Chapter 313: An Expert is Helping Him, Specializing in Supplying Spirit Grass?
Chapter 313: Chapter 313: An Expert is Helping Him, Specializing in Supplying Spirit Grass?
She slowly took half a step forward.
"I don’t have a biological brother, and I no longer have a family." Shen Ningning’s voice, carried by the wind, echoed through the icy cold, sounding utterly emotionless.
The surroundings fell deathly silent, with countless pairs of eyes watching her quietly.
Even Dong Aniu was stunned.
Shen Ningning pressed her rosy lips together. "Haven’t you heard from my foster father?"
"My family was killed by bandits long ago."
"So, why would they come looking for me? No matter what you say, I can’t help you with your problem, and more importantly, I won’t!"
"Go to the government. If you keep causing trouble, don’t blame me for being impolite!"
After her sharp words, the little girl turned and walked away on her small feet.
Ye Shangyi and Lu Shaoyuan quickly hurried after her.
One after the other, they spoke, telling Shen Ningning not to stoop to Dong Aniu’s level.
Dong Aniu watched her retreating figure, his mouth opening and closing, unsure of what to say.
"This... this..." ’This girl’s heart is too hard.’
His original plan had been to publicly embarrass her, backing Shen Ningning into a corner so she would have no choice but to agree to help him find the person.
But Shen Ningning didn’t care at all and refused to take the bait.
The students of the National Academy could see he was a scoundrel.
They raised their voices to drive him away—
"Get lost! You’re not welcome here."
"Princess Funing has suffered enough. How dare you bring up her tragic past in public? If it were me, I’d have beaten you to death by now."
Amidst the crowd’s curses, Dong Aniu fled in disgrace, like a rat scurrying across the street.
Just as he rounded a corner, he was blocked by two fierce and menacing guards.
"Y-you, what do you want?" Dong Aniu jumped in fright.
But the guards wasted no words on him.
One said viciously, "Our master has given the order to throw you in prison. Let’s go!"
The two men seized Dong Aniu’s arms, one on each side, and forcefully dragged him back to the Ministry of Justice.
「All night long.」
In the cold, damp dungeon, Dong Aniu’s miserable screams never ceased.
At first, he refused to confess.
But the interrogating officials at the Ministry of Justice had plenty of ways to make him talk.
「The next morning」, Xie Ming’an, dressed in dark cyan robes, appeared, his figure as tall and graceful as jade.
He strode into the Ministry of Justice.
The Chief Clerk hurried to greet him. "Sir, that Dong Aniu finally confessed."
Xie Ming’an sat down behind his desk and picked up Dong Aniu’s interrogation file to review it.
As he scanned the lines, his slender eyes narrowed, radiating a chilling coldness.
It turned out that Dong Aniu had taken silver from a wealthy merchant in town, promising to sell his younger sister, Dong Sanhua, to be the man’s concubine.
However, Dong Sanhua refused, and on the day before the merchant was to send the betrothal gifts, she ran away.
Her whereabouts were still unknown.
But Dong Aniu had already received the wealthy merchant’s silver and spent it all.
Now that he couldn’t produce the girl or repay the money, the merchant wanted his life!
Out of desperation, Dong Aniu thought of seeking Shen Ningning’s protection and help.
He wanted to use Shen Ningning’s connections as a Commandery Princess to search for his sister in the Capital City.
Unexpectedly, Shen Ningning didn’t fall for it.
After reading through the entire account, Xie Ming’an closed the file.
The Chief Clerk asked, "Sir, how should we deal with him now?"
Xie Ming’an’s gaze was cool. "Send someone to find Shen Ningning. Explain the whole story to her clearly and ask how she wants this man to be handled."
"Yes, Sir." The Chief Clerk was about to leave when Xie Ming’an suddenly called him back.
Xie Ming’an thought for a moment, then added in a clear voice, "While you’re at it, tell her that Chancellor Xie misses her. If she has nothing to do today, she can come home for a meal."
The Chief Clerk nodded, made a mental note, and hurried off to do as he was told.
However, an hour later, the Chief Clerk returned, looking troubled.
"Sir."
Xie Ming’an put down his brush. "Speak."
The Chief Clerk sighed. "The Commandery Princess said that Dong Aniu has nothing to do with her, and Grandma Qin also supports punishing him according to the law."
"Therefore, she won’t be coming and asks that you handle it as you see fit, Sir."
A frost seemed to cover Xie Ming’an’s clear, noble eyes.
