Chapter 53: Chapter 53: It’s Terrible, Ningning! Go Check on Your Grandma
He’d nearly turned the entire capital region upside down for that Shen Ningning.
Was their bond really just about him saving her life?
It was as if the Crown Prince had some kind of fixation on Shen Ningning.
Mo Lingwei simply said, "I have my ways. Let’s attend to our business first. I’ll go find her when we get back."
Chen Shaobei didn’t dare object and could only nod.
As the carriage curtain fluttered, Chen Shaobei thought he saw the figure of that young attendant from before.
But when he lifted the curtain to take a closer look...
Pedestrians milled about on the street, but there was no sign of any attendant.
He couldn’t help but mock himself inwardly.
’I’m becoming just like the Crown Prince, always seeing things that aren’t there.’
...
Shen Ningning did not, in fact, go to the academy.
Just as she was about to leave this morning, she discovered Mr. Huang and Mr. Zheng waiting at the foot of Wolf Mountain.
"Teachers~" the little girl called out, running over with her Langlangs in tow.
It was the first time the two teachers had ever seen the wolf pack. They were so frightened they fell right on their backsides.
Mr. Huang was slightly calmer, but his lips still trembled with fear, and his feet were frozen to the spot.
They had heard from the County Magistrate that Shen Ningning was raising a pack of wolves.
They had tried to prepare themselves mentally, but when the pack appeared—their fur a glossy black, their bodies as robust as bears—a deep-seated fear still took hold.
"Don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid!" Shen Ningning waved her little hands. "My Langlangs don’t hurt people."
She stepped forward and helped Mr. Zheng to his feet.
The Black Wolf King and his pack stopped just behind the little girl, staring at them eerily from the edge of the forest.
Mr. Zheng’s round, plump face was etched with terror.
"Shen Xuezhi, you... you live with wolves all the time?"
"Yup! My Langlangs are always looking after me. Teachers, is there a reason you came to see me?"
Mr. Huang wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.
He took a letter of apology from his sleeve.
"This is from the Lan Family. After the Blue Chief Clerk’s death, the matter was fully investigated. The Attendant Student confessed that he had accepted a bribe from Lan Qian to frame you."
Lan Qian was also the one who secretly placed that deity statue in your room while you were away.
Mr. Huang continued, "After the Blue Chief Clerk and Lan Qian died, the patriarch of the Lan Family had Lan Qian’s concubine mother beaten and sold off."
"They are deeply sorry and wrote this letter of apology, begging for your forgiveness, Shen Xuezhi."
"We all know you were wrongly accused, Shen Xuezhi."
To put it bluntly, the Lan Family just didn’t want to be dragged down by Lan Qian.
After all, the Crown Prince himself had intervened on Shen Ningning’s behalf. She was clearly not someone to be trifled with.
The little girl glanced at the letter but didn’t take it.
She just said in her soft, sweet voice, "Since Lan Qian is dead, the matter is over. I won’t pursue it any further."
The two teachers exchanged a glance and nodded silently.
"Shen Xuezhi, the weather is becoming increasingly hot, so the academy has decided to take a half-month break. During this time, please review the material you have already learned at home."
Shen Ningning replied obediently, "You teachers should also take care to stay cool."
The weather was getting too hot; even living on the mountain, the daytime heat was becoming unbearable.
The heat radiating from the ground was relentless, and even the Langlangs were suffering.
After a moment’s thought, the little girl called out to the two teachers as they were about to leave.
"Teachers, may I ride with you in your carriage? I need to go into the city."
「Two incense sticks later.」
The two teachers made a special trip to take her to the Capital City.
The city gates were still crowded with destitute refugees.
Every one of them was sallow and emaciated. The Capital City had distributed porridge for disaster relief a while ago, but there were far too many mouths and not enough food.
As the death toll rose, the Capital City simply tightened its security.
After bidding the teachers farewell, Shen Ningning expertly navigated her way to the apothecary.
