Before Shen Baozhu could respond, the Dragon King sent over a huge pearl.
The Dragon King: [It's no fun getting good things if you don't show them off!]
The Dragon King: [Take this pearl and show it off. Then give it to the emperor to win him over so he'll keep your secret.]
It's only right to give the emperor some rewards for his service.
Shen Baozhu's eyes lit up. She knew how to do this. Last time, she'd threatened the emperor with the dragon figurine to keep her secret. She figured threatening and bribing were pretty much the same thing.
Practice makes perfect. Shen Baozhu was confident that she'd succeed in "bribing" the emperor this time.
Her pastries were saved!
Shen Baozhu exclaimed, "Thank you, Dragon King! You're the most awesome dragon I've ever seen!"
The Dragon King swished his tail. He was quite pleased with Shen Baozhu's compliment. Yes, he was the most awesome dragon!
The emperor had just finished admiring the "amazing hidden weapon" when he turned to see Shen Baozhu holding a pearl in her arms.
The pearl was so huge that Shen Baozhu had trouble holding it and almost dropped it.
With great difficulty, Shen Baozhu held the big pearl and remembered to show it off first and then "bribe" the emperor. "Uncle Emperor, this is a big pearl a god gave me!"
First the dragon figurine, then the little silver bracelet, and now the big pearl...
Looking at the pearl, which was almost as big as Shen Baozhu's head, the emperor felt a twinge of jealousy. It wasn't that he wanted these treasures. He just wanted to be in the good graces of the gods.
"Uncle Emperor, you have to keep this a secret from Mother. If you tell her, I won't be able to give you this big pearl."
Give the big pearl to Uncle Emperor...
In an instant, the emperor forgot all his other thoughts. "Okay, Uncle Emperor will keep it a secret from your mother."
"Really? Then I'll give you the big pearl."
Shen Baozhu was very happy. She staggered forward and handed the big pearl to the emperor.
The emperor took the smooth, shiny pearl. All his other thoughts vanished. "Don't worry, Baozhu. Uncle Emperor will definitely teach the Marquis of Yong'an a good lesson and help Chen Miaochun!"
Lin Yu: [It seems the emperor really falls for the Dragon King's tricks?]
The dragon figurine last time and the big pearl this time had left the emperor speechless.
Shen Baozhu didn't understand what was going on, but Lin Yu had an inkling. The sudden lightning strike that had hit the guard and the eunuch Ping Hai that day must have been the doing of the dragon figurine.
The Taoist Priest Qingyun: [Most earthly emperors love dragons. Since the Dragon King is the king of dragons, it's only natural for the emperor to like him.]
The Dragon King was very pleased.不愧是修士大能，就是有眼光！
After making an agreement with Uncle Emperor about Sister Miaochun, Shen Baozhu was ready to go home. She rushed to ask the Taoist Priest Qingyun for a teleportation talisman before the Dragon King could say anything.
The Dragon King was a bit miffed. [Little cutie could have used my fruit.]
Remembering the taste of the fruit that could shrink the earth into an inch, Shen Baozhu immediately shook her head. "No, it's too bitter."
The Dragon King: [It's really not bitter!]
But the taste of the fruit had left a deep impression on Shen Baozhu. This time, she refused to give it a try.
Shen Baozhu used the teleportation talisman to go home. She didn't forget to say goodbye to the emperor. "Goodbye, Uncle Emperor. I'm going home first!"
Lin Yu: [Go home? Wait, Baozhu! You came to the palace from the marquis's mansion!]
This caption happened to appear just as the teleportation talisman took effect. Shen Baozhu didn't see it.
When she teleported back to the main courtyard of the princess's mansion, she saw her third brother, Shen Haiyan, anxiously leaning on his crutches. "Quick, send a message to Mother. Baozhu hasn't come home..."
The last word "home" was still stuck in his throat when Shen Haiyan locked eyes with a certain little girl.
The Dragon King jeered. [Wow, little cutie has been caught by her third brother.]
Shen Haiyan gritted his teeth. "Shen Baozhu! You're not getting any pastries this month!"
Hearing that she wouldn't get any pastries, Shen Baozhu covered her eyes, pretending not to see. "Third brother, you're seeing things. I'm not Shen Baozhu. Shen Baozhu is at Qiuqiu's place with Sister Miaochun."
