Shen Mu, having received the imperial title, was beaming with joy, which in turn put Shen Mingzhu in an excellent mood.
[Host, Host, Warning! Warning! Warning! That palace maid in the pink palace attire is a spy from an enemy state!]
Hearing Shen Mingzhu's inner thoughts, everyone's gaze focused on the palace maid.
The ministers: …The palace attire in the imperial palace is uniform!
[Gua Gua, which one? All the palace maids wear pink palace attire.]
[Host, it's the one with phoenix eyes and an oval face, the one currently carrying wine toward the Jingyuan Emperor! This marks the beginning of the Jingyuan Emperor's tragic fate!]
[A spy! Oh my heavens, how do I inform the Jingyuan Emperor? No matter what, he is nominally my father-in-law now, and besides, he is the biggest golden thigh for me and the Crown Prince! I don't want to lose him!]
Jingyuan Emperor: …
Empress Lin: …
Everyone: …
The emperor is the golden thigh of the Crown Prince and Shen Mingzhu!
[The wine is poisoned—how do I warn the Jingyuan Emperor?]
[Ahhh!!!]
Shen Mingzhu's eyes clearly showed anxiety.
Within moments, the palace maid had filled the Jingyuan Emperor's wine cup.
Just as the Jingyuan Emperor was about to lift the cup before him, Shen Mingzhu, disregarding all else, rose and knelt in the main hall.
"Your Majesty, drinking harms the body. The Crown Prince surely wishes for Your Majesty to take care of your health. Please, Father, take care of yourself."
Empress Lin, seeing this, smiled and added,
"Your Majesty, the child is showing filial piety. Perhaps it's best not to drink tonight."
The Jingyuan Emperor nodded with satisfaction and looked affectionately at Shen Mingzhu.
"The Crown Princess's filial devotion is commendable. Reward her with a pair of jade Ruyi scepters, a pair of jade rabbit pounding medicine earrings, a gold hairpin with kingfisher feather inlay, a banana leaf exquisite jadeite tassel hairpin, one hundred bolts of silk, and one hundred taels of gold."
"Your servant thanks Your Majesty for your generous favor!"
Shen Mingzhu was overjoyed with the rewards and lavished praise on the Jingyuan Emperor.
[Gua Gua, the Jingyuan Emperor has a keen eye for talent—no wonder he became emperor! Look, he's truly remarkable, recognizing my talent at a glance!]
Empress Lin pursed her lips and chuckled softly.
The Jingyuan Emperor unconsciously straightened his posture—he was indeed such a wise and discerning emperor.
As for the poisoned wine, it had already been taken away by Grand Eunuch Wang Defu and handed over to the Imperial Hospital physicians for examination. The palace maid, meanwhile, was apprehended as soon as she stepped down.
To infiltrate someone into the imperial palace so silently—how many people had the enemy state managed to plant in the imperial city, even within the palace itself?
Scanning the ministers below and the consorts in the rear palace, the Jingyuan Emperor mentally reviewed each of their backgrounds.
There must be an inside accomplice for the spy.
Who could it be?
He glanced at Shen Mingzhu and felt increasingly convinced that his idea to have Shen Mingzhu attend court on behalf of her husband was absolutely correct.
Soon, Wang Defu whispered a few words to the Jingyuan Emperor, and the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet concluded under Empress Lin's direction.
When leaving the palace, Shen Mu and Shen Mingzhu were escorted by a dedicated young eunuch, slowly making their way out of the palace.
The emperor and empress had even specially dispatched Imperial Guards to escort them back to their residence.
Shen Mingzhu: Being the Crown Princess really is different—even returning home comes with an Imperial Guard escort.
Spotting their family carriage, Shen Mingzhu quickly climbed inside.
"Mother, come in quickly!"
"Why hasn't Father come out yet? So slow!"
