"Your Majesty, please rest your eyes. You've been reviewing memorials all day. The Empress Dowager has sent some ginseng soup. Shall I have a bowl to soothe your throat?" Liang Jiugong carried the ginseng soup in from outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation. In half an hour, it would be His Majesty's dinner time, so he had to come in now.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor put down his pen, but he did not stop reviewing memorials. Instead, he switched from reviewing memorials with his left hand to reviewing them with his right.

Liang Jiugong, who was standing to the side, was already used to it. His Majesty had been handling state affairs for many years, and in the past two years, he often experienced wrist pain and arm tremors when reviewing memorials. Although the imperial physicians often treated him, the results were only mediocre. Although there were occasional effects, they had never been able to cure him completely.

Liang Jiugong took it upon himself to add a bowl of ginseng soup to the table, when he suddenly heard the Emperor's voice: "I am old."

Liang Jiugong handed over the ginseng soup: "You are in your prime, and you are in the best of times. How can you say you are old?"

The Emperor, pen in hand, continued writing, seemingly displeased with what he was reading. He abruptly turned the page and asked, "What has Bao Cheng been doing these past few days?"

Just moments ago, His Majesty was lamenting his own old age, but now he suddenly changed the subject to ask about the Crown Prince, who was far away in Dezhou. Liang Jiugong shrugged and stood at attention: "These past few days, the imperial physician has said that the Crown Prince's health has improved somewhat, but he is still not able to move around easily."

The Emperor grunted in acknowledgment, his gaze shifting slightly. As if recalling something through the memorial, he asked, "Is Bao Cheng's leg crippled?"

Even knowing that the emperor's heart is unpredictable, Liang Jiugong still couldn't help but tremble when he heard the emperor's question. He dared not delay: "The imperial physician said that the crown prince will not have much difficulty walking in the future, but he will not be able to ride a horse for the next year or two. He must be even more careful on cold and rainy days."

The Emperor closed the memorial and said in a flat voice, "That means it wasn't abolished."

Liang Jiugong dared not respond to this.

The Emperor seemed unconcerned and changed the subject: "How has the scenery been in Dezhou these past few days?"

Liang Jiugong was taken aback again. He hesitated for a moment before finally replying, "The spies didn't pay attention to the scenery of Dezhou. It's just that I'm saying too much. In any case, it's probably not as good as the scenery in the capital."

The Emperor, seemingly struck by a particular word, suddenly let out a cold snort: "Then why have my good sons been reaching out to Dezhou these past few days? I thought Dezhou had some kind of alluring scenery."

Liang Jiugong immediately knelt down: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

His head was bowed very low. Every move the Crown Prince made in Dezhou was reported back to the capital by spies and delivered to His Majesty. Naturally, the small actions of the princes who were closer to the capital were also not hidden from His Majesty.

"The Hesheli clan also wrote a letter to the Crown Prince, begging him to protect Suo'etu..." The Emperor stopped reviewing the memorials and instead looked at the secret letter sent back by the spies.

He read one of the sentences aloud, still clutching the letter in his hand, when suddenly he squinted. The bowl of ginseng soup that Liang Jiugong had just added was angrily smashed to the ground, the soup and shards of the porcelain bowl scattering everywhere.

Liang Jiugong remained motionless, the warm ginseng soup splashing onto the back of his hand, quietly waiting for the Emperor's anger to subside.

After a long while, in the deathly silence of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Liang Jiugong heard the Emperor's panting voice.

"Summon those rebellious sons to me!"

Ignoring the soreness and numbness in his legs, he got up and went to the outer room.

...

This is why the Fourth Master left the East Courtyard in a hurry.

Not many princes were summoned to wait outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation: Prince Zhi, the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, the Fifth Prince, the Eighth Prince, the Ninth Prince, and the Tenth Prince.

These are the princes who have now married and established their own residences.

The princes, however, were left standing outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, still looking bewildered even after standing there for so long since they had rushed into the palace.

Prince Zhi stood firmly, and Fourth Prince didn't seem to be in a hurry. Third Prince, sandwiched in the middle, seemed a little uneasy. Behind them, Fifth Prince and Ninth Prince stood together, pushing and shoving each other. Fourth Prince, who was standing in front, could hear Ninth Prince complaining in a low voice that he was hungry.

Eighth Prince stood to one side, with Prince Zhi standing to his right.

The Fourth Prince did the math in his mind. They had been standing for almost half an hour since they were summoned, and it would probably be time for Father Emperor to have his dinner soon.

Earlier, when the Fourth Prince was in the East Courtyard, Li Chenjiao mentioned roasted chestnuts. Now, standing outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Fourth Prince was indeed a little hungry, but it was not visible on his face at all.

At this point, even the Fourth Prince couldn't figure out why his father had summoned them. Since he couldn't figure it out, he could only wait and see.

Liang Jiugong did not show up. The princes waited outside until dark, but in the end they did not even get to see the Emperor.

Finally, Liang Jiugong came out and dismissed them: "His Majesty said that you gentlemen are to return to your residence to continue reflecting on your mistakes."

Well, now everyone's confused. Reflecting on their mistakes? They've been standing here for ages reflecting on their mistakes?

Third Master opened his mouth as if to ask something, but seeing Liang Jiugong's forced smile, he ultimately didn't ask anything. It was getting late, otherwise he would have gone to his mother to ask for advice. Since that was the case, he would go back to the manor and ask a few of his advisors for their opinions.

What does Father Emperor think they did wrong?

Everyone left the palace in a daze, but the Fourth Prince went to the estate first after leaving the palace.

Today is the 21st day after the First Prince's death. The Fourth Prince did not let his wife interfere with the funeral rites for the First Prince; he arranged everything himself.

By the time Fourth Master returned to the manor from the estate, it was already quite late. Instead of going back to the front courtyard, he headed straight for the east courtyard without waiting for Su Peisheng to ask.

It was already past midnight. When the Fourth Prince arrived at the East Courtyard, bathed in the darkness of night, the candles inside were still burning.

The Fourth Prince was already fast asleep, and the Second Princess had only been asleep for a short while. After watching the little girl fall asleep, Li Chenjiao suddenly felt a little hungry, so she went to the door of the small kitchen and watched Pingniang and Qiaoniang roasting chestnuts. The aroma of the roasted chestnuts made her even more sleepy.

Fourth Master only found Li Chenjiao with the help of the maid.

When the Fourth Master arrived, Li Chenjiao was peeling chestnuts that had cooled down a bit. She sat on an embroidered stool, her neck slightly drooping as she peeled the chestnuts, but her back was not bent. While peeling the chestnuts, she listened to the maids talking, a gentle smile always on her lips.

Seeing the maids suddenly stop smiling and squat down to greet her, Li Chen asked with a charming smile who had come. In fact, she guessed that only the Fourth Master had come at this time, but when she turned around, she still had a bit of surprise on her face: "Why did you come, Master? Now that you have returned to the manor, you should rest."

As she spoke, she presented the freshly peeled chestnuts as if they were a precious treasure.

Her affectionate and cheerful words made the Fourth Prince's brows relax. He hadn't eaten dinner, but he really didn't have much of an appetite at the moment. He ate some chestnuts, then waved his hand and ordered water to be prepared for a bath.

Li Chenjiao had already taken a bath. She gestured to the maids to distribute the roasted chestnuts, grabbed a handful, and followed the Fourth Master to the side room.

After the Fourth Master finished bathing and the two settled down, it was already past 9 PM.

The candle went out, and Li Chenjiao heard the Fourth Master's voice.

"My grandfather started studying at Wuyizhai when he was five years old..."

Li Chenjiao listened silently.