In the dim morning light, a little girl in a pale yellow dress skipped over, holding her friend's hand.
The eyes of Princess Jingning fell on Shen Baozhu, and she was surprised. The Empress Dowager, on the other hand, instinctively looked at the Fourth Prince beside Shen Baozhu.
He looks so much like her!
This was the Empress Dowager's first thought. She trembled as she stepped forward, eager to embrace the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince, confused and scared, hid behind Shen Baozhu.
Shen Baozhu pulled him out and introduced him, "Don't be afraid. This is the Empress Dowager. She's your grandmother."
"Baozhu said grandmothers are bad," the Fourth Prince remembered every word Shen Baozhu said. During her leisure time, Shen Baozhu had chatted with Qiuqiu about their grandparents.
Qiuqiu's grandmother doted on her grandson. She treated Qiuqiu indifferently and even instigated Qiuqiu to cry and make a fuss, hoping that Mother Chen would have another grandson.
Shen Baozhu didn't have this problem. She had three older brothers, and there were many grandsons in the Shen family. However, her grandmother always thought she was stupid, only knowing how to eat pastries and play games.
Of course, this summary was from Shen Haiyan. Shen Baozhu only knew that her grandmother would be unhappy when she ate pastries, and then her third brother would go and comfort her.
When Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu were chatting about this, the Fourth Prince was listening nearby.
In the Fourth Prince's small world, Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu were the people he was most familiar with. Since their grandmothers were bad, he assumed his would be the same.
Shen Baozhu was a bit confused. Looking at the Empress Dowager with a sullen face, she explained, "I was talking about my grandmother. I didn't mean yours."
"The Empress Dowager has the most pastries in the palace. How could she be a bad person!"
The Dragon King: [Makes sense! The one with a lot of pastries is a good person!]
"Although the taste is just so - so," Shen Baozhu added in a low voice.
The Empress Dowager's heart was completely focused on the Fourth Prince, but she also heard Shen Baozhu's words. She smiled and said, "I'm old, and I like stronger - flavored food. The pastries in the palace are much sweeter than ordinary ones. It's normal that you don't like them."
"When I get back, I'll order some pastries you like. How about that?"
Shen Baozhu's eyes lit up. She loved the palace because the pastries there were unique. The pastries in the Queen's palace were the most delicious, the Emperor's were the most beautiful, and the Empress Dowager's had the most variety. If there were also the pastries she liked in the Empress Dowager's palace, she would definitely be the happiest little girl at next year's palace banquet!
The Fourth Prince saw the change in Shen Baozhu's eyes and guessed that she was happy.
Remembering Shen Baozhu's words, the Fourth Prince endured his fear and softly called out, "Grandmother."
Looking at the Fourth Prince, who was two years older than Shen Baozhu but of the same height, the Empress Dowager stared directly into his eyes. After a long while, she pulled him into her arms and whispered, "Bao'er, my Bao'er."
Bao'er was exactly the nickname of Princess Ning'an.
After waiting for a while, seeing that the timing was right, Princess Jingning stepped forward and separated the Empress Dowager from the Fourth Prince. "The Fourth Prince has suffered a lot. He's afraid of strangers now. Only Baozhu can get close to him."
The Empress Dowager thought Princess Jingning's words made sense. She let go of the Fourth Prince, but her gaze still lingered on him.
After this commotion, it was already bright, and it was the time when Shen Baozhu usually got up. She rubbed her soft belly and asked with a little trick in mind, "Mother, will there be shrimp dumplings for breakfast?"
Princess Jingning helped the Empress Dowager sit down and then looked at Baizhi beside her.
Baizhi answered Shen Baozhu's question. "We had shrimp dumplings yesterday. Today's breakfast includes crab - roe soup dumplings, sesame balls, and nourishing bird's nest porridge."
These were all Shen Baozhu's favorites.
The Dragon King: [The little cutie wants shrimp dumplings again.]
Learning that there were no shrimp dumplings, Shen Baozhu sighed. She told the Dragon King her little thought. "Yes, with the Empress Dowager here, I thought Mother would be generous and let me have shrimp dumplings for one more day."
"Before, when Qiuqiu came to our house, as long as I mentioned shrimp dumplings, Mother would let me eat them."
Shen Baozhu was referring to the rare occasions when Qiuqiu visited the Princess Mansion. Princess Jingning was afraid that she would make a fuss over shrimp dumplings, so she would ask the kitchen to make some.
The method that had worked in the past didn't work today.
Shen Baozhu was a bit disappointed.
The Dragon King: [The little cutie is so pitiful. It's okay. We'll try a few more times. Maybe we'll succeed next time!]