Shen Mu looked at her daughter and said with a smile,
"Don't worry, many things happened tonight. Your father will probably come out later. Let's go back first, and he can return with Qinghong and Qingbo later."
Shen Mingzhu looked at her mother with disapproval.
"Mother, we're a family. We came together for the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet, so we should go home together."
Shen Mu patted her daughter's hand as she held it.
"Be good! Your father and the others still have matters to attend to. Let's go first!"
"Alright."
Shen Mingzhu decided to listen to Shen Mu.
The mother and daughter returned home without any obstacles along the way.
As soon as they arrived home, Shen Mu heard Shen Mingzhu's inner thoughts.
[Gua Gua, didn't you say the Second Prince sent assassins to kill me? Those Imperial Guards escorting us didn't even get to be used. I wanted to capture a few alive to counter-sue Second Prince Yan Yunxuan!]
System, [Host, the assassins sent by the Second Prince encountered their rivals and were completely wiped out. Not a single survivor!]
Even if there were survivors, they would have bitten the poison in their mouths and committed suicide.
Gua Gua: So brutal!
After hearing this, Shen Mingzhu nodded.
[This is good too. It counts as eliminating a scourge for the people!]
Hearing Shen Mingzhu's inner thoughts, Shen Mu spoke up,
"Mingzhu, go back to your courtyard and rest early. You'll officially attend court tomorrow – don't oversleep!"
Shen Mingzhu: Ah!
How could I forget about this!
She was now a compiler at the Hanlin Academy, though she didn't really know what this official position entailed.
But they say that to enter the Grand Secretariat, one must first join the Hanlin.
She would go see what it was like tomorrow.
…………
The next day, before dawn had even broken, Shen Changyuan and Xie Qinghuan came personally to wake her.
"Precious darling, get up quickly! Time for court!"
"Mingzhu darling, wake up!"
"Darling, if you don't get up now, you'll be late!"
Shen Mu called out gently from outside, but Shen Mingzhu inside the room didn't hear her at all.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Shen Mingzhu! Get up now!Shen Fu was straightforward and rough. If Shen Mingzhu didn't get up soon, he would break down the door!
He didn't want to be late for court!
Being late for court could result in being impeached.
Shen Mingzhu, still half-asleep and muddled, heard the noise but didn't open her eyes, directly ordering,
"Shaoyao, stop making noise! I want to wake up naturally. Anyone who disturbs me will be chased out!"
"Shen Mingzhu!"
Shen Fu was furious!
But since the child was grown up, he couldn't just barge in. He quickly had Shen Mu enter the room to drag her out of bed!
"Madam, hurry up! We're going to be late!"
"If she doesn't get up, His Majesty will punish her!"
Shen Mu had discussed this at length with Shen Fu last night and understood the importance of the matter. She went straight into the room!
Seeing her precious daughter sleeping so sweetly, though reluctant, she directly ordered Shen Mingzhu's two personal maids, Shaoyao and Liangiao, to drag her up and help her wash.
"Mother, I'm so sleepy!Shen Mu hugged her daughter painfully.
"Mingzhu, be good. This is your first day attending court – you absolutely cannot be late! After you get to court, be well-behaved too. Don't let your thoughts wander. Just listen carefully, understand?"
"Absolutely must not let your thoughts wander!"
"Mingzhu? Did you hear what Mother said?Shen Mingzhu, still half-asleep, responded perfunctorily.
"I know, Mother! I'll be good!"
"Mommy cuddles!"
[A child with a mother is like a treasure!]
Hearing Shen Mingzhu's inner thoughts, Shen Mu's heart melted!
But in the end, she still repeatedly reminded, "Mingzhu, when you're in court, absolutely must not let your thoughts wander, understand?""
"I know, Mother.Listening to Shen Mingzhu's words, Shen Mu felt that she was just agreeing perfunctorily.
Helplessly, after going through the motions of washing up, the person still had their eyes closed.
Shen Mu: …
Shen Fu: …