A short night is hard to please! A stunningly handsome prince dotes on her exclusively.

Yuan Huaize was deeply hurt and felt particularly bad. He flicked his folding fan and angrily turned to leave.

"Yan'er".

"Xuan Yuan, let go of me right now." Xin Moyan's ears were burning, and she hurriedly pushed his arm away.

He reluctantly let go, sighed softly, and said, "Didn't you just say you'd come with me today?"

"That's what I said, but I didn't tell you to get this close. This...this...in public, under everyone's watchful eyes, what if word gets out?"

"So what? I'll ask the Empress Dowager for permission later, and see who dares to covet you." Xuan Yuan's eyes narrowed suddenly as he gazed thoughtfully in the direction of the palace.

"Who would care about me? Don't overthink it. By the way, I can't go with you to see your aunt later. His Majesty just told me to go to the Imperial Study to see him!"

His handsome brows furrowed instantly, and a hint of surprise flickered in his clear eyes. He grasped Xin Moyan's wrist and calmly asked, "Yan'er, tell me, where did he want you to go?"

"The Imperial Study!"

Fearing he might misunderstand, Xin Moyan quickly explained, "It's just that His Majesty and my brother were discussing some matters a few days ago, and I happened to be there, so I gave some advice. Now that things are looking promising, I went over to take a look. The Prime Minister and Prince Ze were there too!"

Xuan Yuan pursed his lips, clearly unhappy. "That's their business. Why should you get involved?"

"That's not how it works! I'm also curious about how the investigation is going. You go see your aunt first, and we can go together next time!" She patted someone's shoulder and smiled ingratiatingly.

"Then you mustn't get too close to them, especially..."

"who is it?"

Xuan Yuan pondered for a moment, then turned to Hua Buyu without replying, asking, "And what about you?"

"Xuanyuan, Uncle Xie asked Buyu to go to Feiying Hall for tea!"

"Hmph! You've even managed to befriend the Imperial Advisor."

Hua Buyu stood with her hands on her hips, looking indignant. "The Grand Preceptor saw that I was beautiful and wanted to get to know me. What's wrong with that?"

"Hua Buyu, you're getting more and more outrageous."

"Alright, alright!" She waved her hand. "It's getting late. I'm going to have dinner with Yan Yan at Yunxiang Restaurant later. Don't waste my time. The three of us will part ways here!"

Xuan Yuan glanced at her sideways, then took Xin Moyan's wrist and walked into the palace. "Yan'er, I'll take you there first."

"Uh... wait for me." Hua Buyu quickly ran over and took Xin Moyan's arm.

"By the way, Yan Yan, you said Lou Shenghan is at least the prime minister of a country, why haven't we seen him come?"

"I don't know! It seems that neither Princess Lie nor the King and his wife were present."

"Yan'er, you are not allowed to mention Yuan Huailie again."

"..."

"..."

In the imperial study, Emperor Yuan looked at Lou Shenghan, who was yawning repeatedly, and felt quite helpless.

Yuan Huaize walked into the imperial study, holding his breath. He forgot to pay his respects to Emperor Yuan and plopped down opposite Lou Shenghan. He said sullenly, "Lou, did you go to steal last night? Not only did you leave the banquet early, but you also missed the sacrificial ceremony this morning."

Lou Shenghan, sporting large dark circles under his eyes, froze with his mouth agape. His eyes flickered a few times before he hurriedly explained, "I drank too much last night and really couldn't get up this morning."

He didn't dare to raise his head, afraid of meeting the Emperor's eyes the next second. He knew that every move in the palace could not escape the eyes of an emperor, but he did not want them to know about last night's events for the time being.

Yuan Huaijun glanced at him indifferently and said nothing more. This morning, the shadow guard reported that Lou Shenghan left early last night and ended up staying in Xue'er's palace all night. Xue'er... was forced to wait outside the palace until dawn. Lou Shenghan then secretly left the palace with a bundle. He didn't know what the two of them were doing, but Xue'er always loved to join in the fun. Why wouldn't she be there to watch the ceremony today?

"How much did you drink last night? Besides, didn't your subordinates remind you to get up early?"

"Oh dear! It's just one festival. I'll be more careful next time and won't be late again!"

As he was speaking, Xin Moyan poked her head out from outside the door. "Your Majesty?"

Yuan Huaijun's brows relaxed, and he beckoned to her, "Yan'er, come here."

She walked up to him and gave a slight curtsy. "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"No need to be polite, sit down and talk."

This action left the two of them completely bewildered. What was going on? Besides… only women could enter the Imperial Study.

"Brother Royal?"

"Hey? Prime Minister Lou, why didn't you come to Wangxiantai earlier? You look terrible, are you sick?"

"No! Yan Yan, I'm fine..."

He put aside his questions for the time being, and suddenly remembered what Xin Moling had told him before leaving last night. He slapped his forehead and said in annoyance, "Yan Yan, your brother asked me to take you back to the manor last night, but I happened to have something to do and forgot. So you went back alone last night?"

"This one……"

Xin Moyan touched her nose, and this time, the expressions of both brothers also became unnatural.

"Let's put that aside for now, Your Majesty. You said there were results from the investigation a few days ago?"

"Yes, I summoned you all here to discuss this matter. Where is A-Lie?"

"Your Majesty, it seems that Consort Qin had some health issues after returning home last night. Third Brother summoned the imperial physician to the residence overnight, and sent someone this morning to say that she will not be coming to the palace today."

"Alright, Fifth Brother, go and get the letters from the desk."

"Yes, Brother Huang."

Yuan Huaize immediately stood up, took a thick stack of papers from the imperial desk, and asked, "Your Majesty, what is this?"

"This is what Yan'er asked me to investigate a few days ago. It was all about the private affairs of those aristocratic families. Just as Yan'er predicted, the more praiseworthy something is, the more flaws it has. I didn't know that those scoundrels who eat the government's food were so wicked in private."

The three of them raised their eyebrows in unison, puzzled by the sudden outburst of the emperor's anger. His Majesty had never been so furious before.

"Fifth brother, read it."

"Yes, Brother Huang."

He walked up to the letter, unfolded it, and read it aloud carefully, "This is to Zhao Shengguan, the Prefect of Guang'an..."

The prefect and Grand Tutor Qin were brothers-in-law, but the two were usually cautious and did not have much contact. Zhao Shengguan was an honest and upright official who handled all cases, big and small, personally and without any favoritism or corruption. He was the most beloved honest official among the common people among the old ministers in the court.

The Shadow Guard's investigation revealed that although Zhao Shengguan appeared honest and upright, he was privately licentious and dissolute. He not only kept concubines in a villa in the suburbs, but also instructed thugs to search for respectable young women in various parts of Jiangnan and forcibly take them to the villa...

The matter escalated, and when local authorities reported it to the emperor, he blocked them from being reported. Instead, he pretended to inspect the people's conditions in various parts of Jiangnan to appease them. He also bribed several street thugs to impersonate the real culprit and arrest him. He gained a double reputation from both the court and the people.