The residence of the princess.
When Princess Jingning received the news that Lord Yin, who had just left not long ago, was visiting again, she couldn't help but feel puzzled. At this moment, Lord Yin should be in the palace, informing the queen about the matter of the prince being swapped. What was he doing here at the princess's residence?
Ziyuan, who was serving tea nearby, whispered, "I asked the servant at the gate. Lord Yin's carriage was headed in the direction of the palace. It should have taken Lord Yin to the palace first and then sent Miss Yin back."
Princess Jingning put down the recipe in her hand and had a slight guess in her mind. "I'll go and receive Lord Yin. You go quickly to the back courtyard and tell Baizhi to find a way to provoke the Fourth Prince."
According to Qiuqiu's account, the current Fourth Prince was completely different from before. The Fourth Prince confined in the small courtyard of Yunshang Palace was pitiful and miserable, like a madman, while the Fourth Prince in the princess's residence was clean and tidy. Moreover, with the effect of the miraculous elixir, he was healthy and normal.
If Princess Jingning guessed correctly, Lord Yin had gone to the palace to tell the queen about this matter, and the queen had already believed most of it and come out of the palace to see the Fourth Prince in person.
Out of self - interest, Princess Jingning wanted the queen to see the miserable side of the Fourth Prince. The more miserable the Fourth Prince was, the more hatred the queen would have for the Third Prince.
Ziyuan also understood what Princess Jingning meant and turned around to go to the back courtyard.
Princess Jingning then went to the front courtyard. When she saw a gentle woman in extraordinary clothing and wearing a phoenix hairpin standing in the main hall, she felt relieved. Her guess was right.
When the queen saw Princess Jingning, she stepped forward a few steps. "Lanyue, is the matter about the Fourth Prince true? I want to see him with my own eyes."
Princess Jingning immediately agreed and told the queen some details about how Shen Baozhu had brought the Fourth Prince back.
Because Shen Baozhu had almost caused Chen Ruxia to make a big mistake, out of caution, Chen Ruxia had asked Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu to tell the story of what happened in the palace three times each. Only when their statements were the same did she let these two naughty younger sisters off.
Chen Ruxia had also written down the details on paper for Princess Jingning to review. Therefore, at this moment, when Princess Jingning talked about those details, it made the Fourth Prince seem even more miserable.
He was left alone in the courtyard. There were no palace servants to attend to him. The courtyard was full of withered trees and grass, and the houses were dilapidated. He couldn't even get enough to eat.
The queen was heart - broken to hear this, and Lord Yin also listened intently. The letter had only written about the important things, and today he had only been focused on seeing the Fourth Prince. He didn't know these things before.
Princess Jingning mentioned Yin Susu with a sigh. "Baozhu was able to find the Fourth Prince smoothly because Lord Yin has taught his daughter well. Susu is kind - hearted. She noticed that the Fourth Prince had no food, so she would occasionally send some. The day before yesterday when she came to the residence and was playing with Baozhu, she told this matter. Otherwise, Baozhu wouldn't have thought of going to the palace to find the Fourth Prince."
Lord Yin was stunned. He didn't expect there to be such a story. He also sighed with emotion. "The Third Prince beat Susu, but Susu still sent food to the Fourth Prince. Sure enough, this is the power of blood kinship."
The queen didn't understand how these two things were related, but Princess Jingning highly agreed. "Yes, the Third Prince and Susu are not cousins, and they didn't have much affection before. The Fourth Prince had lived in Yunshang Palace for a long time, but Susu was able to send food to him over the palace wall. This is not only the power of blood kinship but also the will of heaven. It made Susu accidentally save her own cousin."
These words hit Lord Yin's heart. It affirmed the identity of the Fourth Prince, praised Yin Susu, and also belittled the Third Prince.
Lord Yin was a bit surprised. "Really? It's not impossible. My Susu has been kind - hearted since she was a child. Well, false is false, and true is true. Even if Concubine Li swapped the children, she couldn't stop the two children from getting close."
