Chapter 222: A Premonition of a Snow Disaster?
Chapter 222: Chapter 222: A Premonition of a Snow Disaster?
Mo Lingwei’s cold eyes were dark and grim as he slowly sat up straight.
He stared at Chen Shaobei for a long moment before saying coldly, "If you’re really that bored, I’ll send you to guard the border."
When Chen Shaobei heard this, he knew there was still room for reconciliation regarding the tiff with Shen Ningning.
He smiled and cupped his hands. "Crown Prince, forgive me. I was merely trying to help ease your worries."
"When I was entering the palace just now, I heard that the Xie family also knows you and the Commandery Princess had a fight. They..."
Before Chen Shaobei could finish, Mo Lingwei cut in decisively, "We didn’t fight."
Chen Shaobei fell silent for a moment, then amended, "Alright, then you were the one throwing a tantrum."
Mo Lingwei shot him a cold glare. "So what if the Xie family knows?"
Chen Shaobei said, "I hear General Xie Mingxu is planning to take a leave of absence and bring the Commandery Princess out of the Capital City for a while to relax."
To put it bluntly, the Xie family was afraid that Mo Lingwei, being the madman he was, would recklessly take his anger out on Shen Ningning.
However, upon hearing this, Mo Lingwei frowned. "They dare."
Without his permission, Shen Ningning wasn’t leaving this Capital City.
Chen Shaobei smiled faintly. "So, you’re not angry with the Commandery Princess anymore, Your Highness?"
"How could I not be angry?" Mo Lingwei threw aside the porcelain shard in his hand, like a lion after a fit of rage, his eyes filled with nothing but a dark, chilling gloom.
"She knows so much about me, yet she still can’t see things from my perspective and consider my feelings."
"To think she would dare to block my sword for Dai Yuheng, right in front of me. She didn’t even pretend. Couldn’t she have at least tried to calm me down first, instead of immediately begging me to spare Dai Yuheng?"
The memory of Shen Ningning recklessly blocking his blade made Mo Lingwei close his eyes.
’How dare she!’
’The blade was so sharp, yet she really dared to step forward!’
’She knew I was furious. Wasn’t she afraid of getting hurt?’
Chen Shaobei listened in silence for a long while.
Suddenly, he spoke. "Forgive my bluntness, Your Highness, but you have a detached nature and care for few people and things. I’m afraid you truly can’t understand the Commandery Princess’s feelings at that moment."
"But after putting myself in her shoes for a moment, I think I can understand why she did it."
"She didn’t want to oppose you, but she also didn’t want you to kill Dai Yuheng. The only option was to block the blow herself."
Mo Lingwei’s tone was irritable. "Did I kill him? I just held the sword to him."
Chen Shaobei said nothing, simply watching him with a profound gaze.
They had grown up together. Chen Shaobei knew better than anyone how much Mo Lingwei hated the Dai Family.
’How could he not have had the intent to kill?’
Mo Lingwei pressed his lips together and leaned back in his chair. "I did consider killing him, but only for a moment."
Chen Shaobei sighed. "Your Highness ought to know that the most difficult situation to handle in this world is being caught between a rock and a hard place."
Mo Lingwei was silent.
Chen Shaobei glanced back and saw the Chief Eunuch crouched outside the door, cautiously peeking in to observe the situation.
Only after Chen Shaobei gave him a look did he enter with two cleaning palace maids.
They swept up all the broken porcelain.
A short while later, the Imperial Physician arrived, and Mo Lingwei didn’t object to having his wounds bandaged.
Chen Shaobei knew this meant Mo Lingwei had mostly calmed down.
He was someone who used to seek out Shen Ningning whenever he was in a bad mood. Now that he had fought with her, he had no one to turn to.
Therefore, Mo Lingwei just needed someone to talk him through it; the rest he would have to work out on his own.
Seeing that the hour was late, Chen Shaobei took his leave.
Just as he reached the door, the Emperor, having heard the news, rushed over.
He stepped over the threshold, the panic of a worried father on his face, and called out, "My son! Are you all right?"
Mo Lingwei, already angry because of the Dai Family, was in even less of a mood to deal with the Emperor.
He said coldly, "You, leave too."
