Although no news had spread, the Marquis of Yong'an had already entered the palace to plead with the emperor to depose Wang Linchun from his position as the heir apparent. However, the emperor had not yet agreed to the matter of establishing a female household.
A servant briefly recounted these events, emphasizing Wang Linchun's misfortune. "I heard that the Wang family once tried to sell the eldest miss, and that's when the marquis deposed Wang Linchun and sent him to the Nanfeng Courtyard."
[What is the Nanfeng Courtyard?]
Chen Miaochun also looked blank and asked, "Godmother, what is the Nanfeng Courtyard?"
"You're still young. You'll understand later," the Princess of Jingning replied evasively, not expecting the Marquis of Yong'an to be so vicious.
The servant then described the general situation in the mansion. "It was Wang Linchun who ordered a servant to start the fire that day. He also used the eldest miss's name to distract the servants in the mansion. Wang Linchun is extremely malicious. He even ordered the servant to drug the fourth miss..."
Chen Miaochun was caught by this statement. She was puzzled. "Me? The servants in the mansion don't like me. How could they be distracted by me?"
"Wang Linchun had someone open the eldest miss's private treasury and said that you were going to give out silver rewards. That's why all the servants in the mansion went," the servant said, looking a bit guilty because he had also gone that day.
Although the servants in the mansion disliked Chen Miaochun, they wouldn't refuse the shiny silver.
Hearing that her money was gone, Chen Miaochun almost jumped up in anger.
Fortunately, the Princess of Jingning grabbed her in time. "Don't be angry. Godmother will make it up to you."
Chen Miaochun pouted. She picked up Shen Baozhu and hugged her, then took the opportunity to pinch the soft little face. "Okay. Thank you, godmother."
That was basically what had happened. After the servant finished speaking, the Princess of Jingning asked Baizhi to take him to get the reward.
The Princess of Jingning knew that Chen Miaochun was sensitive. She wanted to say something to her, but saw that Chen Miaochun was busy coaxing Shen Baozhu.
In the past few days, Chen Miaochun had learned how to coax people from Shen Heqing. Now, holding Shen Baozhu in her arms, she said in a soft voice, "Baozhu, puff out your cheeks and let me pinch them just once, just a little bit. Baozhu is the best!"
Unable to resist Chen Miaochun's coaxing, Shen Baozhu frowned. "Okay, but just once!"
Chen Miaochun happily pinched her a few times. When she looked up, she saw the Princess of Jingning looking at her. She quickly withdrew her hand and sat there obediently.
Seeing her lively appearance, the Princess of Jingning also smiled. "Miaochun, I have something to tell you. The infertility drug that Wang Linchun took was given to him by me."
When her good friend passed away, leaving behind two young children, the Princess of Jingning felt so sorry for them that she doted on them whole - heartedly.
Chen Ruxia was taken care of by the old lady of the Marquis of Yong'an's mansion. The Princess of Jingning felt even more sorry for Wang Linchun. "Although the Marquis of Yong'an is somewhat capable, he never bothered about the affairs in the mansion. He only cared about his own pleasure. If he had considered your mother's feelings back then, your mother wouldn't have been bullied by Concubine Zhao in the mansion."
"Concubine Zhao is shallow - minded and only knows how to spoil Wang Linchun. At that time, Heqing had already started to study with a carefully - selected teacher. I asked Wang Linchun to study with him too, but unexpectedly, Wang Linchun resented me for it."
[How stupid. Studying is such a good thing, and his teacher was also excellent. Why would Wang Linchun resent her for such a good opportunity?]
"Wang Linchun thought that as the heir apparent, his status was different. He didn't need to study as hard as Heqing. He made a big fuss in front of me and then left."
[He's really stupid.]
The Princess of Jingning continued, "When he was seven years old, he suddenly came to me crying and asked for the infertility drug. I didn't want to give it to him, but he cried so hard that he fainted. I felt so sorry for him that I gave it to him. I asked him what he wanted the drug for, but he refused to tell me and just ran away."
"After that, Wang Linchun rarely came to the princess's mansion. Our contact became less, but I still sent him gifts. It wasn't until that year when a great Confucian gave a lecture that he lost face and then incited Ruxia to cause trouble for Heqing."
