Seeing Shen Minghua was on familiar terms with Shen Haiyan and Shen Baozhu, Prince Rui was surprised. He quickly asked, "Is this a member of the Shen family? But on my way here, I heard that all the Shen family members had been imprisoned. What's his situation?"
Hearing this, Shen Minghua cried even more bitterly. He hugged Shen Baozhu and sobbed, "I'm so unfilial! My mother is suffering in prison while I'm here eating and drinking."
Yan Mingli, who was drinking soup, subconsciously looked up. He casually retorted, "Then stop eating?"
Shen Minghua was torn. "But, but I'm afraid I won't have the chance to eat meat in the future. Someone will come soon and lock me up in prison."
Shen Haiyan was a bit helpless. He grabbed Shen Minghua and pushed him back onto the chair. "Just eat in peace. No one is coming to arrest you. I got the emperor's permission to take you out."
"If it's with the emperor's permission, why did you do it so secretly? Haiyan, I know you're kind - hearted, but I'm not a fool," Shen Minghua retorted reasonably.
Shen Baozhu knew the answer. She raised her hand high. "I know, I know!"
"Third brother only wanted to take you out. He was afraid others would also want to come along."
Following the example of those above, Shen Qingshan and the old lady of the Shen family had the most say in the family. Their attitudes determined the attitudes of the rest of the Shen family.
Shen Heqing was the most favored and the smartest among the younger generation. Almost everyone doted on him. But Shen Haiyan had given up the path of literature and taken up martial arts early on, and Shen Baozhu was a girl. Although she pretended well on the surface, a bit of her true feelings still showed.
Children were the most sensitive to emotions. Since they didn't like some people, Shen Baozhu didn't like them either.
Shen Minghua turned around in shock. He didn't expect that Shen Haiyan only wanted to take him out. Overjoyed, he said, "Haiyan, it turns out our relationship is so good!"
"I'll never scold you for being violent behind your back again."
The Fourth Prince sipped his chicken soup silently, marveling in his heart that there was actually someone stupider than Yan Mingli.
Dragon King: [I'm so worried.]
Lin Yu: [What's wrong?]
Dragon King: [Alas, I picked the wrong nickname.]
Dragon King: [I thought Yan Mingli was a fool, but now it seems he's quite smart.]
Lin Yu: [Don't use the nickname anymore.]
Dragon King: [No way.]
Shen Haiyan resisted the urge to punch Shen Minghua and patiently explained to him, "In the Shen family, you're not the most favored one. If I had rescued you openly, do you think the people from the eldest branch would have let you out? They would have fought and asked me to rescue them too.
"Rescuing just you was already a grace from the emperor. If they made a big fuss, this grace might be revoked."
Shen Minghua knew the nature of the eldest branch of the Shen family. Understanding this, he was even more grateful to Shen Haiyan for saving his life.
But Shen Minghua still missed Lady Shen the Second. Sighing, he said, "I wonder who framed grandfather, causing the whole family to suffer. I hope the emperor will find out the truth soon and clear the name of the Shen family and grandfather."
After finishing the chicken soup in his bowl, Yan Mingli wiped his mouth and hands with a handkerchief. Then he casually replied, "Maybe it wasn't a frame - up. I heard that Prime Minister Sima presented witnesses and evidence. Those can't be faked."
"How is that impossible! Prime Minister Sima is a cunning villain. He used a scheme to take grandfather's position as prime minister back then, and now he's going to great lengths to harm grandfather. It's normal for such a villain to do anything!" Shen Qingshan was a cautious man and had mentioned these things only a few times in the past decade. But due to the family's upbringing, Shen Minghua remembered these words well.
Hearing these words, Yan Mingli felt a bit uncomfortable. First, his father had a good relationship with Prime Minister Sima. Second, and most importantly, he was Xu Yutang's brother - in - law, and Xu Yutang was Prime Minister Sima's granddaughter. Truly speaking, he was related to Prime Minister Sima.
