Chapter 57: Chapter 57: You’re Not Allowed to Call Him Brother Bei! Call Him Nameless
The State Preceptor once said that a naturally blessed girl would end the drought and bring good fortune.
And on the night the blessed girl was born, there was a torrential downpour.
Shen Ningning’s birthday happened to be that very night.
Mo Lingwei’s sharp eyes suddenly deepened.
He gazed at the little one’s round, fair profile, lost in thought.
On the night of the great rain foretold by the State Preceptor, two baby girls were born within the designated area of the Capital City.
One family’s daughter died less than four hours after she was born.
The other was the youngest daughter of the Wei Family. Leveraging his daughter’s status as a blessed girl, Mr. Wei had been continuously promoted. He was now the Chief of Staff, a position of great power and influence.
His daughter was the one whose claim to the title of "blessed girl" was most well-known today.
But over the past few years, this so-called blessed girl had not brought much rain.
On one occasion, she even went out to pray for rain, only for the sun to shine even more fiercely.
This aroused the suspicion and discontent of the common people.
Since then, the Wei Family had claimed their youngest daughter fell ill and had rarely let her go out.
’If Shen Ningning was also born that night, why was there no news of it?’
Just then, Shen Ningning managed to compose herself.
Her small, round, fair face still held a trace of somber disappointment.
But she remained polite, saying in her soft, sweet voice, "Thank you, Mister. I understand now."
The group left the residence.
As they sat in the carriage on their way back, Mo Lingwei comforted Shen Ningning, "He wasn’t the midwife herself, after all. You probably can’t take his words as fact."
Chen Shaobei added, "We should investigate from multiple angles. We’ll probably find a more accurate lead."
However, Shen Ningning had already regained her confidence, her eyes glistening and bright.
"We have a lead! Didn’t that man just mention Feihua Lane in the Capital City? I can go there and ask around."
"I don’t believe Papa and Mama didn’t want me. Even if they abandoned me, it must have been for a reason they couldn’t help."
’Otherwise, why would they have placed that Ruyi pendant on me?’
Shen Ningning was certain she was a loved child, not an abandoned one.
’Even if I was, Papa and Mama must have had their reasons.’
But she had to find them first and hear it from their own lips before she would believe it.
Seeing her regain hope so quickly, both Chen Shaobei and Mo Lingwei nodded in agreement.
"We’ll go to Feihua Lane now and get to the bottom of this." At Mo Lingwei’s command, the carriage headed straight for the Capital City.
After they left, the Sixth Prince’s Hidden Guard quietly emerged from around the corner.
He watched the carriage depart, then turned and knocked on the residence’s door.
The man opened the door again, confused. "You are...?"
The Hidden Guard took out a gold ingot and asked coldly, "What questions did they just ask you?"
***
「Before heading to Feihua Lane, the afternoon was already well underway.」
None of the three had eaten.
Chen Shaobei suggested he could treat them to a meal at a restaurant.
But Shen Ningning quickly said, "I brought food with me!"
With that, she opened a food box in the carriage.
The delicious aroma of Grandma Qin’s cooking immediately wafted out.
It had cooled a bit, but that didn’t affect the taste.
There was cold-tossed shredded beef with lantern peppers, rice with braised meat sauce, stir-fried shredded lotus root, and braised vegetarian asparagus shoots.
Afraid they might get thirsty, Grandma Qin had also prepared honeysuckle herbal tea.
Brewed with spring water, it was sweet to the taste.
Shen Ningning wiped the chopsticks she had brought with a handkerchief and handed them to Mo Lingwei.
Then the two of them picked up their rice bowls and began to eat heartily.
Only Chen Shaobei stared at Mo Lingwei in astonishment.
’Doesn’t the Crown Prince never dine outside? Everyone knows Mo Lingwei is difficult to serve and notoriously picky.’
But seeing Mo Lingwei just pick up his food and eat without a fuss, he seemed like a completely different person from the aloof and irritable Crown Prince Chen Shaobei remembered.
"Brother Bei, why aren’t you eating? Do you not have an appetite?" Shen Ningning asked with concern when she saw Chen Shaobei hadn’t touched his chopsticks.
Mo Lingwei said in a cool tone, "Don’t mind him. Let him starve."
Seeing how much the two of them were enjoying the food, Chen Shaobei finally picked up his chopsticks and had a satisfying meal.
「Two hours later, they arrived in the Capital City.」
They reached Feihua Lane and found the mansion the midwife’s son had mentioned.
After Chen Shaobei went to inquire, he learned that the mansion had changed hands twice in the last four years.
"The current servants don’t know about the past, but the old housekeeper has been here for a long time."
"He said the original owner never showed his face and just had a servant sell the mansion at a low price. He never heard anything about the family losing a child."
When Chen Shaobei finished reporting what he’d learned, Shen Ningning couldn’t help but lower her long lashes.
She was a little heartbroken.
’I finally found a clue, only for it to go cold here.’
