Chapter 14: Chapter 14 Training Cats and Dogs After lunch, Zhao Yao went to his secret place. His secret place was in the Cold Palace. This Cold Palace is to the west of Kunde Hall, not far from it, just a quarter of an hour's walk away. Lai Cai and Lai Fu followed Zhao Yao to the entrance of the secret place. Since this is the Cold Palace, it was desolate and bleak, with gusts of chilling wind. There was always a legend circulating in the palace, saying that the Cold Palace was haunted, and at midnight, one could hear the ghostly cries from within, which was extremely terrifying and caused no one to dare to approach the Cold Palace. The Cold Palace wasn't established during the Great Zhou Dynasty but was left over from the previous dynasty. The current Imperial Palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty was also left from the previous dynasty. It's only been two generations since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and neither the former emperor nor the current emperor has ever banished any erring concubines to the Cold Palace, so the Cold Palace left from the previous dynasty remained vacant. Moreover, the Cold Palace hasn't been repaired, it's overgrown with weeds and in ruin, unsuitable for living. One year ago, Zhao Yao, while chasing a cat, ended up in the Cold Palace. He discovered that though this place was desolate, it was very private and quiet, and most importantly, no one dared to come here. He also discovered that the Cold Palace was the nest for stray cats and dogs inside and outside the palace. Thus, he decided to treat the Cold Palace as his secret treasured spot. Opening the door, a neat, clean, and strange courtyard appeared before his eyes. The courtyard had no weeds, having been tidied up long ago, yet it contained many strange items, such as wooden stakes, wooden bridges, horizontal bars, parallel bars, slopes, circles, and so on. These items were based on what Zhao Yao saw in his dreams and were made by Tong Le. Tong Le knew carpentry and could make many things. Anything Zhao Yao drew, Tong Le could create. Over these days, Tong Le had been busy here making these things. Seeing Zhao Yao arrive, the cats and dogs in the courtyard cheerfully ran over to him. Zhao Yao squatted down, instantly surrounded by the cats and dogs. Zhao Yao hugged them warmly for a while, then fed them the food he brought. After the cats and dogs finished eating, Zhao Yao spoke a few words to the leaders of the cats and dogs. Zhao Yao had Tong Le make these obstacles to train the cats and dogs. In the dream, that was how they trained the dogs. Right, in the dream, the dogs had a loud name, called military dogs. He planned to train a team of his own military dogs and cats according to the training methods in his dream. This way, the cats and dogs could help him a lot in the future. The cat leader was called Lai Lu, a very beautiful, jet-black cat without a speck of stray fur. The dog leader was called Laiwang, also a jet-black dog without any stray fur. Lai Lu and Laiwang were chosen by Zhao Yao because they were the smartest and most understanding. They could basically understand what he said, unlike the other cats and dogs, who were a bit dim and couldn't fully comprehend him. Zhao Yao instructed Lai Lu and Laiwang on how to train through those obstacles. Lai Wang understood instantly and followed Zhao Yao's instructions, but did not perform very well since it was their first training session. The other cats and dogs tilted their heads in bewilderment, watching their leaders climb over those strange things and then fall off them. Zhao Yao shared the training methods with Tong Le, letting Tong Le take over coaching and supervising the training of the cats and dogs. Those cats and dogs who performed well were rewarded and could eat big pieces of meat and bones. Hearing about the treats, the cats and dogs were instantly full of enthusiasm. Of course, those who didn't train well or refused to train were also punished, not being given meat and bones to eat. Zhao Yao planned to first train them to pass through these obstacles, then train their sense of smell, and let them use it to find animals or people. Laiwang and Lai Lu were very obedient to Zhao Yao and assured Zhao Yao that they could complete the training soon and would help their brothers train as well. Zhao Yao also trained for a while. While climbing the slope, he didn't manage to climb up. He planned to come back in the evening to train again. He needed to exercise his body well so he wouldn't be a weak prince unable to even truss a chicken, or even if he grew up peacefully in the palace, an accident might happen when he reached adulthood. Moreover, when he reached adulthood and had to go to his fiefdom, he might encounter some evil spirits or even go to war, as the world was not yet peaceful. In addition to exercising his body, he also needed to learn martial arts and archery well. These skills could save lives on the battlefield. Zhao Yao noticed that the afternoon archery lesson was about to start, so he stopped training with the cats and dogs. Before leaving, he asked Laiwang, "Is the secret passage normal, without anything unusual?" [Yao Yao, don't worry, we are guarding the secret passage well, it hasn't been discovered.] Laiwang said, [Over at Pei Mansion, people are talking about ghosts, and no one dares to go near there.] Zhao Yao patted Laiwang's head, praising, "Well done." Laiwang