After the matter with Prince Mediocre was settled, Lu Chen was called by Emperor Huilin to the main hall of the palace.

  Emperor Huilin looked at Lu Chen and said, “Chen’er, are you behind this matter too?”


  Lu Chen didn’t hide it. “Yes, but if Fifth Brother didn’t take the bait, my schemes wouldn’t have worked. And Father, you should know who set me up in the South back then…”


  Emperor Huilin said, “Are you still blaming me for not punishing him for that matter? But think about it, the Empress Dowager was seriously ill at that time, and all the evidence was pointing to your eldest brother. What could I do?

  “How could I punish him without evidence? He is also my son. If there was no sufficient evidence, how could I punish him?” Lu Chen cupped his hands and said, “I don’t dare to blame you, Father.” He said he didn’t dare, which meant that he was still blaming him, but he just didn’t dare to show it.

  Emperor Huilin let out a deep sigh. “You will understand me in the future. The courtiers are not stupid. They can definitely guess who is behind the matter today!” Lu Chen said, “I didn’t want to hide it from the courtiers. Prince Mediocre just got what he deserved.”


  “Besides, I was away from Chang’an only for three years but the courtiers have forgotten what kind of person I am and think that I am a pushover. “As for the matter with those literati picking on Jinniang, although I can’t destroy the rules that had passed for thousands of years, I’ll get even with them. They should know that I’m not someone they can bully.”


  “Prince Mediocre had an excellent reputation among the literati, and he must be in correspondence with those people. Those well-known scholars who lashed out on Jinniang must have a connection with Prince Mediocre.

  “Although I won’t punish them, they will inevitably be scared for a period of time. If they really commit any crime, they will be severely punished.” Emperor Huilin said to Lu Chen, “Have you completely forgotten all my teachings? As a king, don’t you even have the slightest tolerance?

  “The Founding Emperor once said that the people are like the water, and the emperor is like a boat. While water can carry a boat, it can also overturn it!

  “You can’t blame that the literati wanted justice for the Qiao clansmen. After all, the rules cannot be violated.”


  Lu Chen only said, “Father, I’ll remember your teachings, but I won’t allow others to humiliate me and bully my wife.”


  Emperor Huilin looked at his stubborn son and shook his head helplessly. “Forget it, what do you think about your eldest brother?”


  Lu Chen said, “My eldest brother is also your son. I don’t dare to say ill about him. I’ll take my leave.”


  Lu Chen saluted, left the palace and returned to the Longquan Palace. It was already after 1 am, but many people in the Hot Spring Villa couldn’t sleep.

  Qiao Jinniang hadn’t slept yet. Seeing Lu Chen come in, she said, “Did His Majesty scold you?”


  After all, Prince Mediocre was also His Majesty’s child. Lu Chen’s plan was not perfect. Perhaps Emperor Huilin could find out Lu Chen was behind this matter.

  Lu Chen said, “No, you can rest easy. From tomorrow, he won’t appear in front of your eyes anymore.”


  Qiao Jinniang sighed. “I didn’t expect Qiao Ruofeng and Qin Miaomiao to testify so boldly today.”


  Lu Chen said, “Qin Miaomiao’s name was in the letters Concubine Jian took out last time. It’s better to admit it frankly. It’s just letters.”


  Qiao Jinniang asked Lu Chen, “Is that thin man today your eldest brother? He doesn’t look like you and your brothers.”


  There was no need to say much about Lu Chen’s appearance, and the other members of the royal family were also quite handsome, except for Lu Chen’s eldest brother, who was plain and sickly. Lu Chen said, “Yes, he is. Prince Mediocre has been demoted to a commoner, so Earl Cheng’en Mansion may turn to support him, but he is not as disgusting and stupid as Prince Mediocre, so I just need to be careful of him in the future.”


  There were still a few days left for the hunt, but with the drama concerning Prince Mediocre, everyone was dispirited, and Emperor Huilin went back to the imperial palace early.

  However, some aristocratic girls and young men holding no official positions still stayed in the hot spring villa and continued to have fun.

