When one is punished to stand, they will feel nervous and uneasy.
When standing in punishment with good friends, they will keep whispering to each other.
Shen Baozhu said with a bit of guilt, "The Fourth Prince looks so uncomfortable. We should have kept an eye on him."
Qiuqiu fully agreed. She sighed like a little adult. "Yes, but Baozhu, don't blame yourself too much. Even Brother Mingli, who is already so old, failed to stop the Fourth Prince."
Suddenly being mentioned, Yan Mingli lowered his head even more. How embarrassing! He wished there was a hole to hide himself in.
While Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu were chatting and Yan Mingli was thinking about digging a hole with his bare hands to bury himself, only Xu Yutang was standing there obediently, even a bit curious.
"Don't we need to balance a bowl on our heads while standing in punishment? Or stretch out our hands and hold a bowl?" Xu Yutang was experiencing such an easy punishment for the first time. She gestured slightly. "We also need to put water in the bowl. If the water spills, we'll be beaten on the palm with a rattan stick."
Yan Mingli looked up and said helplessly, "It's not a physical punishment. Why be so strict?"
"Haiyan is just annoyed that we were careless and didn't take good care of the Fourth Prince. He doesn't have the habit of giving physical punishments."
Doctor Liu soon brought the medicine. After the Fourth Prince took it, his stomach didn't hurt so much.
The Fourth Prince said happily, "My stomach doesn't hurt anymore!"
"Baozhu, I'll come and stand in punishment with you."
When Shen Haiyan came back with the nourishing bird's nest porridge, he saw the Fourth Prince standing beside Shen Baozhu. The group was discussing who was the gentlest.
To be more precise, it was Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu having a discussion, while Yan Mingli was causing trouble beside them. Xu Yutang was watching with a smile, and the Fourth Prince was silent.
Shen Baozhu thought Shen Danqing was the gentlest, while Qiuqiu thought Chen Ruxia was more gentle. While the two kids were discussing, Yan Mingli voted for Chen Miaochun.
Dragon King: [Is that fool forgetting that when they first met, he said something bad about Chen Ruxia and was beaten up by Chen Miaochun?]
Lin Yu: [In Mingli's mind, that might have been their first time alone together.]
Seeing that their voices were getting louder, Shen Haiyan coughed lightly.
The next moment, Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu stopped arguing. Yan Mingli lowered his head. The smile disappeared from Xu Yutang's face, and the Fourth Prince appeared on the bed.
Shen Haiyan fed the bird's nest porridge to the Fourth Prince and told him to have a good rest. Then he took the others away.
The group had eaten a lot outside, so they weren't hungry. They decided to take a walk in the garden to digest the food.
On the way, Yan Mingli heard that Chen Miaochun had come back and planned to go find her. Qiuqiu also missed her two sisters, so the two of them left together.
Shen Haiyan was holding Shen Baozhu's hand. Just as they took a few steps, Xu Yutang grabbed him.
Xu Yutang wanted to go to Prime Minister Sima to ask for the reward. "Brother Haiyan, can you and Baozhu accompany me to Prime Minister Sima to ask for the black iron?"
"Third Brother, you go with Sister Yutang. I'll go play with the Treasure Hunting Mouse and the Little Phoenix!" Shen Baozhu had a little secret in mind. She felt a bit guilty and didn't dare to say more to Shen Haiyan. Then she ran away.
Looking at Shen Baozhu's disappearing figure, Shen Haiyan felt something was strange, but he couldn't pinpoint it. So he put it aside for the time being and took Xu Yutang out of the mansion.
...
Night fell.
As soon as Princess Jingning returned to the main courtyard, Shen Baozhu hugged her leg. Her little face was blushing. "Mother! Baozhu wants to give you a surprise!"
"What surprise?" Princess Jingning asked with a smile as she picked up Shen Baozhu.
Shen Baozhu wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and was very principled. "I can't say. If I say it, it won't be a surprise anymore."
"Mother, quickly eat this purple fruit."
Princess Jingning lowered her head slightly and looked at the purple fruit in Shen Baozhu's hand. Without hesitation, she ate it.
Meeting Shen Baozhu's expectant gaze, she said with a smile, "The fruit is very sweet, but it's so sweet that it's cloying. It's not what Baozhu likes..."
Halfway through her words, Princess Jingning noticed four red threads on her wrist. One of them was connected to Shen Baozhu.
