Chapter 263
28
"No, I can't ride the same horse with you. It will affect my performance." The fifth prince wanted him to let him go so that he could ride the same horse he had just ridden.
A guard followed them, leading the horse.
Cheng Zhao watched him crying and saying he didn't want to learn horse riding, but after a while he changed his attitude and went riding on his own without being forced.
He began to doubt whether his method was really wrong. He still treated the Fifth Prince like a child. He had long forgotten that the Fifth Prince was the same age as him and had his own temper and personality. He needed his equal respect, not discipline.
After the fifth prince got on his horse, he said to Cheng Zhao, "Shall we have a competition?"
Cheng Zhao smiled and asked him, "You've only learned a little longer? Do you think you can beat me?"
The fifth prince thought about it and it made sense. The opponent was an experienced veteran. He couldn't even ride a horse steadily, so how could he compete with him? "You are more experienced than me, so the rules of the game should be changed. I will kill one, and it will be worth ten of yours."
Cheng Zhao: "Why not just give this championship to you?"
The fifth prince looked up and asked him, "Why, you don't dare?"
"Then let's compete." Cheng Zhao casually shot out a sword and shot down a sparrow in the distance, "Does this count as one?"
The fifth prince's eyes widened. He thought that if he could easily shoot down such a small bird, then it would be even easier to catch a large prey. He wanted to cheat, "Why did you kill such a cute little sparrow? You are not going to eat it. You are so cruel."
"Sparrows can also be roasted and eaten." Cheng Zhao pointed to the little white rabbit next to the fifth prince, "Isn't that little white rabbit more adorable? If you think it's cruel, you shouldn't hunt."
The fifth prince curled his lips and said, "You can't change this bad habit of yours. You always speak with thorns. But it doesn't matter. Today I will blunt your edge and beat you for once."
"Okay, I'll wait." Cheng Zhao said and ran away.
The fifth prince stood there in a daze, "You really don't give in to me at all. What's the harm in making me happy?"
The fifth prince thought to himself that he was a genius and would definitely win, but he could not ride fast, and the guards beside him were afraid that he would fall, so they helped him hold the horse.
The fifth prince had a pretty good eye, and there were so many rabbits in the forest, running around in groups, that he caught another one in no time.
Only then did he realize that the rabbits were too dense and he seemed not to be a genius. He was a little dejected, but Cheng Zhao came back soon.
"You got another one?" Cheng Zhao saw the rabbit in his hand, "These two are just right for making you a pair of gloves and a hat."
The fifth prince gestured at his own head, which seemed quite nice to look at because of its fur. "What did you catch?"
"Not as many as you caught." Cheng Zhao went forward to explore the road. Seeing no danger, he came back and accompanied the Fifth Prince along the same path.
When the fifth prince heard that he had not caught as many as he did, he became happy again, "Hehe, I am still a genius."
Cheng Zhao also taught him how to use traps to catch prey. In the afternoon, the two of them caught a wild boar. They forgot about the competition and roasted the prey they caught during the day in the evening.
The two of them couldn't eat so much, so the rest was shared among the palace maids and guards they brought with them, which was just enough for one meal.
It was not the first time that the Fifth Prince had eaten so many kinds of meat, but it was the first time that he participated in the hunting himself.
Cheng Zhao also caught a few rabbits and deer for him and had them shipped back for him to raise.
The Fifth Prince thought about how he would have no time to work every day in the future, so he let Cheng Zhao release it. "Just keep it in this forest. Let's come again in winter, during the New Year holiday. It will be more beautiful to soak in the hot springs when it snows."
After hearing what he said, Cheng Zhao released the prey that he had captured alive, but did not release the rabbits that he had captured. "I heard that Uncle Wild Dog's wife is pregnant. I'll use the fur to make some gloves and shoes for him when I get back."
When the fifth prince heard this, he said, "They are your nephews and nieces, right? You don't just give fox fur or mink fur, but you give rabbit fur?"
"There's none on this mountain. Let's go somewhere else next time." When Cheng Zhao heard him say this, he thought that the Fifth Prince must prefer fox fur. Next time he encountered it while hunting, he could get some back for the Fifth Prince.
The temperature here is cool, especially at night, it's as cold as if winter is about to come.
The fifth prince still remembered the hot springs. After dinner, he thought about going to the hot springs and asked Cheng Zhao, "Is this hot spring indoors or outdoors?"
"Both indoors and outdoors." Cheng Zhao remembered that the Fifth Prince was a boy. He wanted to take him indoors, but boys were shy and might not want to join him.
But after the fifth prince looked around, he said, "It's better to go outside. We can still see the moon."
"Aren't you afraid of being seen when you go outside?" Cheng Zhao asked him.
"There's no one here, what are you afraid of?" The Fifth Prince told Cheng Zhao about the TV series he had watched recently. "In the TV series, they even had swimming lessons. Men and women could swim in the same swimming pool, and the swimsuits they wore all exposed their arms and thighs. Even the gods didn't mind these things, so why would we mortals mind them?"
Ever since the Fifth Prince knew that Cheng Zhao liked him, he has become much more daring in speaking than before.
Cheng Zhao didn't expect that TV dramas have these benefits. They liberated his mind. At first, he couldn't accept the fifth prince sleeping on a bed without a bed curtain, but now he can accept wearing a swimsuit and swimming with a man.
