In a simple and exquisite house in Kyoto, Qu Moran was practicing calligraphy in the study.
"Master Hou, the prince's affairs have been discovered." Chen Tao walked in quickly and whispered.
The pen in Qu Moran's hand paused, and a large drop of ink fell on the rice paper, forming an ink stain. This article is ruined.
Qu Moran took advantage of the situation and put away his pen: "Has the whereabouts been cleared?"
"It's been cleaned up. When I discovered that the empress was missing, the prince had already left the capital for five days. The traces he left were handled by Yuan Xiaowei himself and will not be traced."
Chen Tao is Qu Moran's long-term follower, and he has always been cautious and thoughtful in handling matters.
Qu Moran said slowly: "It won't work if it's too clean. It will arouse suspicion. Those Lin family members are not vegetarians, and they will not give up easily. Let Yuan Yi come up with some clues that are true or false, and they must not be investigated. To the prince’s true whereabouts.”
"Yes. I will take care of it immediately."
After saying that, Chen Tao turned around and left the study.
"Oh, I don't know who I followed with such an arrogant and violent temper." Qu Moran shook his head and sighed.
Shen Zhuo woke up on Tuobu's bed after being away for more than ten years. After she woke up, she felt as if she was in another world. She couldn't tell whether those desperate experiences had really happened or if they were just her own dreams.
"Miss, get up and freshen up quickly." A crisp and clear voice sounded outside the tent, and then a round-faced maid lifted up the bed curtain with her hands and feet.
Shen Zhuo took a closer look and saw that it was his personal maid Lancao. Lancao is the eldest of Shen Zhuo's personal maids. She is three years older than Shen Zhuo. She is neat and steady in her work. She is a maid specially selected and trained by her mother.
Seeing the orchid grass, Shen Zhuo's eyes turned red and tears flowed. In her previous life, Lan Cao was hacked to death in a dark alley in order to protect her and Xiao Shitou. In the end, even the whole body could not be recovered.
Shen Zhuo's throat couldn't help but tighten.
"Miss, are you having nightmares again?" Lan Cao said while twisting a hot handkerchief and applying it to Shen Zhuo's face.
The news that Shen Zhuo held Shen Yao and cried for an hour yesterday because of a nightmare had already spread throughout the whole government.
"My good lady, you should quickly accept this Water Dragon King. The master, the princess, and the third young master will return home soon. If you go there with red and swollen eyes, you will make the third young master laugh at you for a year."
Shen Zhuo remembered. This year, because my father was avoiding the disputes in the court, he took the initiative to ask for a job to go to Jiangzuo, and took his mother out to relax.
Originally, she and her third brother Shen Xi were taken along, but it turned out that she hated taking a boat, so she secretly ran home with Ying'er on the way. She was so angry that her father punished her severely when she came back. She had to kneel in the ancestral hall until her knees almost gave out, and then she had to lie in bed for several days before she recovered.
Although her father dotes on her the most, he can also teach her a lesson. Shen Zhuo couldn't help but feel his heart tighten. Is it possible that after being reborn, he will be punished?
Shen Zhuo pressed the orchid grass that was giving her a hot compress: "Stop applying it. Is there any way to make my eyes more swollen?"
Lan Cao looked at Shen Zhuo with a shocked and speechless expression. But who made this person his own lady? My own lady is my favorite. So without saying anything, Lancao went to the kitchen to find a few chili peppers, grind them into fine powder, and then mix them with warm water.
It wasn't until his eyelids burned and hurt that Shen Zhuo finally felt that he was the fourth young lady of the Shen family who was loved by thousands of people, pampered and willful, and could do whatever she wanted.
When Shen Yuan and his wife arrived home, Shen Zhuo successfully maintained the appearance of his eyes being red and swollen.
Before Shen Yuan could start to clean up Shen Zhuo, Princess Pingyang pulled him into her arms, her heart and eyes filled with distress.
"Jiaojiao, why are your eyes so swollen? Chunlan, get a hot handkerchief over here."
When Chunlan heard this, she immediately twisted a handkerchief with hot water and handed it to Princess Pingyang. Princess Pingyang applied it to Shen Zhuo's eyes with her own hands.
"Does it hurt? Does it swell?"
Shen Zhuo shook his head and buried his whole body deeply into his mother's arms. His eyes began to turn red involuntarily.
Since her rebirth, Shen Zhuo's tear glands have been like a bridle that cannot be closed. She has cried more, but she really can't help it.
Father and mother are still there, still alive, warm and fresh, you can reach out and touch them. If this was a dream, she would be willing to fall into it forever and never wake up.
"I heard that Xiao Jiaojiao had a nightmare and was so frightened that she started crying? Look at her eyes, which are as swollen as peaches. Gee, you didn't sleep all night. Did you just go all day and night to cry?"
Shen Zhuo was lying in his mother's arms with his eyes closed, enjoying her mother's gentle hot compress, when he heard a teasing voice that sounded like a smile but not a smile.
"Auntie, third brother bullied me again!" Shen Zhuo didn't even bother to open his eyes, he just opened his mouth to complain. She twisted her body and rubbed herself into Princess Pingyang's arms again.
