After Shen Haiyan finished the pastries, Shen Baozhu clapped her hands as if trying to deceive herself and others.
She then ran up to Shen Yunfeng. "Father, look. The pastries are all gone," the little girl sighed. "Baozhu also wanted to give some to Father, but there weren't enough."
Shen Yunfeng forced a smile. He wasn't a fool, and no fool would believe such a lie. But seeing Shen Baozhu looking at him expectantly, he just said perfunctorily, "Okay, okay, Father believes you, Baozhu."
Shen Baozhu didn't forget to complain. "Father, there's a bad guy bullying Third Brother. You must avenge him!"
Shen Yunfeng kept a straight face and continued to be perfunctory. "All right, I got it."
"Father! Are you just敷衍 me?" Shen Baozhu wasn't stupid. She could tell Shen Yunfeng was just humoring her. Angrily, she stomped her feet and said, "Father is so unreliable! Baozhu will go back to Mother and ask her to avenge Third Brother."
Seeing Shen Baozhu getting into an argument with Shen Yunfeng, Ping Hai almost burst out laughing. The emperor had told him to create some trouble for Shen Yunfeng, but not to beat him openly. He just couldn't hold back earlier.
Shen Haiyan had been missing, but his father was acting so casually. Ping Hai couldn't stand it and just reacted impulsively.
He was a bit worried, afraid that Shen Baozhu would still care about Shen Yunfeng. If Shen Yunfeng took revenge on him later, it would be a big problem.
Now seeing Shen Yunfeng shooting himself in the foot, Ping Hai felt relieved. He guessed that Shen Yunfeng probably didn't know about Shen Baozhu's special abilities, but he did!
Before leaving the palace, the emperor had made everything clear.
Ping Hai calmly messed up his clothes, then pulled Shen Baozhu aside pitifully. "Little Princess, don't say that. The Marquis, after hearing the news of Third Young Master's disappearance, didn't even want to send me to look for him. I shouldn't be telling you this, but I can't bear to see you being humored like this."
The long speech left Shen Baozhu a bit dazed. She was trying hard to understand what Ping Hai said. Lin Yu kindly translated for her: [Baozhu's father didn't want to save Baozhu's third brother. He was forced to come.]
Lin Yu really disliked Shen Yunfeng and added his own interpretation: [Baozhu, stay away from your father. He doesn't want to save his son. Maybe he'll sell you in the future.]
The Green Cloud True Man also agreed: [Makes sense.]
Only the Dragon King, who didn't know about Shen Yunfeng's bad deeds, was anxious. He wanted to know what was going on, but due to the restrictions, he could only keep watching.
Shen Baozhu blinked her eyes, looked at Shen Yunfeng, then ran back to Shen Haiyan. "Third Brother, is Father really that bad?"
If it were Shen Heqing or Shen Danqing, they might have been more tactful for the sake of the Princess Mansion's reputation. But today it was Shen Haiyan lying there.
Shen Haiyan lowered his eyes, looking at his still immobile hands and feet. He said aggrievedly, "Maybe it's not that Father is bad. He just doesn't like me. After all, I'm a good-for-nothing."
"No way! Third Brother is the best!" Shen Baozhu protected Shen Haiyan and glared at Shen Yunfeng angrily. "Father, apologize to Third Brother right now!"
Shen Yunfeng was already in a bad mood. Now he found Shen Baozhu even more annoying. He said impatiently, "Shen Baozhu, stop being naughty! It's getting late. Let's go back quickly."
Then he glanced at Shen Haiyan, with a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes.
If he had to pick the child he disliked the most, it would definitely be this third son. He had been stubborn since childhood and always sided with the Mu family. He was so unlikable.
He had even once gone to his study and almost found the letters.
So when he sent people to deal with Shen Haiyan, he didn't feel a bit sad. He just regretted losing a few useful people.
Shen Baozhu had never been yelled at by her family before. She instinctively took a step back. Seeing her third brother lying on the ground unable to move, she held back her fear and emphasized, "Father, you must apologize to Third Brother!"
Of course, Shen Yunfeng wasn't willing. He simply turned his back and ignored Shen Baozhu.
Seeing this, Ping Hai quickly called the guards and asked them to carry the stretcher to take Shen Haiyan back. Then he looked at Shen Baozhu attentively. "Little Princess, the journey back to the capital is long. Do you want me to hold your hand?"
Because of Shen Yunfeng's behavior, Shen Baozhu was in a bad mood. She took Ping Hai's hand and walked with him.
The group returned to the capital before it got dark.
...
The Princess Mansion.
The moment Shen Haiyan saw Princess Jingning, all his grievances finally burst out. "Mother!"
Princess Jingning saw Shen Haiyan's hands and feet tied with steel plates. Her heart skipped a beat. She wanted to hug him but was afraid of hurting his wounds.
Following closely were Shen Heqing and Shen Danqing.
Shen Baozhu quickly hugged Shen Heqing and complained to him. "Big Brother, Father bullied me and Third Brother!"
Shen Heqing stopped in his tracks, picked Shen Baozhu up, and looked at Shen Yunfeng standing beside him. He said angrily, "Father, Haiyan is your own son. Why are you being so harsh on him?"
"And Father also bullied me," Shen Baozhu whispered.
Shen Heqing patted Shen Baozhu on the back and then confronted Shen Yunfeng. "Before, because of Bai Xinrou, you failed to be a good husband. Now it seems you're also a bad father!"
"Don't worry, Baozhu. We'll ignore him."
Shen Danqing stood behind Shen Heqing. His eyes, just like Shen Yunfeng's, were cold. Shen Yunfeng didn't like him and Haiyan. In the past, he would at least hide it a bit, but today he didn't even bother to pretend. There was something strange about this.
Princess Jingning ordered someone to call the imperial doctor, but Shen Haiyan stopped her. "Mother, my hands and feet are broken. Calling the doctor won't help."
There was a hint of bitterness on Shen Haiyan's face. "Son is lucky. Fortunately, Baozhu came to find me today. If it had been a bit later, Mother might never have seen me again."
Everyone's face changed. Shen Danqing crossed out his previous thought. Even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs. Shen Yunfeng couldn't be that heartless.
Hearing that Shen Haiyan didn't want to call the imperial doctor, Ping Hai left with the guards. He had to hurry back to the palace and tell the emperor what had happened today. It was so interesting. The father was so heartless, and the son knew it well. It seemed there was a big conflict between them.
Princess Jingning then hugged Shen Baozhu. She said gratefully, "Baozhu is so great. Thank you, Baozhu."
"But next time, when you go out alone, you must tell your family. Mother and Second Brother searched the whole Princess Mansion this afternoon. We were so worried about you."
Shen Baozhu nodded obediently. "Baozhu remembers. Mother, Father bullied me and Third Brother!"
"Father is so bad. Mother, cut off Father's money and don't give him any pastries. Punish him, okay?" Princess Jingning said pastries, but actually, she wanted to cut off the money for the front yard.
Shen Yunfeng, who had been acting like it had nothing to do with him, frowned. "A child's joke. How can you take it seriously?"
Princess Jingning said gently, "All the expenses in the Princess Mansion come from my dowry. I'm sure my husband isn't the kind of person who covets his wife's dowry, right?"
Shen Yunfeng's face darkened. He knew very well that all the expenses in the Princess Mansion came from Princess Jingning's dowry. In fact, one of the reasons he had been trying so hard to find fault with Princess Jingning was because of the dowry.