Chapter 281: Shen Ningning Is Not a Member of the Qin Family
Chapter 281: Chapter 281: Shen Ningning Is Not a Member of the Qin Family
As Mo Lingwei’s carriage was leaving, Dong Aniu happened to be entering the village, carrying a bag of vegetable peels.
The Crown Prince’s personal guards rode ahead, their presence formidable.
Dong Aniu quickly moved aside, knelt on the ground, and cautiously raised his shifty eyes to watch.
The window curtain swayed, revealing the golden embroidery on Mo Lingwei’s robes.
Against the bleak, snow-covered landscape, it glinted with an otherworldly sheen.
Only after the carriage had disappeared into the distance did Dong Aniu stagger to his feet and adjust his hat.
"So Xiangyun Village... it’s just as outsiders say. Dignitaries really do show up from time to time."
He’d really come to the right place.
Dong Aniu kicked himself for not having come to take refuge here sooner.
He scurried into the village and ran into Sister-in-law Liu.
Knowing he was a relative of Grandma Qin, she offered him a slight smile.
"Here to see Grandma Qin again, Ah Niu?"
"Yes, Aunt Liu. I wanted to ask you something," Dong Aniu said, approaching and rubbing his hands together.
He opened his cloth bundle, revealing the vegetable peels he had dried himself. "Here, take some of these to eat."
Sister-in-law Liu glanced at them.
The peels were shriveled and had a blackish-green color.
They had stopped eating such things back during the drought.
Sister-in-law Liu let out a dry laugh and waved her hand dismissively. "You’d better keep those for yourself."
"No need for formalities. Just ask what you want to know!"
Dong Aniu finally broke into a sly grin. "It’s nothing, really. I just saw a luxurious carriage with guards clearing the path as I was entering the village."
"That was quite a sight! I know Xiangyun Village has its share of hidden talents, but a person of that stature is a rare sight."
"What’s their story? Are they one of our villagers?"
Sister-in-law Liu burst out laughing. "You’re so clueless! Didn’t you see the dragon crest on the carriage?"
Dong Aniu started in alarm. "A dragon crest... Doesn’t that mean he’s royalty?"
"Who else but the Crown Prince?" Sister-in-law Liu teased him for making such a fuss. "Ningning and the Crown Prince are very close. He treats Grandma Qin just like his own kin."
"In fact, I just passed by her house and asked. Grandma Qin told me that in a few days, the Crown Prince is sending an Imperial Physician to treat her leg!"
Sister-in-law Liu clicked her tongue in amazement. "Our Ningning is just so fortunate. The Crown Prince is so attentive and caring toward her, and he treats her family the same way."
When she finished, she noticed Dong Aniu’s face was lit with ecstatic joy. Muttering to himself, he turned to leave.
"Hey!" Sister-in-law Liu grabbed him. "Ah Niu, what about that half-jar of rice you borrowed from my family? When are you going to return it?"
Dong Aniu laughed dismissively. "Don’t you worry, Aunt Liu. I’ll pay you back for sure once I’m married."
With that, he puffed out his chest and stood up even straighter.
"Besides, I’m practically Ningning’s great-uncle. Now that my family is connected to the Crown Prince, are you really afraid I’d skip out on paying you back for a little grain?"
Dong Aniu clasped his hands behind his back and walked off, laughing loudly.
Sister-in-law Liu stared suspiciously at his retreating back.
’He talks about getting married, but he doesn’t have a thing to his name. He’s borrowing everything from the villagers... Something about him just seems so unreliable...’
「On the day the Imperial Physician was to arrive in Xiangyun Village.」
Lifen helped a middle-aged woman in coarse hemp clothes and with sharp, triangular eyes get down from a donkey cart.
"Mother, this is Xiangyun Village!" Lifen announced with delight.
Aunt Ma surveyed her surroundings, a look of satisfaction on her face.
"It really is a paradise! Lifen, with you marrying into this village, our family will never have to worry about food and clothing again!"
Her two younger brothers jumped down from the cart behind her and immediately began to marvel at the sight.
