Chapter 81: Chapter Eighty-One: First Update Liang Zhaoyi knew that Zhao Yao loved eating beef and hot pot, so she directly had the small kitchen prepare a beef hot pot. Zhao Yao sat at the dining table, staring intently at the beef hot pot in front of him, hesitating to pick up his chopsticks. Liang Zhaoyi and Yu Meiren saw Zhao Yao looking cautiously at the beef hot pot and asked with a smile and curiosity, "Yao Yao, this is your favorite beef hot pot, why aren’t you eating?" The Fifth Princess also found it strange, "Yao Yao, you keep clamoring to eat beef every day. Now that Father has gifted you so much beef, why aren’t you eating it?" Pan Cairen saw that Zhao Yao hadn’t touched the beef and hesitated to pick up her chopsticks as well. She asked in surprise, "Yao Yao, is something wrong with this beef?" Zhao Yao puffed his cheeks and said, "I think Father doesn’t have good intentions..." Before he could finish his sentence, his little ear was pinched by his mother, the consort. "Ouch, ouch, ouch... Mother, spare me." Zhao Yao quickly begged for mercy. "The Emperor saw that you like beef and gifted it to you, how can you say such things?" Zhao Yao rubbed his ear, sore from Liang Zhaoyi’s pinch, and pouted, "Why would Father suddenly be so kind?" He had often been teased by his Father, "In the past, when Father saw I liked certain foods, he deliberately wouldn’t let me have pastries and would eat them in front of me, saying a child eating too many pastries would spoil their teeth." "There was another time I wanted an apple, and Father deliberately had someone take it away." "And another time, I liked drinking the sweet soup Mother made, but when Father came, he snatched it away and said kids shouldn’t drink sweet soup." "Also, every time Father came to Kunde Hall, he would snatch my food. I liked chicken legs, and he would deliberately snatch them from me." Every time Zhao Yao thought about the Emperor snatching his food, his little face would puff up like a pufferfish. His eyes would turn red with anger, and his little expression would be very aggrieved. "I like egg custard, and Father snatched my egg custard away, finishing it entirely without leaving me a crumb!" The more Zhao Yao spoke, the angrier he became, "Whatever I like to eat, Father takes away. How could he possibly be kind enough to gift me beef?" What kind of father specifically snatches what his son likes to eat?! What kind of father loves bullying his son so much?! He knew his father liked to tease him. The angrier he was, the happier his father became. Every time Father came to Kunde Hall, he told himself not to fall for Father’s tricks, not to get angry, or Father would tease and bully him even more. Yet, every time, Father would make him angry, then sit nearby laughing very happily and loudly. Listening to Zhao Yao’s complaints, Yu Meiren, and Pan Cairen were taken aback, unable to believe the Emperor was like this. Liang Zhaoyi was well aware of the Emperor’s nature and how he liked to tease Zhao Yao for fun. "Father must have put something in the beef, then made me have diarrhea." Zhao Yao was scared of being teased by the Emperor and couldn’t believe he would kindly bestow him beef. Liang Zhaoyi reached out to stroke Zhao Yao’s little cheek, gently saying, "Your Father wouldn’t poison you to give you diarrhea." "It’s not like Father hasn’t tampered with my food before; he put Coptis in my sweet soup before, almost making me bitter to death." Once, Father came to Kunde Hall, very kindly brought him a bowl of sweet soup. At that moment, Zhao Yao thought Father was genuinely kind-hearted, but he never imagined Father had put Coptis in the sweet soup. He had never tasted something so bitter. Remembering this, a bitter taste rose in Zhao Yao’s mouth, and his face scrunched up. "Father must have put Coptis in the beef." Yu Meiren and Pan Cairen were speechless, not expecting the Emperor to be so wicked. Liang Zhaoyi picked up chopsticks, took a piece of beef from the pot, and started eating it, then she told Zhao Yao, "Not bitter, there’s no Coptis." "Mother, you’d better not eat it either." Zhao Yao still didn’t let his guard down, "Even if Father didn’t put Coptis in the beef, he might have added another drug, like making my stomach rumble constantly, or making me constantly fart." Father wasn’t beyond doing such things. The Fifth Princess listened in shock. She couldn’t believe the imposing Emperor in her heart could be so... bad! Yu Meiren and Pan Cairen were hearing such things for the first time, and their faces were full of disbelief. "Sister, did the Emperor really..." "Second Consort, Third Consort, I’m not lying to you; Father is really this bad!" Father just loved bullying him, taking pleasure in