The story begins with a power struggle among nine princes, but the protagonist doesn't vie for

This was a serious matter. Even the furious Luo Zhaotang was taken aback by Instructor Li's "threatening suicide" stance, and her momentum weakened slightly, but she still stubbornly insisted: "I... I was telling the truth! Why am I the only one being punished..."

He... seems to have gotten into trouble, and quite a bit of trouble at that.

A defamatory lecturer, a roaring classroom... If this gets back to Father Emperor's ears...

Luo Zhaotang's face paled, and she opened her mouth but couldn't say anything as she watched Li Chongwen walk out of the study tremblingly.

The seventh and eighth brothers walked up to Li Chongwen, intending to offer some advice, but Li Chongwen's mind was made up, and in the end they could only watch helplessly as they left.

Instantly, chaos erupted in the Imperial Study. The lecturer had been driven away in anger; how could they possibly teach? The princes exchanged bewildered glances, unsure whether to stay or leave.

One of the instigators of all this, the eleventh prince Luo Zhaoheng, who was named for "slacking off" and "bribing his master," is completely unaware that he has been "caught in the crossfire."

Inside Tingzhu Pavilion, he had just finished a set of soothing "Pine and Crane Longevity Fist" and felt refreshed. Qiuyue brought him a warm towel, while Xiaoshunzi quietly reported the scattered news he had just gathered from the front regarding the turmoil in the Imperial Study.

"...Lecturer Li was so angry that he stormed out of the door, shouting that he wanted to complain to the Emperor. The Seventh Prince and the Eighth Prince tried to calm him down for a while, but they couldn't." Xiao Shunzi described it vividly.

Luo Zhaoheng paused slightly as he wiped his sweat, then resumed his normal actions, though his lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

His tenth brother... he really has a temper that's like a firecracker that's about to explode.

"Understood." Luo Zhaoheng handed the handkerchief to Qiu Yue, saying with a hint of schadenfreude, "This reckless fool has caused such a huge mess. He'll probably be in for a world of hurt, if not die!"

"Your Highness, if that Lecturer Li really makes a scene before His Majesty, won't it... implicate you?" Qiu Yue asked with some concern. After all, when the Tenth Prince roared, he specifically mentioned her Highness by name.

Upon hearing this, Luo Zhaoheng twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing an undisguised mocking smile.

"Is this my fault?" Luo Zhaoheng's voice was not loud, but clear and cold. "That idiot, the tenth prince, is out of his mind. He made a mess of things in the Imperial Study and can't get out of it. He still wants to drag me down with him? Aren't you ashamed?"

He thought I was being lazy and shirking my duties by not going to the study, or that my masters were being biased? He didn't even use his brain, which had become stiff from practicing martial arts, to think that if the old man hadn't given his approval, would I have dared to ask for leave so blatantly?

What kind of place is the Imperial Study? It's the most important place for educating princes! Rules are paramount! Don't even mention me, a prince without favor or power; even the Crown Prince and the First Prince before me—would they dare skip class without a proper reason?

Xiao Shunzi and Qiu Yue, who were standing nearby, nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

Luo Zhaoheng continued, "Old Ten is quite something. He didn't even clean up his own mess, and after being scolded by his master, he jumped up and started cursing, dragging me into it too."

He said Master Li took my money? Ha, does he think everyone is like him, with a brain full of nothing but muscle and mush?

Li Chongwen, a scholar of integrity, valued his reputation more than his life! To be smeared with the dirty water of "bribing his superiors" was worse than death for him!

The tenth prince isn't content with just courting death; he's going to offend Li Chongwen and all the tutors in the Imperial Study to the point of oblivion! Just wait and see, this time the old master won't let him off the hook.

That fool, the tenth prince, has narrowed his own path. After this incident, his father's impression of him as "honest, straightforward, and martial" is probably completely ruined.

All that's left are "incorrigible," "disrespectful to teachers," and "slanderous to brothers." Luo Zhaoheng's voice lowered, carrying a barely perceptible sigh. "In this palace, sometimes, stupidity is more deadly than wickedness."

