1. General Mu Gets His Revenge
On the day when the Fourth Prince was crowned the Crown Prince, at Shen Baozhu's earnest invitation, he decided to spend a night at the Princess Mansion.
In the evening, while no one was paying attention, Shen Baozhu inched her way to the Fourth Prince's side. The two whispered to each other.
Although the Fourth Prince didn't know what Shen Baozhu was up to, he obediently nodded.
As night fell and all was quiet.
Shen Baozhu dragged the treasure - hunting rat along, led the Fourth Prince onto the little phoenix, and set off towards the Kingdom of Xiangyun.
On the other side, General Mu had received the news early on. He insisted that the military advisor stay in the room, and then paced back and forth.
As a long - time friend, the military advisor saw what General Mu was waiting for. He casually said, "General, could it be that Baozhu is coming?"
Just as he finished speaking, a familiar sound came from outside the hall.
General Mu rushed out first, with the military advisor close behind. They saw Shen Baozhu running over, pulling a young boy.
The military advisor sized up the boy. He had excellent looks and was dressed in fine clothes. His eyes then fell on the intertwined hands of the boy and Shen Baozhu. He must be Baozhu's friend.
The next moment, Shen Baozhu's words confirmed the military advisor's guess: "Grandfather, this is Gu Chen, my good friend."
The Fourth Prince looked at General Mu and followed suit, shouting, "Hello, Grandfather."
The military advisor nodded in understanding. However, he thought that Gu Chen's parents were too bold to give their child such a grand name. "Gu" was the royal surname, and "Chen" referred to the emperor. What if the emperor misunderstood?
It was actually General Mu's idea to have Shen Baozhu bring the Fourth Prince here. He wasn't the least bit surprised. He happily pulled the Fourth Prince into the hall, rubbed his hands, and whispered, "Um, Your Highness the Fourth Prince, could you please say that again?"
The Fourth Prince was obedient and sweetly called out, "Hello, Grandfather."
General Mu felt extremely pleased. He rummaged out the dragon robes of the royal family of Xiangyun. They were all pre - selected and would fit the Fourth Prince.
After the Fourth Prince put on the dragon robe, General Mu looked at him expectantly and asked, "Your Highness the Fourth Prince, did Baozhu tell you that I want to scold you a few times?"
Shen Baozhu had already discussed this with the Fourth Prince at the Princess Mansion, and the Fourth Prince had no objections. He nodded and said, "Baozhu told me. Grandfather, scold away. I'll just pretend I didn't hear."
General Mu became even more excited. He cleared his throat and taunted, "You're afraid of me. So what? Even if you're the emperor, so what? You short - lived wretch!"
"Always wearing a straight face. A king? I spit on that! You were played around by Shen Qingshan and even dragged your own son into misery. If I were you, I'd be too ashamed to be reborn. I'd just vanish into thin air!"
"You didn't expect this, did you? My daughter is smart, and my daughter's children are even smarter. One is more promising than the other. You're just an old brute..."
General Mu scolded to his heart's content and momentarily forgot that the person in front of him was not the former emperor but the Fourth Prince. Fortunately, the military advisor gave him a timely nudge, which made him stop.
Looking at the young Fourth Prince, General Mu quickly apologized, "I was rash. I got carried away with scolding. I hope Your Highness the Fourth Prince will forgive me."
General Mu was Shen Baozhu's grandfather. The Fourth Prince wouldn't mind even if General Mu hit him, let alone scold him a few times.
The Fourth Prince shook his head and very considerately asked, "Grandfather, are you done scolding? Do you want to hit me?"
"No, no. Just scolding a few times makes me feel refreshed." General Mu knew when to stop.
But the people around him got an idea. The military advisor also knew that the young boy in front of him was the Fourth Prince. He said eagerly, "Your Highness the Fourth Prince, could you let me scold a few times too?"
The Fourth Prince looked at Shen Baozhu, and the military advisor also looked at Shen Baozhu with expectant eyes.
