In a fit of anger, Yan Mingli even forgot that Chen Miaochun had gone to the yamen to gain some experience today. Out of habit, he came to the Drunken Ballad Tower to look for her.
Yan Mingli was lucky. Just after noon, Chen Miaochun was also on the second floor of the Drunken Ballad Tower, hurrying to show her policy proposal to Su Qian.
Su Qian skipped over Chen Miaochun's extremely ugly handwriting and the nearly straightforward sentences. The red brush in his hand hung in the air. After thinking for a while, he finally put the brush aside and sighed, "Shanyuan is still too impatient. You should first practice the basic skills."
Chen Miaochun didn't want to write this annoying policy proposal either. She took it back generously and replied, "Okay."
"Since that's the case, I'll go back with my elder brother first. Remember to recite poems and essays for an hour each in the morning and evening, and copy Brother Heqing's calligraphy copybook every day. His handwriting is elegant and regular, and is praised by many..." Su Qian instructed Chen Miaochun a few words. At the end, he asked about Shen Baozhu's recent situation, "How is Baozhu recently? Please ask her for me if she wants the spotless white porcelain. It's a new product my elder brother has developed. I've specifically saved two of the best pieces. If Baozhu likes them, I'll send them over tomorrow."
Just then, Yan Mingli rushed up to the second floor. His voice was excited as he told Chen Miaochun in detail what had happened - he had taken Shen Baozhu to the Yong'an Marquis Mansion. Just after he left for a while, Shen Baozhu and Chen Wanqiu had disappeared.
Chen Miaochun subconsciously stood up. "Both Baozhu and Qiuqiu are missing?"
Yan Mingli said anxiously, "Yes! They're so young. What if something happens to them? Did someone kidnap them? If anything really goes wrong, I... I don't want to live anymore!"
Su Qian was calm. He still remembered the scene when gold had rained down from the sky when he and Baozhu had encountered the outlaws. If anyone dared to harm Baozhu, the gold would have been enough to crush them!
Seeing the panicked expressions on Chen Miaochun and Yan Mingli's faces, Su Qian asked, "Have you been to the Princess Mansion? Maybe Baozhu has gone back there."
"Don't be too nervous. Don't talk about not wanting to live. There's a god protecting Baozhu. If something really happens, the god will rain down gold to protect her."
Yan Mingli was a bit confused. "What gold? Does the god use gold to bribe the villains into letting Baozhu go?"
Not knowing how to describe the scene of the gold raining down and crushing people, Su Qian told Yan Mingli to go back to the Princess Mansion first to check.
...
In Chen Ruxia's courtyard.
In order to clean the Fourth Prince thoroughly, the kitchen had boiled three large pots of hot water. With the added cold water, they had changed the water ten times. Only after five maids had worked together were they able to clean the boy up.
Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu were standing by the window, watching as the maids carried water into the next room and then carried out the dirty grey water, doing this back and forth several times.
Afraid that they would be bored, Chen Ruxia went to get some pastries and a pot of water. She first poured out two cups. "Baozhu, try this. It's your favorite pastry. The water in the pot is the juice squeezed from southern sugarcane. It's sweet and delicious, but you and Qiuqiu can only have one cup each."
Qiuqiu picked up her cup and took a small sip. It was sweet but not cloying, a sweetness she had never tasted before. It was delicious!
She couldn't help but drink it all in one gulp.
Shen Baozhu looked at the small cup in front of her, then at Qiuqiu. She was envious. She also wanted to drink the sugarcane juice in one go like Qiuqiu.
But she was different from Qiuqiu. She was now a married Shen Baozhu. She couldn't just think about herself when eating!
Shen Baozhu took two other empty cups and divided the cup of sugarcane juice into three parts.
Qiuqiu looked at the three cups and asked curiously, "Baozhu, are you going to drink it in three sips?"
"No, Qiuqiu. Look, this part is for Shushu, Wuwu, and the Fourth Prince. There are three parts in total, which is just right for the three cups!" Shen Baozhu was very satisfied with her way of dividing.
Qiuqiu counted them again. "Shushu, Wuwu, the Fourth Prince. What about your own portion?"
Reminded by Qiuqiu, Shen Baozhu counted again. Finally, she realized that she hadn't allocated a portion for herself. She stood there stunned as if struck by lightning, looking at Chen Ruxia for help.