"Third brother, don't you see that Jiaojiao is feeling uncomfortable? Why do you always bully your sister when you are an older brother?" Princess Pingyang glared at Shen Xi angrily.
"Mom! I just said one thing." Shen Xi pointed at her nose and then at Shen Zhuo, quite unhappy, "Are you bullying her?!"
"You're just bullying me! You just laughed at me and said my eyes look like peaches!" Shen Zhuo continued to lie in Princess Pingyang's arms with his eyes closed and yelled, "You mean you think I'm ugly and say I'm ugly."
Anyone who knows Shen Zhuo knows that she is the most beautiful person, whether it is other people's or her own. Dare you say she is ugly? That definitely tickled her tiger's beard.
"Tsk, tsk, Shen Jiaojiao, you are such a good accuser. This skill of making things out of nothing has made you even more proficient." Shen Xi laughed angrily and couldn't help but step forward and pinch Shen Zhuo's cheek.
Well, it’s still as tender and smooth as ever. So he twisted it again.
Shen Zhuo tilted his head and buried his face deeper into his mother's clothes. His tears wet Princess Pingyang's clothes.
"Hey, hey, why are you crying again?" Princess Pingyang hurriedly raised her daughter's face, looked at it carefully, then slapped Shen Xi's claws away, and glared, "You are so careless, you pinch It hurts so much.”
Seeing tears hanging on Shen Zhuo's thick and upturned eyelashes, Shen Xi couldn't help but panic. She really thought that her hand was too strong and pinched the person in pain, so she smiled in a flattering manner:
"So Jiaojiao, stop crying, come and see what fun third brother has brought you back?"
As Shen Xi spoke, she took out an exquisite little porcelain rabbit the size of a thumb from her arms. It was white, fat, and cute.
Shen Zhuo is a rabbit.
Shen Zhuo reached out and took the little porcelain rabbit and made a naughty face at Shen Xi. She held back her tears, tried her best to suppress the raging emotions in her heart, and tried to behave like herself when she was twelve years old.
Shen Yuan drank tea and then spoke slowly:
"Zhuo'er, are you done crying?"
Shen Zhuo's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, and he hugged Princess Pingyang's waist tightly and wouldn't let go.
"Jiaojiao" is Shen Zhuo's nickname. Most family members call her Jiaojiao, and so does Shen Yuan. So when Shen Yuan calls her "Zhuo'er", it usually doesn't go well.
Sure enough, then I heard Shen Yuan continue.
"When you're done crying, go kneel in the ancestral hall."
"Abba~~~~"
"You can't even call me ancestor."
"Aniang~~~~" Shen Zhuo coquettishly tugged on Princess Pingyang's sleeve.
"You deserve to be punished this time! The ferry terminal is more than twenty miles away from Shen's mansion. It's such a long distance. How dare you run away with just a little maid? You didn't take the carriage, the money, and even the guards. !" It was rare for Princess Pingyang to be so embarrassed.
In the end, Shen Zhuo was punished to kneel in the ancestral hall just like in his previous life.
Looking at the rows of tablets of the Shen family's ancestors on the high platform, Shen Zhuo's mood was ups and downs. She closed her eyes and recited silently in her heart that she would try her best in this life to save the lives of everyone in the Shen clan, and she hoped that her ancestors would protect her.
Shen Zhuo had not knelt in the ancestral hall for a quarter of an hour when he saw Shen Xi walking in happily holding a soft cushion.
"Xiao Jiaojiao, did you make a mistake? Do you think that if you cry a few times, your father will soften?" Shen Xi raised her eyebrows and smiled with a look of gloating on her face.
Shen Zhuo glanced at him, silently snatched the cushion and stuffed it under his knees.
"You, you underestimated the trouble you got into this time." Shen Xi stretched out her hand and rubbed the top of Shen Zhuo's hair, "Do you know how angry Dad was when you ran away secretly?"
"You said that you, the eldest lady, took a maidservant with you, and the two little girls dared to walk through the streets and alleys for more than 20 miles... What should you two do if something happens along the way?"
"Jiaojiao, you are so courageous."
Shen Zhuo raised his head, looked at Shen Xi, and admitted his mistake with a very sincere attitude: "I won't do it next time."
Twelve-year-old Shen Zhuo, under the protection of his family, was really fearless. But now, Shen Zhuo, who has gone through many vicissitudes of life and death, has already learned to be reverent and cautious.
"When I came here just now, I met Ah Wei. He was accompanied by a young master. I heard he was a newly hired master from the Clan Academy." Shen Xi sat on the floor in front of Shen Zhuo and chatted with each other.
"It is said that this master is very knowledgeable and is the youngest Jieyuan in Qingzhou in the past hundred years. However, I just saw him and found that he also looks very good." At this point, Shen Xi suddenly blinked, looking like he was watching a good show. "The academy is probably going to be lively again."
Shen Zhuo's eyes narrowed slightly. It turned out that Xie Zhe also came to Beijing this year. It seems that Sister's matter really needs to be tightened up and tightened up.
