Chapter 328: Arresting Second Madam Xie
Chapter 328: Chapter 328: Arresting Second Madam Xie
The dark clouds looked as if they were sliced open by an invisible blade, slowly parting. A ray of light pierced through the rift, casting down patches of brilliance!
The crowd was utterly astonished.
"The, the... the sun’s out?!"
However, the long-unseen brilliant sunlight shone for only an instant before being covered again by the gathering dark clouds.
But that miraculous sight had already been witnessed by many.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded. Then, in unison, their astonished gazes fell upon Shen Ningning.
The man who had been stirring up trouble was also scared stiff, his face deathly pale.
With a single sentence, Princess Funing had made the dark clouds part and a torrent of light pour forth.
’Could I have... provoked a True Blessing God?!’
Shen Ningning herself was stunned for a moment.
’What just happened? Are my words really that powerful?’
Pei Yin, who was passing by on horseback, witnessed this scene with his own eyes.
He sat atop his horse, watching Shen Ningning in the distance with a puzzled expression.
Meanwhile, the eagle on his shoulder, Mengyi, began to flap its wings wildly, as if it had just seen its goddess.
"Mengyi, behave yourself!" Pei Yin said coolly, pressing the eagle down.
But not only did the eagle ignore him, it took flight with a flutter of its wings, smacking Pei Yin in the process.
The soldiers Chen Ye had brought had already restrained the troublemakers.
Shen Ningning knew this group of people must have been instigated by someone to cause trouble.
That’s why she had Chen Ye quietly go report to the officials.
She had originally thought they would need to be interrogated thoroughly.
Unexpectedly, after that miraculous sight, the men were already trembling in fear. They began kowtowing to Shen Ningning and voluntarily confessing their crimes.
"We... we were all hired with silver! It was this man! He said that if we just said a few bad things about Princess Funing, he’d give each of us five taels of silver as a reward."
They said, pointing to the man who had been leading them.
A few of the others were even more terrified. "Blessed girl, spare us! We’re from Xitai Village! Village Chief Mei was the one who told us to come and make a scene. We don’t know anything!"
Just then, the leader of the group snapped back to his senses. Overcome with fright, he staggered to his feet and tried to run.
But he never expected that an eagle would suddenly swoop down from the sky and peck viciously at his head!
"OW!" The man clutched his head and rolled on the ground. "Help me! Help!"
A constable tried to arrest him, but the eagle’s assault was so ferocious that its sharp talons raked the man’s head, leaving it a bloody mess.
It was as if it were avenging Wuer on Shen Ningning’s behalf.
Shen Ningning recognized this chubby eagle as Mengyi.
So she beckoned with her hand. "Little bird, come here."
Only then did Mengyi obediently fly to Shen Ningning.
A short distance away, Pei Yin, who had been whistling for his bird this whole time, saw this and fell silent.
He had spent almost three years taming Mengyi.
But Mengyi and Princess Funing had only known each other for a month and had met only a few times.
’And yet it obeys her so readily?’
Shen Ningning held the eagle, stroking its feathers, like holding a fat rooster.
The little girl looked at the constable and said, "A few of these troublemakers are from Xitai Village. Although I just had a conflict with them, I believe the one who paid them in silver to cause a scene is someone else entirely. You should interrogate them thoroughly."
The constable clasped his hands in a salute. Since the Commandery Princess herself had given the instructions, he knew the matter must be of great importance.
"We will be sure to handle this matter properly."
Afterward, they took the men away.
Shen Ningning then had Aunt Yun send two people to take Wuer to the clinic.
Finally, she patted Mengyi’s head and took out a few pieces of jerky from her pocket to give it.
Mengyi’s eyes lit up. It flapped its wings and jumped to the ground to eat.
Seeing this, Shen Ningning crouched down and petted it. "Where did you fly in from? Weren’t you supposed to be following Xiao Wei?"
Mengyi ruffled its feathers as it ate, letting out a series of soft COO COO COOs.
Shen Ningning understood.
It turned out it had long since left Qi Xiuwei and returned to Pei Yin’s side.
But Pei Yin only fed it raw meat scraps, which it had grown to despise.
Things were much better with Shen Ningning, who always gave it the finest cuts of meat.
Listening to its grumbling, the little girl couldn’t help but chuckle.
"Oh, so you even know my name is Shen Ningning?" she said. ’What a clever little bird!’
Mengyi hadn’t eaten its fill and wanted more, so it began to COO COO COO ingratiatingly, telling Shen Ningning a long tale.
It said that Qi Xiuwei often repeated only two names.
One was Pei Yin, and the other was Shen Ningning. That was how it had figured out her name.
The little girl was full of praise.
’As expected of an eagle that has eaten food from my Immortal Realm. It’s so perceptive and smart.’
Shen Ningning led the eagle to the back kitchen and gave it two raw chicken legs.
Mengyi was overjoyed as it ate, its cries becoming much louder than before. It finally sounded like the majestic eagle it was.
