The Qianqing Palace.
When Shen Baozhu brought the Fourth Prince before the emperor, the emperor was slightly stunned. He stared at the handsome young lad below the dais and was lost in thought for a long time.
Qiuqiu was getting impatient. She nudged the Fourth Prince on the back.
The Fourth Prince straightened his back. Following Qiuqiu's instructions, he took small steps towards the emperor and said, "Father."
Looking at the timid Fourth Prince in front of him, the emperor subconsciously compared him with the Third Prince.
One was arrogant and smashed things, while the other was well - behaved and greeted him. The emperor's heart leaned further towards the Fourth Prince. He made up his mind that he couldn't let the Third Prince return to the palace, for fear that it would affect the mother - son relationship between the Fourth Prince and the empress.
The emperor directly picked up the Fourth Prince and sat him on the dragon throne. He casually picked up a memorial and handed it to him, saying, "All these will be yours in the future. Get familiar with them first."
"Your father has given you a name. Your single given name is Chen. Gu Chen. What do you think of this name?"
"If this character is not good, we can pick another one."
Hearing his name, the Fourth Prince's face changed slightly. He clutched the memorial tightly, feeling unhappy.
After hearing the emperor's plan to announce him as the crown prince during the autumn sacrificial ceremony to heaven and take him back to the palace, the Fourth Prince couldn't hold it in any longer. He complained discontentedly, "Why do I have to have the surname Gu? I was picked up by Baozhu. I should have the same surname as Baozhu!"
The Fourth Prince's tone was assertive. He didn't think there was anything wrong at all. "If you don't let me have Baozhu's surname and make me leave the princess's mansion, I can't play with Baozhu or eat with her. I can never eat the snacks that Brother Mingli bought again. You're so bad!"
"I hate you, bad father!"
Dragon King: [Indeed! The emperor is a big bad guy.]
Lin Yu: [From the Fourth Prince's perspective, it's really like this.]
Lin Yu: [Why does the Fourth Prince want to have Baozhu's surname?]
Dragon King: [The Fourth Prince said that since he was picked up by the little cutie, he should have the little cutie's surname.]
Dragon King: [He always thought he had the little cutie's surname. The emperor just changed his surname as soon as he opened his mouth. The Fourth Prince must be aggrieved.]
Lin Yu: [Makes sense. But Baozhu doesn't like the Shen family. Instead of having the surname Shen, the Fourth Prince might as well have the surname Mu.]
Dragon King: [Good idea.]
Hearing what the Fourth Prince said, the emperor felt that he heard every word, but when these words were combined, they seemed so strange. He couldn't understand.
Fortunately, the emperor understood the last sentence of the Fourth Prince. He quickly changed his tune, "Not bad, not bad. You can call yourself whatever you want and live wherever you like."
The emperor threw the problem back to the Fourth Prince, which instead left the Fourth Prince at a loss.
The Fourth Prince looked at Qiuqiu for help, "Qiuqiu, what do you think I should be called?"
Qiuqiu was stunned. She subconsciously looked at Shen Baozhu, only to find that Shen Baozhu was also looking at her.
Shen Baozhu's eyes were full of expectation. "Qiuqiu has a lot of ideas. You must have a way."
Flattered by her good friend, Qiuqiu plucked up her courage to come up with an idea. She didn't know how to name people, but she knew how to coax the Fourth Prince.
Qiuqiu told the Fourth Prince, "I think the name your father gave you is very nice. Why do you have to have Baozhu's surname? Baozhu's father and grandfather are all big bad guys. If you have the surname Shen, you'll also become a big bad guy."
After getting along with Qiuqiu for a long time, the Fourth Prince had become much smarter. "Baozhu also has the surname Shen. Is Baozhu a big bad guy?"
"But Baozhu is a girl. You, Baozhu's father and grandfather are all men. Can you say that Brother Heqing is the best?" Qiuqiu became more and more fluent as she spoke, even bringing up Shen Heqing.
The Fourth Prince, who had been punished by Shen Heqing to study yesterday, was stunned. He didn't dare to say anything.
Dragon King: [Look at the Fourth Prince's expression. He's about to be coaxed by Qiuqiu.]
