Chapter 85: Chapter 85 Second Update Zhao Yao cried harder and harder: "Father is bullying me..." The Emperor was a bit panicked, wiping Zhao Yao’s tears while awkwardly coaxing him, "I’m just playing with you." Sun Kui saw the Emperor wiping Zhao Yao’s tears, and Zhao’s little face turning redder. Feeling it was unbearable, he quickly went to get a handkerchief. "Your Majesty, use a handkerchief." The Emperor took the yellow handkerchief handed by Sun Kui, made of top-grade silk, which didn’t hurt the face when used. "You’re a man, you shouldn’t cry." Zhao Yao sobbed, "I’m not a man, I’m a child, and children can cry." He glared at the Emperor accusingly, "It’s your fault, Father, for hurting me. Why can’t I cry?" "It’s clearly all your fault, and you’re blaming me." Zhao Yao looked aggrieved, "Father, you’re too mean." "Alright, alright, Father shouldn’t have hurt you." The Emperor gently coaxed, "No more crying, okay?" "No." Zhao Yao said loudly, "I want to go back to Mother Consort." The Emperor picked up his youngest son and let Zhao Yao sit on his lap, deliberately threatening him, "If you cry again, I’ll make you copy ’The Analects’..." Before he could finish, Zhao Yao let out a loud wail and cried even harder. Clearly, it was Father’s fault. Why did Father want to punish him by making him copy ’The Analects’? The Emperor was now completely at a loss and looked to Sun Kui for help. Sun Kui reacted quickly and went out to instruct Sun Doudou to bring some snacks. The Emperor hurriedly coaxed, "Father is just scaring you. I won’t make you copy ’The Analects’." This didn’t stop Zhao Yao’s crying, "Wah wah wah..." At this moment, Sun Kui came in carrying a plate of snacks. "Your Highness, the servant brought you your favorite snacks, please try them." He picked up a piece of pastry and handed it to the Emperor. The Emperor took the snack and brought it to Zhao Yao’s mouth: "This is your favorite date pastry." Zhao Yao turned his head away, unwilling to eat. The Emperor, seeing this, directly fed the pastry into Zhao Yao’s mouth. "Your Majesty..." Sun Kui was about to stop him, but the Emperor already stuffed the pastry into Zhao Yao’s mouth. He looked worried, fearing Zhao Yao might choke. The Emperor was still somewhat measured and didn’t stuff the whole piece of pastry into Zhao Yao’s mouth, but only a small portion. In his anger, Zhao Yao didn’t want to eat the date pastry and was about to spit it out when he heard his father say, "If you spit it out, you won’t be allowed to eat date pastries anymore." He added, "You won’t be allowed to eat any snacks in the future." Upon hearing this, Zhao Yao forgot to cry, his eyes wide open. "If you eat the date pastry now, you can still eat snacks later." The Emperor threatened, "Will you eat it or not?" Sun Kui: "..." Oh my, Your Majesty, is this how you coax a child? This threat was very effective on Zhao Yao. Zhao Yao glared fiercely at the Emperor and then resolutely swallowed the pastry in his mouth. He chewed very hard, as if biting someone. After Zhao Yao finished eating, the Emperor stuffed another piece of date pastry into his mouth. Zhao Yao choked, coughing violently. The Emperor hurriedly grabbed the tea cup from the imperial table to feed Zhao Yao water. Zhao Yao drank several sips of tea before stopping his cough. "Keep eating." The Emperor pointed to a plate of snacks on the imperial table, "This plate of snacks is all yours." As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something and instructed Sun Kui, "Go prepare a bowl of sugar water." As soon as he heard the words "sugar water", Zhao Yao’s eyes lit up instantly. Then he thought of something and looked cautiously at the Emperor: "Father, you’re not going to put coptis root in the sugar water again, are you?" "Not this time. However, if you cry again, I’ll have someone put coptis root in it." Zhao Yao: "..." Why does he have such a wicked father? Sun Kui: "..." Your Majesty, it’s one thing for you to tease the ministers with your mischief. But why are you teasing the tenth prince? Putting coptis root in his sugar water—is that something a normal father would do? "Will you cry or not?" Zhao Yao wanted to cry but didn’t dare. If he cried, not only would there be no snacks to eat, but he’d also have to drink sugar water with coptis root. "I won’t cry." "That’s a good boy." The Emperor turned and said to Sun Kui, "Go bring the sugar water." "Yes, Your Majesty." Soon, Sun Kui returned with freshly made sugar water. The Emperor took the sugar water but didn’t immediately give it to his youngest son. He tasted it first. Seeing that the sugar water was a bit hot, he scooped it with a spoon and blew on it. When the sugar water had cooled a bit, he fed it to Zhao Yao. The sweetness of the sugar water brought a happy smile to Zhao Yao’s little face. Seeing his youngest son’s eyes turn into crescents after drinking the sugar water, the Emperor chuckled, "Is sugar water really that good?" "Yes, it’s sweet!" Zhao Yao loved eating sweet things. As soon as he ate something sweet, he would become happy. "If you eat too many sweets, bugs will grow in your teeth, and they’ll ruin your teeth. Aren’t you afraid?" "I’m not afraid of bugs." "When you lose your teeth, don’t cry." Zhao Yao retorted defiantly, "I won’t cry." The Emperor teased, "Who was crying just now, a puppy?