Chapter 273: Shen Ningning Is Too Difficult to Deal With
Chapter 273: Chapter 273: Shen Ningning Is Too Difficult to Deal With
Ye Shangyi hesitated. "Only sweet potatoes?"
Shen Ningning’s round, black eyes sparkled with a brilliant light.
She gave a sweet smile. "That’s right! Sweet potatoes are great. They boost your energy, help with digestion, and are very filling!"
Ye Shangyi could only force a laugh and agree.
It wasn’t as if they had too many sweet potatoes to eat.
With two for each person, that was seven young ladies plus their maids—a single meal would consume nearly thirty sweet potatoes.
’They wouldn’t have any trouble finishing them!’
And so, with Ye Shangyi’s support, Shen Ningning generously sent the bag of sweet potatoes she had brought to the kitchen.
The next day, after two consecutive meals of sweet potatoes, the young ladies could no longer maintain their smiles.
Ye Shangyi went to find Shen Ningning again. "It seems like no one is very fond of sweet potato congee. After two meals in a row, they’ve grown tired of it."
"Commandery Princess, could you please help us think of something else?"
Shen Ningning was under the long corridor, observing the sweet potato vine in her pot, which had already sprouted and begun to climb.
Hearing this, the little girl looked up with her dewy eyes and hummed in agreement. "You’re right. Eating sweet potato congee all the time is rather bland."
Ye Shangyi’s heart leaped with joy. "Then, will the Commandery Princess be returning to Xiangyun Village to fetch some food?"
Unexpectedly, Shen Ningning just shook her head again.
She stood up, her smile pure and adorable. "We’ll eat them a different way today. Roasted sweet potatoes."
Seeing Ye Shangyi’s face turn pale and stiff, frozen to the spot, Shen Ningning went to take her hand. Her voice was soft and soothing. "Come on, I’ll go to the kitchen and roast some for you."
"Don’t look so skeptical. When my grandma makes them, even Langlang and the wolves gather in the courtyard waiting to eat!"
And so, that evening, the young ladies and Ye Shangyi were served four platters of roasted sweet potatoes.
Shen Ningning didn’t eat much. She rubbed her belly and said, "Ah, I’m full. You all go ahead. I’m going back to my courtyard to rest."
After she left, the other young ladies looked like they wanted to cry but had no tears left.
One of them complained resentfully to Ye Shangyi, "Miss Ye, you said before that Princess Funing was kindhearted. That if we just pretended to have no food, she would surely be generous and help us out."
"Well, she’s certainly being generous now, but all she gives us are sweet potatoes! I’ve been eating them for two straight days, and my face has turned sallow."
Another young lady chimed in, "Yes, Miss Ye, please think of something."
Ye Shangyi was also furious.
But things had already come to this, so she could only endure it.
She didn’t forget to placate the other young ladies. "Just bear it for two more days. I think we’re almost done with the sweet potatoes she brought!"
"Once we are, she’ll have no choice but to go back to Xiangyun Village and bring food to help us."
"When I find the chance, I’ll expose her lie about not having many supplies. We can’t rush this."
The young ladies were helpless.
Suddenly, one of them clutched her stomach, her expression changing. "Oh no. I ate too many sweet potatoes. I need to go back and... digest."
One after another, they hurriedly departed.
Ye Shangyi continued to eat the roasted sweet potato in her hand, muttering, "A bunch of weaklings."
However, her own stomach suddenly let out a GURGLE.
Ye Shangyi’s expression changed drastically, and she clutched her abdomen.
Sweet potatoes make you gassy, and Shen Ningning had made them eat so many.
In the end, Ye Shangyi also scurried out of the dining hall.
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhi used the cover of night to enter Shen Ningning’s room.
The little girl beckoned her over and whispered a reminder, "Sister Jiang Zhi, shut the door tight."
Jiang Zhi did as she was told. When she turned back, she found the room was pitch-black.
"Ningning, why haven’t you lit a lamp? It’s so dark." She reached out to feel for the candlestick.
Unexpectedly, Shen Ningning immediately stopped her.
"We can’t light a lamp, or else they’ll find out."
While Jiang Zhi was still confused, the little girl pulled her by the wrist over to the back window.
Her eyes gradually adjusted to the dim light of the night.
Jiang Zhi saw that on the long table Shen Ningning had placed under the window, there were two bowls of braised pork over rice, accompanied by three stalks of crisp, delicious green vegetables.
"Wh-where did this come from? Aren’t we eating sweet potatoes?" Jiang Zhi asked in astonishment.
Shen Ningning placed a small finger to her lips. "Shh. I can’t stand eating only sweet potatoes."
"Luckily, I brought some food out beforehand. We have to eat it secretly so they don’t find out."
With that said, she pressed a pair of chopsticks into Jiang Zhi’s hands.
The little girl held her bowl and ate with great relish, exclaiming how fragrant it was.
Jiang Zhi was astonished.
She had helped Shen Ningning with her luggage but hadn’t noticed any other food packed inside.
’Could it have been mixed in with that pile of sweet potatoes?’
