Chapter 5
"Phew! I should have managed to avoid Mother's notice."
Shen Baozhu tiptoed into the room quietly. Suddenly, someone tapped her on the back, making her jump. "I didn't sneak into the palace!"
Dragon King: [The cute one just gave herself away.]
Lin Yu: [It's Third Brother. Be careful, Baozhu.]
Shen Haiyan was still leaning on his crutch as he slowly shuffled into the room. He looked at Shen Baozhu with great interest. "Baozhu just went to the palace again, right? If Mother finds out, your punishment will probably double."
Seeing that it wasn't her mother, Shen Baozhu let out a sigh of relief. "Third Brother, you scared me!"
"If Baozhu has nothing to feel guilty about, how could I scare you?" Shen Haiyan reached out and ruffled Shen Baozhu's hair.
Shen Baozhu felt guilty and subconsciously took a few steps back.
But she quickly regained her composure. She stepped forward a few steps, blinked her moist eyes, and said sincerely, "Third Brother, you should believe me. I'm not feeling guilty!"
Shen Haiyan was silent for a moment. He was thinking. Did he really look like a fool?
He thought so and voiced his thought out loud.
Shen Baozhu immediately complimented him, "Third Brother is the smartest person Baozhu has ever met. How could you be a fool?"
"Then why does Baozhu treat me like a fool?" Shen Haiyan bent down to look Shen Baozhu in the eye.
The two stared at each other for a while. Finally, Shen Baozhu couldn't hold it in anymore and obediently told him where she had just been.
After hearing Shen Baozhu's conversation with the prime minister, Shen Haiyan had a rather unique perspective. He praised her, "Baozhu is really amazing. You even know how to stir up trouble."
Shen Baozhu looked at Shen Haiyan blankly. "What does 'stir up trouble' mean?"
Shen Haiyan said to himself, "Prime Minister Sima is a vengeful man. He will definitely cause trouble for the Shen family. Baozhu is so great. You're even smarter than Big Brother."
Unlike Big Brother, who was such a fool that he actually believed the Shen family's nonsense.
Although Shen Baozhu didn't quite understand why Third Brother was praising her, she was still very happy. She helped Shen Haiyan sit down on the chair and asked carefully, "Then will Third Brother tell Mother that Baozhu went to the palace?"
"No." Shen Haiyan answered quickly, but he had another request. "Next time Baozhu goes to the palace, talk more about Grandfather with Prime Minister Sima."
"Grandfather talks about Prime Minister Sima all the time at home. It shows that he knows Prime Minister Sima very well. Baozhu should also let Prime Minister Sima know more about Grandfather. That's the proper way to reciprocate courtesy."
Shen Baozhu suddenly understood. She nodded and replied, "Okay, Baozhu remembers. Third Brother is really smart."
Dragon King: [Hahaha.]
Just as he sent this message, the Dragon King received a reminder from the system that his level was not high enough and he needed to earn points to upgrade.
The Dragon King expressionlessly opened the magic device for voice transmission and sent a message to the White Dragon. "Are you taking a break? My merits aren't increasing. Hurry up."
On the other side, the White Dragon, who had just finished killing the demons, hadn't even caught his breath when he received the Dragon King's voice transmission.
Looking at the disappearing demons in front of him, the White Dragon wished he could grab that stinky dragon in the Dragon Palace and make him come and kill the demons himself!
But wishes were just wishes. The White Dragon respectfully replied, "Your Highness, this little dragon hasn't been taking a break. It's just that all the demons in this area have been killed. This little dragon had to search hard to find the remaining ones."
Soon, a golden light flashed across the White Dragon's body, and he arrived in another area where demons were everywhere.
Then, a Black Dragon fell from the sky and landed precisely on the White Dragon.
The Black Dragon, who had been grabbed temporarily, asked, "What's going on?"
The Dragon King's voice came through the transmission. "One dragon is too slow. You two should work faster."
"Whoever earns more merits will be allowed to stay in the Dragon Palace for two days."
The White Dragon's eyes suddenly lit up. Two days of rest? He didn't even bother to explain to the Black Dragon. He took out his magic device and rushed towards the demons.
Thanks to the efforts of the White Dragon and the Black Dragon, the Dragon King's merits increased rapidly.
At night, Shen Baozhu got into bed. "Reverend Qingyun, Brother Lin Yu, Dragon King, Baozhu is going to sleep!"
