Chapter 659 - 437: Bring Me My Feather Duster

Chapter 659: Chapter 437: Bring Me My Feather Duster

Over at Qingyao Palace, Feng Yi had planned to take his son for a walk by the lake, but unexpectedly, Meng Jiuchang arrived to summon him.

Feng Ze was unhappy, grabbing the corner of his father’s robes and refusing to let go.

Seeing this, Yun Zhao had no choice but to set aside what she was busy with. She picked up her son and coaxed him, "Your father has business to attend to. I’ll take you to play. What would you like to do? How about we go fishing by the lake?"

"Is fishing fun?"

"Of course it is! How about we make fish soup tonight with the fish you catch?"

"Okay." Feng Ze immediately cheered up. He had never been fishing before.

He didn’t know exactly how fishing was fun, but he was eager to try.

After successfully placating her son, she had Nanny Qi take him to change his clothes. Then, she turned to Feng Yi and said, "You should go. I’ll watch the child."

Feng Yi took Yun Zhao’s hand. In that moment, he truly just wanted to slack off—to go nowhere and simply stay here with mother and son.

Song Yunzhao saw the hesitant look on Feng Yi’s face. She tilted her head slightly, winked at him, and said, "You should hurry along, Emperor. The courtiers are still waiting. If you’re late, who knows, they might start calling me an Evil Concubine again."

Feng Yi: ...

That tiny spark of romance in his heart was instantly extinguished by her pragmatic words.

He leaned in and gave Yun Zhao a firm kiss on the lips before turning and striding away.

Song Yunzhao covered her lips, her face instantly turning bright red. ’There are other people around!’

Xiangxue and the others had long since lowered their heads. They hadn’t seen a thing.

Song Yunzhao took a deep breath, pretending nothing had happened. ’This is the downside of living in ancient times. There’s absolutely no privacy.’

’*Sigh*.’

Song Yunzhao also went to change into some comfortable clothes. Zhang Maoquan had already prepared the fishing equipment. Calling for Feng Ze, the whole group set off for the lake in a grand procession.

Anshun had already led people to the shore to set up umbrellas and arrange tables and chairs. Freshly brewed tea was on the tables, along with several plates of freshly baked snacks.

Song Yunzhao: ...

’Impressive!’

Song Yunzhao didn’t really know how to fish, so Anshun specially summoned a eunuch who did. It was the eunuch’s first time serving one of the concubines, and he was so scared he trembled all over. It took Yun Zhao smiling and asking him a few questions to calm his nerves. Only then did she begin to learn the details of how to bait a hook, how to cast a line, and how to tell when a fish was biting.

Feng Ze listened very intently. Yun Zhao, however, had no interest in fishing and only listened half-heartedly from the side. She didn’t even have to do anything herself. Shizhu was a quick learner with nimble hands; she soon had the hook baited and cast the line into the lake.

All Song Yunzhao had to do was sit by the lake and watch. Someone else held the fishing rod for her, waiting for a fish to bite.

’This ’fishing’ trip is really just an excuse to slack off.’ ℴℴ𝘮

Feng Ze, on the other hand, was much more serious. He insisted on doing every step himself. Since his small arms couldn’t handle a long fishing rod, the eunuch specially found a smaller one for him. Feng Ze looked quite the part, sitting on his little stool and staring at the lake’s surface with a perfectly straight face.

It was rare to see him so quiet. Yun Zhao held back her laughter, thinking, ’If only I had a camera to capture this. I’d show it to him when he’s all grown up.’

’What a pity.’

Fishing is an activity that requires patience. Time ticked by, minute by minute, but there was no movement from Song Yunzhao’s fishing rod.

’I’m not the least bit surprised.’

’After all, I’m stuck with the ’evil supporting character’ role. I’ve had to painstakingly fight my way to where I am today, step by step. Luck has never had anything to do with me.’

