The book fell to the ground, and everyone’s eyes were drawn to the large characters on its cover: “The Tale of the Brocade Screen.”

“The Tale of the Brocade Screen” is currently the most popular story in the capital, produced by the century-old Liuchuhua Publishing House. It told the tale of a noble young lady whose family suddenly fell on hard times. She took on the responsibility of supporting her family with her exquisite embroidery skills. Later, she created a masterfully embroidered screen that restored her family’s glory and led to her marriage to a noble young man.

This story quickly captivated a large audience of avid readers with its twisting plot, novel ideas, and intense emotions. It was said that Liuchuhua Publishing House had already sold out of copies.

Emperor Jingming was stunned, as was everyone else. Only Pan Hai reacted swiftly, lunging forward like a hungry tiger to cover the fallen book with his body.

At that moment, the room fell silent. One could hear a pin drop. Even Erniu, who had retrieved the book from the pile of memorials, and Jixiang, with his “Do Not Disturb” attitude, were rendered speechless by Pan Hai’s actions.

Everyone’s gaze, including that of the dog and the cat, fell on Pan Hai.

Pan Hai, worthy of his position as the Head Eunuch and Superintendent of the Eastern Depot, was Emperor Jingming’s top confidant. To the junior eunuchs like Xiao Le, he was an imposing supervisor. To the female officials, he was the occasionally kind-hearted Chief Eunuch. Thoughtful, clever, strict, and generous – his virtues outnumbered even those in the newly released “Tale of the Brocade Screen.”

At this moment, his virtues were on full display.

Pan Hai smoothly got up, having somehow already tucked the book into his sleeve. He said anxiously, “Your Majesty, don’t worry. The memorial from the Duke of Beiding is undamaged. This servant will properly store it away first, lest General Xiaotian unknowingly damages it—”

At this point, Pan Hai glanced at Yu Jin and reminded him, “May I request Prince Yan to restrain General Xiaotian? Although he is a divine hound, he’s different from us and doesn’t understand the importance of these memorials…”

He suspected this dog had become sentient. How did it manage to find the storybook among mountains of official documents?

Even he couldn’t find the Emperor’s hidden books that quickly…

Yu Jin, who also hadn’t expected Erniu to perform such a “heroic” feat, naturally decided to quit while he was ahead. He scolded, “Erniu, come here now. Stop misbehaving, or I’ll throw you out!”

Emperor Jingming’s emotions were in turmoil, but he maintained a calm exterior as he glanced at Pan Hai. “Just put it away properly.”

If he had doubted Erniu’s ability to discover the bones hidden in the abandoned well at the Eighth Prince’s residence before, now he believed it.

If this divine hound could find even his well-hidden storybook, what couldn’t it do?

Thinking this, Emperor Jingming slowly surveyed everyone present.

Each prince lowered his head as their father’s gaze passed over them, while Zhen Shicheng desperately suppressed the urge to speak up.

His habit of wanting to expose lies whenever he heard them was truly problematic…

Emperor Jingming had nearly lost face in front of his sons. Thinking of Prince Xiang, who had committed the offense, his mood worsened further.

None of these unfilial sons gave him peace of mind. He had thought that the Eighth Prince, being the youngest, wouldn’t cause him any trouble. How wrong he was! While the Eighth Prince might not have ambitions for power, the wretched boy had committed murder, killing his maternal cousin no less.

Although Cui Mingyue had long since lost the Emperor’s favor, disliking his niece was one thing, but his son killing his niece was quite another matter. What’s more, Princess Rongyang was no longer in this world.

If Mother found out— Emperor Jingming’s head began to ache at the mere thought of this possibility.

As if summoned by his fears, a messenger from Cining Palace arrived to request his presence.

Emperor Jingming’s heart sank. Leaving a room full of people behind, he hurried towards Cining Palace.

Seeing Emperor Jingming depart, Prince Lu quietly asked, “Are we supposed to wait here?”

Prince Qi didn’t want to speak to Prince Lu, and neither did Prince Shu.

Prince Qin, accustomed to keeping a low profile, naturally remained silent when no one else spoke.

Prince Lu, completely oblivious to being ostracized by his brothers, smiled at Yu Jin. “Seventh Brother, your Erniu is truly miraculous. Just now, he managed to find from among the memorials—”

“Cough! Cough! Cough!” Several coughs erupted simultaneously.

Prince Lu looked towards Prince Qi, who was coughing the most violently, with displeasure.

Playing mute earlier, and now coughing like this? Did he think saliva wouldn’t fly everywhere?

Prince Qi, fearing Prince Lu would implicate them all, quietly reminded him, “Fifth Brother, this is the Imperial Study. We’d better say less.”

Prince Shu added, “That’s right. Father’s mood is not good right now, and Eighth Brother is still waiting outside the palace.”

They weren’t blind; who hadn’t seen the three large characters in “Tale of the Brocade Screen”? But if they pointed it out, where would Father’s face be? If he became angry and forgot about the Eighth Prince, they might all suffer.

Seeing Prince Lu’s nonchalant expression, Prince Shu suddenly had a realization: Could it be that Fifth Brother wanted everyone to fall from grace together, so they’d all be demoted to Commandery Princes to keep him company?

Shameless, utterly shameless!

Wait— Perhaps Fifth Brother had taken Erniu to Eighth Brother’s residence to cause trouble. Otherwise, why would he bother to walk Seventh Brother’s dog when Erniu wasn’t even his?

With this thought, Prince Shu became extremely wary of Prince Lu.

He had to guard against the Seventh Brother, Fifth Brother, and even the hypocritical Fourth Brother couldn’t be underestimated. Thinking about it, being a prince was quite tiring. Being the Crown Prince must be even more so. No wonder the former Crown Prince sat in that position for thirty years and still ended up falling, shattering to pieces…

With these thoughts, Prince Shu became even more determined in his resolve: Stay low-key and endure. If an opportunity arises, he could make a move. But if no opportunity presented itself, he’d better just focus on being a good person…

In the Imperial Study, while everyone was lost in their thoughts, they suddenly heard cat and dog cries. They realized that Erniu and Jixiang had begun fighting at some point.

The plump but agile white cat lunged forward, only to be swatted away by the large dog’s meaty paw.

Undeterred, the white cat charged again, only to be batted away once more.

This continued until Erniu, finally annoyed, pinned Jixiang down with his front paws, denying the cat any further chance to provoke him.

Xiao Le, who had remained at the entrance of the Imperial Study, almost cried out. He shakily called, “General Xiaotian, please spare the cat! You mustn’t hurt him, you mustn’t—”

Hearing Xiao Le’s tearful cries, the white cat seemed to take offense. It lashed out at Erniu.

But Erniu, a veteran of battlefields, couldn’t be harmed by a pampered fat cat. With a flick of his paw, a white arc flashed before everyone’s eyes as the large cat flew into the pile of memorials.

“Woof!” Erniu barked at Yu Jin, full of disdain.

Why shouldn’t he hurt the cat? He had an owner too!

The white cat, now buried in the pile of memorials, let out a meow, for the first time missing its absent master.

Meanwhile, Emperor Jingming had arrived at Cining Palace and was asking the Empress Dowager gently, “Mother, did you call for me because something has happened?”

The Empress Dowager lightly fingered her prayer beads, her face betraying no emotion. “I heard that Prince Xiang is waiting outside. Could it be that you’re still angry with him over what happened at the birthday banquet?”

Emperor Jingming was taken aback.

How did Mother know that the Eighth Prince was waiting outside?