The emperor clutched his chest and sat down on the chair. His eyes, however, were fixed intently on Shen Qingshan. If looks could kill, Shen Qingshan would have died hundreds of times.
Qiuqiu nudged the Fourth Prince. "The chance is here."
The Fourth Prince was pushed by Qiuqiu in front of the emperor. Following what Qiuqiu had taught him in the carriage, he gently patted the emperor's chest and stammered, "Father, don't feel bad. I'll pat it for you."
The emperor's heart softened. Listening to the Fourth Prince's childish voice, the gloom in his heart gradually dissipated.
Compared with the Third Prince who had caused a ruckus in the Ci'an Palace last night, the Fourth Prince was extremely filial.
Qiuqiu pulled Shen Baozhu over and exaggeratedly said, "The Fourth Prince often praises his father in front of us."
The emperor saw that Qiuqiu was lying, but he deliberately asked, "How does the Fourth Prince praise me?"
"I told Baozhu that all fathers are big bad guys, but the Fourth Prince said his father isn't," Qiuqiu said seriously, completely forgetting about the Fourth Prince's words of not wanting his father.
Although the emperor remembered what had happened yesterday, he couldn't resist the comfort of Qiuqiu's words. The more he listened, the happier he became. Even though he knew Qiuqiu was lying, he didn't interrupt but instead encouraged her to continue.
Pinghai returned with a food box full of pastries. The emperor simply piled up the memorials on the table to make room for the pastries.
The whole table was filled with pastries, all of which were Shen Baozhu's favorites.
Looking at these pastries, Qiuqiu clapped her hands and praised, "The Fourth Prince's father is so great. He's much better than my and Baozhu's fathers."
"Baozhu, eat this. I remember it's your favorite."
"Fourth Prince, eat this biggest piece."
Qiuqiu moved the two plates of pastries and then watched contentedly as Shen Baozhu and the Fourth Prince ate the pastries.
Seeing that Qiuqiu wasn't eating the pastries, the emperor curiously asked, "Why don't you eat the pastries?"
"I don't want to eat pastries. Uncle Gu Chen, do you have any chicken legs? I want to eat chicken legs." Qiuqiu and Shen Baozhu were sitting on the same chair, the two little girls snuggled closely together.
Pinghai was quick-witted and immediately said, "Miss Qiuqiu, wait. This servant will ask the imperial kitchen to make them right away."
Shen Baozhu shook her head. "No need. The Treasure Hunting Rat has brought chicken legs and the bird's nest porridge that the Fourth Prince often drinks."
Upon receiving the order from its master, the Treasure Hunting Rat wearing a veil hat walked out from the corner. It took out a packet of oil paper and a jar. The oil paper wrapped a whole roasted chicken, and the jar contained sweet bird's nest porridge.
The emperor was shocked to witness all this. After much thought, he asked, "Baozhu, how do you think the Shen family should be dealt with?"
The Dragon King: [Do we still need to ask? Kill them all.]
The True Man Qingyun: [Except for the Second Madam Shen and Shen Minghua, kill them all.]
Lin Yu: [Shen Qingshan and the Old Madam Shen are inhumane, but do we have to kill all the female relatives of the Shen family?]
The True Man Qingyun: [Do you remember Zhang Yun? The Zhang family was executed, but she hid.]
The Dragon King: [We can't leave any future troubles for the little cutie. Cut the grass and uproot the weeds.]
The Dragon King: [When this king kills an enemy, even the bird eggs in its nest will be shaken and broken. Lin Yu, learn more.]
Although the Dragon King and the True Man Qingyun said so, Shen Baozhu was still a bit hesitant. She took small bites of the pastry in her hand. After thinking for a long time, she replied to the emperor, "Aunt Second and Brother Minghua aren't bad people. As for the others... Uncle Emperor, can you investigate? Kill the bad people and spare the good ones."
Qiuqiu was eating the delicious chicken leg and liked the Treasure Hunting Rat even more. She nestled beside Shen Baozhu and coquettishly said, "Baozhu, Baozhu, Baozhu! I also like vegetarian buns. Can you ask the Treasure Hunting Rat to carry more?"
"And the sesame seed cakes that Gu Chen likes. Carry some too, okay? Okay?"