"Did she agree to come home for dinner?"
"No..." The Chief Clerk shook his head. "The Commandery Princess said she is busy with her studies. She already had a meal with the Prime Minister in the city yesterday, so she won’t be coming back today."
Xie Ming’an frowned.
’So, Shen Ningning isn’t coming back to the Xie family because she’s been dining alone with Xie Suzhi outside?’
’And Xie Suzhi never mentioned a word of it.’
’They’re just like a real father and daughter! Treating me like an outsider.’
As Xie Ming’an thought this, he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"I understand. You may leave."
"Uh..." The Chief Clerk hesitated. "Sir, you haven’t said how to deal with this Dong Aniu. Should we hand him over to the government, or...?"
Xie Ming’an opened his slender eyes again, his gaze as sharp as a blade.
"The title of Commandery Princess was personally bestowed by the Emperor. By publicly humiliating Shen Ningning, he has disrespected the Emperor. According to the law..."
Xie Ming’an pondered for a moment.
The Chief Clerk was just about to say that, according to the law, the punishment should be thirty heavy strokes with the plank.
Unexpectedly, Xie Ming’an continued, "Fifty lashes and half a month in jail, to serve as a warning to others."
The Chief Clerk was secretly shocked, but he quickly cupped his hands. "Yes, Sir. Your subordinate will see to it at once."
He clicked his tongue in amazement.
Normally, the cases handled by the Ministry of Justice all involved major matters concerning officials and the Chao Country.
Bypassing the local government to directly punish a commoner like Dong Aniu was already like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
And now, Dong Aniu was receiving such a severe punishment.
In the biting winter cold, wounds from a whip would not heal easily.
’They all say Xie Ming’an is cold and ruthless.’ The Chief Clerk now felt that the rumors were not wrong in the slightest.
「Meanwhile.」
At the border, a world of ice and snow just as grimly cold as the Capital City, stretched out.
A gloomy sky hung over the frigid, snow-covered plains.
The flowing Black River in front of the city had long been frozen into a thick, solid sheet of ice.
Lion Head City, the border fortress of Cangyun Country, stood in this boundless, severe wilderness, directly facing the Black River.
It was like a silent giant, its sprawling walls like arms that shielded the border of Cangyun Country behind them, creating a magnificent, lofty range that was nearly impossible for enemies to cross.
In the dim, gloomy light of the frozen landscape, a single glance upward revealed Lion Head City to be like a black mountain piercing the clouds—majestic, towering, and indestructible.
The soldiers of Changliu Country had set up camp near Lion Head City.
They were only waiting for the right opportunity to storm the city.
However, they had arrived full of fighting spirit and with abundant supplies, intending to strike while Cangyun Country was suffering from the cold disaster and tear off a piece of its flesh!
But now, after more than a month, they still couldn’t break into Lion Head City.
First, Cangyun Country’s General Xie Mingxu had led six columns in several raids on the Changliu encampment, catching them completely off guard!
Then, the female general Fang Qingdai and her husband led troops in two pincer attacks, surrounding them from the front and rear.
They didn’t kill anyone; they only stole rations. The soldiers of Changliu Country couldn’t defend both their front and back, and the couple often succeeded.
That would have been one thing, but what was even more infuriating was—
Smoke from cooking fires constantly rose from within Lion Head City!
The common people and the soldiers seemed to have no shortage of food.
This left the generals of Changliu Country completely baffled.
Before coming, they had gathered clear intelligence: Cangyun Country had suffered from successive droughts and cold disasters, making it the perfect time when its expenses would exceed its income.
It was said that the common people were so hungry they were eating dirt and snow, so how could there be an endless supply of food inside the city?
Instead, it was they, the Changliu soldiers, who were about to be worn down to death.
Their men were freezing to death, one batch after another.
And the rations they had brought with them were nearly gone.
To this day, they had failed to gain even the slightest advantage over Cangyun Country’s General Xie Mingxu.
The leading generals of Changliu Country had no choice but to gather and discuss their strategy.
Each held their own opinion, and they argued heatedly without resolution.
But in the end, they all reached one conclusion.
If they didn’t do something soon, they were going to lose the war!
"General, a letter has finally arrived from the spy we planted!" a scout, his shoulders covered in snow, ran into the tent with an excited expression.
The leading general, Mucun, hurriedly opened the letter.
After reading it, he was utterly shocked.
"An expert is backing Xie Mingxu, supplying him with Spirit Grass?!"