The Fourth Prince had no affection for the emperor and didn't feel that he had been wronged. However, Shen Baozhu still felt guilty. She thought she had made a mistake.
Now she was sitting on the golden dragon avatar, swinging her legs. She asked in a muffled voice, "Grandpa Gu, why doesn't the emperor like the Fourth Prince? The Fourth Prince is so nice... Did you guess this long ago?"
The King of Rui was concentrating on listening to the emperor and the queen arguing. Shen Baozhu's question came so suddenly that the King of Rui answered subconsciously, "The Fourth Prince used to be a fool, while the Third Prince was carefully raised in the Palace of Gathered Elegance for seven years. It's normal for the emperor to like the Third Prince more."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the King of Rui realized something was wrong and quickly corrected himself, "I mean, the Third Prince has been with His Majesty for seven years, while the Fourth Prince has just met His Majesty. They need to get along slowly."
"It's not normal at all! The Third Prince is just a thief. He stole things from the Fourth Prince. Why should the emperor like him!" Qiuqiu, who had a thieving elder brother, felt deeply about this.
She counted on her fingers and listed one by one, "The Fourth Prince's mother, the Fourth Prince's name, the Fourth Prince's love. He stole a lot. Even his ranking as the Third Prince was stolen. He's just a big villain."
The King of Rui tried to make Qiuqiu understand, "We're talking about His Majesty. Both the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince are His Majesty's sons. For His Majesty, the difference isn't that big."
Seeing that the King of Rui was still reasoning, Qiuqiu got angry. She jumped off the golden dragon avatar and walked up to the King of Rui angrily, "Whose side are you on?"
The King of Rui was stunned, "What?"
Shen Baozhu also jumped off. She surely sided with Qiuqiu, "Grandpa Gu, whose side are you really on? Why do you always speak for the emperor!"
"I'm not speaking for His Majesty. I'm just explaining for him... His Majesty is a complete villain. He has no vision. He doesn't like the smart and sensible Fourth Prince, but instead likes the stupid and naughty Third Prince. It's really hard to understand." The King of Rui quickly changed his tune and specially emphasized, "I surely play well with you guys. I'm on your side and will protect the Fourth Prince."
Both Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu were standing up for the Fourth Prince, but the Fourth Prince was sitting on the golden dragon avatar, silent and seemingly not hearing what the King of Rui had said.
It wasn't until Shen Baozhu came to pull him that the Fourth Prince spoke, "Baozhu, it's normal not to like me. Don't force Grandpa Gu."
Shen Baozhu looked at the Fourth Prince and then tilted her head and looked at him, "Really? But your tears are about to fall. If you're unhappy, just say it. Qiuqiu and I will always be on your side."
The Fourth Prince lowered his head, trying to avoid Shen Baozhu's sight, but when he lowered his head, he bumped into Qiuqiu.
Qiuqiu was squatting there looking at the Fourth Prince.
Seeing that both his friends were concerned about him, the Fourth Prince's tears immediately fell. He said aggrievedly, "Brother Mingli, does he... not like me? He also dislikes me for being a fool. I don't want him to hate me. Baozhu, can you... tell him for me that I'm very smart now. I'm... not a fool."
The Fourth Prince was sobbing. In the past, he had never received kindness and didn't care about others' disgust. But now that he had felt love, just thinking that Yan Mingli had bought him food but actually disliked him for being a fool made the Fourth Prince very sad.
With Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu's comfort, the Fourth Prince's mood eased a lot, but he was still very sad, "Grandpa Gu has a good relationship with Brother Mingli. Maybe Brother Mingli thinks the same way."
Qiuqiu quickly comforted him, "Then let's go back and find Sister Miaochun. He listens to Sister Miaochun the most. With Sister Miaochun's help, he definitely won't dislike you."
Shen Baozhu also nodded and said, "Brother Mingli likes my eldest brother. Let my eldest brother help too. If he still dislikes you, Third Brother Baozhu can beat him up."
The Dragon King: [The Fourth Prince really has no feelings for the emperor.]
Lin Yu: [Yes. It doesn't matter if the emperor doesn't like him, but Mingli can't dislike him.]
The Dragon King: [Suddenly I find that the cute one's family has the fool firmly in their control. The cute one's mother is Chen Miaochun's god - mother, and the cute one's eldest brother is the role model the fool has been longing for.]
Lin Yu: [By the way, the King of Rui has also been subdued.]
Hearing that Qiuqiu and Shen Baozhu were going to find Chen Miaochun and Shen Heqing, the King of Rui's heart tightened. He couldn't help pinching the imperial edict. If Chen Miaochun and Shen Heqing both went to ask Mingli about this, he would be finished. Even with this imperial edict, Mingli would surely be angry.
Finding a good future for Yan Mingli was the King of Rui's obsession. After all, he was getting old and couldn't protect Yan Mingli for a lifetime. But Yan Mingli himself had no interest in official positions. He just wanted to have a backer to protect him so that he could live a carefree life.
This was Yan Mingli's thought before he met Chen Miaochun. Now Yan Mingli just wanted to get married soon.
The King of Rui didn't dare to think about what would happen if Yan Mingli knew that he had offended Chen Miaochun and Shen Heqing.
In a split - second, the King of Rui stuffed the imperial edict to the golden dragon avatar, "Friend, please take me in first."
Different from the Dragon King, the golden dragon avatar had a good impression of the King of Rui. It rolled up the imperial edict with its tail, indicating that the King of Rui could rest assured.
The King of Rui rolled up his sleeves while explaining to the Fourth Prince, "Fourth Prince, you misunderstood. I was just saying that it's too much for His Majesty to dislike you for being a fool. No normal person should do this. Watch, I'll help you teach your father a lesson."
Although the queen was arguing with the emperor, she still cared about his status. But the King of Rui didn't care at all. He rushed up and slapped the emperor.
The emperor was stunned. He covered his face and said, "Don't hit my face. I'm the emperor. What would people think if this got out!"
"Is being the emperor so great? I've seen four emperors: my father, my elder brother, my nephew, and you, this useless grand - nephew!" The King of Rui was also angry with the emperor in his heart and slapped him several times.
"Back then, I was living comfortably in the prince's mansion. It was you, this stinky boy, who came to me in the middle of the night, crying so miserably, saying that your first child was gone and the common people were scolding you as a fatuous emperor, and you were almost losing your throne."
"For your sake, I went out to investigate overnight and was chased and killed. If it weren't for Mingli carrying me out of the snow, I would have been dead by now."
"You're still hiding? Keep hiding, hide, hide!"
Watching the King of Rui chasing after the emperor to beat him, the anger in the queen's heart disappeared. She stretched out her hand, "Mother heard just now. It was really a misunderstanding. Mingli will surely like you. My imperial son is so cute and well - behaved. You're the best child in the whole world. It's normal for people to like you."
"Do you want to go to mother's palace and have a look? Mother has prepared a room for you. By the way, I'll also help Baozhu and Qiuqiu choose a location for their shop. How about it?"
Under the queen's expectant gaze, the Fourth Prince put his hand in the queen's, "Okay, but mother is wrong. Baozhu is the best child in the whole world, and Qiuqiu is the cutest."
Seeing that Shen Baozhu was about to leave, the golden dragon avatar spun around twice on the spot, turned into a tiny little dragon, and wrapped itself around Shen Baozhu's wrist, looking like a golden bracelet.
The emperor watched as the queen led the three children away. Just as he was about to chase after them, he was grabbed by the King of Rui.