At a quarter past noon.
Yan Mingli showed up at the entrance of the Ministry of Revenue with a food box in hand, saying that he had come to deliver lunch to his father.
When Yan's father got the news, he was almost infuriated by this son of his. But in front of his colleagues, he suppressed his dissatisfaction and forced a smile. "There's nothing I can do. That child is the youngest in the family. I've spoiled him. But he's really considerate to bring me lunch."
The messenger was taken aback for a moment and said in a strange tone, "Really? Your Excellency the Minister is truly blessed to have such a filial son."
Yan's father was so preoccupied with punishing his son that he momentarily missed the oddity in the words. It wasn't until he came to the entrance and saw Yan Mingli holding the food box in his left hand and leading the Fourth Prince by the right that he stood still, stunned.
During this time, people passed by Yan's father and cast envious glances at him.
Especially the officials from the neighboring Ministry of Rites. They had already received the imperial edict and were busy preparing for the ceremony to confer the title of Crown Prince. Since the Third Prince had been expelled from the palace and the Fourth Prince could freely enter and leave the palace, it was obvious who the Crown Prince would be.
At this moment, seeing Yan Mingli leading the Fourth Prince so intimately, people couldn't help but let their imaginations run wild.
Even as Yan's father stood there motionless, he heard someone whispering that he was scheming and trying to climb up the social ladder through his son. This made Yan's father seethe with anger. But with the Fourth Prince standing beside him, he had to hold it in and force a kind - looking smile.
Yan Mingli handed the food box in his hand to his father. "I made the lunch myself. They're all your favorite dishes. Am I a very filial son, Dad?"
The Fourth Prince also looked up at Yan's father. By now, the surrounding officials had quietly stopped to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Yan's father gritted his teeth and forced a smile. "Of course. You're the most filial child."
Yan Mingli winked at his father. "Since I'm the most filial child, about what you promised me last night..."
"Here's the information. Now get out of here quickly!" Yan's father slapped a piece of paper on Yan Mingli's chest and said through gritted teeth.
He was afraid that if this unfilial son stayed any longer, he would be labeled as a man who sold his son for glory.
Having achieved his goal, Yan Mingli carefully put away the paper and happily pulled the Fourth Prince along. "Come on. Miaochun and I will take you shopping!"
Although the Princess of Jingning had told Shen Baozhu to go and play with Xu Yutang and not to bother Chen Miaochun and Yan Mingli, Chen Miaochun had no concept of having alone - time.
The Fourth Prince had failed to find Shen Baozhu and Shen Haiyan in the morning and guessed that they had gone to the Xiangyun Kingdom. Since Shen Baozhu was not around, he didn't really care where he went.
So Chen Miaochun and Yan Mingli exchanged a look and pulled the Fourth Prince along very tacitly. They were going to take the Fourth Prince shopping.
After Yan Mingli pulled the Fourth Prince into the carriage, he took out the paper from his bosom and scanned it briefly. He let out an exclamation. "There really is a military general named Gao Guangying, and he's a high - ranking official!"
Hearing the name "Gao Guangying", Chen Miaochun also leaned over. "I know him. He made great contributions in suppressing bandits one year and is a great hero."
Chen Miaochun knew about this because in the village where she lived as a child, there was a young woman who had married far away. Her natal family had been attacked by bandits and no one in the family had survived, except for her because she had married far away.
After Gao Guangying led the troops to suppress the bandits, the woman even set up a memorial tablet for him at home and made offerings during festivals.
Yan Mingli didn't expect Gao Guangying to be a real hero, which matched what Gao Shan had said. He told Chen Miaochun about Gao Shan's situation and sighed, "Fortunately, Gao Shan's father is really a hero. Otherwise, it would have taken us a long time to find him. As expected, the higher you stand, the farther you can see!"
Chen Miaochun was not as optimistic as Yan Mingli. Gao Guangying was not an unknown minor official. The maid named Gao Shan had searched all over the capital but still couldn't find him. Maybe Gao Guangying didn't want to recognize his daughter.
Men were always heartless. Sometimes, even great heroes were no exception.
