Chapter 221: The Crown Prince’s Injury
Chapter 221: Chapter 221: The Crown Prince’s Injury
The mad scholar woke up to find himself lying in his own home.
His bedside was crowded with villagers discussing what to do, as well as a red-eyed Shen Ningning.
"Teacher, you’re awake!" the little one was the first to notice.
As soon as she spoke, the villagers hurried forward, all talking at once with concern. "Mad scholar, are you alright?"
"My goodness, that was so dangerous. You nearly fell to your death! If Sanwa hadn’t found you when he did, you’d be meeting King Yama by now."
"You really scared Ningning. She cried for a long time. You can’t do this again!" the old village chief spoke last. His sharp reprimand helped clear the mad scholar’s aching head a little.
He propped himself up. Chen Ye hurried forward to help Shen Ningning sit him up.
"Ningning..." The mad scholar’s forehead was wrapped in a white bandage, from which a light red was faintly seeping. "You shouldn’t have saved me. Only with my death can this grudge be truly settled."
"Otherwise, the Crown Prince... he won’t let me go, and he won’t let Xiangyun Village go either!"
He spoke in a hoarse voice, then coughed violently twice.
Shen Ningning shook her little head furiously.
"No! Teacher, you’ve misunderstood Brother. He’s definitely angry, but he’s not the kind of person who would kill the innocent indiscriminately."
Shen Ningning wasn’t sure about other things, but she was certain that since Mo Lingwei had agreed to spare the mad scholar’s life, he definitely wouldn’t cause trouble for Xiangyun Village.
The mad scholar’s eyes were dim and lifeless, as if he had completely lost the will to live.
Tears welled up in Shen Ningning’s eyes, making her large eyes look even more crystal clear.
Her delicate, pale little face wore a pitiful, aggrieved expression.
She sniffled and pressed her small hand onto the back of the mad scholar’s hand.
"Teacher, at this point, you can’t think of dying. Because if you really die, wouldn’t that be using your life to threaten Brother into forgiving you?"
"He went through something so tragic. You can’t force him to forgive; you have to give him time."
The chaos in the mad scholar’s heart seemed to be cleared away by her soft, gentle words.
He froze for a moment, then looked up. "Give him time..."
Shen Ningning nodded. "Yes. Only if you stay alive might the grudge between you two be resolved one day."
"But if you die, his hatred for the Dai Family will certainly not diminish, and there will be no possibility of him ever forgiving you."
The mad scholar had a sudden realization.
He leaned against the wall, lost in a brief daze.
Sister-in-law Liu chimed in from the side, "That’s right, Ningning’s right. The Crown Prince already said he’d let you live. If you still try to kill yourself, you’d be showing him disrespect."
"Let’s take a step back. When the Crown Prince didn’t burn you to death back then, isn’t it possible he was showing you mercy?"
"If that’s the case, it means there’s still a chance for your relationship to improve. In life, you have to go through all sorts of things. A miserable life is better than a good death!"
The words were crude, but the reasoning was sound. The villagers all nodded in agreement.
The mad scholar thought for a long while before saying solemnly to Shen Ningning, "Ningning, fellow villagers, you can rest assured. I will never try to kill myself again."
Everyone let out a sigh of relief, especially Shen Ningning.
She stood up. "Teacher, you must rest well, then. When you’re better, you can guide my reading again."
The mad scholar agreed, his eyes red.
The old village chief called Chen Ye and a few other young men from the village outside.
"I’m afraid he’s still not emotionally stable. How about this, Chen family boy, you and Brother Sanwa work something out. You’ll take turns watching over him for a few nights."
Chen Ye nodded. Shen Ningning, clutching a bag of broken silver in her small hand, immediately offered it to them.
The old village chief was startled and immediately pushed the silver bag back. "We can’t take this! Ningning, what are you doing?"
Shen Ningning lowered her voice, a grateful expression on her little face.
"Grandpa Village Chief, big brothers, the mad scholar has no family. Right now, I’m the only one who can look after him."
"I heard what Grandpa Village Chief just said. Thank you for being willing to take such good care of him, so you must accept this silver."
