The Prince of Rui looked at the three children in front of him, feeling a bit embarrassed. It wouldn't be a problem to take Baozhu and Qiuqiu in, but the Fourth Prince was a bit of a hassle. The Queen had specifically told him to temporarily prevent the Fourth Prince from meeting the Emperor, as the first impression was crucial after all.
The Dragon King: [What's Old Man Gu thinking about?]
Lin Yu: [Still staring at the Fourth Prince.]
After a brief silence, the Prince of Rui bent down and asked, "Fourth Prince, can you say a complete sentence now?"
The Fourth Prince looked at the Prince of Rui blankly, not understanding what he meant.
The Prince of Rui rephrased his question: "Who do you like the most?"
"I like Baozhu the most." The Fourth Prince answered quickly.
The Prince of Rui continued along this topic: "Why do you like Baozhu?"
"Because Baozhu gives me food. Baozhu is good." The Fourth Prince said a complete sentence with great difficulty.
The Prince of Rui counted in his heart. The Fourth Prince would pause after saying at most six words. There was still a significant gap compared to a normal child. He could only say regretfully, "Fourth Prince, you can't go with us. Stay at home first. I'll take Baozhu and come back quickly."
The Fourth Prince's eager look dimmed. He unconsciously fiddled with the clay figurine in his hand and nodded obediently.
"Qiuqiu, do you want to go to the palace? Actually, there's nothing fun in the palace. I'll take you and the Fourth Prince to find Brother Su Qian." Shen Baozhu suddenly spoke up. She quickly discussed with Qiuqiu and pushed the Prince of Rui away. "Grandpa Gu, you go into the palace by yourself. Qiuqiu and I don't want to go either. We'll just stay here with the Fourth Prince."
Qiuqiu just wanted to be with her good friend. Since Shen Baozhu wasn't going to the palace, she lost interest.
However, she wasn't very familiar with Su Qian and didn't want to play with him. Qiuqiu suggested, "Baozhu, come home with me. I'll let you play with my mother's jewelry and ask my mother to prepare the Fourth Prince's favorite dishes."
Seeing that Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu were willing to accompany the Fourth Prince, the Prince of Rui felt relieved. He no longer had to be in a difficult situation.
After the Prince of Rui left, Shen Baozhu pulled Qiuqiu and the Fourth Prince to look for Hongshen. "Aunt Hongshen! Baozhu wants to take Qiuqiu and the Fourth Prince to play in the palace. Can you take us there?"
Hongshen was feeding the horses in the backyard. She looked puzzled. "Little Princess, go to the front yard and find Qingdai. Ask her to prepare a carriage. Why are you looking for me?"
"Aunt Hongshen, Baozhu remembers that you can fly there and back in one go. Can you take us to fly? Aunt Hongshen is the best. Please help us." Shen Baozhu pulled at Hongshen's sleeve and acted coquettishly.
Qiuqiu pulled the Fourth Prince and surrounded Hongshen as well. The three children surrounded Hongshen and acted coquettishly towards her, wearing her down and leaving her no chance to refuse.
Hongshen could only sigh helplessly. "Okay, okay. I'll take the Little Princess, Miss Qiuqiu and His Highness the Fourth Prince there. Wait for me to change my clothes. Let's go through the back door."
The Dragon King: [Isn't it too difficult for Hongshen? Three round - trips, that's six runs.]
The Dragon King: [I'll call out my clone and let it take the cute one and Qiuqiu to the palace.]
The True Man Qingyun: [Call the Treasure - hunting Rat. The Dragon King's clone is an important prop for the Fourth Prince to return to the palace. It can't show up now.]
After Hongshen changed her clothes, she squatted down and picked up Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu with one hand. She said in a low voice, "Please lie on this servant's back, Your Highness the Fourth Prince."
The Fourth Prince stood there at a loss. Just as he was about to lie on her back, Shen Baozhu stopped him. "Aunt Hongshen, you hold the Fourth Prince. I'll lie on your back."