Hearing Lord Yin's words, the queen suddenly thought there was some truth in it. She believed a bit more in the matter of Concubine Li swapping the children.
Thinking of Concubine Li, she smiled. "There is no longer a Concubine Li. His Majesty has sent her to the cold palace."
Lord Yin cheered loudly and praised the emperor for his wisdom and might. Princess Jingning smiled and echoed, subtly finding some topics to try to buy time for Baizhi.
However, Princess Jingning didn't expect that even after taking the elixir, the Fourth Prince was still miserable, and there was no need for Baizhi to provoke him.
The Fourth Prince was temporarily staying in the side room of the main courtyard of Princess Jingning's residence. As soon as the queen and her entourage stepped into the main courtyard, they heard a shrill scream, and the maids in the room all looked nervous.
As the hostess, Princess Jingning casually grabbed Ziyuan, who was standing in the courtyard, and asked, "What's going on?"
Ziyuan first bowed and then told the whole story. "Your Highness, the prince just finished his meal and still wanted to eat the shortbread in the small bag. Baizhi was afraid that the prince would overeat and get a stomachache, so she stopped him and only let him eat a small piece. But the prince seemed extremely hungry. While Baizhi wasn't paying attention, he ate all three pieces of shortbread and then vomited..."
Yesterday, Shen Baozhu had fed the Fourth Prince food and the elixir, and the Fourth Prince trusted her very much. With Shen Baozhu around, the Fourth Prince was willing to listen to Baizhi. But if he couldn't see Shen Baozhu for a long time, the Fourth Prince would fall back into the fear of hunger and keep stuffing food into his mouth. Baizhi was worried about the Fourth Prince's health and stopped him.
In the eyes of the Fourth Prince, it seemed that Baizhi was robbing food from him, and his emotions became more and more agitated.
Realizing that the scream was from the Fourth Prince, Lord Yin felt extremely heart - broken and subconsciously ignored Ziyuan's words. "Let the prince eat if he wants to. Why stop him!"
"Come on, didn't you hear? The Fourth Prince is not really hungry. He's just been hungry for so long that he can't control himself when he sees food. The maid is stopping him for his own good!" The queen was calmer than Lord Yin. She scolded Lord Yin to prevent him from making a fool of himself in the princess's residence.
The queen told the attendants behind her to stand farther away. She took a deep breath and walked into the room alone.
At this moment, the room was in a mess. The Fourth Prince was hiding in the corner, tightly covering the small bag on his chest. There was also some filth on his body. Baizhi was standing not far away, looking at him.
Baizhi gently soothed the Fourth Prince. "Your Highness, it's not that the maid wants to rob your food..."
"Baozhu, Baozhu!" The Fourth Prince looked at Baizhi warily and kept calling Shen Baozhu's name.
Baizhi became even more helpless and could only continue to explain. "The little princess has gone out to play and will be back soon."
No matter how Baizhi explained, the Fourth Prince still looked extremely wary.
The queen walked over slowly. The moment she saw the Fourth Prince's face, she suddenly understood why her younger brother was so sure that the Fourth Prince was her own child. Apart from those eyes that were the same as Princess Ning'an's, the Fourth Prince's eyebrows, eyes, and mouth were a bit like the Yin family.
At this moment, the queen truly realized one thing. Her child had been swapped by Concubine Li and had been abused by her for seven years, and she had just watched it happen with her own eyes.
Although the queen had once advised Concubine Li, it was of no use. The queen blamed all of this on herself. She didn't even dare to get close. She just stood there, looking at the Fourth Prince with tears in her eyes.
Sensing a burning gaze, the Fourth Prince slowly raised his head. His eyes fell on the queen behind Baizhi, and his expression relaxed unusually. He even was willing to take off a small bag around his neck and hand it to the queen.
Baizhi was shocked. "The prince is very protective of his food. This is the first time I've seen him willing to share his food."
These words brought the queen back to reality. She rushed forward and hugged the Fourth Prince.