The Dragon King inquired about the gift from the True Lord Qingyun but kept his second gift tightly under wraps. Fortunately, no one else cared. Only Shen Baozhu was growing more and more eager to see what the True Lord Qingyun had brought.
The emperor turned the elixir into water and divided it into ten portions. He set aside one portion for himself and then began to distribute the remaining nine.
The queen had been injured years ago when she blocked a sword for the emperor, and her health had worsened after giving birth to the crown prince. She surely deserved a portion.
The young crown prince also needed one.
The current empress dowager was not the emperor's birth mother but his legal mother. Out of filial piety, the emperor gave her a portion too.
The emperor first distributed the elixir water among the royal family and then the ministers, leaving none of the nine portions untouched.
He looked at Shen Baozhu sheepishly. "Baozhu, General Mu has served the country loyally. He should have a portion, but he's still on the battlefield..."
The Dragon King: [There's no portion for the little cutie's grandfather. I'll explain it to the little cutie.]
The True Lord Qingyun: [It doesn't matter. When he comes back, I'll give Baozhu a few more elixirs.]
Lin Yu: [I can also offer some potions.]
After the Dragon King's explanation, Shen Baozhu understood the emperor's intention. She said understandingly, "It's okay. When grandfather comes back, the immortal will give Baozhu more elixirs."
More elixirs for Baozhu...
The emperor let out a sigh of relief but couldn't help feeling envious of General Mu for having such a wonderful granddaughter like Baozhu.
After a moment of sentiment, the emperor regained his spirits. He ordered the senior eunuch beside him to take two bowls of the elixir water to the Palace of Gathered Elegance for the queen and the crown prince.
The queen and the County Princess Jingning were on very good terms, and Shen Baozhu adored the queen. "Baozhu hasn't seen Her Majesty the Queen for a long time. When mother is free, I'll ask her to take me to play with the queen."
The emperor would be more than happy to have Shen Baozhu visit the palace.
The emperor took a deep breath, picked up one of the eight bowls of elixir water, and drank it in one gulp.
The elixir water tasted just like ordinary water at first, but after he swallowed it all, he suddenly felt his body heating up. A warm current surged through him, followed by an unprecedented sense of lightness.
The emperor couldn't contain his excitement. This was just one-tenth of the effect of a single elixir. What if he could have more?
His gaze towards Shen Baozhu grew hotter. He must build a good relationship with this little immortal child!
...
When the senior eunuch arrived at the Palace of Gathered Elegance, he noticed the nervousness of the palace servants. His heart skipped a beat. Had the queen and the crown prince had another argument?
Thinking of this, the senior eunuch didn't dare to linger. He rushed into the inner chamber with the elixir water in hand.
Inside the inner chamber, the queen was sitting at the table in her sky-blue daily dress, holding a book. She was scolding the young boy in front of her, frustrated that he didn't show more promise.
The boy was seven or eight years old, a bit stocky. Not exactly fat, but larger than most children his age. This was Zhou Xuyang, the crown prince of the Great Yong.
"I've been eating and sleeping with you this month, making sure you memorize your books. Why can't you do it?" The queen had difficulty having children and only had Zhou Xuyang. She loved him dearly, but his lack of interest in reading was giving her a headache.
Zhou Xuyang glared at the queen resentfully, as if she were his enemy rather than his mother. "I'm the crown prince. I'll be the emperor one day. I just need to govern the country. Why do I have to read these useless books!"
With that, Zhou Xuyang flung his sleeves and ran out. He happened to pass by the senior eunuch and even shot him a dirty look. Stupid eunuch!
The senior eunuch didn't mind, or rather, he was used to the crown prince's attitude. He carefully placed the food box on the table and took out two bowls of elixir water. "Your Majesty, this is the elixir water made from the elixirs the little county princess brought."
The senior eunuch whispered the last sentence.
As the person closest to the emperor, the queen naturally knew that the little county princess referred to Shen Baozhu, and the elixirs she brought...
Thinking of the speculation, the queen's breathing quickened. She was about to pick up one of the bowls to drink when a woman in a light purple dress walked in, leading Zhou Xuyang.
And Zhou Xuyang, who had been so irritable just now, was now obediently leaning against the woman.
Seeing this scene, the queen frowned and her tone was tinged with dissatisfaction. "Why are you here, Concubine Li?"
Concubine Li was beautiful and had a straightforward and likable personality. She was quite favored by the emperor. But the queen's dissatisfaction with her wasn't because of the emperor, but because of the crown prince Zhou Xuyang.
A few years ago, the queen and Concubine Li were pregnant at the same time and gave birth to their sons almost simultaneously.
The queen gave birth to the third prince, Zhou Xuyang, smoothly. On the day of the full - moon celebration, the emperor immediately named him the crown prince. However, the fourth prince born to Concubine Li was an imbecile, which was a disgrace to the royal family. He was almost executed.
For this reason, Concubine Li had initially disliked the third prince. But in the past two years, she had suddenly become close to him, and their relationship had even surpassed that between the queen and the prince.
The queen regarded the third prince as extremely important, so she naturally didn't like Concubine Li competing with her for her son.
Before Concubine Li could answer the queen, the third prince jumped in. "I missed Concubine Li. She's so nice. She never dislikes me for being bad at reading."
The third prince's somewhat self - deprecating words made the queen pause. Had she been too strict? But her son was the crown prince and would inherit the throne one day. How could he not study?
Seeing the tense atmosphere, the senior eunuch was afraid that the conflict would involve him. He left the food box in the Palace of Gathered Elegance and quickly excused himself.
As soon as the senior eunuch left, Concubine Li hugged the third prince and said, "Sister, the third prince is still just a child. We should guide him gently, not put too much pressure on him."
"Let me see what kind of poem it is that made you scold the third prince."
Concubine Li picked up the book on the table and pretended to read it aloud to the third prince. To the queen's surprise, the third prince memorized it after just one listen.
The third prince wasn't unable to memorize it; he just didn't want to listen to her.
Her own son siding with someone else made the queen heartbroken. Her head throbbed, and subconsciously, she picked up the bowl of elixir water on the table and drank it all.
The warm elixir water tasted extremely cool when it entered her mouth, extinguishing the anger in her heart.
The queen suddenly stopped. Why was she arguing with Concubine Li? After all, her son was her own flesh and blood. He was just young and naive. Although Concubine Li was hostile to her, she could actually help the prince memorize the poems. If she could make good use of this, it would be for the best.
After sorting out her thoughts, the queen not only lost her hostility towards Concubine Li but even felt a bit sorry for her.
After all, Concubine Li had given birth to a foolish son and had to try to steal someone else's son.
The queen felt clear - headed after drinking the elixir water and realized it was all thanks to the elixir water. She told the third prince to drink the other bowl quickly. "Xuyang, this is elixir water. You..."
"What elixir water? It's probably just some trick of a quack from the rivers and lakes!" Concubine Li was still waiting for the queen to fly into a rage and quickly interrupted.
The third prince sided with Concubine Li. "That's right! I, the crown prince, won't drink it!"
Perhaps having spent too much time with Concubine Li, the third prince's expression resembled hers a bit. But the queen didn't think much of it at this moment.
She lowered her eyes. "This was specially prepared for you, Xuyang. It's not some quack's trick. It's a wonderful thing. Since you've memorized that poem, you should learn some other things. I'll go get the books. Remember to drink this bowl of elixir water."
The queen left not only herself but also took the palace servants in the inner chamber with her.
While the queen was away, the third prince looked at the elixir water disdainfully and reached out to pour it out. "I, the crown prince, won't drink this."