Who put the yellow robe on me?

At daybreak, civil and military officials were lined up neatly in the Wanhe Hall, all of them whispering about the fire in the Imperial Hospital yesterday.

The discussions were mixed with worries and speculations, and everyone had a vague feeling in their hearts that this incident would not be easily resolved.

"The emperor has arrived! All ministers, please come to court!" With Zhao Ji's long shout, today's court session was destined to be extraordinary.

Emperor Liang sat on the dragon throne with a sullen face, his expression as gloomy as the sky before a storm.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his inner anger, and said coldly:

"The Imperial Hospital caught fire. What a grievous dereliction of duty! Where are the Imperial Guards?"

Lin Shigong, the leader of the imperial guards, stepped out and said, "I am here!"

"Imperial Guards, why did the Imperial Hospital catch fire this time? How do you patrol?"

"What if the next fire breaks out in my bedroom instead of the Imperial Hospital?"

"Doesn't that mean I'll be burned to death in my own palace?"

"what!?"

Emperor Liang's voice was like thunder, frightening all the ministers.

Lin Shigong lowered his head and said, "I am guilty of failing to conduct patrols in time, which led to the fire at the Imperial Hospital. However, this was because someone left their post without permission last night, so patrols were not carried out properly."

Emperor Liang frowned. "Abandoning your post? What does that mean?"

Lin Shigong raised his head, his eyes filled with nervousness. "Your Majesty, according to reports from my men, during curfew last night, the Sixteenth Prince Jiang Chen took away the chief of the city guards, Dianzhang."

"The number of patrol officers in the Imperial Guard is fixed. The absence of one person will inevitably lead to a shortage of guards guarding the city. Dianzhang's departure caused a gap in the rotation, and the flood was not detected in time."

"After Dianzhang left last night, our patrol missed a routine inspection at the northwest corner of the city wall."

Emperor Liang turned to look at Jiang Chen: "Jiang Chen? Why did you take the canon last night?"

Jiang Chen had already sensed that something was amiss. From the moment Lin Shigong began answering Emperor Liang, he sensed a scent of conspiracy.

Jiang Chen knew that now was not the time to explain what happened after taking away the rules. He needed to let Emperor Liang know the specific time when the fire occurred.

Jiang Chen stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Father, I did take the regulations last night, but that was at 3:30 PM. The fire started at 12:00 PM and was extinguished at 1:00 PM."

Then Jiang Chen turned to Lin Shigong and said:

"Commander Lin, let me ask you, are you saying that because Dianzhang left at 3:30 PM to switch to a defensive position, he didn't patrol the fire at midnight?"

"this..."

Lin Shigong was speechless, sweat streaming down his forehead. "Your Majesty... Your Majesty has indeed failed to ascertain this point. This is my dereliction of duty. I need to investigate everything that happened last night in detail."

Emperor Liang angrily slammed the dragon throne, his voice like thunder: "As the commander of the imperial guards, you are so unclear about the patrol schedule. You are so negligent in your duties and yet you are trying to make excuses. Come, fine me three months' salary and order me to reflect on my mistakes!"

Lin Shigong knelt and kowtowed, "I accept the punishment! But I beg Your Majesty to give me one more chance, to thoroughly investigate what happened last night and find the real reason for my dereliction of duty."

Emperor Liang waved his hand impatiently, and Lin Shigong retreated back into the crowd.

At this moment, Bai Xia, the chief historian of the Imperial Hospital, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have a report to you on the cause of the fire in the Imperial Hospital last night."

Emperor Liang suddenly felt a headache and said coldly, "Permission granted!"

Shi Baixia bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, preliminary investigations have yielded results. A young eunuch accidentally caused the fire while boiling medicine. I, your humble servant, have mismanaged the Imperial Hospital's medicine boiling process. Your Majesty, please punish me!"

Emperor Liang asked coldly, "Boil the medicine? Why would a young eunuch boil the medicine? Where are the people from your Imperial Hospital? Are all the guards asleep?"

