Chapter 258: The Disaster Has Come
Chapter 258: Chapter 258: The Disaster Has Come
The old village chief had Uncle Deng lead the able-bodied young men out with clubs to drive her away.
"Get lost! You’re not welcome in Xiangyun Village."
"We believe in Ningning. We don’t need you here gloating."
Seeing how aggressive they were, Wang Qiao’er planted her hands on her hips and grew belligerent.
"You bunch of fools! Still believing her? Sooner or later, she’ll get you all killed."
Uncle Liu raised his club, ready to charge out and beat her.
Wang Qiao’er shrieked in terror, revealing her gapped teeth.
She scrambled onto her carriage in a panic and fled.
Uncle Liu roared at her retreating carriage, "Dare to come back, and I’ll break your legs!"
Over the past few months, Shen Ningning had asked Uncle Liu and the others to help her expand her house in the village.
It had gone from a small, single-room courtyard to a large one with four rooms.
She had also incorporated the uninhabited ancestral house next door.
Just then, the little girl was unhurriedly carrying a food container, coming to deliver meals to everyone in the village.
However, she happened upon Uncle Liu and Sister-in-law Liu having an argument.
The villagers had all gathered to try and break up the fight.
When Shen Ningning heard what was happening, she also rushed over.
It turned out that Sister-in-law Liu wanted to sell all the supplies they had stockpiled.
"We should sell them off now while we can still get something for them. Otherwise, by the time summer arrives, they’ll be completely worthless!"
Uncle Liu disagreed. "Ningning said a blizzard is coming! How can you sell them now?"
Sister-in-law Liu completely broke down, screaming hysterically.
"Blizzard, blizzard! Is that all you can talk about? Do you think this is funny?"
"All I know is that it’s already spring! There won’t be any more snow. Don’t any of you have common sense?"
"Ningning might be clever sometimes, but she can’t be right every single time! She’s not an immortal."
Uncle Liu blocked the doorway. "No matter what, I will not let you take those quilts out to sell."
Sister-in-law Liu slapped him across the back of the neck.
Her eyes were red. "Have you lost your mind?! Our son has had a limp since he was a child! We have to get him proper treatment!"
Uncle Liu fell silent.
Listening to Ningning, everyone had emptied their savings to buy supplies in preparation for the disaster.
Shen Ningning provided them with food and drink, so they didn’t have to worry about that. But for everyday expenses, they didn’t have a single coin left.
Sister-in-law Liu turned and saw Shen Ningning at the edge of the crowd, her little face filled with sorrow as she watched them.
She immediately rushed forward and grabbed Shen Ningning’s small hand.
"Ningning, tell Auntie... you were wrong, weren’t you? There’s no blizzard coming, is there?"
"You’re just afraid to admit it because you think the adults will scold you, is that it? Auntie just wants to hear the truth! Don’t be scared. Just tell me."
Shen Ningning licked her lips and said with difficulty, "Auntie, the blizzard really is coming..."
’The same words again!’
It was driving Sister-in-law Liu to the brink of madness.
She pushed Shen Ningning away and stumbled back two steps. Her eyes were bloodshot, like a cornered, desperate animal.
"I don’t care what any of you say today, I’m selling these things! Now get out of my way, or I’ll hang myself right here on the doorstep!"
Shen Ningning was about to ask her to calm down; the little girl was willing to temporarily buy everything herself.
Then, when Sister-in-law Liu needed them again, she could return them.
But just then, Uncle Liu’s silence shattered.
"Sell it! Sell it all!" he roared, his voice hoarse. "But when disaster strikes, you’d better have some spine and not come crying to Ningning!"
Sister-in-law Liu shot him a glare, grabbed a bundle, and pushed her way through the villagers. She was heading to the city to sell the cotton fabric.
Shen Ningning looked at the villagers.
Every one of them looked worried and distressed. Wasn’t every family facing the same problem as Sister-in-law Liu?
They had all spent their money on supplies, gambling on a disaster that might never arrive.
Shen Ningning looked at their faces, her soft, childish voice drifting on the wind.
"Uncles, Aunties, I’m not lying to you. The disaster is really coming."
