Chapter 548

The Yan Guogong's Lady dismissed the matter with disdain; Fu Bao was not a child of the Yan Guogong Fu.

He Yan had only Rong Juan as a child; in this life, that was likely the only child he would have. Having neglected him too much, there was no way Fu Bao could usurp his place; the Yan Guogong's Lady was also a First-Rank Lady.

The Great Yan Emperor had no grounds to stand on, and the Yan Guogong's Lady could simply ignore him.

The palace servants returned to report; the Great Yan Emperor and the Prime Minister exchanged a glance. It was not strange that the Yan Guogong's Lady ignored them, for Fu Bao was not a child of the Yan Guogong Fu.

Seeking the Yan Guogong Fu yielded nothing; they had no grounds.

The Great Yan Emperor did not wish to deal with Fu Bao either and ordered someone to fetch the He He Shizi.

The He He Shizi was reviewing memorials. Hearing this, he told Eunuch Fu, "If His Majesty is not busy, he may come to review memorials. I rarely have free time to accompany children; I wish to take the child to stroll along the Spiritual Plants Street."

Having spoken, the He He Shizi rose to his feet, ceasing his review of memorials.

That would not do; Eunuch Fu hurriedly waved his hands, saying, "The He He Shizi is busy; we shall not disturb him."

The Rong He Shizi had completely stopped reviewing memorials and was not even active in court. If the He He Shizi also threw in the towel, Eunuch Fu felt the Great Yan Emperor would have a headache; the Emperor disliked reviewing memorials.

Eunuch Fu returned to report, and the Great Yan Emperor finally realized the situation.

Looking at Fu Bao, who waited for a reward, the Great Yan Emperor whispered to the Prime Minister, "Is the Yan Guogong Fu deliberately dumping this on me?"

The Prime Minister nodded, glancing at the little girl adorned in pearls and jade, saying, "This is annoying."

If they were not annoyed, they would simply send a little girl away; yet the Yan Guogong's Lady sent Fu Bao to the palace to demand things from the Great Yan Emperor, and did so with such audacity.

The Prime Minister narrowed his eyes; if it were not for Xiang Yun, the Great Yan Emperor would not indulge her either!

Fu Bao's trip was like that of a complete fool.

The Great Yan Emperor would absolutely not give Fu Bao anything. What did she want? High-grade demon beast pelts, rare naoshi stones, and pearls; every single item was what a Princess would desire.

Could the Great Yan Emperor give Fu Bao these things?

On what grounds?

Unless the He He Shizi brought Fu Bao himself, the Great Yan Emperor would not give them.

Mainly, the Yan Guogong's Lady denied sending Fu Bao to demand things from the Great Yan Emperor, and the He He Shizi did not intervene. The Great Yan Emperor wanted to win over his subjects but could not find a foothold; no matter how he calculated, he could not find a solution.

"Fu Bao," the Great Yan Emperor said, "I do not have high-grade demon beast pelts. Go home and ask your elders."

"How can you not have them?" Fu Bao frowned, disbelieving, "Imperial Uncle, you gave Rong Juan high-grade demon beast pelts; why not me? I also call you Imperial Uncle."

The Great Yan Emperor felt depressed and did not wish to agree.

Previously, when the He He Shizi brought Fu Bao to the palace, the Great Yan Emperor considered the He He Shizi's fate of being a widower with no children; since he would likely never have offspring, raising Qin He's child as his own was acceptable, so the Great Yan Emperor treated Fu Bao as a niece.

Now that the Great Yan Emperor had a royal nephew, this fake one was difficult to handle.

"The high-grade demon beast pelts and naoshi stones for Rong Juan were not given by me," the Great Yan Emperor said. "You can ask Rong Juan; he took them from his own home. Coming to me to demand them is unreasonable."

Fu Bao was about to say something else, but the Great Yan Emperor, without further discussion, gave a glance to the Imperial Guard.

The Imperial Guard dragged Fu Bao out of the palace. As they walked, officials glanced over, greatly puzzled. Upon inquiry, they learned that the First-Rank Little Princess of the Xue Wang Fu had entered the palace to demand high-grade demon beast pelts, naoshi stones, and pearls.