While Princess Jingning was thinking, Shen Baozhu couldn't wait to break free from her arms and pulled her towards the open space in front of the courtyard.
"Wu Wu!"
A black shadow rushed down from the sky at an extremely fast speed, but it stopped steadily in the courtyard, filling the entire courtyard.
Shen Baozhu rushed forward first. "Wu Wu, you've grown so big!"
Princess Jingning knew that Wu Wu was the name of the Little Phoenix, but looking at the black shadow that was taller than two people, she was a bit incredulous. "Baozhu, is this the Little Phoenix?"
The Little Phoenix held its head high. "Mother of the master, it's me."
Lin Yu: [The Little Phoenix is so powerful that it can grow so big.]
Dragon King: [This is the weakened version. Originally, one of its wings could cover the entire capital. With a stomp of its foot, it could shake the Shen family to death.]
Dragon King: [Its wings should be colorful and dazzling, but now it's just a black shadow.]
The Dragon King was very dissatisfied with the weakening of the Little Phoenix.
Immortal Qingyun: [The amulets are done.]
Two amulets fell from the sky and were caught by Shen Baozhu. She pulled out the Treasure Hunting Mouse with a curtain from the corner. "Mother, quickly hold the Treasure Hunting Mouse's paw. Let's go see grandfather!"
Princess Jingning's heart trembled. She didn't have the heart to think about anything else. "Can we really see him?"
"Of course! Gods can do anything!" Shen Baozhu handed Princess Jingning the Treasure Hunting Mouse's paw. She held the Treasure Hunting Mouse, and the Treasure Hunting Mouse held Princess Jingning. Soon, the two and the mouse were standing on the Little Phoenix's back.
When the preparations were ready, Shen Baozhu was about to use the amulets.
Lin Yu: [Don't be in a hurry, Baozhu. First ask your mother to determine the direction. Try not to go astray.]
Shen Baozhu only thought about seeing her grandfather and didn't handle things very carefully. Fortunately, Lin Yu reminded her.
She quickly told Princess Jingning, "Mother, did you see the red threads? The purple fruit I gave you just now is a kinship fruit. It can help you find your relatives. You just need to find the direction of grandfather!"
Princess Jingning looked carefully at the red threads on her wrist. One was connected to Shen Baozhu in front of her, one was connected to Haiyan's courtyard, and the remaining two were both connected to the distance, in the same direction. They should be her father and Shen Heqing.
Although she couldn't tell which red thread was her father's, it should be in that direction.
...
When Shen Baozhu brought her mother to find her grandfather, General Mu was also thinking about them.
In the palace of Xiangyun Kingdom.
General Mu was sitting on the steps, holding a medicine pillow. He looked at the bright moon in the sky and murmured to himself, "You always said I didn't take good care of myself and would surely die before you. If I died, you would find a stepfather for Lanyue. But the world is unpredictable. Unexpectedly, I'm still alive shamelessly."
"It's all my fault. I didn't come back in time that year. I had no choice but to send Lanyue to study medicine. If I could have come back and stayed by her side, Shen Yunfeng wouldn't have been able to deceive her, let alone harm the children."
"Shen Yunfeng was so cruel to his own children. How could he be soft-hearted towards Lanyue?"
General Mu's eyes were moist. He had been separated from his daughter for a long time. Even when his daughter was wronged, he couldn't stand up for her. He could only desperately earn military merits, hoping that those who wanted the throne would take his merits into account and take care of his daughter.
He sighed and felt a bit lucky. "Fortunately, the previous emperor died early. The current emperor is smarter."
Just thinking about how the previous emperor had coaxed him into using his military merits to help Shen Yunfeng get promoted, General Mu felt that the previous emperor had treated him like a fool.
The military merits he had earned through hard work couldn't be used as a ladder for others. Even though his daughter was already a princess, the military merits could be left for his grandchildren.
The current emperor was more straightforward. As soon as his granddaughter was born, he sent a secret letter, promising to confer the title of princess on Baozhu when she came of age. If he had more military merits, the fief could also be discussed.
Recalling the past, General Mu felt even more melancholy.
Not far away, the military advisor and Shen Danqing were standing in the corridor, watching this scene.
Having known General Mu for many years, the military advisor knew his pain. He said softly, "Go and call Heqing. Bring some food and sit with him under the moon for a while."
When Shen Danqing went to look for Shen Heqing, the military advisor shook his head and sighed softly. "Alas, I don't know when we'll be able to return to the capital."