Shen Minghua quickly supported Second Lady Shen. Just as he was about to call for help, Shen Haiyan stopped him.
Shen Haiyan reminded Shen Minghua, "I only fished you out and only took care of Second Auntie. The other Shen family members are also imprisoned in the jail, probably not far from here. If you shout now, they'll know I rescued you and helped with the arrangements. Are you sure you want them to know?"
Hearing Shen Haiyan's words, Shen Minghua gradually calmed down. He didn't want them to know.
Just as Shen Minghua had calmed down, two jailers suddenly started beating gongs and drums.
The sound was ear - piercing. Even though they were some distance away, everyone's ears ached from the noise.
Yan Mingli instinctively protected the three children and complained, "What are the jailers doing beating gongs and drums in the jail?"
The Prince of Rui raised his hand and gave him a slap, "Shut up! Go outside and see what's going on. Don't alert the others."
Under the Prince of Rui's stern gaze, Yan Mingli reluctantly went.
A moment later.
Yan Mingli returned with a beaming face. He whispered to everyone, "Guess what? The jailers are arguing with Shen Qingshan."
The prisoners in the jail were angry but dared not speak out against the jailers' gong and drum noises. But the Shen family members were used to a life of luxury. The younger generations thought the embezzlement charge was a slander, so they argued with the jailers.
They politely asked the jailers to lower the noise, but were mocked by the jailers instead.
The jailers insinuated that Shen Qingshan had stolen things, which had caused the suffering of the disaster victims back then. They also said that they had lost relatives in that disaster.
Shen Qingshan was not imprisoned with the other Shen family members but in a separate cell. The jailers' words reached his ears, and he shouted for his grandchildren to calm down and not to haggle with such villains.
"Guess what? When that jailer heard this, he said it wasn't certain who the villain was. Then he went up to Shen Qingshan and cursed at him. Shen Qingshan seemed calm on the surface, but he was actually furious," Yan Mingli attributed all this to the saying that evil will be punished.
The Prince of Rui bent down and asked the three children, "What can you see from this?"
The Fourth Prince thought hard, "The jailers... deliberately... causing trouble."
Combining the Fourth Prince's words, Qiuqiu asked curiously, "Could it be that someone dislikes Baozhu's grandfather and is deliberately causing trouble?"
The Prince of Rui just smiled without answering. His gaze fell on Shen Baozhu. "Baozhu, what do you think?"
"Baozhu thinks... is it the eldest disciple of Master Li coming to avenge Master Li?" Seeing the confident look on the Prince of Rui's face, Shen Baozhu recalled what the Prince of Rui had said today about Li Xingzhi's eldest disciple being the Minister of Dali Temple. She added, "I remember Grandpa Gu said that Master Li's eldest disciple is the Minister of Dali Temple. He's very powerful."
Shen Haiyan followed Shen Baozhu's words, "The outside world only knows that the Shen family embezzled. But this jailer specifically pointed out that Shen Qingshan stole things. It should be the Minister of Dali Temple who found this jailer to vent his anger for Master Li."
"Baozhu, why don't you recognize Lady Li as your master?"
Shen Baozhu shook her head vigorously, "No, Big Brother said I should stay away from Master Li. I have to listen to Big Brother."
"Then... I'll also stay away from Master Li. I'll listen to Brother Heqing too!" Qiuqiu didn't hesitate much and followed suit.
Seeing that the Fourth Prince wanted to speak, Yan Mingli reached out and covered his mouth, "You can't refuse to recognize a master. Master Li is so powerful. If someone bullies Baozhu in the future, you can ask Master Li to avenge her."
Dragon King: [Hahaha, even a fool can guess what the Fourth Prince was going to say.]
Lin Yu: [Mingli's words make sense.]
Under Yan Mingli's persuasion, the Fourth Prince nodded, indicating that he understood.
