In the main courtyard of the Princess Mansion.
Bai Zhi brought in the tea. Fuming with indignation, she said, "Princess, Shen Yunfeng has taken Bai Xinrou back to the Shen Family. Are we just going to let them off like this?"
"Just thinking about how much the little princess has suffered because of these two makes me want to tear them apart."
Thinking of Shen Baozhu's pitiful state after falling into the water, Bai Zhi couldn't calm down.
Seeing Bai Zhi all worked up, Princess Jingning let out a soft laugh. Zi Wan kindly explained, "You dummy, the princess did it on purpose. If Bai Xinrou had stayed in the princess mansion all the time, what if something happened and she blamed it on the princess? She's the daughter of a convicted official!"
"By letting Shen Yunfeng take Bai Xinrou away, the princess can also put pressure on the Shen Family."
"Inside the mansion, it's a family matter between the princess and Shen Yunfeng. Even the current emperor wouldn't interfere. But once Shen Yunfeng takes Bai Xinrou away, it's a different story..."
Knowing that Princess Jingning had a plan, Bai Zhi felt relieved.
Looking at the night outside, Bai Zhi said excitedly, "Today's a good day. I'll ask the small kitchen to cook a few more dishes to celebrate."
Princess Jingning smiled and said, "Sure. Ask the small kitchen to make a few spicy dishes. Lady Xin likes them."
Shen Baozhu was young and had a sweet tooth. The small kitchen usually cooked according to her taste, so there were rarely any spicy dishes.
When Princess Jingning met Lady Xin in the restaurant today, she noticed that most of the dishes Lady Xin ordered were spicy. Afraid that the dinner might not suit her taste, she gave an extra instruction.
Zi Wan nudged Bai Zhi beside her and said, "Lady Xin exerted a lot of effort this afternoon. The princess and I could hear Shen Yunfeng and Bai Xinrou's miserable screams outside. Hurry up and prepare more for Lady Xin to replenish her strength."
Hearing this, Bai Zhi was stunned for a moment and said, "She beat those two? This is great news!"
Bai Zhi happily went out, but bumped into Shen Heqing with a cold face head - on.
Seeing Bai Zhi at the door, Shen Heqing pushed the little girl in his arms forward and said, "Go, let Bai Zhi carry you. Since you've been hiding things from me, don't let me carry you either..."
Before Shen Heqing could finish his sentence, Shen Baozhu quickly climbed down. She was still holding that picture album in her arms.
Shen Baozhu ran straight into the house and said, "Baozhu has grown up. I'll tire Aunt Bai Zhi out, so I'll walk by myself!"
Bai Zhi was very touched and said, "The little princess is not only cute but also so considerate."
Shen Heqing also thought Shen Baozhu was cute and well - behaved. He nodded in agreement and said, "Baozhu has always been very obedient and sensible..."
Halfway through his words, Shen Heqing suddenly realized something and said, "Then why isn't she afraid of tiring me out? I carried her all the way!"
Inside the house, Shen Baozhu burrowed into Princess Jingning's arms with the picture album in her arms.
She said proudly, "Big brother carried me for a long, long time today. Does Baozhu count as having made a great contribution?"
"Of course. Your big brother is naturally lazy and only likes to bury his head in books. Only our Baozhu can order him around." Princess Jingning scraped Shen Baozhu's little nose.
Receiving the praise, Shen Baozhu held her head high and handed the album to her mother and said, "This is a precious picture album given by a fairy. I hid it very carefully. Big brother definitely didn't find it!"
"Really?" Shen Heqing suddenly spoke up. Looking at Shen Baozhu, he raised his voice and said, "Although you asked Danqing to help you hide the album in front of me, although the album poked me when I was carrying you, although... but fortunately, Baozhu hid it well. I definitely didn't find the album, right?"
Shen Baozhu nodded stupidly. Princess Jingning and Zi Wan both understood what Shen Heqing meant and were about to burst out laughing.
