Xie Jingyan was waiting outside the Imperial Study when Shen Wan came out and saw him.

Four young men carried two large boxes.

It was sealed tightly; I have no idea what was inside.

But Xie Jingyan's choices must be excellent. Shen Wan trusted Xie Jingyan's judgment, and besides, anything that could be put into the warehouse couldn't be bad.

Shen Wan walked over and asked in a low voice, "Why don't you go into the inner storeroom to choose?"

The Emperor said to let him have his way, which means he permitted it.

Xie Jingyan said, "The items in the inner and outer warehouses are no different to you."

Shen Wan already had some suspicions, and Xie Jingyan's words confirmed them for her.

The items stored in the inner storeroom are most likely from Consort Chen's palace.

Before her incident, Consort Chen was the most favored concubine in the palace. Apart from the Empress Dowager, Consort Chen had the best possessions in the palace.

The person who delivered the Green Jade Zither that day was Yuan Gonggong's trusted confidant, Xiao Xizi. Xie Jingyan didn't even touch it, and directly had Chen Feng put the zither into the storeroom. Xiao Xizi must have reported the truth to the Emperor.

The Empress Chen's belongings were requested by her on behalf of Xie Jingyan, but Xie Jingyan didn't even touch them, which showed his dissatisfaction. The Emperor used this as an excuse to reward her, letting Xie Jingyan go to the storeroom and choose one or two items himself.

As a result, the Emperor couldn't control his son's temperament. Xie Jingyan didn't want to get his hands on Consort Chen's things through Shen Wan's name. Or rather, when he saw that zither, Xie Jingyan both longed to get his mother's belongings and was afraid to get them. The happier he was in the past, the more painful it was to recall. Xie Jingyan dared not reopen that wound.

Since the Emperor said he would reward Shen Wan with whatever she wanted, he didn't stand on ceremony with the Emperor and took as much as he could fit in the two large boxes.

The box was packed full, and even the young eunuch struggled to lift it, carrying it with extra care. If he were to lose his balance and the box fell to the ground, not only would his entire family be punished, but the heads of his ancestors for eighteen generations wouldn't be enough to warrant execution.

After walking a short distance, they saw the Prince of Yanping and his entourage approaching. Xie Jingyan had gone to the storeroom with Eunuch Yuan and was unaware of the matter of the Grand Prince Consort seeking the Emperor's assistance. Shen Wan then told him, "The Prince of Du and the Prince of Yanping get along well, so the Grand Prince Consort went to the Emperor and arranged for the Prince to also be assigned to the Patrol Division."

Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan were pleased with this arrangement.

They bumped into each other and exchanged a brief greeting. Prince Yanping and his entourage went to see the Emperor, while Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan continued out of the palace.

Phoenix Palace.

Empress Song sat on her phoenix throne, exhausted after a busy morning. Palace maids massaged her shoulders and rubbed her legs.

The young eunuch stepped forward and reported, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Son-in-Law has arranged for the Heir Apparent to join the City Patrol Division."

Empress Song said with her eyes closed, "Why did the eldest son-in-law arrange for his son, who can barely read, to be placed in the city patrol?"

The young eunuch said, "It's said that it's because the heir of the Duke of Du and the heir of the Prince of Yanping are close, and the eldest son-in-law felt that the heir was about the same age as them, so he wanted the heir to stay by their side to broaden his horizons..."

Upon hearing this, Empress Song opened her eyes and said, "The eldest son-in-law truly has an astonishing demeanor."

One son died at the hands of the Prince of Yanping's heir. Although it was an accident, it was still because of the Prince of Yanping's heir that he fell into the water. Despite the pain of losing his son, the eldest son-in-law still allowed his other son, whom he had finally found, to get close to the Prince of Yanping's heir, and even put him next to them. No one else would have done that.

Granny Du whispered, "Wouldn't the eldest son-in-law arrange for his son to be a spy for the Prince of Yanping and his associates?"

Empress Song chuckled lightly, "The eldest prince is vying for the throne, and the eldest son-in-law isn't very enthusiastic about it. How could he possibly use the son he's been searching for for nineteen years to help the eldest prince? I think it's quite the opposite. The eldest son-in-law doesn't want his son to get too close to the heir of the Duke of Maoguo, which is why he put him in the patrol office."

Granny Du said, "But the Prince of Yanping and his men are Prince Ling's men..."

Before Granny Du could finish speaking, a young eunuch rushed in and reported, "Princess Ling was rewarded for persuading Prince Ling to hand over the blueprints for the Xizhou Dam. The Emperor also allowed Prince Ling to personally select items from the storeroom, and he chose two large boxes..."

Swish.

Empress Song's face instantly darkened.

The fact that Prince Ling kept the blueprints for the Xizhou Dam was seen by Empress Song as a sign of his targeting them. Now that the Emperor had bestowed them upon Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan, Empress Song was even more dissatisfied.

Empress Song is now completely unable to fathom the Emperor's thoughts. When Prince Ling asked for Consort Chen's belongings, the Emperor was furious. In the end, for the sake of the court, he had no choice but to give the Green Jade Zither, which Consort Chen had used before her death, to Prince Ling. She thought that the relationship between father and son had deteriorated again. However, only a few days later, he rewarded Prince Ling again and even allowed him to go to the storeroom to personally select the reward. Neither she nor Prince Jin had ever received such treatment!

Prince Ling went further and further, testing the Emperor's bottom line again and again. The Emperor, on the other hand, kept lowering his own bottom line. Empress Song really suspected that if this continued, the Emperor would forget what Consort Chen had done and start thinking about making Prince Ling the Crown Prince.

Meanwhile, Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan arrived at the horse parking area and took a carriage back to the Ling Prince's Mansion.

The carriage stopped in front of the Lingwang Mansion. Xie Jingyan got off the carriage and helped Shen Wan down.

Yinshuang instructed the servants to carry the items, saying, "These are gifts from the Emperor, handle them with care."

The servant carried the box and followed behind.

Upon entering the Moyuxuan Pavilion, Xie Jingyan immediately noticed that the parrot on the corridor was gone. Shen Wan didn't notice at first, but realized as she went up the steps that the parrot's perch was still there, but the parrot was gone.

Shen Wan asked the cleaning maid beside her, "Where's the parrot?"

Before the maid could answer, Chen Feng glared at her coldly, and the maid quickly shook her head, "This servant doesn't know..."

The chain binding the parrot's leg broke; it must have flown away.

It's rare to find such an interesting parrot; it disappeared after only a few days of keeping it.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!