The old village chief waved his hands, refusing, while Chen Ye and the other young men hid behind him.
No one would take Shen Ningning’s silver.
The old village chief said earnestly, "Ningning, if you act like such a stranger with us, this old man will be very hurt."
"Who here doesn’t know that Xiangyun Village has its good life today because of you?"
"You’ve led everyone to a better life. What’s the big deal about us helping you share the burden?"
"Besides, the villagers are united now, as close as family. Looking after the mad scholar is something we should be doing anyway. You don’t need to be so formal."
A warm current flowed through Shen Ningning’s heart.
No matter what she said, the old village chief refused to take the silver.
The little one could only decide to bring Langlang over more often to deliver some food, ensuring that no one would go hungry!
「That night.」
It suddenly started to snow.
Flurries of snow, like goose feathers, fell from the endless black sky.
The cold wind howled, sweeping across the lands of Cangyun Country like a knife.
Under the eaves outside Zichen Palace, several hexagonal palace lanterns were swinging so violently that the eunuchs couldn’t even hold on to them!
The Chief Eunuch serving Mo Lingwei grew anxious and snapped in a low voice, "You clumsy fools! Hurry up and take them down before they’re blown to the ground."
After speaking, he carried a pot of fresh tea into the main hall. ’The Crown Prince hasn’t called for tea in an hour,’ he thought.
’It’s so cold outside, the tea in the hall must be cold by now.’
However, the moment he stepped inside, the bone-chilling cold of the main hall made him shiver.
At some unknown point, Mo Lingwei had extinguished the brazier and thrown the windows wide open. The cold wind had scattered letters all over the floor.
They were covered in writing. The Chief Eunuch didn’t dare to look, and he hurriedly knelt to clean them up.
"Your Highness, please forgive me. This old servant should have come in to check sooner."
As he spoke, he shuffled forward on his knees. Suddenly, he saw a pool of dark red blood on the floor.
The eunuch thought he had seen wrong. Only a single candle was lit in the hall, filling the room with dim, obscure light.
But the blood, pooled amidst a pile of shattered white porcelain cups, was shockingly conspicuous.
The eunuch looked up and saw Mo Lingwei reclining on the couch, his left hand pressed against his forehead. His eyes were closed as if napping, but his brow was tightly furrowed.
His right hand rested on his knee. It had once held a teacup, but for some reason, he had crushed it to pieces.
He was toying with a single porcelain shard between his long, slender fingers.
The blood was dripping from his right palm, but Mo Lingwei seemed to feel no pain.
The eunuch looked closely and saw two or three cuts on Mo Lingwei’s palm, with beads of blood welling up from them.
"Aiyo!" His face turned pale with fright. "My Crown Prince, you... you... Imperial Physician, Imper—"
He had only gotten halfway through the word when, in the next second, the tip of a longsword was pressed against his throat.
Mo Lingwei lazily opened his cold, sharp eyes and spoke a single word.
"Scram."
The eunuch saw the chilling killing intent in the depths of his pitch-black eyes and his legs instantly went soft.
"Yes, yes..." He scrambled out of the room.
Mo Lingwei’s bad temper was infamous throughout the entire palace.
Whenever it was inconvenient to report to the Emperor, the Palace Attendants would notify Chen Shaobei.
Because the Crown Prince, at the very least, would listen to his childhood friend.
In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Chen Shaobei walked into Zichen Palace, a thin layer of white snow on his shoulders.
At that moment, Mo Lingwei was staring at the white porcelain in his right hand, lost in a cold silence.
He caught sight of Chen Shaobei’s figure in his peripheral vision, flicked a single glance at him, and said coldly, "Did they go and bother you again?"
Chen Shaobei pressed his lips together. Seeing the complete mess on the floor and the half-dried blood on his hand, he sighed silently.
He began, "Your Highness, that round, white porcelain koi viewing tank you brought back from Chongzhou... was it to make a pair with the one in the courtyard?"
"I heard about what happened today. Since Your Highness can’t even stand the sight of white porcelain, why don’t I go smash both of the fish tanks outside?"