Prince Xiang, covering the spot where Cui Yi had struck him, raged furiously: “Cui Yi, you dare to strike a prince!”

Cui Yi, his eyes red, continued punching: “Does being a prince mean you can kill at will? I’m going to the palace right now to see my uncle and ask him to bring justice for Mingyue!”

With these words, Cui Yi turned to leave.

Hearing this, Prince Xiang was stunned with fear. He chased after him, shouting: “Cui Yi, stop right there!”

Falling a step behind, Prince Xiang watched the distance between them grow. He couldn’t help but shout: “Someone stop him!”

Cui Yi happened to be heading in Yu Jin’s direction.

Hearing Prince Xiang’s words, Yu Jin moved slightly to the side, and in the blink of an eye, Cui Yi had vanished from sight.

Prince Xiang was momentarily stunned. Unable to catch up with Cui Yi, he turned to Yu Jin with reddened eyes: “Seventh Brother, you deliberately let him go to report to Father Emperor, didn’t you?”

The person opposite him wore a faint smile: “Eighth Brother, you’d better come to your senses and stop acting crazy. Do you think you can still hide this from Father Emperor at this point?”

At this moment, a voice interjected: “Of course, we cannot conceal this from His Majesty. This case was assigned to this official by His Majesty. Now that it’s finally solved, even if Young Master Cui doesn’t seek an audience, this official must report to His Majesty.”

Prince Xiang looked at the calm Zhen Shicheng, then at the equally composed Yu Jin. Fear began to spread through him: “You—”

In his desperation, he instinctively looked towards Prince Qi.

Prince Qi’s heart skipped a beat.

Eighth Brother was on the verge of collapse. If he lost his reason, would he implicate him as well?

Thinking of this, Prince Qi immediately abandoned his intention to stay out of it. He gently consoled: “Eighth Brother, you’d better sincerely admit your mistake to Father Emperor. Father Emperor is magnanimous; he probably won’t punish you too severely…”

He had to give Eighth Brother some hope.

“Really?” Hearing Prince Qi’s words, the emotionally fragile Prince Xiang seemed to grasp at a lifeline, asking repeatedly.

Prince Qi nodded affirmatively.

After all, placating someone wouldn’t kill him. As long as Eighth Brother didn’t go crazy now, it would be fine.

Prince Lu, however, pursed his lips, thinking to himself that Eighth Brother didn’t usually seem this foolish. How could he believe Fourth Brother’s words?

He had only lightly struck the deposed Crown Prince a few times, and his title had been reduced from Prince to Duke. Eighth Brother had killed Father Emperor’s niece—there was no way Father Emperor would let him off lightly.

He had heard a magpie call when he left home today and guessed something good would happen. He didn’t expect it to happen to Eighth Brother.

Once the Father Emperor’s punishment came down, he would finally no longer be at the bottom.

At this moment, Prince Lu let out a light sigh, feeling a sense of vindication.

“Someone clean up the scene,” Zhen Shicheng ordered, then cupped his hands towards Yu Jin and the others. “The case is solved. This official will take his leave now.”

He needed to report to the Emperor quickly. As for the culprit—being a prince, how to deal with him would be up to the Emperor. There was no need for him to arrest anyone now.

Watching helplessly as Zhen Shicheng left, Prince Xiang ran out like a madman.

He couldn’t just wait for his doom. He had to go explain to Father Emperor!

Soon Prince Xiang had run far away, leaving the other princes looking at each other in bewilderment.

Prince Lu licked his lips and spoke first: “Shall we… follow and see what happens?”

Prince Qin smiled bitterly: “We were all present today. After Lord Zhen reports to Father Emperor, he’ll probably summon us for questioning…”

The implication was clear—they’d have to go whether they wanted to or not.

Yu Jin remained expressionless and silent.

Prince Shu and Prince Qi were also silent.

Prince Shu’s gaze swept over the large dog beside Yu Jin, then imperceptibly fell on Prince Qi. He felt both relieved and fearful.

