Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne
Chapter 83 Part 3

Chapter 83: Chapter 83 Part 3

Lai Yi and Lai Wu are familiar with the Third Prince.

As the Third Prince walked through the large gates of Changqin Palace, Lai Yi led its sparrow brothers and flew towards the Third Prince.

Zhao Yao stared intently at the Third Prince, his tone somewhat excited as he said to the Fourth Prince, "Fourth Brother, watch closely."

The Fourth Prince, not understanding what he was meant to see, could only follow Zhao Yao and gaze at the Third Prince in the distance.

Lai Yi and its group of sparrows divided into several waves, flying over the Third Prince’s head in batches.

While flying towards the Third Prince, Lai Yi shouted to its brothers: "Brothers, give it all you’ve got later, let’s cover the Third Prince’s head with our droppings."

"No problem."

Lai Yi first led five sparrows over the Third Prince’s head. As they flew by, they defecated on his head, face, nose, and neck.

The Third Prince was chatting and laughing with the Fifth Prince, playfully waving a folding fan in his hand, completely unaware of Lai Yi and its companions.

When he felt something cold drip onto his face, he thought it was rain, wiped it with his hand, and then discovered it was bird droppings, his expression immediately darkening.

Just as he was about to start cursing, he felt something cold drip onto his neck again.

The Fifth and Sixth Princes saw a blob of bird droppings appear on the Third Prince’s face, tried to warn him, but then saw another blob land on his nose.

After the five sparrows finished, the second batch followed.

Bird droppings rained down on the Third Prince’s head and body like droplets. The Fifth and Sixth Princes, standing beside him, were unlucky enough to be affected too, with droppings landing on their heads, faces, and bodies.

Some sparrow aimed particularly well, landing right on the Third Prince’s mouth.

The Third Prince, with a mouthful of bird droppings, spat it out in disgust and then roared angrily, "I want to kill these beasts!"

The Fifth and Sixth Princes, smelling the bird droppings on themselves, looked disgusted and quickly distanced themselves from the Third Prince, shouting, "Damn these beasts, kill them all!"

After dropping on the Third Prince, Lai Yi and its gang swiftly flew towards the direction of the Cold Palace.

Next were Lai Wu and its group, cawing as they flew towards the Third Prince.

A dozen crows swooped in together, creating a rather frightening scene. The Third Prince, Fifth Prince, and the eunuchs around them were all startled.

Lai Wu and its companions pecked at the Third Prince’s face and head, instantly marring his "beautiful as a flower" face. As the Third Prince yelled and flapped at the crows with his hands,

"Someone, kill them!"

After pecking his face, Lai Wu and its gang defecated on the Third Prince, covering his head, face, neck, and body.

While the Third Prince and his party were still reeling, Lai Wu and its flock flew toward the Cold Palace.

Hiding behind a tree, Zhao Yao watched the scene unfold, covering his mouth to stifle his laughter. The Fourth Prince stood by, dumbfounded by what had just occurred.

Originally suave and charming, the Third Prince was now covered in bird droppings. His cleanliness compulsion was unbearable; he bent over and started to retch.

Although the Fifth and Sixth Princes had distanced themselves from the Third Prince, they too were affected. While not as drenched as the Third Prince, they had bird droppings splattered all over them.

The eunuchs around the Third Prince, like the Fourth Prince, were stunned into silence, taking a long time to recover their senses.

Zhao Yao looked back at the Fourth Prince, excitedly asking, "Fourth Brother, wasn’t that quite a show?"

The Fourth Prince, upon hearing this, lowered his head and stared at the gloating Zhao Yao, shocked.

"Tenth Brother, this..."

Zhao Yao put his finger to his lips, making a gesture for silence.

"Shh, Fourth Brother, before Third Brother and the others find out, let’s quickly leave." With that, he took the Fourth Prince’s hand and slipped away from behind the tree.

The Eighth Prince, who was entering Qin Hall, heard the Third and Fifth Princes yelling in the courtyard and rushed out to see what was going on, only to witness the scene of the Third Prince and his party covered in sparrow and crow droppings.

He was completely stunned, having never seen anything like this before.

Zhao Yao, pulling the Fourth Prince into Qin Hall, noticed the Eighth Prince still staring at the Third Prince and reached out to pull him as well.

