Emperor Jingming sat in silence for a long while, glaring at his sons kneeling in a circle before him.
They needed time to reflect!
The princes were utterly confused.
Why had Father Emperor suddenly summoned them all? Judging by the atmosphere, it certainly wasn’t for praise.
But they hadn’t done anything wrong, had they? At most, they had mocked and ridiculed the Seventh Prince behind his back for running to the Shuntian Prefecture to file a complaint.
As the princes’ hearts pounded nervously, Emperor Jingming finally spoke: “What have you all been doing today?”
The princes exchanged bewildered glances.
Father’s question was so vague, it was rather scary.
Emperor Jingming’s gaze fell on the First Prince.
The First Prince inwardly laughed bitterly and hurriedly replied, “Your son has been in his residence all day. After breakfast, I took a walk in the garden, then read for a while.”
Emperor Jingming looked at the Crown Prince.
“Your son has been in the Eastern Palace all day. After breakfast, I took a walk in the garden and also read for a while—”
Emperor Jingming interrupted the Crown Prince: “Besides that? Didn’t you do anything special?”
A bead of sweat rolled down the Crown Prince’s forehead.
Surely not… He had just encountered a pretty palace maid in the garden early in the morning and pulled her into the bushes for a tryst. Father Emperor wouldn’t make such a fuss over that, would he?
“Hmm?” Seeing the Crown Prince’s hesitation, Emperor Jingming frowned.
The Crown Prince thought of the Brocade Scale Guard and gave up on trying to deceive. He mumbled vaguely, “Your son… had a heart-to-heart talk with a palace maid…”
“Pfft.” Someone couldn’t help but laugh, and the other princes quickly lowered their heads even further.
Emperor Jingming was furious. He truly hadn’t suspected the Crown Prince in the Seventh Prince’s assassination attempt. After all, the Crown Prince was the heir apparent and hadn’t been involved in that group fight. It made no sense for him to target the Seventh Prince.
He never imagined the Crown Prince could be so licentious and frivolous!
Suppressing the urge to explode immediately, Emperor Jingming turned to the Third Prince: “Third, what about you?”
The Third Prince, born to a mother of humble status, had developed a cautious nature. He replied, “Your son was at the training grounds in my residence, teaching Young Master Fu to ride.”
Emperor Jingming’s interest was piqued: “Oh? Fu’er can already ride a horse?”
The other princes secretly rolled their eyes.
The Third Prince always knew how to please, but unfortunately, his mother was just a palace maid, so he could never truly stand out.
“He’s just starting to learn,” the Third Prince replied.
Emperor Jingming nodded.
At least one of them was reliable. Except for the Crown Prince, he didn’t have high expectations for his other sons. As long as they didn’t cause trouble, it was fine.
Next, Emperor Jingming questioned the Fourth Prince. The Fifth Prince had prepared his story, but Emperor Jingming skipped him and asked the Sixth and Eighth Princes instead.
The Fifth Prince’s heart immediately began to race.
Why had Father specifically skipped him? Based on his understanding of Father, it was unlikely to be because he trusted him. More likely, he was saving him for last to deal with—
Sure enough, after Emperor Jingming had questioned all the other princes, his expression suddenly darkened as he turned to the Fifth Prince: “Tell me what you did today!”
Hearing this, the others’ gazes towards the Fifth Prince changed.
So, it turned out the culprit was Fifth Brother.
“Your son, your son didn’t do anything,” the Fifth Prince stammered, his mind going blank with nervousness.
Yu Jin, kneeling in the corner, allowed a cold smile to play at the corners of his mouth.
As he had said, if he couldn’t immediately deal with those who coveted A’Si, collecting some interest wasn’t bad either.
“Didn’t do anything? Then why were you seen near Quezi Hutong on Qingtong Street?” Emperor Jingming demanded.
The Fifth Prince was momentarily stunned.
What are Qingtong Street and Quezi Hutong? He had been loitering near the Earl of Dongping’s residence.
“Speak!”
Emperor Jingming’s harsh command startled the Fifth Prince into blurting out, “Your son didn’t!”
