Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 553: Chapter 292: Mr. Meng Wants to Meet the Tenth Royal Highness

On the next day, at the time of Mao, Zhao Yao was woken up by Tong Xi on time. In a daze, he washed up and went to the Eighth Prince’s place for breakfast.

Last night, Tong Xi had spoken with Yu Hai. Today’s breakfast, Yu Hai had the small kitchen prepare quite an array of food, including porridge, baked flatbread, steamed buns, stuffed buns, wontons, shumai, and chive pies.

The Eighth Prince noticed Zhao Yao yawning constantly while eating and asked with concern, "Didn’t sleep well last night?"

"It seems like I dreamt the whole night, but I can’t remember anything just now when I woke up." As Zhao Yao finished speaking, he yawned again.

Even though he was sleepy, it didn’t impede Zhao Yao from eating.

The Eighth Prince ate a bit and couldn’t eat anymore, sitting aside watching Zhao Yao eat.

In front of the Eighth Prince, Zhao Yao never knew what formality was, his little mouth was so stuffed that it was like a squirrel eating.

The Eighth Prince, seeing Zhao Yao eat so much, was worried he might overeat, hurriedly advised, "Tenth Brother, don’t eat until you’re too full, if you get a stomachache during the lecture, that wouldn’t be good."

Zhao Yao had just swallowed a spiced egg, innocently and confusedly blinked at the Eighth Prince’s words. After swallowing the egg in his mouth, he finally spoke, "Eighth Brother, I’m not full yet, how could I be overeating?"

The Eighth Prince, who was drinking tea, was so startled by Zhao Yao’s words that he almost choked on his tea.

He looked at Zhao Yao, who was still eating, with shock: "You’re not full yet?"

"No, I’m only eighty percent full, I need to eat another twenty percent," Zhao Yao said, then bowed his head to drink a few mouthfuls of meat porridge and continued, "I can’t eat during the lecture, I have to be completely full, that way I won’t get hungry."

The Eighth Prince looked Zhao Yao up and down, then his gaze stopped on Zhao Yao’s stomach.

"Tenth Brother, is your little belly a bottomless pit?" A breakfast feast for Tenth Brother was enough to last him nine meals over three days.

"Eighth Brother, it’s not that I eat a lot, it’s that you eat too little," Zhao Yao didn’t feel he ate much, "Besides, I’m still growing, I have to eat more. If I don’t eat more now, I’ll definitely be hungry by the time of Si." Usually, when he’s studying in Wende Hall, Tong Xi brings him some snacks around the time of Si, otherwise, he wouldn’t last until school ends at noon.

The Eighth Prince still wasn’t reassured and asked again, "You really aren’t overeating?"

"No," Zhao Yao didn’t address the Eighth Prince further, bowing his head to continue eating.

After eating until he was full, Zhao Yao even drank a bowl of goat milk.

"Ugh..." Zhao Yao burped, raising his hand to gently pat his little belly, and sighed with satisfaction, "I’m full."

Yu Hai brought a digestive pill and handed it to Zhao Yao. The Eighth Prince said to Zhao Yao, "Tenth Brother, you should take a digestive pill."

Seeing the Eighth Prince looking at him with eyes full of worry, Zhao Yao couldn’t argue, so he obediently took the digestive pill.

"Cough cough cough..."

Seeing the Eighth Prince suddenly cough, Zhao Yao asked nervously, "Eighth Brother, what’s wrong, did you catch a cold?"

"Caught a bit of wind last night." The Eighth Prince smiled reassuringly at Zhao Yao’s worried little face, "I’ve already taken medicine."

"That’s good." Zhao Yao frowned slightly and said, "Eighth Brother, were you reading with the window open last night?"

"I closed it, not sure how I caught a cold." The Eighth Prince said warmly, "It’s just a bit of a cough, nothing serious."

"Eighth Brother, when you come back from the lecture, you should still have the Imperial Physician take a look at you," Zhao Yao said, looking at the still somewhat pale Eighth Prince, "Your health is already weak; if you really get sick, it could be very serious."

"It won’t be that bad."

"How can it not be that bad?" Zhao Yao said, unhappy that the Eighth Prince wasn’t taking care of his health, "Eighth Brother, your health has been poor since you were badly injured a few years back saving the Crown Prince; it has never fully recovered."

He further said, "Also, you fall seriously ill almost every year, even if it’s just a cold. Don’t you have any idea about your own health condition?" With the Eighth Brother’s frail health and poor eating habits, one fears he won’t live long.

The Eighth Prince, embarrassed by Zhao Yao’s words, hurriedly changed the subject, "It’s getting late, we should go find Big Brother." With that, he quickly turned and left the room.

"Eighth Brother, you’re changing the subject again," Zhao Yao quickly followed him, and he gave the Eighth Prince another talking-to.