The emperor's thoughts were not hard to guess. The culprit was the Cui family, and now that Cui had passed away, both the third and fourth princes were his own sons. The fourth prince was on good terms with Shen Baozhu and would inherit the throne in the future. As for the third prince, who had lost his mother and had been abandoned by the emperor himself, the emperor felt pity and hesitated.
The queen had long guessed the emperor's mind. She was powerless to change it and could only try her best to delay the meeting between the emperor and the fourth prince. However, plans couldn't keep up with changes. By accident, Shen Baozhu brought the fourth prince into the palace.
Now, no one in the Qianqing Palace understood the emperor's thoughts.
The Dragon King even thought the emperor was crazy.
When the fourth prince heard the news of Concubine Li's death, he was delighted. "Baozhu, the bad guy is dead. Let Brother Mingli buy delicious food."
Qiuqiu didn't give up her initial idea. She tried hard to invite them. "Come to my home, come to my home. I'll ask my mother to cook delicious food to save money for Brother Mingli. Brother Mingli has to save money to marry a wife. Let's help him save money."
This convinced Shen Baozhu and the fourth prince, and they both agreed to go to the Marquis's Mansion for delicious food.
To get to the Marquis's Mansion for delicious food earlier, Shen Baozhu pulled the fourth prince to the emperor. "Uncle Emperor, the immortal said that when the fourth prince returns to the palace, the little phoenix and the golden dragon should separate their avatars. I'll hold the little golden dragon to shine the colorful light... Uncle Emperor, what do you think?"
Shen Baozhu was in a hurry and didn't care if the emperor had heard clearly. She just blurted it all out.
The emperor was still thinking about the third prince. When he came to his senses, Shen Baozhu was about to pull the fourth prince away. He quickly stopped her. "Wait, Baozhu. What did you just say? I didn't hear clearly."
Shen Baozhu was a bit unhappy. She pouted. "What was Uncle Emperor thinking just now? He didn't listen to Baozhu carefully!"
"The immortal said... Uncle Emperor, what do you think?"
The emperor had thought that the fourth prince's closeness to Shen Baozhu would win the favor of the immortals, but he didn't expect that the immortals would even dispatch the avatar of the golden dragon for the fourth prince to support him specially.
This unexpected joy made him throw his previous thoughts to the clouds. So what if the third prince was pitiful? He was still a prince after all. Now he lived in the Ci'an Palace and was taken care of by the empress dowager. Compared with the fourth prince's previous life, the third prince was living a great life. There was nothing pitiful about him.
The emperor quickly replied. "Good, good, good. I think it's wonderful. Thank you, Baozhu and the immortal."
With his thoughts changed, the emperor's gaze towards the fourth prince became even gentler.
Prime Minister Sima spoke up at the right time and bowed to the fourth prince. "Your humble servant pays respects to His Highness the Fourth Prince. I often hear Yutang say that His Highness the Fourth Prince is lively and lovely. Now that I see him in person, it's really true."
Hearing the name Xu Yutang, the fourth prince's eyes twitched slightly and he nodded slightly as a response.
Yan's father was hiding in the crowd watching this scene. He thought to himself that the old fox really lived up to his name. Not long after the news that the fourth prince had been wrongly exchanged spread, the prime minister had already established a connection with the fourth prince.
Just as Yan's father was sighing, Prime Minister Sima suddenly reached out and pulled him forward. "This is Lord Yan from the Ministry of Revenue. His Highness the Fourth Prince should know Lord Yan."
"Lord Yan's youngest son is called Mingli, and he is currently living in the mansion of the Princess of Jingning."
Shen Baozhu also quietly reminded the fourth prince. "He is Brother Mingli's father."
Yan Mingli's status in the fourth prince's heart was only second to Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu. Knowing that Yan's father was Yan Mingli's father, the fourth prince had a very good impression of him.
The fourth prince even imitated Prime Minister Sima's way of bowing with his hands clasped and bowed to Yan's father. "Hello, Father of Brother Mingli."
Yan's father was flattered and quickly returned the salute.
The Dragon King: [The fourth prince has a really good attitude towards Yan's father.]
Lin Yu: [Because he likes Mingli.]
