Chapter 71: Chapter 71: The Emperor Only Favors the Crown Prince
That night.
The band of thieves was escorted to the dungeons in the Capital City.
Chen Shaobei entered the palace late at night to report the results to Mo Lingwei.
The night was deep. The Crown Prince, rumored to be tyrannical and cruel, sat behind a screen adorned with flying cranes and clouds.
Only a single lamp was lit in the hall. Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, Chen Shaobei could only see that Mo Lingwei was sitting in a languid pose.
"They’ve all been caught?" It might have been Chen Shaobei’s imagination, but Mo Lingwei’s voice sounded somewhat weary.
"Yes, Your Highness. Everything went as you predicted. The treasures you gifted attracted the bandits’ interest. However, the Sixth Prince was frightened, and Consort Li was completely focused on caring for him, so no one was available to tip off the bandits. As a result, we captured all of them."
Mo Lingwei nodded lightly. "Well done."
The moment he finished speaking, his body swayed and he staggered.
Chen Shaobei was startled and quickly hurried around the screen to support Mo Lingwei.
However, as soon as he got there, he saw that Mo Lingwei’s hair and eyebrows were already covered in frost.
The frost made his handsome face look chillingly pale and cold.
His eyes held a hint of weariness. It was clear he had been forcing himself to stay awake, waiting for the results of the capture.
"Your Highness!" Chen Shaobei said urgently. "I’ll go get the Imperial Physician."
"Don’t." Mo Lingwei stopped him. "If you go now, my father’s attention will turn to me, and he won’t see Shen Ningning’s contribution."
"Let her receive her reward properly. After that, it won’t be too late for you to tell my father. This illness of mine... it won’t kill me."
Chen Shaobei’s heart grew heavy. He hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Alright."
Mo Lingwei closed his eyes, seemingly having reached his limit.
"While I’m not awake, you keep an eye on things. Don’t let anyone steal Shen Ningning’s credit."
"But... I just saw Miss Shen in Xiangyun Village. She said she wanted to invite Your Highness to her home for iced desserts to express her gratitude."
The corners of Mo Lingwei’s lips twitched slightly, and he smiled.
"Don’t tell her about my condition. Just say that I’ll go find her once I’m done with my work."
"Alright..." Chen Shaobei watched as Mo Lingwei lay down, tucked him in with a blanket, and then departed.
「The next day, during the morning court session.」
Chen Shaobei reported the capture of the rampaging bandits.
"It was all thanks to the vigilant cooperation of the villagers of Xiangyun Village, especially the young Miss Shen, who is exceptionally clever. The pack of wolves she raises helped a great deal."
"By capturing the bandits, we also recovered the disaster relief supplies that had been stolen. Although not much was left, at least there is a positive outcome."
The Emperor was overjoyed and repeatedly said he wanted to grant a reward.
"Prime Minister!" he called out, wanting the Prime Minister to reward the villagers on his behalf.
But then he suddenly remembered that the Prime Minister had once again called in sick today.
The Emperor turned and ordered a eunuch, "Open my imperial treasury! Pick out some jewelry and reward this Shen Ningning!"
At this moment, Minister Wei stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, while this young Miss Shen’s righteous act is worthy of praise, as a citizen of Cangyun Country, it is her duty to share your burdens. Wouldn’t an overly generous reward be inappropriate?"
Chen Shaobei shot a cold glare at Minister Wei.
"The Crown Prince personally oversaw this matter. The clue provided by Miss Shen was the very key to capturing the bandits. Why is she not deserving of a generous reward?"
The Emperor raised his hand. "Enough. Each of you, my dear ministers, has your own opinion, but I have already made a decision."
"This contribution must be rewarded. I will not only reward her, but I will also reward all of Xiangyun Village!"
"Someone, prepare a brush and ink. I shall personally write the characters for Xiangyun Village."
A eunuch hurried to prepare them.
Minister Wei shot Chen Shaobei a resentful look.
’The Emperor is biased. As long as it concerns the Crown Prince, he just spoils him blindly.’