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎 "If you hadn’t pinched me, Father, I wouldn’t have cried." Zhao Yao said angrily, "Father, you’re the culprit." "Oh, not bad, you even know what a culprit is." The Emperor laughed, "It seems you’ve been studying well lately." At the mention of "studying," Zhao Yao couldn’t help but feel nervous, looking at the Emperor with wary eyes: "Father, you’re not going to make me copy books again, are you?" "I asked you to copy ’The Analects’ a hundred times before, have you finished?" The Emperor deliberately put on a stern face, "If you haven’t finished, I’ll make you copy it another hundred times." "Almost done." Luckily he had the parrot to help him copy, otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to finish it himself. If unfinished, he’d have to copy another hundred times, and he’d never finish. "I will check." The Emperor feigned severity, "If you fool me, I won’t let you off lightly!" Zhao Yao felt a bit guilty, unknowingly showing a scared expression. The Emperor saw it and quickly put away his serious expression, continuing to feed Zhao Yao sugar water. After drinking the sugar water, Zhao Yao continued to eat date pastries. Watching his youngest son hold the pastry with both hands, eating little by little with his head down, the Emperor’s heart felt a warm softness. Beside him, Sun Kui also looked at Zhao Yao with a loving gaze. The tenth prince is truly adorable. A plate of snacks was quickly finished by Zhao Yao. "Burp..." Zhao Yao burped. "Are you full?" "Actually, I can eat another plate of snacks." When it comes to snacks, he can never get full. "No more, you can’t eat any more." Zhao Yao pouted unhappily and muttered softly, "Stingy." "Alright, I accept your gratitude, now leave." The Emperor let Zhao Yao go, reaching out to pat his little son’s bottom. Zhao Yao obediently saluted the Emperor, "Your son takes his leave." After saying that, he made a funny face at the Emperor and stuck out his tongue. Then he quickly ran out of the Imperial Study. Seeing Zhao Yao leave, Lingyun glanced at the Emperor. The Emperor nodded at it, "Go on." Lingyun hurriedly flew out to chase after Zhao Yao. "Your Majesty, did you really put coptis root in the tenth prince’s sugar water?" Sun Kui hadn’t heard of this before; it was his first time hearing about it. "This little rascal loves sweets. Besides eating snacks every day, he loves to drink sugar water, especially before bed. I was afraid he’d ruin his teeth, so I deliberately put coptis root in his sugar water." The Emperor chuckled gently, "Since drinking the coptis root sugar water, he’s never dared to drink sugar water before bed." Sun Kui: "..." Ordinary people wouldn’t think of putting coptis root in sugar water. "I’m doing it for his own good, but this little rascal bears a grudge." The Emperor shook his head helplessly, smiling indulgently, "He’s nothing like me, but a bit like my elder brother." "Prince Yi Yong?" When the former Emperor ascended the throne, he posthumously conferred his late eldest son as Prince Yi Yong. The term "Yi Yong" perfectly describes the Emperor’s elder brother. "Yes, my brother also loved sweets, but he thought eating sweets wasn’t manly. He always ate them secretly." Recalling the amusing things from the past, the Emperor’s face showed a nostalgic expression, "When I was young, I didn’t like eating snacks, but my brother, in order to eat them, would deliberately tell Father and Mother that I wanted to eat." "Using you as a scapegoat?" "Yes, he’d go out to buy snacks, clearly buying them for himself, but he’d tell the shopkeeper it was for his little brother, making everyone think I loved snacks." "I didn’t expect Prince Yi Yong had this side to him." "He thought snacks were delicious and forced me to eat them." The Emperor laughed, "My brother loved to share the things he liked to eat with me. If he found something delicious outside, he’d bring it back for me." When my brother passed away, he had a roast chicken in his arms, saying he wanted to bring it back for me to eat. "Your Majesty, Prince Yi Yong really cared for you." "I was the youngest brother; my brothers and sisters all spoiled me. Unfortunately, they’re no longer here." The Emperor said, "Little Ten’s left dimple is just like my brother’s." When he was young, he loved to poke his brother’s right cheek, hoping to poke out another dimple for him. "Nephews generally resemble their uncles, just like nephews resemble their uncles on their mother’s side." "My brother wasn’t as mischievous as Little Ten when he was a child." Sun Kui exclaimed, "Haven’t you always said the tenth prince is silly?" The Emperor smiled meaningfully and said, "He’s not silly at all."