Unable to resist Qiuqiu's cajoling, Shen Baozhu nodded.
The Fourth Prince looked thoughtful. His gaze fell on the emperor. "Father, do you have any pastry shops or embroidery workshops?"
The emperor hesitated and shook his head. "No, but I can open pastry shops and embroidery workshops now. Why do you ask?"
"I want to give Baozhu a pastry shop..." The Fourth Prince's words were interrupted by Qiuqiu.
Qiuqiu grabbed the Fourth Prince and said nervously, "I don't want an embroidery workshop. Give me something else. I don't want to embroider every day."
The Fourth Prince was stunned for a moment and then looked at Qiuqiu. Qiuqiu didn't understand what the Fourth Prince meant and looked back at him.
By the time Shen Baozhu finished the pastry in her hand, the two were still looking at each other. "Qiuqiu already has an embroidery workshop. She doesn't want another one. You can give her a bun shop so that she can eat vegetarian buns every day."
The Fourth Prince suddenly realized. He turned to look at the emperor, and Qiuqiu followed his gaze and also looked at the emperor.
The emperor readily nodded. "Okay. I'll give Baozhu a pastry shop and Qiuqiu a bun shop so that Baozhu can eat pastries every day and Qiuqiu can eat vegetarian buns every day."
The Dragon King: [Hahaha, the Fourth Prince asks for gifts when he meets the queen and asks for gifts when he meets the emperor.]
The Dragon King: [The Fourth Prince first recognizes his relatives and then asks for gifts.]
Lin Yu: [He has taken Qiuqiu's suggestion to heart.]
Lin Yu: [Money is very important.]
...
Five days later.
In the Yunrou Palace of the Xiangyun Kingdom.
Shen Heqing and Shen Danqing were standing outside the palace. Their eyes met, but neither of them was willing to go in.
Since that night when he was slapped, Shen Yunfeng had been ill for several days. The military advisor had asked the two brothers to go and find out the situation. If Shen Yunfeng died of illness, he could make early plans to find a good-looking young man for Xiangyun Rou.
The matter was simple, but Shen Heqing and Shen Danqing kept pushing it off. Shen Heqing didn't want to see Shen Yunfeng, and Shen Danqing didn't want to see Xiangyun Rou either.
Shen Heqing sighed and stated the fact. "I'll take the imperial examination next year. Second Brother's scholarship is a bit lacking. I'll give this credit to you."
"Elder Brother is the older one. The credit should be yours. How can a younger brother compete with you?" Shen Danqing showed brotherly affection.
Just as the two were deferring to each other, Xiangyun Rou came out of the palace and happened to see them. "Danqing, you're here? Come in and sit down quickly!"
Shen Heqing heaved a sigh of relief. He watched as Shen Danqing was pulled into the palace by Xiangyun Rou and couldn't help but scold, "Shameless thing. He only knows how to curry favor with the powerful."
The scolding was harsh, but Shen Danqing didn't take it to heart. He knew that Shen Heqing had deliberately scolded for Xiangyun Rou to hear.
As Shen Heqing had expected, Xiangyun Rou heard it and felt even more sorry for Shen Danqing, thinking that he was being bullied by his elder brother.
She grabbed Shen Danqing's arm and made him sit on the stool. She said with pity, "Child, you've suffered a lot, haven't you?"
Shen Danqing was stiff all over and wished he could leave right away. He pinched his palm and barely managed to hold on. "Princess Rou, how is Father?"
Mentioning this, Xiangyun Rou's expression became sorrowful. "Alas, since that night when he didn't return, your father has always suspected that he saw a ghost. He insisted that Mu Lanyue came from the capital to take revenge on him."
"Take revenge on Mu Lanyue for what?" Shen Danqing asked following Xiangyun Rou's words.
Shen Yunfeng had harmed Shen Heqing, Shen Haiyan, and Shen Baozhu, but had never laid a hand on Shen Danqing. So Xiangyun Rou said frankly, "What else? It's nothing more than the fact that he harmed his son and daughter. He thinks Mu Lanyue is taking revenge for her children."
"Blame that shameless Mu Lanyue for occupying Yunfeng for so many years."
"Danqing, don't worry. When I enter the capital of the Great Yong with the army, I'll surely let you and Yunfeng vent your anger. I've already chosen the spices."