...
Maybe it was the blessing of the great hero that made Yan Mingli act so quickly. By the time Shen Baozhu and Shen Haiyan returned, he had already taken Gao Shan to Gao Guangying's house.
In the morning.
Shen Baozhu was having breakfast when Yan Mingli walked in listlessly, holding a book in his hand. Chen Miaochun came in with him.
Chen Miaochun's face was slightly gloomy. She really couldn't understand why Yan Mingli wanted to get up early to study. Only a ruthless person like Shen Heqing would do such a thing!
Unable to understand, as soon as Chen Miaochun entered the room, she couldn't wait to put down the book. She wanted to enjoy a wonderful meal!
Yan Mingli dejectedly put down the book and couldn't help but tell Shen Baozhu what had happened the day before. "Baozhu, when Madam Xu entered the mansion, God - mother made an exception and allowed her to bring a maid named Gao Shan. She came to the capital to look for her father."
"Gao Shan said her father's name was Gao Guangying. I asked my father to check and found a military official with the same name."
"This military official is still alive but doesn't serve in the capital. Only his wife stays in the capital to manage the family business. So I took Gao Shan to his house to inquire."
"Gao Shan compared some information with Madam Gao and found that it didn't match. We had the wrong person. So I brought Gao Shan back. Baozhu, does everything sound okay so far?"
"The gatekeeper of the Gao family was simply unreasonable. That servant seemed to recognize me and pointed at me, calling me a thief." Yan Mingli became a bit incoherent at this point. "Me? How could I be a thief? Do I look like I'm short of money?"
"That servant just judges people by their appearance! The first time we met, he insisted that I was a thief. Just look at my clothes and my appearance. Which part of me looks like a thief?"
Shen Baozhu slowly swallowed the shrimp dumpling in her mouth and casually said, "Of course you don't look like one. Brother Mingli is very rich. You can't be a thief. The servant must be talking about someone else."
Yan Mingli instinctively replied, "How could he be talking about someone else? I was afraid of going to the wrong place, so I only took Gao Shan with me... Could it be that the servant was talking about Gao Shan?"
"But it was also Gao Shan's first time going to the Gao Mansion."
Just as Yan Mingli was百思不得其解, the Prince of Rui walked in with his hands behind his back. He sat down beside Yan Mingli and reminded him, "Next time you go to someone else's house, can you bring more people with you? The servants in the mansions of those high - ranking military generals in the capital are all veterans, each with special skills. You were almost in big trouble yesterday!"
"That Gao Guangying is a confidant of General Mu and holds the rank of third - grade official. The servants in his mansion are all retired soldiers from General Mu's army. When will you ever use your head?"
Yan Mingli was confused. He didn't understand. "General Mu is God - mother's father. In other words, he's my god - grandfather. Do I still need to be careful when I go to my god - grandfather's confidant's house?"
The Prince of Rui clicked his tongue. He was about to scold Yan Mingli, but after thinking about it carefully, he also felt something was off. "It does seem to make sense. But if the Gao family really intended to attack you, the secret guards would have had to show up to save you. Later, when you revealed your identity, Madam Gao changed her mind."
Shen Baozhu was busy having breakfast but didn't ignore Yan Mingli. She caught a few key words. "Is Uncle Gao letting the soldiers of General Mu's army bully Brother Mingli? But Uncle Gao was choosing nice handkerchiefs in the Xiangyun Kingdom yesterday. He didn't have time to bully Brother Mingli."
Dragon King: [The fool is so pitiful. He was wrongly accused of stealing money.]
Dragon King: [Gao Guangying said yesterday that his wife had died early and he wanted to burn a handkerchief for her... Who is the Madam Gao who confronted the fool? Is she his second wife?]
Immortal Qingyun: [She doesn't seem to be a second wife. General Mu and Shen Haiyan both indicated that Gao Guangying is a lonely man.]
Looking at the subtitles, Shen Baozhu quickly finished the shrimp dumplings and then stood up. "Don't be afraid, Brother Mingli! We have Mother. Baozhu will take you to complain to Mother!"