Everything has two sides. In fact, it is not a bad thing for the emperor to become suspicious now.

As they grew up and began to distinguish themselves in the court, the emperor also grew old.

They are young and vigorous, full of energy, while the emperor will gradually become less capable.

Ordinary people cannot accept the process of growing old, let alone emperors who hold the power of life and death over the world.

In this process, suspicion and doubt are inevitable and irreconcilable.

Even the greatest emperors and wise rulers of all time could not avoid this process, so Ye Jingchen could not naively place too much hope in his father.

Rather than gradually eroding their father-son bond, Ye Jingchen preferred to let the emperor get used to it while he was still young, when their father-son relationship was strong, and when the emperor still had many choices.

Because of his youth, because he still had choices, and because he had feelings, the emperor was more confident and tolerant when facing children who posed a threat, and there was more room for maneuver in the situation.

The emperor asked him two questions, but the first one was too broad to be accepted.

However, the latter question only concerns the engagement, which can serve as a breakthrough point.

"Father, our marriage, to put it simply, concerns our happiness for the rest of our lives; to put it more broadly, it concerns the rise and fall of the Great Yuan. I can't be too cautious, can I?" Ye Jingchen said pitifully to the emperor.

By saying this, he was essentially admitting that what the Imperial Guards had found was indeed related to him.

He could bear the emperor's suspicion, but others could not, especially the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

Therefore, he has to admit to this.

The emperor looked at Ye Jingchen with a complicated expression.

He really underestimated this child. He was able to pull so many tricks right under his nose, and he hadn't even noticed them before!

"Besides what's related to the engagement, you must have done something else, right?" the emperor asked with a half-smile.

"The transfer and appointment of court officials is the responsibility of the Ministry of Personnel, and it has little to do with me. At most, I can offer some suggestions to Lord Yan. Lord Yan is a man of principle who only looks at ability when it comes to appointing people and would never engage in favoritism or corruption!" Ye Jingchen quickly said.

The emperor sneered. Ye Jingchen's words were very clever. He admitted that he was involved, but then shifted all the blame to Yan Xu.

Even if he asked Yan Xu, he would only get a sarcastic and mocking remark!

The emperor also had doubts when Yan Xu was mentioned.

Although Yan Xu was recommended by the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, looking back now, the whole thing seems rather strange.

When the late emperor was still alive, he invited Yan Xu to serve in the government, but Yan Xu refused without giving him any face.

He didn't believe he could do what even the late emperor couldn't!

Moreover, Yan Xu had become very close to the Eastern Palace and the Wenhua Hall ever since he entered the court as an official.

If it were someone else seeking fame and fortune, it wouldn't be surprising for them to be close to the Crown Prince. But someone as stubborn as Yan Xu would never do something to please the Crown Prince.

"You didn't invite Yan Xu either, did you?" the emperor asked.

How old was Ye Jingchen back then? How could he have managed to recruit a renowned scholar from all over the country to serve as an official in the imperial court?

"Wasn't it Father Emperor who summoned Lord Yan to the capital with a decree? I was just a child back then, how could I possibly invite such a renowned scholar who is famous throughout the land?" Ye Jingchen asked innocently.

"Moreover, Lord Yan is Jingming's teacher," Ye Jingchen reminded the emperor again.

"Jingming has always listened to you, but what does that prove?" the emperor said irritably. "I dare not treat you like a child now. You are far more capable than me!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Father! But it's a bit much! Your son still has a lot to learn from you!" Ye Jingchen pretended not to notice the sarcasm in the emperor's words and flattered him.

emperor:......

That's not a compliment!

"Where did you get the connections to do all this? Is the Duke of Anguo's mansion helping you behind the scenes?" the emperor probed.

Aside from the Duke of Anguo's mansion, the emperor couldn't think of any other power in the capital that Ye Jingchen could command.

However, the Duke of Anguo's mansion was also under his surveillance. Over the years, both the old Duke and his brother-in-law had kept a low profile and behaved themselves, and he had never been able to find any fault with them!

Apart from Lin Yuan Bookstore and Tian Gong Pavilion, there is no other cooperation between the Duke of Anguo's mansion and the Crown Prince.

"The person behind me is not from the Duke of Anguo's mansion," Ye Jingchen said earnestly.

Let's not drag the Duke of Anguo's mansion into this again. Those flower-viewing banquets before have already caused enough damage to the Duke of Anguo's mansion!

"If it's not the Duke of Anguo's mansion, then who is it? Could it be the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?" the emperor asked casually, then his expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Compared to the Duke of Anguo's mansion, the Crown Prince clearly had more dealings with the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

The only son of the Duke of Zhenguo's family was chosen by him as a study companion, and he is still the Duke of Zhenguo's student!

"Whether it's the Duke of Anguo's mansion or the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, they are both under Father's control. If they were really helping me, how could Father not have noticed?" Ye Jingchen said helplessly.

"Then I'd like to know, what kind of force is helping you behind the scenes, that gives you such power and influence?" The emperor was gradually losing patience.

He hates the feeling of things or people being completely out of his control!

If the Crown Prince weren't his and the Empress's child, the heir to the Great Abyss, and someone he had poured his heart and soul into for over a decade, and if it weren't for the fact that he genuinely loved this child, he would have eliminated anyone else with such power, and wouldn't have given him a chance to explain!

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Father. The people who helped me gather information were not noble families or high-ranking officials, but ordinary people who are easily overlooked and insignificant. All my information came from Lin Yuan Bookstore, Tian Gong Pavilion, Ci You Tang..." Ye Jingchen said with a smile.

"That's impossible!" the emperor retorted instinctively.

How could these places possibly gather evidence of crimes committed by aristocratic families and nobles?

"When I was eight years old, I secretly slipped out of the palace to play. On the street, I encountered a pickpocket trying to steal the jade pendant from my waist. After I caught him, I learned that he was a homeless orphan. Through him, I met a group of orphans huddled together for warmth, struggling to survive. I took pity on them, so I gave them some money and hired someone to take care of them. They are all kind children who know how to repay kindness and wanted to repay me. I don't need their repayment, but I also didn't want them to feel indebted to me, so I came up with a plan to have them help me record the prices of goods in the capital." Ye Jingchen recounted his encounter with the orphans.

"At first, I didn't take this seriously, but they took it as their mission, persisting for ten years without fail. Now they've become experts at gathering information, recording prices and collecting other data. Price fluctuations themselves can tell a lot, not to mention that they also gain other insights while recording prices. Sometimes, a seemingly insignificant piece of information can uncover a shocking secret! Father, you don't know, the news circulating among ordinary people is sometimes more useful than what your Imperial Guards find!"