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

Prince Yu!

It's not "Prince Yu Hua," but "Prince Yu"! A single character makes all the difference!

The character “羽” can be interpreted as “feather” or “wings”, and can also be extended to mean “assist” or “fly”. It even subtly corresponds to the “feather” in “feathering”. However, compared to titles such as “端”, “诚”, and “雍”, which have clear meanings or reflect the emperor’s expectations, the single character “羽” appears extremely strange, thin, and even somewhat frivolous and incomprehensible!

It was more like a perfunctory response, even... ironic! An irony of his previous absurd request to "ascend to immortality"! You wanted "feathers"? I'll give you "feathers"! But don't even think about "ascension"! Immortality? That's utterly nonsensical!

Luo Zhaoheng thought for a moment, and the Prince Yu, although not quite as good as the Prince Yuhua he wanted, seemed acceptable.

"Your subject...accepts the decree and thanks Your Majesty for your great favor," Luo Zhaoheng replied.

"Don't rush to express your gratitude." Emperor Xuanxi's voice was not loud, but it was like an ice pick, interrupting Luo Zhaoheng's seemingly preparing to get up. "I haven't finished speaking yet."

Luo Zhaoheng, who had been half-bowed, froze and lowered his head again: "Yes, Your Majesty, I will heed Your Majesty's decree."

"The eleventh prince, Luo Zhaoheng, openly fought with his elder brother in front of the Qianqing Palace, disrupting the palace and causing extremely bad influence! If this is not severely punished, how can we warn future generations? How can we maintain palace discipline?!"

His gaze sharpened as he looked at Cao Jin: "Cao Jin, remember this!"

"This servant is here!" Cao Jin's heart tightened, and she quickly bowed.

"Prince Yu, Luo Zhaoheng, is hereby deducted three years' salary! I see you have boundless energy with nowhere to vent it, so you shall copy the Classic of Filial Piety one hundred times! Think carefully about what filial piety is, what brotherly love is, and what the duties of a son and a brother are!"

Luo Zhaoheng remained motionless, only touching his head to the ground: "Your subject accepts the punishment. I will certainly reflect deeply on my actions and remember Father's teachings."

Emperor Xuanxi remained noncommittal to his seemingly submissive response and continued, "As for your royal residence..."

He paused deliberately, as if he were thinking, but a cold determination flashed in his eyes.

"Cao Jin, I just remembered that the Imperial Household Department seems to have built a new prince's residence in the outer city, right?" Emperor Xuanxi looked at Cao Jin and asked in a "calm" tone, but he emphasized the words "outer city" slightly.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Household Department did indeed build a prince's mansion in the outer city two years ago. Because of its large size, it was built according to the scale of a prince's mansion." Cao Jin remembered this matter quite clearly.

After all, the Imperial Household Department built a prince's mansion in the outer city, but since its completion, no one has been willing to go there. Everyone wants to stay in the inner city, even if it means waiting, so the mansion has remained empty.

"Well, since that palace is empty, it would be appropriate to bestow it upon Prince Yu. As for the palace being larger, that would be fine, so that the eleventh prince can benefit a little."

Emperor Xuanxi looked at Luo Zhaoheng again and said, "From now on, if there's nothing else, Eleventh Prince, you can stay in your palace and focus on cultivating immortality."

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze icy as he stared at Luo Zhaoheng:

"It's alright... Don't go to the palace. I've granted you special permission to be exempt from paying your respects to me and the Empress Dowager during holidays."

"Your subject obeys the decree and thanks you!" Luo Zhaoheng replied.

"Alright, it's nothing, you may leave now," Emperor Xuanxi waved his hand and said.

"Something's wrong, something's wrong, Father. You've deducted my salary for three years, you should give me some reward money, otherwise what will I eat?" Luo Zhaoheng quickly said.

Emperor Xuanxi originally intended to deal with the remaining princes, but upon hearing Luo Zhaoheng's words, he immediately turned around and said irritably, "No, I don't have a single prince. Get out of here!"