  Lu Chen accompanied Qiao Jinniang to stay in the Longquan Palace and planned to return to Chang’an a few days later. After all, this might be their last outing out of Chang’an before the Spring Festival.

  Qiao Jinniang asked Lu Chen, “Is it okay if you don’t go back to the palace? Don’t you have memorials to process?”


  Lu Chen said, “My father will tend to them. You haven’t had fun since you came to Chang’an. Let’s have a good time this time.”


  Unfortunately, it snowed the next day.

  Although there was a hot spring, it was still very cold. Except for the edge of the hot spring, there was thick snow everywhere.

  Qiao Jinniang couldn’t get out of the Longquan Palace, so she began to research new cakes in the hall.

  Watching her make cakes, Lu Chen was unhappy. He stayed to have fun with her, but she was preoccupied with making cakes.

  However, the cakes tasted really good.

  In a hut outside the imperial mausoleum.

  Li Lingling looked at the Eldest Prince and sneered. “You thought that if you helped His Royal Highness, he would let you go back to Chang’an? But sadly, His Majesty has no intention of letting you go back!”


  The Eldest Prince suddenly pinched Li Lingling’s neck. “Shut up!”


  Li Lingling coughed and laughed. “You junk, even Prince Mediocre wants to be the next emperor. Your mother is a noble imperial concubine, and you’re the Emperor’s eldest son, but you are willing to be Lu Chen’s knife. How ridiculous!”


  There was a dark look in the eyes of the Eldest Prince.

  A maid came said at the door, “Eldest Prince, His Royal Highness said that County Mistress Jia’an made some cakes, so he sent some for you and your consort to taste.”


  When Li Lingling heard “your consort”, her eyes were full of ridicule. She had always wanted to be the crown princess. Even when Lu Chen was missing, she believed that he would definitely come back.

  But after returning, Lu Chen actually made Qiao Jinniang, a cook, his crown princess.

  She must return this shame to Lu Chen.

  The Eldest Prince opened the door and took the cakes handed by the maid. The cakes were small and very delicate. They smelled of chestnuts.

  This chestnut cake melted as soon as it was put into the mouth, sweet but not cloying. It was very delicious.

  Li Lingling pushed all the cakes to the ground. “Have some self-respect, okay? You are His Majesty’s eldest son, and you are more suitable for the throne than Prince Mediocre.”


  The Eldest Prince looked at the cakes on the ground. He then suddenly picked them up and stuffed them into Li Lingling’s mouth. “Shut up!”


  In Chang’an, there were different opinions on the matter of letting the Eldest Prince return to Chang’an. In the end, the Empress Dowager said that she had dreamed of Noble Imperial Concubine Li who told her that it was Prince Mediocre who framed the Crown Prince in the South.

  With that, the Eldest Prince was conferred the title of Prince Huai again and was allowed to return to Chang’an.

  This could be regarded as a major event in Chang’an. After all, Prince Huai was His Majesty’s eldest son. As soon as he returned to Chang’an, many people went to give gifts.

  In the Duke Anyuan Mansion, Duke Anyuan was having a headache. Although none of his family was in the Duke Mansion, there were still many servants in the Duke Mansion. When it was time to issue the monthly salary, he was baffled.

  Not to mention this kind of social activity.

  But how could Duke Anyuan Mansion not give a gift to Prince Huai. However, when he wanted to select a gift, he couldn’t even find the key to the warehouse!

  The butler had the key to the warehouse, but he didn’t know how to select the gift. After all, these trivial matters had always been handled by Zheng Xiao.

  Now that the Old Madam took her little grandson to the temple for meditation, Duke Anyuan didn’t even have anyone to ask, and he couldn’t help but have a headache.

  When handling official business, he was also blamed by His Majesty several times.

  Faced with this matter, Duke Anyuan had to break into Zheng Xiao’s courtyard while Qiao Jinniang was not around.

  When he entered Zheng Xiao’s courtyard, he saw a man chatting with Zheng Xiao. It was already so late but the man was still in Zheng Xiao’s courtyard, and he did not look young.

  Duke Anyuan walked over and clenched Zheng Xiao’s hand. “Who is he?”