The Prince of Rui covered his face, looking like someone trying to deceive themselves by covering their ears while stealing a bell. "What prince? Is there a prince here?"
Yan Mingli walked around the main hall, not even missing the tea - serving maids, but still didn't see any strangers.
He agreed with the Prince of Rui and nodded. "Haiyan, you must have seen wrongly. There are just a few of us here. Where is there any prince?"
But as soon as the words left his mouth, he was met with a warning look from Shen Haiyan. Scared, Yan Mingli shrank his head and shut his mouth. He didn't dare to offend Shen Haiyan.
Shen Haiyan was full of helplessness. First, there was the cry - baby Xu Yutang, and then there was Yan Mingli who didn't recognize the Prince of Rui. What was Mother thinking? Where did she pick up these two live treasures?
Yan Mingli was well - behaved and obedient, and Shen Haiyan was full of helplessness. The two didn't quarrel. Instead, the Prince of Rui was dissatisfied. This Shen Haiyan was actually bullying Mingli in front of him. He couldn't bear it!
He let go of his hands and was about to scold Shen Haiyan when suddenly he was pulled aside by Yan Mingli.
In Shen Haiyan's shocked gaze, Yan Mingli patted the Prince of Rui. "Old man, what did I just tell you? You're an elder. You can't act recklessly in front of Baozhu and Qiuqiu!"
The Prince of Rui looked up and met Shen Baozhu's bright eyes. Looking down, he saw Qiuqiu's curious look. He closed his eyes and had to swallow his words.
As an elder, he had to set a good example for Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu!
The Dragon King: [Does Old Man Gu forget that Shen Haiyan knows his identity? He seemed so afraid of being exposed just now, but now he's not afraid. Yan Mingli is right. He's acting recklessly.]
Lin Yu: [I guess he forgot. I'm curious what kind of prince Old Man Gu is.]
Seeing Lin Yu's curiosity, Shen Baozhu immediately asked, "Third brother, what kind of prince is Grandpa Gu?"
Shen Haiyan was still staring at Yan Mingli's actions, and his tone was absent - minded. "The Prince of Rui. He has a high seniority and real power. It is said that even the Emperor has to give him some face."
The Dragon King: [Really? Is Old Man Gu that powerful?]
Lin Yu: [One can't judge a book by its cover.]
The True Man Qingyun: [It's hard to imagine.]
"Wow, if Grandpa Gu is so powerful, can he protect the Fourth Prince in the palace?" Shen Baozhu sighed, longing for a backer. The Prince of Rui readily agreed.
Yan Mingli first blinked his eyes, then reached out and grabbed the Prince of Rui's ear, pulling him to a corner.
Afraid that Shen Haiyan would be bored, Yan Mingli reminded Shen Baozhu, "Baozhu, did the Third Prince bully you?"
Mentioning this, Shen Baozhu remembered what had happened that day and was extremely angry.
She danced around as she described, "... The most infuriating thing is that I already let him go, but he still hit me on the head with a box. There was a really big hole in Baozhu's head."
"Third brother, don't you think the Third Prince is too much!"
Shen Haiyan's face darkened slightly, and the Fourth Prince beside him clenched his fists, secretly making a note of the Third Prince.
Qiuqiu was indignant. "He's so bad! He attacked secretly. He's a sore loser, a little puppy!"
"That's right, that's right." Shen Baozhu couldn't find a word to describe the Third Prince before. Now with Qiuqiu's reminder, she immediately replaced the Third Prince with "sore - loser puppy".
Just as Yan Mingli had guessed, Shen Haiyan wouldn't let the Third Prince off.
He made a prompt decision and ordered someone to get some dirt. Then he told Shen Baozhu to roll in the dirt.
Shen Baozhu trusted Shen Haiyan very much. Without hesitation, she rolled on the ground several times. Then she raised her dirty little face and asked, "Third brother, do I need to roll a few more times?"
Shen Haiyan didn't expect Shen Baozhu to be so fast. He picked her up. "That's enough. I'll take you to see Grandpa."
Qiuqiu wanted to share the hardship with Shen Baozhu. As soon as Shen Baozhu was picked up, she was about to roll. Fortunately, Shen Haiyan was quick - eyed and grabbed her.
But Shen Haiyan only had two hands. One was holding Shen Baozhu, and the other was grabbing Qiuqiu. And there was a third child in the room.
The Fourth Prince had the same idea as Qiuqiu. He also wanted to share the hardship with Shen Baozhu. Seeing Qiuqiu being held back, he immediately lay down and rolled on the ground, the same number of times as Shen Baozhu.
