The Fourth Prince was tightly hugged, yet he still protected the small bag. He opened his mouth for a long while and said with difficulty, "One is enough."
"For Baozhu. It's Baozhu's!"
The two sentences seemed disjointed, but they made the Queen can't help shedding tears. Just by looking at the Fourth Prince's condition, she knew that he had suffered a great deal.
Tears dropped on the Fourth Prince's face, making him start. Then he very reluctantly took out a second small bag. "Don't cry. Here you are."
Just then, Father Yin came in and happened to witness this scene.
The Fourth Prince had already become a beloved nephew in Father Yin's heart. He was extremely touched. "What a good boy! He can't bear to see his mother sad and is willing to share his food. There must be a mother - son bond."
Father Yin added, "He's much better than that ungrateful Third Prince!"
The Princess Jingning came in behind Father Yin. Hearing Father Yin's praise, she subconsciously looked over.
When the Fourth Prince saw the Princess Jingning, he immediately pushed the Queen away and held the small bag on his neck high. "For Baozhu. It's Baozhu's!"
The Princess Jingning was a bit surprised. She put the small bag back on the Fourth Prince's neck. "Baozhu has some. These are for you."
"Someone will snatch them!" The Fourth Prince protected the small bag and warily looked behind him, whispering very softly.
Fortunately, the Fourth Prince's voice was very soft. Even Father Yin didn't hear clearly. The only one who heard was the Princess Jingning, who remained calm. She smiled and took off the small bag. Under the Fourth Prince's expectant gaze, she handed the small bag to the Queen.
Seeing the thing being given away, the Fourth Prince's expression changed. Just as he was about to snatch it back, the Princess Jingning pressed on his shoulder.
The Princess Jingning seemed to be praising, but actually her words had a double meaning. "The Fourth Prince is as sensible as Baozhu. He knows how to comfort his mother. No wonder Baozhu likes Your Highness. She even brought you back to the Princess Mansion directly and helped you detoxify."
The Fourth Prince knew that the Fourth Prince referred to himself. Hearing the Princess Jingning praise him for being the same as Shen Baozhu and that Shen Baozhu liked him, he was extremely happy and temporarily forgot about the small bag that had been given away.
The Queen and Father Yin thought this speech was directed at them. Their gazes towards the Fourth Prince became even more loving, especially the Queen's.
Compared with the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince was like heaven and earth. The Fourth Prince, who was close and shared food at the first meeting, was heaven, while the Third Prince, who was carefully taught but sided with outsiders, was earth.
Taking this opportunity, the Princess Jingning turned the Fourth Prince towards the Queen and Father Yin.
Seeing the Fourth Prince's overjoyed expression, Father Yin was even more convinced that it was the power of blood kinship. "Sister, do you still doubt now? It must be that woman from the Cui family who switched the children. Otherwise, how can you explain the 'idiot's curse'? Who would feed an idiot's curse to a silly child!"
The Queen looked at the Fourth Prince and choked with sobs.
"That woman watched us carefully raise the Third Prince, while she abused the Fourth Prince. She's so vicious. We must avenge this!" Father Yin rambled on. Seeing that the Queen didn't respond at all, he got a bit anxious. "Sister! You're not really that kind - hearted and planning to let that woman go, are you? She switched the children and instigated the Third Prince to alienate you and cause you trouble. This shows that she knew about it. Just look at the Fourth Prince!"
"The Third Prince and the Fourth Prince had an accident on the same day. The Third Prince's name is Xuyang, such a nice name, but the Fourth Prince doesn't even have a proper name..."
Based on the Princess Jingning's understanding of the Queen, she was by no means a soft - hearted person. On the contrary, the Queen was an extremely decisive woman. Even if the Concubine Li was sent to the Cold Palace, she would never let her go.
Sure enough, the Queen spoke up amidst Father Yin's rambling. "We must avenge this. Not only her, but also the Cui family."
The Queen wiped the tears from her face with a handkerchief. Standing upright, she became the dignified and elegant mother of the nation again. She said word by word, "Both she and the Cui family must die."
Father Yin subconsciously asked, "Is the Cui family also involved in this?"
"His Majesty checked yesterday. It was the Cui family that helped suppress the memorial from the Yan family to appeal to the emperor. Cui Zhengping is not a fool. If he didn't know the identity of the Third Prince early on, why would he go through so much trouble to help the Third Prince?" The Queen's gaze towards the Fourth Prince was full of affection, but her tone was sarcastic.
The Cui family, Cui Zhengping, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and the elder brother of the Concubine Li.
The Princess Jingning pinched the palm of her hand and silently recited Cui Zhengping's other identity in her heart, the beloved disciple of Shen Qingshan.
