Upon returning to Wuji Town, the Imperial Censor met Nini, the sole survivor of the earthquake.

The little girl still looked weak, her small face pale and her eyes red and swollen from prolonged crying. The woman caring for her wiped her tears and said, “The child keeps asking for her parents. It’s heartbreaking.”

“Is your name Nini?” Seeing a girl about the same age as his daughter, and realizing she had lost both parents, the Imperial Censor’s heart softened.

The little girl timidly looked at the Imperial Censor and nodded, her eyes, like black grapes, darting towards the door.

“What are you looking at?”

The girl pursed her lips and finally spoke, “I’m waiting for the handsome big brother.”

The Imperial Censor was taken aback.

The little girl added, “The handsome big brother held me…”

The Imperial Censor then connected “handsome big brother” with Prince Yan.

Thinking of Prince Yan’s face, “handsome” was indeed accurate, but “big brother”—

The Imperial Censor touched his chin, which hadn’t yet grown a beard, and couldn’t help but smile wryly. He no longer doubted Right Deputy Minister Zhao’s report about Prince Yan personally rescuing the little girl.

Looking at the pitiful and adorable child, the Imperial Censor fell silent.

This child was the only survivor left in the town, rescued by Prince Yan at great personal risk…

The young Imperial Censor’s impression of Yu Jin improved unprecedentedly.

That night, the lamp in the Imperial Censor’s room remained lit as he wrote a thick report, sealed it in an envelope, and had it sent to the capital by express courier.

Emperor Jingming, having already received Right Deputy Minister Zhao’s report, finally got the separate reports from the Imperial Censor and Xiao Le. Comparing the two, they differed little from Zhao’s account.

After pondering for a long while, Emperor Jingming instructed Pan Hai, “Convey Our imperial edict to summon the Crown Prince, Prince Yan, Right Deputy Minister of Revenue Zhao Ruqing, and others back to the capital to face Us.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Emperor Jingming thought of something and added, “Oh, remind Prince Yan to bring General Xiaotian with him to the palace.”

Pan Hai immediately transmitted the edict.

The Crown Prince and others received the edict two days later. By the time they returned to the capital, more than half of May had passed.

Yu Jin cast a longing glance in the direction of Prince Yan’s Mansion. Although eager to return home, he had to go to the palace with the others first.

“Take the two children back to the mansion first. Tell the Princess Consort that I’ve returned and will be home right after seeing Father Emperor in the palace,” Yu Jin instructed Long Dan.

Home… Just saying these words felt as sweet as honey, filling his heart with joy.

Being away for so many days and only now returning, he wondered what the old man had to nag about that couldn’t wait.

Delaying his reunion with his wife, Emperor Jingming instantly transformed from “Emperor Father” to “old man” in Yu Jin’s mind.

Erniu was equally displeased.

After being away for so long, he missed his doghouse, the female owner, and the braised beef, sauced pork knuckle, steamed meat…

Thinking of a long list of things, the big dog became even more unhappy and followed Yu Jin into the palace listlessly.

The eunuch outside the Imperial Study, seeing everyone arrive, hurried to announce their presence.

Emperor Jingming, waiting impatiently in the Imperial Study, immediately called them in.

As people flooded into the Imperial Study, the first person Emperor Jingming saw was the youth who shone like a precious pearl.

It wasn’t because he walked in front; even if there were many people in front of him, they couldn’t obscure his radiance.

There are always some people in this world who, even standing silently in a crowd, stand out like a crane among chickens, catching one’s eye immediately.

Emperor Jingming’s gaze moved downward, and he saw a large dog with smooth fur.

Uh, Minister Xiao seems a bit chubby—

Just as this thought flashed through Emperor Jingming’s mind, a chorus of greetings rang out.

“No need for formalities.”

Emperor Jingming then looked at the Crown Prince and noticed he had gained weight since leaving the capital. His expression instantly darkened.

Did he gain weight while on a disaster relief mission? It was obvious this good-for-nothing hadn’t exerted much effort!

Regarding the Crown Prince’s performance outside the capital, Emperor Jingming had already gotten a sense from the reports of Right Deputy Minister Zhao, the Imperial Censor, and Xiao Le.

Of course, none of them dared to speak ill of the Crown Prince and even praised him a bit.

But it was precisely these cursory praises that made everything clear to Emperor Jingming.

The Crown Prince had gone to comfort the disaster victims on his behalf. If he had performed well, wouldn’t the reports have praised him to the skies?

This useless thing!

Emperor Jingming’s sudden cold expression left Right Deputy Minister Zhao bewildered.

By all accounts, even if there was no merit, there was at least hardship in this journey. What did His Majesty mean by this?

He understood then—surely it was because they had exceeded the disaster relief budget!

Thinking this, Zhao cursed the Crown Prince again in his heart.

Emperor Jingming looked at Right Deputy Minister Zhao, his expression softening, “Minister Zhao, you’ve worked hard on this mission.”

Zhao immediately replied, “Sharing Your Majesty’s burdens is my duty.”

“I hear that Minister Zhao personally attended to every matter. This greatly comforts Me. If all court officials were like Minister Zhao, I could rest easy.”

While Zhao outwardly spoke modest words, his heart bloomed with joy, hoping that tomorrow at the morning court, the Emperor would praise him like this in front of all the civil and military officials.

After praising Zhao, Emperor Jingming looked at Yu Jin, “Seventh Son, you’ve done very well this time. Saving over a thousand civilians is a great merit. You haven’t disappointed My expectations…”

The Crown Prince listened with a sour heart.

It was Erniu’s merit, how had it all become Seventh Brother’s alone?

There was still a shred of reason left that prevented the Crown Prince from exposing Right Deputy Minister Zhao’s deception of the Emperor in front of everyone.

Hmph, he would tell Father Emperor privately later!

Yu Jin calmly said, “Father Emperor overpraises me. I merely followed my heart and didn’t think about merit or virtue.”

“Followed your heart?” Emperor Jingming was stunned for a moment, then smiled, “Following your heart is good, following your heart is indeed good.”

Pan Hai gave Yu Jin a deep look, thinking: It seems Prince Yan’s importance in His Majesty’s heart has grown even more. Who knows what fortunes await Prince Yan in the future…

Pan Hai didn’t dare to think too deeply but silently resolved to show more goodwill towards Prince Yan in the future. At the very least, it couldn’t hurt.

Although Emperor Jingming was extremely satisfied with Yu Jin’s performance on this mission, he was still his son after all, so he couldn’t praise him too much. He turned his gaze to Erniu.

“This must be General Xiaotian, whom I bestowed honors upon years ago?”

Hearing this, Erniu immediately stood up straight.

Pan Hai hurriedly stepped in front of Emperor Jingming.

“Pan Hai, step aside,” Emperor Jingming said calmly.

A divine dog that could predict danger and find survivors in an earthquake couldn’t possibly bite people randomly like a mad dog.

If such a divine dog were to bite someone, there must be a reason.

Yu Jin hadn’t expected Emperor Jingming to be so open-minded. Worried he might misunderstand, he quickly explained, “Father Emperor, Erniu is showing you the token around his neck.”

Emperor Jingming looked closely and indeed saw a bronze token around the big dog’s neck, with faint writing on it.

Seeing that Emperor Jingming had looked, Erniu put his front paws back on the ground.

Emperor Jingming’s face immediately lit up with joy, “The General Xiaotian I appointed is indeed a divine dog. However, the collar seems a bit small. We must get Minister Xiao a new one later.”

Hmm, Minister Xiao is indeed a bit chubby. The bronze token hanging around his neck is barely visible…