His first strike

The next day, the Emperor's Study

Emperor Zhong sat hind his table, head bent over the detailed report of the activities of the Crown Prince's office which was presented to him by Lu Yaozhu who stood a few steps opposite him on the other side of the table. He clenched his fist and sighed, these documents looked worse than he thought. He glanced up at Lu Yaozhu and his guards before looking down at the document and pushing it aside.

"Are you positive that no one has connected the dots between them?" Emperor Zhong asked his expression cold as they come. 

"Yes, your Majesty. I have been holding it off so far"

"Good, Ling'er made a big mistake this time, if I don't handle this it could get messy. Thanks for bringing this up to me, you may leave".

Lu Yaozhu bowed, "I will take my leave first your highness".

"mmm," Emperor Zhong replied watching him leave. He waited for a few minutes before calling his secretary inside.