Qiuqiu was so angry that her little face puffed up. "Brother Haiyan is a big bad guy. He won't let me share the hardship with Baozhu. He's partial to the Fourth Prince and lets him share the hardship with Baozhu. I'll never talk to you again!"
Accused, Shen Haiyan had no choice but to let Qiuqiu go and let her roll a few times too.
The Dragon King: [Hahahahahaha.]
The Dragon King: [It's so funny!]
Lin Yu: [Third brother told Baozhu to roll. He must be going to make a fuss. Why do Qiuqiu and the Fourth Prince also want to roll?]
Lin Yu: [Is this the fairness among children?]
The Dragon King: [Yes, Qiuqiu is so angry that she wants to break off relations with Shen Haiyan.]
The Dragon King: [What are Yan Mingli and the Prince of Rui talking about? I'm a bit curious.]
Shen Baozhu wanted the Dragon King to hear, so she struggled to get down.
But Shen Haiyan looked at Qiuqiu and the Fourth Prince, who were covered in dirt, and felt something was wrong. While they weren't paying attention, he picked up his soft little sister in his arms and ran out.
By the time Qiuqiu and the Fourth Prince realized it, Shen Haiyan had already carried Shen Baozhu out of the door.
Qiuqiu could accept it, but the Fourth Prince was extremely anxious and subconsciously wanted to chase after them.
"You're actually the Prince of Rui? Then do me a favor. Introduce some connections to Miaochun, those from the royal family... Hey hey hey, Fourth Prince, don't chase!" Yan Mingli saw the Fourth Prince about to run out of the corner of his eye and quickly grabbed him.
"Haiyan is Baozhu's third brother, her real brother. He won't hurt her. He should be taking her out to handle something. Don't be in a hurry. Baozhu isn't here, but her best friend is here!"
Qiuqiu straightened her body. Yes, she was Baozhu's best friend!
Then Yan Mingli pushed Qiuqiu towards the Fourth Prince. "Just hold Qiuqiu's hand. Baozhu will definitely come back to find her."
The Fourth Prince looked at Qiuqiu. He thought Yan Mingli's words made some sense, so he reached out and tightly held Qiuqiu's hand.
...
On the way to the Shen Mansion.
Shen Baozhu lay in Shen Haiyan's arms, confused. "Third brother, why did you suddenly pick me up and run?"
The Dragon King: [I know, I know!]
The Dragon King: [He's afraid that Qiuqiu and the Fourth Prince will follow!]
Lin Yu: [Third brother just got home and found that there were two more little companions around Baozhu.]
Lin Yu: [I wonder if he'll have a headache when he sees the treasure - hunting rat and the little phoenix.]
The Dragon King: [Maybe he'll have to play the peacemaker twice. Qiuqiu is like the Fourth Prince, and the treasure - hunting rat is like the little phoenix.]
Shen Haiyan explained, which was similar to what the Dragon King had guessed.
When they reached a crowded place, Shen Haiyan gently patted Shen Baozhu's back. "Baozhu, cover your face. When you hear voices, pretend to be crying."
Shen Haiyan didn't go directly to the Shen Mansion but to the Shen Family School.
He was invited into the school. A handsome scholar rushed over in a hurry. "Haiyan, why are you here? Where's Brother Heqing?"
"And the child in your arms... Is it Baozhu? What happened to her?"
The Dragon King: [Interesting. The little cutie should start crying!]
Hearing the voice, Shen Baozhu started to pretend to cry. And the scholar, hearing the sound, became even more worried.
Shen Haiyan sighed deeply. "Minghua, I went to the mountains to practice martial arts and just got home today. Do you know what happened to Baozhu?"
Shen Minghua was the son of the Second Lady Shen and also Shen Haiyan's cousin. He had a good relationship with Shen Haiyan.
Hearing Shen Haiyan's question, he subconsciously thought of the widespread rumors a few days ago. His heart tightened. "I, I, I've indeed heard a bit, but I don't know if it's true. It is said that Baozhu was bullied by the, no, by the Third Prince in the Queen's Fengyi Palace. To console her, the Emperor even bestowed some rewards."
Shen Haiyan was greatly shocked and asked how Grandpa had reacted.
Shen Qingshan's actions of asking someone to submit a memorial to depose the crown prince were all done in private. Not to mention Shen Yunfeng, even Shen Minghua's father didn't know.
Thinking of this, Shen Minghua seemed a bit ashamed. "Nothing!"