Panic was just a subconscious reaction; Ye Jingchen quickly regained his composure thanks to his strong mental fortitude.

The emperor has only now mentioned his unauthorized departure from the palace in a casual manner, which suggests he has no intention of seeking revenge later.

As for what he did outside the palace—

Even if the emperor knew what he did in his capacity, it wouldn't matter. He was just taking in a few homeless orphans and having them record the prices of ordinary goods in the capital. It wasn't a big deal.

Lin Yuan Bookstore and Tian Gong Pavilion are now openly operating, and even the emperor is involved.

As for his conspiracy with Xie Chang'an, the emperor probably didn't know.

After all, given his suspicious nature, if he knew that Xie Chang'an, a mere child, possessed such immense power, he would absolutely no longer tolerate the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

"Since Father Emperor saw through my little tricks long ago, why didn't you tell me sooner? It made me live in fear every time I sneaked out of the palace!" Ye Jingchen stepped forward and tugged at the emperor's sleeve, acting coquettishly.

He knows how to turn the tables and shift the blame.

Of course, this was also a test, a test of the emperor's tolerance for him, to decide whether he should decisively kneel down and admit his mistake, or continue to talk nonsense for a while.

"Heh..." The emperor sneered, "Disobeying my orders and sneaking out of the palace without permission, you were caught red-handed, and instead of apologizing to me immediately, you dare to blame me. You are truly audacious!"

Although he claimed to be incredibly audacious, Ye Jingchen did not sense any danger from the emperor.

He chose to dart around a little longer.

"It is wrong of me to leave the palace without permission, but it is because Father always keeps me in the palace and does not agree to let me leave!"

"Isn't it all for—"

"Your Majesty knows that you are thinking of my safety, so I don't blame you!" Ye Jingchen interrupted the emperor and said with a smile.

"According to you, I should be grateful for your magnanimity?" the emperor asked in a deep voice, his expression dangerous.

If any of his subjects dared to speak to him like that, there would already be bloodshed.

People's bottom line is something they gradually compromise on until there is no bottom line left at all.

The emperor, like a frog, had been cooked to at least seven-tenths done in Ye Jingchen's pot of lukewarm water without even realizing it.

Ye Jingchen knew what he was doing and knew when to stop.

He loosened his grip on the emperor's sleeve, straightened his posture, and said earnestly, "Father, of course I want to stay in the palace forever, living under your wing, without having to think or do anything, just enjoying life. But I also worry that if I really don't understand or know anything, I will disappoint you and bring shame upon you. So I want to go out and see the world, at least to see how ordinary people live!"

"The position of Crown Prince is not one where you can enjoy yourself. You have a heavy burden on your shoulders!" the Emperor said irritably.

"If it weren't for the fact that you were quite cautious outside the palace and that some of the things you did weren't too outrageous, do you think I would have turned a blind eye to your sneaking out of the palace?"

As he said this, the emperor had a stern face, but the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned.

Ye Jingchen then felt relieved.

It seems that although the emperor knew he had sneaked out of the palace and may have had him caught a few times, he certainly only had a superficial understanding of what he had done.

Neither Xie Chang'an nor the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion mentioned it, so it's likely that he won't be caught too often. Otherwise, given the emperor's personality, he would have warned him not to get too close to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

"Chenxi, Father Emperor knows that you secretly took me out of the palace. Do you know that he knows?" Ye Jingchen asked Chenxi in the palace.

"I know," Chenxi's voice rang out behind Ye Jingchen.

The voices of the speakers overlapped with the sounds of dawn appearing.

Ye Jingchen turned around, and Chenxi was already standing quietly behind him.

Since Ye Jingchen started learning kung fu, Chenxi has never played the elusive trick in front of him again, which is a real pity.

He also wanted to see with his own eyes where Chenxi hid every day!

Unfortunately, Chenxi didn't give him that chance!

"You actually knew?" Ye Jingchen was somewhat surprised by the answer, but not entirely surprised.

With Chenxi's skills, she should be stronger than most of the Imperial Guards, much stronger. The only person Chenxi can't compare to is the Imperial Guard Commander, Sun Yan.

Perhaps one day Chenxi will lead him through the secret passage in and out of the palace gates and be seen by Sun Yan, but as the commander of the Imperial Guards, Sun Yan is a very busy person in front of the emperor, and certainly wouldn't have much time to follow him, the young crown prince. Therefore, those who are following them must just be ordinary Imperial Guards.

It was impossible for Chenxi not to notice that ordinary guards were following them.

“Their tracking skills are mediocre,” Chenxi said, as expected.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Ye Jingchen asked.

If Chenxi had told him earlier, he wouldn't have been so passive in front of the emperor.

“No need, I’ve already gotten rid of him,” Chenxi said calmly.

Ye Jingchen was speechless.

No wonder the emperor only knew that he often sneaked out of the palace, but did not know that nine out of ten times he went out of the palace, he was with Xie Chang'an.

On the last day of the month, early in the morning, the princes and princesses gathered at the East Palace and rode in carriages out of the palace through the Donghua Gate.

As for the four companions, they were waiting for them on the busiest street in the capital.

Ye Jingchen and his entourage all changed into simple, unassuming clothes that concealed their identities. The Imperial Guards accompanying them were also dressed in civilian clothes, and even the two carriages they rode in had no palace markings.

Once the carriage exited the Donghua Gate and merged into the main street not far away, after traveling a short distance, no one would know that they had come from the palace.

The most bustling place in the imperial city was Zhuque Avenue in the south of the city.

Although Ye Jingchen brought them here to have fun today, he also assigned them tasks.

He would give the children money and then have them go to the shops to buy things, accompanied by the Eastern Palace Guards, and to note down the prices of the goods sold in the shops.

Ye Jingchen already knew almost everything about Zhuque South Street: how many shops there were, what goods each shop sold, and even the price of each item.

Those things that are unknown are mostly problematic.

Xie Chang'an has investigated and found out some things, some of which even he finds difficult to place among his own people.

Of course, Ye Jingchen wouldn't let the kids into these problematic shops.

The reason he sent the kids to buy things and remember the prices was simply to give them a chance to interact with ordinary people and, incidentally, to give them a general understanding of the prices in the capital.

With this basic understanding, they would know the value of money and thus be able to deduce the living standards of ordinary people.

Incidentally, it can also help them understand the importance of numerology and increase its interest, so they will pay more attention when learning numerology in the future.