Lin Yu: [Didn't the Dragon King notice? Since the last time Baozhu took the snacks from the fourth prince's small bag, the fourth prince hasn't hung the small bag anymore.]
The Dragon King: [Why not? Is he afraid that the cute one will take them?]
Lin Yu: [Mingli customized clothes for the fourth prince and coaxed him to put the snacks in his clothes.]
Lin Yu: [Mingli gives him food and clothes and always takes them out to play. Baozhu and Qiuqiu also like Mingli.]
The Dragon King: [Hahaha, the fool has worked so hard to take care of the kids, but his father is reaping the benefits.]
Hearing that Yan's father was Yan Mingli's father, Qiuqiu wasn't in a hurry to go home anymore. She ran up to Yan's father and was a bit entangled in the address. "Father of the brother - in - law?"
Yan's father said cheerfully. "Just call me Uncle Yan."
Kids had their own logic. Qiuqiu had a closer relationship with Yan's father, and Shen Baozhu and the fourth prince both called Yan's father according to her relationship with him without a word.
So, the emperor watched helplessly as his own son ran to Yan's father and obediently said. "Hello, Uncle Yan."
This address made the Qianqing Palace fall silent. Yan's father was also shocked. What qualification did he have to be addressed like this by the emperor's son?
Shen Baozhu enthusiastically invited Yan's father to the princess's mansion. "Uncle Yan, you can come and play at Baozhu's home. Brother Mingli will definitely be very happy to see you."
Yan's father declined politely. "Uncle is an adult. Adults need to support their families and can't just go out to play casually. Next time when Uncle is free, I'll go to the princess's mansion to find you guys, okay?"
"Maybe Mingli doesn't even want to see me."
Hearing this, Shen Baozhu could only nod regretfully.
"What are you chatting about? It's so lively... Baozhu? Why are you kids here?" Prince Rui strode in with the announcing eunuch.
When he saw the three kids, he was shocked.
Shen Baozhu, who had been named, lowered her head guiltily and avoided Prince Rui's gaze.
If it weren't for the important matter at hand, Prince Rui would definitely have a good talk with Shen Baozhu. He scanned the hall and saw that all the important court officials were there. He smiled slightly. "What a coincidence today. Everyone is here."
"Has anyone of you seen this clay figurine?"
One emperor brings in a new set of officials. The emperor had been on the throne for more than a decade, and there were not many old officials from the previous emperor's era left. Coincidentally, there was one here now.
Lord Su, who had been quick - tongued just now, had a vague impression of the clay figurine. "Isn't this the birthday gift that the previous emperor gave to the Ninth Prince?"
Prince Rui gave the emperor a look, and soon all the other officials left, leaving only Lord Su.
"Lord Su, do you remember how old the Ninth Prince was when he received this birthday gift?" Prince Rui didn't have any impression of what birthday gift it was. The craftsman only recognized that the clay figurine was his work, but he couldn't remember exactly when it was made.
Actually, Prince Rui had a vague guess in his mind, but he just lacked evidence.
Lord Su couldn't remember clearly either. He only remembered that after that birthday gift, the Ninth Prince had a serious illness and passed away. Not long after, Shen Qingshan was highly regarded by the previous emperor and soon became the prime minister.
Prince Rui asked casually. "Why do you remember that Shen Qingshan was highly regarded?"
Mentioning this, Lord Su felt a bit embarrassed. "Your Highness may not know. Lord Shen and I were Jinshi in the same year. Seeing him rise so rapidly, I was a bit uncomfortable in my heart, so I paid a bit more attention."
"Paid more attention? How did you pay attention?" Prince Rui put the clay figurine on the emperor's table and bent down to pinch Shen Baozhu's little face. "Baozhu deliberately sent me away and brought the fourth prince into the palace? Little smarty."
Lord Su touched his nose and replied. "Does keeping an eye on all the members of the Shen family count? I stopped after Lord Shen was no longer the prime minister."
Prince Rui stood up and patted Lord Su on the shoulder. "What a talent!"
The Dragon King: [He's really a talent. Didn't Shen Yunfeng go to the Xiangyun Kingdom more than a decade ago?]
The Dragon King: [What are you waiting for? Hurry up and find evidence and deal with the Shen family!]
The Dragon King: [It's so annoying to watch!]