"Hiss, one should not accept rewards without merit," an official attending court asked. "The Xue Wang Fu has no merit; can she demand such things?"

The other officials were also confused; to demand a reward from the Great Yan Emperor, one needed some justification. Without cause, wanting whatever one pleased? Even a Princess was not so audacious.

Another official said, "The Xue Wang Fu's Rong Shizifei is a concubine-born daughter. She raised the child herself but failed to teach her well. Even the Xue Wang Fu's Rong Shizifei herself does not understand court etiquette; how could she teach the Xue Wang Fu's Little Princess well?"

A young official sneered, "This Little Princess has been accustomed since childhood to having cultivation resources given to her for free. She is used to demanding whatever she wants, as if everyone owes her. In her heart, she simply does not believe there is anything she should not demand."

The officials: "..."

They exchanged glances, and one official could not help but say, "Is she not lacking a brain?"

No one replied; she was indeed lacking a brain! Foolishly entering the palace to demand things without considering who she was. If the He He Shizi brought Fu Bao to the palace, everything would be fine; the problem was that Fu Bao entered the palace to demand things herself!

After court, some officials returned home, while others went to their government offices.

The official who returned home told his wife about Fu Bao entering the palace. His wife was surprised, "Is she foolish? The Xue Wang couple and the Xue He Shizi do not look foolish; how is the Xue Wang Fu's Little Princess lacking a brain?"

This official said, "Her upbringing is poor. In the future, when arranging her marriage, being concubine-born will require extra consideration. Fortunately, the Xue Wang Fu's Rong Shizifei is a disciple of the Immortal Sect and can earn money; otherwise, she could not have married into the Xue Wang Fu."

This wife learned of it, and another wife also heard it from her husband who had just returned from court.

The ladies all mocked the Xue Wang Fei and Qin He. To raise a Little Princess like this showed how little care they put in. Qin He was concubine-born and already somewhat unsuitable, so the ladies did not discuss her much.

Only the Xue Wang Fei, who came from a great aristocratic family, was so negligent in raising the Little Princess.

The Xue Wang Fei did not hear the discussions of the ladies from various mansions. Seeing Fu Bao return empty-handed, Qin He was puzzled. Upon asking, she learned the Yan Guogong's Lady had given Fu Bao nothing. Qin He secretly cursed the Yan Guogong's Lady as cold-blooded.

"She has been raised for several years," Qin He said angrily. "She was raised well, then suddenly stopped being raised. When the child came to the door, they gave her nothing; this is too cold and heartless."

"I went to the palace to ask the Emperor," Fu Bao mimicked. "The Yan Guogong Fu's Grandmother said Rong Juan's high-grade demon beast pelts, naoshi stones, and pearls were given by the Emperor, so I went to ask too."

Qin He did not feel that Fu Bao entering the palace to demand things from the Great Yan Emperor was wrong. She asked, "Did the Emperor give them to you?"

"No," Fu Bao lowered her head, pouting unhappily.

Qin He was also unhappy; everything was going wrong. It was all the He He Shizi's fault, that scum. If he had brought Fu Bao to the palace, the Great Yan Emperor would certainly have bestowed many gifts on Fu Bao. He gave them all to Rong Juan; why not give them to her Fu Bao?

Just then, the Xue Wang Fei came to the He Shizi's courtyard and asked about Fu Bao's trip to the Yan Guogong Fu.

Returning empty-handed; what was going on?

Fu Bao mimicked again. When the Xue Wang Fei heard that Fu Bao had entered the palace to demand things from the Great Yan Emperor, she was completely undone. The He He Shizi had been raising Qin He and her child for more than a day or two; Fu Bao going to the Yan Guogong Fu to demand things was one thing.

Demanding things from the Great Yan Emperor? That required the He He Shizi to bring Fu Bao to the palace first.

That was simply giving Fu Bao the share that should have gone to Rong Juan.

Fu Bao entering the palace herself... this, this... you cannot demand things from the Great Yan Emperor on your own!

"Who told you to enter the palace?" the Xue Wang Fei asked sternly.

Fu Bao shivered in fright but still said, "The Yan Guogong's Lady."