Hearing this, Emperor Jingming grew even angrier. His initial two-part suspicion became five parts: “You’re still playing dumb at this point? Do you think the Brocade Scale Guard is just for show?”
The Fifth Prince felt utterly wronged: “Your son didn’t go to any Qingtong Street or Quezi Hutong—”
Wait, Quezi Hutong sounded familiar.
The Fifth Prince’s eyes unconsciously darted around, accidentally sweeping over Yu Jin nearby. He suddenly froze, and then his expression changed.
He remembered now. That was where the Seventh Prince was staying. After leaving the Imperial Clan Court, he had even sent someone to inquire, thinking of finding an opportunity to teach that brat a lesson.
Emperor Jingming looked at the Fifth Prince with disappointment and said coolly, “Today, the Seventh Prince was almost assassinated near his home. Have you all heard about this?”
“Your son has heard,” the princes chorused, their gazes towards the Fifth Prince growing even more peculiar.
The Fifth Prince finally realized what was happening: “Father Emperor, the assassination attempt on Seventh Brother has nothing to do with your son!”
Why did he always have such bad luck when it came to that brat? The Fifth Prince instinctively looked towards Yu Jin.
Yu Jin turned and smiled slightly at him.
The Fifth Prince’s mind went blank.
It was over. There was no way to clear his name now.
Seeing his fifth son incriminate himself, Emperor Jingming grew even angrier: “I was only asking why you were there!”
If he wanted to get to the bottom of this, why would he have the Brocade Scale Guard take over the investigation? This brainless Fifth Prince!
“Your son—” The Fifth Prince opened and closed his mouth, unable to find a suitable excuse.
He certainly couldn’t admit to the huge crime of attempting to assassinate the Seventh Prince—he truly hadn’t done it! Who knew which good samaritan had acted on heaven’s behalf? However, he also couldn’t honestly say he had been eyeing the Earl’s noble daughter.
“Your son… was just bored and went to see the mourning at the Marquis of Yongchang’s residence.”
Seeing Emperor Jingming’s tense expression, the Fifth Prince hurriedly explained, “I don’t know if Father Emperor has heard, but the Marquis and Marchioness of Yongchang died on the same day. Your son thought it was quite strange, so—”
“Enough!” Emperor Jingming, unable to bear it any longer, interrupted the Fifth Prince. “From today onwards, you are confined to the King of Lu’s residence for three months, and your salary for a year is forfeit!”
“Father Emperor, your son is wronged! Your son can swear to heaven that I did not send anyone to assassinate Seventh Brother!”
Emperor Jingming suppressed the urge to kick the Fifth Prince flying and scolded, “Fool! If you dared to harm your brother, do you think this would be your only punishment?”
The other princes secretly shook their heads.
Thanks to the Fifth Brother’s stupidity, they would receive less scolding.
“Remember this well, this is punishment for your lack of virtue! When others suffer an untimely death, not only do you not show sympathy, but you go gawk at it. Is this how a prince should behave?”
“Your son was wrong.” The Fifth Prince hung his head dejectedly, feeling as if a disaster had fallen from the sky.
“And the rest of you!” Emperor Jingming’s gaze slowly swept across the faces of his sons, his expression dark as water. “Be mindful of your words and actions, be kind and frugal, and show brotherly affection. Don’t forget these virtues!”
“Your sons will heed Father Emperor’s teachings.”
The princes finally understood. All that talk about being mindful of words and actions, being kind and frugal, was just a front. Brotherly affection was the real reason they had been summoned and made to kneel today.
Father Emperor suspected that one of them had tried to harm the Seventh Prince, and was warning them to behave in the future.
This was truly an undeserved calamity!
All the princes couldn’t help but think this, but when they saw the Fifth Prince’s dejected face, they felt a bit better.
Comparisons were indeed enlightening. Compared to them, the Fifth Prince was Father Emperor’s primary suspect.
“You may all leave. Crown Prince, stay behind!”
At this moment, the princes’ moods oddly improved a bit.
Well, as long as the Crown Prince was in trouble, they could rest easy.
The Crown Prince: “…” What an unlucky year. He needed to go offer some incense one of these days!