Princess Jingning covered her smile with a handkerchief and said, "Baozhu is really great! But mother wants to know. Why are you so sure that big brother didn't find it? Do you have some way?"
"No, but big brother once said that he would never lie to Baozhu. So if he said he didn't find it, he definitely didn't!" Shen Baozhu said firmly, which stunned everyone.
Shen Heqing, who was a bit angry before, completely lost his temper. He squatted down and apologized to his sister, "Baozhu, big brother wants to apologize to you. Actually, I found that album, but it wasn't on purpose. It just poked me so hard."
Shen Baozhu looked at the album, then at Shen Heqing, and finally at Princess Jingning. After hesitating for a moment, she stretched out her little hand and said worriedly, "Baozhu will blow on it. Big brother won't hurt."
This made Shen Heqing feel even more guilty. He had already forgotten about Shen Baozhu hiding the album. All he felt was full of guilt. He had actually lied to Baozhu. It was so wrong.
Princess Jingning quietly put the album behind her and told the siblings to go wash their hands first and then change into clothes suitable for receiving guests.
Zi Wan led Shen Baozhu to wash her hands. Shen Heqing casually asked, "Mother, I took Baozhu to the school to play. She dug out an album from somewhere. She not only guarded it tightly in her arms but also hid it from me..."
"Maybe Baozhu found it by accident. It's nothing serious." Princess Jingning paused for a moment and changed the topic, "The guest we'll meet later is related to your father. You should be mentally prepared."
Thinking of what Shen Danqing said today, Shen Heqing deliberately joked, "What guest is related to father? Could it be that Cousin Xie is fake and the real cousin has come to the door?"
Princess Jingning looked up in surprise and said, "When did you find out?"
Shen Heqing just wanted to crack a joke but unexpectedly guessed the truth. He was stunned for a moment.
By the time Shen Heqing changed his clothes, he still hadn't come to his senses.
Princess Jingning sat in the main seat. Shen Heqing and Shen Baozhu sat on either side of her, while Lady Xin sat below Shen Baozhu.
Lady Xin didn't care about the seating arrangement at all. Her eyes were only on the dishes on the table.
When she was in the Xie Family, she was a picky young lady. Now she had no food taboos at all. She would eat whatever was available. Seeing that most of the spicy dishes were placed in front of her, Lady Xin knew that Princess Jingning had taken special care of her. She was grateful in her heart and couldn't help complaining about Shen Yunfeng for sacrificing her for his lover.
Shen Heqing felt extremely uncomfortable and subconsciously looked at Shen Baozhu.
Different from him, Shen Baozhu was concentrating on eating the rice in her bowl and occasionally asking Bai Zhi to pick some of her favorite dishes for her, as if she hadn't heard Lady Xin's words.
During Shen Heqing's torment, the dinner soon ended.
But what awaited him was an even bigger surprise.
When Princess Jingning took Shen Heqing to the study, Qing Dai was standing in front of the table, and Hong Shen was holding down a little maid.
Seeing Princess Jingning, Qing Dai stepped forward and reported, "We've found out. It's this little maid who mixed drugs into the eldest young master's tea leaves."
Shen Heqing usually lived in the school and only had a young servant to serve him.
He liked to drink tea. Every once in a while, the young servant would return to the princess mansion to get tea leaves.
This little maid had a good relationship with the young servant. When the young servant came back to the princess mansion to get tea leaves, she used an excuse to detain him. Then, while he wasn't paying attention, she sprinkled poison in the tea leaves. It was this drug that made Shen Heqing feel unwell a few days ago.
Hong Shen pressed her arm down and said, "Quickly tell me. Who instructed you!"
The little maid was timid and immediately confessed that it was Bai Xinrou.
Even though Shen Heqing was innocent, he realized that this matter was related to Shen Yunfeng.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Worse than a beast!"