The emperor flipped through the secret letter again. In disbelief, he asked, "You've reached the capital city of Xiangyun Kingdom? Does that mean the next step is to conquer it?"
The soldier recalled the advice from Young Master Heqing before leaving. With tears welling in his eyes, he exclaimed, "Your Majesty, this battle was a hard - won victory!"
It should have been a touching scene of a loyal soldier reporting, but the scar on the soldier's face made it look a bit terrifying.
This scar was inflicted by someone from Xiangyun Kingdom. Unable to defeat Dayong in a fair fight, Xiangyun Kingdom resorted to dirty tricks. They forced the suffering common people to lure Dayong's generals, and this soldier was one of the victims.
Hearing the soldier's heart - rending account, the emperor felt a heavy weight on his heart. He understood General Mu's decision. If he had been on the front line, he would have done the same and led the troops to the capital of Xiangyun Kingdom.
The emperor rewarded the soldier with a hundred taels of gold. He promised to reward General Mu and his troops properly when they returned in triumph. He also sent imperial physicians to take care of the soldier.
After thanking the emperor, the soldier wiped his tears and left the Qianqing Palace. He admired Shen Heqing even more. Everyone thought the emperor would fly into a rage because General Mu had acted on his own initiative. The soldier who came to report in the capital was supposed to be a scapegoat, and no one wanted this job.
It was Shen Heqing who chose him. He repeatedly emphasized that it was not an act of willfulness but because Xiangyun Kingdom had gone too far and Dayong was forced to fight back. He told the soldier to think of the emperor as his own parents when he saw him, to cry loudly but not complain.
Even the way the soldier saluted was specially practiced so that the emperor could see the scar on his face and his right hand.
The soldier followed Shen Heqing's instructions. Instead of being a scapegoat, he even received a reward. He sighed in admiration that Shen Heqing, as the grandson of General Mu, was truly remarkable!
...
The fire gradually died down, and the news of the fire at the Cui family spread throughout the capital.
In the study of the Shen family.
"What? They're all dead!" Shen Qingshan was shocked when he heard the news.
He wasn't worried about Cui Zhengping. The master - disciple relationship had vanished when Cui Zhengping threatened him.
Shen Qingshan was worried about what Cui Zhengping had in his hands. If it had been completely burned in the fire, that would be fine. But if it fell into the wrong hands, the consequences would be unimaginable.
There was another person in the room. He was thin with dark circles under his eyes. It was Shen Qingshan's eldest son, Shen Yunlin.
Shen Yunlin reached out to pour tea for Shen Qingshan. "This fire is no ordinary one. It only burned the Cui family while the neighboring houses remained intact. It's obviously man - made."
"The only one with such power is His Majesty. Father, don't worry. His Majesty should not know about what happened back then."
For some reason, Shen Qingshan felt extremely uneasy today. He frowned and asked, "How can you be so sure?"
"Cui Zhengping had been in the capital for many years. Given his nature, he would keep that thing by his side and watch it every day to prevent it from being stolen. But this fire was very fierce. Besides burning the Cui family to death, all of Cui Zhengping's favorite things were burned to ashes. I'm afraid that thing is gone too." Shen Yunlin handed the tea to Shen Qingshan. "Cui Zhengping was looking forward to the Third Prince ascending the throne. He counted on Father to assist the Third Prince. He wouldn't betray Father on his own initiative. Even if he was tortured, one night might not be enough."
"Moreover, Father's plan is flawless. His Majesty suspected you many times back then, but you managed to resolve the situation. More than a decade has passed, and Cui Zhengping is dead. If Father just denies it, His Majesty can't punish you, an old minister, especially since you've already retired."
Shen Qingshan thought it made sense. He took the teacup and said proudly, "That's right. My plan is excellent. What can they find out?"
"If we have to blame someone, it's His Majesty for being too impatient. As soon as he took real power, he couldn't wait to get rid of me and support that useless Sima Bai."
