The Palace of Heavenly Purity.
The emperor was discussing matters with his ministers when a eunuch announced that Shen Baozhu had arrived. He immediately got up to greet her.
This eager look puzzled the ministers who were unaware of the details, while Prime Minister Sima and the Minister of Justice, who knew the inside story, exchanged a knowing look and smiled without saying a word.
Prime Minister Sima was in an extremely good mood. His little daughter, upon learning that he had found a well - behaved and sensible daughter for her, was already on her way back to the capital. Once the Xu family welcomed Xu Yutang back, he would be the grandfather of the niece of the mother of the little immortal boy's friend. It was also a kind of family connection.
On the other side, the emperor quickly walked out of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. From afar, he saw a palace maid leading Shen Baozhu over.
He first tidied his clothes, then glanced at Ping Hai behind him and complained, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and tidy your clothes. We mustn't make a fool of ourselves in front of the immortals."
A few days ago, when the emperor looked at himself in the mirror, he suddenly realized a serious problem.
That was, if the immortal accompanied Baozhu, wouldn't the immortal see him every time he met Baozhu?
After meeting Shen Baozhu dozens of times, the emperor began to worry about whether his dressing was appropriate. If there had been enough time, the emperor would have even gone to change his clothes.
Ping Hai didn't understand, but under the emperor's serious gaze, he still tidied himself up from head to toe, even the whisk in his hand.
Shen Baozhu led Qiuqiu and the Fourth Prince up to the emperor. She greeted sweetly, "Hello, Uncle Emperor. Hello, Eunuch Ping Hai."
The emperor was about to respond when his gaze fell on the young boy beside Shen Baozhu. His heart skipped a beat. Almost instantly, he realized that this child was the Fourth Prince, his son with the queen.
It was Qiuqiu's first time seeing the emperor, and she was a bit scared. But when she noticed the emperor staring intently at the Fourth Prince, she stepped forward and blocked in front of the Fourth Prince. "Uncle Baozhu, why do you keep staring at the Fourth Prince? The Fourth Prince will feel uncomfortable."
The emperor was reluctant to take his eyes away. He leaned over to look at the Fourth Prince who was being protected behind Qiuqiu.
Ping Hai patiently explained to Qiuqiu, "Your Highness, His Majesty hasn't seen the Fourth Prince for a long time and misses him very much, so he has been looking at the Fourth Prince."
Shen Baozhu sensed something was wrong. She pulled Qiuqiu and the Fourth Prince behind her and argued with Ping Hai, "Qiuqiu said that Uncle Emperor makes the Fourth Prince feel uncomfortable, so he shouldn't stare."
Ping Hai didn't dare to refute Shen Baozhu's words and could only step back in silence.
Hearing Shen Baozhu's words, the emperor reluctantly took his eyes away. "Baozhu is right. It was Uncle Emperor's oversight. Let's go in."
Originally, Shen Baozhu had been leading Qiuqiu and the Fourth Prince. After noticing that the Fourth Prince was uncomfortable with the emperor's gaze, the three of them quietly changed positions. Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu held the Fourth Prince's hands and protected him in the middle.
Qiuqiu whispered to the Fourth Prince, "Baozhu can do anything. If you're scared, you can hide behind Baozhu with me."
The Dragon King: [Hahaha, Qiuqiu is so smart.]
The Dragon King: [What's wrong with this emperor? He was quite smart before. Why is he being so muddle - headed today? Qiuqiu said the Fourth Prince is uncomfortable, but he still stares.]
Lin Yu: [He's not muddle - headed. As soon as Baozhu speaks, he wakes up. He's not muddle - headed at all.]
The Dragon King: [The Fourth Prince is such a poor child. Fortunately, the cute girl is protecting him.]
The Green Cloud Real Man: [Dragon King, can your clone come out?]
The Dragon King: [Yes. Why?]
The Green Cloud Real Man: [It might be useful.]
The Dragon King: [Huh? You just refused to give it and said to save it for the Fourth Prince's return to the palace. Why did you change your mind?]
The Green Cloud Real Man: [Let's wait and see.]
While the Dragon King was puzzled, the emperor had already led Shen Baozhu and the other two back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Inside the palace, except for Prime Minister Sima, the Minister of Justice, and Yan's father, everyone else's eyes fell on the Fourth Prince. They also recognized the Fourth Prince's identity from his appearance.
