One month later.
Today was the day when the Fourth Prince would be enfeoffed as the crown prince. Shen Baozhu got up early in the morning and went to the next room to wake up Qiuqiu.
Qiuqiu rubbed her eyes and forced herself to stay awake. "Baozhu, what are we going to do?"
"The little phoenix will accompany the Fourth Prince from the city gate to the imperial palace. We'll wait in the palace. When the Fourth Prince gets off the carriage, I'll ask the immortal to send down pearls. The Fourth Prince will step on the pearls as he enters. How majestic that will be!" Shen Baozhu described the scene in her mind. "Then Aunt Hongshen will release the birds from the cages. The little phoenix will command the birds to surround the Fourth Prince. They say this is called 'All Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix'!"
Then she shook the golden dragon avatar on her wrist. "After that, the avatar will descend from the sky and also surround the Fourth Prince."
Qiuqiu understood. She blurted out, "This is the True Dragon Appearing!"
After Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu finished washing up, they held hands and walked to the front hall. They saw Yan Mingli spinning around on the spot at a glance.
Yan Mingli was still in a state of excitement. He kept asking the Prince of Rui for confirmation. "Is it true? I can stand in the front row to watch the enfeoffment of the Fourth Prince? My father can't even stand in the front row. Is it really okay? Am I more powerful than my father?"
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? My father doesn't know yet. If he sees me standing in the front row, will he be scared to death?"
The Prince of Rui nodded with a smile. "Of course it's true. Baozhu and Qiuqiu are counting on you to take care of them. Besides, you have a good relationship with the Fourth Prince. It's only natural for you to stand in the front row."
Shen Haiyan asked curiously, "I'm on duty today. Where are my mother and Miaochun? Aren't they going? Can Mingli take good care of Baozhu and Qiuqiu?"
"Mother and Sister will stand on the stage. They'll witness the ceremony as female officials. We can only let Mingli take care of the two children." Chen Ruxia took Qiuqiu's hand and carefully checked her clothes and ornaments. After making sure everything was perfect, she pulled Shen Baozhu in front of her and examined her carefully.
Shen Haiyan and Yan Mingli were both stunned at the same time. They shouted in unison, "Female officials? When did this happen?"
Chen Ruxia glanced at them. "Some time ago. During the days when Sister didn't go to the poetry club to study, Mother made this arrangement with the queen and invited a new teacher for Sister."
"Don't you two know?"
Since it concerned Chen Miaochun, Yan Mingli didn't want to admit it. He said awkwardly, "Of course I know."
The Dragon King: [No wonder Chen Miaochun asked the little cutie what it was like to be an official. It turns out she's going to be one.]
Lin Yu: [Time flies so fast. By the time Big Brother comes back, Miaochun will already be a female official.]
The Dragon King: [The idiot seems to be taking the imperial examination next year. He'll be under Chen Miaochun. The world is full of surprises!]
The True Man Qingyun: [Miaochun has the title of marquis. Shen Heqing is taking the imperial examination. They're not starting from the same point.]
Everyone in the Princess Mansion was going. Chen Ruxia had taken care of the Fourth Prince before, so she was also invited. She stood among the female relatives with Gao Shan to watch the ceremony.
Mentioning Gao Shan, Yan Mingli thought of the mysterious person who had treated Xu Yunmiao. "Ruxia, is the mysterious person free recently? My sister-in-law has been feeling stuffy and uncomfortable recently. Can we ask the mysterious person to take a look?"
The mysterious person was a treatment robot customized by Lin Yu. In just half a month, it had improved Xu Yunmiao's health by more than half. When Xu Yunmiao got better, the pill from the True Man Qingyun could be used.
Chen Ruxia told Yan Mingli to wait for a few days. Xu Yutang had just invited the mysterious person to check Xiaotao's body.
When everything was ready, the Prince of Rui led Yan Mingli and the two children into the carriage heading for the imperial palace.
The carriage passed through unimpeded and drove all the way from the palace gate into the Qianqing Palace.
Yan Mingli carried Qiuqiu out of the carriage and then reached out his hand to pull Shen Baozhu.
Pinghai had been waiting at the door. When she saw Shen Baozhu, she rushed forward to greet her. "Little Princess, you're here. Please follow me quickly."
