After Shen Hu and Chu Ying left the martial arts arena, they didn’t hurry to leave the Imperial Palace but went to the Imperial Study instead.
Pri Minister He and Grandmaster Liu were also in the Imperial Study, having just finished discussing important matters with the Emperor.
Shen Hu and Chu Ying first bowed to the Emperor, then eagerly said, "Your Majesty, your younger son looks exactly like Prince Yi Yong; how co we’ve never heard you ntion this before."
Exactly like Prince Yi Yong?
The Emperor and Pri Minister He showed puzzled expressions upon hearing this.
Chu Ying quickly added, "His Highness the Tenth shares the sa single dimple with Prince Yi Yong, lacking a second one."
Shen Hu nodded repeatedly, "Yes, that’s what I’m talking about. His Highness the Tenth has only one dimple, just like Prince Yi Yong."
Chu Ying helped him by adding, "And it’s a left dimple." Then he continued, "Lao Hu finds it fascinating that His Highness the Tenth and Prince Yi Yong both have only one dimple on the left side and insisted on coming to the Imperial Study to tell you about it."
The Emperor said amusingly, "What’s so fascinating about that."
"Of course it’s fascinating! It’s my first ti seeing soone with a single dimple like Prince Yi Yong." This was amazing to Shen Hu. "Your Majesty, don’t you find it fascinating?"
"Little Ten is my brother’s nephew; what’s so surprising about him having the sa dimple as my brother." Though the Emperor spoke very lightly now, he was quite shocked, and equally delighted, when he first discovered the single dimple at the left corner of Zhao Yao’s mouth.
Shen Hu glanced at Pri Minister He and Grandmaster Liu, seeing their calm expressions, and asked in bewildernt, "You all knew about this."
Regarding Shen Hu’s silly question, Pri Minister He and the others didn’t bother to answer.
"I’m the only one who just found out." Shen Hu was not interested in the Emperor’s sons and never looked at them closely. "Your Majesty, is His Highness the Tenth’s temperant similar to Prince Yi Yong’s?"
When Shen Hu and the others served as minor soldiers under Prince Yi Yong, they were fortunate to receive his guidance. Prince Yi Yong once taught them archery hand-in-hand and also military strategy.
Shen Hu and his companions greatly admired Prince Yi Yong. When Prince Yi Yong passed away, Shen Hu and the others cried like children.
"Little Ten, like my brother, loves sweets and at." The Emperor chuckled, "Little Ten also writes with his left hand, just like my brother." In fact, besides the dimple, Zhao Yao has many similarities with Prince Yi Yong.
It was the first ti Pri Minister He and the others had heard of so many similarities between His Highness the Tenth and Prince Yi Yong.
"Your Majesty, is His Highness the Tenth strong?" Prince Yi Yong was incredibly strong, with a force that could be described as having the might to move mountains and overshadow the world.
"This part is unlike my brother." The Emperor recounted to Shen Hu and the others about Zhao Yao sneaking at at a victory feast.
Shen Hu and his companions laughed unknowingly upon hearing this.
The Emperor reminisced about how Prince Yi Yong often did such things, and Shen Hu and his companions were also aware of it.
When Prince Yi Yong was alive, he would take Shen Hu and the others to sneak food from others. They rember once in the middle of the night, Prince Yi Yong took them to steal a chicken. Unexpectedly, the household had a dog, and Prince Yi Yong, to cover their escape, got his butt bitten by that dog.
At the ti, Prince Yi Yong was chased for several miles by the dog while bare-assed. They wanted to laugh but didn’t dare to; instead, Prince Yi Yong laughed first, saying he was wearing open-crotch pants again.
Back then, they wanted to take off their pants to give to Prince Yi Yong, but Prince Yi Yong didn’t care and walked around stark naked without a care.
Seeing Prince Yi Yong so unrestrained, they also followed suit bare-bottod. A group of them walking down the road was hilarious and fun. Fortunately, it was the middle of the night, and there weren’t many people on the road.
They only stole one chicken and later made a beggar’s chicken. Several grown n sat together, scrambling to eat the chicken.
To this day, Shen Hu and the others still think the beggar’s chicken from that ti was the best they’d ever had. Since then, they’ve never eaten such delicious chicken again.
Talking about the beggar’s chicken from those tis, Chu Ying and the others felt a craving, with nostalgic looks on their faces.
Shen Hu, being impetuous, suggested, "Your Majesty, let’s go steal a chicken and make beggar’s chicken."
Pri Minister He glared at Shen Hu, "On the Empress’s death anniversary, you want the Emperor to go steal a chicken to make beggar’s chicken?"
Hearing what Pri Minister He said, Shen Hu rembered that matter. He quickly gave a flattery smile to Pri Minister He, "I was just reminiscing about past tis and got caught up in it."
The Emperor didn’t bla Shen Hu. He laughed, "We’ve made beggar’s chicken before, but it never tastes like that night."
