In the Chu family's Qianyou Garden, in the Mingxuan Hall, an old lady was sitting on the main seat.

He was dressed in an elegant crimson robe and a wide headband made of dark satin with dark patterns. There was a single pearl in the center of the headband. His eyes were half-closed and his peaceful face exuded majesty.

The maids in the hall bowed their heads in silence, and in the middle of the hall knelt a pretty girl in coarse clothes.

"The sinful slave Lu Wu knows her fault and begs the old lady to forgive her." Lu Wu's voice was not loud, but clear and firm enough for everyone in the hall to hear.

The old lady slowly opened her eyes and spoke in a slow and calm voice: "Since you know your mistake, you should be punished. Yuzhuo, come here, tell me how to punish you."

Yuzhuo looked at Luwu with pity, and stepped forward to bow to the old lady: "Madam, according to the family rules, eloping is against the virtue of a woman, and she should be punished with... one hundred sticks."

Yuzhuo knelt down, clasping his hands nervously, "I beg you, old lady, to spare my life, considering my many years of service and my hard work, even if I have no merits."

The old lady closed her eyes and remained silent, as if she was asleep. She did not open her eyes again until the hall was completely silent.

His eyes were not cloudy due to his age, but were exceptionally clear: "Lü Wu stays, the rest of you kneel down and greet."

The maids bowed and withdrew, leaving only Lu Wu kneeling there. The lights in the hall were bright, illuminating the dark decorative patterns with a brighter look.

The old lady stood up from the chair, and Lu Wu quickly stood over to support her.

"Madam, the connection with Jia Xian is broken. It was... the Fourth Prince who intervened." Lu Wu nodded respectfully.

"This kid just arrived in Jinling yesterday, and he dared to make such a fuss today. How reckless." The old lady was helped to sit on the couch in the inner hall. "Are there other people accompanying him?"

"The fourth prince was holding Princess Zhaoyang, followed by two maids. Also coming was Zhuo Liu. Another person was carrying a long sword, probably Lord Chang Zuo who was beside the Imperial Master." Lu Wu explained carefully, "The people who handled the case at the Qilin Inn were Marquis Lu and Prefect Shi. As for the others, there were no others."

"Who is Zhaoyang?" The old lady propped up her head with her fingers, half-closed her eyes, and lowered her voice. "The late queen never gave birth to a daughter, and the emperor will never confuse the royal bloodline. So, who is Zhaoyang's son?"

Lu Wu carefully fiddled with the incense in the room. "There is no news in the capital. People in the palace and the people all say that Princess Zhaoyang is the daughter of the previous queen, and her honor and favor overshadow the prince."

"Oh." The old lady couldn't help but sneer, and uttered a soft "ouch" without opening her eyes. "Does anyone believe in the honor bestowed by the emperor?"

"The old lady is right." Lu Wu stepped forward respectfully and massaged the old lady's legs.

"Find a time to meet that girl alone. It's not easy for her to win over the emperor and the imperial teacher at such a young age." The old lady closed her eyes and rested for a long time. "The royal family can't raise naive children."

"Luwu understands."

The old lady raised her hand lazily, "That's enough, stop pressing. Go down and get twenty strokes of the cane, and come back to serve you later."

"Thank you, old lady, Luwu."

The temporary residence of Jinling is Mingyuan.

"Lord Lu! This is the second time you've exposed yourself in front of Xiao Yu'er!"

Helian Chi's silver teeth were almost broken, and his eyes were like crow feathers flying wildly, reflecting a strange and sharp light.

Lu Jing lowered his head and listened to the lecture.

Helian Chi was so angry that his stomach hurt. He took a step back, stroking his stomach with his right hand, his face pale. Lu Jing quickly supported him, with worry in his eyes.

"Your Highness, how are you? I'll go get the doctor!"

"No need." Helian Chi stopped Lu Jing, his eyes unkind, "Have you found someone to take the blame?"

Lu Jing took a step back, lifted his robe and knelt on the ground: "Your Highness, I will pull out the people you want to achieve."

"If I ask you to cut this line, what will you do?"

Lu Jing said without hesitation: "I will cut off all ties with you and never have any further contact. But..."

"explain."

"However, if the water is too clear, there will be no fish. If we don't hold this line, we will be controlled by others. I hope Your Highness will think twice."

Helian Chi rubbed his stomach with his fingertips, his eyes dark and unclear. Lu Jing knelt beside him, quietly not disturbing him.

