In Prince Wei Mansion, Zhao Yao was having tea around the stove with Prince Wei.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough..." Prince Wei suddenly started coughing, and Zhao Yao quickly handed him a cup of hot tea.
Prince Wei took the cup, drank a few sips, and finally stopped coughing.
A loud "bang" echoed, as the chestnuts on the stove roasted.
Zhao Yao hurriedly reached out to grab them, only to burn his hands, causing the chestnuts to roll back and forth between his hands. After a while, when they were not as hot, he swiftly gobbled them up, only to burn his mouth, causing him to hiss in pain.
Seeing this, Prince Wei was full of helplessness, handing Zhao Yao the half-finished tea he had drunk earlier. This half cup of tea had been sitting for a while and was much cooler.
Zhao Yao finished the cold tea and felt much better.
"Why are you in such a hurry? I’m not peting with you."
"How was I supposed to know they were so hot."
Prince Wei was about to say something when he started coughing again.
Zhao Yao stood up, walked behind him, and gently patted his back.
"Brother, why are you always coughing?"
"The past few days have been cold; I’ve caught a chill, so I’ve been coughing," Prince Wei calmly put away his handkerchief. "I’ll be fine in a few days." When he was coughing earlier, Prince Wei covered his mouth with the handkerchief, not letting Zhao Yao see the blood stains on it, nor the blood at the corner of his mouth.
Zhao Yao looked at Prince Wei’s thin and weak body, full of worry and helplessness: "Brother, I’ve been telling you since we were kids that you’re too skinny and need to eat more to fatten up a bit. But all these years, you’re still a stick."
Prince Wei reached out to poke Zhao Yao’s forehead, laughingly scolding, "Who are you calling a stick?"
"Is it me?" Zhao Yao laughed, "I’m not as skinny as you."
Prince Wei chuckled, "You’re not much heavier than me."
Zhao Yao rolled up his sleeves, showing off his biceps to Prince Wei, "I’m slim because it’s muscle, look here."
Prince Wei slapped Zhao Yao’s biceps, amused, "Can’t see it."
"Brother, you’re jealous."
Prince Wei didn’t bother to engage with Zhao Yao, leisurely continued drinking tea.
"When I return to Swamp Prefecture, I’ll send you a witch doctor," Zhao Yao looked at Prince Wei’s pale face, feeling a tinge of worry, "Let the witch doctor help nurse your health."
"My health is fine; I don’t need a witch doctor," Prince Wei replied, "I have good doctors around me, they’re just as capable."
"Then how e you haven’t gotten better?" Zhao Yao always felt a gust of wind could blow the frail Prince Wei away. "Your face is so pale it’s almost transparent."
"My face has been like this since childhood, don’t worry too much." Prince Wei gave Zhao Yao a reassuring smile, "Although I’m weak, I’m not as frail as you think."
"That’s good." Zhao Yao knew Prince Wei’s health always worsened in winter; colds and fevers were mon.
"Let’s play a game of chess."
"Chess is boring, let’s call Yu Hai and Tong Xi and play mahjong."
"Alright, let’s play mahjong."
Soon after, Zhao Yao and the others were playing mahjong.
Sitting across from Zhao Yao, Tong Xi noticed how seriously Zhao Yao and Prince Wei were playing mahjong, indifferent to the impending big event, making him anxious.
Oh dear prince, Prince Dai and Prince Han are about to rebel, how can you not be worried, but instead have the leisure to play mahjong?
Zhao Yao, seeing Tong Xi constantly blinking at him, asked, "Do you have a twitching eye?"
Yu Hai said from the side, "Tong Xi, you shouldn’t cheat with Prince Han."
Zhao Yao looked at Yu Hai, proudly saying, "With such good luck today, why would I need to cheat? You and Brother can just wait to lose."
Prince Wei laughed, "Winning first is paper; winning later is money. That’s what you said."
"Exactly, Prince Han, you’re winning now, but you’ll definitely lose money afterwards."
"Tonight, I’m going to make you lose until you can’t afford underwear," Zhao Yao ignored Tong Xi’s frantic blinking, "e on, let’s continue."
Misunderstood as cheating, Tong Xi felt absolutely hopeless: "..." Never mind, if the princes aren’t worried, why should a servant worry? Better focus on winning some money in mahjong.
Outside Prince Wei Mansion, the capital was still bustling and brightly lit, as it wasn’t curfew time yet.
Beneath this prosperous hustle, there was an undercurrent swirling.
Prince Dai and several people from General Mansion began to move.
Outside the capital, Prince Han, along with the Xiongnu and Prince Yue’s people, were inching closer to the city.
In the palace, the emperor was playing mahjong with Prime Minister He, Grandmaster Liu, and Minister of Revenue, showing no sign of worry at all.
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