Shen Baozhu was a bit stunned and simply said, "Grandpa Military Advisor has a good relationship with Grandfather."
The Fourth Prince understood. A good relationship meant it was okay. He nodded and agreed, "Sure, scold away."
After that day, everyone noticed that the military advisor's temper had become milder, and he was more patient with General Mu. Shen Baozhu would occasionally take Qiuqiu and the Fourth Prince to the Kingdom of Xiangyun to play with General Mu until the army returned.
2. The Youngest Son of the Minister of Revenue
Another summer came. Among the original trio, only Shen Baozhu remained. As usual, she followed Yan Mingli around to collect rent.
One day, Yan Mingli took Shen Baozhu and squatted in front of a restaurant, munching on sesame cakes. He sighed with emotion, "Baozhu, I remember that the first time we got together, we were sitting right here eating."
Shen Baozhu ate the sesame cake seriously and replied, "Brother Mingli, if we sneak out like this, what if Qiuqiu gets angry?"
Yan Mingli paused for a moment and said hesitantly, "Then let's go back. You accompany Qiuqiu to embroider, and I'll accompany the Fourth Prince to study?"
"Forget it. Let's just stay here and eat sesame cakes." Shen Baozhu recalled Qiuqiu's embroidery cloth. It was much bigger than before, so it would definitely take a long time to embroider.
Yan Mingli also didn't want to accompany the Fourth Prince to study. He exchanged a look with Shen Baozhu and then lowered their heads to eat the sesame cakes.
Across from the restaurant was a newly opened jewelry store. Suddenly, there was an argument inside. Two women were fighting over a bracelet.
Yan Mingli was a bit curious. He quietly pulled Shen Baozhu closer and stopped when he could faintly hear the argument inside.
"Competing with me? Do you know who my fiancé is? You seductress who's after someone else's husband!"
"If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll tear your mouth apart. Who's seducing someone else's husband? Who your fiancé is has nothing to do with me. I saw this bracelet first. Why should I give it to you?"
The two argued non - stop. Hearing one of the women mention her fiancé repeatedly, Yan Mingli, who loved to watch the fun, leaned forward and interjected, "Who's your fiancé? So powerful?"
The woman proudly replied, "The youngest son of the Minister of Revenue!"
Yan Mingli pulled back and nodded to himself. So it was the youngest son of the Minister of Revenue. No wonder she was so arrogant, being the daughter - in - law of a minister.
But the other woman let out a scream, "What fiancé? He's my husband! You're trying to steal my husband!"
The two women who had been arguing before started to fight.
After Shen Baozhu finished the sesame cake in her hand, she asked in confusion, "Brother Mingli, do you have a younger brother?"
Yan Mingli raised his eyebrows in confusion. "What younger brother? My father only has one concubine. Aunt Mei was a maid who took care of my father since childhood. She didn't want to get married, so my father took her as a concubine and supported her. I'm my mother's youngest son. Where would I get a younger brother?"
Hearing this, Shen Baozhu was even more confused. "The youngest son of the Minister of Revenue is you. You're Sister Miaochun's fiancé. Then who's their fiancé?"
As soon as she said this, Yan Mingli stood still in shock. He got up quickly, ran into the store, looked at the two completely strange young girls, and said in disbelief, "Who are you? Who's your fiancé? I'm my father's youngest son!"
Dragon King: [The Fourth Prince has grown up, Qiuqiu has become more mature, but only the fool remains the same, stupidly ridiculous, haha哈哈哈.]
Dragon King: [Of course, the little cutie is always the smartest, cutest, most mature, and most...]
The Dragon King wished he could use all the best words in the world on the little cutie.
Amid Yan Mingli's anxiety, he finally found out that the person who had stolen his identity was actually the groom of the Yan Mansion. Relying on the fact that he didn't go home often, the groom stole his things, pretended to be him, and even deceived several young girls. Yan Mingli was so angry that he beat the groom up first and then sent him to jail.