"Hehe. Then guess what Chen Miaochun is doing now? She and Chen Ruxia are looking for a little idiot who ran away." Shen Haiyan narrowed his eyes menacingly.
The Dragon King: [Wow, who could the little idiot who ran away be?]
The Dragon King: [It's so hard to guess.]
Looking at the angry third brother and the captions in the air, Shen Baozhu was scared. She hugged Shen Haiyan's leg and started crying.
"Wuwuwu. The little idiot is Baozhu. Baozhu knows she was wrong. Can third brother not tell Mother?"
Shen Haiyan felt sorry for her at first, but then he panicked. "Baozhu, don't hang on to third brother's leg. My injury isn't healed yet..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Shen Haiyan lost his balance and fell backward because of Shen Baozhu's weight. Fortunately, Baizhi saw them in time. Otherwise, they would have both fallen.
...
In the evening.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone into the courtyard, bathing Shen Baozhu and Chen Miaochun in its light.
Shen Haiyan sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, watching the two girls stand in punishment. "Baozhu, don't lean on Miaochun to be lazy. And Miaochun, don't reach out to help her."
"You two should be lucky that big brother isn't home. If he knew, you two would be in big trouble."
Under Shen Haiyan's strict supervision, Shen Baozhu had to stand obediently. Her full stomach started to growl. She regretted not following Yan Mingli's example and tying some pancakes to herself.
Inside the house, the Princess Jingning and Chen Ruxia listened to the commotion. Chen Ruxia felt sorry for them. "Mother, why don't you let them in? They've been standing for an incense stick's time."
"Miaochun can come in. Baozhu has to stand for a while longer. If I don't teach her a lesson, she'll do it again." The Princess Jingning's expression was calm, but her tone was angry.
This wasn't the first time Shen Baozhu had run away secretly. The last time, the Princess Jingning hadn't punished her because she'd accidentally saved Shen Haiyan. But now, she'd run away again.
The Princess Jingning sighed. Baozhu had the help of the gods. If she wasn't strictly disciplined, she might misuse the treasures the gods had given her and cause big trouble.
Hearing this, Chen Ruxia didn't try to persuade her anymore. At first, the Princess Jingning hadn't punished Chen Miaochun. But Chen Miaochun, out of sisterly love, had volunteered to stand in punishment with Baozhu. If Baozhu couldn't come in, it would be pointless for Chen Miaochun to come in alone.
The Princess Jingning took the initiative to say, "I've asked the wife of the Marquis of Yong'an. She didn't know about the behavior of the servants in the marquis's mansion. In front of me, she interrogated several stewards and finally found the root cause."
The root cause of this bad atmosphere was in Chen Miaochun's courtyard. The maid who served her personally had a bad attitude. She looked down on Chen Miaochun and thought her behavior was rude and annoying.
Chen Miaochun was angry about the maid's attitude and complained to Wang Linchun. Wang Linchun pretended to comfort her but secretly rewarded the maid with silver, making everyone think that Chen Miaochun was making a mountain out of a molehill and throwing a tantrum.
The originally guilty maid now thought she was right and spread the news everywhere. In the end, everyone in the marquis's mansion knew that Chen Miaochun was moody.
The wife of the Marquis of Yong'an didn't know Chen Miaochun well. She'd also heard about her through the maids around her. So, misunderstandings had arisen.
Chen Ruxia twisted the handkerchief in her hand. She felt mixed emotions. "Mother, sister has had a hard life."
"She has a long life ahead of her. She'll be happy." The Princess Jingning comforted her and looked out of the window. She met Chen Miaochun's eyes.
Chen Miaochun mouthed, "Mother, I want to come in."
The Princess Jingning nodded slightly. The mistake wasn't Chen Miaochun's. She'd originally only wanted to punish Shen Baozhu.
But to her surprise, Chen Miaochun, after getting permission, happily pulled Shen Baozhu into the house.
Looking at her daughter, who was looking at her pitifully, the Princess Jingning finally couldn't bear to let her continue standing in punishment. "You're not allowed to eat pastries this month. Next month, you can have one every three days. The month after that, one every two days."
Shen Baozhu counted on her fingers. "So, the month after next after next after next, can I have three pastries a day?"
The Princess Jingning's face darkened completely. "Baozhu is so good at math. Why don't you calculate how many times you've run away secretly?"