...
In the palace.
Zhang Yun's eyes were blood - red as she truthfully told what had happened back then.
Her grandfather used to be a vice - minister in the Ministry of Revenue, responsible for counting the disaster - relief supplies back then. He was coerced by Shen Qingshan to participate in embezzlement. At first, Shen Qingshan still had a bit of conscience. He only embezzled one out of every ten items, barely able to cover it up with the excuse of losses.
As the disaster became more and more serious, Shen Qingshan somehow found a way to sell the stolen goods, and he became even more blatant. He would take seven out of ten items. After adding the losses during transportation to the remaining three items, the disaster victims could get very little.
Vice - Minister Zhang sensed something was wrong. He secretly observed and quietly kept a personal letter from Shen Qingshan, hiding it secretly. Zhang Yun was willing to stay in the brothel just to hide this letter.
Dragon King: [Shen Qingshan embezzled items, not silver. Wouldn't people know once the items were sold?]
Lin Yu: [The way of selling the stolen goods was very secretive, or the place to sell the stolen goods was very far away. At first, he only embezzled one item. It may not be because he had a conscience, but because he couldn't sell so many stolen goods.]
Immortal Qingyun: [It was right for the Princess Jingning to divorce Shen Yunfeng in advance. If Baozhu was involved with the Shen family, her fortune might be damaged.]
Dragon King: [Right! Little cutie's mother has foresight!]
The emperor coldly looked at Zhang Yun. The chill in his eyes was terrifying, scaring Yan Mingli so much that he didn't even dare to stand up.
But Shen Baozhu was not afraid. She relayed Lin Yu's words to the emperor. "Uncle Emperor, the immortal said... So it's not that grandfather had a conscience. It's that he couldn't sell so many stolen goods."
"Third brother is right. Grandfather is really a big bad guy."
Hearing Shen Baozhu say that Shen Qingshan was a big bad guy, Yan Mingli wanted to laugh but was afraid of being blamed by the emperor, so he had to hold it in.
The emperor showed a smile. He stroked Shen Baozhu's head. "Uncle is thinking about whether Zhang Yun's words are true. We can't just rely on a letter to convict someone. Has Baozhu heard of some capable and strange people who can imitate a similar font just by taking a look?"
"Although uncle also doesn't like Baozhu's grandfather, we can't wrong an innocent person."
Yan Mingli nodded in his heart. Sure enough, His Majesty was smarter than him. He had already believed Zhang Yun's words.
Shen Baozhu nodded thoughtfully. She looked up at the empty space. "Does the immortal still have a truth - telling talisman?"
Immortal Qingyun: [Yes.]
A truth - telling talisman fell from the empty space and was caught by Shen Baozhu.
Shen Baozhu waved the truth - telling talisman in her hand. "Baozhu can make Zhang Yun tell the truth!"
When the truth - telling talisman was pasted on Zhang Yun, she suddenly found that her mouth was out of control. Whenever someone asked her something, she would answer truthfully.
The emperor's first question was, "Zhang Yun, was your grandfather really forced?"
"No." As soon as the words came out, Zhang Yun wanted to cover her mouth, but Ping Hai was faster. He quickly stepped forward and held her down.
Zhang Yun's grandfather was not innocent. To be precise, none of the scapegoats pushed out back then were innocent. They all actively participated in that embezzlement case.
Shen Qingshan was a cunning old fox. He was also afraid of being discovered. All the participants in the embezzlement case were willing. Everyone got on the pirate ship voluntarily, so there was no need to worry about someone turning back and capsizing the ship halfway.
It was just that Zhang Yun's grandfather was unlucky. As a vice - minister in the Ministry of Revenue, he was pushed out by the others.
Zhang Yun was just afraid of death. Even though she had suffered abuse in the brothel, she was still alive. She wanted to live. That was why, although she had Shen Qingshan's personal letter and had always lived in the capital, she avoided acquaintances. If it weren't for Yan Mingli accidentally saving the girls in the brothel, she would have continued to hide.
Realizing that she had told all the truth, Zhang Yun was extremely desperate. "Please, Your Majesty, grant this guilty woman a whole body."
Zhang Yun was from the Zhang family. The emperor didn't want to spare her, but Shen Baozhu was watching. Zhang Yun was physically weak and seemed to be dying soon.
After much thought, the emperor personally helped Zhang Yun up. "You've suffered a great deal over the years. Now that you've brought the evidence to me, you've atoned for your crimes with merits. If you can publicly identify Shen Qingshan, I'll not only spare your life but also let the imperial doctor treat you."
Zhang Yun couldn't hide her surprise and was extremely grateful. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank Your Majesty for your grace!"