In front of the doors of the Imperial Study in Chengguang Hall, the Emperor squatted on the stone steps with his hands tucked into his sleeves like an old man.
The Emperor squatted, so naturally, Sun Kui and the others could not stand. They kneeled on the ground.
With a blade of grass, who knows from where, dangling from his mouth, the Emperor squatted on the stone steps, shaking his leg like a street loafer, bereft of any imperial dignity.
Sun Doudou shot Sun Kui a glance, as if asking his mentor, "What’s happened to His Majesty?"
Sun Kui returned a cold look to his student, as if to say, "Don’t ask too much."
The Emperor chewed the grass for a while before spitting it out in disdain, then sighed softly, "Ah..."
Hearing his sigh, Sun Kui, kneeling behind the Emperor, hurriedly asked with concern, "Your Majesty, what’s troubling you? Is something bothering you?"
"I have plenty of troubles," the Emperor sighed again, "Ah..."
As they spoke, a man in a guard uniform approached. He first saluted the Emperor, then respectfully reported, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Tenth went to that residence. Should we let His Highness stay?"
The Emperor was not at all surprised by Zhao Yao visiting that place again, "Did he chase Little Ten away?"
"No, he is teaching His Highness the Tenth to read the ’Spring and Autumn Annals.’"
Hearing this, the Emperor’s previously impatient face showed a look of complete interest.
"Oh, teaching Little Ten the ’Spring and Autumn Annals’?"
"Did Little Ten pass his examination?" That person would not teach someone at random, even if Little Ten resembled his older brother, that person wouldn’t easily mentor Little Ten.
The Emperor pulled his right hand out from his sleeve, patting his knee while laughing heartily, "As expected of my son."
Sun Doudou listened in complete confusion, having no idea what the Emperor and the rest were talking about. Meanwhile, his mentor Sun Kui looked utterly shocked.
His Highness the Tenth actually passed that person’s examination?!
"Your Majesty, about His Highness the Tenth..."
"Since that kid passed his examination, let him study under him." The Emperor had always intended for that person to teach Zhao Yao. "Don’t stop him."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The man in the guard uniform said, then respectfully retreated.
"That boy did well, didn’t embarrass me." The Emperor said joyfully.
"Your Majesty, are you sure that person won’t be harmful to His Highness the Tenth?" Sun Kui knew of that person’s prowess and tactics and was quite petrified of him. He was genuinely worried that person might harm Zhao Yao.
"He won’t; since Little Ten passed his examination, he will take Little Ten as his student." The Emperor said proudly, "He will teach Little Ten with care and protect him."
"Though His Highness the Tenth resembles Prince Yi Yong, that person truly despises you deeply. As His Highness the Tenth is your son, are you truly not worried that he might deliberately misguide him?" Sun Kui thought such a dangerous person should be kept away from His Highness the Tenth.
"Didn’t I say before, I rather hope he would misguide Little Ten, but alas..." the Emperor shook his head, "Unfortunately, he won’t succeed in misguiding Little Ten." After saying this, he attempted to stand, but as soon as he did, an intense tingling pain shot through his legs, causing him to inhale sharply.
Sun Kui heard the Emperor’s intake of breath and saw him squat back down, quickly standing to assist him.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
The Emperor frowned and said, "My legs have gone numb from sitting." Then, he plopped down on the ground.
Sun Kui hastened to massage the Emperor’s legs; seeing this, Sun Doudou also came over to massage his other leg.
The Emperor gritted his teeth and said, "I’m really getting old; just a little while of squatting, and my legs go numb."
"Your Majesty, this isn’t about age but because you squatted too long." Sun Kui massaged with all the skill of someone practiced, indicating this wasn’t his first time massaging the Emperor. "Anyone’s legs would go numb squatting for too long."
"You always know what to say." The Emperor waved Sun Kui and the others away, "Alright, my legs are no longer numb."
Sun Kui and Sun Doudou retreated to the side.
The Emperor sat on the stone steps, bent his right leg, resting his right hand casually atop it. His eyes gazed far into the sky as he softly muttered, "Just now, I dreamed of my older brother." Moments ago, the Emperor grew exhausted from reviewing memorials and dozed off in his chair, dreaming of his older brother. In the dream, he saw his older brother in his youth and himself as a child.
"What did you dream about Prince Yi Yong?"
The Emperor chuckled gently, "I dreamed of my older brother taking me to steal chickens. When I was young, there was a landlord in the village whose chickens and ducks were well-fed, and at that time, we hadn’t eaten meat in a long while."