Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne
Chapter 98 - 97 An Ordinary Husband and Father

Chapter 98: Chapter 97 An Ordinary Husband and Father

Zhao Yao instinctively ran off with the orchid, stopping only after a long distance.

"Your Highness, why are you running?"

"I heard someone shouting, and out of urgency, I just ran."

"You’re the prince; if you pick an orchid from Lanyuan Pavilion’s orchid garden, who would dare say anything?"

Zhao Yao: "Well, I felt guilty like a thief." As he spoke, he looked down at the orchid in his arms, "This flower smells so fragrant."

Tong Xi sniffed and found it really did smell nice.

"Your Highness, this orchid’s fragrance is different."

Zhao Yao thought for a moment and said, "It’s a bit like cold fragrance."

Tong Xi didn’t understand this, "This orchid looks pretty cute, the flowers are small."

"I wonder if it’s tasty." After Zhao Yao said that, he plucked a flower and ate it in one bite.

"Your Highness, you really ate it." Tong Xi wanted to stop him but couldn’t, helplessly watching Zhao Yao eat an orchid.

"It tastes fragrant too, slightly sweet, quite delicious." Zhao Yao plucked another one and ate it.

If Prime Minister He saw Zhao Yao eating his Silver Edge Royal, he’d probably be so angry he could spit blood.

Zhao Yao plucked another one and handed it to Tong Xi: "You try it too."

"Your Highness, you ate it, doesn’t it make your stomach hurt?"

"Orchids aren’t poisonous; they won’t upset your stomach."

Reassured by his words, Tong Xi dared to eat the orchid.

"Your Highness, this orchid is really fragrant." He felt his mouth full of orchid scent.

"I told you, orchids must taste good too." Orchids look like chives, chives taste good, so orchids can’t taste bad. He plucked a leaf to eat, which was crispy and sweet.

The two of them walked along, eating orchids.

Soon, they returned to Kunde Hall.

Zhao Yao immediately presented the orchid he carried to Liang Zhaoyi for a taste.

When Liang Zhaoyi saw the orchid in Zhao Yao’s arms, she was utterly astonished.

"Mother, what’s wrong? Is this orchid not edible?" Zhao Yao said, "I ate it, and it was delicious, plus my stomach doesn’t hurt."

Liang Zhaoyi staggered slightly, then reached up to rub her forehead, looking very distressed.

"Yao Yao, where did you get this orchid?"

"I grabbed it from the orchid garden in Lanyuan Pavilion." Zhao Yao said with a grin, "I thought orchids looked like chives, so I wanted to try if orchids were tasty."

Liang Zhaoyi: "..."

Zhao Yao noticed Liang Zhaoyi’s odd expression and thought for a moment before asking, "Mother, is there something wrong with this orchid?"

"This orchid is called Silver Edge Royal; it’s a tribute orchid, and there shouldn’t be many of them in the palace." Although Liang Zhaoyi wasn’t as fond of orchids as Prime Minister He, seeing such a precious orchid being spoiled by her son made her hands itch a bit. "The orchid in your arms is worth a fortune."

Zhao Yao: "!!!!"

Tong Xi: Would it be too late to spit out the orchids I just ate?

Liang Zhaoyi poked Zhao Yao’s forehead, half-amused, half-angry, and said: "Eating orchids, you really..."

"Mother, are you sure you haven’t mistaken? This orchid is worth a fortune?" Zhao Yao couldn’t quite believe it, "I ate it, and its texture and taste don’t seem worth a fortune."

Liang Zhaoyi: "..."

First, there was a cow chewing on peonies, now her son eating orchids raw.

"Orchids are meant to be appreciated, not eaten." Liang Zhaoyi pinched her son’s cheek angrily, "Even eating orchids, you gluttonous little cat."

"I was just curious." Zhao Yao lifted the orchid in his arms, inspected it from every angle, and still couldn’t see what was special. "Mother, is it really worth a fortune?"

"Absolutely." Liang Zhaoyi said rather helplessly, "This Silver Edge Royal has always been a tribute. It’s almost nonexistent among common folks."

Zhao Yao: "What’s so special about it being a tribute?"

"You..." Liang Zhaoyi explained Silver Edge Royal to Zhao Yao in detail.

"Luckily, I only ate a few flowers, didn’t eat it all; it can still grow flowers." Zhao Yao hurriedly put down the orchid in his hand, "This orchid really smells nice."

"Its most distinctive feature is its fragrance."

"I wonder if it’s good stir-fried..."

Seeing her son still thinking about eating, Liang Zhaoyi tugged his little ear: "You still want to stir-fry and eat it."

"Mother, spare me..."

The emperor had just stepped into Kunde Hall when he heard Zhao Yao pleading for mercy, and he walked in with a smile: "You rascal, what mischief have you caused to upset your mother?"

Liang Zhaoyi and Zhao Yao greeted the emperor.

The emperor had just sat down when he noticed the orchid placed on the nearby table. Surprised, he said: "Isn’t this Silver Edge Royal? Where did it come from?"

Liang Zhaoyi didn’t particularly like orchids, so there hadn’t been any in Kunde Hall. The emperor hadn’t gifted her any orchids, so now seeing a Silver Edge Royal in Kunde Hall surprised him.

"Yao Yao brought it back from Lanyuan Pavilion."

