"Your Majesty, shall I summon the Tenth Prince right away?"
"Forget it, I’m busy now, no ti to discipline him. I’ll deal with him later when I have ti." The Emperor resud reading his morials after speaking. After a while, he laughed again, "Where does Little Ten get all these earth-shattering ideas?"
Your Majesty, using the term ’earth-shattering’ might be a bit much.
Sun Kui didn’t dare correct the Emperor’s word choice. He flattered, saying, "Your Majesty, the Tenth Prince is exceptionally intelligent. These ideas of his aren’t sothing ordinary people can co up with, much like the previous inventions of the stirrup and movable type printing technology."
The Emperor proudly said, "The old Taoist was right, that little rascal Little Ten was born to benefit Great Zhou."
"Your Majesty, the Tenth Prince is most like you." Sun Kui’s flattery was well-placed.
"When I was his age, I wasn’t as clever as that rascal." Ever since the Emperor heard the words of the old sage at Baihe Temple, his thoughts had changed. He initially wanted Little Ten to live freely, but for the sake of Great Zhou and the people, he couldn’t let him do as he pleased anymore.
Sun Kui continued to flatter, "That’s because Your Majesty has raised him well."
"That little rascal Little Ten..." The Emperor trailed off, smiled, shook his head, his face full of pride and affection.
"Your Majesty, the day after tomorrow is the Tenth Prince’s birthday, you haven’t forgotten, have you?" Seeing that the Emperor hadn’t ntioned preparing a birthday gift for Zhao Yao these past few days, Sun Kui thought he might have forgotten, so he decided to remind him.
The Emperor glanced up and glared at Sun Kui, "Do you think I would forget my beloved son’s birthday?"
Beloved son?
Your Majesty, you’ve finally admitted with your own mouth that the Tenth Prince is your beloved son.
"It was presumptuous of ." Sun Kui lightly slapped himself on the cheek, "Your Majesty, what gift are you planning to give the Tenth Prince? Not books again, I hope? If you give him another pile of books, the Tenth Prince will really dislike you."
"Do I need to tell you what I plan to give?"
"I deserve to die."
"Hmph." The Emperor snorted coldly, not bothering to pay further attention to Sun Kui, and continued reading his morials.
Sun Kui looked at the Emperor, his mind curious about what birthday gift the Emperor would give to Zhao Yao.
Previously, the Emperor even casually gave a Jade Pendant to the Tenth Prince.
This ti, what ’astonishing’ gift would the Emperor bestow upon the Tenth Prince?
The Emperor happened to see the morial sent from Lingnan, his brows furrowed imdiately, his expression turning sowhat cold.
Seeing this, Sun Kui’s heart tightened, hurriedly lowering his head to reduce his presence.
The Emperor read for a while, a thoughtful expression on his face, and then picked up the vermillion pen to write sothing on the morial.
"Sun Kui."
Hearing the Emperor suddenly call him by his full na, Sun Kui’s heart skipped a beat, and his face showed signs of panic and unease. He responded cautiously, "At your service."
Usually, the Emperor called Sun Kui "Sunzi," rarely addressing him by his full na. Every ti the Emperor formally called him by his full na, it was never a good thing.
"How many years has your disciple Sun Doudou been by your side?"
Hearing this question, Sun Kui’s heart jumped to his throat. Had Sun Doudou done sothing to draw the Emperor’s attention?
"In response to Your Majesty, about six years." Sun Doudou had been by Sun Kui’s side since he was ten, and now he had just turned sixteen, reaching adulthood.
"What do you think of him?"
The Emperor’s question seed inexplicable to Sun Kui. He couldn’t fathom why the Emperor would ask this. He could only cautiously answer, "In response to Your Majesty, Sun Doudou is clever and works diligently, but because of his youth, he’s not yet steady."
The Emperor asked, "You’ve been grooming him as your heir, haven’t you?"
Sun Kui couldn’t understand the Emperor’s thoughts and said, terrified, "Your Majesty, I took him as a disciple because he seed fated to be with , but I haven’t grood him as an heir. Besides, I’m of humble status; how dare I raise an heir."
"I’m not accusing you of anything, what are you afraid of." The Emperor looked disdainfully at the panic-stricken Sun Kui.
Hearing the Emperor’s words, Sun Kui’s heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled back in place.
"I thought Sun Doudou had done sothing wrong to anger Your Majesty."
"I find your disciple sowhat clever, but not as smart and steady as you."
Being praised by the Emperor like this, Sun Kui couldn’t help but smile joyfully, "Thank you for Your Majesty’s praise."
The Emperor’s expression suddenly turned very serious: "Tell honestly, if Sun Doudou stays with you for another ten years, can he learn half of what you know?"
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