Ma Er said, "I heard every family in Xiangyun Village has firewood, padded winter clothes, grain jars filled to the brim, and even fish!"
"Now that I see it, it’s all true! Look at the memorial arch at the village entrance—a gift from the Emperor himself! It’s so magnificent."
Ma San rubbed his hands together, his nose running from the cold, the snot nearly freezing on his upper lip.
"Sis, you have to make sure you lock that fool Ah Niu down. This place is amazing. We have to worm our way in and stay, no matter what."
Lifen shot him a glare.
"What are you talking about? Once I marry Ah Niu, I’ll *be* a part of Xiangyun Village!"
"There’s no ’worming our way in’ about it. We’re going to be living here."
Aunt Ma glanced around, her tone laced with dissatisfaction. "Where’s Ah Niu? Why isn’t he out here to greet us?"
Lifen hurriedly explained, "Don’t be anxious, Mother. Ah Niu said the Imperial Physician from the palace is coming today. That’s why he invited you over, so you could get your pulse read and have a check-up as well."
"Ah Niu must be inside getting things ready. When you see Grandma Qin later, you have to be on your best behavior."
She supported Aunt Ma as they walked further into the village, explaining as they went.
Aunt Ma snorted. "Ah Niu is the one begging to marry my daughter. That Mrs. Qin Sr. should be the one sucking up to me."
Ma Er poked his head out from behind them. "That’s not going to fly, Mother. Her granddaughter is a Commandery Princess. We’re not as high-status as they are."
Aunt Ma’s triangular eyes shifted. With more whites than irises showing, she looked exceptionally sharp and cruel.
She said sternly, "What granddaughter? No matter how capable Shen Ningning is, she’s not a real Qin!"
"Only Ah Niu is Grandma Qin’s actual relative. Lifen, after you and Ah Niu are married, you need to have a child as soon as possible and give Grandma Qin a *real* grandson."
"Once you have the old woman under your thumb, won’t that so-called Commandery Princess have to listen to you as well?"
Lifen thought that made sense. Ma Er chimed in with flattery, "You’re the one who sees things clearly, Mother."
Aunt Ma continued, "But don’t you worry, Lifen. I won’t make things too hard for Mrs. Qin Sr., as long as she knows her place. Otherwise, I could never bear to marry you off to a penniless loser like Dong Aniu!"
Just then, the pathetic yelping of a dog echoed from nearby.
They looked over and saw that Ma San had snuck into a villager’s yard and was forcibly dragging out a large, yellow watchdog.
The family must have been out. It was customary in Xiangyun Village for people not to lock their doors.
Thus, Ma San had been able to snatch the large yellow dog with no trouble at all.
Lifen snapped, "Ma San, what are you doing, grabbing that dog?"
Ma San’s eyes shone with a greedy light, and he was practically drooling.
"Sis, look how fat this dog is! Let’s kill it and make a meat stew."
Lifen frowned. "You can’t do that! Put it back, now! What will we say if we get caught?"
Ma San paid her no mind, holding the struggling dog tightly in his arms. "We’ll just say a wolf got it!"
"I heard Xiangyun Village has plenty of wolves, anyway. We can just toss the bones and hide up on the mountain. How would the villagers know who really did it?"
Aunt Ma then chided Lifen, "Once you marry Dong Aniu, you’ll be the Commandery Princess’s great-aunt-by-marriage."
"So what if your brother eats one of their dogs? He’s your own flesh and blood!"
With that, she waved her hand dismissively. "Ma Er, go help Ma San. The two of you take it up the mountain and kill it. Make sure none of the villagers hear it cry out."
"On it." Ma Er hurried over to help.
Suddenly.
A soft, sweet voice called out from behind them—
"Stop right there! Who are you?"
The Ma family turned to see an exquisitely beautiful little girl, as pure and lovely as a snowflake, striding toward them with two well-dressed maids in tow.
Shen Ningning, wrapped in a white fox-fur cloak, had a stern expression on her small face.
Lifting her skirts, she walked right up to the stunned Ma San.
The little girl snapped, "Put that down!"