After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

To be honest, Shen Jingque had never experienced having her parents called in before.

She was an orphan in her past life. When teachers wanted to call her parents, they could only look at her file and remain silent for three seconds before kindly pouring her a cup of hot water and gently saying: "Child, next time don't crumple up your deskmate's eraser shavings into a ball and sell it as a magic pill for two cents."

So at this moment, Shen Jingque was strangely excited.

If we disregard the solemn expressions on Xiao Changgeng's and Doctor Bai Zhanji's faces...

A series of hurried footsteps approached from outside the courtyard.

Xuan Qi stepped into the courtyard, followed by a stumbling figure in a blue robe.

Shen Yan was intercepted by Xuan Qi halfway.

Originally, he was going to the front yard to find Uncle Xu. He thought that since the father and daughter were temporarily staying at the princess's residence, it wouldn't be right for them to eat and stay for free. If there was any copying or organizing work in the residence, he could help out.

Upon hearing that his daughter had broken into Yingzhu Garden, he ran so fast he was out of breath, and his lips were completely bloodless.

Heavenly Venerable One, didn't I just tell you not to wander off before I left?

He stumbled across the threshold, his eyes anxiously scanning the courtyard.

Seeing Shen Jingque standing there with her whole body intact, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, before he could catch his breath, he noticed that everyone in the courtyard looked unwell.

Shen Yan's heart skipped a beat, and his vision went black.

Oh no, Sparrow really did cause trouble.

Shen Yan stepped forward and, without saying a word, bowed and apologized.

"Young Master, my daughter is young and ignorant. If she has offended you in any way, please forgive her."

Shen Jingque immediately felt a little guilty; her father's apology process was so practiced it was heartbreaking.

Xiao Changgeng's fingers rested on the armrest of the wheelchair, his gaze sweeping coolly across Shen Yan's face.

"Young Master Shen, your daughter just noticed a problem with my prescription. May I ask, who is her teacher?"

Shen Yan was bending over when he heard this and stopped abruptly.

"Medicine...what medicine?"

He turned to look at the little girl standing by the medicine stove. Her hair was disheveled, her cheeks were covered in dirt, and she was blinking at him.

"Sparrow, you know about medicine?" Shen Yan's voice trembled. "When did you learn it?"

Shen Jingque cursed herself inwardly for her miscalculation.

He was so busy showing off that he forgot to coordinate his story with his own father.

There was no other way but to bite the bullet and put on the show.

In ancient times.

No one believes scientific explanations, but everyone agrees with metaphysical explanations.

She sniffed, straightened her back, raised her little face, and struck a pose that was both profound and childlike.

"It was taught to me by God."

Ji Qianshang raised an eyebrow, his expression clearly indicating he was looking forward to a good show.

Xiao Changgeng's eyes darkened slightly, remaining noncommittal.

Shen Yan was stunned.

Shen Jingque continued to spout nonsense with a straight face.

"A few days ago, I dreamed of an old man with a white beard who said that I was destined to face a calamity, and if I wanted to survive, I would have to learn some skills."

"After I woke up, it seemed like I suddenly recognized a lot of herbs. Not only could I smell them, but their medicinal properties also automatically popped into my head."

Shen Yan stood there, stunned, his mind buzzing.

A white-bearded old immortal? A divinely ordained one?

If someone else had said that, he might have found it absurd.

But it landed on the sparrow...

No wonder.

No wonder this child has been like a completely different person ever since he woke up on the day of the divorce.

She no longer timidly hid behind him as she used to, trying carefully to please Du Yuerong.

She would occasionally utter incomprehensible words, and even dared to take him to the princess's residence to bang on the door.

It turns out that I had such a wonderful encounter in my dream.

But what if one receives the teachings in a dream...?

Shen Yan looked at Shen Jingque, and his heart suddenly ached.

Wouldn't a child be afraid if they suddenly acquired such a mysterious ability?

And he, as the father, was so preoccupied with fear and inferiority that he failed to notice it sooner.

Shen Yan's eyes welled up slightly, and he gently pressed his hand on Shen Jingque's shoulder.

"If the sparrow has a miraculous encounter, it may not necessarily be a bad thing."

He then turned to Xiao Changgeng, bowed deeply, and looked resolute.

"I, Shen, am willing to swear on my life that my daughter has absolutely no intention of harming anyone."

Xiao Changgeng lowered his eyelids and remained silent, as if he were thinking about something.

Shen Yan's reaction did not suggest that they had colluded beforehand.

The shock and panic were so real.

Xiao Changgeng's gaze passed over the scholar in the blue robe and landed on Shen Jingque behind him.

"Since you are a guest or family member staying temporarily, why have you come to Yingzhu Garden?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Jingque knew that he hadn't completely believed her yet.