wagged his tail happily and asked, [Yao Yao, when are you going out of the palace?] "I'll leave the palace once I have a break," Zhao Yao instructed, "For these few days, train here first. Once you're well-trained, switch with the brothers guarding at Pei Mansion for them to come and train." Laiwang wagged his tail, saying, [Yao Yao, don't worry, we'll train well.] Zhao Yao smiled, "I'll come find you tonight." [Take care, Yao Yao.] Zhao Yao returned to Kunde Hall with Tong Xi and changed into his archery outfit, heading to the martial arts arena. This afternoon, he refrained from reading but practiced archery. Archery and martial arts are compulsory courses for the princes of Great Zhou; every prince must learn and learn well since the territory of Great Zhou was conquered little by little. Compared to reading in Wende Hall, Zhao Yao preferred learning archery in the martial arts arena. Zhao Yao wasn't the last to arrive; the Seventh Prince and the Ninth Prince hadn't arrived yet. He obediently greeted each of the elder brothers who had arrived. "Eighth Brother, you're not fully recovered yet. Is it okay for you to practice archery in the martial arts arena?" Zhao Yao was quite concerned about the Eighth Prince's health, "Eighth Brother, you should take leave and go back to rest." Being cared for by Zhao Yao, the Eighth Prince felt a warmth in his heart and smiled slightly at Zhao Yao, "I'm fine. I've been lying in bed resting these few days, and my body is quite sore. It's perfect to exercise today." Zhao Yao asked, "Eighth Brother, do you have the strength?" "Of course, I do," the Eighth Prince said, then squeezed Zhao Yao's chubby little cheeks hard, "Do you see if I have strength?" "Ouch..." Zhao Yao knocked away the Eighth Prince's hand, rubbing the place where his Eighth Brother had pinched him, pouting in dissatisfaction, "Eighth Brother, why do you pinch my face when you have strength?" "To let you feel my strength," said the Eighth Prince, before lifting Zhao Yao's small face and rubbing it hard again. The Fourth Prince, seeing Zhao Yao's cute little face being deformed by the Eighth Prince, reached out to pull Zhao Yao over to him. "Eighth Brother, that's enough." The Eighth Prince obediently responded, "Yes, Fourth Brother." He turned his head, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. Zhao Yao tugged at the Fourth Prince's sleeve, "Fourth Brother, Eighth Brother was just playing with me." The Fourth Prince saw Zhao Yao's face, reddened from the rubbing, and asked with concern, "Does it hurt?" "It doesn't hurt, really doesn't," he replied. The Eighth Brother was just playing; he knew his limits. The Fourth Prince lightly nodded and said nothing more. The sound of arguing between the Seventh and Ninth Princes came from a distance. The Ninth Prince mocked the Seventh Prince's poor archery, and the Seventh Prince retorted that the Ninth Prince wasn't good at reading. Their quarrel grew fiercer, but they did not come to blows. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂 Zhao Yao had always wanted to see them fight, but they wouldn't fight. Only using words and not fists, what kind of men were they? The Third Prince, seeing the Ninth Prince, teased, "Ninth Brother, you said Prince Dai wanted to add an eighth bead this morning. Looks like your dream will be disappointed." The Fifth Prince laughed, "I heard Father was very angry and let the ministers continue arguing after court." The Sixth Prince said, "Ninth Brother, you said your brother wants to add an eighth bead. Among the civil and military ministers, this is considered treason." "Sixth Brother, would you dare say that to me in front of Father?" The Ninth Prince was not afraid of the Sixth Prince and retorted unceremoniously, "Sixth Brother, Father hasn't convicted my brother of treason, yet you are, are you so formidable? Does Father know?" "This wasn't said by me, but by the ministers," The Sixth Prince hurriedly waved his hand, "Ninth Brother, don't slander me." "Then Sixth Brother, tell me which minister said it. I'll go tell Father, or let's go to Father now and report it." The Ninth Prince sneered at the Sixth Prince, "Sixth Brother, do you dare?" The Sixth Prince's face instantly turned ugly, and he gritted his teeth, "You dare disturb Father, but I do not." Compared to the favored Ninth Prince, the Sixth Prince appeared not so favored. The Ninth Prince taunted, "I knew you wouldn't dare, Sixth Brother." "You..." The Sixth Prince indeed didn't dare, chiefly because he feared the Emperor. The princes revered the Emperor, taking pride in having him as a father, but they also greatly feared him. The Emperor was not very lenient toward his princes; when it was time to punish with a beating, he did not hold back. All the princes, including the Crown Prince, had been beaten by the Emperor. The Emperor, when angered, would punish immediately. The Sixth Prince was the one among the princes who had been beaten the most frequently and was frightened of the Emperor. Zhao Yao saw that the Sixth Prince no longer argued with the Ninth Prince and secretly despised him. Sixth Brother was truly pathetic, always losing to Ninth Brother in quarrels. However, the Ninth Brother was lucky to benefit from the Second Brother's favor and had been quite favored by the Emperor recently. It seemed that the Ninth Brother would be complacent for a while. But then, during this time, his ears might not find peace.