After capturing the villain, Shen Baozhu was so overjoyed that she accidentally overate.
Her belly was bulging, and she could only grunt and ask Princess Jingning to rub it for her.
Princess Jingning rubbed the soft little belly and then pinched Shen Baozhu's cheek: "You should know how to control your eating. It's not that the more you eat, the better. The servants in your courtyard have been derelict in their duties. I'll have them transferred out and train two smart maids for you. For the time being, you can stay in the main courtyard."
Previously, there were always people around Shen Baozhu to remind her not to overeat. But these days, there had been so many things going on that Princess Jingning had momentarily forgotten to tell her.
Shen Baozhu nodded haphazardly, still thinking about the shrimp dumplings for breakfast the next morning: "Mother, rub my belly quickly. I'm going to eat six shrimp dumplings tomorrow morning! I need to empty my belly quickly!"
Princess Jingning found it amusing and joked: "Little glutton. Your belly is still bulging, and you're already thinking about the shrimp dumplings for tomorrow morning. No wonder you always overeat!"
After rubbing for a while, Shen Baozhu's belly felt a bit better.
Lying in bed, looking at the gauze curtain, Shen Baozhu suddenly remembered that she had been blessed by a god. She rolled over and got up.
Then she danced with excitement and said, "Mother, mother, look at me!"
"Just like this yesterday, I was lying in bed..."
"...When I was playing with the Luban Lock, the god suddenly appeared. Then I became very smart and solved the Luban Lock. And then..."
Under Shen Baozhu's vivid performance, Princess Jingning, who had just been watching, subconsciously sat up straight. If it were just a fantasy, Shen Baozhu shouldn't be able to describe it so vividly.
She remembered that Doctor Liu had confirmed that the poison was the resentment of a foolish child. Normally, once this poison entered the body, it would have an impact on a person. But Baozhu had spat out the poison intact.
Looking at the lively little girl, Princess Jingning suddenly probed: "Mother has ten pastries to share among you and your brothers. You get three, and each brother gets two. How many pastries do you have?"
Shen Baozhu blinked her eyes: "Do father and Aunt Yun get any pastries?"
"Father gets one, and Aunt Yun doesn't." Princess Jingning simply added.
Shen Baozhu said confidently: "I have eleven. My brothers don't like pastries, so they're all mine. Mother and father love me, so the remaining pastries are also mine!"
Seeing that Shen Baozhu was as smart as before, Princess Jingning felt a strange feeling. Could it be that the god Baozhu talked about was real?
"By the way, mother, did the villain say why she wanted to harm me?" Shen Baozhu remembered this very important thing and hurriedly asked.
When it came to this matter, Princess Jingning became more worried: "The maid refused to say anything."
Then Princess Jingning said half - jokingly and half - seriously: "Mother still wants to ask Baozhu's god for help. It would be great if the god could make Cuiliu talk."
Shen Baozhu thought her mother was right. She seriously straightened her little face and bowed to the empty air again and again: "Please help, Immortal."
...
In the study in the front yard.
Shen Yunfeng was restless, thinking about the matter of Cuiliu. He was afraid that Princess Jingning would really find out about Cuiliu and it would affect him.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. First, three soft knocks, then a heavy pat. This was the secret signal between Shen Yunfeng and his cousin.
Shen Yunfeng frowned subconsciously. He quickly stepped forward to open the door and let his cousin in sideways.
"Shen Lang, Cuiliu is missing!" His cousin quickly told him that she couldn't get in touch with Cuiliu.
After getting the news from Shen Yunfeng, she didn't delay for a moment. But Cuiliu wasn't in the main courtyard. After asking people privately, she only knew that Cuiliu had disappeared after noon.
Shen Yunfeng thought something was wrong, but he quickly came up with a countermeasure: "Rou'er, if Cuiliu exposes you, you must never admit it. Just insist that Cuiliu is framing you."
"Yesterday, everyone in the mansion knew that you saved Baozhu. With this kindness, as long as you deny it firmly, the princess won't be able to do anything to you. Besides, Cuiliu was arranged by me to enter the mansion. On the surface, you have nothing to do with her."
His cousin nodded in agreement: "Okay, but what if the princess believes Cuiliu's words and insists that it was me?"
"This is the princess's mansion. You're a visiting cousin. You have no chance to buy off Cuiliu. As long as there is no physical evidence from Cuiliu and you don't admit it, then the princess will be repaying kindness with enmity. We'll also achieve our goal of ruining her reputation." Shen Yunfeng put his arm around his cousin. His tone was gentle, but the words he said were extremely vicious.
...
Early in the morning.
When Shen Baozhu woke up in bed, her mind was still groggy.
A yellowed talisman fluttered down from the air and landed on Shen Baozhu.
At the same time, those shiny golden words appeared again.
[This is the Truth - Revealing Talisman. Stick it on someone and use spiritual energy, and the person will tell the truth.]
