The third prince and the others wanted to talk to the emperor a bit longer, but they didn't dare to keep him, so they had to bid him farewell reluctantly.
After the emperor left, Zhao Yao couldn't help but cry out, "Waa, a hundred copies of the Analects..."
The eighth prince raised his hand and gently patted Zhao Yao's shoulder, "Don't cry, tenth brother."
The fourth prince also comforted Zhao Yao, "Tenth brother, father is doing this for your own good."
"This is for my own good?" Zhao Yao was stunned, "Can I not have this kind of 'good'?"
The fourth prince lowered his face and softly admonished, "Tenth brother, careful what you say."
The third prince and the others gloatingly said, "Tenth brother, you better copy it well."
Zhao Yao: "..." It's all the fault of seventh and ninth brother. If they hadn't fought, he wouldn't have been punished to copy books.
"Tenth brother, do you want to copy the books at my place?" the eighth prince asked.
"Eighth brother, I'm not going to copy books now, I'm going to the martial arts arena. I want to see seventh and ninth brother being punished." Only by witnessing seventh and ninth brother being punished could he reduce his anger and resentment. "Eighth brother, are you going?"
"Then I'll accompany you." The eighth prince also wanted to see how Qin Su would train the seventh and ninth princes.
Zhao Yao and the eighth prince returned to the martial arts arena and saw the seventh and ninth princes swinging their spears. Beside them, a soldier was counting, "Five hundred sixty-three... Your Highnesses, your speed has slowed down, please speed up."
The seventh and ninth princes were exhausted, sweating heavily, their faces pale, gasping for breath, a look of more inhaling than exhaling.
"Your Highnesses, your spear-swinging posture is incorrect, please redo it."
The seventh and ninth princes wanted to reprimand the soldier, but they were too tired to say a word.
Zhao Yao felt much better seeing the seventh and ninth princes being tormented.
"Hmph, serves you right for fighting."
The eighth prince laughed, "Can we go back now?"
"We can." As soon as he thought about copying the Analects a hundred times, Zhao Yao's mood plummeted again.
"Let's go." The eighth prince took Zhao Yao's desperate-looking face and went back to his Xingde Palace.
"I'll help you copy."
"Really?" Zhao Yao's eyes sparkled as he asked.
"I'll mimic your handwriting to help you copy, so father won't notice," the eighth prince said, "Although father said he would check personally, he's so busy it's impossible for him to check page by page."
"But if father finds out, eighth brother, you'll be punished." Father already didn't like eighth brother, and if he learned eighth brother was helping him copy, father would have an excuse to punish eighth brother.
"No worries, father won't find out." The eighth prince was confident in his imitation skills, "You copy a passage now, and I'll mimic your handwriting."
Zhao Yao hesitated for a moment, "Then, eighth brother, I won't stand on ceremony."
"What's with the courtesy between us."
With the eighth prince's help, Zhao Yao felt much more relaxed and first copied down the 'Study Chapter' honestly.
The eighth prince mimicked the sample he had written and produced handwriting that looked exactly like Zhao Yao's, leaving Zhao Yao dumbfounded.
"Eighth brother, you're amazing!" Who knew eighth brother had such a skill.
"It's not that I'm amazing, it's that your current handwriting is easy to imitate." The eighth prince looked at the crooked handwriting Zhao Yao had just done, unable to look directly, "Tenth brother, your handwriting needs practice."
"Eighth brother, I know my handwriting is ugly, you can just say it." Zhao Yao shrugged and said, "I only recently learned to write, and being able to write completely is not easy, so don't expect it to look good."
"You still have to practice your handwriting regularly," the eighth prince said, "Keep copying."
Zhao Yao copied at the eighth prince's place until the hour of Shen before returning to Kunde Hall. As soon as he got home, he complained to Liang Zhaoyi and the others.
"Father only bullies me..." As the least favored son, being bullied by his father frequently was too tough for him.
With the comfort of Liang Zhaoyi and Yu Meiren, Zhao Yao's wounded heart felt a bit better. And with the sweet treats fed by the fifth princess, he became lively again.
With some time before dinner, Zhao Yao took Tong Xi to the secret base.
In the secret base, the cats and dogs were diligently practicing. When they saw Zhao Yao, they wagged their tails happily and surrounded him.
Lai Lu and Laiwang couldn't wait to report their training results to Zhao Yao. After hearing them, Zhao Yao praised them fiercely and rewarded them with meat and bones for the night.
Zhao Yao sat in the middle of the cats and dogs, petting them while talking to them.
