Chapter 235: The Sweetness Reached the Heart
Chapter 235: Chapter 235: The Sweetness Reached the Heart
By afternoon, the sky had grown gloomy, weighed down by thick clouds.
The north wind howled, tearing at the branches in the Waterside Pavilion and Flower Shed, making them look like they were baring fangs and claws.
Before evening, thick flakes of snow began to fall from the sky.
The elder aunt dismissed the young ladies from class early. To keep warm, everyone gathered in the Warm Pavilion where the charcoal fire was blazing.
Noticing Shen Ningning’s absence, someone piped up.
"The Commandery Princess has missed a whole day of class. Isn’t she afraid she won’t be chosen as a female official?"
Someone immediately scoffed, "Are you really that clueless, or are you just pretending? The Commandery Princess isn’t here to be selected as a female official at all."
"That’s right," another young lady chimed in. "The Crown Prince personally invited her to the palace. Do you really think she’d want to be the Ninth Prince’s companion?"
Ye Shangyi crossed her arms and clicked her tongue. "This position of female official is for us to fight over. Someone like her wouldn’t even look twice at it."
Qi Xiuwei silently looked up from her book.
Her voice was gentle, but her tone was chiding. "Isn’t it rather unbecoming to speak of the Commandery Princess like that behind her back?"
"Didn’t the elder aunt just teach us today that the Ninth Prince dislikes people of poor character the most? Have you all forgotten?"
A few of the young ladies exchanged glances, and the way they looked at Qi Xiuwei changed slightly.
’Who does she think she is, daring to lecture them?’
Because of Qi Xiuwei’s family background, the young ladies were angry but held their tongues.
Only Ye Shangyi spoke up, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Miss Qi, you can drop the act. Everyone knows you’re related to Consort Rong."
"Why are you calling the Ninth Prince so formally? Don’t you usually call him ’cousin’?"
Qi Xiuwei’s cheeks flushed red, and she looked embarrassed.
She stood up, clutched her book, and walked away, tossing a line over her shoulder, "I was just trying to give you a kind reminder. If you don’t appreciate it, then so be it."
After Qi Xiuwei left, Ye Shangyi let out a haughty, cold snort. "What an act."
"In this selection for the female official, if Consort Rong doesn’t find anyone satisfactory, she’ll definitely choose her own niece. Qi Xiuwei is just playing innocent when she’s already got it made."
The others quietly murmured in agreement.
Only Xie Yuanjiu remained silent from beginning to end, her cold gaze drifting to the window.
She watched Qi Xiuwei’s retreating figure, lost in thought.
The reason Shen Ningning had also missed the afternoon class was that she had gone to the kitchen and asked the kitchen maids to help her prepare a bowl of plum blossom sweet water.
Afterward, the little one slept soundly in her room and didn’t wake up until it was nearly time for the evening meal.
She still remembered that she was supposed to have a meal with Mo Lingwei.
Snowflakes fluttered down, and the wind was bone-chilling.
But Shen Ningning’s little face was, as always, round and rosy.
She had just reached the front courtyard via the long corridor when she saw Wu Fang’s figure standing under the eaves, talking with the elder aunt.
The little one skipped over, beaming, and said, "Big Brother Wu Fang, let’s go!"
But Wu Fang turned around with a troubled expression. "Commandery Princess, the elder aunt has something to say to you."
The elder aunt then bent down and explained gently to Shen Ningning, "Commandery Princess, the snow is falling too heavily now. The Waterside Pavilion and Flower Shed is located in the northern part of a remote courtyard in the Imperial Palace, quite far from Zichen Palace."
"I am worried something might happen on the trip there and back. How about visiting the Crown Prince another day, would that be alright?"
The elder aunt was worried for her safety, and Wu Fang couldn’t make the decision either.
When it came to someone the Crown Prince wanted to see, only Shen Ningning herself could say she wasn’t going.
Otherwise, defying the Crown Prince was an act of insubordination.
After hearing the elder aunt’s words, Shen Ningning’s little face showed a flash of hesitation.
She looked at the swirling snowflakes in the courtyard, which were falling as fast and thick as rain.
Wu Fang and his men had rushed all the way here, and the sedan chair was already covered in white snow.
The elder aunt’s worries were not unfounded. If they returned any later, the long bridge at the Waterside Pavilion and Flower Shed would be frozen over.
Shen Ningning thought for a moment, then lifted the food box in her hands.
She looked up with her misty black eyes and said in a soft, sweet voice, "Big Brother Wu Fang, then please help me bring this bowl of plum blossom sweet water to Big Brother. I’ll definitely go have a meal with him tomorrow!"
