Five days later.
"Mother, can I go and make clay figurines today?"
Before the morning meal was even finished, Shen Baozhu rushed to the side of the Princess of Jingning and said impatiently.
She held up her little hand and counted one by one, "I'm going to make several. One for big brother, one for the immortal, one for second brother, one for the immortal, one for third brother, one for the immortal..."
As she counted, Shen Baozhu ran out of fingers. The Princess of Jingning quickly interrupted her, "All right. If you keep counting, the immortals will be selling clay dolls."
Shen Baozhu widened her eyes and said happily, "Really? Then Baozhu will make more for the immortals to sell!"
Ever since Shen Heqing took Shen Baozhu to make clay figurines the year before last, she had fallen in love with this game and often made clay figurines for the people around her.
However, she treasured the first clay figurine she made and wouldn't give it to anyone. She carefully hid it herself.
The Princess of Jingning pulled Shen Baozhu, pinched her little nose and said with a smile, "Be careful not to tire yourself out. Your big brother is on leave today. Just let him take you there."
Shen Baozhu's eyes lit up and she cheered, "Great! Then I'll go and pick up big brother!"
Shen Heqing was the eldest son. He was the most beloved by the old Lady Shen and was highly expected by the Shen family.
The winter before last, he had moved to the academy to live and eat with the master. He could only go home occasionally on leave.
The last time Shen Baozhu saw him was two months ago.
Hearing that Shen Heqing was on leave today, Shen Baozhu volunteered to go and pick him up.
The Princess of Jingning had long guessed what Shen Baozhu would do. She had already ordered the carriage to be prepared and also told Baizhi and Ziwan to go with Shen Baozhu to avoid any accidents.
After the three of them left, not long after, Qingdai came in holding the ledger, "Princess, after cutting off the silver for the courtyard of the cousin, there was a commotion there once and then it went quiet. But the expenses in the front courtyard have increased..."
Qingdai hesitated to speak. The meaning in her words was obvious.
The Princess of Jingning casually flipped through a few pages. She laughed softly, "Since the expenses in the front courtyard have increased, you take this ledger and go and have a good accounting with the steward."
"By the way, ask when Cui Liu can be transferred out. Put some pressure on them so that Cui Liu can see clearly whether her good young lady wants her or not."
...
In the carriage.
Because she was going to the academy to pick up her big brother, Shen Baozhu had even asked her mother to dress her up.
The light pink ruffled skirt set off her fair skin. There were two rabbit bead flowers on her head, looking vivid. The whole person looked like a pink and tender ball of dough.
Shen Baozhu was very satisfied with today's dressing. She took out a copper mirror and admired herself. She couldn't help asking, "Wow, who is this cute little girl?"
"It's Baozhu!"
The way the little ball talked to herself was a bit stupid and cute.
In mid-air, the first subtitle of the day appeared: [Beautiful.]
Shen Baozhu, who had received the praise, was even happier. She held her little face and continued to look at herself in the copper mirror. She must dress up beautifully to pick up her big brother and make him look good!
Soon, the carriage stopped at the entrance of the academy.
Shen Baozhu put away the copper mirror. Without waiting for Baizhi to carry her, she ran down on her own and stood obediently at the entrance of the academy, waiting for her big brother to come out and taking him home.
After Shen Baozhu had been waiting eagerly, a young man in a red robe walked out. It was her big brother, Shen Heqing.
Although Shen Heqing was about the same age as Shen Danqing, except for a pair of identical phoenix eyes, the two were very different. Compared with Shen Danqing, Shen Heqing had a more scholarly air. His pair of phoenix eyes were very much like Shen Yunfeng's. No matter who he looked at, there was a touch of deep affection in them.
Except for his eyes, in other aspects, Shen Heqing resembled the Princess of Jingning more.
"Big brother, I've come to pick you up!" Shen Baozhu happily ran up to Shen Heqing.
Shen Heqing's steps were unsteady. He was extremely tired, but in front of his sister, he still managed to force a smile, "Baozhu came to pick up big brother herself. Big brother is very happy."
But when he got closer, Shen Baozhu found that Shen Heqing had dark circles under his eyes, looked listless and seemed vulnerable.
Although he was unwell, seeing his little sister come to pick him up, Shen Heqing still cheered himself up and forced a smile, "Baozhu came to pick up big brother. Big brother is really very happy..."
As Shen Heqing was speaking, he reached out his other hand to hold Shen Baozhu, but missed.
Obviously, Shen Baozhu was standing on his left side, but Shen Heqing reached out his right hand to hold her. Not only did he not hold her, but he almost fell to the ground.
