Chapter 66: Arranging Three Sons for Blessing!

The Crown Prince, the Prince of Han, and the Prince of Zhao—the three brothers—all turned around simultaneously, looking in utter astonishment at Little Snot, who had caught up with them.

"Grand Eunuch, is there another imperial edict?" the Crown Prince asked, his face a picture of bewilderment.

"Your Imperial Highness, it is an oral edict. His Majesty commands that all three of you listen on your knees," Little Snot said, flicking his horsetail whisk and wearing a deadpan, serious expression. Upon hearing this, the three brothers did not argue; instead, they dropped to their knees in unison.

"We wish the Emperor abundant health!" With the synchronization of countless rehearsals, the three brothers spoke as one.

"His Majesty is well," Little Snot said, stepping sideways by half a body length and offering a respectful reply in return.

"His Majesty's oral decree: The Imperial Grandson, the Heir of the Prince of Han, and the Heir of the Prince of Zhao are to proceed to Jiming Temple tomorrow to offer prayers for a full day!" Little Snot announced to the three brothers, delivering the imperial oral decree that the Emperor had specifically ordered them to receive on their knees.

The three brothers exchanged glances, completely baffled. Weren't oral decrees supposed to be delivered directly to the three youngsters? Why was it being given to them instead?

"Will Your Highnesses please rise? His Majesty said that seeing the three of you kneeling put him in a slightly better mood, so he wanted you to relay his intentions after returning," Little Snot said with a straight face.

"What is this? In the middle of the night, you bring an oral decree for the three boys, and make us pass it along, just so we would kneel?!" The Prince of Han, who had a fiery and straightforward temperament, blurted out the question directly.

"Second Brother, Second Brother, say less. Look at it this way: as long as Father is happy, whatever he wants is fine. Let's hurry home; we have matters to attend to tomorrow," the Crown Prince said. Realizing that the Second Brother was upset by the Emperor's teasing, he quickly stepped in to placate him and shot a meaningful look at the Third Brother.

The Prince of Zhao caught the Crown Prince's drift immediately. Together, the two brothers grabbed the Prince of Han by the arms and ushered him away.

Standing to the side, Little Snot shook his head helplessly as he watched the three princes depart, then turned around and headed back...

Early the next morning, Zhu Zhanhao was sleeping soundly, holding two little maidservants in his arms, when he heard a burst of shouting from his old man outside the door.

Reluctantly, Zhu Zhanhao crawled out from under the comforter. Especially since last night, when he had been holding the two little maidservants in his sleep, feeling inexplicably excited for some reason, and harboring the strange illusion that he was fondling a pair of white jade bowls—a sensation that had left both maidservants sound asleep and still waking up late.

Moreover, ever since the Flood Dragon King had entered his body recently, he hadn't engaged in any physical training; he was the absolute epitome of someone who loved lingering in bed.

"Father, what are you doing?" Zhu Zhanhao asked, waking up in a daze and looking at his old man with a puzzled expression.

"Your grandfather wants the three of you to go to Jiming Temple today to offer prayers!" the Prince of Han said with a stern expression, looking at his son.

"Today?!" Zhu Zhanhao was momentarily stunned, sensing instantly that something was amiss. Why would they need to pray when everyone was healthy and safe? Could it be that the Old Man had discovered something?!

"Don't worry, things have been tightly sealed at home recently. This must be a whim of your grandfather's from yesterday, but we still have to go; there's no escaping this one. What worries me is your eyes! If the old monk discovers anything, it might ruin everything!" The Prince of Han went straight to the heart of the matter.

"There's no escaping it. The imperial attendants from the palace are probably already waiting at the gate. Let's just go directly, and I'll think of something," Zhu Zhanhao said, furrowing his brow in deep thought. After hearing his father's words, his expression turned grave.

A moment later, an idea struck him.

"Little Xizi, bring me all my eye masks." Little Xizi acknowledged respectfully and immediately fetched the entire set of eye masks that Zhu Zhanhao had custom-made.

Looking over them, one could see gold, silver, copper, and iron—more than a dozen eye masks of various materials and colors. Zhu Zhanhao did not stand on ceremony; he picked up a black metal one decorated with python patterns, put it on his face, and tossed the rest into a small box to carry with him.