Shen Baozhu thought it made sense and nodded vigorously, determined to succeed next time!
While comforting Shen Baozhu, the Dragon King was thinking about whether to find a chef. Maybe the little cutie would like the big shrimps in the Dragon Palace?
The Qingyun True Man guessed the Dragon King's thoughts and reminded him. [For such simple food, the divine artifact only allows unilateral transmission for Baozhu.]
The Dragon King: [Have you tried it?]
The Qingyun True Man: [Previously, a junior offered ten - thousand - year monster meat. I had someone cook it and wanted to give it to Baozhu, but the divine artifact didn't allow it.]
The Dragon King: [It even has such restrictions?]
Lin Yu: [May I ask, True Man, does the ten - thousand - year monster meat have any special effects?]
Previously, Lin Yu had also sent food to Shen Baozhu, such as cold jelly, and the system didn't stop him. Remembering that the Qingyun True Man had been stopped by the system when he tried to put a monster's inner pill in the treasure - hunting rat, Lin Yu had a vague guess.
The Qingyun True Man: [If a mortal eats it, they can live for five hundred years. Is that a special effect?]
Lin Yu: [It is.]
Shen Baozhu greeted Lin Yu. "Good morning, Brother Lin Yu!"
Lin Yu: [Good morning, Baozhu.]
Looking at the subtitles, the Dragon King suddenly realized something extremely important.
The Qingyun True Man had secretly wanted to give the little cutie a lot of good things, like this ten - thousand - year monster meat. If it weren't for the divine artifact's obstruction, wouldn't he have given more gifts than himself?
A strong sense of competitiveness rose in the Dragon King's heart. He must not lose!
Good things? I have them too!
Shen Baozhu didn't know that she was going to receive more gifts. She was eating the bird's nest porridge.
The bird's nest porridge was sweet, soft, and glutinous. Whatever Shen Baozhu ate, the Fourth Prince would follow suit. From time to time, he would hold the small bags hanging on his chest.
During the meeting just now, the Empress Dowager only focused on the Fourth Prince's eyes. As the Fourth Prince moved, the Empress Dowager became curious and asked, "Jingning, what's in those small bags?"
Princess Jingning told the Empress Dowager that the Fourth Prince had been mistreated by Concubine Cui and had gone hungry for a long time. Fortunately, Yin Susu had shown kindness and given him food a few times. She also told Shen Baozhu about this, which was why the Fourth Prince was like this now.
The Empress Dowager and Sulian beside her were both shocked. The Queen had only said that the child had been switched, but hadn't mentioned the hardships. Looking at the thin Fourth Prince and his strange behavior, combined with Princess Jingning's story, the Empress Dowager was furious.
"... It's fate in the dark. Susu was beaten by the Third Prince, but by accident, she saved her real relative. Even though the Cui family stole the child, they couldn't cut off the Fourth Prince's fate with the Yin family. Coincidentally, Jingning also has a fate with the Fourth Prince," Princess Jingning lowered her eyes and observed the Empress Dowager's expression, slowly leading to the real purpose of herself and the Queen.
The Empress Dowager followed Princess Jingning's words. "Yes. If it weren't for you, there wouldn't be Baozhu, let alone the Fourth Prince."
Princess Jingning smiled. "In that sense, you're right. But what I mean is different. Does the Empress Dowager still remember that the Queen hurt her body because of the Eldest Princess? That was exactly the second year I returned to the capital."
"Since then, I've been taking care of the Queen's body."
When the Empress Dowager thought of Mu Lanyue's return to the capital... she thought of Princess Ning'an. Her daughter had passed away in the year Mu Lanyue returned. Alas, her poor daughter.
The Dragon King: [Is the little cutie's mother leading up to something?]
Lin Yu: [It seems so.]
The Empress Dowager had left the palace temporarily and couldn't stay long. After Shen Baozhu and the Fourth Prince finished their breakfast, she left in a hurry.
Princess Jingning helped the Empress Dowager onto the carriage, looking a bit tired.
Ziwan supported her and whispered, "Princess, what if the Empress Dowager doesn't think in that direction?"
The year after Princess Ning'an's death, the Queen had conceived the Eldest Princess. After being assassinated, she had taken several years to recover before conceiving the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince's eyes were extremely similar to Princess Ning'an's.
The Queen wanted the Empress Dowager to think of the Fourth Prince as the reincarnation of Princess Ning'an, so as to gain the Empress Dowager's support.
However, this idea was too far - fetched. Princess Jingning sighed softly. "We'll just do our best."