The Fifth Prince turned to look at Yingxue, his expression earnest: "Sister Yingxue, could you please ask Father and Mother to come here for me?"
Yingxue froze: "Ah, this..."
But she looked at the Fifth Prince's earnest expression, nodded immediately, handed Xia Miaoyuan to Nanny Li, and left with a young eunuch.
The fifth prince stood up, took out a handkerchief and wiped Zhou Baolin's face. He seemed to catch a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye.
He turned around and saw the old eunuch who had beaten him trying to sneak away.
Just now, the old eunuch thought that the fifth prince was just acting out of a child's simple sense of justice and wanted to stand up for the weak. When he entered the house to take a look, he was frightened by the dirty and smelly environment and did not take it seriously at all.
Who would have thought that when the Fifth Prince saw Zhou Baolin, he suddenly went crazy and wanted to take her to see the Emperor and Empress.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the old eunuch wanted to run away.
"Catch him!" the fifth prince shouted.
The two young eunuchs immediately stepped forward and grabbed the old eunuch's shoulders one by one.
"Your Highness, please spare my life!" begged the old eunuch.
[Humph, you still have the nerve to beg for mercy? Have you forgotten how you hit Zhou Baolin just now?]
"What's your name?" the fifth prince asked viciously.
"My name is Qi Shou, and I am the eunuch in charge of this cold palace." Qi Shou replied with his head down.
[Qi Shou, Qi Shou, you’re no better than a beast!] Xia Miaoyuan cursed in his heart.
"Hit him! Hit him!" Xia Miaoyuan raised his little fist and shouted fiercely.
"Don't worry, sister!" the fifth prince comforted.
"Does he always beat and scold you like this?" The fifth prince looked at Zhou Baolin.
"Yes!" Zhou Baolin nodded.
The fifth prince's eyes were wide open with anger. He first took out the small orange from his arms and handed it to Xia Miaoyuan to hold. Then he raised his arm and hit Qi Shou hard in the face.
Qi Shou cried out "Ouch!"
"Oh!" The fifth prince clenched the hand that hit the person.
He then realized that slapping someone in the face actually hurts his hands. This was the first time he had slapped someone in the face with his own hands.
"Be careful, Your Highness, use this." A young eunuch took off one of his shoes with great tact and handed it to the fifth prince.
The fifth prince held the sole of his shoe, swung his arm, and slapped Qi Shou in the face.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Spare me! Ah! Ah!" Qi Shou screamed like a ghost.
In less than half an incense stick of time, one side of Qi Shou's face was swollen.
"Change to the side! It doesn't look good!" Xia Miaoyuan suggested in a baby voice.
"Well, sister, you are absolutely right!" The fifth prince smiled heartily, moved the sole of the shoe to his other hand, and continued to hit Qi Shou.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! I know I'm wrong! Please spare my life!"
Soon, Qi Shou's whole face was swollen like a pig's head, and his mouth was making a rumbling sound, and it was no longer possible to hear what he was saying.
At this time, the Fifth Prince was exhausted and panting: "I told you not to hit people!"
The Fifth Prince wiped the sweat from his forehead and waved his hand, saying, "Tie him up. We'll hand him over to Father later."
At this time, Yingxue had arrived with Emperor Mingxi and the Empress.
The emperor and empress got out of the sedan chair with a bewildered look on their faces.
"Xiao Wu, are you here to show us someone from the cold palace?" Xia Zhengqi asked the fifth prince who came to greet him.
The fifth prince's eyes were firm: "Yes, father, this person has a great secret."
"Important secret?" The expressions on the emperor and empress's faces were extremely complicated.
People who are banished to the cold palace are usually those who have committed serious mistakes. What important secrets do they have?
The emperor and empress were both skeptical, but seeing that the fifth prince had changed his usual playful expression and became extremely serious, they did not refuse.
When the emperor and empress stepped into the inner room, two young eunuchs helped Zhou Baolin down.
Zhou Baolin immediately fell to his knees on the ground, his thin back looking very pitiful.
Because she had lived in the cold palace for many years, she was severely malnourished and very weak.
"I pay my respects to the Emperor and the Empress!"
Who is this?
The emperor and the empress focused their eyes and looked at him carefully.
But until Zhou Baolin finished her ceremony and stood up, the emperor and the empress did not recognize who she was.
"Reporting to the Emperor, Father, and the Empress, she was Zhou Baolin from ten years ago!" The fifth prince stood up straight and answered loudly.
"Zhou Baolin!" Xia Zhengqi and the Queen shouted in unison, with shocked expressions on their faces.
Xia Zhengqi vaguely remembered that there seemed to be a Zhou Baolin in the past.
He scratched his head hard, but couldn't remember the details.
Xia Zhengqi looked at the queen beside him for help.
The Empress leaned closer to Xia Zhengqi and whispered, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten? Nine years ago, Imperial Concubine Jiang said Zhou Baolin had contracted a serious illness and was disabled, making him no longer fit to accompany Your Majesty, so she dismissed him."
Only then did Xia Zhengqi remember something.
Zhou Baolin was originally a little court lady who was selected into the palace.
I have only favored her once.
At that time, the Empress Dowager reprimanded him for not caring about expanding the royal family as an emperor. In order to please the Empress Dowager, he casually flipped over the sign of a new concubine who had just entered the palace.
Afterwards, he gave this concubine the title of Baolin.
Later, he was preoccupied with state affairs, and with the constant conflicts between the Empress Dowager and the Empress, he completely forgot about her.
Later, Concubine Jiang reported to him what happened to Zhou Baolin, but he agreed without even listening carefully.
At that time, Concubine Jiang was in control of the power of the six palaces.
[Daddy, Mommy, what are you still thinking about? She is Fifth Brother's biological mother!]
Xia Miaoyuan frowned, looking very worried.
[Hey, what if Zhou Baolin and the Fifth Prince tell the truth and Daddy doesn't believe it?]
What? This is the fifth prince's biological mother?!
Xia Zhengqi and the queen were so frightened that cold sweats broke out on their backs.
In other words, it was Zhou Baolin's child that Concubine Jiang and the Empress Dowager stole away!
Xia Zhengqi tried hard to suppress his emotions and asked the Fifth Prince, "Chengshun, why did you send me and the Queen to the cold palace on New Year's Eve?"
"Father!" The Fifth Prince knelt down straight and bowed, saying, "This son would like you to help him find out his background."
"Background!" Xia Zhengqi pretended to be shocked.
After a pause, Xia Zhengqi said, "Xiao Wu, just say whatever you want to say."
"Your Majesty, I, your son..." The fifth prince quickly organized his words in his mind.
Oh, I was too impatient just now. I should have found a chance to talk to my father in private. It was my sister's voice that reminded me that Zhou Baolin was my biological mother.
But now, my sister is here, and I can't reveal her secret. What should I say?
The Fifth Prince suddenly had an idea and said, "Father, I accidentally heard someone say that I am not Jiang's child."
"They said Jiang was infertile, and that she had stolen someone else's child and lied that it was her own," the fifth prince continued.
Zhou Baolin knelt on the ground, raised her head, and said calmly: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, ten years ago, I found out I was pregnant. Before I could even consult the imperial physician for a diagnosis, I was placed under house arrest by Imperial Concubine Jiang!"
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