Yan Mingli clenched his fists. He had already guessed who the person was who had attempted to assassinate the Prince of Rui back then. Shen Minghua was greatly shocked and quickly asked, "How much? Two million taels of silver? Then why is there only one and a half million left?"
This time, without the shopkeeper's explanation, both the Dragon King and Shen Baozhu understood.
Watching the little girl in front of him constantly handing over gold nuggets, the shopkeeper clicked his tongue in wonder and also answered Shen Minghua's question. "That was more than a decade ago. Over the years, the Shen family has been in financial difficulties and has come to the bank to withdraw money several times. According to the information I've gathered, Shen Yunlin alone owes 150,000 taels in gambling debts. Add to that the expenses for weddings, funerals, the betrothal gifts for sons' weddings, and the dowries for daughters' weddings. There have been quite a few scattered expenditures."
Upon hearing that Shen Yunlin had gambling debts, Shen Minghua was so angry that he clenched his fists tightly and cursed the Shen family for their shamelessness.
Among the four, Shen Heqing was the calmest. He lowered his head and looked at Shen Baozhu.
Dragon King: [This look... asking for money?]
As Shen Baozhu handed over another gold nugget, Shen Heqing asked, "Do you have any evidence of the Shen family's embezzlement?"
The shopkeeper stopped Shen Baozhu's action and shook his head. "You're joking. How could I have such evidence? The only reason I know so much is that the Shen family hired us to kill someone, and the gambling house where Shen Yunlin gambles is nearby."
Although the shopkeeper loved money, he knew his limits. For questions he could answer, he deserved the money; for those he couldn't, he wouldn't take a single cent.
Shen Heqing still asked Shen Baozhu to put the gold nugget on the counter. "Just a small token of our appreciation. Please accept it."
After the group entered the private room on the second floor of the Zuiyin Tower, Yan Mingli was the first one unable to hold back his temper. He slammed the table hard.
Seeing this, the waiter's voice involuntarily trembled. "I, I, I'll go urge the kitchen to serve all the dishes to you right away."
Shen Minghua also felt irritated, but looking at the waiter who was about to run away, he was very curious. "Is it really that scary?"
Shen Haiyan didn't say a word but kicked him. Even Shen Baozhu put her finger in front of her lips, signaling him to be quiet.
After that, the waiter served the dishes, and then everyone had lunch. Throughout this time, Yan Mingli didn't say a single word and didn't even touch his chopsticks.
After Shen Heqing helped Shen Baozhu and the Fourth Prince fill their bowls with food, he looked up at Yan Mingli. "Do you know the person the Shen family tried to assassinate?"
Yan Mingli still remained silent, just lowering his head.
Shen Baozhu struggled to pick up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and put it in Yan Mingli's bowl. "Brother Mingli, eat. Baozhu will avenge you and make Shen Qingshan suffer terribly!"
Yan Mingli sighed. "The person the Shen family tried to assassinate was the old man. Back then, he was being chased, and I found him in the snow. Over the years, the old man has been kind to me. I want to kill Shen Qingshan to avenge him."
"Killing Shen Qingshan now would be too easy on him. Instead, we should find evidence of his crimes and make him suffer." Shen Haiyan sat beside Yan Mingli and patted his shoulder.
But Yan Mingli didn't think so. He just wanted to kill Shen Qingshan to prevent him from having any chance of making a comeback.
Shen Heqing also thought of Xiang Yunrou, who was deeply in love with Shen Yunfeng. "Indeed, if we can kill Shen Qingshan as soon as possible, we can finally feel at ease."
Hearing everyone talking about this topic, Shen Minghua put down his chopsticks. "Without evidence, will the emperor be willing to punish Shen Qingshan?"
"The Fourth Prince is a prince, but he has been in the Princess Mansion for so long, and the emperor hasn't even summoned him back to the palace..."
Everyone understood what Shen Minghua meant. He thought the emperor didn't value the Fourth Prince.
Dragon King: [It's so troublesome. If you want to kill him, just do it.]
Dragon King: [What does the real person think?]