But after a short while, it COO COO COOed and reported something to Shen Ningning.
It turned out that while it was circling over the palace, it heard people discussing Shen Ningning, so it listened from a nearby tree.
"Talking about me? What did they say?" The little girl tilted her head, her curiosity piqued.
Mengyi flapped its wings, hopping back and forth, acting out for the little one how two people were talking.
Shen Ningning originally had a relaxed expression as she listened, but the more she heard, the more serious her little face became.
Mengyi explained that someone in the palace had mentioned her and had also brought up how Second Madam Xie of the Xie family had recently colluded with a Divine Woman to curse the loyal officials of Cangyun Country!
However, the Xie family had only thrown the Divine Woman into the dungeons; they hadn’t punished Second Madam Xie.
Therefore, the two people talking had decided to confront Xie Suzhi at the morning court session. They planned to report to the Emperor that the Xie family, despite being a prominent noble family, was shielding Second Madam Xie.
The consequences of this could be either minor or severe.
But whether it was Xie Suzhi, Xie Mingxu, or Xie Ming’an, they all held positions that required fairness and integrity.
If the Emperor were to believe they would bend the law for personal gain and fail to handle the matter impartially, the trouble could be immense.
Mengyi couldn’t say the people’s names, but Shen Ningning guessed it had to be Consort Rong plotting against the Xie family.
Second Madam Xie was involved in witchcraft to curse loyal officials, but the Xie family had not punished her.
If the Xie family’s political enemies in the court found out, they would definitely make a big issue out of it.
Shen Ningning shot to her feet, hastily patting the eagle a couple of times.
"Mengyi, good job. Next time I see you, I’ll definitely give you lots and lots of meat to eat!" Saying this, she grabbed her cloak, threw it on, and ran outside.
Chen Ye hurriedly followed.
Aunt Yun asked in surprise, "Proprietor, where are you going? Aren’t you having dinner at the shop tonight?"
Shen Ningning had already hopped into the carriage. Holding down her fluffy earmuffs, she said, "Something urgent came up, so I’ll skip dinner! Aunt Yun, you guys go ahead and eat!"
With that, she waved her little hand and urged Chen Ye, "Brother Chen, we’re going to the Xie Mansion."
Suddenly, she changed her mind.
"No, to the Ministry of Justice!" ’Second Uncle Xie Dizhi is too soft-hearted. For something like this, I have to find Xie Ming’an.’
The carriage wheels crunched over the snowy dust as it sped away.
Mengyi, having eaten and drunk its fill, flapped its wings and flew away from the shop.
Suddenly, it remembered that it seemed to have abandoned its master, Pei Yin.
So it flapped its wings and returned to the palace. Unexpectedly, Pei Yin grabbed it and stuffed it into a cage.
"You’ll go hungry for two days. Let’s see if you dare to forget who your master is again," Pei Yin said coldly.
Mengyi squawked in protest from inside the cage, but Pei Yin simply shut the door and left.
Xie Ming’an was handling official business when he heard Shen Ningning had come to see him.
He paused, brush in hand, a look of surprise on his face. He thought he must have misheard.
But his subordinate confirmed again and again that it was indeed Shen Ningning who came to find him. A barely perceptible smile appeared on Xie Ming’an’s thin lips.
"Show her in, have her wait in the main hall. I’ll go over after I’m done with my work."
"Yes, sir."
"Wait," Xie Ming’an changed his mind again. "I’d better go now."
’Knowing Shen Ningning’s personality, for her to come looking for me, something must be wrong.’
Xie Ming’an was just about to leave his office when, to his surprise, the little girl had already darted inside.
Xie Ming’an was taken aback, then his brow furrowed. "Why did you just barge in? The law states that the Ministry of Justice is a restricted state facility where important criminals are held. If you enter without permission and word gets out, you will be punished."
Shen Ningning was panting from her run, her little face flushed. "I have something urgent to tell you."
Xie Ming’an waved his hand, signaling his subordinate to prepare hot tea.
"What is it? Official business or a personal matter?"
Shen Ningning scratched her cheek, looking like a confused little kitten.
She hesitated for a moment, then said, "It’s both official business and a personal matter."
Xie Ming’an led her into his study where he worked.
Hearing the little girl’s answer, he first chuckled, then put on a cool, aloof expression. "Family matters should wait until I return home. As for official business, you should submit an application through my subordinates."
Shen Ningning slammed her little hands on the desk. Despite her imposing posture, her voice was soft and sweet.
"No! There’s no time! I demand that you dispatch officers from the Ministry of Justice to arrest Second Madam Xie right now!"
Xie Ming’an was drinking tea and almost spat it out.
He coughed violently, splashing tea on his sleeve. He fumbled to brush off his robes, his sharp brows knitted in a deep frown.
"What did you say? Arrest Second Aunt?"
"That’s right! Throw her in the dungeons first!"