Chapter 270: It Seems It’s Not Easy for Her Either
Chapter 270: Chapter 270: It Seems It’s Not Easy for Her Either
Shen Ningning blinked her long, thick lashes.
"You were rude to me earlier. According to my principles, I wouldn’t normally help you, but I’m willing to give you a chance."
"Go find the steward and borrow a brush and paper. Sit next to me and act as my accounting maid for a little while."
"You need to clearly record their names, how many quilted clothes they want, and whether or not they’ve paid their silver on the spot."
Ye Shangyi was furious. "Don’t even think about it! I will never do such demeaning work!"
Shen Ningning didn’t waste words, simply holding out the silver note to return it to her.
Ye Shangyi snatched it back and stormed off.
She had barely taken two steps when she heard a young lady behind her ask Shen Ningning in a fawning tone.
"Commandery Princess, if she doesn’t want them, then I do! Give all three to me, please?"
Before Shen Ningning could answer, Ye Shangyi hurried back.
Her gaze was so dark it could have dripped ink, and her face was a mask of fury, yet she had no choice but to bow her head to Shen Ningning.
The little girl smiled. "Have you made up your mind?"
Ye Shangyi gritted her teeth and yelled to her maid, "Go get a brush and paper from the steward."
A short while later, as Lu Shaoyuan and the other young masters were passing by, they witnessed a peculiar scene.
Ye Shangyi, known for being a bad-tempered young lady, sat obediently next to Shen Ningning with a sour look on her face.
The little girl would say a name, and she would write it down.
Lu Shaoyuan remarked to Mo Lingwei in surprise, "I just heard that Miss Ye of the Ye Family was going to use this opportunity to cause trouble for Shen Ningning."
"But looking at them now, aren’t they getting along quite well?"
A faint smile touched Mo Lingwei’s thin lips as he gazed at the little girl, who was surrounded by everyone like the moon amidst the stars.
"Shen Ningning has a natural ability to win people over."
Lu Shaoyuan nodded thoughtfully. "Even wolves listen to her, let alone people."
He then led the young masters back to the men’s seating area.
Shen Ningning didn’t notice them. Instead, she kept asking Ye Shangyi from time to time.
"Did you get that down clearly?"
"I got it, I got it!" Ye Shangyi snapped.
A young lady cautiously approached and took a look.
She said, "Miss Ye, you wrote my name wrong. My name is Mengxi. ’Meng’ as in ’hazy moon,’ and ’Xi’ as in ’morning glow.’"
Just then, Shen Ningning accepted a silver note from someone else and immediately added, "Quick, write this down. The third young miss of the Yang family paid 800 taels."
Ye Shangyi felt her head buzzing, her ears filled with a clamor of voices.
Her head was about to explode!
Unexpectedly, the young lady glanced at what she had newly written and said quietly, "It’s the first character from ’hazy moon,’ not the second one."
Ye Shangyi let out a frustrated growl. "Your name is way too much trouble!"
Shen Ningning, holding her teacup, leisurely shook her head from the side.
"It’s a good thing you’re not one of my shop assistants. Otherwise, you’d scare all the customers away."
When everything was finally recorded, Ye Shangyi was completely exhausted.
She rubbed her temples, not even bothering with the dried ink on her hands.
Shen Ningning looked at the paper she had been writing on and nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, I’ve put you down for your three pieces as well."
Ye Shangyi, drained of energy, stared at her with resentful eyes.
"Are you happy now? You must have had fun tormenting me, didn’t you?"
Shen Ningning straightened the papers, her expression calm and natural.
Her voice was soft. "Sometimes, all it takes are a few words to make things difficult for someone."
"Isn’t that what you did when you were trying to make things difficult for me? Now that our positions are reversed, you feel uncomfortable?"
Ye Shangyi’s heart jolted. She looked at Shen Ningning, wanting to say something but finding her throat tight, unable to utter a single word.
Shen Ningning, in turn, looked at her with bright, clear eyes. "Hurtful words are easy to say."
"But the price you have to pay is often not seen at the moment, but in every moment of regret that comes later."
After she finished speaking, the little girl smelled the aroma of food and guessed the banquet was about to begin.
She was about to leave cheerfully when Ye Shangyi abruptly stood up.
"So you still hold a grudge against me?"
Shen Ningning stopped, turned her head to look at her, and raised the paper in her hand. "Nope. I’ve already collected your payment. We’re even now."
"Of course, if you try to provoke me again... hmph, hmph." The little girl left her with two cryptic snorts before skipping away.
At the banquet, Mrs. Meng showcased her immense wealth.
Not only were there ample charcoal braziers for warmth, but there was also a dazzling array of exquisite dishes.
Shen Ningning ate with great delight.
One of the young ladies hadn’t followed Ye Shangyi to buy things from Shen Ningning earlier.
Hearing that the others had all bought quilted clothes warm enough for the weather, she immediately felt a pang of jealousy.
