Just as Mother Jiang said, Miss Zhu Ying had indeed gone to the palace in the afternoon, and was indeed staying in the palace for dinner. However, she was not with the Empress Dowager in the Qingning Palace, but with the Emperor in the Qianqing Palace. She was not alone, but accompanied by another person, her fiancé, Zhang Shou, who would officially become her husband in a few days.
The other person called by the emperor to accompany him was the third prince who was the crown prince.
The emperor obviously didn't follow the rule of not talking while eating or sleeping. While eating, he asked with great interest about Zhu Tingfang's wedding yesterday, as if to make up for the regret of not being able to go there in person. So Zhu Ying talked about the decoration of the new house and her sister-in-law with great relish, while Zhang Shou added the various aspects of the wedding banquet outside, including the "early birth of a son" bestowed by the emperor, and there was laughter and joy for a while.
However, the Third Prince was obviously absent-minded and even missed what the three said several times, so that when someone mentioned him, he was completely bewildered and didn't know what to say. In the end, the little prince finally found that the surroundings had become quiet, and when he looked up, he saw that the emperor, Zhang Shou, and Zhu Ying were all looking at him.
After the initial daze, he knew that he could no longer hide his distraction, so he simply put down his bowl and chopsticks, stood up, stepped back and knelt down. Seeing this, Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying naturally couldn't sit still, and both stood up and stood behind the emperor. Anyway, neither of them was a restrained person. Although they had just talked with the emperor, they also ate a lot. Now they finally didn't have to stand on an empty stomach.
The emperor did not seem surprised by the Third Prince's behavior. He just put away his smile, put down his chopsticks, and asked calmly: "Sanlang, what are you doing? Is it difficult for you to have a good meal with me?"
"Your son..." The Third Prince also instinctively left the table and knelt down. Only then did he realize that he was really not good at observing the emperor's words and expressions when he suddenly made such a move when his father was having a rare and peaceful meal. However, he had spent a lot of time on the previous matter in addition to studying these days. He did gain something, but he found it difficult to talk about it.
Therefore, he calmed down, held the letter horizontally and told the truth: "Father has been in a bad mood these days. I cannot share your worries, but I have disturbed your rare good mood. It is really against filial piety. However, I can't help it. Someone in the charity hall under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Department actually served the thief and almost brought disaster to the teacher's family. I have been ordered to investigate for a few days and have found the result."
Zhu Ying had originally thought that the Third Prince and the Emperor were always more like father and son than monarch and subject, so why was he suddenly so serious today... or perhaps very nervous and terrified. But when she heard someone talking about the unsolved case, she forgot her suspicion and focused entirely on the word "result" that the Third Prince had mentioned.
"Your Highness, have you really found out the result?"
"Hmm." The Third Prince hummed in a low voice, and his head unconsciously drooped. After a long while, he whispered, "Before, everyone said that those thieves were instigated by my eldest brother. Later, there was an incident in Huairou where thieves incited the people to surround the imperial farm. In addition, my eldest brother committed suicide. People outside couldn't help but say that this confirmed that the man behind the scenes was undoubtedly my eldest brother."