Yun Shu hooked an arm around Yun Chuhuan's neck and cheerfully steered him toward their own tent.
"So? Still want that hotpot I promised you?"
"I do!"
Yun Chuhuan dropped the matter of Emperor Xuanwu's reward immediately.
Truth be told, he had been intrigued from the moment Yun Shu first mentioned hotpot. He just hadn't dared to speak up about it before.
Now that Yun Shu brought it up again on her own, he perked up instantly.
"Should we borrow a pot from the cooks' tent? Is the pot for hotpot the same as a normal one?"
"Not quite."
Yun Shu thought for a moment.
"A regular pot could work in a pinch, but if we're being proper... a ding would be better."
"A ding?"
Yun Chuhuan scratched his head.
He had always been the kind of person who insisted on using the best possible tools within reach. Since Yun Shu said a ding was ideal, then a common iron pot was immediately ruled out.
"I doubt the kitchen has a ding lying around, and I didn't bring one on this trip with Consort Mother either... Wait!"
His eyes lit up with sudden inspiration.
"I remember now! When we arrived this morning, Consort Mother had the palace servants unpack our things, and I wandered around a bit. I spotted a tent nearby piled with miscellaneous supplies.
We might find one there!"
"Let's go," Yun Shu said, pleased.
They had nothing urgent to attend to anyway, so they went to the storage tent together.
As Yun Chuhuan had described, the tent was stacked high with all sorts of discarded goods. The deeper they went, the more dust clung to everything, making it easy to tell which items had just been dumped there, and which had been abandoned for years.
"Fifth Sister, look at this!"
With sharp eyes, Yun Chuhuan spotted a yunwen patterned ceramic ding tucked into a corner.
Taking advantage of his smaller size, he crouched low and slipped between the clutter.
Moments later, he emerged with the finely crafted, delicate vessel clutched in his arms, clearly delighted.
"This should work, right?"
"A ceramic ding? It's a bit small... but it'll do."
Yun Shu nodded.
Elsewhere in the camp, Emperor Xuanwu had just dismissed the Crown Prince from his presence.
The two assassins captured earlier had been taken away for interrogation. But the outcome was predictable—they were clearly trained deathsworn, unlikely to yield any useful information, no matter how long they were held.
Sitting at his desk, Emperor Xuanwu's face was dark as thunder. Suddenly, he spoke.
"Bring Our Eldest Son here."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Li Dehai, frightened out of his wits, hurried out of the tent. He didn't even dare to imagine what it meant for the emperor to summon the Eldest Prince at this moment.
Roughly half an hour later, the Eldest Prince arrived.
It seemed he had received the message while out hunting. He was still in his light armor, not yet changed. When he entered the tent, he wore a carefree smile.
"Father Emperor, You summoned Your son so suddenly. May I ask—"
"Kneel!"
The roar from Emperor Xuanwu came so suddenly and with such force that the Eldest Prince's expression changed at once.
He dropped to his knees with a thud, panic flaring in his eyes.
"Father Emperor, has Your son committed some grave wrong?"
"Still pretending!"
Just look at him—so sincere on the surface. If Emperor Xuanwu hadn't already uncovered the truth, even today he might have been deceived.
His rage surged uncontrollably. With no thought but fury, he grabbed the paperweight from the desk and hurled it at the Eldest Prince.
Startled, the Eldest Prince instinctively ducked.
Crash!
The heavy object struck the ceramic incense burner behind him, shattering it.
Fragments scattered across the floor. One shard sliced across the back of the prince's hand, leaving a long, bloody gash.
But he couldn't spare a single thought for the wound. Overwhelmed, he lowered his head and knocked it against the ground.
"Please, Father Emperor, calm Your anger! Your son truly does not understand what he has done wrong!"
"Still lying at this point!"
Emperor Xuanwu had felt a flicker of alarm the moment he threw the paperweight. But seeing the prince dodge it, he quickly stifled it.
Yet the moment he heard such an unrepentant response, his fury returned in full force.
"Very well. Since you won't confess... then tell Us—where is the white 'divine deer' you secretly had someone procure some days ago?"
So he truly knew.
Panic surged through the Eldest Prince's heart. He squeezed his eyes shut.
"Your son admits his wrongdoing."
He couldn't admit to a plot against the heir. That would be a capital offense.
So instead...
The Eldest Prince slowly lifted his head. His face had gone pale.
"I was afraid. Afraid of losing to the Crown Prince in the autumn hunt and disappointing You. That is why I secretly ordered someone to find a white deer, intending to pass it off as my own kill.
But when the deer vanished, I lived in daily fear, terrified that You would discover the truth.
And yet... a part of me was relieved. Relieved that the deer had gone missing and I would no longer deceive You."
A light confession to cover a darker crime.
Clever, this son of his. Clearly aware that Emperor Xuanwu had no conclusive proof. Or perhaps he guessed that even if there were evidence, so long as the Crown Prince remained unharmed, the emperor would not strike him too harshly.
"Are you feeling rather pleased with yourself?"
Emperor Xuanwu narrowed his eyes, his tone bone-chilling.
"Men. Hear Our decree."
"General of Ningyuan, Cheng Weihang, is found guilty of conspiring with the Eldest Prince to deceive the throne. He is to be imprisoned immediately.
Consort Shu, for failing in her duty to raise her son properly, is hereby demoted to Concubine Shu.
The Eldest Prince is stripped of his post in the Ministry of War. His salary shall be suspended for three years.
He is to travel to Longhua Monastery and pray for the blessings of the Tian Sheng dynasty for six months."
"Father Emperor!"
The Eldest Prince cried out in shock.
Cheng Weihang was his uncle. With him arrested and stripped of rank, he had lost a powerful ally.
His mother's demotion was a public humiliation.
And worst of all, being removed from the Ministry of War and sent to Longhua Monastery to pray—it was a blatant order for him to step away from court for half a year.
The imperial court was filled with cunning old foxes. If he disappeared for six months, what footing would he have left upon returning?
That Emperor Xuanwu would hand down such a severe punishment even though the Crown Prince had come to no harm—it was unthinkable.
Still in a daze, the Eldest Prince tried to plead.
But Emperor Xuanwu had made up his mind. There would be no room for negotiation.
"You should be grateful that Fifth Daughter and Sixth Son happened to disrupt your scheme today.
Had any true harm come to the Crown Prince... We would not have let you off so lightly."
Not lightly...
The Eldest Prince let out a bitter laugh in his heart.
So this was considered light punishment?
All hope drained from his face.
Bowing low, he knocked his head against the ground and murmured, defeated,
"Your son thanks Father Emperor for His mercy."