The third prince forced a smile that was uglier than crying.

"Is this the scripture you copied for me to pray for blessings?" the emperor finally asked.

The Third Prince had a thousand excuses in his mind, but only uttered a few words: "I was concerned about my father's health and left in a hurry. I didn't bring everything with me!"

"If Your Majesty wants to see it, I will have someone go back and fetch all the copied scriptures for Your Majesty to review!"

The emperor said nothing, but just looked at his third son quietly.

The emperor has many children and cannot take care of all of them.

However, as the queen's legitimate son, the emperor has always paid more attention to the third prince.

In fact, many times, the emperor treated the third prince more favorably than other princes.

Coupled with the various struggles between the princes in the recent period, the third prince always behaved dull and clumsy.

In fact, the emperor never imagined that his son was such a thoughtful person.

The hall fell into silence. No one spoke, and the sound of a pin drop could be heard.

The third prince felt his heart pounding. He was like a prisoner kneeling under the executioner's knife, quietly waiting for the emperor's verdict.

At this time, the third prince was in a panic, with fear and terror surrounding his heart, but he could do nothing but swallow gently, his Adam's apple rolling up and down. He didn't know if his head could still stay on his neck.

The emperor glanced at the bronze mirror and seemed to see the white hair on his temples. After a long time, the emperor finally sighed and said, "My body is well now. You copied so many scriptures for me. Remember to fulfill your wish when you have time!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Third Prince collapsed to the ground like a deflated ball, with the cold sweat on his forehead dripping onto the ground.

The chief eunuch Su Xi looked up at the emperor in disbelief, but saw sadness and understanding in the emperor's eyes.

At this moment, the eunuch was overwhelmed with emotions and instantly understood the emperor's mindset behind his decision.

There are not many princes in the palace now. Apart from the third prince, there is only the eighth prince born to a virtuous concubine.

The eighth prince is still young, at the age when he loves to play and is ignorant of the world.

The third prince was the only adult prince left, and the other princes were either imprisoned for committing crimes or in jail.

Few princes who can sit on the throne have clean hands. Even the current emperor had experienced various moments of scheming against others before he became the crown prince and even ascended the throne.

The tigers in the mountains are now old, but the cubs are in their prime.

So the emperor took this matter very seriously, but eventually let it go.

Because the emperor is old and no longer has the same temperament as before.

The third prince breathed a sigh of relief. He and the emperor actually knew exactly what the situation was.

But the final outcome of the situation was something neither of them had expected.

The emperor sighed and said, "Xiao Shunzi colluded with the weirdo from Southern Xinjiang and actually tried to murder me. I'll leave this matter to you to investigate. You must find out the whole story and bring the weirdo from Southern Xinjiang to justice."

The Third Prince knelt on the ground, bent over, and kowtowed: "I will obey your order and will not disappoint you, my father!"

Zhao Ji sighed. In fact, Zhao Ji could basically predict the direction of this matter.

During the confrontation with the emperor today, the third prince finally revealed his edge and sharpness.

The third prince was actually telling the emperor that he was not as stupid as everyone thought before.

He also has his own methods and schemes.

And the emperor will eventually save the third prince's life for the sake of succession to the throne.

There may be some father-son affection mixed in this, but it also has a bit of a conspiracy feel to it.

The emperor specifically assigned this matter to the third prince. In fact, it was because the emperor already knew that the so-called weirdo from southern Xinjiang was actually working for the third prince.

However, the emperor insisted on leaving this matter to the Third Prince, and specifically emphasized that the Third Prince should bring the strange man from southern Xinjiang to justice.

This is nothing more than an exchange. The emperor is telling the third prince: I will spare your life in this matter, but you must hand over the culprit to me for punishment.

The third prince accepted the task and naturally acquiesced to the exchange of opportunities.

After all, the third prince still wants to live.

This was a chance the emperor gave him to survive.

When the third prince staggered out of the bedroom, the emperor could no longer suppress the itch in his throat and began to cough madly.

"I know what you are going to say, but I don't have many sons left, so I have no other choice. If he can have such a wolfish ambition and has the means to match it, I am willing to give him a chance!"

After the emperor's breathing became steady, he sighed and spoke to Zhao Ji and the chief eunuch Su Xi.

The chief eunuch Su Xi sighed, "Your Majesty is thoughtful and far-sighted, but you should not forget your own body. As long as Your Majesty takes good care of yourself, it doesn't matter if the Third Prince grows crooked. Your Majesty has plenty of time to straighten the bad bamboo!"

The emperor wanted to say something, but he held back and finally nodded: "Please step back for a moment. I have something to say to Zhao Aiqing!"

The eunuch left the bedroom immediately.

"Although I don't want anything to happen to my son, but since the Third Prince was able to do something like this today, I have no choice but to be on guard. From now on, you discuss with Yueying about sending out some elite spies to carefully investigate what the Third Prince did."

"Although I have given him a chance, I will not always give him a chance. If all else fails, I still have the Eighth Prince of Consort Xian!"

At this moment, the gleam in the emperor's eyes made Zhao Ji realize that this was a man who had mastered the imperial mind for many years. Many times, the emperor's thoughts were always complicated and multi-layered.

Compared with the emperor, the third prince is a little immature, but the two are surprisingly consistent and both have deep thoughts.

"I will do my best to relieve the emperor's worries. Please take care of your health!"

Zhao Ji nodded and said.

The emperor sighed, looked at the flowers outside the window, and finally said: "There are not many people I can trust now, and you are the only one I really trust. If you find anything, don't worry too much, just report it to me directly!"

"If you encounter a more difficult situation, the Imperial Sword I gave you is not just the power to execute first and report later. Since the founding of the country, there has been an Imperial Sword that has been used to execute royal relatives..."

Zhao Ji raised his eyebrows in surprise. He naturally knew what the emperor meant. If ordinary ministers heard this, they would probably panic.

But Zhao Ji has always been bold, so he nodded, knelt on the ground and saluted: "I will not let the emperor down!"