Hearing what Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu had said, Chen Ruxia guessed that the "Fourth Prince" was the boy Shen Baozhu had brought back today. But she didn't associate him with the Fourth Prince in the palace. Instead, she subconsciously thought it was just a name, like Si Huangzi.
Seeing that Shen Baozhu was concerned about her little companions and was starting to act like a big sister, she smiled and said, "You don't have your own portion, Baozhu. Each... the rat and the bird will each have a cup. You can drink it with confidence."
Chen Ruxia filled one of the cups and pushed it towards Shen Baozhu. "When that boy wakes up, I'll pour him a cup too. Yan Mingli bought more than thirty sugarcanes. If there's not enough, I'll ask him to buy more."
Hearing this, Shen Baozhu felt relieved and started to drink her sugarcane juice.
Qingyun Zhenren: [The puppet rat can't eat. It only stores things. If it drinks the sugarcane juice, it will dirty its storage space.]
Dragon King: [Sugarcane should be sweet. Will there be little bugs growing in its belly?]
Dragon King: [Then the little bugs will crawl all over the storage space, then drill into the white porcelain bottle to eat the pills, practice, and turn into super big bugs.]
Lin Yu: [It's getting scarier and scarier. The little phoenix ate pastries yesterday. Will there be bugs growing on it?]
Dragon King: [The little phoenix won't. It has been reborn from the ashes. Although its body isn't made of flesh and blood, it can eat and drink normally.]
Lin Yu: [Why can't it shape a body?]
Dragon King: [Because it's too young. It was made into a puppet before it even hatched from its egg. Since it has never had a body, it can't shape one.]
Looking at the subtitles, Shen Baozhu was stunned. She poured the sugarcane juice from the remaining two cups together. After washing the empty cups, she fed the little phoenix the sugarcane juice.
The little phoenix lowered its head and drank the sugarcane juice in the cup.
Shen Baozhu stroked the back of the treasure-hunting rat and handed the cup to it. "You can't drink, but you still have your share."
The treasure-hunting rat happily took the cup and stuffed it into its mouth.
Dragon King: [It can be done like this? I've learned!]
The Dragon King took out two wooden boxes. He stuffed treasures into one of the boxes, then tore open a space. The two boxes accurately hit two dragons that were slaying demons.
The black dragon looked disdainful and ignored the box directly. It had been captured to be a laborer, so it naturally didn't have a good attitude towards the Dragon King, this exploitative dragon.
So what if he was the Dragon King! He was just a bit stronger than it!
The white dragon had rested for two days and had been staying in the Dragon Palace, absorbing a lot of spiritual energy. It had a better attitude towards the Dragon King. It curled the wooden box up with its tail. "Thank you, Dragon King, for your reward."
Feeling that the box was a bit heavy, the white dragon opened it and saw that it was filled with treasures. There were even excellent pearls filling the gaps in the corners.
The white dragon was extremely excited. It put away the wooden box and became even more dedicated to slaying demons.
Seeing this, the black dragon felt hopeful. It opened its own box but found it empty.
The black dragon stared at the box. The next moment, it charged into the group of demons and started killing randomly.
Damn Dragon King! He was treating them differently!
The white dragon dodged to the side. It was in a better mood. It thought the Dragon King was a good dragon. He knew how to make good use of dragons and was generous!
You know, the stronger a dragon was, the more stingy it was. But the Dragon King had given it so many treasures. He was simply a great dragon!
The white dragon couldn't help but send a message to a few of its friends. "Hey, how did you know the Dragon King gave me treasures?"
"Oh, the Dragon King only gave me one box."
"Well, the other black dragon didn't get anything."
After showing off, the white dragon suddenly thought that it wasn't bad to follow the Dragon King. It could stay in the Dragon Palace, receive rewards, and gain practical experience by slaying demons every day.
The black dragon was almost angered to death by the white dragon. It became even more diligent in slaying demons.
The Dragon King didn't know that his casual act would change the white dragon's impression of him and motivate the black dragon. He was concentrating on watching Shen Baozhu tilting the cup so that the little phoenix could drink the sugarcane juice inside.
Dragon King: [The little cutie is so considerate. I said the little cutie is a good master and will definitely take good care of the little phoenix.]