But in front of that Hongwu Emperor, who started with just a bowl and could kill without batting an eye, it would be hard for him not to reveal his true form. If Mr. Johnson took him for a monster, or thought he was possessed by a ghost or something, a single slash would be getting off easy—skinning him alive and stuffing him with straw wouldn’t be out of the question.

David Walker observed his expression and, seeing his face turn pale, guessed a bit of what was going on. “Your Highness, at this hour His Majesty should be handling state affairs in the Wuying Hall, not in the Qianqing Palace.”

“Oh, then let’s do it another day.” James Johnson breathed a sigh of relief.

“We still need a definite date, so this old servant can submit a request for Your Highness in advance.” David Walker reminded him, “His Majesty is busy with countless affairs every day and never has any leisure. Only the Crown Prince can see him at any time without prior notice. Of course, the Empress can as well…”

The implication was clear: Your Highness’s rank still isn’t quite high enough.

“Mm, you decide then.” James Johnson felt a bit hurt. So it turns out seeing Father Emperor isn’t as easy as he thought—he’d been overestimating his own importance.

“Yes, sir.” David Walker replied, then asked, “Where shall we go now?”

“The Main Hall.” James Johnson said in a low voice.

Chapter Four: The Grandpa Who Slacks Off

The Main Hall was in the south of the Forbidden City, inside the Left Shun Gate.

From the Wan’an Palace, it was nearly two li away.

Along the way, they had to pass through three palace gates, all strictly guarded and thoroughly checked.

Every attendant needed a waist token to enter or exit, and even someone like Mr. Walker, who managed affairs, was no exception.

When they reached the Main Hall, David Walker and his group were directly refused entry.

“This is where the princes study. To let Their Highnesses focus on their studies, no unrelated persons are allowed inside.” Mr. Walker handed over the book bag and said, “Your Highness must go in alone. This old servant will wait here for you to finish your lessons.”

“No need, I’m not here to study today.” James Johnson didn’t take the book bag and walked straight into the Main Hall.

The guards at the door, seeing it was Prince Chu, naturally didn’t stop him, but they also kept their eyes straight ahead and didn’t salute. Whether it was to avoid disturbing the class inside, or to remind the princes that once they entered this door, they were just ordinary students, was unclear.

As soon as he entered, he heard the sound of students reading aloud. James Johnson unconsciously lightened his steps, but had no intention of entering the classroom. Instead, he circled around to the back of the two-story, five-bay school building.

There was a small garden there, the ground covered in golden ginkgo leaves. There were rockeries and ponds, with withered lotuses and budding chrysanthemums—a place for the princes to rest during breaks.

At this hour, the princes were in class, so the little garden was empty.

James Johnson carefully observed the scene before him, while trying hard to recall what happened that day.

Then he slowly walked past the layered rocks and winding paths of the rockery, arriving at the secluded lotus pond, and stopped in front of a bluestone.

He lowered his head and looked at the reflection in the pond—a chubby little boy in a small blue dragon robe, with thick eyebrows and an innocent face.

For a long time, James Johnson murmured, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll find the one who hurt you.”

This was exactly where he had stood before falling into the water that day.

James Johnson had returned, not to mourn a past he could never return to, but to recreate the scene of that day.

He closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, let himself become completely calm, and tried to recall how he felt at the time…

…

He remembered that the wind was howling that day, chilling him to the bone, making the little boy miss his mother even more, and cry his heart out.

So much so that he didn’t hear someone walk up behind him.

Not until he was pushed from behind…

At this point, the memory became especially clear. He could almost still feel the force transmitted through those two hands on his back!

Then his body lurched forward, stumbling one step, two steps, until his right foot was about to touch the water—only then did he barely stop himself!

James Johnson raised his thick eyebrows, his mouth slightly open, deep in thought.

He first pulled his foot back to avoid falling in again. Then he stepped back three paces, raised both hands, and began to mimic the attacker.

After repeating this several times, James Johnson suddenly clapped his hands, as if he’d caught onto something!

First, the push from behind. To be precise, it was two hands together, pushing just below his left and right shoulder blades!

This meant the attacker was likely about the same height as him.

If the person had been much taller, their hands would have pushed his shoulders instead.

If they’d pushed his back, they’d have to bend down, take a horse stance, or push downward with both hands—all unnatural positions for exerting force.

In that case, they might as well have just kicked him straight into the water.

And another thing—he’d stumbled forward two steps before falling in.

This meant the attacker wasn’t very strong.

Because if someone is trying to push you into the water, they’ll definitely use all their strength. If the person was strong enough, he would have flown straight in, not taken those two steps.

So the attacker was either a child about his age, or a girl with a similar build.

And since the Main Hall was off-limits to outsiders, and there were no palace maids around, the suspect was most likely the former!

That narrowed it down a lot.

Especially in such a fixed group, finding this person wouldn’t be difficult.

But since his memory was still a bit fuzzy, and to avoid missing anyone, he decided to go and confirm it.