Hongshen held one child in each hand and carried another on her back. She leaned forward slightly and quickly jumped onto the eaves of the house, running in the direction of the palace.
The Dragon King: [Amazing. I underestimated it.]
Lin Yu: [Hongshen is so amazing!]
The True Man Qingyun: [There are many hidden talents around the Princess of Jingning.]
Watching Hongshen flying over the eaves and shuttling through them one by one, the Dragon King was also full of energy. [I have four claws. I can grab Qiuqiu, the Fourth Prince, the fool and Xu Yutang!]
Lin Yu: [What about Baozhu?]
The Dragon King: [Baozhu can ride on me!]
Lin Yu: [It's really feasible. I can buy a smaller starship and take Baozhu and her friends to watch the stars.]
The Dragon King: [True Man, what about you?]
The True Man Qingyun: [I'll fly on my sword and travel through the air.]
The Dragon King repeated it twice and thought it was not as good as his own. He became proud. [It's just so - so. Mine is still the most powerful.]
Hongshen was very skilled in light kung - fu. Soon she reached an alley next to the palace. She bent down and discussed with the three young masters. "Little Princess, if someone asks how you got here, just say this servant took you a shortcut. Don't tell others the real situation."
"Why? Aunt Hongshen is so amazing! Qiuqiu wants to fly again!" Qiuqiu's little face was flushed. She still wanted to do it one more time.
The Fourth Prince also looked at Hongshen expectantly.
Hongshen patiently explained, "Because this servant just stepped on someone's roof. This is strictly prohibited in the capital."
Shen Baozhu understood. She nodded. "Aunt Hongshen, don't worry. We'll keep this a secret and won't let you get punished!"
"It's not about getting punished..." Hongshen explained a bit shyly. "The roof will be damaged if it's often stepped on. The yamen has strictly prohibited it. If you're caught once, you'll be fined and you have to repair the roof. Even if you didn't step on the roof, you still have to repair it."
"This servant just bought a dagger. Now my purse is empty. I don't have any money to pay the fine."
The Dragon King: [So pitiful. I'll give you some gold.]
A fist - sized piece of gold landed in Shen Baozhu's hand. She held it and gave it to Hongshen. "Aunt Hongshen, the god gave you this gold. You can use it to pay the fine!"
The Dragon King: [No, it's a reward, not for paying the fine.]
The Dragon King: [Forget it. Whatever the cute one says goes. I'll reward you again.]
This time, a bigger piece of gold landed right beside Hongshen's feet.
Hongshen looked at the sky and the gold on the ground blankly. She asked carefully, "Little Princess, is this also the gold the god gave me to pay the fine?"
"No." Shen Baozhu shook her head. "The god said this is a reward!"
Hongshen always thought she wasn't fond of money. But looking at the gold that fell from the sky, her heart was pounding. It wasn't until she sent Shen Baozhu and the other two into the palace that she realized later that she actually liked gold!
When Shen Baozhu took her good friends into the palace to find the Emperor, the Prince of Rui was also hurrying to the palace in a carriage.
Sitting beside him was the royal craftsman, a nearly - fifty - year - old craftsman from the Le family.
The Le family had been craftsmen for generations and had served the royal family of Dayong for more than two hundred years, being involved in carpentry, embroidery and porcelain.
The Le craftsman sitting in the Prince of Rui's carriage was good at clay sculpture. In fact, the clay figurine in the Prince of Rui's hand was made by him.
The Prince of Rui tightened his grip on the clay figurine, feeling complicated. He originally wanted to go directly into the palace, but at the last moment, he changed his mind and went to find the Le craftsman. Unexpectedly, he learned from the craftsman that the clay figurine was made by him. It was originally intended as a birthday gift for the Ninth Prince of the previous emperor. Later, the Ninth Prince died young, and the whereabouts of this clay figurine was unknown.
It was really puzzling that something from the royal family of Dayong had ended up in the Xiangyun Kingdom.