103 As Luck Would Have it

"Did you hear? His Majesty has removed the fourth prince from his duties in morning court temporarily whilst the investigation of the cheating incident concerning the spring examinations are ongoing." 

Yan Zheyun didn't look up from the tiles in front of him. He clicked together a sequence of 'two bamboo', 'three bamboo', and 'four bamboo', and threw a glance at the table to calculate the odds of obtaining the green 'Fa' tile (1). 

"Be careful what you speak about, Lord Chen," he murmured. 

Lord Chen shot him a disgruntled look but shrank into his seat. Even though he was of a higher rank than Yan Zheyun, in the past couple of weeks, it had become evident just how dearly the emperor held Lord Yue in his heart; if Lord Yue were even permitted to return to Yuyang Palace in the day, the phoenix spring carriage would show up without fail by nightfall to ferry him back to the emperor's palace.