Luo Zhaoheng, who had been lying on the ground without moving, suddenly said "Oh".

Then, something even more astonishing happened, leaving Emperor Xuanxi and the other princes speechless.

Luo Zhaoheng remained kneeling, not rising as everyone expected. Instead, he began to adjust his body in an extremely slow, serious, and even "standard" manner.

He carefully and slowly stretched his arms, which were originally bent and resting under his body, forward inch by inch, and laid his palms flat on the cold gold bricks.

Then, his head began to lower itself towards the ground little by little at an almost "devout" slow pace, until finally, his forehead gently touched the ground.

This posture doesn't look like bowing; it looks more like... preparing to roll forward headfirst onto the ground?!

What is he doing?!

Everyone who witnessed this scene, including Emperor Xuanxi, was stunned and didn't react for a moment.

After a brief, suffocating silence, Emperor Xuanxi's voice trembled as he questioned him with disbelief and barely suppressed rage:

"Luo Zhaoheng! What are you doing?!"

The emperor's question finally made Luo Zhaoheng stop his "strange" preparations.

He kept his forehead on the ground, not looking up, maintaining this strange posture, and answered in a muffled voice with a matter-of-fact tone, even tinged with innocence and confusion:

"Father...didn't you just issue an order for me to...'get out'?"

He paused, as if confirming every word of the imperial edict, then continued to explain in that flat tone:

"Your subject... is preparing to leave."

Get out?!

"roll"?!

The princes: "..."

Cao Jin and the eunuchs and guards: "..."

Emperor Xuanxi: "…………"

Time seemed to freeze completely at that moment.

Everyone was stunned by Luo Zhaoheng's "simple and unpretentious" yet "shocking" understanding and actions, leaving them completely speechless and blank in their minds.

Emperor Xuanxi was first stunned, then an indescribable sense of absurdity surged into his heart. He felt his blood rush to his head and his vision go black. He pointed at his son on the ground, who was bent over with his buttocks sticking out and his head on the ground, in a "rolling" position. His fingers trembled violently, his chest heaved violently, and he almost couldn't catch his breath!

"You...you give me..." Emperor Xuanxi took several deep breaths to barely suppress the mouthful of blood that was about to spit out, squeezing out the words through clenched teeth, his voice filled with a near-collapse of agitation and urgency.

"Stand up! Get out of here! Walk! Get out of here right now! Immediately! Disappear!"

"Oh." Luo Zhaoheng said "Oh" again.

"Hurry up, stop dawdling. If you don't have money, ask the maid next to your mother!" Emperor Xuanxi said impatiently.

Luo Zhaoheng had originally planned to endure three years of hardship, but after hearing what Emperor Xuanxi said, could it be that his mother left him an inheritance before she passed away?

Thinking of this, Luo Zhaoheng quickly quickened his pace.

Emperor Xuanxi watched his eleventh son walk away and sighed inwardly, "Is this still the same good son who gave me so much peace of mind? Has he gone crazy from cultivating immortality?"

After Luo Zhaoheng left, Emperor Xuanxi turned his gaze to the remaining princes, glancing around before finally fixing his eyes on the tenth prince, who trembled in fright.

"Tenth Prince, Tenth Prince, of all my sons, you are the one who causes me the most trouble. I have punished you many times before, and made you copy the 'Filial Piety' and 'Regulations for the Imperial Clan,' but you never learn your lesson!"

"Now they dare to fight with their brothers right under my nose, at the gate of Qianqing Palace! Tell me, who gave you this dog egg? Hmm?" Emperor Xuanxi said with exasperation.

"Father! Father, this is not my fault!" The tenth prince, seemingly eager to clear his name, raised his hand and pointed towards the Crown Prince and the eldest prince, his words quickening:

"It was all the eldest prince and His Highness the Crown Prince's doing! They were the ones who struck first!"

Upon hearing this, both the Crown Prince and the First Prince straightened up and glared angrily at the Tenth Prince.