good season

Chapter 281 I get annoyed just seeing kids (Two chapters combined)

Today is a beautiful day, a rare sunny day.

The fourth prince finally stepped out of the house and basked in the sunlight. He breathed a sigh of relief. If it weren't for the fear of the plague, who would stay indoors?

But his good mood was quickly ruined by the overwhelming stench. He felt nauseous and vomited, and the two eunuchs serving him also covered their noses in disgust: "Ugh, what is that smell?"

Another eunuch rushed off to fetch someone. A moment later, the smell hadn't dissipated. The eunuch returned, trembling, and said, "Your Highness, we just pulled up a few floating corpses. Don't worry, they've already been taken away to be burned."

The eunuchs hurriedly brought out a large incense burner, and the rising smoke finally masked the unpleasant stench.

The fourth prince had lost all interest in sunbathing. He went back inside, bathed and changed, and ordered the eunuchs to close the doors and windows. He didn't want to stay in this awful place for even a day longer.

"Your Highness, is it time for your meal?" The eunuchs brought in the food box.

The fourth prince leaned lazily against the couch, having no appetite whatsoever: "Take it away, the smell makes me nauseous."

"Your Highness, please use it sparingly; your health is the most important thing," the eunuch pleaded earnestly.

"Go get some hawthorn and preserved plums." The fourth prince covered his mouth, feeling like he was going to vomit as soon as he spoke.

Half an hour later, after eating a few pieces of hawthorn cake and a dozen preserved plums, the Fourth Prince finally felt a little better.

"This hawthorn cake tastes good. Make more tomorrow," the Fourth Prince said.

The eunuch hurriedly said, "This is a gift from Prefect Qian to you. I will have him send some more over tomorrow."

The fourth prince remained indifferent; he had almost forgotten about that Prefect Qian.

He was a little sleepy, so he asked the eunuch to help him wash up and went back to bed early. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep.

Outside the door, Prefect Qian cautiously asked a eunuch, "Your Highness, is the hawthorn cake I presented acceptable?"

The eunuch smiled and said, "His Highness used three coins. Lord Qian is very kind."

"Of course, of course!" Prefect Qian wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead. In order to let the Fourth Prince eat this hawthorn cake, he had given this eunuch a very generous red envelope.

Sigh, he had to go back and pray. He hoped that Young Master Xiao hadn't lied to him and that the hawthorn cake wouldn't kill him, otherwise his life would be over.

However, Prefect Qian did not go back to pay his respects, because he stayed in his study all night until almost dawn, but he did not receive any news of the Fourth Prince's death from poisoning, so he went to sleep.

Those few pieces of hawthorn cake did not kill the Fourth Prince, but they gave him nightmares.

In his dream, he returned to two years ago.

His father asked him to invite Xiao Zhen to go hunting at Shiji Mountain. He knew in his heart that he would be injured and become disabled this time, and he did not want to go.

But he couldn't refuse his father. He first pretended to be sick, and then created an accident. But no matter what he did, he returned to Shiji Mountain again and again, was attacked by leopards again and again, and was in danger again and again. He couldn't break free or get rid of it. Shiji Mountain was his destiny, his fate.

Finally, he was crippled. He dragged his crippled body to see his father, but saw his father with the third prince. The scene of the father and son showing deep affection deeply hurt him.

He didn't understand why, despite all he had done for his father, his father still favored the third son the most.

He clenched his fists and secretly vowed that he would repay the suffering he had endured a thousandfold to the third brother.

In his dream, he repeatedly tried to poison and assassinate the third brother, but all his attempts failed.

An imperial edict was delivered to the Fourth Prince's residence, along with a cup of poisoned wine.

He died, and the person who killed him was not the third prince, but his father, the emperor.

The poisoned wine went down his throat, and his internal organs felt as if they were on fire. The burning pain was so real that the Fourth Prince cried out and woke up from his dream.

He sat on the bed, covered in sweat and panting heavily. Thankfully, it was just a dream.

Fortunately, he did not continue to target the third prince, but instead chose to seek refuge with the Empress.

The fourth prince was glad he made the choice. If he had treated the third prince the way the fifth prince had, his father would have given him a cup of poison, just like in his dream.

He thought of the second prince. His second brother had died suddenly, but now that he thought about it, it was very likely that his second brother had been killed by their father.

Although the court blocked the news, he still managed to find out that the old couple who beat the grievance drum in front of the Dali Temple were arranged by the second son. The second son wanted to deal with the third son, so the emperor killed the second son.

A surge of resentment welled up in the fourth prince's heart. Why is it that everyone is the emperor's son, and also born out of wedlock? Why is the third prince a treasure while the others are just weeds?
Is it because the third son's birth mother was Consort Qiao? Or is it because the third son's father-in-law was Feng Ke?

