That day, the Eighth Prince summoned his wife to his study. He said to her, "Mingyue, if anything happens to me, you must get rid of all the documents in the study. They contain all the letters between me and Hongshi."

The Eighth Prince's wife, Lady Guo Luoluo Minghui, quickly said, "Your Highness, you will be fine. Just deny your relationship with Guan Bin, and that will be enough."

The Eighth Prince shook his head and said, "It's not just Guan Bin. The Emperor has already arrested Hongshi. He doesn't even spare his own son, let alone me."

The Eighth Prince's wife said, "Your Highness, what should we do now? Why don't we go and beg the Emperor to show leniency? Perhaps the Emperor will spare you out of brotherly affection."

Eighth Prince said with a bitter smile, "Brotherhood? He and I are no longer brothers. From the moment he ascended the throne, he and I were simply the victor and the vanquished. For so many years, I have wanted to defeat him. I have been scheming for so long, but I still failed. Mingyue, I am not reconciled, I am not reconciled!"

The Eighth Prince's wife said, "Your Highness, I know the bitterness in your heart. Don't worry, the Emperor hasn't made a move against you yet. As long as we're alive, we'll fight another day."

The Eighth Prince said, "But I have no other choice now."

“I will go and beg my father to plead for you and the officials who support you,” said the Eighth Prince’s wife.

The Eighth Prince grasped his hand and said, "Thank you, Mingyue."

Meanwhile, the Ninth Prince was drinking and making merry with his new concubine in the garden pavilion when the steward hurriedly entered the pavilion, interrupting the maid who was playing the zither.

The Ninth Prince was interrupted and said unhappily, "Steward Zhang, I think you've become incredibly audacious. How dare you disturb my drinking and merrymaking with my beauty? Do you even want your life anymore?"

Steward Zhang hurriedly raised his hand and bowed, begging for forgiveness, "Your Highness, I know I was wrong. I didn't want to disturb your enjoyment, but I really had no choice. Something terrible has happened!"

The Ninth Prince asked dismissively, "What happened?" The concubine sitting on his lap picked up a grape and held it to his lips, which he put in his mouth.

"Your Highness, a letter just arrived from the Eighth Prince's residence, saying that the Eighth Prince has been confined to his residence by the Emperor and is not allowed to leave even a step outside. The gate of the residence has been sealed off."

"What did you say!" The Ninth Prince was shocked and pushed away the concubine sitting on his lap.

"Do you know why the Emperor did what he did?" the Ninth Prince asked.

"This servant doesn't know," said Steward Zhang.

The Ninth Prince suddenly remembered what happened at the morning court session and thought, "Could it be related to Eighth Brother and Hongshi? In any case, I cannot let anything happen to Eighth Brother!"

The Ninth Prince said to Steward Zhang, "Hurry up and prepare the sedan chair. I need to go to the Eighth Prince's residence."

"Yes," Butler Zhang replied quickly.

The Eighth Prince was extremely anxious while staying in his residence. He knew that the Emperor would not let him off this time, but the feeling of waiting was even more unbearable.

At this moment, a servant came to report: "Your Highness, the Ninth Prince has arrived."

Upon hearing this, the Eighth Prince became even more agitated. "That fool! What is he doing here at this time? Isn't his arrival just giving the Emperor a perfect opportunity to seize on him?"

The Eighth Prince said to him, "Tell him to go back. I will not see him. Tell him to take care of himself."

The princess consort comforted him, saying, "Your Highness, don't be angry. Your Ninth Brother is just concerned about you."