Xu Yutang's eyelashes fluttered slightly. Her health was not very good.
She had been living in the attic for a long time and rarely moved around. To maintain her figure, she ate little and had little meat, which made her weak from childhood.
Just holding the gold and standing for a while, Xu Yutang felt a stabbing pain in her hands and feet and could hardly stand steadily.
Lin Yu, who was observant, noticed it first. "Baozhu, help Yutang into the house to rest. She seems not quite right."
Supported by Shen Baozhu into the house and putting the gold she was holding on the table, Xu Yutang felt much more relaxed.
The Dragon King said, "So useless! She can't even hold such a little bit of gold."
This remark inspired Shen Baozhu. She suddenly realized again that it was because the gold was too heavy!
Since the gold was too heavy, she would change it to something light!
Shen Baozhu hugged all the gold in her arms and ran outside. "Sister Yutang, sit for a while first. I'll be back soon!"
A few pieces of gold made Xu Yutang unable to stand steadily, but Shen Baozhu carried them with ease. This was thanks to the immortal fruits from the Dragon King and the magic pills from the Green Cloud True Man, which had been subtly nourishing Shen Baozhu's body.
Xu Yutang didn't know the inside story. She stared at Shen Baozhu's back, her already round eyes widening even more.
Baozhu was so strong!
...
In the garden, behind the rockery.
A blush appeared on Yan Mingli's jade - like face. He said shyly, "Miaochun."
"I'm here." Chen Miaochun replied expressionlessly, while in her mind, she was calculating that the sweet soup she had for lunch today was delicious and she could take Baozhu to have it next time.
The handkerchief embroidered by Ruxia for her was dirty and she had to remember to wash it.
Ning Shanyuan would check the progress of her book - reciting tomorrow, so she had to get up early to recite...
"Miaochun! You were distracted!" Yan Mingli had used silver to get Xu Yutang away just to cultivate feelings with Chen Miaochun. But Chen Miaochun was distracted at this crucial moment. He was very angry, and his face, which was just slightly red, quickly flushed.
Chen Miaochun blinked and was a bit confused. She didn't understand why Yan Mingli got angry for no reason. She took Yan Mingli's hand and kissed the back of it.
Yan Mingli was completely stunned. Even his ears were red. He stammered for a long time and finally turned around, shyly saying, "How could you kiss me!"
Since Yan Mingli was always getting angry, Chen Miaochun had specially gone to the boss of the South Wind Pavilion to learn how to coax him. This was the trick taught by the boss.
Looking at Yan Mingli's back, Chen Miaochun frowned slightly. This trick didn't seem to work very well. What was the next trick?
Chen Miaochun reached out her hand and forcibly turned Yan Mingli around to face her, then kissed him directly.
Yan Mingli, who was being kissed, widened his eyes. He subconsciously wanted to push her away but then stopped.
The boss of the South Wind Pavilion only told Chen Miaochun that kissing Yan Mingli could coax him well, and how long to kiss depended on how angry Yan Mingli was.
Estimating that the time was about right, Chen Miaochun let go of Yan Mingli. "Are you still angry?"
Yan Mingli turned his back and said nothing.
Just when Chen Miaochun was doubting that this trick was also useless, suddenly Shen Baozhu's voice came. "Sister Miaochun, Brother Mingli!"
The Yan Mingli beside her rushed out of the back mountain at an extremely fast speed and ran up to Shen Baozhu.
Yan Mingli lowered his head. His mind was full of what had just happened. He asked absent - mindedly, "What's wrong, Baozhu?"
"Brother Mingli, can you exchange this gold for paper? Sister Yutang wants to go out and play. I'm afraid she doesn't have enough money..." Shen Baozhu told Yan Mingli the whole story and wanted to exchange the gold for silver notes.
Silver notes were light. Sister Yutang would surely be able to take them out!
Yan Mingli replied casually. "Okay, okay, okay, okay. Then let's go out first."
Then he pushed Shen Baozhu out of the garden.
Shen Baozhu was a bit puzzled. She looked back. "I saw Sister Miaochun's clothes. Baozhu wants to talk to Sister Miaochun..."
