Chapter Seventy-One: Little Hero Fubao

The elderly physician, on the verge of tears, finally found his lifeline! At long last, it became clear that the little child had eaten crayfish! Yet the crowd remained perplexed—what could be wrong with eating crayfish? Even His Majesty in the palace enjoyed them; why did something happen only to us commoners?

“It’s not that at all! Those crayfish smelled terrible, and their eyes were bright red—they looked fierce. I’ve seen the ones at my aunt’s house; the shrimp in her pond all have black eyes and are nowhere near that big!” At that moment, Fubao was picked up and whisked off to the constable’s office by the stern officer who had rushed over, accompanied by Bai Jie.

Bai Jie thought: This is it, we’re doomed—now we’ll be punished together!

Fubao sat on a small wooden chair, swinging her legs and clutching her rabbit, stubbornly arguing with the stern officer. “Those weren’t good shrimp at all! They all smelled bad!”

The stern officer didn’t quite believe the words of a little brat. He hadn’t paid attention to the color of the shrimp’s eyes, but their size was indeed remarkable.

No detail could be overlooked—he must investigate!

But first, the children needed to be sent home; such young ones couldn’t simply be left behind.

So, on the way to returning the two little troublemakers, he looked up and saw the grand words “Prime Minister’s Residence” above the gate.

The icy demeanor of the stern officer seemed to crack. Why hadn’t these two children said so sooner? Had he now offended the Prime Minister himself?

After delivering the children, the constable made a hasty retreat, leaving Fubao and Bai Jie to stare wide-eyed at their great-uncle.

For a long moment—

Watching Bai Jie howl from a spanking, Fubao thought it was all terribly frightening. Great-uncle was truly terrifying! Even her cousin was scary!

Bai Jie protested: Not fair!

The next day, Prime Minister Bai Zhanshuang entered the palace at dawn to report the crayfish issue to His Majesty. The Emperor, in the midst of enjoying his spicy crayfish, suddenly found the dish tasteless. Launch a full investigation! The Emperor was furious.

Fubao soon noticed that her great-uncle was coming and going in a hurry these days, and even her cousin was too busy to set foot on the ground.

One day, her cousin’s wife, Lady Bai, was chatting with the old Madam Bai about the upcoming family banquet. The dish of crayfish was promptly removed from the menu, and Old Madam Bai agreed without hesitation—no one would dare serve crayfish to their guests now that there was a problem with them.

Just then, the steward came in to announce: “Miss and Master have returned!”

This time, Bai Yulan had come home with her husband, arriving early to celebrate her grandmother’s sixtieth birthday. As soon as she entered, she spotted a familiar little girl.

“Why, Fubao? What are you doing here?” Bai Yulan was astonished. Wasn’t this little one supposed to be in a county town thousands of miles away? How could she be here?

Fubao was delighted to see Bai Yulan as well! Who would have thought Auntie would be here too—how wonderful!

Once again, Fubao nestled into Bai Yulan’s arms. Since returning to the Han family last time, Bai Yulan had kept using the embroidered pouch Fubao had given her.

Later, her maid Hongxia replaced her medicinal herbs, and once again Bai Yulan began to feel unwell, constantly smelling strange herbal scents. Eventually, she had Zixia sneak the pouch out to a doctor, and to her astonishment, they uncovered a white-eyed traitor.

Hongxia turned out to be treacherous and was driven out. The wretched maid had even coveted Bai Yulan’s husband. Old Madam Han wanted her dead, but Bai Yulan pleaded for her life—she wouldn’t dirty her own hands for such a person.

Now, after several years of careful care, Bai Yulan’s health was greatly restored, and she looked ever more youthful.

“This child was never so affectionate with me,” Old Madam Bai remarked, a touch envious as she watched Fubao snuggle against Bai Yulan.

“She’s always been lively, never one to sit still!” Bai Yulan tapped Fubao’s nose, making the little girl wrinkle it in pretend annoyance.

“She’s our little heroine!” Lady Bai said with a smile.