Reverend Qingyun: [Okay.]
Lin Yu: [Baozhu, sleep well. See you tomorrow.]
Dragon King: [You didn't eat any pastries today. You're really good, cute one!]
...
At the Yong'an Marquis Mansion.
The former Yong'an Marquis, Chen's father, was sitting limply on the chair. His eyes were blank. "I just thought about letting Chen Miaochun establish a female household, but the Emperor made her the Yong'an Marquis. What about me?"
"I should be the Yong'an Marquis!"
Suddenly, Chen's father stood up and swept all the teacups on the table to the ground. His expression was ferocious.
The former Yong'an Marquis's wife was sitting across from him with Qiuqiu in her arms. Seeing Chen's father like this, she frowned slightly and reached out to cover Qiuqiu's eyes. "My lord, what are you doing? The Emperor not only allowed Miaochun to establish a female household but also made her the Yong'an Marquis. As her parents, we should be happy for her."
Chen's father sneered. "This title was earned by my grandfather. I went to the battlefield and made military achievements to inherit the title early. Why does Chen Miaochun deserve to be the Yong'an Marquis?"
"Why!"
Qiuqiu was startled by Chen's father and couldn't help but shrink back.
Chen's mother hugged Qiuqiu tightly and said coldly, "My lord, don't forget that your grandfather is also Miaochun's great-grandfather, and you are also Miaochun's father. She is the eldest daughter of the Marquis Mansion, and it was you who personally asked the Emperor to allow her to establish a female household. Of course, she is qualified."
"Do you dare to talk to me like this? Xu Chunhua, don't forget that if it weren't for me, your Xu family would still be huddled in that small county town. Now that I've fallen out of favor, are you eager to step on me?" Chen's father took a few steps closer, and his expression became even more terrifying.
Chen's mother was not afraid at all. For the first time, she looked Chen's father in the eye. "Your humble servant hasn't forgotten. Please also don't forget, my lord, that my grandfather and Prime Minister Sima were both Jinshi in the same year. My father just offended someone and was sent to be the magistrate of a small county town.
"And you just mentioned the Xu family when your political enemy fell from power. Even if you hadn't mentioned it, Prime Minister Sima would have."
Seeing his usually gentle wife become so sharp, Chen's father was stunned for a moment and subconsciously took a step back. But he quickly regained his composure. "So what? The fact that I helped the Xu family is undeniable!"
"Yes, it's a fact! So the Xu family married me into this family. I married into the Marquis Mansion at the age of sixteen and became the mistress of the mansion. I gave birth to our son at the age of seventeen and conceived Qiu'er the next year. I'm only twenty-five years old this year." Chen's mother recounted her experiences over the years, and her expression became cold. She asked, "My lord, how old are you this year?"
Chen's father had established his career before getting married. He was twenty-three years old when he married his first wife. Now he was exactly forty years old, fifteen years older than Chen's mother.
Fifteen years. If Chen's father hadn't gone to the battlefield to make military achievements, he could have had a daughter as old as Chen's mother.
Thinking of the past, Chen's mother hugged her daughter tightly in her arms, as if drawing strength from her. "My lord, the Emperor has already issued the imperial edict. You'd better be more obedient, lest the Emperor misunderstand that you're dissatisfied with the edict."
"Someone, bring in the medicine."
Chen's father was shocked. "What medicine?"
Several strong maids came in with bowls and ropes. They acted quickly and tied Chen's father up before he could react. Then they poured the medicine in the bowl down his throat.
Chen's father stared wide-eyed. He struggled violently but couldn't resist the seven or eight maids.
After all the medicine in the bowl had been poured in, Chen's mother walked over with Qiuqiu in her arms. "My lord, guess where this medicine came from?"
"It was developed by the imperial physician, and it was tested on Wang Linchun's biological father. Isn't that a coincidence?"
"You and he are both Wang Linchun's fathers."
Since Chen Miaochun had just become the Yong'an Marquis and Chen Pan'er hadn't gotten married yet, Chen's father couldn't die yet. This medicine would make his whole body stiff and immobile.
Chen's mother let go of her hand and let Qiuqiu see what was happening. She pointed at Chen's father on the ground and said, "Qiuqiu, remember to be careful when making friends in the future and stay away from heartless people."
Qiuqiu turned around and hugged Chen's mother tightly. "Qiuqiu remembers."