As the night deepened, Shen Yunfeng paced in the study.
Shen Heqing only had one day off. He would have to return to the academy early the next morning. If he missed this opportunity, the next one would be a month later. Now, Shen Yunfeng couldn't afford to wait. He wanted to get a divorce as soon as possible.
After much thought, Shen Yunfeng asked the butler to call Shen Heqing over.
A moment later, Shen Heqing casually threw on a robe and came to the main courtyard. "Father, did you summon me?"
Shen Yunfeng poured a cup of green tea for Shen Heqing. "After you left, I thought it over carefully. It was indeed my mistake. I trusted Master Huijue too much."
"Baozhu is the apple of my eye. I dote on her so much that I would never be willing to send her away."
"I was just too angry and worried about your imperial examination next year... Let's keep what happened today a secret between us father and son, shall we?"
Hearing Shen Yunfeng's remorseful words, Shen Heqing's eyes grew slightly moist. "Father, don't worry. I'll keep it a secret."
Seeing that he had touched Shen Heqing with just a few words, a look of pride flashed in Shen Yunfeng's eyes.
But soon, Shen Heqing's words made Shen Yunfeng nervous. "Father, I heard that Baozhu had an accident five days ago. Why did you only inform Danqing?"
Shen Yunfeng was stunned. He finally realized his oversight.
He had disliked Shen Danqing for years, but suddenly went to the academy to call him back home a few days ago. Princess Jingning must have noticed something was amiss.
"I'm Baozhu's eldest brother. Such things should be reported to me first. How could you only tell Danqing?" There was a hint of jealousy in Shen Heqing's tone. He had always secretly compared himself with Shen Danqing, and now he was also dissatisfied that Shen Yunfeng had skipped over him and only informed Shen Danqing.
In a panic, Shen Yunfeng made up an absurd excuse. "Danqing wanted to eat egg custard, so I picked him up to have some. We just happened to encounter this..."
This reason was extremely ridiculous. Both Shen Heqing and Shen Danqing were studying in the Shen family's academy. They could simply ask the servants to send the food to the academy. Going home on leave just for egg custard made Shen Danqing seem uninterested in his studies.
Shen Heqing looked at Shen Yunfeng strangely. Out of respect for his father, he deliberately changed the subject.
"Father, what's the background of Master Huijue?"
Shen Heqing was just asking casually, but unexpectedly, Shen Yunfeng began to introduce Master Huijue, his words full of admiration.
This made Shen Heqing involuntarily clench the teacup in his hand. "Father, do you think Master Huijue has any real abilities?"
"Master Huijue is highly proficient in Buddhism." Shen Yunfeng said an ambiguous sentence.
Shen Heqing immediately stood up, his tone unfriendly. "Father, a man should make contributions and establish achievements to defend his country. If I sacrifice Baozhu for the imperial examination, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"
"I used to think you were gentle-tempered, but now I realize that word is an insult to you!"
Leaving this harsh remark behind, Shen Heqing got up and left.
Furious, Shen Yunfeng pointed at him and cursed. "You unfilial son!"
Shen Yunfeng could only curse this one sentence behind his back. Now the Shen family was counting on Shen Heqing to pass the imperial examination and bring glory to the younger generation of the Shen family. If news spread that he had disobeyed his father, the first one who wouldn't let Shen Yunfeng off would be the old lady of the Shen family.
After Shen Heqing walked out of the front courtyard, he let out a long sigh of relief. He had finally avenged his mother!
...
The next day.
Princess Jingning left early in the morning with Concubine Hongshen. Shen Baozhu could only have breakfast alone.
She sat obediently on the chair, eating the breakfast in the bowl.
Just as Shen Baozhu stuffed her favorite crystal shrimp dumplings into her mouth, her cheeks puffing out, the subtitles that had been incomplete yesterday appeared again.
[Thank you for the hair ornaments. The professor said they have made a great contribution to the alliance's research on ancient culture.]
[Do you still need the potion? I've prepared some extra and would like to give them to you.]
The first sentence was a bit hard to understand, but Shen Baozhu understood the second one. Thinking of how the treasure had made her elder brother feel better yesterday, her eyes lit up.
The next moment, the same potion as yesterday appeared on the table.
But there was only one bottle yesterday, while today there were dozens of them, neatly stacked into a small mountain.
The sunlight filtered through the cracks in the window and shone into the room. The transparent potion bottles refracted beautiful light, making it hard to look away.
Looking at the pile of potions, Shen Baozhu couldn't hide her excitement. She swallowed the shrimp dumpling in her mouth and said happily. "Thank you, Brother Lin Yu!"
"Baozhu, do you still have the pills that Doctor Lin gave you?" Shen Heqing came in from outside the door.
Ever since Shen Bao had given him the water to drink yesterday, Shen Heqing's mind had been extremely clear. He had even been very quick-witted and had finished writing two new policy essays by candlelight.
Until dawn, Shen Heqing still wasn't sleepy and had practiced calligraphy for another hour.
This energetic feeling was something he had never experienced before.
Shen Heqing casually sat down beside Shen Baozhu and tried to pick up the last shrimp dumpling in her bowl, but was quickly caught by Shen Baozhu.
Shen Baozhu protected the shrimp dumpling. "This is the last one. I can't share it with you, big brother."
"But big brother is tired from studying in the academy. I also want to eat shrimp dumplings." Shen Heqing exaggeratedly covered his head, as if he was really exhausted.
This successfully deceived Shen Baozhu. Although she loved shrimp dumplings very much, she felt even more sorry for her big brother. So she covered her eyes and let Shen Heqing pick up the last shrimp dumpling. "Then big brother, eat quickly. Don't let me see."
Shen Heqing happily ate Shen Baozhu's shrimp dumpling. Just as he was about to tease her again, he saw the potions on the table.
The deep blue light flowing in the transparent bottles was a sight Shen Heqing had never seen before.
He exclaimed in surprise. "Did mother buy you glass ornaments too? We really think alike..."
He said the last sentence very softly, and Shen Baozhu didn't hear it clearly. This time, she remembered Princess Jingning's instructions and nodded seriously. "Yes, mother bought me these glass ornaments. Aren't they beautiful?"
Shen Heqing nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Do you still have the pills that Doctor Liu gave you?"
"The effect was so good. I stayed up all night and wrote two policy essays, and I'm still energetic now. If I had a few more, I wouldn't have to worry about next year's imperial examination."
Shen Baozhu blinked. She didn't have any pills, only the potions the god had just given her.
After thinking for a while, Shen Baozhu pointed to the potions on the table. "They're right here."
Shen Heqing gently explained. "Baozhu, I'm talking about Doctor Liu's pills, not the ornaments."
"Yes, the pills are right here." Shen Baozhu nodded seriously.
The potion she had given her big brother yesterday was this one.
Shen Heqing didn't understand. Pills were pills, and ornaments were ornaments. How could pills be ornaments?
He reached out and touched Shen Baozhu's forehead. "You're not running a fever. Why are you talking nonsense?"
"Where's mother?"
Shen Baozhu angrily slapped away Shen Heqing's hand. "I'm not talking nonsense. Mother isn't here. She took Aunt Hongshen out."
"Okay, then I'll wait for mother to come back." Shen Heqing started to have breakfast and also teased his younger sister.
...
In an inn in the capital.
Princess Jingning was sitting at the table, and a woman was standing in front of her.
The woman was quite young, about in her twenties, with a delicate appearance, but her eyes were full of exhaustion.
She said nervously. "This commoner, Xie Xiner, pays respects to the princess."
Xie Xiner was actually Shen Yunfeng's real cousin.