Shen Baozhu immediately thought of what she had asked for yesterday. She bounced up from the bed: "Thank you, Immortal!"
"I'm going to find mother now!"
Holding the talisman, Shen Baozhu didn't even bother to put on her shoes and ran out bare - footed.
At this time, in the study in the main courtyard.
Ziyuan didn't look very well. First, she had failed to find out anything about Xiayu. Today, when she went to investigate Cuiliu, there was still no good news. Being frustrated twice in a row made her dejected.
"Princess, Cuiliu was arranged to enter the mansion by the steward. I heard that she was a distant relative who came to seek refuge. She has a household register and travel documents. There's nothing else we can find out..."
Princess Jingning was practicing calligraphy. Her strokes were powerful and smooth.
Qingdai also helped to come up with ideas: "Since that Cuiliu refuses to talk, we can torture her. Under severe torture, she will definitely say something."
Ziyuan shook her head listlessly: "We've tried that before. Cuiliu seems timid and cowardly, but she refuses to say a single word about this matter. She just keeps crying and begging for mercy."
As soon as she said this, the study fell into silence, except for the faint sound of the pen on the paper.
After finishing writing a piece of paper, Princess Jingning had an idea in mind.
She put down the pen and said softly: "It's good that she's loyal to her master, but what if the master doesn't know?"
"Qingdai, knock Cuiliu out and send her to the government. Say that Cuiliu intended to harm her master and has already confessed. Make a big fuss about it so that the whole capital will know..."
"Mother, mother!"
The door of the study opened, and a figure rushed towards Princess Jingning at a very fast speed.
Princess Jingning subconsciously hugged the little girl and saw that she had run over bare - footed.
Ziyuan took out a handkerchief and quickly wrapped Shen Baozhu's feet, while Qingdai went out to get Shen Baozhu's shoes.
Shen Baozhu held up the talisman in her hand high: "The shoes are not important. Mother, look! This is a treasure from the god!"
Princess Jingning and Ziyuan both looked at the paper in Shen Baozhu's hand at the same time. The paper was a bit yellowish, with the corners slightly curled. In the middle, there were strange symbols drawn in bright red cinnabar. Just one look was enough to tell that it was extraordinary.
"Mother, this is the Truth - Revealing Talisman. Just stick it on the villain with spiritual energy." Shen Baozhu handed the talisman to her mother, but didn't get a response for a long time.
She gently pushed her mother: "Mother?"
"Baozhu, is the god not just your fantasy?" Princess Jingning's tone was full of surprise.
Shen Baozhu was incredulous. She widened her eyes, looking a bit cute: "How could it be! I couldn't just suddenly conjure up a Truth - Revealing Talisman. Mother, look, this Truth - Revealing Talisman is real."
"And with this, the villain will tell the truth, so it's called the Truth - Revealing Talisman!" While peeping at the words in the air, Shen Baozhu introduced the Truth - Revealing Talisman.
This time, Princess Jingning completely believed Shen Baozhu's words. She first asked Ziyuan to leave.
After Ziyuan left, Princess Jingning hugged Shen Baozhu, unable to hide her surprise: "Baozhu, is the god still in the same place as before?"
Shen Baozhu shook her head: "The god follows Baozhu. Wherever Baozhu is, the god is there."
Princess Jingning keenly noticed the key point. In this case, this god was bound to Baozhu and would only help her. This was simply a great thing!
Barely controlling her excited mood, Princess Jingning carefully instructed: "Baozhu, you must never take out these things in public in the future, and never tell anyone that you have a god to help you."
Shen Baozhu was puzzled: "Why? Isn't this a good thing?"
"Of course it's a good thing. But what if someone asks Baozhu for help? Will you help or not? If you help, you'll have to help more people in the future. If you don't, that person might hold a grudge against you..." Princess Jingning explained the pros and cons clearly to Shen Baozhu.
Shen Baozhu only half - understood, but she obediently said: "Okay, I'll listen to mother."
"Can I tell father?"
Princess Jingning stroked Shen Baozhu's head and coaxed: "Baozhu is still in a fight with father. Wait until you make up with him, and then it's not too late to tell him."
"But Aunt Ziyuan just found out. What should I do?" Shen Baozhu thought of Ziyuan just now and was a bit worried.
"It's okay. She won't say anything. You can also tell Hongshen, Baizhi, and Qingdai. Don't tell elder brother for the time being, because he has to study for the imperial examination soon and can't be distracted."
This was just an excuse. The real reason was that Shen Heqing was different from his two younger brothers. He had the closest relationship with the Shen family and admired Shen Yunfeng the most. If he knew about this, it would be the same as Shen Yunfeng knowing.
Under Princess Jingning's persuasion, the mother and daughter quickly reached an agreement to keep it a secret from Shen Yunfeng and Shen Heqing.