"Eighth Brother, stop looking, otherwise Third Brother and the others might vent their anger on you later."

The Eighth Prince, being dragged into Qin Hall by Zhao Yao, still hadn’t come to terms with what had happened.

The Fourth Prince had already gathered his senses, staring at Zhao Yao in amazement: "Tenth Brother, what just happened?" He seemed to know those sparrows and crows would poop on the Third Prince and his brothers.

"Fourth Brother, it was just as you saw." Zhao Yao grinned mischievously, "Wasn’t it splendid, wasn’t it amazing?" It was also his first time seeing so many birds simultaneously poop on one person; it was quite a spectacle.

The Eighth Prince, hearing the conversation between the Fourth Prince and Zhao Yao, snapped out of his shock and stared at Zhao Yao in surprise: "Tenth Brother, was it you?"

Zhao Yao quickly waved his hands, "It wasn’t me, I’m not a bird."

The Fourth Prince gave Zhao Yao a deep look, asking, "Tenth Brother, how did you know?"

Zhao Yao blinked his eyes, looking innocent and perplexed as he said, "I didn’t know, I don’t know anything." With that, he quickly sat down in his seat and plucked at the zither strings.

The Fourth and Eighth Princes cast inquisitive gazes at Zhao Yao.

Outside Qin Hall was in chaos. The Third and Fifth Princes cursed as they left Changqin Palace.

Before leaving, they instructed their attendants to find those sparrows and crows and capture them. They wanted to skin them alive.

The Master Qin learned of the Third Prince’s misfortune and was uneasy, worrying he might be blamed. He hurriedly suggested Zhao Yao and the others go home, canceling the day’s zither lesson.

Zhao Yao didn’t expect asking Lai Yi and the others to help prank the Third Prince would have this benefit. Although he didn’t mind learning the zither, he preferred not attending class.

"Fourth Brother, Eighth Brother, why are you dragging me?"

The Fourth and Eighth Princes pulled Zhao Yao out of Changqin Palace and took him to the peach grove nearby.

There was a peach grove near Changqin Palace, left from the previous dynasty. Every spring, this peach grove became the most beautiful scenery in the whole Imperial Palace.

The Eighth Prince asked Yu Hai to stand guard at the entrance to prevent others from entering.

"Fourth Brother, Eighth Brother, what do you want to do?" Zhao Yao leaned against a peach tree, raised his hands to his chest, with a face of feigned fear and unease.

"What exactly happened earlier, how did you know?"

Zhao Yao earnestly lied, "I guessed."

The Fourth Prince, astounded, said, "Guessed?"

"Fourth Brother, Eighth Brother, don’t you know little birds hold grudges? Third Brother bullied those birds before." Zhao Yao’s mind turned quickly, and he instantly came up with a reason, "Of course, those birds wanted revenge. When I first arrived at Changqin Palace, I saw those birds standing on the palace walls."

The Fourth Prince asked, "How do you know the birds at Changqin Palace were the ones Third Brother bullied before?"

"I know them," Zhao Yao said with pride and confidence. "Fourth Brother, I’ve told you before, I know every cat and dog, even the birds in the palace. Those birds often fly to Kunde Hall, and I’ve fed them." This was the truth. He recognized every animal in the Imperial Palace, whether it flew in the sky, ran on the ground, or swam in water, and even named them.

The Fourth and Eighth Princes knew Zhao Yao was popular among animals. They had seen sparrows perch on Zhao Yao’s shoulder, and Zhao Yao chatting animatedly with the sparrow. Hearing him now dissolved their doubt.

"All sparrows and crows look the same, how can you tell them apart, Tenth Brother?"

"They don’t look the same at all." Zhao Yao eagerly explained to the Eighth Prince and the others, "Let me tell you, each bird has unique markings and features. For example, some sparrows have a small tuft of white feathers on their head, some have a small white dot near their eyes, some have black feathers around their neck..."

The Fourth and Eighth Princes were amazed at what they heard, not expecting Zhao Yao to be so observant.

"Not only do the sparrows look different, but their personalities are unique too." For example, Lai Qian is lively and mischievous, much like a child who loves to play. Lai Yi is more mature and steady than Lai Qian; it looks after its brothers like an elder brother. "Actually, they’re just like people." But they don’t speak human language.