Chapter 345: Tsundere Xiao Ningning
Chapter 345: Chapter 345: Tsundere Xiao Ningning
At that time, Shen Ningning was in the palace, presenting the results of her and Dong Sanhua’s work to the Emperor.
"Using just three rooms, we’ve successively cultivated fifty sweet potato vines, which have yielded around two hundred sweet potatoes over time."
"Right now, Xiangyun Village has no shortage of sweet potato vines. Aunt Sanhua is an expert in this field, and she estimates the next harvest will only be about half a month away."
As long as the temperature and soil were properly controlled, a bountiful harvest was guaranteed.
This was the resilience and advantage of sweet potato vines.
Even the Emperor couldn’t help but nod repeatedly in praise.
Just then, a Baili Feiqi rider entered the palace, holding a Blue Flag and shouting—
"Princess Funing, an urgent report from Nanzhou, addressed to you alone!"
Shen Ningning’s heart skipped a beat when she heard the name "Nanzhou."
She quickly stood up. The rider strode into the hall, his felt hat and eyebrows coated in a thick layer of snow and dust, his lips pale from the cold.
But his expression was frantic as he hastily handed Shen Ningning the well-protected letter from inside his robes.
The little girl quickly tore it open.
The letter was written by Mr. Zhang Liu’s most trusted family servant—Zhang Wei.
Shen Ningning’s pupils constricted as she read, her large eyes trembling.
Mo Lingwei saw her little face instantly turn pale.
"What’s wrong?"
The Emperor also had a bad feeling and immediately stepped forward to ask the rider, "Did something happen in Nanzhou?"
The rider knelt and reported, his breath coming in ragged gasps, "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang Liu is dead!"
"What!" the Emperor exclaimed in shock.
The rider said, "Mr. Zhang Liu was under orders to buy land and build storehouses in Nanzhou, and he widely recruited farmers to help."
"Just as the sweet potato vines were about to show their first results, a lamp was accidentally knocked over. A great fire burned everything to the ground!"
Shen Ningning’s fingers tightened, and she bit her lip, her eyes filled with indignation.
Zhang Wei was a trustworthy person.
In the letter, he said that Mr. Zhang Liu had been drinking with the farmers he’d recruited to celebrate the promising outlook for the sweet potato vines.
Unexpectedly, they fell asleep drunk in the storehouse, knocked over a lamp, and started a fire that turned all the vines into a sea of flames.
Not only was Mr. Zhang Liu burned to death, but so were the six most skilled farmers he had trained.
The success of the sweet potato vines in Nanzhou was all thanks to them.
Moreover, more than a dozen of the displaced people who had originally followed Mr. Zhang Liu there also perished in the inferno while trying to fight the fire.
Mr. Zhang Liu and all his hard work had gone up in smoke in that one fire.
Mo Lingwei saw Shen Ningning’s fingers trembling with anger.
He stepped forward, his brow furrowed with worry as he looked at the little girl. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don’t blame yourself."
"Someone must have done this on purpose," Shen Ningning said, her soft voice trembling with rage.
She looked up. "Just when we were about to have a massive harvest, just when we could see a glimmer of hope, someone suddenly set this fire and burned our hopes to the ground."
Shen Ningning lifted her skirts and immediately knelt before the Emperor.
"Uncle Emperor, please allow me to go to Nanzhou at once to investigate this matter thoroughly."
Mo Lingwei frowned instinctively. "No! It’s hundreds of miles to Nanzhou. The journey is long and the roads are covered in ice and snow. How can you go alone?"
He thought for a moment and said, "I’ll go with you."
How could the Emperor rest easy hearing that Mo Lingwei wanted to go?
"Neither of you should be hasty. Let Us think about this."
But Shen Ningning’s clear, watery eyes were red. "Uncle Emperor! We can’t just let this matter drop."
"In his previous letters, Sixth Master had already reported so much good news to me."
"The six farmers he trained had already learned how to graft. They could get a single sweet potato vine to grow from three separate cuttings, which greatly increased our hopes."
"If someone really did sabotage this, they did more than just burn the vines and kill people."