When Zhu Zhanhao stepped out of the manor, he saw the young eunuch sent from the palace waiting to receive him, who bowed respectfully.

"Let's set off," Zhu Zhanhao said without ceremony, swinging himself up onto his steed, Snow Treading Steed. Recently, this horse had grown utterly attached to him; if he didn't visit it every day, it would throw a tantrum, beat other horses, and act out with the most formidable petulance!

Upon arriving at the gates of Jiming Temple, he saw a grand and imposing crowd already assembled outside.

Without standing on ceremony, Zhu Zhanhao dismounted gracefully, handed the reins to Little Xizi, and walked forward to greet them.

"Eldest Brother, Cousin Zhanhe, I'm late." Zhu Zhanhao had arrived last; Zhu Zhanji and Zhu Zhanhe, the son of their Third Uncle the Prince of Zhao, were already waiting.

"Not late at all, we just arrived ourselves." Zhu Zhanji wore a courteous smile. After all, just yesterday, this younger cousin of his had rescued the girl he fancied. Still, Zhu Zhanji wore a strange expression, somewhat astonished that his cousin was wearing an eye mask.

"Second Brother, you're too polite. Eldest Brother and I just got here too. Second Brother, have you grown taller again? That's amazing, I want to grow that tall too! And your eye mask looks so cool!" Zhu Zhanhe was a twelve-year-old youth whose height didn't even reach halfway up Zhu Zhanhao's chest. He had to tilt his head all the way back just to look up, gazing with unconcealed envy at his second uncle's son. Yet, for some reason, he always felt that Second Brother looked terribly stern—even more terrifying than the teachers at the grand academy!!

"Is that so? Cousin Zhanhe, how about I gift one to you and Eldest Brother?" Although Zhu Zhanhao phrased it as a question, he gave a wave of his hand, and Little Xizi, standing a short distance away, immediately hurried over holding a small box.

"Eldest Brother, Cousin Zhanhe, these are eye masks I had some people make. I've taken a liking to them lately and had a few extra made. See which ones you like, and I'll give them to you." Zhu Zhanhao took the box from Little Xizi and opened it, revealing more than a dozen eye masks in various colors and styles.

"They're so pretty! Second Brother, I won't be polite then!" Being a child at heart and unable to keep his thoughts hidden, Zhu Zhanhe had already thought Second Brother's masked look imposing and majestic. Now unable to restrain himself any longer, he picked out a silver eye mask and put it on with excitement.

In truth, Zhu Zhanhao saw it clearly: Cousin Zhanhe had actually wanted to choose the golden one, but after stealing a glance at Zhu Zhanji, he had switched to the silver one.

"Then I'll pick one too. Thank you, Cousin Zhanhao!" Zhu Zhanji did not stand on ceremony either, directly selecting a golden python-patterned mask and putting it on. He, too, felt that this gadget looked thoroughly formidable!

"Alright, let's go inside," Zhu Zhanji said. After putting on the mask and patting it a few times to satisfy himself with his reflection, he took the lead and stepped inside, followed closely by Zhu Zhanhao and Zhu Zhanhe.

Zhu Zhanji was very familiar with the place and led his two younger cousins straight to the main hall.

Just as they reached the entrance, they saw a bald monk inside, sitting with his back to the three of them, chanting sutras in meditation without the slightest intention of stopping. Seeing this, the three brothers had no choice but to line up in order—Zhu Zhanji on the left, Zhu Zhanhe on the right, and Zhu Zhanhao in the middle (as the Ming dynasty regarded the left as the position of honor)—standing respectfully outside the door to wait.

At some point, a dense mass of dark clouds began drifting across the sky, looking as though a torrential rainstorm was imminent.

"Come in." After about another quarter of an hour, the old monk inside finally ceased his meditative chanting, slowly turned around, and cast his gaze upon the three brothers.

Hearing these words, the three brothers respectfully raised their feet and stepped inside.

The moment they crossed the threshold, the dark clouds in the sky blotted out the sun, plunging the surroundings into sudden gloom. But a mere split second later, the clouds parted, and bright sunlight streamed down upon the three brothers once again.

Just as the three brothers had stepped inside and were standing there, before they even had time to offer a greeting, a sharp sound rang out.

"Crack!"

The prayer beads in the hands of the old monk before them shattered and scattered all over the floor!