When Emperor Yong heard the eldest princess crying and calling for her mother, he felt a splitting headache and waved at Huang Pei.

“Take him away!”

Huang Pei did not dare to delay, and hurriedly called a few useful eunuchs, and dragged Lin Zhaoyi and the eldest princess out of the imperial study.

The Crown Prince stood beside Emperor Yong, looking at the eldest princess in tears and totally unmannerly appearance, with no expression of sadness or joy on his face.

Although both of them were plotting against their father, the second brother was more ruthless than the eldest sister who never succeeded.

But the second brother was only confined to the clan house for one year, while the imperial sister was imprisoned in the ancestral temple for life.

At this moment, he realized more clearly the special status of his second brother in his father's heart, and became more cautious.

Even if he was the eldest son, if he made such a mistake, his father would surely abolish his position as crown prince without hesitation...

Qiao Zhongguo finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the eldest princess received the punishment she deserved.

This is enough, they can't ask for too much.

If an ordinary daughter of an official family did something wrong like this, she would be confined to her room, forced to kneel, or beaten with a stick. In serious cases, her hair would be cut off and she would be made a nun.

It was already a pleasant surprise that Emperor Yong could achieve this.

At this moment, Lin Zhaoyi must be feeling very regretful, right?

She made a wrong move. She shouldn't have used Empress Yu Liu's affection to force His Majesty at this time.

After all, the Second Prince has been exhausted many times in the past year, and the Emperor is very angry now. If Lin Zhaoyi could wait for a few days until the Emperor has calmed down a little before playing the emotional card, the result would always be better than today.

But as parents, how many can remain calm when seeing their children’s remaining lives ruined?

Anyway, the matter has finally been settled...

Duke Yan stood up at the right time and expressed his gratitude to Emperor Yong.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for taking care of this old minister! I am so grateful that I cannot express it in words!"

Tan Hanchi kowtowed and added, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for making the decision for me!"

When Qiao Zhongguo saw Tan Hanchi's cleverness, he secretly sighed in his heart.

Is this kid Tan afraid that His Majesty will forget about him and An Ning? Seeing his father-in-law step out, he quickly came up eagerly.

When Emperor Yong caught a glimpse of the two people kneeling in front of the table, he indeed remembered that Tan Hanchi was fond of Zuo An Ning.

Xian'er did such a stupid thing, and their royal family really owed Miss Zuo of the Duke of Yan's Mansion.

But the Duke of Yan's Mansion and the Qiao's Mansion are relatives after all, so he still needs to think about this marriage...

"Lord Zuo, Lord Tan, please stand up. Xian'er has received the punishment she deserves, so let's just let this matter go."

"Of course, Miss Zuo and Mr. Tan were both frightened. I will compensate you. That's it for today."

After Emperor Yong finished speaking, a hint of fatigue appeared on his face.

The second prince did something wrong some time ago, and today it was the eldest princess' turn to make a mistake. Emperor Yong was really worried because his children were all disobedient.

Upon hearing this, Tan Hanchi knew that Emperor Yong had not yet made up his mind, so he immediately bowed respectfully without any strange expression on his face.

Don't be impatient. Appearing too eagerly will only backfire.

Next, there are opportunities...

After bidding farewell to Emperor Yong, Qiao Zhongguo and others filed out.

The prince stayed in the imperial study. Seeing Emperor Yong's unhappy expression, he couldn't help but speak with concern:

"Father, you don't look very well. Let's summon Doctor Zou to take a look."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Yong turned to look at the Crown Prince, and seeing that the concern on his face did not seem fake, his expression suddenly became complicated.

He looked at the prince intently and suddenly said something shocking:

"Zhan'er, what happened in the Qiao Mansion today was staged and directed by Xian'er herself. Did you see that a long time ago?"

The prince's heart skipped a beat. Facing Emperor Yong's question, he did not choose to hide it, but said seriously:

"Father, I dare not hide it from you. In fact, I did not see it at first, until I approached the palace gate just now, I suddenly remembered the secret medicine of bliss from Nanli Country, and then I had a vague guess in my heart."

"But father, I cannot believe it. My eldest sister is usually so dignified and serious. It is not like she would do such a thing."

"So I dare not speak nonsense in front of my father, let alone show my doubts about my sister. Until this moment, I still can't get rid of the feeling of unreality in my heart."

"Father, I feel really bad."

The prince looked gloomy, and the melancholy in his heart was real at this moment.

He had once been truly delighted by the birth of every royal brother or sister, but now, in order to protect his mother and Xiao Si, and to keep his position as the crown prince, he could no longer stop...

Emperor Yong was silent for a while, and suddenly he sighed deeply.

"Not only you, even I can't believe it..."

The prince was full of worries, and Emperor Yong suddenly murmured, "Does Qiao Zhongguo know..."

The prince's heartstrings trembled slightly, and he pretended not to hear clearly, and tilted his head in confusion, "Father, what did you just say?"

Emperor Yong didn't want the prince to answer him. He was really tired and waved at the prince.

"Go down, your mother is preparing for your wedding, if you have time go and see her."

The prince shook his head.

"I'd better wait for Huang Pei to come back before leaving. Father is angry today and cannot be left without someone by his side."

Emperor Yong finally felt a little comforted when he saw that the prince was so well-behaved and sensible.

He thought for a moment and said gently, "Then call Zou Qi to come and take a look for me."

The prince finally showed joy upon hearing this, "I will call someone right away!"

The moment he turned around, the prince's brows sank slightly, with a myriad of thoughts in his mind.

Never doubt the intentions of an emperor. Even though my father is distracted by too many things now, his scheming is still unfathomable.

Although my father was so worried at the moment, he still did not forget to guess Qiao Zhongguo's thoughts. This is something that not ordinary people can do.

As the crown prince and the son, the most important thing in front of his father is always to be well-behaved and obedient, followed by various abilities.

Emperor Yong rubbed his brows tiredly, looked at the back of the crown prince striding to call the imperial physician, then turned his head to look at the wall with the portrait hanging on the right, his face full of thought...

————

Qiao Zhongguo stayed in the palace for more than an hour. When he and Duke Yan returned to Qiao's Mansion on express horses, the wedding banquet was about to end.

Qiao Zhongguo specially entered the mansion through the side door and then went to the front yard to personally see the guests off.

When everyone saw Qiao Zhongguo who had been "missing" for a long time, they were curious, but no one dared to ask any questions.

Half an hour later, all the guests left, and the Qiao Mansion, which had been bustling all day, finally returned to peace.

In the backyard, Qiao Jiaojiao waited anxiously and finally saw Qiao Zhongguo!

She was so sleepy that her eyelids began to fight each other, but she stayed awake and refused to fall asleep, just waiting for the first-hand gossip!

Qiao Zhongguo and Duke Yan entered the door together, followed by the two brothers Tian Zheng Di Yi.

After everyone sat down, Qiao Zhongguo quickly picked up Qiao Jiaojiao, feeling secretly annoyed at himself for making his precious baby wait for so long.

The secret guards were standing outside the door. Mrs. Qiao and Zuo An Ning were sitting in the room. The family closed the door and talked about what happened tonight.