Dragon King: [Every time Qiuqiu coaxes the Fourth Prince, the little cutie just watches from the side. Hahaha.]
Dragon King: [Does the little cutie think what Qiuqiu said is right?]
Shen Baozhu shook her head slightly. "Definitely not. Big Brother and Brother Minghua both have the surname Shen, but they're not bad guys. A person's goodness or badness has nothing to do with their surname."
Lin Yu: [Qiuqiu can only coax the Fourth Prince.]
Lin Yu: [Since the little cutie knows it's wrong, why doesn't she tell the Fourth Prince?]
Shen Baozhu whispered, "This is a matter between Qiuqiu and the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince didn't ask me for help. If I tell the Fourth Prince, Qiuqiu will be angry."
"Just like when Big Brother and Second Brother quarrel. If I help one of them, the other one will be sad. The best way is not to help either of them."
Lin Yu: [Indeed.]
The Fourth Prince agreed with Qiuqiu's statement. "Okay, I don't want to be a bad guy. I can't have Baozhu's surname."
"But I think I should live in the princess's mansion and stay with Baozhu!"
Qiuqiu, like a little adult, patted the Fourth Prince on the shoulder. "Wrong, completely wrong."
"You should return to the palace. Then Qiuqiu and Baozhu can come to the palace to find you. Baozhu can eat the pastries in the palace. Just like I live at home and sometimes go to the princess's mansion. Baozhu comes to find me and eats the pastries at my home."
Dragon King: [This statement is impeccable!]
Lin Yu: [Qiuqiu's mind really works fast.]
Shen Baozhu also thought this was a good idea. She looked at the Fourth Prince expectantly.
The Fourth Prince was convinced by Qiuqiu and didn't want to disappoint Shen Baozhu. He decided to be called Gu Chen and live in the palace.
Watching the interaction among the three children, the emperor found it interesting and was also amazed by Qiuqiu's idea. He raised his hand and told Pinghai to prepare pastries, and ordered all the palace servants in the hall to retreat.
The emperor coughed lightly. "Baozhu, Uncle Emperor has something to ask of you."
Shen Baozhu crossed her arms and said nothing. She was still angry about what happened yesterday. She had happily brought the Fourth Prince here, but the emperor had bullied the Fourth Prince.
The emperor also saw the reason for Shen Baozhu's anger. He repeatedly promised her that he would never bully the Fourth Prince again. After coaxing her for a long time, he finally got Shen Baozhu's forgiveness. "Baozhu, do you still have the truth - revealing talisman from last time? Can you use it on your grandfather?"
Dragon King: [The emperor and we thought alike.]
Daoist Qingyun: [Baozhu, remind the emperor that if Shen Qingshan uses the truth - revealing talisman, he will not live long.]
Shen Baozhu repeated this word for word, only to hear the emperor overjoyed. "Really? That's great. The Prince Rui has been clamoring to kill Shen Qingshan. If Shen Qingshan dies by himself, it will save us a lot of trouble."
Daoist Qingyun: [Then use it.]
As Shen Baozhu nodded, the emperor clapped his hands. Then, a secret guard dragged the unconscious Shen Qingshan into the hall.
A yellowed talisman was pasted on Shen Qingshan by Shen Baozhu. The emperor immediately stepped forward and interrogated him, "Where are the silver in the national treasury! Where did it go!"
Shen Qingshan hung his head and grinned foolishly. "All, all of it has been deposited in the bank."
Dragon King: [Could the money the emperor is looking for be the money the Shen family deposited in the bank?]
Daoist Qingyun: [It seems so.]
Knowing that the money was still there, the emperor's hanging heart finally relaxed. He finally had the mind to ask about the past. "How did you take the silver from the national treasury? How did you dispose of the stolen goods back then?"
"No, no. That money is mine, mine! That money was originally mine!" Shen Qingshan suddenly struggled. He roared at the emperor, "The late emperor promised to make me the prime minister. Why did you let Sima Bai be the prime minister!"
The emperor only thought it was absurd. "What the late emperor promised you has nothing to do with me. If you really care about this, you can only blame the late emperor for dying too early."