Father is too biased!

The fourth prince fell asleep again amidst his deep resentment. This time, the person on the dragon throne was the third prince, who became the emperor!

How could he bear this?

He's going to rebel!

However, the You family betrayed him at this time. In order to send the girl to the palace, the You family sided with the third son. Before he could rebel, the Embroidered Uniform Guard surrounded his mansion and he was executed by slow slicing!
He became the first and only prince to be executed by slow slicing since the founding of the Great Yong Dynasty!
He was thus recorded in history books, and even after thousands of years, he remains a laughing stock.

The fourth prince awoke with a start, and he burst into tears, crying out, "Why? Why is my life so miserable?"

His father disliked him, his birth mother couldn't help him, and his maternal family betrayed him; he had nothing.

After crying for a while, the Fourth Prince suddenly remembered Liu Wang. Who said he had nothing? At least he still had money.

Too little, 500,000 is too little. The fourth prince, who had experienced life and death in his dream, was no longer satisfied with 500,000.

As long as he has enough money, he can recruit enough talented people. Since family ties are unreliable, he will use money to buy them. He can always find people who can truly help him achieve great things.

He had to rebel, he absolutely had to rebel, otherwise his fate would be either a cup of poisoned wine from his father or the death by a thousand cuts at the hands of the third prince.

He had no choice.

On this ordinary night, the Fourth Prince had a dream that made him realize the truth. From that moment on, he was determined to take revenge, to rise up, and to fight back!

The next day, the fourth prince remembered the hawthorn cakes from the previous day, and he ordered the eunuch to summon Prefect Qian.

The Fourth Prince was quite interested in this famous cuckolded prefect, but right now, his interest wasn't in Prefect Qian's head.

"Lord Qian, I heard that Madam Qian fled early this morning. Is that true?"

Prefect Qian's expression changed drastically; he had no idea that the vile woman had escaped.

However, he also learned from officials of the Ministry of Works that the wretched woman wanted to stay at the official post station where the Fourth Prince was staying. After being refused, she made a huge scene, completely disgracing him. If he didn't take this opportunity to distance himself from that wretched woman, with so many people talking, this matter would eventually reach the ears of the censors, and they would impeach him. Then all his merits in protecting Tongzhou today would be for naught.

"Your Highness, I have long severed all ties with that vile woman. We are only missing a divorce letter. I live in the yamen, while she lives alone outside. I haven't seen her for a long time."

Since hearing the rumors of the flood, I have been busy arranging for the people to relocate, and I have not dared to relax for a single day. I have no idea when that wretched woman left Tongzhou.

The entire government is aware of this matter; we implore Your Highness to investigate.

The Fourth Prince nodded: "I am aware of the discord between Lord Qian and his wife. However, as long as Lord Qian and his wife have not divorced, they are still husband and wife. What his wife has done will still be held accountable to Lord Qian."

Prefect Qian was startled and hurriedly knelt down: "This humble official is innocent! Please, Your Highness, do justice for me!"

The Fourth Prince gave a wink, and the eunuch quickly stepped forward to help Prefect Qian up. The Fourth Prince said, "Alas, I am too busy to take care of myself right now. If you want me to help you, you have come to the wrong person."

Knowing what was going on, Prefect Qian quickly replied, "Your Highness, please give me any orders. I will go through fire and water for you."

The fourth prince's eyes reddened slightly, deeply moved: "With Lord Qian's words, I am relieved. Lord Qian, rest assured, I will handle things for you in the capital and will never allow a meritorious official to be wronged."

Overwhelmed with gratitude, Prefect Qian knelt down and kowtowed three times to the Fourth Prince.

The fourth prince smiled and accepted the offer, saying, "Lord Qian, please step forward. I have something to say."

On the mountain.

A guard ran up the mountain in delight. Before he even arrived, his shouts reached Zhao Shiqing's ears: "The flood has receded! The flood has receded!"

Zhao Shiqing went out to greet them: "What happened?"

The guard held the rope high in his hand and pointed to a knot on it: "The water level was this position yesterday."

He then pointed to another knot: "Today, in this position, it has receded a full three inches, three inches!"

Everyone was ecstatic; the floodwaters were finally receding!
Upon hearing the news, Zhao Xingzhou rushed over, carrying one child in his arms and another on his back. He asked Zhao Shiqing with delight, "The floodwaters have receded. When shall we set off for Gaoping?"

Zhao Shiqing shook her head: "It's just that the water level is lower today than yesterday. Even if the flood recedes completely, the official road won't be repaired in a day or two. You should just focus on taking care of the child."

