Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne-Chapter 186 - 156: Fourth Brother Couldn’t Possibly Know, Right?..._2

Chapter 186: Chapter 156: Fourth Brother Couldn’t Possibly Know, Right?..._2

"The most displeasing aspect to Father about Crown Prince is his excessive reliance on the Duke Zhen Country Mansion." The Crown Prince is a good person, but as Mother Consort said, he cannot be too gentle as a successor.

Seeing her son could understand this, Liang Zhaoyi wasn’t surprised at all.

"Since ancient times, when maternal relatives become too powerful, they can bring disaster to the court and the people."

"So both Crown Prince and Second Brother..." Zhao Yao didn’t say the words "have no hope."

Liang Zhaoyi knew what Zhao Yao left unsaid. She changed the topic to something else: "After dinner, Mother Consort will take you out for a walk to aid digestion, otherwise, you’ll have a stomachache tonight."

"Mother Consort, I’m going to visit Eighth Brother in a bit; the round trip will help digestion."

"That works." Liang Zhaoyi suddenly thought of something, "Oh right, your Second Mother Consort and I have made several outfits, shoes, and socks for the Eighth Prince; you can bring them to him."

"Aren’t these supposed to be birthday gifts for Eighth Brother? Why give them now?" In a few days, it’d be Eighth Brother’s birthday, and that’s why Mother Consort and the others made him several sets of clothes.

"Giving them a few days early means your Eighth Brother can wear them a few days earlier," Liang Zhaoyi laughed.

"Eighth Brother will definitely like them. Mother Consort and Second Mother Consort often make clothes for him, and he loves them so much that sometimes he refrains from wearing them."

After finishing dinner, Zhao Yao felt a bit stuffed and then, with Tong Xi, headed to Xinde Palace.

The Eighth Prince thought Zhao Yao came to see him so late because something was up.

"Eighth Brother, I’m fine. I just ate too much, came out for a walk to aid digestion, and thought to visit you." Zhao Yao took a package from Tong Xi’s hands, "Also, to deliver these things from Mother Consort; these are clothes she and the others made for you as a birthday gift in a few days."

"Thank you to Lady Zhao and the others for their hard work." The Eighth Prince opened the package, finding three sets of clothes inside. A dark green robe, two inner garments, and two pairs of socks and shoes. "When I recover, I’ll personally go thank them." Every year on his birthday, Liang Zhaoyi and the others make him several sets of clothes. Though he doesn’t have a Mother Consort, he feels familial love from Liang Zhaoyi and the others.

In fact, when Mother Consort was alive, she never made clothes for him. His clothes were made by his nursemaid.

Liang Zhaoyi and the others are not related by blood but they have always cared for him.

"What would you want for your birthday gift, Eighth Brother?" Zhao Yao asked, "I can’t afford anything too expensive."

"Tenth Brother, you say that every year, yet you end up giving me some delicious food. I bet you’ll give me some tasty treats this year too."

"You said I could give whatever I wanted."

"I heard you drew a portrait for Fourth Brother, so this year, why don’t you give me a portrait as well?" The Eighth Prince felt quite envious about this matter.

Zhao Yao raised his hand to slap his forehead and said with a look of annoyance, "How could I forget this? I was planning to give you a portrait."

"Then give it to me as a birthday gift."

"Alright." The portrait was initially meant for Eighth Brother, but it couldn’t be the birthday gift; he’d have to prepare another present for Eighth Brother. Of course, he couldn’t let Eighth Brother know now, or there wouldn’t be any surprise.

The Eighth Prince inquired about what had happened today. Zhao Yao chattered on about all that had transpired.

Once done, seeing that it wasn’t early, Zhao Yao left with Tong Xi.

Leaning against the bedpost, the Eighth Prince held the clothes made by Liang Zhaoyi and the others.

"Your Highness, in this palace, only the Tenth Prince and Liang Zhaoyi and the others always remember your birthday." Fortunately, there are still people in this palace who remember his birthday and specifically prepare birthday gifts for him.

"Having them is enough." The Eighth Prince handed the new clothes to Yu Hai, "Put them away for now; I’ll wear them when I recover."

"Yes, Your Highness." Although Liang Zhaoyi and the others are not his Mother Consort, they care for him as if they were.

After leaving the Eighth Prince’s room, Zhao Yao didn’t hurry back but diverted to Fourth Prince’s courtyard.

Fourth Prince was reading a book and was a bit surprised to see Zhao Yao come looking for him so late.

"Tenth Brother, why come to find me at this hour?"

"Fourth Brother, I ate too much tonight—came out for a walk to aid digestion... hic..." Before he could finish, Zhao Yao let out a burp.

"How much did you eat?" Fourth Prince made a gesture to Wei Mian, who immediately got the hint.

"I had three bowls of rice, drank several bowls of soup, and ate a pie... hic..." Zhao Yao burped again.

"How could you eat so much?" Fourth Prince frowned slightly, "Doesn’t your stomach feel uncomfortable?"

"I was hungry. When I got to the palace, I was almost starving," Zhao Yao said, rubbing his belly, "It’s not uncomfortable."

At this moment, Wei Mian came over with a small medicine bottle, handing it to Fourth Prince with both hands.

Fourth Prince received the bottle, opened it, and fetched out a pill, handing it to Zhao Yao.

"It’s digestive medicine; take it, and you won’t have a stomachache while sleeping tonight."

"Fourth Brother, I’ve already taken digestive medicine." Right after lunch, Mother Consort had given him one.

"You’re still burping, so take another one."

"Alright then." Zhao Yao took the pill, tossed it high into the air, then opened his mouth and caught it, swallowing it whole.

Seeing this, Fourth Prince helplessly smiled and then picked up a cup of tea from the table.

"Have a sip of tea."

Zhao Yao took the teacup and drank a couple of sips.

"In the future, don’t eat so much at night." Fourth Prince advised, "Eating too much at night can cause indigestion, leading to stomachaches."

"Fourth Brother, it’s because I was hungry." Zhao Yao said, wrinkling his little nose, "Those buns and flatbread don’t fill you up."

"They’re made with coarse flour and grains, so naturally, they don’t fill you up."

"So that’s how it is."

Fourth Prince briefly introduced Zhao Yao to the grains, which ones are filling and which are not, as well as the prices of these grains.

All along, Fourth Prince had been keeping track of grain prices.

Whenever grain prices fluctuated slightly, he would have someone investigate the reasons thoroughly.

After chatting with Fourth Prince for a while, Zhao Yao got up and took his leave.

On the way back to Kunde Hall, Tong Xi remarked, "I didn’t expect Fourth Prince to know so much about grains."

"Fourth Brother probably often pays attention to these matters." Zhao Yao walked leisurely with his hands interlocked behind his head, "Fourth Brother never flaunts his actions; if he hadn’t talked about the grain prices, we wouldn’t have known he understands the grain situation so well."

"Fourth Prince does things quietly and discreetly."

Suddenly, something from earlier passed Zhao Yao’s mind: Fourth Brother’s words in the fields about not judging by appearances. He was startled as he thought: Could Fourth Brother possibly know about what Eighth Brother did?

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