True Person Qingyun: [It's okay to kill him. We can't drag this on for too long. It's not good for Yan Mingli.]
True Person Qingyun: [Baozhu, you go to the palace tomorrow to see the emperor and use the Truth - Telling Talisman on Shen Qingshan.]
While Shen Baozhu and the Fourth Prince were having their meals, the other four were discussing how to deal with the Shen family. But since they were young, they couldn't come up with a well - thought - out plan.
It was Shen Heqing who made the final decision. "I'll switch places with mother tonight and let mother decide."
"Mingli, you should eat well first. I'll check your schoolwork later."
Yan Mingli felt a little more at ease, but then he looked up blankly, pointing at himself in disbelief.
Shen Heqing looked at him and nodded. "Yes, I'll check your schoolwork. At your age, both I and Danqing had passed the imperial examination to become scholars. You also need to work hard. I checked Baozhu and the Fourth Prince's schoolwork this afternoon, and it's your turn tonight."
Hearing this, the others all buried their heads in their meals, avoiding Yan Mingli's pleading eyes.
Shen Minghua and Shen Haiyan quietly glanced at each other, and their eyes were filled with relief. Especially Shen Haiyan, now that there was Yan Mingli, finally someone else could share the pressure from Shen Heqing with him!
Under Shen Heqing's gaze, Yan Mingli nodded stiffly with his neck.
Noticing Yan Mingli's reluctance, Shen Heqing didn't force him. "Since you're not willing, then I'll check Miaochun's schoolwork tonight..."
"I'm willing! Of course I'm willing!" Yan Mingli nodded vigorously. For the sake of Chen Miaochun, he was very willing.
Seeing that Yan Mingli was willing, Shen Heqing settled the matter.
...
Night fell.
After the emperor finished his dinner and finished correcting the memorials left behind, he walked into the Fengyi Palace nervously.
He stopped the maid who was about to announce his arrival and told the palace servants to leave first. Then he entered the inner chamber alone.
At this time, the queen was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking expressionless, with a wooden box in her arms.
The emperor recognized that wooden box. It was prepared for the eldest princess back then. Inside were tiger - head caps, small shoes... Every item was the result of his and the queen's hard work.
Looking at the wooden box, the emperor recalled the past. He walked to the queen's side, pulled her into his arms, and said softly, "I'm sorry to the Fourth Prince for what happened today. I only thought that the Third Prince was pitiful and ignored the Fourth Prince."
The queen nestled into the emperor's arms. Her voice was full of grief and indignation. "No matter how pitiful the Third Prince is, he's still a normal prince. What about our son? If it weren't for Baozhu..."
Knowing he was in the wrong, the emperor coaxed the queen repeatedly and promised to choose a far - away fief for the Third Prince and send him away in time.
"Your Majesty, have you chosen a name for our son?" The queen looked up at the emperor. She wanted to decide on the name for their son today.
The emperor had picked out a few names but hadn't been able to make a decision. He thought for a moment. "How about the character 'Chen'?"
The character "Chen" could refer to the emperor, and it was also the emperor's way of showing the queen his intention. Even though he felt sorry for the Third Prince, the throne would surely belong to the Fourth Prince.
The queen's eyes flickered slightly. She silently repeated the name in her heart. Chen, Gu Chen. It sounded wonderful.
This name brought a bit more smile to the queen's face. She actively hugged the emperor's arm. "Your Majesty, since our son's name has been decided, shouldn't we announce it to the world and bestow some rewards on Chen'er? Otherwise, there will always be some people who will maliciously speculate and think that Chen'er is out of favor."
The emperor also had this idea and was about to nod when he suddenly remembered the matter that Shen Baozhu had discussed with him today. He hesitated. "Let's wait a bit for the rewards. I'll discuss it with Baozhu first."
After they briefly reached an agreement, the queen didn't give the emperor a cold shoulder anymore. She sat in front of the dressing table as usual and asked the emperor to help her take out the hairpins.
Just as the emperor took out the phoenix hairpin on the queen's head, he suddenly remembered something. Why should he investigate? He could just ask Baozhu to stick a Truth - Telling Talisman on Shen Qingshan!