"Your father's purpose of becoming emperor was to bring the mortal world closer to the heavenly world. Look, we have trains and cars. We will build sewers and provide electricity to the whole country next year. Shouldn't we also bring our thoughts closer? For example, should we change our hair and clothes?" The fifth prince scratched his hair. "I see people in TV dramas washing their hair is so easy and it dries in a short while. My hair is long and thick, and it takes a lot of effort to comb or wash it."
"Not everyone is as receptive as you. If you ask people to cut their hair and wear clothes that expose their arms and legs, they may immediately rush to the palace to revolt." Cheng Zhao's thinking was not as open-minded as the Fifth Prince's. He still retained some of the ancient people's thoughts, and he did not completely accept the Fifth Prince's idea of cutting his hair.
"If you say so, will there be anyone who disagrees?" The Fifth Prince looked at Cheng Zhao and understood. It was not that he was worried that this matter would not succeed, but that Cheng Zhao himself disagreed.
"Other people can't cut my hair, but I can cut my own hair? Is that okay?" The fifth prince took out his tablet. In the past two days, he had taught himself the basic functions of the tablet. He even learned how to take photos by following the plots in idol dramas and changed his wallpaper to stills of the male and female protagonists. "Look, I just want to cut my hair like the male protagonist."
"Do you want a men's haircut?" Cheng Zhao asked him.
"There are no brothers in this TV series, and there are no brothers in the God Realm. I can't learn..." The Fifth Prince said this, feeling a little disappointed, "Why are there no brothers in the God Realm? Can't brothers ascend to heaven? Do brothers carry sins since they were born?"
He felt wronged, tears welling up in his eyes again, "No wonder I've been inferior to others since I was born. Not only are my parents unhappy about giving birth to me, but men look down on me, and now even gods look down on me. But why? I've never done anything wrong in my life, why should I be treated differently? I've been in school for so many years, and they've taught me that everyone is equal, but I'm still inferior to others. Is it because I did too many wrong things in my previous life?"
Cheng Zhao knew that the divine world that Cheng Yeran believed in was not the real divine world, but another world. He had learned so much knowledge about the future that he gradually stopped believing in ghosts and gods, and even less believed in the stories about past lives.
The reason why there are no male characters in those idol dramas that the Fifth Prince mentioned is because there are no male characters in that world.
He couldn't bear to see the Fifth Prince in such pain, and suddenly remembered that when he was sorting out his fathers' things, he saw a box of novels about brothers. Although he had no interest in those novels, they were things left by his fathers after all, and he had always kept them well.
"There are brothers in the divine world, but most of the TV dramas are about stories between men and women. If you don't believe me, I'll go back and read books for you. There are many books related to brothers." Cheng Zhao coaxed him.
"But why don't you take pictures? Are you discriminating against me?" asked the fifth prince aggrievedly.
"The God Realm only films TV dramas about men and women. My brother is a man in the God Realm, and the God Realm cannot film TV dramas about men and men." Cheng Zhao thought that neither of them would go to that world, so no matter what he said, it would not be exposed. He just wanted to comfort him.
"Really? So the men in the God Realm are the same as me? Then do the men in the God Realm also dress like men?" the fifth prince asked him.
"Don't you usually like your brother's dressing style the most?" Cheng Zhao looked at the Fifth Prince wearing earrings and a hairpin on his head, thinking that he loved dressing up and should not like short hair.
"I dress like this because someone told me to dress like this since I was a child. Other brothers also dress like this. In addition, it is said that the hair on the body is given by parents, so I can't cut my hair." The fifth prince touched his long hair, "but my parents don't love me at all. If I keep my hair long for them, I would like to cut it off now."
Cheng Zhao didn't expect that he thought so deeply. After spending the whole day with the Fifth Prince, he found that the Fifth Prince was not the lazy and childish person he usually looked like. He found that he actually had many thoughts in his mind. "I am not as good as you. I didn't think about these things and still kept those pedantic ideas. I will cut my hair with you later."
"Aren't you afraid of what others will say about you?" the fifth prince asked him.
"I can decide my own hairstyle. I'm the emperor. Don't I have this right?" Cheng Zhao used to think that the people would not accept short hair, and forcing others to cut their hair would only lead to public dissatisfaction. But if he cut his hair himself, others would see it and perhaps follow suit. Then, he wouldn't have to force anyone, and the people would change.
When he arrived in front of the hot spring, the fifth prince squatted down and touched the water. It was so warm, just the temperature he liked. He asked someone to bring him some snacks, and ate them while soaking in the hot spring. "If I put eggs in the hot spring, can I make hot spring eggs? But I'm soaking here, and I'm soaking eggs in here..."
The Fifth Prince was silent for a while, and asked someone to soak the eggs in the hot spring in the house. Then he went into the house to eat them.
He also discussed with Cheng Zhao what kind of hairstyle they would get. Since they didn't have a barber who could cut short hair, they decided to cut each other's hair and discussed how to achieve this effect.
The Fifth Prince was not as reserved in front of Cheng Zhao as before. At first, it was because he found out that Cheng Zhao liked him that he became more relaxed than before. Because the other party liked him, he dared to express his dissatisfaction and grievances. He found that after he expressed it, Cheng Zhao would really consider his ideas and would really change them. It turned out that many things in the past were misunderstandings caused by unspoken grievances and wild imaginations, which could actually be resolved through communication.
After figuring this out, he felt a lot more relaxed when he was with Cheng Zhao.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
