Chapter 53 The Thief Returns

Of the many snacks sent by the princess, Shen Yuan kept one portion for herself, had the rest sent to her sister-in-law, and one portion left for her father.

As for the snack recipes, Shen Yuan gave them to the snack cook in the kitchen and asked her to try them out. She would make the ones that worked and put the ones that didn't work aside. After all, some of the ingredients involved were not something the Shen family could get right now.

After returning home from the palace, Shen Yuan, who had been tensing all day, could finally take a break. He went to his room, took off his coat, and fell asleep on the bed. He slept until dusk and was woken up by Qingdai when it was time for dinner.

The three of them had dinner together today. Shen Yun knew that his daughter and daughter-in-law had entered the palace today, so he took the opportunity to ask them about what happened today during dinner.

As far as Shen Yuan could remember, his family had never followed the rule of not talking while eating. Instead, they thought it was more interesting to talk about family matters while eating. Of course, this was only limited to their small family in the capital. When they returned to their hometown, they still had to follow the rules.

As soon as they sat down, Shen Yun asked his daughter, "We are not going to the palace today, so what's the matter with the snacks at the Princess's Mansion?"

When Shen Yun came back from the Dali Temple, he received some snacks sent by his daughter, who said they were from the Princess's Mansion.

Shen Yuan then told her father all about how she entered the palace today, how the Empress asked everyone to paint, why her painting won the favor of Princess Kangle, and how the snack came about.

After saying this, he let out a long sigh and took a big sip of tea before his mouth no longer felt dry.

After listening to Shen Yuan, He Ying added, "Father, I think Manman's painting is really good. Aside from the fact that the cat in the painting happened to be liked by the princess, his painting skills alone are among the best among those paintings today."

Shen Yun was very happy about his daughter's performance today. He had known for a long time that his daughter had a talent for painting. It was natural for a father to be happy when his children were successful.

Secondly, he thought it was a smart choice to ask the princess for some snacks in exchange for the painting. In his opinion, a few plates of snacks were just right.

"Dad, please help me find another teacher." After what happened today, Shen Yuan finally understood why a painting must have meaning. As long as she was happy, she could paint the weeds on the roadside, the wild flowers by the wall, or even an inconspicuous stone on the road.

Besides, wild flowers and weeds may not be without meaning.

Since his daughter wanted to continue learning painting, Shen Yun naturally had no reason to disagree and immediately promised to find a best teacher for his daughter.

Halfway through the meal, Shen Yuan couldn't help but ask, "Dad, do you think the Queen wants Shuyan to be the Third Prince's consort?"

Speaking of this topic, Shen Yun's expression became a little more serious. Recently, all kinds of discussions and speculations about the opposition to the crown prince have been rampant in the government and the public.

Officials from both the Empress and Consort Xiangui wrote petitions to the Emperor, asking him to decide on the Crown Prince as soon as possible.

At this time, the marriage of the eldest prince and the third prince naturally became very important. If there was any movement, countless eyes would be watching.

Except for the eldest prince and the third prince, the remaining princes either have low-born maternal families or are too young, and are not yet in the public eye.

"The Queen has no say on who the Third Prince's wife will be. Ultimately, the Emperor must agree."

"Do you think the Emperor will agree with the Empress' idea?"

Shen Yun shook his head. It wasn’t that he couldn’t say it, but he really didn’t know.

The emperor's intentions are unpredictable. No one can see what is in his mind.

Recently, due to the issue of appointing a crown prince, there have been undercurrents, and some things have even come to light. Could it be that the emperor is unaware of this?

However, he remained calm and ignored the memorials from court officials requesting the establishment of a crown prince.

Shen Yuan sighed. She knew that her thoughts might be naive, but she did think that there was nothing good about being a prince's consort. The higher the position, the greater the responsibility.

"What are you sighing about?"

Shen Yuan answered honestly: "Nothing, I was just wondering whether being a prince's consort is good or bad."

Shen Yun thought for a moment and said to his daughter, "One man's honey may be another man's poison. Outsiders can't tell."

Shen Yuan nodded thoughtfully. Lu Shuyan was her friend, and no matter what, she wanted her to be happy.

…

Princess's Mansion.

After the princess returned home in the afternoon, she asked someone to send the painting she brought back to be framed. Naturally, the people in the calligraphy and painting studio did not dare to neglect the things from the princess's mansion, and they delivered the framed scroll to the mansion within two hours.

After the family finished dinner in the evening, the princess ordered someone to take out the painting and show it to the father and son.

"Jin Jin?" Xie Hui blurted out, then denied it, "It looks very similar to Jin Jin, but it's different."

Like Princess Kangle, Xie Hui also had deep feelings for Jin Jin. Jin Jin married Princess Kangle and grew up with Xie Hui. When Xie Hui was ten years old, Jin Jin died because of her old age.

The family buried it under an osmanthus tree in the garden. Xie Hui recalled that at that time, he secretly took chicken, duck, fish and meat from the kitchen to worship Jin Jin without telling his parents, and he went there every day, rain or shine.

"Did you buy this painting today? It doesn't look like your average painting. The technique seems a little rusty, but the brushstrokes are agile, so the flaws outweigh the merits."

Xie Yuan was in the Hanlin Academy, dealing with calligraphy and painting every day, so he naturally began to study them subconsciously.

"I didn't buy it. I got it by chance today." The princess simply talked about what happened today. However, Princess Kangle did not elaborate on the fact that the Queen liked the daughter of the Sinanbo Mansion.

The reason was simple. She simply felt that the Third Prince's selection of a concubine was very troublesome. She was not even eager to enter the palace today. However, receiving this painting was an unexpected surprise.

"It seems that what you said is right, Xi'er. A girl who can draw like this must be a lovely girl."

Xie Hui said nothing. He always felt that he had heard Shen Yuan's name too often in recent days.

However, he knew that today's painting was definitely just a coincidence. After all, she had never seen Jin Jin.

"Guess what I used to exchange this painting with Manman? Oh, Manman is Yuanyuan's nickname."

Xie Hui always felt strange when he heard his mother addressing people in such a familiar way.

Xie Yuan immediately praised him and said, "What did you use? Did you exchange it for our son?"

"I thought so, but she might not want it. I asked her what she wanted, and she just said that our snacks were delicious, and asked for a few plates of snacks. I felt embarrassed, so I gave her the snack recipe as well."

While his parents were talking, Xie Hui stood up, took the scroll from the maid, and was about to leave.

Just as I was about to step out the door, I heard my mother's angry voice coming from behind me.

"Thank you! Don't even think about stealing my painting!"