Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne-Chapter 183 - 154: Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

In the house at the junction of East Market and West Market, a middle-aged man sat in the backyard, staring blankly at the distant sky.

At this moment, a flock of crows flew from afar and landed on the tree beside the middle-aged man.

Lai Wu cawed twice at the middle-aged man in the wheelchair, as if greeting him.

The middle-aged man withdrew his gaze from the distant sky and looked at Lai Wu on the tree.

"So you’ve come."

Lai Wu flew down from the tree, landing on the armrest of the middle-aged man’s wheelchair, tilting its little head to caw twice more at him.

The middle-aged man raised his hand to pet the feathers on Lai Wu’s back. "Are you here to ask for food?"

Lai Wu rubbed its little head against the middle-aged man’s palm, and the corners of the man’s mouth lifted slightly.

"Bring some snacks and apples." Zhao Yao had once mentioned in a letter that Lai Wu and the others liked snacks and apples.

A moment later, an ordinary man brought some crumbled snacks and chopped apples. The middle-aged man instructed him to scatter them on a stone table nearby.

Lai Wu led the way to the stone table, lowered its head, and began eating the snacks and apples. Then, all the crows on the tree flew down to enjoy their "feast."

The middle-aged man sat nearby, watching Lai Wu and the others eat.

After they finished eating, the ordinary man prepared a basin of clean water for them to drink.

Once sated, Lai Wu and the others did not fly away.

Lai Wu flew to the armrest of the wheelchair, while the other crows returned to the tree.

The middle-aged man reached out his hand to hold Lai Wu in his arms, petting its little head and the feathers on its back.

Lai Wu squinted its small eyes, enjoying the middle-aged man’s caresses.

The middle-aged man gazed south, softly talking to himself, "I wonder how that kid is doing?" Naturally, the "kid" he referred to was Zhao Yao.

Lai Wu lightly flapped its wings at the middle-aged man, then flew towards the South Suburb. The crows on the tree quickly followed.

Just then, a carrier pigeon flew in.

A man in nightwear appeared, catching the pigeon standing on the wall. He took the letter from the pigeon’s leg and read it in front of the middle-aged man.

After reading the letter, the man in nightwear handed it to the middle-aged man.

Though someone else had read his letter, the middle-aged man was not annoyed. He reached out and took the letter, which contained nothing special, just an old subordinate asking how he was doing.

The middle-aged man smiled wryly and then had the ordinary man push him back to the study. He wrote a reply to his former subordinate, "Doing well, don’t worry."

All along, the middle-aged man had only replied with these four words, never writing a word more.

After writing the reply, the middle-aged man handed it to the man in nightwear who appeared out of nowhere.

The man in nightwear took the letter and disappeared from the study. He returned to the backyard, tying the middle-aged man’s reply to the carrier pigeon.

The carrier pigeon tilted its head to look at the man in nightwear and then flew away, flapping its small wings.

The middle-aged man did not return to the backyard but stayed in the study to read. He was reading the "Spring and Autumn Annals."

He wondered how the child was doing with his studies.

Observing the fourth prince and others planting rice seedlings on the field ridge, Zhao Yao felt his nose itch, wanting to sneeze but unable to.

He muttered to himself, "Who is speaking ill of me?"

"Fourth Brother, let me get into the field." He was somewhat bored watching his fourth brother and the others plant seedlings from the ridge. "It’s warmer in the afternoon, I won’t catch a cold."

"The water in the field is still cold, your body can’t take it," the fourth prince had just finished speaking when he felt a pain in his leg. Looking down, he found a leech. He leisurely walked to the ridge and quickly brushed the leech off his leg.

"This leech is so fat," Zhao Yao initially found it a bit frightening and disgusting, but he was already used to it and was no longer afraid. "How much blood has it sucked?"

After brushing off the leech, the fourth prince picked it up with a twig and placed it in a bamboo basket.

"Fourth Brother, can ducks really eat leeches?" The fourth prince placed the leech in the bamboo basket to give to the local villagers who raised ducks.

Actually, before planting rice seedlings, villagers would release their ducks into the fields to peck at the leeches.

But it’s impossible to eradicate all leeches; there will always be some that escape.

"Yes, they can." The fourth prince returned to the field to continue planting rice seedlings. "Dried and ground into powder, leeches are a medicinal ingredient."

"Ah, they’re also medicinal?" Zhao Yao was amazed. "What kind of ailments do they treat?"