"Big brother!" Shen Baozhu exclaimed. Frightened, she quickly reached out and held Shen Heqing.
With Shen Baozhu's support, Shen Heqing walked much more steadily. He praised, "Baozhu is really great."
When the two of them walked to the carriage, Baizhi and Ziwan were both shocked.
Baizhi quickly stepped forward to support Shen Heqing and helped him into the carriage to sit down.
"Big brother, what's wrong with you?" Shen Baozhu sat beside him and looked at Shen Heqing worriedly.
Shen Heqing didn't know what was going on either. But since three days ago, he had been feeling strange. Not only was his mind muddled and he was always sleepy, but he also saw double images. He originally thought it was because he had stayed up late reading and damaged his body, but after resting for an afternoon, it was still the same.
Seeing her big brother like this, Shen Baozhu also frowned. She took Shen Heqing's hand, "Let's go home quickly. Let mother invite Uncle Liu to see big brother."
Uncle Liu that Shen Baozhu was talking about was the Imperial Physician Liu who had treated her before.
Ziwan was quick-witted. She told Baizhi to take the two masters back to the mansion, and she herself went directly to invite Imperial Physician Liu to save time.
The carriage turned around and returned to the Princess's mansion. And Shen Yunfeng, who had been sending people to wait at the academy, also got the news.
Hearing that it was still Shen Baozhu who had picked up Shen Heqing this time, Shen Yunfeng was overjoyed. Since the Princess of Jingning had just left the mansion, it was as if God was helping him!
He quickly asked someone to invite the prepared monk to the mansion.
The last time he tried to drive a wedge between the Princess of Jingning and Shen Danqing but failed. This time, Shen Yunfeng repeated the same trick. He wanted to drive a wedge between the Princess of Jingning and Shen Heqing.
Compared with the previous plan, this plan was a bit more risky. After all, Shen Heqing and the Princess of Jingning were mother and son, blood relatives, and it was very difficult to separate them.
Originally, Shen Yunfeng didn't plan to use this strategy. Unexpectedly, Bai Xinrou had acted on her own, which led to Shen Baozhu's appearance halfway and the failure of the previous plan. In order to get a divorce as soon as possible, Shen Yunfeng had to take a risk.
...
The carriage arrived at the entrance of the Princess's mansion. Shen Baozhu helped Shen Heqing get off.
By this time, Shen Heqing was feeling a bit better. Moreover, since he usually liked to hold Shen Baozhu's hand, the guards in the mansion didn't notice anything unusual for a while.
Just after entering the main gate and bypassing the rockery, a short and fat middle-aged man suddenly appeared. A smile squeezed out on his round face, looking rather kind.
"Steward?" Baizhi was taken aback and subconsciously blocked Shen Baozhu.
Although the Princess of Jingning hadn't said anything clearly in the past few days, Baizhi had also sensed that there was an undercurrent surging in the mansion.
For example, although the cousin was the savior of the little princess, her monthly silver had been cut off. Even more subtly, the front courtyard of the Prince Consort had taken on the expenses of the cousin.
And the steward was the person who served beside Shen Yunfeng. Baizhi had a bit of hostility towards him.
The steward seemed not to notice at all. He looked at Shen Heqing in surprise, "The eldest young master is back? The Prince Consort was still thinking about you yesterday and wanted to go to the academy to visit you. Is it your day off today? Time really flies. In a blink of an eye, it's time for another day off."
Hearing that Shen Yunfeng missed him, Shen Heqing felt a softness in his heart. His body seemed to gain a bit more strength. He forced himself to say, "It's my fault for being unfilial. I've only been busy with my studies and haven't written a letter to father."
"Baozhu, you go first with Aunt Bai. I'm going to the front courtyard to see father."
Shen Baozhu said worriedly, "But big brother..."
"It's all right. I'm much better now." Shen Heqing showed a gentle smile.
Seeing that Shen Heqing agreed, the steward quickly stepped forward to support him, "What's wrong with the eldest young master? Let me support you."
Watching Shen Heqing's departing back, Baizhi always felt that something was not quite right. But the steward was Shen Yunfeng's man, and Shen Heqing was Shen Yunfeng's most beloved son. There should be nothing wrong.
Shen Baozhu was not very happy, "Big brother is not feeling well. He should go back and rest first. Father can come and find big brother."
Hearing this, Baizhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She explained, "Because the Prince Consort is an elder and the eldest young master is a junior, only juniors visit elders. There is no reason for elders to go and find juniors."
"But big brother is not feeling well." Although Shen Baozhu understood what Baizhi said, she was still a bit unhappy in her heart.
She was worried about her big brother and pulled Baizhi to follow him to the front courtyard.