Cui Mingyue’s remains were found by Erniu!

For Erniu to find remains that had decomposed to just bones, he refused to believe Seventh Brother hadn’t played a part in it.

Fortunately, he had heeded his Imperial Mother’s advice to take a step back and let Fourth Brother and Seventh Brother fight it out. Now it seemed Seventh Brother was ruthless enough to cut off Fourth Brother’s arm in one move.

At this moment, Prince Shu firmly resolved: From now on, he must be even more patient. Unless he was certain, he must never confront Seventh Brother directly. Compared to Fourth Brother, who always tried to cover all bases, Seventh Brother, who didn’t play by the rules, was far more terrifying.

Meanwhile, Prince Qi’s heart surged with shock and fear.

Today’s events were certainly related to Seventh Brother, but how did he know that Cui Mingyue had been killed by Eighth Brother and hidden in the abandoned well?

If Seventh Brother had known about Cui Mingyue’s disappearance from the beginning and chose to reveal it now to deal with him, such scheming was truly frightening.

Looking at that expressionless young face that somewhat resembled his own, Prince Qi felt a deep sense of terror.

In the Imperial Study.

Emperor Jingming put down his book and rubbed the corner of his eye.

Seeing the Emperor’s action, Pan Hai became nervous.

Surely the Emperor wouldn’t ask that old question again: Does the left eye twitching mean disaster or the right eye?

Fortunately, this time Emperor Jingming didn’t trouble his old confidant. Instead, he asked, “Have they all gone to Prince Xiang’s residence?”

Pan Hai quickly replied, “Yes, all the princes have gone.”

Emperor Jingming nodded with satisfaction.

The boys were not bad, not avoiding their Eighth Brother in his time of trouble. It showed some brotherly affection.

In Emperor Jingming’s view, although Prince Xiang had greatly embarrassed himself at the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet and angered him by coveting the Empress’s son’s status, it was common for young people to lose control when drinking to drown their sorrows.

After all, he was his son. No matter how disappointing, could he be thrown away?

After punishment, giving him the cold shoulder would suffice. If this rascal showed improvement in the future, it was possible to show him favor again.

Emperor Jingming could understand why the civil and military officials were keeping their distance from Prince Xiang at this time, but if it were any of his other sons, he would inevitably feel they were being cold-hearted.

The performance of the princes today undoubtedly met with the old Emperor’s approval.

Just then, a eunuch came to report: “Your Majesty, the Prefect of Shuntian and Young Master Cui seek an audience.”

Hearing “Prefect of Shuntian,” Emperor Jingming’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

Old Zhen?

There hadn’t been any major cases recently, so what was Old Zhen coming to see him for?

As for Young Master Cui, distracted by Zhen Shicheng’s name, Emperor Jingming momentarily couldn’t recall which one it was.

After a brief thought, Emperor Jingming said, “Show them in.”

He might not see others who sought an audience, but when it came to Old Zhen, the case-solving fanatic, he had to see him.

Soon, Emperor Jingming saw the bearded Zhen Shicheng and the red-eyed Cui Yi.

“Yi’er, it’s you?” Emperor Jingming was surprised to see Cui Yi.

Cui Yi suddenly knelt and cried out hoarsely: “Your Majesty, I beg you to bring justice for Mingyue!”

The once willful and arrogant young noble prostrated himself on the ground, feeling the coldness of the world. He couldn’t even bring himself to call out “Uncle.”

He was the Emperor’s nephew, a grandson the Empress Dowager could remember by name and had once entered the palace freely. But just now, when he came to seek an audience, he was stopped at the gate and only allowed in when he followed Lord Zhen, who arrived shortly after.

Emperor Jingming grew even more surprised. He leaned forward slightly and said, “Yi’er, stand up and explain clearly. What do you mean by bringing justice for Mingyue?”

Cui Yi raised his head, tears in his tiger-like eyes: “Your Majesty, Mingyue didn’t disappear. She was murdered by Prince Xiang!”