Listening to the Third Prince's bombastic words, the Emperor looked at him in disbelief. "You want to be the Emperor? You're no longer the Crown Prince. How dare you still have such thoughts?"
The Third Prince was simple - minded. He said bluntly, "Concubine Li said that I'm the only child of the Queen Mother. As the legitimate son of the middle palace, the throne must be mine."
"Father, please help me teach the Empress Dowager a lesson. She abused me!"
The Emperor endured his anger and asked, "Didn't the Queen tell you that you're not her biological son?"
The Queen did tell him, but the Third Prince didn't take it to heart. Or rather, he was avoiding this fact.
If he wasn't the Queen's biological son, then everything he had would be gone. The Third Prince was unwilling to accept this. He started to throw a tantrum, trying to use this method to reverse the situation.
But this trick didn't work on the Emperor. Instead, it made the Emperor more determined. He thought that the Third Prince had been corrupted by Concubine Cui.
Thinking of the Fourth Prince who was still in the Princess Mansion, the Emperor didn't hesitate. He decided to send the Third Prince to the Imperial College to be personally taught by Master Ye.
Master Ye was about the same age as the Prince Rui, but he was rigid and mean - tempered. He was very strict with his disciples. Even a slight mistake would lead to corporal punishment.
The Emperor felt quite relieved to entrust the Third Prince to Master Ye.
The Queen's eyes flickered. The Third Prince's fault wasn't serious. He had been raised under the Emperor's nose, and they had a deep affection. Being sent out of the palace was already the result of the Queen and the Empress Dowager's efforts. She was afraid that the Emperor would feel sorry for the Third Prince in the future and bring him back to the palace.
"Xuyang, go out of the palace and learn the rules well. If Master Ye bullies you, tell Mother. Mother will avenge you..." The Queen's words were interrupted by the Emperor halfway.
The Emperor sighed, looking a bit helpless. "The Third Prince has become like this partly because of your spoiling. Without my order, the Third Prince is not allowed to enter the palace!"
The Queen didn't give up. She hugged the Third Prince in her arms and comforted him, "Don't be afraid. If Master Ye bullies you, when you come back to the palace during the New Year, tell Mother. Mother will avenge you."
The Third Prince was scared by the Emperor's words. He threw Concubine Cui out of his mind and shrank in the Queen's arms, accusing the Emperor of being bad.
Looking at the Queen hugging the Third Prince, the Emperor suddenly understood how the Queen felt before. He directly roared in front of the Third Prince, "Why are you comforting him? Chen'er is our real child!"
The Queen pretended not to understand and imitated the Emperor's tone. "Chen'er still has us, but Xuyang has lost his mother and is about to be sent away by you. He's really pitiful and makes people feel sorry for him."
"Pitiful? Feel sorry for him? When Chen'er was being abused by Concubine Cui, he was living a life of luxury in the Fengyi Palace. What's there to be pitiful about!" The Emperor even used the Queen's previous words.
The Emperor patiently tried to persuade the Queen. The Queen looked at the Third Prince in her arms and only said, "But the Third Prince is the child I raised with my own hands!"
The Queen was unyielding, which made the Emperor so angry that he left with a flick of his sleeve.
Before leaving, the Emperor specifically emphasized that the Third Prince was not allowed to return to the palace, even during the New Year.
The Third Prince didn't understand why his father, who used to dote on him, had changed his temper. He tossed and turned desperately in the Queen's arms. But no matter how much he made a fuss, the Queen told him tearfully that it was all the Emperor's decision and she had no right to interfere.
They tossed and turned like this all night. Until the sky was getting bright, the Third Prince was so sleepy that he lay on the bed and fell asleep by himself.
Zhuyue helped the Queen up and said with concern, "Your Ladyship has worked hard. Staying up all night has made your complexion worse."
The Queen patted Zhuyue's hand. "I feel sorry for the Third Prince. I can't bear to let him leave the palace. I wanted to prepare some things for him, but my health is poor. After staying up with the Third Prince all night, I'm bed - ridden. I can only send him some gold and silver."
