Leaving Hu Guangzhi's house, Xiao Qian immediately instructed Feng Ling, "Let Feng Hua go investigate the Miaoyin monk at Jing'an Temple."

Just moments ago, he had confronted Hu Guangzhi, revealing that Lin Yannan was the one writing the herbal recipes. He also made it clear that it was Miss Lin, and although Hu Guangzhi seemed initially shocked and surprised, he quickly accepted it and didn't want Lin Yannan to be involved and take any risks. This is not logical.

An ordinary person would definitely be very angry if they found out that their disciple suddenly turned into a woman.

Therefore, he speculates that Hu Guangzhi already knew Lin Yannan's true identity before he spoke up, but he didn't know that Lin Yannan was the one who wrote the prescription for the medicinal diet.

是什么原因让胡广志毫无芥蒂毫无顾虑的接受一个侯门嫡长女为徒？

而林晏晏亦不会在无缘无故在拜师前夕去拜访一个尼姑。

In their mouths, could that certain person they are talking about be Master Miaoyin?

Xiao Qian had many doubts in his heart and could only wait for Feng Ling's investigation results to unravel these mysteries. Now, he had to enter the palace to meet the emperor.

In the study room, several princes are divided into two rows standing in front of the emperor.

站在前面的是大皇子赵王萧淙，三皇子晋王萧涵，四皇子燕王萧清。

目前为止，只有这三位皇子被封了王，至于二皇子，也就是前太子萧鸿，十二岁时去世了。

The fourth prince, Xiaoyu, the fifth prince, Xiaopiao, the sixth prince, Xiaoyu, the seventh prince, Xiaozhe, the eighth prince, Xiaozhuo, the ninth prince, Xiaolan, and the tenth prince, Xiaolian, are all seated in the back row.

The emperor closed the booklet, his imposing gaze sweeping across the faces of each of his sons. The princes lowered their heads and dared not breathe, clearly aware that their father had called them here today not to talk about their father-son relationship, but to settle accounts. The expression on the emperor's face meant that someone was about to be held accountable.

A few days ago, there was a scandal at the Duke's residence in the State of Jin, and Prince Xiao Han was heavily criticized and even the other princes were reprimanded. Of course, some people who were affected by this were secretly pleased, such as Prince Zhao, Xiao Cong, since Prince Xiao was really harshly scolded and cried with running nose and tears.

I wonder who the unlucky person will be today.

"What did I send you to the Six Ministries for? Every day, it's either inviting this person to drink or inviting that person to drink. You haven't learned any skills, but you excel at forming cliques and excluding others. What exactly do you want to do?"

The princes dared not utter a word, but most people breathed a sigh of relief and began to revel in Schadenfreude. The emperor was scolding the Ninth Prince, who is always inviting people to drink, isn't he?

The Ninth Prince broke out in a cold sweat; the emperor's accusations were exaggerated. It's true that he formed cliques and tried to consolidate his power in the Ministry of Revenue. At the same time, he wanted to maintain good relationships with the courtiers. But how could he eliminate dissidents? Just because he didn't invite certain people to drink? Those who hold different opinions, even if you invite them, they might not come, right?

"Starting from tomorrow, Lao Jiu will be demoted from the position of an official in the Ministry of Revenue's Clear and Honest Officials Office in the Two Lakes to the position of a supervisor in the Treasury Office. If he continues to not do proper work, then he should go to the Imperial Stable to feed the horses!" The Emperor fiercely glared at Lao Jiu, who was lacking in diligence. Please note that the symbol "@" is not commonly used in English.

Lao Jiu had a sad face and felt that Father Emperor was being too harsh. Father Emperor almost completely stripped him of power, how could he still continue in the Ministry of Revenue!

However, he didn't dare to defy Father Emperor's imperial decree, so he could only begrudgingly admit his mistake: "Your child knows his mistake, Your child will comply with the order."

I tidied up and the emperor's gaze fell on Lao Ba's head. Lao Ba could only feel a cold breeze from his heels rushing to his forehead, thinking that since he went to the Ministry of Officials, he had been diligent and had not been lazy, nor had he done anything like treating others to drinks and meals. The emperor couldn't possibly find fault with him, right?