After about half a moment, Helian Chi picked up a flower, held it in his hand, and the juice flowed out through the gaps between his fingers.

“Indeed, when the water is too clear, there are no fish.”

"Ji Yinglang is the deputy examiner and the examiner of this exam. He has a role in this matter."

"Let's do it." Helian Chi spread out his hands, looked at the rotten petals, the gorgeous and sticky branches, and chuckled, "How could he be so stupid to solicit customers openly on the street? This happened on the second day since I came here. If he doesn't die, who will die? What do you think, Lord Lu?"

Lu Jing didn't dare to say more, and tried his best to agree: "It's just Ji Yinglang's fate. Your Highness is wise."

"Heh." Helian Chi plucked the petals from his palm with disgust and threw them on the ground. "This time, you must behave yourself. Otherwise, watch out for your head!"

"I will keep this in mind."

Helian Chi strode away. Lu Jing took a deep breath and slowly stood up.

Double Star Courtyard.

Helian Chi rushed into the yard and startled Caiyun who happened to be pouring water from a basin.

"This servant greets His Majesty the Fourth Prince."

"Is Xiaoyuer asleep?"

Caiyun shook her head stiffly: "I haven't slept yet. My prince has been punished again and is copying a book right now."

"Hey, what stupid thing did she do again? Tell me about it."

Helian Chi smiled, his eyes were like clear spring water glowing under the moonlight, his curved eyes were full of brightness and gentleness.

Caiyun lowered her head and spoke in a lower voice, as if she was extremely shy: "My princess... stole the imperial teacher's underwear and used scissors to cut a few holes in it, saying, saying it was charming, so that... so that the imperial teacher could admire himself..."

Helian Chi's blood rushed to his head in an instant, his face turned black and his ears turned red. He gritted his teeth and couldn't understand where she got this "wonderful idea" from.

"Xiao Yu'er, did you see anything unusual?"

Caiyun's face turned pale, and she knelt on the ground. "It was our negligence that caused us to fail to find the fire avoidance map hidden under the bed in Shuangxing Courtyard, and the princess saw it. We deserve to die."

A layer of coldness flashed across Helian Chi's phoenix eyes. He glanced at Caiyun's shivering appearance, and pursed his lips to hide his displeasure on his face: "Alright, if I punish you, Xiao Yu'er will make trouble with me again, you go down first."

Caiyun was able to save her life and was extremely grateful to her own prince. If her prince had not really treated them as his own people, the Fourth Prince would never have let them go so easily.

Caiyun stood up and ran quickly, muttering: "Amitabha! Thank you for your blessing, young master!"

Helian Chi retracted his gaze and stepped into the house. The scented candles, a specialty of Jinling, were flickering brightly, and the warm air accompanied by the aroma of fruit went straight to his nose.

Helian Chi walked through two doors and lay on the low table, writing big words with his arms and legs bared. That was the little bastard.

Helian Chi hugged Helian Yu as soon as he entered, rubbing his palms on her clothes, and gloating on his face: "I heard that Xiao Yuer was punished again, what a pity, what a pity."

"How sad that you're still laughing!" Helian Yu's hands were covered in ink, making them all black. He suddenly rushed towards Helian Chi's face and pounced on him fiercely, with a ferocious face, "Look at me and make fun of me!"

Helian Chi stretched out his arms, and like a prisoner, he pressed Helian Yu onto the low table, and smiled pleasantly: "After you chopped off the Imperial Master's inner garment, you are only punished to copy books. Fourth brother, look at what you are copying——"

Helian Chi's smile gradually disappeared: "Helian Yu, have you ever seen someone copy only the title of a book?"

"What's it got to do with you!" Helian Yu yelled fiercely, sweetly and fiercely, "Master punished me to copy the Buddhist scriptures a hundred times and told me to hand them in tomorrow morning. I don't have a hundred hands, how can I finish copying them! Bad guy! Damn Master! Big devil! Hate it!"

Helian Chi: "..."

I really can’t finish copying it.

but--

The Imperial Master should be the one feeling wronged, right? He had his clothes twisted by this little bastard, and was scolded by him.

It's so miserable.

He deserved it, though.

With a disciple like Xiao Yu'er, he dared not be reluctant, and he would suffer the consequences! Of course, he could also suffer the consequences!

The same.

(End of this chapter)