The day for Prince Dai's return to the capital is getting closer, and the atmosphere in the capital is becoming increasingly subtle, with an undercurrent surging in the court. However, none of this concerns Zhao Yao.
Today, he is in a very good mood. On his way to Wende Hall, his little face is always adorned with a happy smile, and his little mouth is constantly humming a cheerful tune: "Two tigers, two tigers. Running fast, running fast, one without ears, one without a tail..."
"Your Highness, why are you so happy today?" Tong Xi, seeing Zhao Yao's joyous demeanor, is quite puzzled. "Don't you usually hate going to Wende Hall the most?"
"Tong Xi, have you forgotten what day it is tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow?" Tong Xi carefully thinks for a moment, then reveals a look of sudden realization, "Tomorrow is your Highness's day off." No wonder your Highness is so happy.
"That's right, tomorrow is my day off." Zhao Yao walks with his hands crossed behind his head, "I've been eagerly waiting for my day off, and finally, it's here."
Tong Xi leans close to Zhao Yao's ear and softly asks, "Your Highness, are we leaving the palace tomorrow?"
"We're not leaving the palace tomorrow."
"Ah, not leaving the palace?" Tong Xi shows a look of disbelief, "Haven't you always been waiting for your day off just to leave the palace?"
"We're leaving the palace tonight." As Zhao Yao says this, a cat-like expression of greed appears on his little face, "Tonight we're going to Second Uncle's house for some good food."
Tong Xi's eyes light up: "Your Highness, what delicious food are we having tonight?"
"I've already sent a letter to Second Uncle, asking him to make hotpot. Second Uncle's hotpot is a masterpiece." Just thinking about it makes Zhao Yao drool.
Tong Xi gulps with greed as well: "Second Lord's dishes are the best." Tonight we are in for a treat.
"What food are you thinking of that's making you drool?" Suddenly, the Eighth Prince appears and says.
Zhao Yao touches his mouth but finds no drool, so he glares at the Eighth Prince.
"Eighth Brother, I'm not drooling."
The Eighth Prince gently pinches Zhao Yao's little mouth and teases, "Drooling all over the place."
"No way." Zhao Yao refuses to admit it.
"What delicious thing are you thinking about?"
"Spicy and steaming hotpot." Originally, there was no hotpot in the Great Zhou Dynasty, but the Zhao Yao in dreams loved eating hotpot and often ate it. So, they introduced the hot pot Zhao Yao ate.
"Hotpot, indeed, is a tasty thing. I think I'll have hotpot tonight too." The Eighth Prince invites, "Would you like to join me?"
"Eighth Brother, I won't be eating hotpot with you tonight." Zhao Yao mysteriously says, "I have plans tonight."
The Eighth Prince asks with interest, "What do you have planned?"
"After school tonight, I'm going to get a good night's sleep and catch up on the sleep I've missed from studying lately." Zhao Yao lightly shakes his finger as he speaks, "I also want to sleep well tomorrow."
At this, the Eighth Prince remembers that Zhao Yao is off duty tomorrow, "You're planning to sleep for a whole day and night, huh?"
Zhao Yao nods vigorously, "Yes, I've been getting up early every day lately to study. I haven't had a lazy morning. I need to catch up on my sleep. Most importantly, children need to sleep more to grow tall." I'm sorry, Eighth Brother, I'm not intentionally lying to you, but I can't let you know about my sneaking out of the palace, so I have to lie.
"Sleeping more helps you grow taller? Where did you hear such a fallacy?"
"This is not a fallacy; it's a truth." Zhao Yao pouts, "Anyway, I need to sleep more to grow tall. Eighth Brother, please don't come looking for me tomorrow, don't disturb my sleep, don't hinder my growth."
The Eighth Prince, amused, says, "Well, I'm not off tomorrow, so I won't interfere with your great endeavor to grow taller."
"Oh, right, you aren't off tomorrow either."
Zhao Yao and the Eighth Prince's rest days aren't on the same day. The princes take turns having days off. He is the last among all the princes to have a resting day because he was the last to start school. Before his rest day, the Eighth Prince and the others have already had theirs.
Looking at Zhao Yao's smug expression, the Eighth Prince pinches his little face, "What's got you so pleased? I've already had my day off."
"True, but just thinking about how I have a day off tomorrow while you are studying in Wende Hall makes me happy, hehe..."
"When I was on a break, you were studying too."
"Whatever, as long as I'm off tomorrow and you're studying."
