Emperor Jingming first looked towards Prince Qin.
Prince Qin was an adopted son, accustomed to keeping a low profile. In such a situation, if the other princes didn’t speak up, he certainly wouldn’t be the one to do so.
Emperor Jingming then turned his gaze to Prince Qi.
Prince Qi stood with lowered eyes, his face devoid of any excess emotion. In his heart, he had made up his mind that unless Emperor Jingming called on him directly, he definitely wouldn’t be the one to stick his neck out.
During the period when the position of Crown Prince was vacant, his competition with Prince Jin had already become apparent. Now that the Crown Prince had been reinstated, it was time to lower his profile as much as possible. Taking the lead now would serve no purpose.
It was better to be patient for now and wait for the Crown Prince to make a fatal mistake.
Emperor Jingming’s gaze slid towards Prince Lu.
Prince Lu stood in the corner, thinking he was unnoticed, but his casual stance made Emperor Jingming frown repeatedly.
Send him to Qianhe County? He wouldn’t go! Among all these people, he was just a commandery prince. Why should he be considered for such a difficult task?
No way, no way, absolutely not!
Emperor Jingming looked at Prince Shu.
Prince Shu’s inner thoughts: I don’t want to go…
Prince Xiang’s inner thoughts: I don’t want to go…
Yu Jin: My wife is about to give birth, of course, I don’t want to go…
Emperor Jingming angrily fingered the white jade paperweight on his dragon desk.
Very well, these little beasts!
Since none of them wanted to go—Emperor Jingming slowly swept his gaze over each person from beginning to end.
The prince immediately tensed up: Father is about to call someone out!
Who would be the unlucky one?
“Why is no one speaking?” Emperor Jingming asked first.
The princes, steeling themselves, all expressed the same sentiment: Such an honorable task shouldn’t be fought over among brothers; they would all follow the Father Emperor’s instructions.
“In that case—” Emperor Jingming paused, then said lightly, “We shall draw lots.”
The princes wore strange expressions.
Draw lots?
Was it appropriate to decide such a serious matter by drawing lots?
Emperor Jingming laughed coldly in his heart: Nothing could be more appropriate than drawing lots—fair, just, and cheating no one, young or old.
“What do you think?”
The princes answered in unison: “Drawing lots is best.”
Emperor Jingming glanced at Pan Hai, signaling him to fetch the lot container.
Soon, Pan Hai returned with an exquisitely carved vermilion lacquer container, standing before everyone.
Emperor Jingming lightly tapped the table: “Alright, draw the lots. No need to be polite about this.”
Pan Hai cleared his throat and added, “There are six lots in total. The one who draws the orchid lot stays behind, and the one who draws the peony lot will accompany the Crown Prince to Qianhe County.”
The princes silently tugged at the corners of their mouths.
So there were even flower lots.
The lot container passed before each person, and the princes each drew a lot from it.
Yu Jin lowered his eyes and turned over his lot, revealing a lush peony flower.
He wiped his face.
Damn it, such bad luck!
He wasn’t one to shy away from hardship, having crawled through piles of corpses before. Going to Qianhe County wasn’t anything. But in about a month, A Si would be giving birth…
Yu Jin held the peony lot, his heart heavy with frustration.
Emperor Jingming lightly coughed and asked, “Who drew the peony lot?”
After a moment of silence, Yu Jin stepped forward: “Your son drew the peony lot.”
A flash of schadenfreude crossed the eyes of the other princes.
Seeing it was Yu Jin, Emperor Jingming inexplicably felt relieved.
The Seventh Prince had some capability. With him accompanying the Crown Prince to Qianhe County, at least there was no need to worry about the Crown Prince returning missing an arm or a leg.
“You may all disperse. Seventh Prince, you stay behind.”
The princes unanimously breathed sighs of relief, never having been so eager to leave the imperial palace.
In the imperial study, Emperor Jingming looked at the Crown Prince, then at Yu Jin, and said, “You two set out tomorrow. Brothers should support each other and be mindful of safety.”
Both of them responded in unison.
“Seventh Son, I know you’re concerned about your wife. Fortunately, Qianhe County isn’t far from the capital. If you go early and return early, it shouldn’t take too many days…”