The eldest prince was unaware of the Emperor and Empress's arrival. His attendants, upon learning of this, quickly informed him.

Su Ling frowned: "How is this possible? Why would the Emperor and Empress come here? I was just about to do something here, how did the Emperor and Empress end up here?"

"Are you sure the source of this information is reliable?" Su Ling's eyes widened, as if she couldn't believe it.

The guard nodded and confirmed again, "Yes, the Emperor and Empress should be at the Lady's residence right now, and the Lady should be preparing food for the Emperor and Empress."

The eldest prince, Su Ling, was somewhat flustered. If the emperor and empress found out that he had actually occupied the new home of Lady Cha in Daling Village, they would be furious. It would be better to pay them a visit first, so as to avoid any trouble later.

Su Ling had his guards prepare a proper set of clothes, changed into them, and went out with his entourage.

When the villagers of Daling Village learned that the Emperor and Empress had personally visited Cha Ru's home, they all flocked to Cha Ru's house.

The benches at the entrance, the yard, the trees next door, and the walls were all crowded with people.

Aunt Liu arrived at Liang Shuyan's house early in the morning, hoping to catch a glimpse of the esteemed Emperor and Empress.

On this day, Liang Shuyan instructed her sons and family members to return home. The courtyard was filled with banners, and the martial arts school members stood neatly around Liang Shuyan's courtyard. This was to protect the safety of the Emperor and Empress, and also to prevent some people from taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble.

Jin Dashan stood at the door, where a table was set up. On the rectangular table was a small red notebook. Everyone who came to Liang Shuyan's house had to be registered, so that it would be easy to investigate if anything happened.

The eldest prince stood at the entrance, but was stopped by several soldiers from the martial arts school. Liang Shuyan had ordered that no one be allowed to enter.

Jin Erniu walked at the front and recognized the First Prince at a glance. The First Prince was of noble status and no one could afford to offend him. Thinking of this, he immediately informed Liang Shuyan that the First Prince had come.

Before Liang Shuyan could react, the Emperor slowly spoke: "Is it the First Prince?"

Liang Shuyan turned around and said with some difficulty, "Since it is the eldest prince, let him wait at the door. Just say it is my decree and take this to him!"

The Empress's face changed instantly, and her lips trembled: "Your Majesty, what are you doing? Since it is Su Ling, let him in. I haven't seen him for some time."

The Emperor looked at Liang Shuyan: "Lady Cha, did you hear what I said?"

Liang Shuyan was so frightened that she took two steps back: "Yes, I will have someone take care of it right away."

The eldest prince saw the emperor's jade pendant and was certain that the emperor was inside. But he never expected that the emperor would allow him to stand outside.

Are you sure this is the Emperor's will?

Jin Erniu rolled his eyes twice, waved his hand and said, "Your Highness, what are you saying? Although I know nothing, falsely conveying an imperial edict is a matter of life and death, and I dare not be careless."

The eldest prince let out a sigh of relief and turned to look at the guard beside him: "So, His Majesty must already know about what happened in Daling Village. Did someone inform His Majesty?"

"This subordinate truly does not know whether the county magistrate has informed the Emperor about the martial arts school. If so, then it is understandable that the Emperor is making you wait now."

The eldest prince thought of the empress and then said, "That's right, as long as I can call for my mother, she will definitely come to my rescue. This is the signal that the emperor is going to punish me."

"No, you absolutely cannot disobey the Emperor's decree on this matter. Otherwise, if the Emperor becomes angry, even the Empress won't be able to save you."

The Empress looked at the Emperor: "Your Majesty, what are you doing? We've come all this way just to see Su Ling, haven't we? Why are you making him stand at the door?"

"Woman's compassion! Do you know what people said when we arrived in Jing'an County? They said that the First Prince seized the Jin Family Martial Arts School and even drove everyone out. Lady Cha had no choice but to give him the house she had worked so hard to build, which finally saved the school. Tell me, can someone like him shoulder the heavy responsibilities of the country in the future? Does he even care about the people?"

The Empress fell silent. She opened her mouth slightly as if to say something, but the Emperor flatly refused.

"Enough! Say no more. This matter absolutely cannot be tolerated. The vast palace can't even contain him anymore, and now he's trying to seize the people's houses. This is simply intolerable!"

The room was quiet. Liang Shuyan prepared a table full of delicious food and brought it out, along with some freshly brewed flower wine.

"Your Majesty, please calm down and taste the pastries and flower wine made by this humble woman."

The Empress was very displeased. She then glanced at Liang Shuyan and said, "Madam, what is your motive for keeping the First Prince here and giving him your new room? Do you know what punishment the First Prince will face for this?"

Liang Shuyan was surprised that Empress Ning would suddenly say such a thing, and hurriedly explained, "No, Your Majesty, it was the First Prince who wanted to occupy the martial arts school, and I had no choice but to give him the newly built house. You can call the First Prince here to confront him about this!"

The Empress raised her eyebrows, as if she had achieved her goal, and said happily, "Very well, in that case, Your Majesty, why don't you let Su Ling in to find out the truth? Otherwise, even if it's the most delicious food in the world, I won't be in the mood to enjoy it."

The Emperor shook his head helplessly: "Very well, summon the eldest prince, Su Ling, and tell him that I have something important to ask him clearly."

A moment later, a young man hurriedly entered the hall, his face pale and his eyes filled with terror.

Su Ling knelt in the hall, head bowed and silent, her body trembling even more violently.

The Emperor asked with a displeased expression, "Su Ling, did you see Liu Yi the day before yesterday?"

Su Ling stammered, "I've met you."

"Where did you meet?" the Emperor asked again.

"In...in the grove outside the city." Su Ling's voice trembled slightly.

"What are you doing meeting here?" The Empress's voice suddenly rang out, carrying a chill.

"Why do you say that? Your son only wanted to do some things on behalf of the Emperor. When I first arrived in Jing'an County, I had nowhere to go, so I took a fancy to the Jin Family Martial Arts School. However, Lady Cha disagreed. But after the county magistrate discussed it with Lady Cha, he allowed me to stay temporarily in her courtyard in Daling Village."