Chapter 231: An Invitation from the Crown Prince
Chapter 231: Chapter 231: An Invitation from the Crown Prince
Ye Shangyi crossed her arms and let out a derisive snort.
"My, my. Some people will go to great lengths just to avoid the cold."
Xie Yuanjiu pretended not to hear her taunt.
The elder aunt looked at Shen Ningning, her demeanor mature and composed. "Commandery Princess, this is a matter for you to decide."
As an aunt, she could have refused.
But Shen Ningning’s status was different, so she left the choice to her.
The little girl blinked her big eyes at Xie Yuanjiu, who was watching her with a hopeful expression.
She even added, "Ningning, when we left, my uncle specifically told me that I had to take good care of you."
Shen Ningning nodded. "That’s right. Okay then, let’s live together. We can look out for each other."
With that, the little girl went to the south side to pick a room.
While they had been talking, other young ladies had already claimed four rooms, leaving only one.
Shen Ningning and Qi Xiuwei stepped into the room at the same time.
Both of them froze. Before the little girl could react, Qi Xiuwei had already stepped back out.
She gave a shy, delicate smile. "Commandery Princess, you should take this room. I’m a little older than you, so I don’t mind the cold. I’ll go stay on the north side."
Shen Ningning had always been warm-hearted. Hearing this, she quickly grabbed Qi Xiuwei’s hand.
"Don’t be so polite with me, Xiao Wei! You can stay here. I’ll just go pick one on the north side!"
Without another word, she ignored Qi Xiuwei’s gentle refusal and turned to walk toward the row of rooms on the north side.
Xie Yuanjiu followed behind her, a flash of annoyance in her eyes.
’Is this Shen Ningning’s kindness overflowing? She’d rather freeze herself just to give the room to someone else?’
Shen Ningning pushed open a door, and a gust of cold wind swept in.
The room faced the water, and a window was half-open, scattering what little warmth was inside.
To Xie Yuanjiu, it was bone-chillingly cold, like an ice cellar.
She rubbed her shoulders and said from behind Shen Ningning, "Ningning, we’ll get sick if we stay here. It’s so cold!"
Shen Ningning pattered around the room on her little feet, curiously looking it over.
"No we won’t. The aunts will definitely bring charcoal braziers tonight."
She pointed at the room’s furnishings with a wide smile. "Sister Xie, we really lucked out! Look, the north-facing rooms are much bigger than the south-facing ones!"
Xie Yuanjiu was in no mood to look. She was freezing and quickly shut all the windows.
But Shen Ningning went over and pushed a small window open.
"Wow," she said, her dark eyes sparkling. "The view from here is beautiful."
In the distance were continuous mountain peaks against the sky, like an ink wash painting.
Closer by were pavilions and towers, scattered in a picturesque arrangement. Golden-black tiles were covered with white snow, revealing only the corners of upturned eaves and brackets.
The Waterside Pavilion and Flower Shed stood on the lake. The thin mist had been blown away by the wind, revealing the Plum Garden on the opposite side.
The red plums were in full bloom, and it seemed as if one could smell their fragrance even from such a distance.
Shen Ningning made up her mind. "I’m staying here!"
Xie Yuanjiu grew anxious. "Think about it again! What if you get sick? My uncle will blame me."
The little girl looked back, her smile sweet and charming. "I definitely won’t. I’m confident."
「That night.」
Xie Yuanjiu got two extra quilts for herself from the aunts, and the charcoal brazier in the room was burning brightly.
But, huddled in her cold quilt, she felt chilled no matter how she tried to sleep!
Meanwhile, on the other side of the screen, there was Shen Ningning.
The little girl was already asleep!
Xie Yuanjiu frowned. ’How can she sleep when it’s this cold?’
The cold wind howled outside, and Shen Ningning’s bed was not far from the window.
Xie Yuanjiu tiptoed over and saw the little girl wrapped in her quilt, her cheeks rosy and glowing, sleeping soundly.
Her delicate features were set in a fair, palm-sized face.
She looked like a little sleeping beauty, blessed with a one-of-a-kind face.
Xie Yuanjiu’s expression darkened.
’I don’t want to keep freezing in this north-facing room!’
