Luo Qi had an accident on his way out that night. He was bumped by a young eunuch and lost consciousness for a while. When he finally woke up, he realized he had lost the pulse record.

After hearing this from Ji Yanming, Grand Master Luo was taken aback. Luo Qi hadn’t even told his father and only shared this with his grandfather.

Grand Master Luo straightened up: “What does Master Ji want to say?”

“The emperor is already suspicious about the stolen pulse record,” Ji Yanming explained. “Rather than waiting for the emperor to track it down, it’s better for Young Master Luo Qi to go to Xuanzheng Hall and explain what happened. What do you think, Grand Master Luo?”

Grand Master Luo’s expression darkened: “What exactly does Master Ji intend to do?”

“The emperor plans to travel north to escape the summer heat, and he must ensure his health before leaving. The Imperial Hospital will also look for these pulse records. Judge Lin in the court is cautious. If he learns the records are lost, he will inform the emperor. Once the emperor investigates, he will find it leads back to Young Master Luo. Since Young Master Luo is not closely linked to the Crown Prince and isn’t familiar with Prince Rui, all of this will seem like a coincidence… However, if the emperor discovers these ‘coincidences,’ it will be hard to convince him they are innocent.”

The emperor is known for his ruthless nature, preferring to punish even the innocent rather than let a guilty person escape. After many experiences, his suspicion has only grown.

Grand Master Luo had wanted to ask Luo Qi to explain to the emperor but had not found the right moment. He also feared that the emperor might blame the Luo family. After hearing Ji Yanming, he realized that delaying action was not an option.

Ji Yanming’s visit seemed to have a purpose beyond merely discussing Luo Qi’s situation.

Since he would have to explain it eventually, it made sense to do the top scholar and the King of Chu a favor now.

Grand Master Luo agreed to Ji Yanming’s plan.

_

Grand Master Luo is always efficient. The day after he briefed Ji Yanming, he went to Xuanzheng Hall early in the morning with Luo Qi to apologize.

The emperor had a favorable view of Grand Master Luo due to his years of service. Currently, half the court supported the Crown Prince, while the Luo family maintained some independence.

Grand Master Luo had many disciples and significant influence in the court. If he sided with any prince now, it could cause turmoil. However, he had remained neutral throughout his career, only being loyal to the emperor, showing the integrity expected of a high official.

In the emperor’s eyes, Grand Master Luo had demonstrated the responsibility of a powerful official, which was especially valuable in the current complicated court dynamics.

Therefore, the emperor did not make it difficult for Grand Master Luo during his apology. Still, since it involved the pulse case, he was not pleased.

However, this matter was very important, and the emperor could not rely solely on one person’s account. After Grand Master Luo and Luo Qi left, the emperor asked Li Sheng to check again and found that Ji Yanming was also on duty that night. So, he summoned Ji Yanming to discuss the situation.

When Ji Yanming arrived, he saw Eunuch Gao Zhen waiting for him, likely to greet him.

At this point, Ji Yanming no longer wanted to keep the secret and asked Gao Zhen directly, “I wonder why His Majesty urgently summoned me today.”

Gao Zhen seemed to chat casually, “The emperor heard that Lord Ji was on duty in the palace on the 17th of last month, so he asked you to come and answer a few questions about that night.”

On February 17th, Ji Yanming and Luo Qi were indeed on duty, assisting the emperor with drafting two imperial edicts and sending them out.

It turned out to be about this. Ji Yanming nodded slightly and said, “His Royal Highness Prince Chu has been upset these past two days. He had a quarrel with His Royal Highness Prince Rui and almost got into a fight in Prince Rui’s mansion. I wonder if the emperor has heard about it.”

“This is my fault,” Gao Zhen admitted. “I should have reported this to His Majesty, but I forgot when Old Master Luo and the Seventh Young Master came over just now. However, before I went out to greet Master Ji, I think I heard Steward Li mention this to His Majesty.”

After that, the two clever individuals exchanged knowing glances, understanding each other’s hints. They both knew they could address the issue today.

