Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Let Me Show You the Real Mo Lingwei
Shen Ningning’s pretty, delicate face lit up with joy upon hearing this.
’It must be Brother Mo Lingwei!’
She hurriedly ran toward the village entrance.
A troop of guards from the palace, equipped with long sabers and tall horses, stood beside a carriage.
Seeing Shen Ningning, the lead guard immediately approached.
"Greetings, Miss Shen. We are here on the Prince’s orders to escort you to the palace."
The little girl glanced curiously inside the carriage.
A hot summer gust blew, stirring the carriage curtain. Surprisingly, there was no one inside.
’Strange, why didn’t Brother come to get me himself this time?’
The guard seemed to read her thoughts. "The Prince is occupied with urgent matters and could not get away for the moment."
Glistening beads of sweat had formed on Shen Ningning’s forehead from the sun. She wiped her little head.
"Okay then, I’ll be in your care!" Before getting into the carriage, the little girl turned her head to give specific instructions to the wolf pack.
She told the Black Wolf King to go home and stay with her grandmother, promising she would be back by evening.
However, the Black Wolf King gently tugged on Shen Ningning’s little skirt with its teeth.
"Langlang? What’s wrong?"
The Black Wolf King’s cold, lupine eyes stared at the group of guards.
They were all well-trained, but with a fearsome beast before them, the guards couldn’t help but grow tense.
Their mounts sensed the unease, nervously stomping their hooves back and forth.
The Black Wolf King sensed that these men did not carry Mo Lingwei’s scent.
Although that brat Mo Lingwei was always clinging to his little Ningning, the Black Wolf King would never mistake his scent.
It let out a series of low whines and growls to tell the little girl what it had discovered.
Hearing this, Shen Ningning’s delicate little eyebrows furrowed slightly.
She looked at the guards again, her large, clear eyes studying them carefully.
"Did Brother really send you?"
The guard nodded and took out a Jade Pendant of Yellow and White Jade from his robes.
"This is the Prince’s token."
Shen Ningning relaxed considerably upon seeing it.
Because this Jade Pendant was identical to the one Mo Lingwei had given her!
’She just didn’t expect it. The Immortal Realm had consumed one, so how did Brother have another?’
Shen Ningning cupped the Black Wolf King’s head in her small hands. "Be good, Langlang. They really are Brother’s men. I’ll be back soon."
The Black Wolf King stared at the guards, the wariness in its eyes not lessening in the slightest.
Suddenly!
It pulled back from Shen Ningning’s embrace, then suddenly lunged forward in a great leap.
Before the guard could react, it snatched the Jade Pendant from his hand with its mouth.
The horses, startled, began to neigh in alarm.
The guard nearly fell from his saddle.
It all happened so suddenly that even Shen Ningning was stunned.
Then, the Black Wolf King, holding the Jade Pendant in its mouth, tossed it to Wolf Three.
It let out two low growls at Shen Ningning.
The little girl looked troubled, but she felt Langlang had a point.
The startled guard finally managed to calm his horse.
He suppressed his anger and said, "Miss Shen, why did your wolf snatch something?"
Shen Ningning bit her lip, feeling a little wronged.
’Brother’s guards are never harsh with me. What’s wrong with these ones today?’
But Langlang had, after all, taken someone else’s property first.
The little girl explained in her soft, sweet voice, "Langlang says he doesn’t trust you. But if I’m going to go, he has to take something as proof."
"Proof?" the guard asked, confused.
Shen Ningning nodded, her round eyes dark and bright. "If I don’t come back, or if something happens to me, Langlang and the others will follow the scent on the proof to find me."
The pack of wolves behind her stared intently, their gazes grim and menacing.
A chill ran down the spines of all the guards, and goosebumps rose on their skin in fear.
Everyone had heard that wolves were extremely vengeful.
If anything happened to this Shen Ningning, the wolf pack would not let it go easily.
The guard composed himself and let out a breath.
"Please rest assured, Miss Shen. Our Prince would not allow any harm to come to you either."
Shen Ningning gave a sweet smile, her dimples showing faintly, her eyes pure and clear. "I know! Brother always takes great care of me!"
With that, she climbed into the carriage.
The little girl poked her head out and waved to the Black Wolf King. "Don’t worry, Langlang! Go home and stay with Grandma. I’ll be back by evening!"
The Black Wolf King and its pack watched as the carriage and guards disappeared into the distance.
On the way, Shen Ningning paid extra attention to the scenery along the road.
It wasn’t until the carriage passed through the palace gates that she was certain it was indeed people from the palace who had come for her.
The thought of seeing Mo Lingwei soon and getting to play with her brother again filled her with joy.
The carriage passed the Imperial Palace guards, its wheels rumbling down the palace road.
The red walls and golden tiles glistened dazzlingly under the sun.
However, they hadn’t gone far before the carriage made a turn and stopped before a palace path.
A guard came to the door. "Miss Shen, the carriage can go no further. Please disembark and proceed on foot."
Shen Ningning paused, her dark eyes showing confusion. "But it could go in before."
’Mo Lingwei’s carriage can go all the way to the inner palace and stop right at the entrance of Zichen Palace!’
The guard kept his head lowered, his expression hidden, and said in a monotone voice, "The Prince is waiting for you at the Prison Department, so the carriage cannot enter."
’The Prison Department?’
’What kind of place is that...’
Bewildered, Shen Ningning got out of the carriage and followed behind the guard.
He led her down a long palace path.
They arrived outside a large hall in a shaded area. The place seemed somewhat remote and deserted.
Just as Shen Ningning was about to step inside on her own, she heard a deep voice call out from behind her—
"You must be Shen Ningning?"
The little girl looked back.
A boy in a wheelchair, about the same age as Mo Lingwei, was there.
He was handsome, but his face was a sickly pale, and his eyes held a gloomy, sinister air.
Four guards were wheeling him over.
Shen Ningning asked, "And you are...?"
"I am the one who invited you to the palace. The Crown Prince’s sixth younger brother, Mo Changgong." After he spoke, he gave a slight smile, but it vanished before it could reach his eyes.
’Mo Changgong... I don’t know him.’
Only then did Shen Ningning realize that it wasn’t Mo Lingwei who had invited her at all.
The "Prince" the guards had mentioned was the Sixth Prince!
The little girl’s pink cheeks puffed out, her chubby face now full of vigilance.
"I don’t know you! Why did you bring me here?!"
A guard frowned and reprimanded her, "Insolent! How dare you speak to the Sixth Prince like that?"
Mo Changgong raised a hand and said languidly, "It’s fine. Don’t blame her. Being brought here so abruptly would certainly cause alarm. I can understand Miss Shen’s feelings."
"I called you to the palace out of good intentions. I want to warn you that Mo Lingwei is not as approachable as you think."
"You probably don’t understand why I’m suddenly telling you this, Miss Shen. That is why I will let you see with your own eyes what kind of person Mo Lingwei truly is."
With that, he looked at the guards and gave a cold command: "Take her inside."
"Yes, sir."
Before Shen Ningning could react, a guard grabbed her, covering her mouth and binding her small hands and feet.
"MMH! MMH!" She struggled in a panic, but she was no match for the guard’s strength.
She felt the guard take a single leaping step, effortlessly entering the courtyard of the great hall and landing on the roof.
The guard held her down, still covering her mouth, and forced her to look at the scene in the courtyard below.
It turned out that their previous location had only been the back entrance to this great hall.
As Shen Ningning struggled, she caught a glimpse of many people in the courtyard out of the corner of her eye.
She focused her gaze and saw Mo Lingwei’s figure among them.