Afraid that too much time had passed, while everyone was busy listening to the jailers causing trouble for Shen Qingshan, Shen Minghua woke Second Lady Shen up, "Mother, Mother, wake up quickly. Wait until you give me the token before you faint again. Son doesn't have a single coin on him. Mother!"
After shaking her for a while, Second Lady Shen finally woke up. As soon as she opened her eyes, she grabbed Shen Minghua's arm tightly and said fiercely, "Shen Yunfeng spent 50,000 taels to save a concubine. The unremarkable ornaments in that old fool's room are worth 100,000 taels. But the Shen family has been using my dowry all these years. The whole family is a bunch of shameless sluts!"
Yan Mingli quickly covered the three children's ears, "Dirty words. Don't listen."
Second Lady Shen was the only daughter of a merchant. She only had an adopted elder brother in her family. Her marriage into the Shen family was like a business deal.
Back then, Second Lady Shen had two choices. One was to marry her adopted elder brother, which was like having him marry into her family. The other was to be a step - wife and marry into the Shen family.
The Shen family's status was much higher than that of a merchant family. Second Lady Shen was young and naive. She thought that as long as she did her best, she would eventually win her husband's heart.
So over the years, she had managed the family business and used up her dowry.
The Shen family wasn't worried about her embezzling money because all the family expenses were paid by Second Lady Shen. It was just money moving from one pocket to another.
Suddenly learning that the Shen family wasn't short of money, Second Lady Shen couldn't control her body from shaking. She was filled with hatred!
She thought that by giving money, she could warm her husband's heart. But the Shen family didn't need the money. Her act of helping in difficult times had become an act of adding to the splendor. If she had known this earlier, why would she have married?
Shen Yunfeng clearly had money, but at first, he let Bai Xinrou spend her money in the Shen family. If she hadn't been unable to bear it and driven Bai Xinrou away, who knew how much money she would have spent.
Thinking of the money she had wasted, Second Lady Shen gritted her teeth and said, "Since the family has money, why did they marry me? Why!"
"Your shameless father said his wife had passed away and he needed a step - wife. He said the family had no money and hoped I could subsidize the family. He said feelings could be cultivated later... Bah! No wonder he acted like a master after I married in. He clearly had money but expected me to be a fool!"
Dragon King: [Is there a difference? They're all fools!]
Lin Yu: [It seems there's no difference, but also seems there is.]
Qingyun True Man: [The expectations are different, and the status is different. She thought she was the money - vault of the Shen family, but didn't expect to be a clown.]
Qingyun True Man: [She thought the Shen family needed her and her husband needed her, but in fact, she was still a clown.]
Dragon King: [There's still no difference!]
Lin Yu seemed to understand, "Without me and Qingyun True Man, only you help Baozhu."
Lin Yu: [When Baozhu encounters difficulties, she'll call on the Dragon King to help. You'll enjoy all the gifts alone.]
The Dragon King imagined it according to Lin Yu's words and felt happy. His dragon tail unconsciously swayed, as if Lin Yu's words had come true and all the cute gifts were his. He definitely wouldn't send the little phoenix there.
Lin Yu: [Suddenly one day, someone tells you that actually there are me and the True Man. We can also help the cute one, but we just watch silently.]
Dragon King: [You're so kind? Let this king enjoy the gifts alone?]
Lin Yu: [...]
Qingyun True Man: [The idea of enjoying the gifts alone is a lie. You're the only one doing the work, but the gifts are for everyone.]
Dragon King: [Although I'm a bit unhappy, it's okay that only this king can help the cute one.]
Qingyun True Man: [As long as you're happy.]
Shen Baozhu took a deep breath and gave the Dragon King an example of herself, "It should be that the Dragon King gave me very useful fruits. I ate them, but secretly told the True Man and Brother Lin Yu that the fruits were bitter and I didn't want to eat them. Then I shared the fruits with the True Man and Brother Lin Yu, and only gave gifts to them."
This analogy made the Dragon King instinctively straighten his dragon tail. His dragon whiskers were even angry and straight.
Dragon King: [Deserving of death!]