She whispered to Ye Shangyi, "When are you going next time? I want to get a couple of pieces from the Commandery Princess to wear, too."
Ye Shangyi, who had been eating distractedly, was broken from her thoughts and glared over irritably.
"Do you think Shen Ningning is some kind of immortal with an endless supply of everything?"
The young lady was baffled by the scolding, having no idea what she had done wrong.
But remembering that Ye Shangyi was never one to be trifled with, she could only slink away to another seat.
After the meal, Lu Shaoyuan took Shen Ningning to see the hot spring pools.
Unexpectedly, the weather was so cold that three of the hot spring pools had become stagnant water.
Mo Lingwei took her small hand at the right moment and scoffed, "The hot spring pools in the palace are still fine. When you have time, I’ll take you to see them."
Shen Ningning joyfully agreed.
Mo Lingwei glanced at the sullen-looking Lu Shaoyuan beside them.
The young Crown Prince suddenly felt that the winner of their earlier chess game had only just been decided.
A sense of satisfaction washed over him.
「At the same time.」
In the Imperial Study Room, the Emperor’s brows were knitted in frustration. He stared at the four urgent reports on his desk, one after another, all detailing riots and famine breaking out in various prefectures across Cangyun Country.
He looked out the window at the gloomy sky. Even without snow, the cold wind was like a roaring tiger, sweeping from north to south, destroying all signs of life in its path.
Suddenly, the commander of the city guard rushed in, his black boots stamping heavily on the smooth marble, leaving a messy trail of melted snow.
"Your Majesty, this is bad! Refugees from the Hengzhou region are marching toward the Capital City! They are already approaching the Capital!"
The Emperor’s brow twitched. He asked urgently, "How many?"
The commander of the city guard replied, "Approximately two hundred or so."
If they broke into the Capital City, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Starving refugees were desperate people who had nothing to lose.
After a brief moment of hesitation, a murderous glint flashed in the Emperor’s dark eyes.
"Stop them! They must not be allowed to cross the Taiyu Mountain Range!"
Everyone knew that beyond Taiyu Mountain was the Capital City.
Just as the commander was about to take his leave, the Emperor called him back.
"This matter must not be allowed to reach the Capital City and cause unrest."
Otherwise, if the people panicked, it could easily lead to chaos within the city as well.
The commander of the city guard understood and nodded. ’The Emperor wants all those refugees killed without question. A heavy hand is needed to suppress them.’
...
Word of Shen Ningning selling thirty quilted clothes to her classmates spread quickly.
On this day, the little girl went to the National Academy for her lessons.
Before she left, Grandma Qin saw how the weather was growing colder and insisted that Shen Ningning eat two stalks of Spirit Grass.
One stalk of Spirit Grass was like carrying a personal stove, and two were like hugging a bonfire.
Shen Ningning whined, not wanting to eat them.
Grandma Qin coaxed her gently, "Eat them, Ningning. It’s better to be a little warm than to freeze."
"This morning, Grandma heard from Granny Chen that three people in Xitai Village froze to death. They ran out of firewood and died in their own homes."
"The weather is getting colder and colder. You can’t make Grandma worry while you’re out and about."
Hearing this, Shen Ningning had no choice but to say obediently, "Don’t worry, Grandma. I’ll eat them."
With two stalks of Spirit Grass in her stomach, by the time she reached the National Academy, the little girl was covered in a fine sheen of sweat from the heat, her little face flushed red.
She immediately unwrapped the rabbit-fur scarf from her neck and took off her outer fox-fur cloak.
Dressed in only a light winter dress, she trotted into the National Academy.
Muchun worriedly said from the side, "Commandery Princess, you should put your cloak back on. It’s too cold!"
Shen Ningning shook her little head like a pellet drum.
"No way! If I wear it any longer, I’ll pass out from the heat!"
Muchun didn’t dare press the issue.
But as Shen Ningning made her way back to the Huangzi Class, many classmates saw her along the way.
Originally, everyone had heard that Shen Ningning had generously sold thirty pieces of clothing, and some still wanted to buy from her.
But seeing her dressed so thinly, with her pale little face looking so pitiful, the students felt too embarrassed to approach her.
Ye Shangyi also noticed that Shen Ningning had no scarf or cloak, and her face seemed to be red from the cold.
The young ladies around her muttered, "Could it be that she sold all her clothes to us and doesn’t have many left for herself?"
Someone else added, "I heard that Princess Funing has a large family to support."
"Her grandmother, her wolf pack, all those villagers from Xiangyun Village, and the assistants she took in at her shop... they all depend on her alone."
"Heavens, no wonder she took our silver. Otherwise, how would she survive?"
"How pitiful. She’s freezing like that, and we were so awful to her before."
Listening to their whispers, Ye Shangyi began to feel a pang of guilt herself.
But she quickly shook her head and chided the others, "She’s a Commandery Princess, protected by the Crown Prince and the Xie family. Instead of worrying about her, you should worry about yourselves!"