The Eighth Prince, helpless yet doting, says, "You..."
As the two enter Wende Hall, they hear the Ninth Prince speaking loudly, saying that Prince Dai will arrive in the capital in two days.
It seems that he is not the only one happy today; the Ninth Brother is as well.
"Eighth Brother, is Second Brother really coming back?"
The Eighth Prince lightly nods, "Yes, he'll be back in two days."
"It's going to be lively then." Zhao Yao suddenly thinks of something and shows an expectant expression, "With Second Brother's return, Father will surely hold a celebration feast for him, and we'll get to eat some good food."
With Prince Dai's return to the capital, everyone is focused on what rewards he will receive and the actions he will take next, while Zhao Yao is focused on eating good food.
The Eighth Prince laughs as he says, "Father will certainly hold a celebration feast for Second Brother's return."
"At the celebration feast, we'll be able to eat beef." Zhao Yao licks his lips and says, "It's been so long since I've had beef, I've almost forgotten what it tastes like." The Great Zhou Dynasty has a rule against killing cows casually and eating beef. Even in the palace, beef is not readily available and is only served at significant banquets.
Not being able to eat beef casually is a tradition not specifically set by the Great Zhou Dynasty; it has existed since the previous dynasty and even the one before that.
Since the previous previous dynasty, each ruler valued agriculture greatly, and cows were essential "tools" for plowing fields, so killing them was not allowed.
The previous dynasty's king was cruel and extravagant, leading to chaos across the land, suffering, and death. The people could not farm properly because they were fleeing for their lives, and many fields became desolate. People also killed many oxen just to fill their bellies, drastically reducing their numbers.
When the Great Zhou Dynasty was newly established, the late emperor ordered officials to count the oxen across regions, finding the numbers to be woefully low. Thus, the late emperor decreed that oxen could not be killed nor their meat casually eaten. Although the number of oxen has increased significantly over the years, it is still not enough to ensure each household has one, thus beef remains a rarity.
Only oxen that die from accidents or illness can be eaten. Otherwise, they cannot be consumed under normal circumstances.
Zhao Yao loves eating beef, but he can't usually get it and can only have it at important banquets, making him eagerly anticipate such events and enjoy festivals.
"Is beef really that delicious?" The Eighth Prince is not picky about food. To him, what matters most is filling his belly, not the taste. To him, meat is all the same.
"Yes, it's very delicious, especially when you put beef in a hotpot." Seeing the Eighth Prince unable to comprehend, Zhao Yao looks at him with a curious expression, "Eighth Brother, I've always suspected there might be something wrong with your taste buds. Why can't you tell the difference between tasty and not tasty?"
"I'm not picky about food." The reason the Eighth Prince isn't picky is that he often went hungry as a child, so for him, having a full stomach is more important than eating tasty food. "You're just a little glutton."
"If people don't live for food, heaven and earth will obliterate them." Zhao Yao boasts, "My dream in life is to taste all the delicious food in the world."
"You sure have ambition."
"Eighth Brother, don't underestimate my dream. Let me tell you, food is very important..." Zhao Yao then enthusiastically tells the Eighth Prince about the importance of food.
The Eighth Prince listens in bewilderment. After hearing it all, he looks at Zhao Yao in amazement, then laughs helplessly, "Tenth Brother, if you put as much thought into studying as you do into eating, Father wouldn't punish you by making you write the Analects."
"Eighth Brother, you can't compare studying to food." Zhao Yao says seriously, "I was born for food. When I grow up and leave the palace, I'll travel around and eat delicious food everywhere."
"You've got a long way to go until you grow up." The Eighth Prince pats Zhao Yao's shoulder, "Be patient and wait."
"Sigh, if only I were like Third Brother, I'd be able to leave the palace next year." Zhao Yao says with a face full of envy.
The Eighth Prince pinches Zhao Yao's face again, "Rather than growing up, you should focus on studying first."
Upon hearing the word "study," Zhao Yao's little face falls instantly, and he says heavily, "Eighth Brother, my good mood vanished because of you."
The Eighth Prince shakes his head, amused and exasperated, "You..."
The two walk into the classroom, and the Ninth Prince runs up to them excitedly, "My brother is coming back the day after tomorrow."
"Second Brother is finally coming back, that's really great." Zhao Yao genuinely hopes for Prince Dai's return because it means he can eat beef.
If Prince Dai knew that in Zhao Yao's eyes, he is equated with beef, one wonders how he would feel.