"Lao Ba, your reach is quite long. How come you're not busy with the duties of the Ministry of Culture and instead have the idea to meddle in the affairs of the Ministry of Merit?"

"Father... Father, please understand, your child has no intention to interfere with the affairs of the Ministry of Merit. I simply feel that there are certain aspects of their conduct that are not appropriate, and I wanted to kindly remind them... that's all." Lao Ba defended himself with a hint of unease.

The emperor sneered, "You have been serving as an official in the Ministry for over twenty years, yet you think you can give me advice on how to handle things? With your capabilities, how can I let you sit in this position?"

Trembling with fear, the eighth minister quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I have no intention of doing so. I humbly plead for your wise judgment."

"Starting tomorrow, you will be punished by copying and receiving official documents in the Ministry of Personnel's Affairs Department. If you can't even do this properly, you might as well go feed the horses."

Trembling, Eighth Brother obediently replied, "I will follow the order."

Just when Ninth Brother was feeling unlucky, his heart suddenly felt balanced. Eighth Brother put in a lot of effort at the Ministry of Personnel and even hoped for a reward. But unexpectedly, he was directly demoted to do odd jobs in the Affairs Department. After all, Ninth Brother was still a proper ranked official, holding the title of 'Tixu' in the eighth rank!

However, King Zhao and King Jin remained calm, as our father the emperor's favorite punishment is a mere fifty strikes. It's just an old act.

Another one was reprimanded, and the emperor immediately focused his attention on the seventh prince.

The seventh prince grew anxious. Apart from being a little lazy, he hadn't done anything wrong, right? The Ministry of Works is the most fiercely contested area between King Zhao and King Jin, and he is neither on one side nor the other. It would be better for him to do nothing at all! For a prince like him, being innocent is an achievement in itself. Father should be able to understand his difficulties.

"Lao Qi, if you don't want to work, then go home and stay there. The Ministry of Works doesn't support idle people," the emperor said firmly.

Lao Qi knelt on the ground in fear and said, "Father, you know that I have never been good at socializing. The officials at the Ministry of Works wouldn't dare to give me a hard time considering your reputation. They wouldn't even think of assigning me any tasks. I feel uneasy and impatient when I have nothing to do, but I don't know what to do... I truly am useless."

The emperor grumbled, "Are you a mule or a horse? Do you only move when someone wields a whip at you? Ignorance should not be an excuse for not asking questions! What if asking someone gets you into trouble or worse?"

"Yes... Your humble servant is foolish and ignorant."

"Give you one more month. If you still behave like this, then get lost and go home!"

"Your child obeys the order..."

The three of them, Old Nine and Old Eight, looked at Old Seven incredulously. Did the Emperor just let Old Seven go like that? Wasn't Old Seven demoted? If they had known that surrendering could escape punishment, they would have surrendered as well.

"Seeing all of you alone makes me angry, so just leave, and let Old Ten stay."

The brothers were astonished, as it seemed to be the first time that Father Emperor had asked Old Ten to stay behind on his own. Old Ten had always been invisible, and Father Emperor had never paid attention to him. This was an unusual signal.

Everyone doubts the fox in their hearts, but still obediently steps back.

When Fourth Brother Xiao Qing passed by Xiao Qian, he gave him a comforting look.

He didn't know why Father Emperor wanted to keep Tenth Brother, but he knew Father Emperor was in a bad mood today, so Tenth Brother should be careful in dealing with it.

Xiao Qian remained calm, regardless of the intentions behind the Emperor's decision to have a private meeting with him. It was exactly what he wanted, as it saved him the trouble of seeking an excuse to meet his father alone.

After leaving the study room, the ninth prince spoke up, asking, "Why did the Emperor specifically ask the tenth prince to stay behind?"

赵王微微一哂：“可能是灭门惨案至今未告破，父皇要质问吧！毕竟此案影响极其恶劣，而太后的寿诞快到了。”

“父皇要质问，为什么不当众质问，我和老七老八都挨骂了。”老九不服气。

Prince Jin said lightly, "It's better for everyone not to guess about Father's thoughts."