What to do then? She can't just recite the Compendium of Materia Medica to him on the spot; she only has this ability because she's got some kind of cheat code.

Since things have come to this, all I can do is... play the victim.

Her eyes welled up with tears in an instant, and her lips trembled as she pouted, her grievances gushing out like a floodgate bursting open.

"I didn't want to come either."

"I just smelled the fragrance of medicine and curiously moved closer. Who knew that this man in black would come up and put a sword to my neck?"

She reached up and rubbed her eyes, then started to fake cry.

"I'm not even as tall as a sword! I smelled something was wrong with the prescription and kindly pointed it out, and what did you all do..."

"They held a sword to my neck! They dragged me in like a little chick! And now they want to interrogate my father!"

She turned and glared at Xuan Qi behind her, tears welling in her eyes.

"My father only has one daughter, and he's so poor he can't even afford two copper coins. If you frame me and kill me, he'll still have to buy me a coffin. Wouldn't that be adding insult to injury, making things even worse?"

Xiao Changgeng: "..."

The courtyard became eerily quiet for a moment.

Having been in charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard for so many years, Xiao Changgeng had seen countless prisoners.

Even the most stubborn assassins in the imperial prison couldn't survive more than two days in his hands.

But faced with this unreasonable and irrational young girl, he really felt a bit at a loss.

Logically speaking, the claim of being a gifted individual is riddled with flaws.

But when it comes down to it, she did find something fishy about the prescription, but she couldn't find any motive to harm him.

not to mention……

They threw a twelve-year-old child in by the neck and interrogated him as a criminal, even implicating a poor scholar who knew nothing.

Xiao Changgeng's gaze shifted slightly, and for the first time ever, he began to reflect.

Am I becoming increasingly unpredictable and moody?

……

A quarter of an hour ago, in the study in the front courtyard of the Princess's residence.

Xiao Mingyue casually tossed the thick stack of military reports back onto the table and leaned wearily back into her armchair.

She raised her hand to pinch her brow, then slowly moved her sore left shoulder.

That was a lingering ailment she developed when she was twenty years old, after shielding the emperor from a poisoned arrow during his personal campaign. On his deathbed, the late emperor entrusted his son to Xiao Chengyu, repeatedly instructing him to treat his elder sister well.

Xiao Mingyue did indeed risk her life to pacify the northern border and the Qing Dynasty for her younger brother, repaying the Empress Dowager's kindness in raising her when she was young, and she managed to push Xiao Chengyu onto the throne.

The results of it?

Once she had secured her throne, her younger brother began plotting to reduce her military power. The Empress Dowager, who had once protected her in the harem, also started helping her own son plant spies in the princess's residence.

Xiao Mingyue scoffed coldly and glanced at a secret letter lying on the desk.

News from the inner court indicates that the Empress Dowager secretly summoned Wang Changhe again yesterday.

It seems that this mother and son are determined to put this nail in her backyard.

As I was thinking, somehow, that handsome and refined face suddenly appeared in my mind.

Yesterday, in front of the mansion gate, Shen Yan held his daughter in his arms. When he looked up at her, the beauty mark at the corner of her eye was red.

Xiao Mingyue tapped her fingers on the table, then turned to ask the maid Qingyuan, "Where has Uncle Xu settled that father and daughter surnamed Shen from yesterday?"

Qingyuan immediately replied, "Your Highness, they will be accommodated at Xiling Residence."

She paused for a moment, then added, "However... just now I saw Xuan Qi leading that Young Master Shen in a hurry towards Yingzhu Garden."

"Shadow Bamboo Garden?" Xiao Mingyue's hand, which was tapping on the table, suddenly stopped.

Ever since Chang Geng's leg was crippled, he has locked himself in Yingzhu Garden, becoming increasingly gloomy and taciturn.

As a young man, he was a sharp and shrewd individual. When he rode his horse through the long streets, all the girls in the capital would secretly lift their curtains to peek at him. Later, he injured his leg and was confined to a wheelchair, where he secluded himself in the Shadow Bamboo Garden every day.

He didn't want anyone to see him in such a sorry state.

So she was also blocked outside the door.

Shadow Bamboo Garden is usually off-limits even to flying insects, so what was Shen Yan, that weak scholar who couldn't even kill a chicken, doing there?

Don't cause any trouble...

Xiao Mingyue saw Shen Yan's soft, frightened eyes, like those of a rabbit.

Those thin arms and legs couldn't withstand the torture inflicted by Xiao Changgeng's Imperial Guards.

She immediately got up and strode out.

"Let's go to Yingzhu Garden."

She wasn't going to help that poor scholar out of a predicament; it's just that... she hadn't visited Chang Geng in a long time.

That's it.