"They destroyed our three months of hard work. They destroyed the hope of the tens of millions of starving people in Cangyun Country!"
The Emperor’s expression turned grave, feeling the truth in Shen Ningning’s words.
Of course, he had no intention of letting it go.
But right now, with frequent wars, enemy nations eyeing their borders, and disaster victims causing sporadic unrest within, things were complicated.
"It is not that We don’t trust you, but you are too young. We cannot rest easy sending you, and it would be irresponsible for Your safety."
Shen Ningning wiped her tears with her small hands and stood up.
Her soft voice had calmed. "Then I have someone else to recommend."
"Who?"
"The Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Xie Ming’an," Shen Ningning said decisively.
The Chief Eunuch’s eyes lit up at his side.
He added, "Your Majesty, Lord Xie is quite a character! He was called a prodigy at five and could solve cases and distinguish the loyal from the treacherous by age seven."
"This servant has heard that in his three years in office, Lord Xie has solved thousands of cases without a single error. He can truly be said to be perceptive down to the smallest detail."
The Emperor thought for a moment, then nodded grimly. "Good! Send a decree to Xie Ming’an. He is to depart for Nanzhou at once!"
「Outside the city, a vast, endless expanse of white snow stretched to the horizon.」
Shen Ningning was dressed in a scarlet cloak and a rabbit-fur hat, her little face flushed pink.
She had come to see Xie Ming’an off.
After the Emperor’s decree was issued, Xie Ming’an had accepted it without a word of protest.
Xie Ming’an hadn’t expected her to come see him off.
After a moment’s thought, he put on a cool, aloof act. "It’s freezing out here. You should head back early."
"Otherwise, if you get sick, Father will blame me again. Don’t worry, I’ll have a lead on this case within a month."
Shen Ningning pressed her lips together, looking as serious as a little adult.
She silently stepped forward and handed Xie Ming’an a bundle.
"Inside are the letters Mr. Zhang Liu and I exchanged. It’ll be easier for you to identify his handwriting once you get there."
Xie Ming’an took it and nodded. "Got it. Is there anything else you want to say?"
Shen Ningning puffed up her pink cheeks. Her watery black eyes held a trace of resentment, but also a hint of cute petulance.
Her little hands tightened on her sleeves. "You... You’re on your own!"
After saying her piece, Shen Ningning turned and scrambled onto her carriage as if her bottom were on fire.
She even waved her little hand, urging Muchun and Wanchun to quickly leave with her.
Her carriage rumbled away into the distance.
Xie Ming’an remained standing there, watching her depart.
His attendant asked, "Second Young Master, why was the Commandery Princess throwing a tantrum again?"
Xie Ming’an looked down at the heavy bundle in his hand.
He scoffed. "She’s not throwing a tantrum. She’s clearly just being difficult with me."
"She wanted to tell me to have a safe journey, but she’s too stubborn to say it."
With that, he boarded his carriage and, with a team of attendants, set off for Nanzhou.
On the road, Xie Ming’an untied the bundle.
He had originally intended to check Mr. Zhang Liu’s letters for any clues.
But when he opened it, he found a collection of items neatly arranged by Shen Ningning.
There was a small porcelain vial of Spirit Grass, a box of little rabbit-shaped red-paste pastries, and two large slices of pork jerky.
At the very bottom, besides Mr. Zhang Liu’s letters, there was a note from Shen Ningning.
It explained how to use the Spirit Grass.
On the last line, the little girl had written—
[I know asking you to find my parents was a difficult task. To be honest, I wasn’t holding out much hope anyway, so I’ve changed my mind. If you can find out the truth behind Mr. Zhang Liu’s death, I’ll forgive you.]
At the very bottom of the page were four tiny words.
You wouldn’t even see them if you didn’t look closely.
Shen Ningning had written—
[You be safe too.]
She had also drawn a small face sticking its tongue out.
Xie Ming’an read her note over and over again.
Finally, a gentle smile graced his thin lips.
He folded the note and thought, ’Big Brother has probably never received such a thoughtful reminder from her, has he?’
With this, he no longer needed to wonder who she liked more, him or his older brother.
’It’s definitely me.’