Chapter 662: Sportsmanship

"The Grand Minister's Order is the third person in the Grand Minister of Rites; the Grand Minister of Rites in Chang'an is the Vice Minister of Rites of the Taihe Era, and we are not of one mind. You are my confidant; getting rid of him is just a matter of time. With such a good career prospect, what are you hesitating for!" His Majesty said others' arguments are sound, that triangular-eyed, glaring look was quite intimidating.

Liang Ben felt wronged, "My father doesn't even have such high expectations for me; Your Majesty, please think twice!"

"Your father has already set off for Mount Heng; this spring he will soon lead troops to attack Hanshou; your eldest brother is out surveying mineral deposits, and you're just lying around at home? Is that appropriate?!" I haven't even lain down!

Liang Ben got up, "Appropriate! You think, they're so capable that I can't just lie around at home as I please; that's too miserable! What's the point of them working so hard, right? We don't need me to revive the family; I'm just the second son, what's wrong with lying around a bit? We're not lacking the conditions..."

His Majesty: ……

That makes sense.

Very reasonable.

His father died too early. Otherwise, would he still have to take on such difficult loans to unify the world? That was all his father's doing! If they need him to help suppress rebellions, he'll need military funds!

Now it's fine; who would you ask, ask the common folk? The common folk themselves can't even eat enough; this year is the first time no one has starved to death—talking more just brings tears.

His Majesty went out and lost an adult; the good news is it was contained within a very small range.

The fat fourth also saw it, barely counting as achieving the goal. He honestly returned to Ziwei Palace.

This guy took the seventh brother to Suiyu Hall, wiped his face with a cloth soaked in makeup remover to show him.

"Although you put on a little makeup, you don't recognize your imperial brother, Seventh Brother—this really breaks my heart. Imperial Brother teaches you: don't judge people by appearance; you must distinguish them by voice, build, and scent!" He spoke off the cuff, lacking that skill himself. Bai Li Zhang saw him reveal a familiar eye, no longer shrinking at the doorway, he ran over and curiously stared at His Majesty's face. As a bit of his true face showed, he hugged His Majesty's leg and shouted, "Imperial Brother!"

"Finally recognized you!... You idiot, because your imperial brother lost an adult today, you almost let your fourth brother see a joke; this month you're not allowed to eat candy—confiscated!"

Bai Li Zhang instinctively covered his pocket, but His Majesty reacted faster, saying confiscated means confiscated, he got up, pried open his hand, snatched the escaped candy, and threw it at the bear that had just come in.

When Zhao Bao came in with tea, Bai Li Zhang and the bear were already rolled into a ball.

"Oh dear, Your Majesty! Your bear has gotten fatter lately; don't let it crush the Seventh Prince!"

Winnie presses his brother and he doesn't react; anyway, if the Seventh Prince feels pain he'll cry out; but if he feels pain and doesn't know how to cry, then you really need to press hard to teach him a lesson. Based on this principle, His Majesty watched with gusto; the result is now Zhao Bao says his bear is fat!

After confirming that being thin couldn't beat the fourth brother, His Majesty became very sensitive to obesity.

"Got fat? Really?"

Zhao Bao nodded repeatedly, "Since Your Majesty returned, Lord Winnie has been eating more, visibly gaining a circle."

His Majesty didn't know if it was because of eating low-grade demon pills, but being overweight… would affect health. Lord Zhetian and Xiao Jin go out to have fun on their own, while Winnie just watches him or eats, drinks, and sleeps; his lifestyle is somewhat unhealthy~

His Majesty sighed deeply, "It's time to lose weight."

He shouted loudly, "Stop!" The bear and the person both turned to look at him; His Majesty picked up the seventh brother and handed him to Zhao Bao, "You personally take him back to the Empress Dowager and tell her not to spoil him, just raise him casually."

Zhao Bao carried Bai Li Zhang, who didn't understand at all and was still reaching out shouting "Imperial Brother," to the rear palace.

His Majesty hadn't yet decided how to lose weight when he saw his new mount Xiao Jin come in, head shaking, tail wagging, hopping; he had an idea: "Come on, let's take you out to patrol the borders~"

Ziwei Palace is close to the border line; running north to lose weight is great, and the weather surely means no spectators.

Upon thinking it, he acted; His Majesty immediately had someone summon Wei Shen, his close cousin, who upon hearing His Majesty's plan turned and left.

"Are you crazy? Going to patrol the border during the New Year—can't you drink the north wind inside the palace?"

"Xiao Jin!"

When reason fails, resort to force; Xiao Jin leapt up to strike, Wei Shen narrowly dodged, frightened he immediately changed his tune: "Go! I'll go! If I don't go, who will!"

If Xiao Jin's current build were to press down on someone, even last night's meal would have to be vomited.

Finally, Bai Ze also couldn't escape His Majesty's enthusiastic invitation; a crowd of beloved pets plus the accompanying Owl Riders marched out mightily from the North Palace Gate.

While in the city, this troop naturally attracted much attention, but they were fast; Winnie had to run desperately to keep from falling behind, and those seeking spectacle couldn't catch up.

Once they passed the North City Gate, the outside fell silent, leaving only a desolate expanse of winter.

His Majesty drew a line, proposing a race along the border line, with the top three who reach the foot of Yanzhi Mountain receiving a prize.

After the announcement, only he himself was in the morale group, clapping hard; others and beasts lacked interest, and finally the Owl Riders were the ones who clapped along.

His Majesty was not discouraged, "That's because you haven't seen the prize. Bring it out, the prize!"

The attendant beside His Majesty quickly pulled three long boxes from his pack; upon opening them, others had no reaction, but Winnie immediately sprang up to reach out with his claws, and His Majesty swiftly slapped his hand away.

"Did you place in the top three? This is the prize for the top three finishers!"

The box contained fragrant honeycomb honey! And it's pure black alfalfa honey from his pasture.

Wei Shen was speechless, "It's obvious this prize is tailor-made for Winnie; the problem is, if it runs ahead, the calories burned from running then eating a box of honey would more than make up for it—what kind of fat are you losing?"

His Majesty smiled mysteriously, "You don't understand."

He turned his head, opened a slit in the box to let Winnie glance at it, then quickly closed it, "See that mountain? We'll run together; the fastest three will get this prize."

"I've already taken good care of you; you see—if there's only one prize, it'll surely go to Lord Zhetian; if two, then to Lord Zhetian and Xiao Jin. I've gone to great trouble for you—you just need to beat Bai Ze and us riders! Aren't you moved? This isn't just ordinary favoritism!"

Winnie was half-believing, half-doubting, eyes still fixed on the honeycomb box.

After finally getting the participants to understand, once the start was announced, Lord Zhetian vanished in an instant; Xiao Jin hesitated a moment, saw Lord Zhetian run, and like an arrow released from a bow, he too disappeared in a flash.

These two, really… have zero sportsmanship!

His Majesty sighed, "We'll just have to bravely fight for third place then! Winnie, your main rival now is Bai Ze."

Upon hearing that, Bai Ze lay down right there: "I'll just stay here and watch the scenery, waiting for you to return to the city."

His Majesty: ……

The troop is hard to manage.