Everyone sighed.
Someone asked in a weary voice, "Do you have any idea how the people outside are mocking us?"
"You always say it’s coming, but when?"
"A month? Ten months? A year? Ten years? *Sigh*..."
Everyone shook their heads and left.
With a helpless look in her eyes, Shen Ningning took a few steps after them. "Uncle Gao! Aunt Peng..."
But all the villagers left her with were their retreating figures, growing smaller in the distance.
The mad scholar patted Shen Ningning’s shoulder.
The little girl turned to see him offering her a gentle smile.
"I believe you. That’s why I spent the last month reinforcing the roof with Chen Ye, even taking time away from my afternoon studies."
A smile finally appeared on Shen Ningning’s face.
She looked up at the bright March sun.
Nearby, Granny Chen rubbed her shoulders and said, "It may be March, but why is it taking so long to warm up?"
At the National Academy, Shen Ningning was also constantly targeted by Ye Shangyi and her group.
They knew the little girl had the Crown Prince’s protection, so they never bullied her openly.
Instead, wherever Shen Ningning went, people would shout, "Fake blessed girl! A real menace!"
Lu Shaoyuan would always raise a fist and yell back, "Keep talking nonsense and I’ll knock your teeth out!"
Ye Shangyi would lead the others in a cold sneer. "What’s the matter, Mr. Lu? Are you forbidding us from speaking at the National Academy now?"
"Besides, we didn’t name anyone. Why are you so worked up? Don’t tell me someone has a guilty conscience?"
"I think the rain during the drought was just a lucky break. Does she really think she’s some blessed girl?"
Calm and composed, Shen Ningning ignored them and pulled Lu Shaoyuan away.
"Those people are so obnoxious! What’s Ye Shangyi so smug about? She becomes a female official and suddenly thinks she owns the place?" Lu Shaoyuan put his hands on his hips, his handsome face flushed with irritation.
Shen Ningning didn’t care.
She just looked at him. "I don’t care if they believe me. But did *you* listen to me? Did you stockpile supplies?"
"Of course I did." Lu Shaoyuan then pursed his lips. "But... my mother wants me to convince you not to be so obsessed with this blizzard."
Shen Ningning pouted, her fair, delicate face filled with worry for the future.
"If you believe me, don’t let Mrs. Meng leave the city to collect any goods for a while." She had started having the dreams again.
She dreamt that the first person to freeze to death in the blizzard would be none other than Lu Shaoyuan’s mother.
Mrs. Meng would die on a road near the Capital. The heavy snow would cause a landslide in the mountain forests, burying her and her entire caravan alive.
「On the first day of the fourth month.」
Mo Lingwei was in Zichen Palace, discussing minor state affairs with his officials.
Suddenly, his voice cut off and his entire body froze.
The officials, who had been listening with bowed heads, were puzzled. When they looked up at Mo Lingwei, they were stunned.
They saw that the Crown Prince’s cold, handsome features were rimmed with frost. His face was deathly pale, and ice crystals clung to his eyelashes.
Chen Shaobei was the first to his feet, barking an urgent order, "Summon the Imperial Physician! The Crown Prince’s old ailment is acting up!"
Mo Lingwei hadn’t suffered a flare-up of his cold ailment in nearly half a year, not since the drought had ended.
Chen Shaobei rushed to Mo Lingwei’s side, propping up his ice-cold body.
Mo Lingwei’s gaze, however, was fixed on the window.
Outside, on what had been a bright, sunny April day, thick snowflakes abruptly began to fall.
He furrowed his brow and forced out a frosty breath. "While I’m unconscious... protect Shen Ningning."
Having said that, Mo Lingwei abruptly collapsed.
Chen Shaobei cried out in horror, "Your Highness!"
The heavy, unheralded snow began at that moment and fell relentlessly for two whole months.
It plunged Cangyun Country, which should have been entering summer, into the depths of a bone-chilling winter.
The people who had been so full of doubt, who had even mocked Shen Ningning’s words, were now plunged into a Purgatory of frigid snow, their cries of misery echoing like the wails of ghosts and wolves.
It was too late to escape. It was too late for regrets.