"One hundred taels. Talk to her at night." Yan Mingli coaxed her patiently. He stretched out two fingers. "I'll give Baozhu one hundred taels of silver. You can talk to Miaochun at night."
"The meal that Yuan Qingxi took Xu Yutang to have at the Drunken Ballad Tower cost less than one hundred and twenty taels. If Baozhu is obedient, I can treat guests and let Xu Yutang not spend a single cent. This one hundred taels will still be Baozhu's."
Lin Yu said, "Generous?"
The Dragon King said, "Humph, the little cutie doesn't care about this. I have plenty of gold!"
Lin Yu said, "Your having a lot of gold and Mingli giving money to Baozhu are two different things."
The Green Cloud True Man said, "Baozhu doesn't lack money, but Xu Yutang does."
This remark woke Shen Baozhu up. Right! She could give it to Sister Yutang.
Shen Baozhu took the silver note and nodded obediently, promising, "Brother Mingli, don't worry. I definitely won't talk to Sister Miaochun."
"No! No!"
Yan Mingli took out another silver note from his bosom. "Add another one hundred taels. Baozhu, help me find out some information. You help me ask Miaochun at night if she has ever kissed anyone else."
He put emphasis on the last two words.
Shen Baozhu didn't understand. She looked at the subtitles in mid - air.
The Dragon King said, "Oh ho ho. No wonder his face is so red. I thought it was because of the heat. I didn't expect he had kissed Chen Miaochun."
"Wow! You kissed Sister Miaochun?" Shen Baozhu said innocently, scaring Yan Mingli.
He quickly covered Shen Baozhu's mouth. "Shh shh shh. Don't be so loud!"
"Add another three hundred taels, plus a big meal."
The Green Cloud True Man said, "Baozhu, do you want to go out and play with Yutang?"
Looking at this subtitle, Shen Baozhu thought seriously for a while. She seemed never to have gone out to play with Sister Yutang...
Lin Yu said, "It's not very appropriate for Yutang to take Baozhu with her when she treats Yuan Qingxi to a meal, right?"
The Dragon King said, "You don't understand. Let me tell you. From what Xu Yutang said last time, we can tell that she and Yuan Qingxi are not lovers.
"Before, Xu Yutang was alone. It was okay for her to just follow Yuan Qingxi around.
"Now it's different. There is someone protecting Xu Yutang behind her. Our little cutie can protect her. Just go with her to protect Xu Yutang!"
Originally, Shen Baozhu hadn't made up her mind. But seeing that the Dragon King said she could protect Xu Yutang, she immediately had an idea. "I want to go out and play with Sister Yutang!"
"Okay! I'll add another one thousand taels! As long as Baozhu helps me find out, I'll give Baozhu one thousand and five hundred taels!" Yan Mingli mistakenly thought that Shen Baozhu's hesitation was dissatisfaction with the price. He gritted his teeth and offered a high price.
...
In the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Prime Minister Sima was sitting at the table, gently pressing his temples and thinking about what to do about the Xu family's matter.
Since the day when the three imperial tutors saw the dragon ornament, the civil and military officials had been much more peaceful. Even if they quarreled because of different political views, they wouldn't take off their shoes and beat people in public. They were all working hard to make achievements in order to get the chance to see the dragon ornament.
And this dragon ornament came from Shen Baozhu. Therefore, Shen Baozhu must not be offended.
But Xu Zeyuan was the eldest son most valued by his best friend. Now that his best friend had passed away, Prime Minister Sima had to take care of the Xu family.
Just as he was thinking, the door was opened, and a man in green clothes walked in.
The man looked elegant, about forty or fifty years old. His clothes were simple and plain. Combining his identity and appearance, people who didn't know him might praise him as a thrifty and good official!
But the person sitting at the table was Prime Minister Sima. He ignored Xu Zeyuan's disguise and immediately picked up an inkstone and threw it at him. "Idiot! What do you mean by betrothing your granddaughter to Chen Liang!"
The inkstone hit Xu Zeyuan's forehead, and blood flowed.