Lin Xun returned to the palace with a heavy heart to report back to the emperor.
He presented the emperor with a list of crimes committed by the son of the prefect, each one shocking and appalling.
The emperor's face grew increasingly gloomy as he looked at it.
He never imagined that right under his nose, the son of a mere prefect could have so many innocent people killed.
In many of these cases, the mothers coerced, bribed, or even murdered the victims to cover up their crimes.
Such arrogance!
Despite being such a heinous person, Consort De repeatedly pleaded for him, implying that the Crown Prince was deliberately targeting their Minister's Mansion.
Does she really not know what kind of person her nephew is?
After Lin Xun left, the emperor immediately summoned Sun Yan.
"Investigate for me! Investigate the Prefect of Jingzhao, investigate that old bastard Minister of Personnel, investigate Consort De!" the emperor said angrily.
Lin Xun returned to the East Palace, just as Ye Jingchen had finished his lunch. There was still a quarter of an hour's break before the afternoon's riding and archery class.
He gave Ye Jingchen the same thing as well.
After reading it, Ye Jingchen had only one thought: he must teach his younger siblings well and absolutely not let them have any bad habits.
If the son of a prefect can commit so many evils, then if a prince or princess were to go astray, it could very well endanger the very foundation of the nation.
Talent or lack thereof should take a backseat; character is the most important thing!
"The Prefect of Jingzhao is probably going to be gone. Will that affect your plans?" Ye Jingchen confided to Xie Chang'an.
"That old codger has taken countless bribes from powerful families and colluded with them; he should have been replaced long ago," Xie Chang'an said with a sneer, unsurprised.
Seeing that he understood, Ye Jingchen said nothing more.
This afternoon was the archery lesson. Because of yesterday's agreement, Ye Jingyu and Ye Jinghe were both very excited and full of fighting spirit.
"Since this is a friendly exchange, we must stop when we've made our point. We can't hurt each other. Whoever hurts the other loses, whether we win or lose. Do you understand?" Ye Jingchen said solemnly from below the martial arts stage.
Ye Jingyu: ?
Ye Jinghe: ?
You can't hurt the opponent, otherwise even if you win, you'll lose, and how can you fight like that?!
Isn't my royal brother/elder brother deliberately making things difficult for them?
Seeing that the two of them didn't move, Ye Jingchen's expression became dangerous. "What? If I didn't say that, were you planning to fight to the death?"
"Fratricide is the most heartbreaking thing in the world. It will cause pain to loved ones and joy to enemies. You two are smart kids, you wouldn't do something so foolish, would you?"
"Don't worry, brother, I definitely won't hurt Ye Jingyu!" Ye Jinghe quickly assured him.
He wouldn't let his brother think he was stupid!
“Brother, I will not harm the Fifth Prince either!” Ye Jingyu retorted, not to be outdone.
"Very good, then you can go up on stage and compete!" Ye Jingchen patted each of their little heads and let them go up on stage.
The two men each chose one side of the steps and marched confidently up to the martial arts stage.
"Come on, the two of you, go to the center of the training platform and bow to each other. I'll count to three, two, one, and then you can begin," Ye Jingchen instructed them.
The two obediently walked to the center and awkwardly bowed to each other.
"Three, two, one—go!" Ye Jingchen gave the order, leaving the two children still a little confused.
The training platform was a bit too high for four-year-olds, and there were only the two of them on the platform while everyone else was watching them from below, which made them feel a little uncomfortable. To make matters worse, there was a salute ceremony before the fight started, but most importantly, the older brother wouldn't let them hurt each other.
I had been looking forward to this sparring match all day, but now I'm feeling a bit disheartened and don't really want to play anymore.
"You can start now—" Ye Jingchen reminded him.
Two pairs of equally resentful eyes looked at Ye Jingchen, and then the two children started fighting.
When four-year-old toddlers fight, it's nothing more than you pulling my arm, me tripping your leg, and shoving each other.
At first, they were a little reserved, but fighting is human nature, and soon they found their rhythm.
Since my brother said we can't hurt anyone, the only way to prove my victory is to completely control the other person and render them unable to move.
So one tried to use his binding technique to entangle the other's hands and feet, while the other tried to push the other to the ground.
The two sides were locked in a fierce struggle, putting in every ounce of their strength, until their faces were flushed red.
Ye Jingchen clapped his hands as he watched from the audience.
Sure enough, it was so cute when the two little cubs fought that his heart fluttered.
In the end, Ye Jinghe was more experienced in fighting and had a slight advantage. He found an opportunity to pin Ye Jingyu to the ground, pinning his legs down, pressing one hand against his stomach, and the other against his face, rendering him unable to move.
"Admit defeat!" Ye Jinghe said coldly.
In fact, if his brother hadn't said he couldn't hurt people, he wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble with Ye Jingyu.
Ye Jingyu probably has never been hit before. If he had just slapped Ye Jingyu a few times, Ye Jingyu would probably have cried and begged to admit defeat. It wouldn't have turned out like this, with such an unseemly victory!
Ye Jingyu only had his hands free. He struggled desperately to remove the hands pressing on his stomach, but Ye Jinghe was now pressing down on him with all his strength. He felt like he was being crushed into a pancake and couldn't move at all.
But he didn't want to admit defeat. He was clearly older, taller, and fatter than Ye Jinghe, so how could he possibly lose to him?
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