it! Third Brother liked abusing people, enjoyed whipping people, and that was inherited from Father! "Moreover, when I’m asleep at night, Father will pinch my nose and wake me up." Yu Meiren and the other two were momentarily at a loss for how to react. Zhao Yao angrily stated, "Father’s mischievous deeds are innumerable!" Liang Zhaoyi was amused by Zhao Yao’s words, pinched his little cheek, and teased him, "You even know the phrase innumerable?" "Mother, am I wrong?" "Your Father is just playing with you." Regarding the issue of the Emperor loving to tease Zhao Yao, Liang Zhaoyi was also helpless. She had previously advised the Emperor to stop bullying Zhao Yao, and the Emperor responded, "Sons are meant to be played with by their fathers," and he said Zhao Yao was fun. The Emperor loved seeing Zhao Yao’s angry appearance. With his eyes round and angry, his face flushed, and his expressions very fierce, but daring not to do anything. He often said Zhao Yao’s angry appearance resembled an angry young wolf cub. "It’s not just playing, it’s bullying me." The more Zhao Yao spoke, the more aggrieved he felt. "Mother, you always take Father’s side." "Mother promises you there’s nothing wrong with the beef," Liang Zhaoyi gently reassured him, "If anything’s wrong with the beef, Mother will seek justice for you." "Really?" Zhao Yao asked, somewhat unbelieving. "Really, Mother wouldn’t lie to you." Liang Zhaoyi picked up a piece of cooked beef and placed it in Zhao Yao’s bowl, "Mother assures you, the beef is delicious." Zhao Yao was half-convinced. Ultimately, he couldn’t resist the allure of the beef and decided to reluctantly trust Liang Zhaoyi’s words. He picked up the beef and began eating cautiously. After eating a couple of bites, his eyes immediately sparkled. "Delicious!" So what if Father put some strange drug in the beef, he’d still want to eat it. Because the beef hot pot was truly delicious. Liang Zhaoyi picked up a few more pieces of beef and put them in Zhao Yao’s bowl, "Eat more." After saying this, she turned her head to Yu Meiren and the others, "You all eat too." "Second Consort, Third Consort, Fifth Sister, the beef hot pot is absolutely delicious, hurry and eat." Yu Meiren and the others looked at Zhao Yao, amused. He had just been angrily saying the beef had problems and couldn’t be eaten, but now he was eating happily. Liang Zhaoyi laughed, "The beef really doesn’t have any problems, eat without worry." Upon hearing this from Liang Zhaoyi, Yu Meiren and the others no longer hesitated, picking up the beef and eating it. "Delicious!" "This beef tastes great in the hot pot!" "Yes, incredibly delicious." Zhao Yao said proudly, "I told you beef is the best meat in the world, and you didn’t believe me, but now you agree, right?" "Of course, our Yao Yao knows how to eat best." Liang Zhaoyi noticed Zhao Yao only eating beef and no other vegetables, feeling helpless. She picked up some spinach and brought it to Zhao Yao’s mouth, "Eat your veggies." Upon seeing the spinach, Zhao Yao immediately furrowed his small eyebrows, showing an expression of disgust. "If you don’t eat vegetables, you can’t eat beef." This child Yao Yao loves meat and dislikes vegetables, it’s hard to say who he inherited that from. Zhao Yao pouted and reluctantly opened his mouth to eat the spinach. Soon enough, Zhao Yao and the others finished all the beef in the pot. The beef hot pot was not only delicious but also very appetizing, making Liang Zhaoyi and the others inadvertently eat too much. After finishing lunch, they all felt stuffed. Liang Zhaoyi worried that Zhao Yao would have stomach issues in the afternoon, so she quickly gave him a digestion pill and then rubbed his little belly. "You weren’t saying the beef might be tampered with by your Father," Liang Zhaoyi pinched her son’s little nose, amused yet helpless, "yet you ate the most." "Can’t help it, the beef was too delicious." Zhao Yao laughed cheerfully, "I couldn’t resist the temptation of beef." Yu Meiren laughed, "This beef hot pot really tastes great, no wonder Yao Yao loves it so much." "Thanks to Yao Yao, we all got to enjoy such delicious beef today," Pan Cairen said. "Unfortunately, to eat beef again, we’ll have to wait for the Dragon Boat Festival." Liang Zhaoyi patted Zhao Yao’s little butt, "You just finished eating and are already thinking about the Dragon Boat Festival." "That’s how life remains hopeful." "Since you’ve eaten the beef, remember to go thank your Father," Liang Zhaoyi instructed, "After your studies this afternoon, go thank your Father." "If I don’t have a stomach ache after my studies, then I’ll thank Father." Although he had eaten the beef, he still suspected his Father might have done something behind the scenes.