’If I want to make Shen Ningning change her mind, I have to come up with a plan.’
A moment later, Xie Yuanjiu quietly and carefully pulled the brocade quilt off Shen Ningning.
’If she freezes for a night, the little girl will definitely get sick.’
’Then, even if the aunts don’t want to change our room, they’ll have to.’
「The next morning.」
Xie Yuanjiu woke up with a splitting headache, her whole body feeling heavy.
She had experience with catching colds and felt that she had probably caught a chill!
’That’s right!’
’Shen Ningning must have caught a cold from the freezing temperature too, right?’
She couldn’t wait to see the little girl "reap what she had sown" so she could ask the aunts to change their room.
However, when Xie Yuanjiu was fully dressed, she found that Shen Ningning was no longer in the room.
The next second, a cheerful voice came from the doorway. "I slept so well last night! I had a wonderful dream that chicken legs could fly and were lining up to jump into my mouth."
"And I just went NOM, NOM, NOM, and ate them one after another."
The surrounding young ladies couldn’t stop laughing at Shen Ningning’s innocent words.
Xie Yuanjiu pulled open the door and saw, with a sullen look, Shen Ningning sitting in the courtyard with a group of young ladies.
The little girl was animatedly describing her wonderful dream from last night.
Her cheeks were rosy and glowing, and her eyes were sparkling with energy. She didn’t look like she had caught a chill in the slightest.
Just then, the aunts walked over, followed by three listless-looking young ladies.
Qi Xiuwei glanced at them, then lowered her voice to share the news she had heard with everyone.
"They were staying in the north-facing rooms. After just one night, they got sick. The aunts found them during their rounds just now. They said that with such poor health, how could they possibly become female officials? So they sent them all out of the Imperial Palace."
These young ladies were all the apples of their families’ eyes, used to lives of luxury. None of them had ever experienced such "hardship."
So, it was natural that a few were eliminated.
One of the young ladies asked in surprise, "It’s that strict? But the Commandery Princess also slept in a north-facing room last night, and she didn’t get sick, did she?"
Qi Xiuwei quickly looked at Shen Ningning with concern. "That’s right. Commandery Princess, you’re not feeling unwell, are you?"
Shen Ningning shook her head, her eyes pure and dark. "Nope!"
Of course she wouldn’t catch a chill.
Because before coming to the Imperial Palace yesterday, she had eaten a Spirit Grass.
’This Spirit Grass is effective for three days!’
Last night when she was sleeping, she even felt like she was sweating. Luckily, she somehow kicked off her quilt later and ended up sleeping much more comfortably.
After chatting for a while, Shen Ningning carried a cup of hot tea back to her room.
Xie Yuanjiu was huddled in her quilt, sniffling constantly.
The little girl didn’t notice the gloom deep in her eyes.
Instead, she walked over and asked with concern, "Sister Xie, did you catch a chill?"
Xie Yuanjiu’s eyes were filled with resentment, and she was about to say it was all because of the bad room Shen Ningning had chosen.
Unexpectedly, Shen Ningning said it herself, "You must be like me and kicked off your quilt while you were sleeping!"
"Don’t worry, I’ll go tell the aunts right now and have them find an Imperial Physician to prescribe you some medicine."
Startled, Xie Yuanjiu quickly grabbed her small hand. "Hey, Ningning! Don’t go."
The little girl tilted her head, confused. "But you’re sick."
Xie Yuanjiu put on a pitiful expression.
"It’s because I’m sick that I don’t want the aunts to know. I don’t want to be sent out of the palace like those other girls."
"Ningning, you know how hard it was for me to get this chance to enter the palace and compete to be a female official. I don’t want to leave with regrets before I’ve even done anything."
"So, I’m begging you, please don’t tell the aunts, and don’t tell anyone else, okay?" she asked, holding the little girl’s hand.
Shen Ningning’s heart softened. She looked at her with a troubled expression and asked, "But... the aunts said we have to memorize the palace rules this afternoon. Sister Xie, will you have the energy to keep up?"
A flicker of ambitious resolve flashed in Xie Yuanjiu’s eyes.
"Of course. It’s nothing serious. You don’t have to worry."