Zhuyue understood the Queen's meaning and whispered in agreement, "This servant understands."
...
In the Princess Mansion.
Familiarity breeds ease. With the previous experience, the little phoenix flew even faster. When Princess Jingning and Shen Baozhu returned to the Princess Mansion, the mansion was quiet.
Baizhi, who had waited all night, stepped forward. "Breakfast is ready. Would Your Highness like to have some?"
As Princess Jingning nodded slightly, the whole main courtyard came to life.
Shen Baozhu sat on the seat, her two little legs swinging restlessly. "Mother, Baozhu has been very obedient these days. Is there a reward?"
Princess Jingning washed her hands and face with warm water, then sat down beside Shen Baozhu and slowly wiped Shen Baozhu's hands and face. "What reward does Baozhu want?"
"Something delicious! Like the shrimp dumplings that Baozhu likes the most." Shen Baozhu wriggled her body, desperately hinting at Princess Jingning.
Getting such an almost explicit hint, Princess Jingning nodded thoughtfully. "I see. How about rewarding Baozhu with some pastries?"
Shen Baozhu was extremely excited. She couldn't wait to say, "Yes!"
Princess Jingning reached out and gently patted Shen Baozhu's head, smiling. "Greedy girl. I'll ask someone to prepare shrimp dumplings tomorrow. Have some pastries to satisfy your craving first. After eating the pastries, Baozhu should exercise more, or your belly will get big."
Shen Baozhu nodded naively. "Okay! Mother, why will my belly get big? What will happen if my belly gets big?"
"Um... There will be a little baby. For example, if Baozhu eats pastries and just sits there all the time, she will get fat and there will be a little pastry baby in her belly." Princess Jingning told a white lie without changing her expression to deceive the innocent child.
Shen Baozhu touched her belly and said happily, "Then Baozhu will never run out of pastries!"
Dragon King: [Hahaha, that's great.]
Princess Jingning was momentarily stunned and didn't know how to reply.
Just then, Shen Haiyan and Yan Mingli entered the room. They got up early and saw the brightly - lit main courtyard. They guessed that Princess Jingning had returned, so they came to take a look.
Shen Haiyan sat down beside Princess Jingning and asked excitedly, "Mother, how is Grandfather? Is he in good health?"
Yan Mingli, holding a book, yawned and sat down beside Shen Baozhu. Getting up early made him sleepy, and reading a book after getting up early made him even sleepier.
Seeing Shen Baozhu touching her belly, he casually asked, "Is Baozhu hungry? Why do you keep touching your belly?"
Shen Baozhu repeated what her mother had said and said happily, "Baozhu has a little pastry baby. I can give birth to it, then eat it, and then there will be another little baby. So Baozhu will have endless pastries!"
"What? Give birth to it and then eat it?" Yan Mingli was startled by Shen Baozhu's words. His originally drowsy mind became clear.
Yan Mingli asked again. After hearing clearly that it was a little pastry baby, he let out a long sigh of relief. "Baozhu, that was just your god - mother teasing you. There's no little pastry baby. There will only be fat on your belly."
After learning the truth, Shen Baozhu felt a bit regretful. "So that's how it is. There won't be endless pastries anymore."
Hearing this, Yan Mingli found it funny. He poked Shen Baozhu's little face. "There are no pastries, only Baozhu's chubby cheeks. By the way, do you want to read with me in the morning?"
Lin Yu: [Does Mingli really read in the morning? I seem to be seeing this for the first time.]
Dragon King: [This King is too.]
Dragon King: [This King remembers that the fool was disliked by the idiot because he was bad at studying.]
Lin Yu: [I remember that too.]
Shen Baozhu didn't dislike reading. She agreed to Yan Mingli's invitation.
Hearing their conversation, Shen Haiyan beside them kindly reminded, "I advise you not to read with Baozhu in the morning."