When Jiang Zhi touched the bowl, she found it was still warm!
After eating sweet potatoes for two days, her mouth had long since lost all sense of taste.
The moment she put two mouthfuls of meat and rice into her mouth, she almost cried from how delicious it was.
"Delicious, so delicious!" Jiang Zhi said in a low voice.
Shen Ningning licked a grain of rice from her lips.
In the darkness, the little girl’s eyes were dark and bright.
She said in her soft voice, "I knew what Ye Shangyi was planning the moment I stepped into this estate."
"Most likely, she wanted me to provide supplies again. But they all come from wealthy families and have no worries about food or drink. I really don’t know what all this fuss is about!"
That’s why the little girl refused to play along with Ye Shangyi’s wishes.
Luckily, she had plenty of delicious, non-perishable delicacies stored in her Immortal Realm.
If she weren’t afraid of making Jiang Zhi suspicious, she would have brought out a lamb hot pot to eat.
Jiang Zhi couldn’t help but praise her. "Ningning, you’re so clever."
Shen Ningning smiled sweetly. "Come to my room at the same time tomorrow. We’ll have our own private meal."
"Okay, okay!" Jiang Zhi agreed without a moment’s hesitation.
The next evening, after they finished their last meal of sweet potatoes, Ye Shangyi rubbed her stomach, a little excited. Her face was still a faint sallow color, but she couldn’t hide the glint in her eyes.
"Commandery Princess, the kitchen steward just came to say that all the sweet potatoes you brought are gone."
"What are we going to do for food tomorrow?"
Shen Ningning wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. Looking at the young ladies staring intently at her, the little girl broke into a brilliant smile.
"Don’t worry, I’ve already thought of that."
As she spoke, she called towards the door, "Brother Jiang, bring it in."
Jiang Zhi came over carrying a small cloth bag. She placed it on the table and unfolded it, revealing neatly cut dried sweet potato strips!
Ye Shangyi felt like she was about to suffocate.
She clutched her chest. "What is this? I’m asking you, what is this!"
’How are there still more sweet potatoes?!’
Shen Ningning blinked her big, round eyes.
"They’re dried sweet potatoes, made from slicing them up and sun-drying them. My grandma originally made them for me as a snack."
"Luckily, I brought a bag with me. And don’t underestimate these dried sweet potatoes; they’re very useful."
"Every time we make congee, we can put a couple of strips in, and it’ll make the congee sweet and fragrant."
Before Ye Shangyi could even react to the little girl’s words, one of the other young ladies let out a sob and started to cry.
She wiped her tears. "I want to go home."
’What kind of miserable life is this?’
Sweet potatoes for three days straight—roasted sweet potatoes, steamed sweet potatoes, sweet potato congee!
They wanted to eat meat so badly their eyes were practically glowing green.
The young ladies huddled together, whimpering. "Let’s just go home. Life here is too hard."
With that, they left one by one, wiping their tears, ready to pack their bags and leave the next morning.
Ye Shangyi chased after them to stop them, urging them to stay and endure it a little longer.
They had already eaten sweet potatoes for three days, so why couldn’t they endure two more?
"Shen Ningning herself must be at her limit!" Ye Shangyi insisted, grabbing one of the young ladies and whispering persuasively.
The tearful young lady just shook her head. "Impossible. I passed by her courtyard today and heard her tell her guard that the sweet potato vines she brought have already sprouted."
"If we’re stuck here any longer, we might end up eating the sweet potatoes she grows herself! Today, tomorrow, and the day after... when will it ever end!"
"Miss Ye, we can’t help you with your plan anymore. You’ll have to think of something else on your own."
And with that, she left.
Ye Shangyi was fuming. She gritted her teeth and complained, "This bunch of pampered girls!"
’So unreliable.’
She had originally planned to stay behind and see her confrontation with Shen Ningning through to the end.
However, when Ye Shangyi returned to the dining hall, she saw the little girl packing up the leftover sweet potato congee.
"What are you doing?" Ye Shangyi frowned.
Shen Ningning blinked her big, innocent eyes and said, "They aren’t eating anymore, but we can’t waste food."
"I’ll save it, and we can heat it up tomorrow for the two of us to eat."
Ye Shangyi: "..."
Her fists clenched. Her breathing grew rapid, her chest heaved, and her almond-shaped eyes filled with the look of someone on the verge of a breakdown.
"Tomorrow! We’re leaving tomorrow! As for the sweet potatoes, you can keep them and eat them yourself!"
After saying her piece, Ye Shangyi turned and stormed away.
She had given up on the plan.
Because there was simply no getting through to Shen Ningning!
The little girl put on a show of chasing her to the door, peeking out from behind it with her little hands on the frame, watching Ye Shangyi’s furious, retreating figure.
She called out in her soft, sweet voice, "Are you really leaving? Didn’t you ask me to stay for a few more days?"
"There’s no need!" Ye Shangyi’s voice drifted back on the wind, seemingly laced with fire.
Shen Ningning covered her mouth with her small hand and let out a couple of snickers.