Chapter 380: Chapter 228: The Fate of the Tenth Prince
In Baihe Temple, the Emperor had already met with Qin Xiulian and comforted her well. Then, he let the accompanying Imperial Physician thoroughly check Qin Xiulian’s pulse.
The Imperial Physician said that Qin Xiulian was fine, just overly frightened, and that a few doses of calming soup would suffice.
The Emperor, still worried that Qin Xiulian might have nightmares and sleep poorly due to her fright, specifically asked the Daoist priest from Baihe Temple to give Qin Xiulian a Calming Talisman to help her sleep well at night.
He also ordered a thorough investigation into the assassination, instructing Sun Kui to find out who was truly behind it, no matter who it might be.
The Emperor arrived at Baihe Temple precisely at noon. After comforting Qin Xiulian, he had lunch there.
Zhao Yao thought he would be having lunch with the Emperor and Qin Xiulian, but unexpectedly, Qin Xiulian wasn’t present.
The Emperor saw Zhao Yao looking around and tapped him lightly on his little head, "What are you looking for?"
"Where’s Yingpin?" Zhao Yao asked frankly, "Isn’t she eating with us?"
"Why should she dine with us?" The Emperor rolled his eyes at Zhao Yao, "She’s not your mother consort."
What he said seemed to make sense, yet somehow felt not quite right.
"The vegetarian food at Baihe Temple is pretty good."
Upon hearing this from the Emperor, Zhao Yao’s attention immediately turned to the vegetarian dishes.
The father and son sat cross-legged on the ground facing each other, with a small low table in front of them.
Before the Emperor dined, an eunuch specially tasted the dishes to ensure there was no poison before the Emperor and his youngest son began the meal.
The Emperor first picked up some food for Zhao Yao, who immediately became wary.
"Eat up, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Father Emperor, you didn’t poison the food, did you?" Zhao Yao stared at the dish in his bowl warily, "I won’t eat it if it’ll give me an upset stomach." He was tricked like this by the Emperor before.
Hearing Zhao Yao’s suspicion, the Emperor raised an eyebrow and said darkly, "If you eat it, you’ll die, so what, dare to eat it or not?"
Zhao Yao was shocked, "Dirty Father Emperor, even a tiger won’t eat its own cubs."
The Emperor, annoyed, stuffed a chopstick-full of food into Zhao Yao’s small mouth, "You little rascal, eat up."
Sun Kui, seeing this, was genuinely worried that the Emperor would poke Zhao Yao’s throat with the chopsticks.
The Emperor had a sense of proportion and wouldn’t hurt Zhao Yao.
Zhao Yao took a few bites and found that the vegetarian dishes from Baihe Temple tasted quite good, and his clear eyes immediately sparkled.
"Does the taste suit the Tenth Prince’s palate?"
Zhao Yao nodded repeatedly, "Delicious." Finished speaking, he helped himself to more food.
The Emperor saw his greedy look and asked sarcastically, "Not afraid of poison anymore?"
"Dirty Father Emperor, if you poison me again and give me diarrhea, I’ll tell Mother Consort on you." Although it never helped to tell on Father, he still had to do it.
The Emperor snorted lightly, "Do you think I’m afraid of your Mother Consort?"
Sun Kui silently thought: Your Majesty, aren’t you afraid?
Zhao Yao gave a fierce glare, then angrily took one of the dishes in front of the Emperor and dumped half of it into his own bowl with his chopsticks.
The Emperor, seeing Zhao Yao snatch his food, glared at him twice and then also grabbed the food in front of Zhao Yao.
Sun Kui watched the Emperor and his son play a food-snatching skit, thinking fortunately the Princess Consort Ying wasn’t dining with them; otherwise, upon seeing the Emperor like this, she would surely be disappointed.
"Dirty Father Emperor, how can you as an Emperor snatch food from your son?"
"I’m your old man, why can’t I snatch your food?"
"Dirty Father Emperor, you shameless."
"You little brat, I’m your old man, you have to let me."
"You’ve taken all my food, how can I let you?" Zhao Yao yelled angrily, "What kind of father are you?"
"Everyone relies on their ability to grab food and eat, whoever grabs it, eats it, it’s not my fault you’re inept."
"Dirty Father Emperor..."
Standing on the side, Sun Kui watched the Emperor and his son fight over the food, quietly turned his head away, deciding not to watch any longer. He feared if he watched any more, he would...
Once again, Sun Kui sighed to himself: Fortunately, the Princess Consort Ying wasn’t here!
This lunch left Zhao Yao feeling very tired and still not full.
The Emperor, however, was very happy and ate his fill.
After finishing lunch, seeing the Emperor’s triumphant face, Zhao Yao couldn’t stand it and lunged at him.
The Emperor reached out to tickle Zhao Yao’s armpit, making Zhao Yao laugh heartily.
Zhao Yao also tried to tickle the Emperor, but since the Emperor wasn’t ticklish, he could only try to grab his face and ears.
The Emperor retaliated by lifting Zhao Yao’s little nose, mocking him as a pig, and even made Zhao Yao imitate pig noises.