An old man walked over and patted Zhao Xingzhou on the shoulder: "Hey old Zhao, how can you not appreciate your good fortune? You have food and lodging in the mountains, why are you still thinking about running away? Besides, the second young lady takes such good care of you, assigning you the easiest jobs, why are you still not satisfied?"

Old Zhao Xingzhou was on the verge of tears. Everyone said that taking care of children was the easiest job, but why didn't he realize it?

Can anyone tell him where he found relief?
His old bones are about to be torn apart by these brats.

"Old Zhao, you're slacking off again! We haven't even finished feeding Xiaozhu's porridge yet, and you've already run out. The porridge's all cold now!"

Aunt Sun's voice rang out behind Zhao Xingzhou, startling him: "Stop shouting, I'm coming right now."

Grandma Sun continued to yell, "Don't you dare steal food! You stole half a bowl of Chen Pingping's porridge this morning!"

Zhao Xingzhou tucked his tail between his legs and walked faster. The child on his back became unhappy and cried while pulling on his hair with his little hands.

Behind them came the cursing of several aunties and older women: "That old Zhao is so dishonest. He even steals the children's porridge. I wonder who he is. He got such a good job arranged for him by the second young lady as soon as he arrived."

"Exactly, if I were to take care of the children, I guarantee I would raise them to be healthy and chubby."

"Hey, when is that old geezer going to leave? Once he's gone, it'll be our turn to take care of the kids."

Zhao Xingzhou gritted his teeth, "I won't leave! I won't leave! I'm going to occupy this position, even if it kills me! If I can't protect the throne, can't I even protect the job of raising children? What a joke!"

Suddenly, a warm current came from behind. Zhao Xingzhou stopped in his tracks, and the little hand that was pulling on his hair finally let go. He had finished urinating!

That evening, after the last child was picked up, Zhao Xingzhou finally breathed a sigh of relief. He found a flat rock to sit on; the rock had been baking in the sun all day and was warm and comfortable.

Tonight's dinner was porridge made with dried pumpkin, served with a piece of pickled vegetable. Zhao Xingzhou took a sip of the porridge; it was sweet and delicious.

Just then, a little girl ran over: "Grandpa Zhao, this is for you."

Zhao Xingzhou recognized her as Chen Pingping.

Chen Pingping stretched out her small hand and put something into Zhao Xingzhou's hand. Zhao Xingzhou looked down and saw that it was an egg.

"Grandpa Zhao, here's an egg for you. Don't steal Pingping's porridge."

Zhao Xingzhou's face flushed slightly. He saw a layer of rice oil on the rice porridge and couldn't help but take a sip. That shrewish woman, Aunt Sun, saw it and made a scene, making everyone know. Did he even care about his reputation?
"Grandpa doesn't want it, you can have it, sweetie!"

Zhao Xingzhou peeled the egg and fed it to the little girl, but the little girl then held the egg to his mouth, saying, "Grandpa eats first, then Pingping eats."

Zhao Xingzhou was taken aback. He knew about Kong Rong sharing pears, but in all his years, this was the first time someone had ever given him food.

He was born a prince, later became an emperor, and then an emperor emeritus. No one yielded to him, and he never yielded to anyone.

He held the egg to his mouth with his little hand and took a small bite without thinking. Even after the little girl had finished eating and run away, he was still savoring the taste of that bite.

I never knew boiled eggs were so delicious!

"Here you go, don't take food from children next time."

An egg appeared in front of him. Zhao Xingzhou looked up and saw Zhao Shiqing.

Zhao Shiqing held the egg in her hand towards him: "Do you want me to peel it for you? My peeling is uneven, but you don't mind."

"I don't mind," Zhao Xingzhou said.

Zhao Shiqing then started peeling the shells, but she didn't do a good job. Zhao Xingzhou smiled and said, "It's okay, girls should be pampered."

He thought of Wan Ruyi, the daughter he had never met, yet who had never been pampered.

Zhao Shiqing, however, seemed not to have thought that much about it: "You seem to know a lot about raising children. Many of your concubines live in the Purple Bamboo Temple. Why don't you pick out a few of the younger ones and have them give you a few more little princes?"

The unspoken message: Don't you no longer have a son? Why not have a few more?
Do you want to support your unborn youngest son or your eldest grandson who has been living away from home?

Having a child late in life is a long-standing tradition; many emperors even had children at the age of sixty.

But Zhao Xingzhou was startled and quickly waved his hand: "What do you mean by having children? I want to live a few more years. Don't mention children to me. I get annoyed just looking at them!"

Today is the Ghost Festival (Zhongyuan Festival). Everyone should close their windows and go to bed early.