[Yao Yao, why don't you train us?] Lai Qian came with its group of brothers, questioning Zhao Yao, [Aren't we sparrows your good brothers?]
"Of course, you're all my good friends."
[Then why don't you train us?] Lai Qian flew to Zhao Yao's shoulder, pecking discontentedly at Zhao Yao's cheek.
"You can fly and deliver messages, there's no need for further training." Zhao Yao said, suddenly thinking of his grandfather being reassigned to Yangzhou's Guangling County, and asked Lai Qian, "Lai Qian, do you have brothers in Yangzhou?"
[Yangzhou?] Lai Qian shook its fluffy little head and said, [No, all my brothers are from the capital.]
"Then do you know any birds from Yangzhou?"
[Yao Yao, Yangzhou is in the south, far from the capital, why are you asking about birds from Yangzhou?]
"My grandfather was reassigned to Yangzhou's Guangling County. There's still unrest in Yangzhou, and I'm worried about my grandfather. I want to know about the situation there, so I'm asking if you have friends from Yangzhou." There's unrest with the rebels in Yangzhou that hasn't been quelled yet, and his grandfather being transferred there now was truly worrying.
[I don't have friends from Yangzhou, but I can ask around for you.]
"Lai Qian, can you fly to Yangzhou?" Zhao Yao asked.
[Of course, we sparrows can go anywhere,] Lai Qian said, puffing up its little chest proudly.
Hearing this, Zhao Yao's eyes lit up instantly, "Lai Qian, can you fly to Yangzhou then?"
[Certainly...] At this, Lai Qian suddenly stopped and asked in surprise, [Yao Yao, you want me to go to Yangzhou?]
Zhao Yao nodded vigorously, "Yes, I want to ask you to go to Yangzhou to check on my grandfather and also to gather information about the situation there."
Lai Qian was at a loss, [Yao Yao, I've never been to Yangzhou.]
"That's true." Zhao Yao wore a troubled expression, "What should I do then?"
[Yao Yao, I'll ask around first to see if any bird has ever been to Yangzhou.] Lai Qian said, [If not, I'll personally lead a group of brothers to fly to Yangzhou.]
Zhao Yao happily said, "Thank you Lai Qian." He then kissed Lai Qian on its little head forcefully, "Lai Qian, you're the best."
Lai Qian affectionately rubbed against Zhao Yao's cheek.
Zhao Yao stayed at the secret base for a while before returning to Kunde Hall. Before leaving, he instructed Lai Lu and the others to stop training and rest well for the night.
Back at Kunde Hall, Zhao Yao had dinner with Liang Zhaoyi and the others.
After dinner, Zhao Yao went to the study to continue copying the Analects while Liang Zhaoyi sat beside him reading a book.
After copying the Analects for a while, Zhao Yao put down his brush, picked up a quill beside him, and began drawing on a blank sheet of xuan paper.
Seeing her son drawing something unfamiliar, Liang Zhaoyi curiously asked, "Yao'er, what are you drawing?"
"Mother, this is a strawberry, a very tasty fruit..." Zhao Yao pointed to the strawberry he just drew and explained it to Liang Zhaoyi in detail.
After listening, Liang Zhaoyi realized that the strawberry was something from Zhao Yao's dream.
"Strawberries seem to be foreign fruits, I'll draw it and send it to my uncle, so he can inquire with the foreigners in Qingzhou and maybe find it."
"That's a good idea," Liang Zhaoyi said, seeing Zhao Yao draw another unfamiliar object that looked a bit like an egg. "What is this?"
"Potato, this is an amazing thing. It can serve as a meal or a dish..." Zhao Yao explained the potato to Liang Zhaoyi in great detail.
Shocked by the explanation, Liang Zhaoyi quickly asked, "Can potatoes really satisfy hunger?"
"Yes, in the dream, Zhao Yao really liked eating them."
"Can they really yield a lot?" Liang Zhaoyi asked, astounded, "Can they grow in sandy soil?"
"Yes, but it's also a foreign object, so I'm not sure if we can find it," Zhao Yao said. "I'll draw it down first for my uncle to give to the foreigners to search for."
Liang Zhaoyi, her heart in turmoil, said with a solemn face, "This potato must be found." If it's really as Yao'er described, finding this potato could feed the people. "What else?"
"There's also corn, sweet potatoes, pumpkins..." Zhao Yao drew all the foreign items from his dream, preparing to send them to his uncle in Qingzhou to let the foreigners there look for them.
These foreign things are probably not easy to find and may take a long time to locate. By asking his uncle to search now, maybe by the time he grows up, they will have been found, and he can take them to his own fief.