Upon hearing the words "wild vegetables," Zhao Yao’s eyes instantly lit up: "Can we have dumplings with wild vegetable filling tonight? Wild vegetable dumplings taste the best."
"You want to eat wild vegetable dumplings?"
Zhao Yao nodded repeatedly: "I want to eat them, very much."
Seeing her son looking like a little glutton, Liang Zhaoyi smiled indulgently: "Alright, I’ll make wild vegetable dumplings for you tonight."
"Then I’ll invite Fourth Brother to eat with us tonight."
"Sure."
"I also want to eat wild vegetables stir-fried with lamb, wild vegetables stir-fried with venison, wild vegetables stir-fried with venison..." Zhao Yao rattled off a few dishes.
"Looks like we need to pick more wild vegetables today, or else it won’t be enough for you to eat."
Zhao Yao nodded and said, "Mother, you need to pick a lot of wild vegetables, or else it really won’t be enough for to eat." He didn’t like eating regular vegetables, but he liked wild vegetables. "In the afternoon, I’ll also pick so wild vegetables and take so back to the palace."
"Okay, go find the Fourth Prince. Don’t keep him waiting too long."
"Mother, I’m leaving then."
Just as Zhao Yao was about to find the Fourth Prince, the Fourth Prince ca looking for him first.
The Fourth Prince gave Liang Zhaoyi a polite greeting, then took Zhao Yao to hunt.
Zhao Yao suggested going hunting in the western woods to stay away from Prince Dai and the Third Prince.
Compared to the eastern and southern woods, the western woods had far fewer prey. Prince Dai and the Third Prince wouldn’t co to hunt in the western woods.
The Fourth Prince also didn’t want to hunt with Prince Dai and them, so he agreed to hunt in the western woods.
Chu Huan and three others went hunting with Zhao Yao.
Because he was preoccupied with the thought of the assassination, Zhao Yao was sowhat distracted while hunting. By noon, the morning hunt ended without any incident.
Zhao Yao found it strange, wondering if Eighth Brother planned to assassinate Second Brother this afternoon or tomorrow morning.
Though sowhat distracted during the morning hunt, Zhao Yao was lucky enough to catch a deer.
The Fourth Prince accompanied Zhao Yao hunting and didn’t catch as much prey as he did the morning before.
As soon as they returned to the camp, they heard big news.
While hunting in the morning, the Emperor encountered a pack of wolves and almost had an accident. Luckily, he was rescued by a young man, who turned out to not be a young man, but a lady.
"I heard the lady who saved the Emperor is very beautiful," Tong Xi said, "The Emperor carried her back to the camp."
Wei Mian continued from Tong Xi, saying, "The Emperor is very concerned about that lady, and she is still staying in the Emperor’s tent."
The Fourth Prince furrowed his brow upon hearing this. He asked concernedly, "Was Father injured?"
"The Emperor was not injured, but that lady was bitten by a wolf while saving him," Wei Mian replied, "I heard she’s quite seriously hurt."
Tong Xi said, "I heard that lady looks very much like soone His Majesty used to know."
The lady they spoke of was the daughter of Doctor Zhong San.
After hearing what Wei Mian and Tong Xi said, Zhao Yao felt this seed very familiar, as if he’d heard it sowhere before. No, not familiar by ear, but familiar by sight. Isn’t this the kind of story that’s often in the novels Mother and the others read?
"Father’s old acquaintance wouldn’t happen to be his lover, would she? And then this lady who saved Father looks exactly like that old acquaintance."
"Ah?" Wei Mian and Tong Xi were shocked, "Your Highness, how did you know?"
"Why do you say that, Your Highness?"
The Fourth Prince also looked at Zhao Yao with curiosity, "Tenth Brother, why do you think that?"
"Because that’s how it’s written in the novels," Zhao Yao said, "The novels my mother and the others read have a lot of such stories. What you just described is exactly the sa as what’s written in the novels."
Tong Xi, upon hearing Zhao Yao, also thought it sounded a lot like the stories in those novels.
"Could it really be like that? I’ll go inquire about it so more."
"I’ll go inquire too," Wei Mian said, following Tong Xi out.
"Fourth Brother, I must be right. This daughter of Doctor Zhong San must look exactly like Father’s old lover."
"Tenth Brother, as a son, you shouldn’t discuss Father’s private matters." The Fourth Prince thought, if Tenth Brother’s guess was correct, then the appearance of this daughter of Doctor Zhong San is not a coincidence, but a deliberate arrangent.
"Fourth Brother, I just told you, not anyone else." Zhao Yao whispered, "Fourth Brother, I’m telling you, Father surely loved his deceased lover very much, and will treat Doctor Zhong San’s daughter as his old lover. You’ll see, Father will definitely bring Doctor Zhong San’s daughter into the palace as a concubine."
The Fourth Prince, finding Zhao Yao’s description very detailed, laughed and said, "How could you know so clearly?"
"I just told you, it’s written like that in the novels."
"You also read novels?"
"Not , it’s my mother and the others who read them. They often discuss them after reading, and I’ve heard it so much that I know." Zhao Yao said confidently, "Fourth Brother, I’m telling you, I’m surely right. Just wait and see."
"Alright, I’ll wait and see."
"Fourth Brother, should we go take a look?" Zhao Yao was very curious and wanted to see what Doctor Zhong San’s daughter looked like.
The Fourth Prince lightly pinched Zhao Yao’s chubby cheek and said, "Father is probably busy now; it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to go over there."
"True," Zhao Yao thought of sothing else and asked seriously, "Then where are we having lunch today?"
"We should have lunch in our own tents." The Fourth Prince smiled and asked, "Are you hungry?"
Zhao Yao nodded and said, "I’m hungry."
"Then I’ll have soone bring lunch over."
As they were talking, Tong Xi and Wei Mian returned. Both of them looked sowhat excited.
"Your Highness, it seems like you were right."
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