She had brought a bit of Aconite with her, about two pounds’ worth.
She planned to sell this batch and then stay away for half a month. The weather was too hot; she wanted to stay home and rest.
But when she arrived at the apothecary, she learned the Shopkeeper had gone to the imperial palace.
So Shen Ningning left the Aconite and asked an assistant to pass on a message.
"Please tell the Shopkeeper he can pay me for this next time. I won’t be able to come for about half a month!"
After leaving the apothecary, she headed straight for a restaurant.
Just like last time, she lavishly spent thirty taels of silver to book a private room and ordered a mountain of delicious food.
While waiting for her food to arrive, the little girl noticed a new cooling contraption in the private room.
It consisted of seven fans set in a small basin with a miniature rockery. As water trickled down the rockery, the fan blades slowly turned, sending out a cool, watery breeze.
Shen Ningning stood before the Seven-Round Fan for a moment and felt significantly cooler.
’If I had a few of these at home, it would be so nice and cool!’
When the waiter served the food, the little girl couldn’t help but ask, "Where can I buy one of these?"
"The carpenter shops have them. If you like it, little miss, you can go take a look."
Shen Ningning made a mental note and then began to dig in. She was full after just a little while.
There were still seven or eight untouched dishes.
She stored them all away in her Immortal Realm.
The weather was only going to get hotter, and she couldn’t bear the thought of her grandmother toiling in the kitchen all the time.
’I’ll just store some ready-made meals.’
With that in mind, Shen Ningning called the waiter over again and ordered seven or eight more dishes.
The waiter’s eyes widened in shock. His gaze drifted down to Shen Ningning’s small, round belly.
"Little miss, can you finish all that?"
"Of course I can! Just bring the food. I have the silver!" she said, slapping her little hand down.
Another silver bag landed on the table.
The waiter hastily collected it.
Shortly after, the dishes arrived, and Shen Ningning moved them into the Immortal Realm as before.
Only a pile of empty plates remained on the table.
Finally, she took her leave of the restaurant, her little steps full of cheer.
The meal cost a total of seventy taels of silver. It usually wouldn’t be so expensive, but she had simply ordered too much this time.
She still had about 300 taels of saved silver left.
Without hesitation, she went straight to the carpenter’s shop.
She spent one hundred and fifty taels on two Seven-Round Fans.
Afterward, she went to a bedding shop and bought several cooling mats.
After storing everything in the Immortal Realm, Shen Ningning’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction.
’She and Grandma could finally get through this long, hot summer a little more comfortably!’
But as the little girl passed a satin shop, she saw some blue Ice Silkworm Silk and was instantly captivated.
’How cool would that be to sleep under!’
But one look at the price tag stopped her: 200 taels per bolt!
She didn’t have enough silver, so Shen Ningning had to give up on the idea.
’I’ve gotten enough for today, anyway.’
She hired a carriage to take her straight home.
When they reached the entrance of Xiangyun Village, the little girl got out and paid the driver.
She had just turned around when she saw Sister-in-law Liu running toward her, shouting, "Ningning! You’re back just in time! It’s terrible! You have to go check on your grandma, quickly!"
The little girl’s happy mood vanished in an instant.
She asked in a panic, "What’s wrong with Grandma?"
Sister-in-law Liu said, "Your grandma thought you had returned to the village, so she came to find you. But she ran into that beast of an uncle of yours, and now he won’t leave her alone!"
Shen Ningning sprinted back toward the village.
There at the village entrance, she saw Uncle Qin kneeling on the ground, clinging to Grandma Qin’s leg and sobbing his heart out.
"Mother! You can’t abandon me! I’ve suffered so much out there, and I know I was wrong now!"
"It was Wang Guihong who forced me to do all those things before! I promise I’ll be a good, filial son from now on. Mother, please just let me live with you and Ningning!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Grandma Qin mercilessly raised her hand.
SMACK! She slapped him viciously across the face.