’Does a mere village deserve such a lavish reward?’
When the rewards arrived at Xiangyun Village, the villagers jumped and hugged each other, their joyous laughter soaring to the heavens!
Shen Ningning sat on the Black Wolf King’s back, her hair tied in two small buns, looking adorably festive.
’It was all because Mo Lingwei had given her such a good idea!’
’First, he had sent rewards to make the bandits believe there were treasures in the village.’
’Then, he secretly arranged for Chen Shaobei’s soldiers to disguise themselves as villagers and lie in wait inside the houses.’
’Just as planned, it was like shooting fish in a barrel.’
Shen Ningning ran up to Chen Shaobei and asked in her soft, sweet voice, "Is my big brother free to come today?"
Chen Shaobei remembered Mo Lingwei’s instructions. His eyes flickered for a moment before he said, "The Crown Prince has been busy with state affairs recently. Once he is finished, he will come to visit Miss Shen."
Shen Ningning looked a little disappointed.
But she understood in an instant.
’My big brother is the Crown Prince; of course he’s busy!’
She gave a sweet smile. "Okay! I’ll wait for him!"
After delivering the rewards with his men, Chen Shaobei left.
The old village chief set off six strings of firecrackers at the village entrance!
CRACKLE! POP! It was as festive as the New Year.
He directed the villagers to hang the plaque, bearing the words "Xiangyun Village" personally written by the Emperor, above the village entrance.
This was an honor that would bring glory to their ancestors, something they could brag about for three generations!
"Ningning, this is all thanks to you."
"That’s right! Ningning is our Fuxing! Now even the Emperor knows about our little Xiangyun Village!"
Shen Ningning was surrounded by everyone.
In their excitement, the villagers even tossed the little one into the air and caught her.
This made the Black Wolf King cry out anxiously, AWOO, AWOO, afraid they would drop Shen Ningning.
Finally, the little one was set down. She beamed and said, "It’s because we were united that we could get such a good result!"
"And the credit isn’t just mine! Langlang and the little monkeys helped too!"
The monkeys had acted as her lookouts, and the wolves had dragged back any bandits who tried to escape.
The old village chief nodded with emotion. "Only by working together with one heart can we live prosperous lives."
"However, it’s because of Ningning that we received this honor. So all these treasures from the Emperor should go to Ningning. We can’t be greedy!"
After he spoke, the villagers carried out two chests of treasures.
These were the rewards Mo Lingwei had given them last time, originally intended to be used as bait.
Shen Ningning was surprised to see the villagers returning the items they had previously taken for themselves.
The old village chief sighed with deep emotion as he looked at her. "Ningning, what you’ve brought to our village is peace. That’s more important than any amount of wealth!"
If the bandits had been allowed to enter the village to burn, kill, and pillage, the foundation of their lives would have been destroyed.
But Shen Ningning blinked her round eyes, her voice soft and sweet, yet her words were clear and logical.
"I couldn’t have done it alone, of course! The uncles and aunts contributed too. Before, everyone was talking about leaving, but there were still people like Uncle Liu and Brother Chen who were willing to stand firm."
"Grandpa Village Chief, I don’t want to keep these treasures for myself. Since we’re all from the same village, we should all prosper together!"
"You should be the one to decide. Divide up these treasures so that everyone who stayed behind gets a share!"
After Shen Ningning finished speaking, the villagers’ faces were all flushed and beaming with smiles.
Aunt Liu even raised her voice and declared, "In that case, I still want that pearl necklace! Nobody better fight me for it!"
The old village chief was smiling so wide he couldn’t close his mouth. "Alright, alright! Since Ningning has spoken, we’ll listen to her."
After a final count, each family could take five or six pieces of jewelry, worth a total of 300 taels!
The villagers lined up at the old village chief’s doorway to receive their pearls and gems.
Their relief now was as great as their fear had been before!
Just as everyone was celebrating, Aunt Deng’s voice came from the village entrance—
"Oh dear! I’m not too late, am I?!
