As Ling Hua had surmised, the day after the deposing of the Crown Prince, the Emperor mentioned the personnel of the Eastern Palace and entrusted Xiao Zhen with handling them.
Xiao Zhen, having already received the message Ling Hua sent through Liuli, responded to the Emperor without any emotion, "Follow the old precedents!"
The Emperor nodded, "Proceed."
Xiao Zhen exited the Imperial Study, with Little Zhengzi holding an umbrella for him, and left the Imperial Palace.
After he left, the Emperor leaned back in his chair with a sigh. Over the past two days with Xiao Zhen handling state affairs by his side, it reminded him of the past with Xiao Ze, who was also his son and who he had similarly involved in managing state affairs. It hadn't been so apparent before when they weren't compared side by side, but now the disparity was glaringly obvious.