Since Shen Ningning had said so, Wu Fang had no objections.
Taking the food box, he cupped his hands in acknowledgment and hurriedly took his leave.
By the time Wu Fang returned to Zichen Palace, braving the wind and snow, Mo Lingwei had already been standing by the window for a long time, worried.
From the moment Wu Fang had set out, he had been regretting it.
’In such a heavy snow, he shouldn’t have sent for Shen Ningning; he should have gone to her.’
’The Waterside Pavilion and Flower Shed is surrounded by an icy lake, and the long bridge is slippery.’
When he saw Wu Fang’s returning figure, Mo Lingwei’s tightly furrowed, cold brow finally relaxed.
He immediately walked to the door, only to see that Wu Fang had returned alone.
"Where is Shen Ningning?" Mo Lingwei’s eyes narrowed.
Wu Fang cupped his hands, explained the reason, and presented the food box with both hands. "The Commandery Princess was unable to come, but Your Highness was still on her mind. She asked this humble subordinate to bring the sweet water she made herself."
Mo Lingwei’s thin lips tightened.
He lifted the lid and glanced inside. The pale pink soup, held in a small white porcelain cup, was still warm.
"Did she have any other message for you to bring me?" Mo Lingwei asked, his voice betraying no emotion.
Wu Fang lowered his head. "The Commandery Princess said she will come to have a meal with you tomorrow."
Mo Lingwei scoffed, then turned and sat down at the table, not taking the soup.
Just as Wu Fang was at a loss for what to do, Mo Lingwei tapped the table lightly.
The young Crown Prince frowned, his handsome brows knitting together. "Well? Aren’t you going to bring it over?"
Wu Fang finally realized. "Should this humble subordinate have someone heat it up for Your Highness?"
"No need. Bring it here," Mo Lingwei said. Wu Fang quickly complied.
A spoonful of the light, sweet soup went down his throat. The sweetness of the plum blossoms seemed to be tinged with the crispness of snowmelt, refreshing on the palate.
Mo Lingwei gave an imperceptible nod.
The anger he felt from Shen Ningning’s choice to protect Dai Yuheng seemed to be washed away by the sweet water at this moment.
’Holding a grudge was pointless.’
’Maybe I should take the initiative to visit the little one tomorrow,’ Mo Lingwei thought.
「The next day.」
Shen Ningning intentionally woke up late, and just as she expected, Xie Yuanjiu didn’t wake her.
The little one knew she couldn’t go to the class on palace rules, so she grabbed a small bag of carrots and quietly ran out onto the long bridge.
It had snowed all night, but the icy patches on the bridge had already been shoveled away by the Palace Attendants.
Still, Shen Ningning nearly slipped, but luckily, she didn’t fall.
When she reached the Plum Blossom Forest, she saw that the Ninth Prince had already brought out the sika deer that had been cooped up all night for a walk.
The weather was cold, and he was wearing a cyan cloak. He gave Shen Ningning a gentle and refined smile.
"I was just thinking that the Commandery Princess might be a little late. After all, it wasn’t until I returned yesterday that I heard you all have morning classes every day."
Shen Ningning trotted over on her little feet, pulled a carrot from her bag, and began to feed the sika deer.
Her appearance was sweet and childlike, and her tone was frank and straightforward, not at all shy.
"There is a morning class, but I didn’t want to go anyway."
"Why not?"
"That’s for people who want to become the Ninth Prince’s female official. I don’t want to be one, so of course I don’t want to listen."
After the little one finished speaking, the Ninth Prince didn’t reply.
Shen Ningning suddenly felt she had been a bit too blunt.
She quickly waved her little hands. "Ninth Prince, don’t get me wrong! I mean, I can’t be a female official because I’m too young."
’I have to use a little cart just to pull my own books. How could I help as a female official by grinding ink or waiting on people?’
The Ninth Prince chuckled softly. "Don’t worry, I wasn’t overthinking it. I also know that even if you were to become a female official, it would be for the Crown Prince."
After she finished feeding the sika deer, Shen Ningning prepared to leave.
She handed the small bag of carrots to the Ninth Prince.
"Our classes on palace rules will be over in two days, and I’ll definitely be going home then. I’ll leave this little sika deer in your care, Ninth Prince!"
She had given him enough carrots to last a few days.
After spending these few days in the palace, the little one was starting to miss Langlang.
She couldn’t wait to go home right now.
The Ninth Prince smiled. "If fate allows, we will meet again. Perhaps the next time I see you, Commandery Princess, this little sika deer will have grown up."
However, that afternoon, Consort Rong and the Ninth Prince unexpectedly paid a visit to the Waterside Pavilion and Flower Shed.