Shi Baixia replied, "Your Majesty, at midnight yesterday, Xiao Guangzi from the Ningbo Palace came to the Imperial Hospital. He said that the Sixteenth Prince and the Thirteenth Princess have been dealing with refugee issues recently, and the plague is rampant. To prevent the plague, they specially prepared a decoction."

"However, after taking the herbs, Xiao Guangzi did not leave. While the doctors at the Imperial Hospital were clearing out the herbal stock, he alone boiled the herbs in the hospital, which eventually caused a fire. Unfortunately, the eunuch was unable to escape and was burned to death inside the hospital."

Emperor Liang's expression grew even darker, and he glared at Shi Baixia with a sharp gaze: "Ningbo Palace? Xiao Guangzi?"

Then he looked at Jiang Chen: "Jiang Chen, I remember Xiao Guangzi is your personal eunuch?"

Jiang Chen felt a chill down his spine, realizing that the fire in the Imperial Hospital yesterday wasn't just about Chuan Mugua.

It seems as if every step is calculated and there are traps at every step.

But Jiang Chen immediately denied it: "Father, Xiao Guangzi is indeed my personal eunuch in Ningbo Palace, but he did not follow my orders to make medicine last night. There must be something fishy about this matter. Please investigate carefully."

Emperor Liang snorted coldly and did not comment.

Cheng Jingde, the Right Vice Minister of Rites, stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, it is both morally and morally wrong for a young eunuch to boil medicine alone and cause a fire. This matter concerns the safety of the Imperial Palace. I suggest a thorough investigation of the Ningbo Palace and strict management of the Imperial Hospital to prevent further disasters."

Jiang Chen said calmly, "Father, after the fire last night, when the Thirteenth Princess sent people to look for me, Xiao Guangzi was still in Ningbo Palace. The Xiao Guangzi who was in the Imperial Hospital at the time was someone else's impersonator."

Shi Baixia looked suspicious: "Replacement? Xiao Guangzi didn't disguise himself or put on makeup, so why do you say he's a replacement?"

Jiang Chen then said, "May I ask, Lord Shi? Were you at the scene last night at midnight? Did you see Xiao Guangzi enter the Imperial Hospital with your own eyes?"

Shi Baixia was speechless. "This... Your Majesty! Although I wasn't there yesterday, Doctor Wang from the Imperial Hospital saw it with his own eyes. This person is Xiao Guangzi from the Ningbo Palace!"

"Father..." Jiang Chen wanted to say something but was interrupted by Emperor Liang.

"It's so noisy! It's giving me a headache! Where is the Ministry of Justice?" Emperor Liang asked, rubbing his head.

"I'm here!" Minister of Justice Bai Binggong stepped out and said.

"Master Bai! You have three days to find out whether the young eunuch who went to the Imperial Hospital yesterday was Xiao Guangzi from the Ningbo Palace. According to the laws of Daliang, he will be severely punished!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! I obey your order!" Bai Binggong said respectfully.

Cheng Jingde, the Right Vice Minister of Rites, continued, "Your Majesty, forcing your way through after midnight is against palace rules. If a prince has no rules, how can he govern the country?"

Emperor Liang looked at Jiang Chen coldly: "What else do you have to say?"

Seeing that the time was almost up, Ninth Prince Jiang Yu fanned the flames, saying, "Father, regardless of whether Xiao Guangzi went to the Imperial Hospital yesterday, Sixteenth Brother took Thirteenth Sister out of the palace in the middle of the night. Thirteenth Sister is still unmarried, and this is extremely bad for Thirteenth Sister's reputation!"

Emperor Liang's rage flared up again, as if a scale had been plucked from his reverse scale. He roared, "Jiang Chen! Tell me something! It's fine if you're just messing around on your own, but why did you drag Jingyi along with you? Someone, come here!"

"Your Majesty!" Prime Minister He said, "May I know why the Sixteenth Prince left the palace with Dianzhang and the Thirteenth Princess?"

When these words were spoken, all the ministers were shocked, and almost all of them were attacking Jiang Chen.

Unexpectedly, the person who came out to defend the sixteenth prince was Lord He, who had never been involved in party disputes.