Seeing this, Mo Lingwei said calmly, "Don’t worry. As long as they’re alive, I have ways to find them. It’s just a matter of time."
The little one forced a sweet smile.
"Thank you, Brother. Let’s go home for now." She wanted some time alone to think.
Mo Lingwei nodded. He had Chen Shaobei get on the carriage, and the two of them escorted her home.
By the time they reached the foot of Wolf Mountain, Shen Ningning’s mood had improved considerably.
She got out of the carriage and said sweetly, "I won’t give up! I’m still little, so I can search for many, many years until I find my Papa and Mama!"
Mo Lingwei raised an eyebrow slightly. "As long as you don’t give up, I will always help you."
Shen Ningning said her thanks, then waved happily. "Goodbye, Brother! Goodbye, Brother Bei!"
A muscle in Mo Lingwei’s brow twitched. "Stop."
He called out to the little one who was about to turn and leave.
Shen Ningning looked back. "What is it?"
A dark look flickered in Mo Lingwei’s eyes. "What’s this ’Brother Bei’? You can’t call him that. Just call him Shaobei."
Chen Shaobei: ...
Shen Ningning blinked her long lashes, bewildered.
’Was it rude of me to call him that?’
"Okay... Shaobei... goodbye."
’How does that sound even more intimate?’
"Wait." Mo Lingwei changed his mind again.
He narrowed his cool eyes. "That doesn’t seem right either. Just call him Chen Shaobei. Use his full name."
A vein throbbed on Chen Shaobei’s forehead. "Your Highness, I don’t think that’s proper."
’I’m a dignified Young General! Don’t I have any standing at all?’
Mo Lingwei didn’t even look at him, stating calmly, "What you think is unimportant. What I think is enough."
Chen Shaobei: ...
Shen Ningning blinked her big, watery eyes and tried again. "Goodbye, Brother... and Chen Shaobei..."
After she said it, she was afraid Mo Lingwei would grab her and make her do it over.
The little one couldn’t wait any longer. She lifted her skirt, turned, and ran off like a little fleeing pearl, white and shimmering!
She darted into the forest, and her figure disappeared in an instant.
Chen Shaobei stared at Mo Lingwei beside him.
He saw the young man frowning, his left hand, adorned with Buddha Beads, pressing against his brow bone.
He muttered in a cold voice, "Why does that still sound wrong?"
’The way she said it, "Brother" and "Chen Shaobei" were too easily linked.’
Chen Shaobei, who overheard this from the side, felt his lip twitch.
"If Your Highness is so dissatisfied, why not just have Miss Shen call me Nameless from now on?"
"That would work."
Chen Shaobei hadn’t expected Mo Lingwei to nod decisively at his sarcastic remark.
’I spent the whole day running around with them, skipping my martial arts practice, just to be called Nameless?!’
Chen Shaobei silently closed his eyes, feeling utterly exhausted.
When Shen Ningning got home, she immediately told Grandma Qin about her day.
After listening, Grandma Qin could only remain silent and sigh.
Finally, she stroked Shen Ningning’s hair and said, "Ningning, we’ll search slowly. There’s no rush. Good things are worth waiting for."
The little girl looked up with her watery eyes, her cheeks flushed pink from the sun’s kiss.
She nodded, her voice soft and sweet. "I know, Grandma. We’ll take it slow. Maybe Papa and Mama are looking everywhere for me right now, too!"
It was dusk. Grandma Qin told the little one to go take a bath while she went to prepare dinner.
However, when Shen Ningning returned to her room...
...she found the Black Wolf King sitting there, growling in displeasure.
The little girl glanced at her table and saw that the little monkey she had rescued before had returned!
"SQUEAK SQUEAK!" The little monkey was overjoyed to see Shen Ningning. It immediately ran forward and handed her a green gemstone it was holding.
Shen Ningning’s little face was filled with surprise. "Where... where in the world did this come from?!"
The little monkey couldn’t answer, of course. It just squeaked wildly and pointed out the window.
When Shen Ningning walked to the window, she saw dozens of little monkeys climbing on a large tree not far away!
Each monkey was clutching a treasure—either a ring, a jeweled hairpin, or a gemstone.
Shen Ningning was astonished, her pink lips forming a perfect ’o’. "You all..."
The little monkey scrambled onto the windowsill, hopping and squeaking proudly.
These were all its monkey relatives and friends! They had all brought things to trade with Shen Ningning for food!
They were very principled, after all!
The Black Wolf King let out a displeased howl.
’Have these stinking monkeys latched onto his Xiao Ningning?’
The monkeys lined up, placing pearls and gemstones on Shen Ningning’s table.
The little one picked up one of the rings to examine it and saw that it was stained with a dark red streak.
The Black Wolf King let out two AWOOs beside her.
He was saying it was a bloodstain!
This time, Shen Ningning didn’t accept the gifts.
She pressed her pink lips together and asked seriously, "Little monkey, where did you really get these things?"
As if it understood, the little monkey leaped onto the windowsill, pointed to the northwest, and squeaked loudly.
