Yu Jian shamelessly asked for favors from his sweetheart, and then left with a satisfied heart.

His ears finally calmed down, and Emperor Jingming closed his eyes tiredly.

The chief eunuch Pan Hai stood aside and dared not say a word.

Others may not know, but he knows very well that the emperor is not in a good mood at the moment.

Those people treat the emperor as a king and dare to sue even the Prince of Yan, but the emperor still has the emotions of a normal person.

Who is not on his side?

Emperor Jingming closed his eyes for a while, then said to Pan Hai, "Show me the things Zhen Shicheng stuffed into your hand before he left."

Pan Hai immediately presented the item.

Emperor Jingming took it and shook it open, revealing three confessions with fingerprints on them.

After reading it silently, Emperor Jingming's face turned completely dark.

It was already a big deal for a few little kids to go to Jinshui River for a stroll, and after making so much noise, there was even such a mess as this.

Originally, he felt sympathy for the Minister of Rites who had no grandchildren at such an old age, but now it seemed that this guy was simply courting death.

Emperor Jingming's hand holding the paper was shaking a little, he was angry and ashamed.

Zhen Shicheng was a man of integrity and impartiality. He was able to hand over the confession to Pan Hai in private, which helped the emperor save face.

No matter what, Yang Shengcai is the Crown Princess's younger brother and the Crown Prince's brother-in-law. He actually had lustful intentions towards a young master from an earl's mansion. If this got out, it would be a huge joke.

It's actually a good thing that this stupid thing died. People went through so much trouble over such a thing and finally it came to him. It shows that these families don't think there is anything wrong with their children.

Emperor Jingming was not surprised by this.

He could understand that the powerful and noble class had special privileges over ordinary people, but it was unacceptable for them to act willfully in front of the emperor when they were clearly in the wrong.

Emperor Jingming pondered all this. He had originally intended to reward Jiang Si with a jade ruyi, but now he decided to reward Jiang Zhan with the four treasures of the study as a consolation, so that people would know that even though the true situation could not be spread, he, the emperor, was not confused.

As for the others, they must be beaten!

"Pan Hai, go and call the prince."

Pan Hai went to the East Palace to deliver the oral order, and silently lit a stick of incense for the prince in his heart.

As the emperor's trusted eunuch, he couldn't understand why the prince was in trouble again...

Inside the East Palace, the atmosphere was depressing.

The Crown Princess had already learned the news that her brother had drowned, and her eyes were swollen like walnuts.

The prince became very impatient when he heard the faint sobbing. In the past, he would have run away to find Concubine Liang to tease her, but now he forced himself not to leave.

He had been unlucky recently, and it seemed that he had done nothing to displease his father, so he should keep a low profile. His brother-in-law had just passed away, so staying to comfort the Crown Princess was the most appropriate thing to do.

"The dead cannot be resurrected, stop crying." The prince did not have much patience for the crying princess.

The prince likes novelties. Even though the princess consort is as beautiful as a flower, the old couple has seen enough of her. To the prince, the princess consort who has been married for many years is not as interesting as the maid who sweeps the floor.

Of course, such thoughts must not be spoken out, but the Crown Princess is not stupid, so how could she not feel the Crown Prince's cold attitude.

Don't cry if the dead can't be resurrected? This is not a consolation, it's just to piss her off.

"I only have this one brother." The Crown Princess said in tears.

Seeing that the Crown Princess was not interested, the Crown Prince turned cold and stopped trying to persuade her. He held the teacup in his hand, drank it, and looked boredly at the several palace maids who were serving the Crown Princess.

Because the Crown Princess's brother had passed away, the palace maids did not dare to dress too fancy and their eyes were all red. One of the palace maids caught the interest of the Crown Prince.

The palace maid had a slim figure, a pointed chin, and slightly red eyes, which made her look pitiful and cute.

The prince put down his teacup and touched his chin.

I never realized that this palace maid had such charm before. She looks somewhat similar to Concubine Yang, whom my father favors the most recently.

Thinking of Concubine Yang's every move and smile, the prince felt itchy in his heart, and quickly shook his head, not daring to think about it anymore.

No matter how lustful he is, he cannot lay his hands on his father's woman.

Soon Pan Hai came over and delivered the oral instructions.

The prince followed Pan Hai to see Emperor Jingming, and this time he finally didn't have to worry.

The Crown Princess's younger brother is his brother-in-law, so no matter what, he is the one who should be comforted.

Because he was too confident, the prince didn't even think of asking Pan Hai for information.

Pan Hai was naturally happy not to mention it.

"Father——" the prince stepped into Yu's study and shouted.

Emperor Jingming turned around and stared at the prince with a slightly gloomy expression.

The prince blinked.

It seemed a little different from what he imagined.

"Where are you from?"

The prince secretly thought that he had done the right thing by guarding the Crown Princess, and hurriedly praised himself, "I am right here with the Crown Princess. You may not know that something happened to the Crown Princess's brother last night—"

The prince subconsciously stopped talking because of Emperor Jingming's ugly expression.

"Go back and tell the Crown Princess to set a good example for her younger brothers and sisters when she returns to her parents' home, and teach them to cherish what they have, and not to cause trouble for no reason and bring trouble to the Crown Princess and your reputation." Emperor Jingming said coldly, and got angry when he saw the Crown Prince's dazed look, so he immediately put on the airs of a strict father and scolded him severely.

Emperor Jingming has many sons, and precisely because of this, he treats the crown prince differently. As a crown prince, he must be more outstanding, otherwise how can he win the support of the people?

Because the expectations are high, the requirements are naturally high, but the prince has limited talent, so being scolded is commonplace.

After leaving Yu's study, the prince was almost in a state of panic.

Why was he not comforted but scolded when his brother-in-law died? How much did his father dislike him?

The prince returned to the East Palace in anger and vented his anger on the princess consort. He also ordered his officials to find out what happened.

When the official replied, the prince was so angry that his face twitched.

He had discovered long ago that he would be in trouble if he got involved with the Seventh Brother. His father-in-law, that old bastard, didn't even know the Seventh Brother's identity and ran to Shuntian Prefecture to file a complaint.

Isn't this just courting death?

The Crown Prince was so angry with the Crown Princess because of a scolding from Emperor Jingming that he was too lazy to even pretend and did not show up in front of the Crown Princess for many days.

The disturbance in the palace was blocked within the high red walls. Jiang Ancheng hurried to Heqi Hall. Seeing that Jiang Zhan had woken up, he felt relieved and returned home with his two children.

"You are all tired, go back to your rooms and rest first."

Just as Jiang Ancheng said this, a maid from Cixin Hall came and said, "The old lady wants you to go with the second young master and the fourth young lady."

Jiang Ancheng frowned unconsciously.

"Father, my second brother is still very weak. Let Aji help him go back to his room to rest. I will go with you to see my grandmother."

Jiang Ancheng was somewhat dissatisfied with Madam Jiang for being so anxious, but he had to obey his mother's orders, so he took Jiang Si and hurried over.

As soon as Jiang Sicai entered the room, Old Madam Feng immediately attacked: "Fourth girl, you have brought shame upon the government. How can a girl say such things!"