Wei Yu knelt at the very back, the farthest from Emperor Wei.
He couldn’t see what was happening up front, and Emperor Wei couldn’t hear what he was thinking.
However, while he couldn’t hear Wei Yu’s thoughts, he could hear the thoughts of the sons kneeling in front all too clearly!
First Prince: Why is Father so angry? Could it be that Gongsun Tai said something? That old thing—damn it, he must have spoken ill of me…
Second Prince: Did Grandfather and Mother Consort’s plan get exposed? No, that shouldn’t be it—if it were, Father should have issued an edict by now. Then what could have made him this furious?
Third Prince: One elder brother, another elder brother—Revenue is on the First Prince’s side, the Prime Minister is allied with the Second Prince… They’ve been making a lot of moves these past few days. Someone must have reported them to Father. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel※fire.net
Fourth Prince: Ah, this must definitely be Eldest Brother and Second Brother’s fault!
Fifth Prince: Sigh, caught in the crossfire again…
Seventh Prince: Heh, fools. Serves them right.
Eighth Prince: We’re doomed! Father is furious—who knows what punishment we’ll get this time. Being confined is a small matter, just don’t make us copy scriptures, please! Heaven, have mercy! Amitabha, I repent, I repent… Wait, what’s Ninth Brother doing? He’s not zoning out again, is he?!
Among all the princes, the most talkative was the Eighth Prince.
His constant anxious thoughts were even more annoying than a monk chanting scriptures!
Hearing his endless inner monologue, Emperor Wei’s anger subsided by half.
Sweeping his gaze over the kneeling sons, he barely looked at the ones in front before shifting his attention to the Eighth Prince at the back.
The weight in Emperor Wei’s voice made Eighth Prince’s heart clench, while the elder princes furrowed their brows.
[Me? Why me? Why is Father calling me?! Did I do something wrong? Is that why he’s furious?!]
His sharp, panicked thoughts made Emperor Wei’s frown deepen.
He had never realized that his Eighth Son’s mind could be noisier than a chanting monk’s!
He had always seemed like a well-behaved child before.
But while his mind was in chaos, Eighth Prince kept a respectful demeanor as he responded.
Emperor Wei gazed at him intently. “Come forward a few steps. I haven’t seen you in a long time—let me take a look at you.”
Wei Yu had some thoughts about this.
Haven’t seen you in a long time, so now you want to check what your son looks like?
Forget it, not worth mentioning.
Instead, Wei Yu got a little excited.
Had his Eighth Brother finally made it? Was he about to be recognized by Father?!
What a joyous occasion!
Cheering for Eighth Brother! Clapping for Eighth Brother! Celebrating for Eighth Brother!
If Eighth Brother succeeded, Wei Yu could finally breathe easy!
Meanwhile, Eighth Prince was completely bewildered.
His mind raced back six months, trying to recall anything he might have done to catch his father’s attention.
Standing before Emperor Wei’s bed, he lowered his head respectfully. “Father.”
Emperor Wei scrutinized him, his gaze slightly critical.
Hah. It was all thanks to the Empress.
Ever since Emperor Wei had awakened, she had been subtly testing the waters, trying to claim one of the princes as her own. After much deliberation, she had set her sights on the Eighth Prince.
If not for that, Emperor Wei wouldn’t have specifically called him forward today.
The chamber fell into silence.
Since the Emperor wasn’t speaking, no one else dared to make a sound.
Kneeling where he was, Wei Yu felt like his knees were about to give out.
Taking advantage of his position at the back, where no one was watching, he sneakily peeked up.
Eighth Brother really did look like a proper son standing there.
Like a quail, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
Shaking his head, Wei Yu silently mourned for him.
At the same time, he discreetly pulled up his mental tablet and resumed watching anime.
Because when it came to gains, his elder brothers would divide the spoils among themselves.
And sometimes, out of brotherly affection, they’d leave the younger ones a few scraps.
There was no need to compete—he wouldn’t win anyway.
If there were consequences, the elder brothers would shove blame onto each other, digging pits for one another.
At the end of the day, nothing ever concerned him, the youngest and most invisible prince.
So he might as well keep watching anime.
As Wei Yu lost himself in his show, the others remained focused on the Emperor and the Eighth Prince.
Emperor Wei studied the boy closely.
Aside from the fact that his mind was a chaotic mess and unbearably noisy, the child didn’t seem to harbor any major rebellious thoughts.
At this, Emperor Wei finally relaxed.
A little too loud internally, but at least his nature wasn’t bad.
So, he decided to test the Eighth Prince’s studies.
“What books have you been reading lately? Has the Grand Tutor assigned you any lessons?”
Eighth Prince immediately broke into a cold sweat.
[Lessons? Wait, what were my lessons again? What did the Grand Tutor even teach last time? Think, think! I need to remember—don’t panic, don’t panic…]
[Damn it! It’s all Ninth Brother’s fault! He just had to tell me ghost stories at night! I’ve forgotten everything! The red-clothed girl… the red shoes… Wait, they won’t come for me at night, will they…?]
Standing stiffly before the bed, his ears turned bright red, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
No one could tell if it was from panic or fear.
Hearing all this nonsense, Emperor Wei’s face darkened like ink.
But in the end, he couldn’t hold it in.
“Where is the Ninth Prince?! Ninth Prince, get over here!”
Apparently too annoyed to even recall his son’s name, Emperor Wei’s voice was deep and dangerously sharp.
The moment they heard it, the other princes immediately knew—Father was furious again.
But what did that have to do with Wei Yu?!
Could that fool really cause trouble?
A group of people, each with their own thoughts, were all waiting for Wei Yu to step forward.
After three or four seconds, no one stepped up.
Emperor Wei furrowed his brows and shot a sharp look at the person kneeling at the very back.
At this point, the Eighth Prince was genuinely anxious.
He quickly glanced at the Ninth Prince, who was kneeling properly and behaving himself. The sight of it made the Eighth Prince’s vision blur for a moment.
[He’s going to get us killed! How many times have I told him not to space out?! Not to zone out! And yet he actually did it! Father is calling him! This idiot!]
The Eighth Prince was both angry and worried, his mind a complete mess, and the noise in his head was so loud that it made Emperor Wei’s ears hurt.
He couldn’t take it anymore.
He really couldn’t hold back.
Emperor Wei narrowed his eyes, and the eunuch Li Cheng immediately understood. Without saying a word, he went down to find the Ninth Prince.
Although Li Cheng’s steps were light, all eyes in the hall were on him.
The Eighth Prince widened his eyes, staring at him.
He watched him walk down, past the First Prince, Second Prince, Third Prince… until he stopped by Wei Yu’s side.
“Ninth Prince? His Majesty is calling for you.”
Just as Wei Yu was finishing an episode and watching the preview for the next one, a soft, feminine voice suddenly rang in his ear, and he almost choked.