Qiuyue listened silently, her worries not completely dissipated, but seeing her master's calm analysis, even with an almost cold clarity, she calmed down a little.

"Then... Your Highness, are we really going to do nothing? What if His Majesty believes something..."

"What are you going to do?" Luo Zhaoheng raised an eyebrow. "Go to Father and cry your grievances? Or go to Heming Pavilion and have a fight with the Tenth Prince?" He shook his head.

"That would be a truly inferior approach, perfectly illustrating the concepts of 'brothers fighting amongst themselves' and 'restlessness within the family.' Let's just continue as usual. Let's do what we normally do. No matter how fierce the wind and snow are outside, as long as we stay calm, things won't fall apart in Tingzhu Pavilion."

Luo Zhaoheng can act as if nothing happened, but the one who caused this trouble, the Tenth Prince Luo Zhaotang, is in a terrible situation.

At this moment, Luo Zhaotang, dressed in the prince's everyday clothes, was kneeling outside the Qianqing Palace, his body trembling slightly uncontrollably, whether from the cold or fear, it was hard to tell.

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, his lips were pressed together and turned deathly pale. The impetuousness and anger he had shown earlier when he slammed his fist on the table in the study had long been replaced by boundless fear and lingering dread.

He had been kneeling outside the hall for almost an hour.

After Cao Jin went in to announce the arrival, he did not come out again. Inside the hall, one could faintly hear the Emperor's low voice, suppressing his anger, and the dull thud of a teacup being slammed heavily on the table.

Each sound felt like a blow to his heart.

Finally, the heavy palace door creaked open. Cao Jin stepped out, his face ashen. He glanced at him, his eyes devoid of any of his usual respect, only cold, businesslike indifference: "Tenth Prince, His Majesty summons you in."

Luo Zhaotang shuddered and tried to stand up, but found that her knees were already numb from kneeling. She staggered and was "invited" into the Qianqing Palace by two expressionless eunuchs who held her arms on either side, almost dragging and supporting her.

The hall was warm and filled with the strong scent of ambergris, but it only made Luo Zhaotang feel more suffocated. He dared not look up, only seeing the bright yellow hem of a robe behind the imperial desk and a pair of black boots embroidered with golden dragons.

"Your subject... Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty." Luo Zhaotang's voice was dry and hoarse as he bowed down, his forehead touching the ground.

no respond.

There was a deathly silence, broken only by the occasional crackling of the charcoal fire and Luo Zhaotang's own heart pounding like a drum.

After a long while, a very soft, yet chilling hum came from above.

"Luo Zhaotang." Emperor Xuanxi's voice was not loud, even calm, but every word was like a knife chilled to the bone, scraping against Xuan Zhaotang's eardrums. "My good son, you have truly made something of yourself."

Luo Zhaotang trembled, lowering his head even further: "Your subject... Your subject knows his mistake..."

"You know you're wrong?" Emperor Xuanxi's voice suddenly rose, filled with thunderous rage. "You know what you're wrong about?! Roaring in class, showing no respect for elders, that's disrespectful! Slandering the lecturer, defaming your brothers, that's inhumane!"

Neglecting your studies and lacking any ambition is utterly disgraceful! I ordered you to copy books to calm your mind, but instead, you went and overturned the table in the Imperial Study! Do you have no respect for rules?! Do you even respect your father, the Emperor?!

You're still comparing yourself to the eleventh prince? Are you as smart as the eleventh prince? Are you as inactive as the eleventh prince? Are you as worry-free as the eleventh prince?

A barrage of questions lashed out at Luo Zhaotang like whips. Terrified, he kowtowed repeatedly.

"Father, please calm your anger! Father, please calm your anger! I dare not do it again! I dare not do it again! I was foolish! I spoke without thinking! I beg Father for mercy!"

"Have mercy?" Emperor Xuanxi stood up, walked around the imperial desk, and stepped in front of Xuan Zhaotang.

Luo Zhaotang could feel the immense pressure emanating from the bright yellow robe, as well as the cold, scrutinizing gaze of her father above her.