My Emperor Father Can Read Minds
Chapter 60

The Sixth Prince finished the pastries and still wanted more, but under the watchful gaze of the Fifth Prince, he could only reluctantly stop.

If he disobeyed, Fifth Brother would report him to Imperial Physician Jiang. Then the physician would think he wasn’t following medical advice, and next time he got sick and needed medicine, he’d throw in a handful of coptis root…

So bitter it would bring tears to his eyes.

The Sixth Prince gazed longingly at the pastries in front of him, then turned away to avoid temptation.

Forget it. If he wanted more, he could sneak some at home.

As for the sweetness of the pastries from Eighth Brother’s residence, that was actually because of Wei Yu.

He had supplied the sugar. Sugar refining wasn’t particularly high-tech—as long as you had the materials, you could do it. And the royal family was never short on materials. So when the Ministry of Works produced the first batch of sugar, most of it went to the Emperor, but a small portion was given to Wei Yu.

Though it was just a small portion, it still totaled nearly a hundred catties.

Wei Yu obviously couldn’t finish all that by himself—what if he got diabetes from eating too much? So he gave half to his Eighth Brother.

Good thing the Eighth Prince didn’t know what he was thinking. Otherwise, he’d definitely take back all that gratitude he felt.

The Fifth Prince drew the fan from his waist and started acting flamboyant again.

He glanced at the Fourth Prince nearby and suddenly asked, “Fourth Brother, why are you here today too? I thought you were busy with proper duties like Eldest Brother and the others.”

There had been too many people in the front courtyard earlier, so some things couldn’t be said. But now it was just a few brothers in this little courtyard—perfect for all the trash talk they wanted.

The Fourth Prince remained calm. “I’m just an idle man. How could I compare to Eldest Brother and the others? Besides, I’m very close with Eighth Brother—attending his mansion-opening banquet is only proper.”

Fifth Prince: “…Guess I underestimated you, Brother.” He hadn’t realized he could be so shameless.

The Fourth Prince raised his cup and nodded at him calmly.

Wei Yu looked left and right, then silently reached out for the pastries.

“Hold it.”

A fan slapped down onto the back of his hand, stopping his eager movement.

The Fifth Prince smiled at him and asked, “Eighth Brother held his mansion banquet. When’s yours? I’ve already prepared your gift.”

Wei Yu: “Five days from now. I’ll send out invitations to all the elder brothers tomorrow, how’s that?”

The Fifth Prince withdrew his fan. “Good. I’ve been waiting and waiting for your invitation—I thought you didn’t want us there.”

Wei Yu lowered his eyes and sighed. “How could that be? All my brothers are dear to me. Missing even one would feel like a knife to the heart. Not sending out invites? Impossible. I was only afraid you all wouldn’t want to come. Then it would’ve just been false joy on my part. Sigh, it’s my fault.”

The three elder brothers: …

No denying it—that was pretty sappy.

The Fifth Prince got goosebumps and couldn’t help rubbing his arm, afraid Wei Yu might say something even more melodramatic. He didn’t dare provoke him anymore.

Wei Yu smiled quietly, hiding his merit and fame.

His Fifth Brother had a bit of a troublemaker streak. He loved to watch drama unfold—but only when it didn’t involve him. If it did, he’d become obedient in no time.

The four of them didn’t stay long in the courtyard. When the time came, they each got ready to leave.

Wei Yu was the last to go. As he passed a covered corridor, he spotted someone squatting in the grass below.

Wei Yu squinted and asked Du Xing, “Is that a child?”

Du Xing: “Looks like it.”

“Let’s go check it out.”

Children normally wouldn’t be brought to a banquet. Wei Yu was curious where this one came from.

The two walked over, and standing on the corridor, they saw a boy in blue squatting in the grass, hugging his knees and staring down.

Wei Yu called out, “Hey, kid. Whose family are you from?”

The child didn’t move, as if he hadn’t heard.

Wei Yu waited a few seconds, found it strange, then jumped down over the low railing.

He walked up to the child and tilted his head for a look, noticing the boy was quite pale.

Not the healthy, fair kind of pale—but the kind that hadn’t seen sunlight in a long time.

Wei Yu squatted beside him. “Hey, kid. What’s your name? Do you know your elders’ names? How long have you been squatting here?”

Still no response.

No matter what Wei Yu said, the boy didn’t react—eyes open, staring at the grass, not even a blink of his lashes.

What the hell—is this kid autistic?

Wei Yu looked at him, a little stumped, then told Du Xing to go inform the Eighth Prince about the situation.

Du Xing left.

Not knowing when someone would come, Wei Yu didn’t bother trying to question the child further and instead just observed him.

The boy looked about seven or eight years old. His clothes weren’t the finest, but they were clean—his family probably cared for him. There were no symbols of status on him, so it was hard to tell his background.

Wei Yu followed the child’s gaze to the grass.

Nothing unusual there—just common grass you’d find anywhere in the courtyard. No clue what he was looking at.

Wei Yu wasn’t particularly interested in meddling. He planned to hand the matter off to the Eighth Prince’s household and leave.

But just as footsteps echoed from the courtyard entrance, the boy suddenly spoke.

“They’re really strong.”

Huh?

Wei Yu looked down at the boy in confusion. “What did you say? Who’s strong?”

The boy didn’t answer. He leaned forward, parted some grass, and picked something up from the bare earth.

Wei Yu looked.

Well, damn. The kid had been watching ants this whole time?

He glanced at the boy who had picked up a black ant and placed it in his palm, still looking skeptical.

No way, no way, no way. Could this be one of those kids who loves observing nature? A budding physicist?

The footsteps at the courtyard entrance grew louder, and several servants came running in.

Wei Yu looked up and saw most of their eyes land on the boy beside him. Upon seeing he was unharmed, their expressions relaxed visibly.

They approached.

“Greetings, Ninth Prince.”

Wei Yu asked, “You came for this child?”

One of the older women replied, “Yes, Your Highness. This is young master Liu—His Highness the Prince’s cousin.”

Ah.

Wei Yu remembered now.

His Eighth Brother had mentioned before that he had a cousin and a nephew.

Wei Yu looked at the boy, who was now being helped up and had his clothes straightened. “What’s his name?”

“Liu Chanyi.”

Wei Yu nodded. Seeing how nervous they looked, he waved them off to take the boy away first.

Once they were gone, Wei Yu instructed Du Xing, “Later, find someone to look into this Liu Chanyi. See what this kid’s deal is.”

He had a feeling that if this was a budding physicist, letting him go like this didn’t sit right.

Sigh.

Yet another day of exhausting effort for the sake of Great Wei.