Encouraged by the Dragon King, Shen Baozhu got the idea of going to the palace. Unfortunately, the residual spiritual energy in the Spiritual Water Pearl had just run out.
The Dragon King said cheerfully, [It's used up? Perfect! Little cutie, use my Earth - Shrinking Fruit!]
But his joy was short - lived. Qingyun the True Man soon brought the Spiritual Water Pearl to Shen Baozhu. Compared with the single drop last time, this time it was as big as a fist, more like a water ball than a water drop.
Shen Baozhu reached out to take the water ball, sipped it little by little, then closed her eyes and tore the teleportation talisman in her hand.
The next moment, she appeared in the emperor's study.
"Uncle Emperor!"
The emperor, who was discussing matters with the prime minister, heard this familiar call and immediately turned around. He got up and ran towards Shen Baozhu. "Baozhu is here?"
The emperor couldn't wait to show off. "Has Baozhu heard the news? The day you left, I thought it over and over. I felt that the young master had treated Miao Chun so unfairly. This reward should be generous. We'll go all the way and make her the Marquis of Yong'an directly!"
"But the time was too short. I haven't had the chance to scold her father yet. But don't worry, Baozhu. I'll scold him as soon as possible."
Thinking of the big pearl, the emperor was happy. When he was happy, he wanted to handle this matter perfectly.
The Dragon King commented, [This emperor is quite interesting. He still remembers little cutie's other request.]
Shen Baozhu was confused. She asked, "Isn't the Marquis of Yong'an Sister Miao Chun's father?"
The emperor explained it to Shen Baozhu. In short, in Chen Miao Chun's family, her father used to be the Marquis of Yong'an, the most powerful person. Now this status had been given to Chen Miao Chun, and she had suddenly become the head of the family.
The head of the family...
Shen Baozhu added her own understanding. "Wow, then Sister Miao Chun can eat three plates of pastries every day. How happy she is!"
"Hahaha, not just that. She can eat ten plates a day!" The prime minister was amused by the childish words and couldn't help joking.
He looked at the little girl in a dark - green dress with two simple buns on her head. He took a few steps forward and said kindly, "Are you Shen Baozhu? My name is Sima Bai. You can call me Prime Minister Sima."
Shen Baozhu asked curiously, "Are you the bad prime minister who used to be the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?"
The Dragon King wondered, [Is he a corrupt official?]
The prime minister was startled. He noticed the emperor's somewhat strange look and quickly defended himself. "Baozhu must be joking with me, right? I've always been a good official. When did I ever become a bad prime minister?"
"Grandpa said so!" Shen Baozhu wasn't joking. She still remembered what her grandfather, the former prime minister, the old Master Shen, had said in the house during the Chinese New Year. To prove that she wasn't joking, she even repeated her grandfather's words roughly.
"Grandpa told me during the New Year. He said that the old scoundrel Sima was a bad guy who snatched his position as prime minister. Even the emperor helped that old scoundrel Sima. One day, that old scoundrel Sima would surely show his true colors and couldn't be the prime minister anymore."
"I asked Grandpa if this old scoundrel Sima was the bad prime minister. Grandpa nodded and said yes!"
"Daddy and uncles were all laughing and saying that I was smart and could draw inferences from one instance!"
The Dragon King exclaimed, [Wow, are they going to fight? I like this. Hurry up and fight.]
The prime minister's heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled. He regained his smile. "Baozhu is really smart. I'm sure Baozhu can also guess that your grandfather was lying to you."
Under Shen Baozhu's confused gaze, the prime minister began to coax the child, leading her step by step.
"First of all, what do you think of His Majesty?"
"Uncle Emperor is the best!"
"Then if your grandfather made a mistake, should he be punished?"
"Yes! Mother said that if you make a mistake, you should be punished so that you can correct it."
"When Uncle Emperor found out that your grandfather made a mistake, should he punish him?"
"Yes!"
"To punish your grandfather, Uncle Emperor made me the prime minister. Am I right?"
"Right."
"Then am I innocent? Am I still a bad prime minister?"
Seeing that Shen Baozhu was still a bit hesitant, the prime minister played his trump card. "Baozhu, do you know General Mu? He and I are bosom friends. I heard that he has a little granddaughter as cute as you."
Learning that the "bad" prime minister was a friend of her grandfather, Shen Baozhu immediately changed her attitude. "Then Grandpa must be talking nonsense. You're a good prime minister."
The Dragon King mused, [Really? That's such a coincidence.]
Shen Baozhu apologized to the prime minister. "Sorry, I mistook you for a bad prime minister. It's my fault."
The prime minister also had grandchildren. He even had a grandson the same age as Shen Baozhu, but that grandson was always climbing walls, trees, or beating gongs and drums, disturbing the whole family.
At this moment, he stared at Shen Baozhu in disbelief. Such a young child knew how to apologize. So there really were well - behaved children in this world!
Shen Baozhu quickly forgot about this matter. She asked the emperor, "Uncle Emperor, is it my credit that Sister Miao Chun was made a marquis?"
After getting an affirmative answer, Shen Baozhu hurriedly left. She had come secretly this time. If she stayed too long and was discovered by her mother, she wouldn't be able to eat pastries for two months!
The prime minister stared at the place where Shen Baozhu disappeared, his eyes widening even more. "This... this is truly a miracle!"
"Normal. Baozhu is a little immortal. It's normal for her to know some special immortal magic," the emperor said nonchalantly, completely lacking the shock he had when he first saw the immortal magic.
The emperor turned around and sat back on his chair, continuing to discuss state affairs with the prime minister. Suddenly, he asked, "You and General Mu are bosom friends? I've never heard of this before. When did this happen?"
The prime minister looked a bit strange. "Your Majesty, you don't really believe it, do you? That was just something I said to coax the child."
Hearing this, the emperor sat up straight and frowned. "You lied to Baozhu? What if you anger the immortals..."
"So I plan to write more letters and send them to the border. I'll try my best to become bosom friends with General Mu before he returns to the capital," the prime minister said. Since he dared to tell a lie, he had already thought about how to make it come true, so he wasn't worried.
...
The Princess Mansion.
Chen Miao Chun hugged the imperial edict and was excited for a while. Then she lay on the table dejectedly.
Seeing her like this, Yan Mingli felt both heartache and helplessness. "Do you really want to go to the Nanfeng Pavilion so much?"
Chen Miao Chun didn't say a word and continued to lie there.
"If you really want to go, I'll take you there," Yan Mingli said out of his love for Chen Miao Chun.
Chen Miao Chun was overjoyed. "Really? Great! Let's take Baozhu with us!"
Yan Mingli's eyes widened. He was just about to stop her when Chen Miao Chun ran out.
Since the place was a bit shady, he didn't dare to shout at Chen Miao Chun loudly. He could only chase after her.
Fortunately, Chen Miao Chun didn't find Shen Baozhu. She searched the main courtyard. "It's so strange. Baozhu clearly said she was going back to the main courtyard..."
Yan Mingli was so anxious that his face turned red. He pulled Chen Miao Chun outside. "We can't take Baozhu. If you take Baozhu, I won't take you to the Nanfeng Pavilion!"
Chen Miao Chun reluctantly compromised. "Okay."