The emperor looked unusually gloomy today, and Ji Yanming noticed it. He spoke in a rather unfriendly tone, “Master Ji, do you know why I summoned you here today?”

Ji Yanming thought for a moment: “Could it be because of the dispute between His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu and His Royal Highness the Prince of Rui?”

The emperor was surprised that Ji Yanming brought this up and recalled what Li Sheng had just mentioned: the King of Chu went to confront the King of Rui after leaving Ji Yanming’s house that day.

The emperor also knew that the King of Chu was known for his careless words and was very unreliable. Since King Rui had just quarreled with King Chu, he likely didn’t speak well of him. If the emperor wanted to understand the situation, he should get the answer from a third party, like Ji Yanming, who was a key figure that day.

“Yes,” the emperor said. “I heard that the eldest brother came out of your house to look for the sixth brother. Do you know why?”

“It is His Royal Highness Prince Chu who is being proactive,” Ji Yanming explained. “He heard that Prince Rui intended to take his cousin Tao Sheng as a concubine, which he thought was inappropriate, so he went to argue with Prince Rui.”

Too many issues had piled up today, and now there was the matter of Prince Rui wanting to take a concubine. The emperor became increasingly suspicious, “Are you serious?”

But is there any evidence?

“It was just speculation at first, but the King of Chu confirmed it with Wenyuan Marquis that day. Princess Rui did indeed want the Shen family to help with matchmaking. This is absolutely true, and both His Royal Highness the King of Chu and Wenyuan Marquis can testify to it.”

The emperor slammed the memorial in his hand onto the table and said, “Come here, call Shen Yu.”

_

Clarifying these two matters was not difficult. The testimonies of Ji Yanming and the Luo family confirmed that the theft of the pulse case that day was related to Prince Rui and the Eastern Palace. Shen Yu’s and the Guan family’s statements also confirmed that Prince Rui wanted to make Tao Sheng his concubine.

However, the final results made the emperor feel unable to accept them.

The emperor suddenly recalled years ago when he noticed that Prince Rui was weak. Thinking of how his son had always been low-key and cautious, never asking for any favors from him, he had offered, since there was no concubine in Prince Rui’s house, to let him tell him which girl he liked, and he would decide for him.

He treated him with all his heart, but Prince Rui took it for granted.

Not only did he collude with the prince to spy on the case, but he also set his sights on the emperor’s personal zither player.

Even the King of Chu understood this simple truth, but Prince Rui did not.

The emperor had told his sons that their recent happiness came from Tao Sheng’s zither playing. Whether Prince Rui was blinded by lust or had other intentions, his actions were meant to deprive him of his happiness.

He had clearly said that listening to Tao Sheng’s music relaxed his body and mind and strengthened his health. However, while Prince Rui was spying on his own pulse, he also coveted his own music player. This clearly showed that he did not respect his father or the authority of the emperor and desired things that did not belong to him.

Soon, the latest news came out from Xuanzheng Hall.

The emperor scolded Prince Rui severely, accusing him of lacking respect for the emperor, his king, and his father, and not understanding what filial piety is.

As soon as this news spread, everyone realized how important the King of Chu was to the Emperor. After all, Prince Rui had been very low-key in the capital recently and had not done anything out of the ordinary. The only notable news was his quarrel with the King of Chu.

However, the emperor firmly sided with the King of Chu and severely criticized the King of Rui for supporting him, which surprised everyone.

Tao Sheng thought this was truly strange. Although Prince Rui in the original text was not as favored by the emperor as Prince Chu, he was still among the top princes and held a relatively high position in the emperor’s heart.

Prince Rui was not foolish and had good luck. Compared to other princes, he had certain advantages and was somewhat scheming. Tao Sheng had thought he could at least survive until the crown prince was deposed and compete with the King of Chu for a few opportunities. Unexpectedly, he faced a major setback right at the start.

Being scolded so harshly by the emperor nearly meant that his path to becoming the crown prince of the Eastern Palace was cut off.

What exactly happened?