"Lanyuan Pavilion?" The emperor looked at Zhao Yao in astonishment, "You rascal, what were you doing at Lanyuan Pavilion?"

Zhao Yao pointed at the Silver Edge Royal and answered honestly: "Picking orchids."

"Picking?" The emperor was shocked by Zhao Yao’s use of the word "picking", "Why were you picking orchids?"

Zhao Yao hesitated for a moment and said: "Eating."

The emperor was dumbfounded: "Eating?"

Sun Kui: "..."

Liang Zhaoyi, finding it hard to articulate, said: "He’s already eaten a few flowers."

The emperor: "..."

Sun Kui: "..."

"Why would you eat orchids?" This was the first time the emperor had heard of someone eating orchids.

"Curiosity."

"Curiosity?"

"I thought orchids looked very much like chives, so I wanted to see if they were as tasty as chives."

Orchids like chives?

Where did they look alike?

The emperor’s mouth twitched slightly as he said, "Are they tasty?"

"Not bad, I wonder if stir-frying them would make them as good as chives."

Liang Zhaoyi, seeing her son still thinking about stir-frying the Silver Edge Royal, found it both funny and exasperating.

Suddenly, Sun Kui remembered something and reminded the emperor: "I recall the orchids in Lanyuan Pavilion are planted by Prime Minister He, and this pot of Silver Edge Royal was something he requested from you. Prime Minister He is very fond of this Silver Edge Royal."

Zhao Yao: "..." Was the shout he heard earlier from Prime Minister He?

The emperor imagined Prime Minister He’s reaction upon learning that his cherished Silver Edge Royal was eaten by little ten, and couldn’t help but burst into laughter: "Hahaha..."

Zhao Yao looked at the laughing emperor and thought: What’s so funny?

Liang Zhaoyi asked nervously: "Is Prime Minister He alright?" She genuinely worried Prime Minister He might faint upon learning his precious Silver Edge Royal was eaten by Zhao Yao.

Zhao Yao said: "I heard Prime Minister He’s voice was strong; he should be in good health."

"Hahaha..." The emperor was practically dying with laughter at Zhao Yao’s words.

Zhao Yao glanced at the laughing, out-of-control emperor, then at Liang Zhaoyi.

Mother, what’s Father laughing about?

Liang Zhaoyi: Laughing at you.

Zhao Yao: What’s there to laugh at about me?

"I only ate a few flowers; the flowers will grow back in a while." Zhao Yao made a small defense for himself.

The emperor pinched Zhao Yao’s little face and chided: "Are you a pig? Eating orchids and all."

"Father, pigs don’t eat orchids."

The emperor twisted Zhao Yao’s little mouth, "Aren’t you just like a pig?"

Zhao Yao inwardly retorted: If I’m a pig, then Father, you are too.

"Sun Kui, send this pot of Silver Edge Royal back to Prime Minister He; otherwise, he’ll worry himself sick."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhao Yao watched reluctantly as Sun Kui took away the Silver Edge Royal. He still wanted to try stir-frying it; maybe it would be as good as chives.

"What, reluctant to return it to Prime Minister He?" The emperor flicked Zhao Yao’s forehead, "Orchids are Prime Minister He’s lifeline; if you ate this entire pot of Silver Edge Royal, he’d come after you."

Zhao Yao was dumbfounded: Over a pot of orchids, seriously?

"What about other orchids?" If he couldn’t eat this Silver Edge Royal, he could eat other orchids, right? He couldn’t believe all orchids were as precious as Silver Edge Royal.

"You still want to eat other orchids?"

Zhao Yao nodded honestly: "Curious about their taste."

The emperor laughed again: "Hahaha..."

Zhao Yao: Is Father going crazy tonight, laughing non-stop?

"Mother, I’m hungry." Just a few orchid flowers weren’t enough to fill him up.

"Your Majesty, do you wish to dine now?"

"I’m hungry too, let’s have a meal." The emperor stood up, grabbing Zhao Yao by the back of his collar and leading him to the dining hall.

Zhao Yao, like a kitten picked up by the scruff, was pitifully carried to the dining hall.

The dishes tonight were all personally cooked by Liang Zhaoyi, common household dishes. Every time the emperor came to Kunde Hall, Liang Zhaoyi would personally cook.

Though they were all vegetarian, Liang Zhaoyi made them colorful, fragrant, and flavorful.

Sun Kui wasn’t wrong, the emperor had indeed been very busy the past few days, so busy he didn’t have much appetite, often just eating a few bites at each meal.

Liang Zhaoyi personally served a bowl of vegetable soup to the emperor, "Your Majesty, have a bowl of soup first to warm your stomach."

The emperor took the bowl and started drinking spoonful after spoonful.

He loved dining in Kunde Hall. Although Liang Zhaoyi’s cooking couldn’t match the Imperial Kitchen, her dishes suited the emperor’s taste.

The emperor loved Liang Zhaoyi’s cooking because it was homely. In her dishes, he could taste the "home" flavor, something the Imperial Kitchen couldn’t reproduce.

In Kunde Hall, the emperor could feel the warmth of "home"; it was the only place where he could truly relax.

The emperor didn’t dare to relax for too long, so he only visited Kunde Hall once a month. As long as he came to Kunde Hall, the fatigue and hardships of the month would vanish.

In Kunde Hall, he wasn’t a lofty emperor, but just an ordinary husband and father.