends and the toddler returns to normal, his clumsy “You're a good person” becomes a reconciliation spanning a thousand years. History remains unchanged, but the regret is laid to rest. When Fusu faces the awe-inspiring First Emperor again, all that remains in his eyes is deep understanding and peace. This is a healing story of redemption, using an unconventional parent-child relationship as its framework and father-son reconciliation as its heart.