Maybe because he had been with Prince Rui for a long time, Yan Mingli's eyes flickered, and he had a bad idea. He openly complained to Shen Haiyan, "Haiyan, Yutang is someone you protect. This guy is openly speaking ill of Yutang. You should teach him a lesson."
Dragon King: [I almost forgot about this. Yan Mingli still remembers.]
Lin Yu: [But this complaint seems wrong. Shen Minghua is scolding Prime Minister Sima, not Xu Yutang.]
"What Yutang or not? I'm scolding Prime Minister Sima. How could I scold someone Haiyan protects? Baozhu, please stand up for me. This guy is trying to frame me," Shen Minghua pleaded his case.
Shen Baozhu looked at Shen Minghua and then at Yan Mingli. For a moment, she didn't know whom to help.
The Dragon King flicked his tail and had an idea. [Cute one, ask Shen Minghua if he has scolded Prime Minister Sima's whole family?]
Shen Baozhu asked exactly as she was told. Shen Minghua replied frankly, "Of course I did. When scolding someone, you should scold their whole family."
Qiuqiu, who was playing with a jade pendant, suddenly stood up and ran in front of Shen Minghua. She stepped on his foot hard. "You're not allowed to scold Sister Yutang. You're a bad guy."
Qiuqiu pulled Shen Baozhu to her side and coquettishly said, "Baozhu, you'll help Sister Yutang, right? Good Baozhu, please, help Sister Yutang."
Shen Baozhu had the best relationship with Qiuqiu. Unable to resist Qiuqiu's coquetry, she discussed with Shen Minghua, "Brother Minghua, could you please stop scolding Sister Yutang and Prime Minister Sima? They're all good people."
Shen Minghua wasn't a stupid person who saw things in black and white. Just as he was about to nod, he heard the second half of Shen Baozhu's sentence. He was shocked. "If Prime Minister Sima is a good person, then is our Shen family bad? Baozhu, you're also a member of the Shen family!"
Dragon King: [Sadly, the cute one isn't.]
Lin Yu: [Sadly, Third Brother Baozhu isn't either.]
Master Qingyun: [Sadly, Shen Heqing and Shen Danqing aren't either.]
Master Qingyun: [To be precise, the Shen family is truly a bad family.]
Shen Minghua's words made Shen Haiyan burst out laughing.
When the Princess Jingning divorced Shen Yunfeng before, Shen Haiyan didn't really feel it. It wasn't until the Shen family's trouble now, when Shen Minghua regarded them as Shen family members, that Shen Haiyan finally truly realized that he wasn't a member of the Shen family.
The crimes committed by the Shen family had nothing to do with him either.
In a great mood, Shen Haiyan stepped forward. He put his arm around Shen Minghua's shoulder and explained, "Yutang is Prime Minister Sima's granddaughter and lives in the princess's mansion. We have a good relationship with her. If you want to scold, just scold Prime Minister Sima alone. Why scold her?"
Learning that Xu Yutang was a close acquaintance, Shen Minghua's anger dissipated. He sighed, "I see. I was too hasty. Since Miss Yutang has a good relationship with us, it's a different matter."
Shen Minghua was a man of principle. The Sima family were all villains, but friends were another matter and the principle didn't apply.
But he didn't forget to remind Shen Baozhu, "I said the wrong thing just now. I'll apologize to Miss Yutang. But Baozhu, grandfather said that our Shen family has a feud with the Sima family. This is something the Shen family members should always remember. You can't forget it."
Dragon King: [Cute one, quickly tell this little fool that you're not a member of the Shen family.]
Master Qingyun: [Let Shen Minghua stay safely in the princess's mansion. It's very safe because neither you nor Shen Haiyan are members of the Shen family.]
Looking at the subtitles and based on her own understanding, Shen Baozhu said to Shen Minghua, "Brother Minghua, you can stay safely at Baozhu's home.
"Because Uncle the Emperor wants to arrest the Shen family members, but big brother, second brother, third brother, and Baozhu aren't members of the Shen family. No one will come to the princess's mansion to arrest anyone!"