As the saying goes, you can't hit a smiling face.

The emperor, with a stern face, stared at Ye Jingchen with a scrutinizing gaze, watching as the smile on his face gradually became unnatural and stiff.

"Father, is there something dirty on my face?" he asked, covering his face with his hand.

"No, I just find your smile a bit irritating," the emperor replied calmly.

Ye Jingchen's lips twitched. In front of the emperor, he rubbed his eyes vigorously with his fingers until they were hot. Then he blinked hard and immediately felt the moisture in his eyes.

"Father, am I not your most beloved child? Only a few years have passed, and you already find me an eyesore? All these years of father-son affection have ultimately been misplaced!"

Ye Jingchen rushed over and grabbed the emperor's dragon robe, using his sleeve to wipe away the tears that were being squeezed out of his eyes, shouting with great emotion and indignation.

Everyone present, including the emperor, was completely bewildered by his actions.

After a long while, the emperor finally came to his senses, tore Ye Jingchen off his body, and freed his sleeve from Ye Jingchen's grasp.

He pointed his finger at Ye Jingchen's forehead, hesitated for a long time, and finally could only mutter a curse, neither too loud nor too soft: "What kind of behavior is this for the Crown Prince?!"

People who are pampered are always fearless.

"I'm so sad that Father Emperor dislikes me, I don't care about propriety at all!" Ye Jingchen said, his eyes red and on the verge of tears.

If the emperor hadn't personally witnessed Ye Jingchen rubbing his eyes until they were red and forcing out tears, he would have felt sorry for him.

"Speak properly!" The emperor hardened his heart and coldly rebuked.

"Father, actually, besides paying my respects to you today, I've mainly come to apologize!" Ye Jingchen's face instantly turned serious as he spoke earnestly.

"Then tell me, what crime have you committed?" The emperor was once again astonished by his ability to change his expression and asked in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, I failed to take good care of Jinghe and frequently summoned the imperial physicians, which led outsiders to believe that I had mistreated him. I also allowed the Emperor to hear the rumors of my mistreatment of my brother. It is all my fault." Ye Jingchen said, bowing deeply to the Emperor.

"You... do you really think so?" The emperor stared at Ye Jingchen with a probing gaze for a long time before asking.

"Royal brother, what does this have to do with you? It's clearly the person spreading the rumors who has malicious intentions!" Ye Jingshu said angrily.

"It is indeed because I did not do well enough that I gave others an opportunity to take advantage of me," Ye Jingchen said.

"I never knew you had become so sentimental?" The emperor's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible disappointment.

Ye Jingchen noticed it.

He certainly knew that for a ruler, excessive compassion was a grave taboo.

However, he also had his own considerations.

"Your subject is not a woman of soft heart!"

"Your subject knows that the mastermind behind this has ulterior motives and should be punished, but your subject does not want her to cause discord between us brothers!" Ye Jingchen said firmly.

"Is brotherly harmony really that important to you?" the emperor asked with a complicated expression.

"Even if I let her go this time, she probably won't remember your kindness, and might even try to harm you in the future!"

"I don't need her to remember my kindness. I'm willing to give her another chance because I value brotherhood. If she does anything to harm me again in the future, I will definitely not be lenient this time," Ye Jingchen said, looking at Ye Jingming.

"Moreover, I am confident that since she failed to cause me any loss this time, she will never be able to harm me in the future!" These powerful and confident words were spoken to the emperor.

After he finished speaking, the emperor's expression clearly changed.

He didn't think Consort De posed any threat. The only thing Consort De could rely on was that old man, the Minister of Personnel. But the Emperor was gradually removing that old man's henchmen. He himself was in danger, so he probably had no time to worry about anything else.

On the way to Chengqian Palace, Ye Jingming kept thinking about how he should respond if his father questioned him.

In fact, he felt that given what his mother had done, whatever punishment his father wanted to give her was what she deserved, and he wouldn't feel sorry for her.

However, she was, after all, his mother, who had given birth to him and raised him. If possible, he still wanted to plead for her once.

Unexpectedly, before he could even begin to plead for mercy, his elder brother, the victim, took the initiative to plead for their mother.

However, this only made the mother seem more like a clown.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will advise Mother," Ye Jingming said, mustering his courage.

He knew what it meant to say that, but since he had done it, he had to have the courage to admit it.

If he doesn't even have this much courage, what future can he possibly have?

"Is the person spreading rumors behind the scenes Consort De?" Ye Jingshu asked in surprise, her gaze towards Ye Jingming immediately turning somewhat unfriendly.

Even more direct than Ye Jingshu was Ye Jinghe.

Although he was young, his gloomy gaze was quite intimidating, making it impossible for Ye Jingming to ignore him.

"You certainly have courage; you haven't let your imperial brother's efforts go to waste," the emperor said, looking at Ye Jingming with some satisfaction.

"Your subject will forever remember Your Majesty's kindness." Under the varied gazes of his brothers and sisters, Ye Jingming calmly said something that would please the emperor.

The emperor was indeed very pleased and, unusually, praised him.

“You’re a good boy!” he said.

"However, everyone needs to pay the price for their mistakes. She did something wrong and she must be punished."

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