Shen Yunlin flattered his father a few times and made Shen Qingshan happy.
Shen Qingshan casually took out a silver note worth five hundred taels from the drawer and told him to be careful not to be discovered.
Shen Yunlin quickly stuffed the silver note into his sleeve and said a lot of sweet words.
...
At the same time, Princess Jingning brought Shen Baozhu to the Qianqing Palace.
When it was still dawn, Shen Baozhu was dragged out of bed, washed, dressed, and had her accessories chosen. She was so sleepy that she could hardly keep her eyes open.
She leaned against her mother drowsily. Vaguely seeing the Qianqing Palace, her little face was full of sleepiness. "Mother, are you taking Baozhu to see Emperor Uncle? Emperor Uncle is not an outsider. Baozhu doesn't need to dress up specially."
Not to mention dressing up, Shen Baozhu would even lean on the emperor when she was dirty.
Princess Jingning didn't know Shen Baozhu's habit of coming to the Qianqing Palace casually. She held Shen Baozhu's hand and said helplessly, "When we get to the Qianqing Palace and are in front of His Majesty, Baozhu must not be so impolite. Stand properly and don't lean on Mother. Do you understand?"
"Um - hum - hum - hum." Shen Baozhu was so sleepy that she just nodded randomly.
Dragon King: [What's the hurry to see the emperor so early? Are they going to deal with Shen Yunfeng?]
Half - asleep, Shen Baozhu saw the subtitles in the air. She tried to open her eyes wider to see clearly, but due to sleepiness, she stumbled and almost fell.
Princess Jingning was afraid that Shen Baozhu would fall, so she picked her up in her arms.
After walking a few steps, just as they reached the entrance of the Qianqing Palace, Shen Baozhu suddenly smelled a delicious aroma. She opened her eyes wide and sniffed carefully. "Mother, can you smell it? It's something delicious!"
Shen Baozhu woke up instantly. She got out of Princess Jingning's arms and ran into the Qianqing Palace.
In the center of the Qianqing Palace, there was a huge table. The palace servants were bringing the dishes to the table.
The cold dishes were served first, and the hot dishes would take some time and come later.
When the emperor saw Shen Baozhu, he waved her over. "Baozhu, do you like these dishes?"
Looking at the table full of food, Shen Baozhu nodded vigorously. "Yes, I like them!"
"Then Emperor Uncle has a favor to ask you, okay? Can you ask the immortal to use his divine power again to help make a bad guy tell the truth?" The emperor coaxed her and promised Shen Baozhu many nice things.
Dragon King: [Oh, the emperor has a request.]
Dragon King: [True Lord Qingyun, the emperor wants your Truth - Revealing Talisman to help.]
True Lord Qingyun: [Who is he going to interrogate?]
After Shen Baozhu agreed, the emperor clapped his hands, and the guards dragged the bad guy in.
The bad guy's clothes were tattered, and he was dirty and unkempt. It was hard to tell who he was.
Dragon King: [I don't recognize him.]
Princess Jingning recognized the bad guy. She was shocked and blurted out, "Minister Cui!"
Dragon King: [A person with the surname Cui? Could he be the elder brother of the Cui family?]
Dragon King: [True Lord, quickly give the Truth - Revealing Talisman so that the emperor can interrogate him!]
The bad guy in the emperor's mouth was indeed Cui Zhengping. He had suspected the Cui family before. After testing them, he found that the Cui family was involved in the baby - swapping incident. Combined with Shen Qingshan's support for the Third Prince, he immediately took action against the Cui family to prevent Cui Zhengping from realizing the danger and asking Shen Qingshan for help.
The Cui family had to be dealt with, but Cui Zhengping couldn't die.
Urged by the Dragon King, the Truth - Revealing Talisman fell from the air. Shen Baozhu caught it and pasted it on Cui Zhengping's back.