Princess Shouchun's eyes welled up with tears, and she was too upset to speak. At that moment, Xie Jingyin walked in.

He stepped forward, only to be met with a barrage of accusations from the Emperor: "Prince Ling ordered you to go to the city patrol office to bail someone out, why didn't you go?!"

Xie Jingyin never dreamed that the person Ling Wang had sent to the city patrol office to retrieve was Princess Shouchun.

He said, "Prince Ling only said that the city patrol had arrested two people I knew, but he didn't mention Shouchun..."

“If he says it's Shouchun, I can't possibly not go to fetch her.”

He was convinced that Prince Ling had done it on purpose.

The Emperor knew that Xie Jingyan was deliberately not making things clear, but that was not an excuse for Xie Jingyin to shirk responsibility. "If Prince Ling didn't say, why don't you ask?"

If he were to ask, and the Prince of Ling refused to answer, that would be the Prince of Ling's fault.

Without even asking a question, they just dismissed people with a simple "I'm busy".

Even his own brother, the emperor, wouldn't go to the city patrol to bail out the person, so even though the emperor wanted to reprimand Prince Ling, he couldn't bring himself to say a word.

Seeing the Emperor's anger, Xie Jingyin quickly said, "Father, please calm down. Your son knows he was wrong."

The emperor's anger is not so easily quelled.

The Emperor punished Princess Shouchun by confining her to her quarters for a month and making her copy one hundred chapters of palace rules.

Empress Song failed to properly educate her daughter, so the Emperor extended her confinement for another month.

There was also the Prince of Jin, who was fined half a year's salary by the emperor.

Now that the punishment is over, it's time to reward them.

The Emperor said with a dark face, "The entire city patrol has performed their duties diligently; they shall be rewarded with one hundred taels of gold."

Little Xizi's father-in-law went to patrol the city to announce the rewards.

As for Tang Ze, the news that the city patrol had captured Princess Shouchun had just reached the Duke of Tan's mansion and his parents' ears when he returned home.

Madam Tang asked, "Did the city patrol really arrest Princess Shouchun?"

Tang Ze nodded. "Arrested."

His tone was nonchalant and indifferent.

Madam Tang felt a heart attack upon hearing this. "You dare to arrest even Princess Shouchun? Are you trying to scare your mother to death?!"

Tang Ze said dismissively, "My father has already arrested them. If Princess Shouchun's patrol team doesn't arrest them, my father won't agree either."

Master Tang sat to the side; being arrested and imprisoned by the city patrol was a disgrace to him for the rest of his life, and this wretched child dared to mention it?!

Master Tang is already looking for a feather duster.

Madam Tang quickly stopped Master Tang, saying, "Ze'er is off duty today. The people arrested by the patrol officers were not arrested by him."

Master Tang roared, "Isn't it all because he set such a good example!"

Tang Ze said, "Dad, you can't praise me while hitting me."

Master Tang felt like beating his son to death.

The maids and servants in the room were trying so hard not to laugh that their stomachs ached.

Madam Tang quickly changed the subject, "Weren't you supposed to have dinner with the Prince of Yanping and the others at Deyuelou? Why are you back so early today?"

Tang Ze said dejectedly, "They had to spend time with their respective fiancées, and it was boring for me to eat alone, so I came back."

Madam Tang snatched the feather duster from Master Tang's hand and said, "You didn't agree to the engagement, but now you see them all together, are you getting anxious? Mother will pick a suitable wife for you right away."

Tang Ze panicked upon hearing this. He did envy the Prince of Yanping and Lu Cheng, but that didn't mean he wanted to rush into an engagement. "They both found girls they liked on their own, and I want to choose for myself too."

Mrs. Tang said irritably, "You've been choosing for half a year now, have you made your choice yet?"

“…I’m not in a hurry,” Tang Ze said.

Mrs. Tang said, "Take your time choosing. By the time they have their sons, you won't even be married yet."

Tang Ze was about to speak again when Madam Tang said, "I'll give you another month. If you still can't make a choice, don't blame me for not giving you the chance to decide."

Tang Ze knew that his mother was serious this time.

He was close to the Prince of Yanping and Lu Cheng. Neither of them were engaged, so his mother wasn't in a hurry and let him drag it out. Now, it's like forcing a duck onto a shelf and making her lay eggs.

Tang Ze returned to his courtyard with a sullen expression.

Upon entering the study, he saw a snow-white pigeon perched on the windowsill, cooing at the pigeons in his cage.

The servant sighed, "Even the pigeons are all in pairs, but you, young master, are still all alone."

*Smack*

Before the servant could finish speaking, Tang Ze smacked him on the forehead.

Tang Ze gritted his teeth and said, "Catch this pigeon and stew it for me."

The servant dared not disobey, so he picked up the pigeon and noticed that something was tied to its ankle. He quickly said, "Sir, this is a carrier pigeon."

Tang Ze laughed, "So it turns out he's just a pigeon who doesn't do his job properly."