"As a medicinal ingredient, they promote blood circulation and disperse stasis, reduce swelling, and relieve pain," said the fourth prince. "The villagers catch leeches, dry them, and then sell them to medicine shops or clinics."

"I never thought such a disgusting creature could be medicinal."

The fourth prince smiled gently, "Everything has its good and bad sides; you can’t just look at the surface." He added, "Leeches seem disgusting and bloodsucking—that’s their bad side. But they also have medicinal value, which is their good side. So, you can’t just judge things by appearances."

Zhao Yao immediately understood, "Fourth Brother, you’re telling me not to judge by appearances!"

Seeing that Zhao Yao understood, the fourth prince smiled contentedly, "That’s right, don’t judge by appearances." In fact, the tenth prince was very smart and quick to grasp things. "When judging people, you should also not judge by appearances, understand?"

Zhao Yao obediently nodded, "Fourth Brother, I understand."

The fourth prince hesitated a moment before speaking, "Some people seem gentle and harmless, but actually have a kind face and a ruthless heart. Some people’s appearance seems fierce, but they have a very kind heart."

"Fourth Brother, I’ve never judged people by their appearances."

The fourth prince looked deeply at Zhao Yao and said, "Also, sometimes people who treat you well may not be genuinely good to you."

"Huh?" Zhao Yao was first surprised, then puzzled, asking, "Fourth Brother, what do you mean by someone being good to me but not truly good? Who is it?"

"I was just giving an example."

"Oh, oh, oh." Zhao Yao confidently replied, "Fourth Brother, I’m smart, I know who is genuinely good to me and who isn’t."

The fourth prince asked, "Then who do you think is truly good to you?"

"You, Fourth Brother, you are truly good to me."

The fourth prince’s heart was slightly touched hearing this, and then a smile appeared on his face, "You’re right. So who isn’t truly good to you?"

Zhao Yao thought for a moment before saying, "Not for now."

"No one?"

Zhao Yao nodded affirmatively, then lowered his voice and said, "Third Brother and the others are openly not good to me."

The fourth prince wanted to mention the eighth prince, but stopped himself just before speaking.

As they talked, they heard lively sounds from a nearby field. freewёbnoνel.com

It turned out Prince Dai was competing with the Crown Prince in planting rice seedlings, with the villagers cheering them on.

"Fourth Brother, I’m going over to take a look." After saying this, Zhao Yao ran over.

In the field, the Crown Prince and Prince Dai were skillfully and swiftly planting rice seedlings.

In the morning, Prince Dai’s movements were still very unskilled when he began planting. But after the morning’s practice, his actions became very adept.

The competition was proposed by Prince Dai.

Although the Crown Prince’s martial skills were inferior to Prince Dai’s, and he couldn’t match him in leading troops into battle, his speed in planting rice seedlings was not any slower than Prince Dai’s.

The Emperor would often come to the fields, working alongside the villagers. At such times, the Crown Prince would stay by his side, joining him in the fieldwork.

Among all the princes, the Crown Prince had relatively rich experience in farming. It wasn’t as easy for Prince Dai to win against the Crown Prince in planting rice seedlings.

Prince Dai’s goal in suggesting the competition was simple: to embarrass the Crown Prince.

The Emperor appointed an old man as the judge. The competition not only evaluated speed but also the quality of the planting.

Prince Dai, eager to win, prioritized speed over proper planting, thus neglecting the health of the seedlings. Although he was faster than the Crown Prince, the quality of his planting was poor.

The experienced old man praised the Crown Prince’s planting, saying the seedlings would thrive, whereas Prince Dai’s poorly planted seedlings likely wouldn’t survive.

The old man advised Prince Dai that haste leads to mistakes in planting, resulting in poor crop growth and ultimately affecting the harvest.

He praised the Crown Prince’s planting skills, evident from his steady, habitual approach to such tasks.

Prince Dai naturally felt dissatisfied but couldn’t openly retort.

The Emperor kicked Prince Dai in the backside, sending him tumbling in the mud, much to the crowd’s amusement.

"You better plant well, or no dinner for you tonight!"

Prince Dai, far from being offended by the public scolding, laughed happily.

"I will plant well, Father!"

Turning to the Crown Prince, the Emperor uncommonly praised, "Well planted."

Surprised by this rare compliment from the Emperor, the Crown Prince was momentarily stunned before his face showed a hint of excited joy.

"Thank you, Father, for your praise."

Seeing this, a shadow of darkness passed through Prince Dai’s eyes.

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