Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 777: Chapter 380: Morning Mascot_2

"So eager to leave the capital?"

"I can’t wait to leave the capital right now, this instant." Zhao Yao said angrily, "I don’t want to stay in the capital for even a moment."

For several years now, Zhao Yao had been talking about leaving the capital and going to his fief. Prince Wei and the others were tired of hearing it.

"Brother Eight, don’t try to persuade me to stay in the capital, I won’t stay!" Zhao Yao said before Prince Wei could speak, "I absolutely won’t stay in the capital! I’ve had enough, I want to get far away from the capital!" How he wished he could blink and it would be his birthday, and then leave the capital the day after his birthday.

Seeing Zhao Yao so furious, Prince Wei found it amusing yet helpless: "Do you hate attending court that much?"

"It’s not hate, it’s loathing!" Zhao Yao said with a face full of disgust, "Attending court is even worse than studying!" When he was studying, he could slack off. But at court, he couldn’t slack off and even had to stand as punishment, it was really too much suffering.

Zhao Yao had no official duties in court, just an idle prince. The Emperor had not ever given him any tasks to do, and he didn’t understand why he needed to attend court. Was he there just as a mascot?

"Then you’ll just have to endure it for a few more months." Regarding Zhao Yao’s future a few months later, Prince Wei and Prince Chu both wanted him to stay in the capital, yet didn’t want him to stay.

If Zhao Yao went to his fief, Prince Wei and Prince Chu would be reluctant and uneasy. However, letting him stay in the capital wasn’t good either, as the capital wasn’t safe.

Seeing Zhao Yao insist on going to his fief, Prince Wei and Prince Chu gave up the idea of helping him stay in the capital. They had been planning about Zhao Yao’s fief for a long time.

Prince Wei and Prince Chu both thought Yangzhou was a good place, suitable for Zhao Yao’s fief. However, the Emperor had not yet agreed to make Yangzhou his fief, making Prince Wei and the others a bit anxious.

"I’ll endure it!" He had endured so many years, he didn’t care about the final few months.

"Alright, hurry up and eat, or we’ll really be late."

Zhao Yao stopped complaining and focused on eating. After breakfast, he made sure to take some pastries, hiding them in his sleeves. If the morning court session dragged on, he could eat them secretly if he got hungry.

Eating pastries during the morning court session wasn’t something Zhao Yao was doing for the first time. Besides Prince Wei and Prince Chu, no one else noticed him sneaking bites.

Once on the carriage, Zhao Yao lay down, ready to catch a little nap.

The journey from Prince Wei Mansion to the Imperial Palace took at least two quarters of an hour by carriage. For Zhao Yao, any moment he could sleep was a blessing.

When they arrived at the palace gates, Prince Wei woke Zhao Yao.

After jumping down from the carriage, Zhao Yao greeted Prince Dai, Prince Chu, Prince Jing, and then very naturally stepped aside to lean against the palace wall and doze off.

Tong Xi stood guard by Zhao Yao’s side.

Aside from Tong Xi, not a single official surrounded Zhao Yao.

Each had a crowd of officials around them: Prince Dai, Prince Chu, Prince Jing, and Prince Wei.

Over the years, the struggle for the throne among the four princes had become increasingly fierce. Of course, the fiercest battle was between Prince Dai and Prince Chu. However, on the surface, things remained relatively peaceful.

Soon, the palace gates opened.

Prince Dai was the first to walk into the palace, followed by Prince Chu, then Prince Jing, Prince Wei, and finally Zhao Yao. Behind Zhao Yao were Prime Minister He and the other officials.

Though Zhao Yao held no office in the court nor was he crowned as a prince, as a prince, his status was nobler than that of the officials.

The morning court session had yet to start, the officials first sat in the side hall for a while, sipping tea to warm themselves.

After finishing his tea, Zhao Yao dozed off again.

The officials had long been accustomed to Zhao Yao’s sleepy demeanor.

Zhao Yao wasn’t actually asleep. He was secretly listening to the officials’ conversations.

The time before the morning court session was always filled with intricate schemes among the officials. Look, Prince Dai’s supporters and Prince Chu’s supporters were at it again with their sarcastic remarks.

In a while, spring plowing would begin. This year, it was Prince Chu’s responsibility.

When the deposed Crown Prince was still the Crown Prince, he would oversee spring plowing every year. Since the Crown Prince was deposed, the responsibility alternated between Prince Dai and Prince Chu each year.

Last year, Prince Dai managed the spring plowing and did quite well with no mistakes, but the harvest wasn’t good. Supporters of Prince Chu seized upon this to criticize Prince Dai.

This year, it’s Prince Chu’s turn for spring plowing. If this year’s harvest is better than last year’s, it would mean Prince Chu did better than Prince Dai, which would be disadvantageous for Prince Dai.