"It’s odd, clearly making it the exact sa way, but just can’t replicate the flavor." Shen Hu said foolishly, "That beggar’s chicken from that night was really delicious."
"It’s not the chicken’s taste that’s changed, but our mood while eating has." Grandmaster Liu said, "The sa thing tastes different with a different mindset."
Pri Minister He laughed, "Back then, we were starving, so anything would have tasted good, tasted wonderful." He added, "Even if we had eaten just a bowl of tofu, it would have been delightful."
"Honestly, everything tasted good back then." Nowadays, life has improved, and the food has gotten better, but it doesn’t feel as good as the food back then."
The group chatted a bit more about the past, all of it related to war.
"Your Majesty, we’ve been in the capital for so long without a battle; we’re getting rusty. When will you let us go to war?" Recalling the days on the battlefield, Song Dekang found current life too dull, too idle. "Your Majesty, let go help Lao Yan at the Southern Border."
Upon hearing this, Shen Hu quickly said, "Boss, let go help Lao Yan, too."
Before the Emperor ascended the throne, Shen Hu and his companions all called him "Boss."
In the court, they respectfully referred to the Emperor as "Your Majesty," but in private, they mostly still called him "Boss."
Zhang Gong and Chu Ying also hurriedly said they wanted to help.
The Emperor glared at Song Dekang and the others, saying irritably, "I’d love to go to war, but can I?" The Emperor, like Shen Hu and his companions, loved and missed the days on the battlefield, but ever since he beca the Emperor, leaving for the battlefield, or even stepping out of the Imperial Palace, is not an easy task. "For a little Southern Border, do you all need to go? You might not mind losing face, but I mind."
Zhang Gong said, "Then let’s fight Shu Land; it’s a tough nut to crack..."
Before he could finish, Pri Minister He interrupted, "No way, Shu Land can’t be fought, nor can it bear a fight."
These words were not well-received by Zhang Gong and the others.
"Pri Minister He, you’re boosting others’ morale and undermining ours." Zhang Gong said discontentedly, "Why can’t Shu Land be fought?"
"Exactly, how can a little Shu Land not be conquered?" Song Dekang said disdainfully, "With Han Zhong’s cowardice, he is no match for us."
Chu Ying emphatically agreed, "I think Shu Land can be fought."
Shen Hu echoed, "Han Zhong, that turtle grandson, has been acting like a local emperor in Shu Land for so many years; if he’s not eradicated, he’ll really think he’s the Jade Emperor."
"Shu Land is easy to defend and hard to attack; you could fight for ten years and still not conquer it." Pri Minister He explained with exasperation, "Shu Land can be self-sufficient; your supplies, however, may not last more than two years."
"It can’t be that bad..."
"Do any of you think there’s plenty of grain now?" Pri Minister He was imdiately angered, "Currently, in many places of Great Zhou, people can’t even get enough to eat, and many granaries are empty."
Seeing Pri Minister He get angry, Song Dekang and the others imdiately beca quiet as mice, not daring to say anything further.
"Since the Emperor’s ascension, grain production in certain areas has slightly increased, but it’s still not enough for everyone to eat their fill." Bringing up the grain issue, Pri Minister He’s mood naturally darkened, "Sigh, the previous dynasty destroyed much fertile land, which hasn’t recovered to this day. Newly reclaid lands are barren, barely yielding a few pounds of grain per acre."
Pri Minister He and the others had all experienced days without food, which made Pri Minister He especially concerned about the grain issue.
"You talk about attacking Shu Land so lightly; where would the grain co from?" Pri Minister He said coldly, "Giving you grain for war is less beneficial than giving it to the people so they can eat their fill. It’s hard-won peace now; we can’t easily start wars again—neither the court nor the people can bear it."
Grandmaster Liu followed up on Pri Minister He’s words, "What we need now is to recuperate and nurture life."
Song Dekang understood the reasoning, but leaving Shu Land unchecked didn’t seem right either.
"So, let Han Zhong continue to play king and emperor in Shu Land?"
The Emperor said, "Let him enjoy his mont for a few more years." He looked at Song Dekang and the others, "We will definitely fight Shu Land, and you will be needed, but not now; now is not the ti."
"Boss, how many years do we have to wait? Don’t tell us it will be ten or twenty years?"
"By then, you all will be too old to fight."
"Boss, you can’t be serious about making us wait ten or twenty years." Shen Hu exclaid, "Boss, surely we won’t have to wait that long."
"No need for that long." To wait ten or twenty more years would render him utterly useless as an emperor.
"Alright, Lao Hu, Yingzi, you both go to Hulong Temple to keep watch for ." The Emperor wasn’t completely at ease with only the Crown Prince going to Hulong Temple to pray for blessings. "At Hulong Temple, behave and don’t sneak any at."
"Boss, even if we’re craving at, we wouldn’t sneak any during the Empress’s death anniversary."
Toward the late Empress, Shen Hu and his companions were filled with gratitude and respect. They would never do anything disrespectful during the Empress’s morial period.
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