Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Keep the Jade I Gave You, Come Find Me Anytime
"I heard you were taken to the Guangyang County government office. By the time I rushed over, you had already fainted."
"How are you feeling now? Does anywhere still hurt?"
As he spoke, he leaned over and gently touched her forehead to check her temperature.
Shen Ningning blinked her big eyes obediently, letting him touch her like a little porcelain doll.
Fortunately, she no longer had a fever.
The little girl rubbed her forehead.
She recalled what had happened at the government office.
Aunt Qin had ordered the prison guards to seize her, but Shen Ningning had been prepared.
She had ducked into her Immortal Realm at the first opportunity.
She didn’t know what happened after that, only that when she cautiously peeked out from the Immortal Realm...
...she had accidentally tripped over something.
When she looked closely, she saw it was a prison guard’s foot!
And Aunt Qin, like a madwoman, was grabbing the prison guard’s head and smashing it against the wall.
The bloody, mangled sight had scared Shen Ningning so much that she fainted.
The next time she woke up, she was here.
The little girl thought hard about it.
’Maybe Aunt Qin went mad from the shock of seeing me vanish into thin air?’
Seeing her lost in thought with an adorably dazed expression, her long lashes fluttering now and then, Mo Lingwei’s sharp brows arched slightly. "Shen Ningning?"
He waved a hand in front of her eyes.
The little girl finally snapped out of it.
Her eyes, bright and glistening, stared at Mo Lingwei. She suddenly reached out her small hands and hugged his arm.
This made Mo Lingwei pause.
"Brother! I finally found you!" Shen Ningning’s soft, sweet voice was filled with joy.
In one swift motion, she threw herself into Mo Lingwei’s arms.
Her small hands hooked easily around his neck.
Mo Lingwei’s body tensed. He wanted to pull her off but restrained himself.
Shen Ningning’s voice was gentle and full of childish innocence.
"I went to the General Zhen Nan Mansion, but they threw me out. Everyone said you’re the Crown Prince and that I shouldn’t say your name, so I didn’t dare say it anymore," the little one grumbled, looking pitiful.
She let go of Mo Lingwei and sat on the bed, swinging her little feet as she looked up at him.
"The people who threw you out have been dealt with. But I gave you a Jade Pendant, didn’t you show it to them?" Mo Lingwei asked softly.
At the mention of this, a sheepish look appeared on Shen Ningning’s round, pretty face.
She curled her little toes and muttered, "I... I accidentally lost it..."
The little girl kept the matter of her Immortal Realm a secret.
Mo Lingwei was taken aback at first, then his eyes narrowed as he said teasingly, "You really are a little fool. If you had kept it safe, who in the city would have dared to bully you with that Jade Pendant?"
Shen Ningning looked at him pitifully.
’I never expected the Immortal Realm would eat Jade!’
Mo Lingwei turned around, found another Jade Pendant, and placed it in the little girl’s hands.
This time, it was a round, emerald-green Jade carved with a dragon, shaped like a full moon.
"Hold onto it and don’t lose it again. The next time someone bullies you, take out the Jade. If they’re not afraid of it, come and tell me. I’ll see that justice is done for you."
Shen Ningning cupped the Jade Pendant in both hands, her big eyes blinking again and again.
"I definitely won’t lose it this time!" ’And I can’t put it in the Immortal Realm!’
With that thought, the little girl lifted her clothes and said in her cute, sweet voice, "I’ll just tie it together with my Ruyi!"
However, when she lifted her shirt, the Ruyi tied around her little tummy was gone!
Shen Ningning’s eyes widened, and she frantically searched everywhere.
"Where’s my Ruyi?!" ’Without it, Father and Mother won’t be able to find me!’
Just as she was about to crawl under the bed to look, Mo Lingwei dangled the Ruyi from his long fingers and held it out to her.
Mo Lingwei’s deep, dark eyes watched the little girl as he spoke in a clear voice:
"I knew you were afraid of losing it, so I kept it safe for you."
A wave of joy at having it back washed over Shen Ningning. She took the Ruyi and looked it over several times.
Then, she tied it around her small waist again.
Mo Lingwei’s gaze darkened. "If you just carry it around like that, what if it falls off one day?"
Shen Ningning thought he had a point.
So she tightened it with her small hands. "Then I’ll tie it tighter!"
Mo Lingwei watched her suck in her little tummy and wrap the red cord of the Ruyi twice around her tiny body.
He knitted his sharp brows, about to say something, but the words that came out were: "Shen Ningning, I’ve been looking everywhere for you these past few days."
"I went to the Wolf Cave where you used to live, but I found you had moved."
The little girl raised her bright, sparkling eyes. "After you left, Brother, that auntie brought bad men to catch me."
Mo Lingwei had taught her to be careful about others learning her location.
So, she had moved to a safer place deeper in the mountains.
Hearing this, Mo Lingwei couldn’t help but let out a short laugh.
She had indeed listened to his warning, but it had ended up hiding her from him as well.
Shen Ningning smiled sweetly, revealing her cute dimples. "Next time you come to Wolf Mountain, Brother, I’ll take you to see my new home!"
"My home is super big now! I even have a bed to sleep on, no more lying on a stone slab for me!"
Mo Lingwei raised an eyebrow. "Next time you go to school, I’ll pick you up. After class, you can take me to see your new home."
Shen Ningning happily agreed, "Okay!"
Just then, a eunuch arrived.
"Crown Prince, the Emperor requests your presence."
Without a second thought, Mo Lingwei refused. "I’m not going. I’m busy."
The eunuch’s voice was troubled. "But the Emperor said... if you don’t go, he will come here..."
Mo Lingwei’s expression immediately turned cold.
The Imperial Palace was a complicated place, and Shen Ningning was far too naive.
Out of his mistrust for his father, Mo Lingwei had no intention of letting the Emperor see Shen Ningning.
He could only take a deep breath and order the eunuch, "Tell him to wait."
With that, Mo Lingwei looked at the little girl.
Shen Ningning’s big, round eyes were watching him.
"Brother, do you have to go be busy again?"
Mo Lingwei nodded slightly. "The Jade Pendant I gave you will grant you entry to the court at any time. Don’t lose it again."
Shen Ningning nodded emphatically.
He added, "As for your aunt and her group, I will punish them severely. You don’t need to worry about it. I’ve had some things placed in the carriage for you. Take them home and enjoy them."
Then, Mo Lingwei stood up.
But he paused when he reached the door.
After a moment’s thought, he turned back. "I’ll walk you to the carriage."
Outside Zichen Palace, the Crown Prince’s carriage was waiting.
He helped Shen Ningning onto the carriage and watched as the little girl poked her head out the window to look at him.
Mo Lingwei suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, how did you end up getting taken to the government office?"
Shen Ningning lowered her long lashes. "A classmate named Lan Qian framed me for stealing."
Mo Lingwei’s eyes turned icy. "Alright, I understand."
Shen Ningning waved her small hand. "Brother, I’m going home now. When I miss you, I’ll come to the Imperial Palace to see you!"
The surrounding eunuchs and palace maids lowered their heads, breaking into a cold sweat when they heard this.
’Does this little girl think the Imperial Palace is her home, to come and go as she pleases?’
But to their surprise, in the next second, Mo Lingwei grunted in affirmation and nodded. "Keep the Jade I gave you safe."
This left the Palace Attendants utterly stunned.
It made them even more curious about this little girl’s origins. What could make the notoriously arrogant and mercurial Crown Prince treat her so differently?
