Yun Chu walked forward two steps.

The eunuch guarding outside the Imperial Academy immediately bent at the waist, preparing to pay respects.

She waved her hand, telling the little eunuch not to make a commotion.

She saw Meng Shen go to the grove of trees behind the study hall. Following closely, three or four youths of similar age also followed after him.

She recognized two of them. One was the current Sixth Prince, who had already been enfeoffed as Prince Cheng. Having lost an ear, his face was filled with malevolent energy. The other was the eldest son of the Grand Princess.

The Grand Princess was a princess with very low presence who didn’t even have an honorific title. But if one mentioned the incident from two years ago when Prince Consort Liu committed a breach of etiquette before the Emperor and had his head personally struck off by the Emperor, many people would surely know of this princess.

There were a few other children Yun Chu didn’t recognize, but she could guess they were also sons of meritorious nobles from the court.

Several people surrounded Meng Shen.

The Sixth Prince forcefully shoved Meng Shen, who nearly fell to the ground. The others all burst into roaring laughter.

Yun Chu’s expression grew somewhat somber.

The Sixth Prince had always liked bullying people—first there was Xie Shi’an who was praised by the teacher, and now there was the Imperial Academy newcomer Meng Shen.

Ever since the Sixth Prince was injured, the Emperor had doted on him especially, which made the Sixth Prince increasingly unbridled, bullying people in broad daylight like this.

Qiutong inquired in a low voice, “Princess Consort, please give your orders.”

Yun Chu spoke lightly, “Let’s go to Changqiu Palace.”

Qiutong thought Yun Chu was going to inform Imperial Consort Yin, but Yun Chu merely paid her respects, stayed for a meal, and then left the palace.

Imperial Consort Yin was someone without much scheming or deep thoughts. Yun Chu didn’t want Imperial Consort Yin to take this matter to Noble Consort Yuan, where the two would cause trouble, and in the end Chu Yi would still have to clean up the mess.

In the evening, Meng Shen dined at Yun Chu’s courtyard as usual.

Yu-geer and Changsheng chattered away, occasionally asking about scholarly matters, which Meng Shen would answer seriously.

After the meal ended, Meng Shen rose to take his leave. Yun Chu called out to him, “Shen-geer has been living at the Prince’s residence for a while now, and your maternal aunt still hasn’t had a proper chat with you.”

Meng Shen sat back down.

“I see the area beneath your eyelids is dark—are you not sleeping well?” Yun Chu asked with concern. “Is the accommodation uncomfortable?”

Meng Shen hastily said, “It’s because I stayed up too late studying and didn’t sleep well. The accommodation is very good. I’ve troubled my maternal aunt with her concern.”

Yun Chu set down her teacup. “Shen-geer, your mother isn’t in the capital. If you have any problems, you must tell your maternal aunt so she can give you advice.”

Meng Shen pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Yun Chu waited a while, but he remained silent.

She felt somewhat exasperated.

Princess Qinghua talked too much, while Meng Shen talked too little.

“I passed by the Imperial Academy today and saw the Sixth Prince, Prince Cheng, and a few children bullying you.” Yun Chu spoke slowly. “Your status is not low either—you needn’t suffer such grievances.”

“It’s not grievous.” Meng Shen kept his head lowered. “They were just playing around with me.”

Seeing he still wouldn’t speak, Yun Chu sighed. “Then let’s say your maternal aunt saw wrong.”

Meng Shen stood up, cupped his hands toward Yun Chu in respect, and only then departed.

Walking outside, he raised his head to look at the moon.

It wasn’t that he was unwilling to speak, but if he did, it would bring unnecessary trouble to his uncle and aunt.

Right now the Sixth Prince was deeply favored by the Emperor, while his uncle had been suspended from duty and hadn’t attended court for over half a year. If his uncle confronted the Sixth Prince, he would surely suffer a loss.

And his maternal grandmother was just like his mother—their thoughts and schemes were too shallow. They would surely impulsively go lodge a complaint but gain nothing good in the end.

What was the point?

Besides, the Sixth Prince and the others hadn’t really done anything to him—they just made him help with their schoolwork.

Meng Shen returned to his own courtyard and kept the candle lit until nearly midnight.

That night when Chu Yi returned, Yun Chu woke up and looked at him. “Shen-geer is being bullied at the Imperial Academy. What do you think should be done?”