"That's when I completely saw through him and was disappointed in him."
The Princess of Jingning always knew that Wang Linchun didn't like her or Shen Heqing. But considering his young age and the early loss of his mother, she was very lenient towards him. However, when she knew that he had incited Chen Ruxia to cause trouble for Shen Heqing, she was still shocked.
He knew that he was in the wrong, but he still didn't care about Chen Ruxia's reputation and made her cause trouble for Shen Heqing in public. If it weren't for the relationship with the Princess of Jingning, Chen Ruxia would have gained a bad reputation for being unruly.
From then on, the Princess of Jingning cut off her relationship with Wang Linchun.
The Princess of Jingning patted Chen Miaochun's hand and explained, "I'm telling you this because I'm afraid that you'll misunderstand me if you find out about it later. I used to take Wang Linchun as the child of my good friend and took care of him. It wasn't my intention to give him the infertility drug."
"I didn't tell the Marquis of Yong'an about it later because I still regarded him as the child of my good friend. The Marquis of Yong'an is a rough - tempered man. If he knew about this, he might beat Wang Linchun up without thinking."
Chen Miaochun could tell that the Princess of Jingning was afraid that she would misunderstand. She hugged Shen Baozhu tightly uneasily. "Godmother, do you also think that I'm being unreasonable..."
"Sister Miaochun, you're not being unreasonable," Shen Baozhu suddenly leaned back, looking into Chen Miaochun's eyes with her bright eyes. Her tone was firm. "Sister Miaochun is always angry for a good reason. You're not being unreasonable."
"Even if sister Miaochun is being unreasonable, it's okay. Baozhu will spoil you!"
This statement was so domineering that it made the Princess of Jingning and Chen Miaochun laugh. Shen Baozhu looked at them blankly, not knowing what she had said wrong.
[Hahaha, the little cutie is so funny. She's being so serious about spoiling Chen Miaochun.]
Lin Yu couldn't help laughing either. [Baozhu is amazing. She knows how to spoil her sister.]
Thanks to Shen Baozhu's interruption, Chen Miaochun no longer felt uneasy. But there was still something she didn't understand. "Godmother, how is Ruxia? Why didn't the servant mention her?"
After taking Shen Baozhu's pill, Chen Ruxia was fine, but the scars on her body were a bit of a problem. The reason why the servant didn't mention her was that the Princess of Jingning had deliberately arranged it so that she wouldn't be involved in Wang Linchun's mess.
Chen Miaochun was relieved to know that Chen Ruxia was okay. Just as she was about to be happy, she suddenly saw a familiar figure approaching. Her face turned ashen.
Shen Baozhu waved her hand happily. "It's big brother!"
[The contrast between the little cutie and Chen Miaochun is so obvious. Hahaha.]
The Dragon King was lying on the couch, propping his head up with one hand and watching. He was happy when others were unhappy.
Shen Heqing hesitated for a moment and then said his purpose. "Mother, my teacher sent me a letter asking if I would like to travel with him to gain more knowledge... I want to go."
Previously, Shen Heqing had also received letters, but Shen Yunfeng had always dissuaded him, saying that the imperial examination was of utmost importance. The Princess of Jingning had no objections, but she told Shen Heqing to pick a few people from the general's mansion to accompany him.
After getting the Princess of Jingning's permission, Shen Heqing was overjoyed. Chen Miaochun was even happier. She almost burst out laughing, but then remembered that Shen Heqing was still there. She tried hard to hold it in and her face turned red.
Shen Heqing was a bit touched. He didn't expect Chen Miaochun to be so reluctant to part with him. He even got so excited that his face flushed. "Miaochun, don't worry. Before I leave, I will definitely arrange a good teacher for you."
In Chen Miaochun's shocked gaze, Shen Heqing promised that he would surely find a good teacher for her.
Shen Baozhu whispered, "Does sister Miaochun love reading so much? I thought she didn't like it."
Chen Miaochun pinched the palm of her hand desperately and forced a smile. "Yes, I love reading very much."