The Emperor’s steps halted abruptly. He said meekly, "Very well."
Outside Zichen Palace, the Emperor heard the full story from Chen Shaobei.
The wind and snow howled, gusting past the Emperor and making his expression seem lonely and forlorn.
"In the end, it was my fault all those years ago. I left that child, Ling Wei, with an indelible shadow. It’s all my fault."
"Then, he now..." He trailed off, hesitant to continue.
Chen Shaobei reassured him, "Emperor, there is no need to worry. His Highness just needs time to think things through on his own."
The Emperor nodded and murmured, "Yes, yes..."
By the time he came to his senses, Chen Shaobei had already taken his leave and departed.
The Emperor summoned a Palace Attendant with a solemn voice. "It’s too cold tonight. Don’t let the Crown Prince get chilled. Stoke the underfloor heating to burn hotter."
Meanwhile, in her cozy home on faraway Wolf Mountain, Shen Ningning had already drifted off to sleep.
Because of the snow, Grandma Qin’s and Shen Ningning’s rooms were filled with lounging wolves.
Before bed, the little one and her grandmother had set up a brazier.
The doors and windows were shut tight. Outside, the wind and snow, carried by the biting north wind, drummed dully against the panes. Yet, it didn’t disturb the little one’s sleep in the slightest.
But she had a bad dream.
Shen Ningning dreamed she was walking through a vast, white world.
She called out for Langlang, Grandma, her brother, and her godfather.
The only response was the silent snow.
The little one kept walking until she saw a large pit up ahead.
She slowly approached and peered over the edge into the pit.
It was packed, filled to the brim with people who had frozen to death!
"AH!" Shen Ningning’s face turned pale with fright, and she fell to the ground with a thud.
Suddenly, the cries of countless people filled her ears—
"We beg the Heavenly God for forgiveness! Please, make the snow stop."
When Shen Ningning woke up the next day, she hadn’t slept well at all.
Grandma Qin thought the little one was still upset about her argument with the Crown Prince.
But Shen Ningning said worriedly, "Grandma, I think a snow disaster is coming."
Her small hand pushed open the door.
The courtyard was draped in silver frost, covered by a thick blanket of white snow.
The heavy snow had stopped, but the sky was still overcast, weighed down with thick clouds.
The wolves, with their thick fur, didn’t fear the cold and were happily rolling around and playing in the snow.
Billowing smoke rose from the nearby kitchen chimney.
The pork rib and yam stew Grandma was making gave off an incomparable aroma.
It was clearly such a peaceful scene, but for some reason, Shen Ningning felt a faint, persistent sense of worry.
Grandma Qin soothed her, "There probably won’t be a snow disaster. Our Cangyun Country has always had short winters. This heavy snow will end soon, so don’t be afraid, Ningning."
But this only strengthened Shen Ningning’s resolve to buy more cold-weather clothing and supplies.
When Xie Suzhi and Xie Mingxu came to take her to school, the little one didn’t forget to remind them.
Xie Suzhi didn’t even ask why, saying directly, "Alright. If Ningning says so, Godfather will do it."
’As long as Shen Ningning was happy, what did it matter if they bought some useless clothing?’
The people at the National Academy had also heard that Shen Ningning had offended the Crown Prince for the sake of her respected teacher, Dai Yuheng.
Some had been waiting to see her become a laughingstock, but to their great surprise, for several days in a row, Prime Minister Xie Suzhi and General Xie Mingxu took turns accompanying Shen Ningning to her classes.
The father and son even took leave from the Emperor to stay by the little one’s side all day, attending a full day of classes with her at the National Academy.
They did it to show everyone that it didn’t matter if Shen Ningning no longer had the Crown Prince’s protection.
She still had the Xie family behind her.
Lu Shaoyuan also defended Shen Ningning at every turn within the National Academy, and if Mr. Han heard any rumors, he would sternly reprimand the students.
Even so, some people were still wary of the Crown Prince and felt that Shen Ningning had thoroughly offended the heir to the throne.
As a result, the shop she had opened, which had just seen business pick up for a couple of days, became desolate once more.
This continued until the day Chen Shaobei came to the National Academy to visit Shen Ningning.