In the dining hall behind Chengguang Hall, the Emperor yawned as he had breakfast.
Standing nearby, Sun Kui noticed the Emperor yawning non-stop, tears even forming at the corners of his eyes. Concerned, he asked, "Your Majesty, didn’t you sleep well last night?"
Yawning, the Emperor replied, "Hmm, I dreamt all night long."
"Did you have a nightmare?" It wasn’t Sun Kui who watched over the Emperor last night, but his apprentice Sun Doudou. Seeing that Sun Doudou didn’t notice the Emperor’s nightmares, Sun Kui cursed his apprentice inwardly and decided to harshly scold his apprentice later.
"Ah..." The Emperor opened his mouth wide, completely unbothered about his image, and yawned, "It wasn’t a nightmare. I don’t even remember what I dreamt about."
"It’s all my fault. If I were on duty last night, I would’ve prepared a calming soup for you." Sun Kui said, full of self-blame.
The Emperor waved his hand, "It’s not your fault." After speaking, he yawned several more times.
"Your Majesty, shall I call the Imperial Physician?"
"No need for the Imperial Physician just because I didn’t sleep well from dreams," the Emperor said, "What I need now is sleep, not a physician."
"But, Your Majesty, you have morning assembly soon."
"I don’t want to attend the morning assembly, nor do I want to go to the spring hunt." The Emperor, laying on the table, eyes half-closed, eating a sesame seed cake and yawning again, said languidly, "I just want to sleep now."
Sun Kui suggested, "Your Majesty, you should attend the assembly first, and sleep during the journey to the hunting ground."
"No, I want to sleep now." The Emperor said obstinately, "I’m extremely sleepy right now, only wanting to sleep and doing nothing else." He yawned again, "Go tell them no assembly today, and no spring hunt either; let them return."
Listening to this, Sun Kui thought deeply, once again! The Emperor’s old habit is acting up again!
"Your Majesty, you must attend the morning assembly, and you must go for the spring hunt."
"I’m not going, I just won’t go."
"Your Majesty, your word is your bond, you can’t go back on it," Sun Kui patiently placated, "You personally announced the spring hunt, and now everyone is prepared. If you don’t go, wouldn’t you be going back on your word?"
"So what if I go back on my word," the Emperor replied impatiently, "I don’t want to be this damn Emperor anymore, don’t want to." As this damn Emperor, he couldn’t even sleep in.
Seeing the Emperor behave like a child, Sun Kui said with a face full of helplessness, "Your Majesty, in one more moment, it will be time for assembly. You can throw a tantrum a little longer..." He hadn’t finished speaking when the Emperor threw a sesame seed cake at his face.
"You’ve got some nerve, mocking me," the Emperor glared angrily at Sun Kui.
Sun Kui smiled ingratiatingly at the Emperor, "I wouldn’t dare."
The Emperor lifted his feet onto the dining table, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes with a look that said, "I want to sleep, and even if the sky falls, it won’t matter."
Sun Kui said nothing more, standing quietly and calmly at one side.
It wasn’t the first time the Emperor had acted this way, Sun Kui was used to him occasionally throwing tantrums.
In the past, when the Emperor refused to attend the assembly, Sun Kui coaxed him earnestly. When persuasion didn’t work, he even brought in Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu to persuade the Emperor.
Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu told him not to bother the Emperor, to let him act up, and when he calmed down, he’d attend the assembly quietly.
Initially, Sun Kui didn’t believe it, but later found it to be true. Henceforth, when the Emperor acted up, Sun Kui symbolically tried a few words of persuasion, then obediently waited on the side for the Emperor to finish his tantrum.
The Emperor closed his eyes for a while, seeing that Sun Kui wasn’t persuading him to attend the assembly, opened one eye to look at Sun Kui, "Grandson, why aren’t you continuing to urge me?"
To this reaction from the Emperor, Sun Kui wasn’t surprised at all. Holding back laughter, he said, "Because I know, Your Majesty, that you can’t really skip the assembly."
Seeing his thoughts uncovered, the Emperor’s face showed no embarrassment or shame. He pouted and said, "One day, I will abolish the morning assembly."
Standing on the side, Sun Kui thought silently: Your Majesty, you’ve been saying this since shortly after ascending the throne, and yet, all these years, you haven’t dared to abolish the assembly.
The Emperor put his feet down from the table, picked up another sesame seed cake from the table and started eating.
On seeing this, Sun Kui quickly brought him a cup of hot tea.
The Emperor finished the cake in a few bites, took the cup that Sun Kui offered, and drank the tea in large gulps, regardless of appearance. After finishing, he placed the cup back on the table with a heavy thud as if in defiance.
Watching the Emperor act like a spoiled child, Sun Kui lowered his head, covering his mouth, preventing himself from bursting into laughter.