Chu Yi’s voice was very light. “He’s already eight years old. He should learn to solve problems himself. Even if Yu-geer encountered the same thing, I wouldn’t interfere.”

Yun Chu shook her head. “I don’t think he has any intention of solving it.”

“That’s his own business.” Chu Yi tucked in her blanket. “You focus on nurturing the pregnancy well. Don’t worry about these things.”

The next evening at dinner, Yun Chu noticed a dark bruise at the corner of Meng Shen’s mouth.

Chu Hongyu laughed loudly. “Mother, Shen-ge is really so clumsy. He was walking and bumped into a table and bruised his mouth.”

Meng Shen hurriedly covered the corner of his lips.

Yun Chu could tell at a glance that this child had probably been tripped by someone and thus gotten injured.

She didn’t ask further, because asking wouldn’t yield anything anyway.

As the days passed, Yun Chu’s abdomen gradually swelled. Her body grew heavier and heavier, and each day became increasingly difficult to endure.

On this day, the Empress arranged a family banquet.

Previous palace banquets had many officials’ female family members in attendance. This time, only members of the imperial family were present.

The Emperor and Empress sat in the seats of honor. The princes and their consorts sat in order by age going downward. As for the younger children, they were still attending classes at the Imperial Academy and would come together for the midday meal.

“Third son, you’ve idled at home long enough.” The Emperor’s voice was cold and heavy. “Are you really planning to never attend court for the rest of your life?”

Chu Yi stood up. “This son was thinking that after this child is born and the full-month celebration is held, then I would…”

“Ha!” The Emperor was so angry he laughed. “Why don’t you just say you’ll return to court after the child comes of age?”

The Empress gently urged, “Your Majesty, I was thinking that Yi’er probably doesn’t like the work at the Ministry of Works. Why not let Yi’er go train at the Ministry of Revenue?”

Among the Six Ministries, the Ministry of Revenue was the most important of all, overseeing all the people and money of Great Jin. Currently it was entirely under Chu Mo’s control. If Chu Yi could also enter and stir up some muddy waters, it would be greatly beneficial to the Eastern Palace.

Chu Yi said nothing.

The Empress continued, “Your Majesty, you see, this is Yi’er’s intention.”

The Emperor’s finger tapped lightly.

One mountain cannot contain two tigers. If there were two princes at the Ministry of Revenue, it would truly give rise to many problems.

Although he had many sons, the fourth was already dead, the fifth was under house arrest, the sixth had lost an ear, the eighth had gone to his fiefdom, and the rest were all still young…

No matter how many sons he had, they couldn’t withstand such turmoil.

The Emperor pondered briefly and said, “There’s still a vacancy in the Inner Cabinet. Yi’er, what do you think?”

The Empress gave a sharp start.

The Inner Cabinet—although the official positions were all rather low in rank, the actual power was above the Six Ministries. Once inside, one could directly interact with the Six Ministries, making it even more formidable than controlling the Ministry of Revenue.

“That won’t be necessary, Imperial Father.” Chu Yi cupped his hands. “This son would like to go to the Court of Judicial Review. Several cases have occurred recently, and the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review needs help.”

The Emperor’s heart settled.

It seemed Yi’er truly had not the slightest interest in imperial power.

When he first agreed to marry a Yun family daughter, the Yun family was at its lowest point.

Now after not attending court for more than half a year, he showed no anxiety whatsoever.

Even when given this opportunity, he didn’t climb up the pole offered to him, but instead chose to go to the Court of Judicial Review.

“Very well. Tomorrow you shall take up your post at the Court of Judicial Review.”

The Emperor’s word was final.

Prince Gongxi breathed a sigh of relief. If third brother had entered the Inner Cabinet, he would have had to scheme again. Fortunately, fortunately…

As the group chatted, the conversation suddenly turned to the new Teacher Wang who had recently come to the Imperial Academy.

Chu Yi spoke up, “Recently Yu-geer has made even greater progress—it’s all due to Teacher Wang’s merit. Why don’t we go see how Teacher Wang conducts his classes?”

As soon as these words were spoken, many people present immediately nodded.

Their children were all at the Imperial Academy too, and they had never seen with their own eyes what their children were like in the classroom.