Shen Baozhu pulled Qiuqiu and strode forward. The Prince of Rui saw some old friends he knew and wanted to have a chat, but Yan Mingli forcibly dragged him away. "We can catch up later. You come with me to give me courage first. This is only my second time coming to the Qianqing Palace."
The Prince of Rui couldn't resist Yan Mingli, so he had to go in with him.
Among the crowd that Yan Mingli didn't notice, Father Yan was looking at this scene in horror. His stupid son was actually pushing and shoving the Prince of Rui. Even if the crown prince was protecting him, he couldn't do this!
...
At a quarter past the Chen hour.
The Fourth Prince was wearing a bright yellow imperial robe and a nine-tasseled crown. He was about to get off the ceremonial sedan chair. Just as he lifted his foot, a huge, round pearl descended from the sky and silently appeared in front of him.
Looking at the pearl that was half his height, the Fourth Prince remembered Baozhu's instructions. He stepped forward without hesitation.
An invisible force lifted the Fourth Prince's body up, and he stood steadily on the pearl.
The common people who were gathered at the palace gate to watch the future emperor also saw this wonder. They stared in shock at the pearl under the Fourth Prince's feet. As the Fourth Prince walked, one after another, a second, a third, a fourth... pearl appeared.
The Dragon King: [See? Everyone is shocked by my pearls!]
The Dragon King: [It's worth it for me to spend so many magic treasures and get the pearls again.]
The Dragon King: [Tell the Fourth Prince to walk boldly! I have enough pearls!]
The Dragon King: [It's a pity. If the emperor were a bad guy, the little cutie could ascend the throne. I could make the scene even more spectacular.]
The True Man Qingyun: [If Baozhu were the emperor, the karma of the world would be too closely linked to her. It might not be a good thing.]
The Dragon King: [You're right. Being an emperor is not as good as being an immortal!]
The Dragon King: [With me around, the little cutie will definitely become an immortal.]
Lin Yu: [We can also use the alliance's genetic potion. It's not like being an immortal, but it's almost the same.]
The True Man Qingyun: [One can also cultivate immortality.]
While the immortals were discussing excitedly, Shen Baozhu had no time to pay attention. She tightly held the little golden dragon in her hand. When the Fourth Prince approached and was being worshiped by all the officials, the golden dragon avatar flew out from Shen Baozhu's wrist and took the little golden dragon with it.
First, there was a colorful light so bright that it blinded everyone. When the light disappeared, a golden dragon that was a hundred meters long soared in the sky, and its roar shook the heavens.
Under everyone's gaze, the golden dragon lowered its body and gently rubbed its head against the Fourth Prince to show its closeness.
At the same time, a clear bird chirp sounded, and countless birds gathered above the imperial palace. The leading bird had colorful feathers all over its body. Although its aura was weaker than that of the golden dragon, it still exuded prestige.
The bird was the little phoenix. Knowing that it couldn't compare to the golden dragon avatar, it chose to breathe fire.
Colorful flames appeared in the sky and formed two characters: "Gu Chen."
When the golden dragon and the little phoenix appeared, all the officials and common people who were watching the ceremony knelt on the ground, and even the emperor and the queen were no exception.
Only the Fourth Prince, Shen Baozhu, Qiuqiu, and Yan Mingli, who were in the middle, were standing.
Qiuqiu didn't understand these things. Seeing Yan Mingli standing, she also stood. And although Yan Mingli wanted to kneel, Shen Baozhu beside him stopped him.
Shen Baozhu hadn't recovered from her excitement yet. Her little face was flushed. She looked at Yan Mingli and asked curiously, "Why do we have to kneel?"
"The Fourth Prince, the golden dragon, they're all our good friends. Why do we have to kneel?"
Yan Mingli couldn't explain why, so he simply gritted his teeth and stood with Shen Baozhu.
From a distance, the Fourth Prince saw the three people standing at a glance. He also saw himself, who used to live on grass. Life was like a dream. In just a few months, he had changed dramatically. The person who had given him all this was standing there.
It was Shen Baozhu who had given him a new life.
The Fourth Prince thought that he would always remember the first time he met Baozhu.