Seeing the Fourth Prince holding the hands of two girls, an old official whispered, "The Fourth Prince is already seven years old. He should pay attention to the propriety between men and women."
Hearing the words "propriety between men and women", the three children subconsciously took a step back. Qiuqiu even pulled the Fourth Prince to hide behind Shen Baozhu.
When everyone was puzzled, Qiuqiu said in a voice that was supposed to be a whisper but could actually be heard by everyone, "It's the propriety between men and women that Sister Yutang always talks about! According to Brother Haiyan, this kind of person is called... "
"The old - fashioned conservative. Brother Mingli said that this kind of person is the dirtiest because they always think of dirty things when they see a man and a woman together." The Fourth Prince tried hard to answer Qiuqiu's question.
Shen Baozhu corrected the Fourth Prince, "No, it was Brother Mingli who said that. Third Brother said this kind of person is called a living dead person. We should stay away from them when we see them, or we'll be as unlucky as Sister Yutang."
Yan's father subconsciously nodded. It seemed that his son was doing well. He even had time to chat with the kids. No wonder he hadn't been home for a month.
"Lord Yan, do you also think so?"
The voice came from the front. When Yan's father came to his senses, he met the gaze of the old official who had just spoken. His heart tightened, and he quickly thought of a way to remedy the situation.
Before he could do so, Prime Minister Sima beside him spoke up, "Isn't this statement correct?"
The Minister of Justice followed suit, "Lord Su should read more books of sages and worthies on weekdays, so as not to always talk about matters between men and women."
The old official, Lord Su, was shocked. He didn't expect Prime Minister Sima and the Minister of Justice to speak up at the same time. Just as he was about to retort, another person spoke. It was the emperor on the high seat.
"Why didn't Lord Su pay respects to the Fourth Prince? Does he think the Fourth Prince is unworthy?" The emperor's sudden words surprised everyone, especially Lord Su.
The princes of the Great Yong Dynasty didn't have official ranks, and officials didn't need to pay respects. But according to the convention, when all the officials saw princes and princesses without official ranks, they would still bow and greet them.
The convention was not a law. Even if an official didn't pay respects, the princes and princesses couldn't blame them.
But now it was the emperor who wanted to blame Lord Su, and that was another matter.
Realizing this, Lord Su's face turned pale. He regretted speaking too quickly and didn't expect the emperor to value the Fourth Prince so much. He quickly admitted his mistake, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I'll pay respects to the Fourth Prince right away."
Then he turned to the Fourth Prince and kowtowed, "It was my rudeness. I hope the Fourth Prince will forgive me."
Lord Su kowtowed sincerely. Every kowtow was related to the future of his descendants.
Watching Lord Su kowtow vigorously to him, the Fourth Prince blinked and fell into memories. He remembered that the bad woman was so powerful that she could make the eunuchs and palace maids kowtow like this.
The Fourth Prince's gaze slowly moved up to the emperor. He pointed at Lord Su and asked, "Who is more powerful, the eunuch or Lord Su?"
Hearing this question, the ministers all held back their laughter. Lord Su blushed with embarrassment, and even stopped kowtowing.
Comparing Lord Su with a eunuch was a great humiliation! The Fourth Prince seemed timid, but he was quite good at insulting people.
The Dragon King: [This person is much more powerful than the eunuch!]
Shen Baozhu relayed the Dragon King's reply to the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince compared in his heart. Concubine Li could make the eunuchs kowtow, and the emperor could make Lord Su kowtow. Since Lord Su was more powerful than the eunuch, it proved that the emperor was more powerful than Concubine Li!
He looked at the emperor with eager eyes, "You're so powerful. Can you help me teach Concubine Li a lesson?"
The emperor's excited heart seemed to be thrown into ice - cold water and immediately calmed down. The Fourth Prince wanted to teach Concubine Li a lesson as soon as they met. What would be next? Would he go after the Third Prince?
Thinking of this, the emperor's voice turned a bit colder, "Concubine Li, that is, Lady Cui, has already been bestowed death by me."
The Dragon King: [What kind of tone is the emperor using? Bestowing death on Lady Cui is already too kind to her. The emperor is still not happy.]