However, while her rod remained motionless, Feng Ze’s line suddenly twitched. The little guy waved his small arms, pulling up his rod, and on his very first try, he caught a fish the size of his palm.

Song Yunzhao: !

’A coincidence?’

When Feng Ze started pulling up one fish after another while her rod remained stubbornly still, she decided to just give up.

’The fish my son catches are as good as my own fish!’

’Perfectly logical.’

Feng Ze was ecstatic. A child his age couldn’t yet decipher the subtle look in his mother’s eyes. He happily carried his small bucket over and placed it beside her.

Song Yunzhao was touched. ’This is my good son. I haven’t doted on him for nothing.’

"I want one braised in soy sauce, one steamed, one for soup, and one deep-fried! I’m going to eat them all tonight!"

’Such a good son,’ she thought. ’And not a single word about his dear old mother.’

The surrounding palace attendants were all trying to stifle their laughter, their shoulders shaking.

Song Yunzhao snorted, looked at Feng Ze, and said, "That won’t do. I’m the one who brought you fishing, so you have to give me half."

Feng Ze looked up at his mother in surprise.

Song Yunzhao gave a smug smile. ’It’s time you learned how cruel the world can be.’

She had expected the boy to refuse, but instead, he readily pushed the bucket forward. "They’re all for you, Mother."

Song Yunzhao’s heart instantly warmed. But before she could even bask in that warmth, she heard Feng Ze say, "You’re so clumsy, Mother. You can’t even catch one fish. I can catch lots, so if I give these to you, I can just catch more."

’Bring me my feather duster!’

Feng Ze, completely oblivious that his mother was on the verge of exploding, just wiggled his bottom and happily sat back down to start fishing again.

Song Yunzhao took a deep breath, and then another. ’He’s my own son, he’s my own son,’ she chanted silently. ’Don’t be angry, don’t be angry!’

The red sun sank in the west, and twilight began to gather. The brilliant afterglow fell upon the lake, creating ripples of golden scales, while a golden radiance washed over the stone steps by the shore.

From a distance, a slender figure slowly approached. Backlit by the setting sun, Yun Zhao couldn’t see the person’s face clearly, only that their Dragon Robe was bathed in the fading daylight.

Song Yunzhao immediately got up and ran over. She stood before Feng Yi, hugged his arm, and whined coquettishly, "Your son bullied me!"

Feng Yi: ...

’What happened?’

Before Feng Yi could even ask for clarification, he saw Feng Ze running gleefully toward him, shouting as he ran, "Father, Father! I caught so many fish, and I gave them all to Mother! Mother is too clumsy; she couldn’t catch a single one."

Feng Yi understood instantly.

He held Yun Zhao’s hand, then curved his lips into a smile at his son. "Come on. I’ll have a competition with you."

"Really?" Feng Ze was full of confidence. ’Father definitely can’t beat me either.’

"Of course."

Song Yunzhao mentally lit a candle for her son. ’His dad is the male lead, after all. Who can compete with the male lead’s luck?’

’Anyway, in this family of three, I’m the one at the bottom of the totem pole.’

So she just moved a stool to the side to watch the show.

In the world of the book, perhaps there really was some metaphysical force at play. As expected, when Feng Yi took his turn, it was a total victory. In less than an hour, he had caught half a bucket of fish, each one over a foot long.

Feng Ze was on the verge of tears.

Song Yunzhao was amused.

Feng Ze threw himself into his mother’s arms, seeking comfort. For the first time, the idea that his father was incredible took root in his young mind.

Feng Yi didn’t let his son off just because he was crying. He took him from Yun Zhao’s arms, handed his own wooden bucket to Yun Zhao, and then said to his son, "I will make sure your mother gets fish; she doesn’t need to know how to catch them herself. She is your mother, the person you are meant to protect in the future. How can you laugh at the person who gave birth to you, raised you, and loves you? Apologize to your mother!"

Song Yunzhao gazed at Feng Yi. In that moment, she truly saw a halo around him.