Chapter 356: The 5th Miss of Xie Mansion, Xie Yuanning
Chapter 356: Chapter 356: The 5th Miss of Xie Mansion, Xie Yuanning
Mo Lingwei ran over and swept Shen Ningning into his arms.
"Thank goodness you’re alright. Otherwise, I would have torn those assassins to pieces."
Nearby, the Black Wolf King and several other male wolves instantly showed their displeasure.
Xie Suzhi turned to look, his own brow furrowing.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince..."
Hearing his voice, Shen Ningning pushed Mo Lingwei away.
She said softly, "Brother, you’re just in time."
"Please send someone to take... take Chancellor Xie back. Find an Imperial Physician to treat him. He’s badly hurt."
"And these assassins... I had my wolves leave them alive."
Mo Lingwei listened as she laid out all the arrangements.
The only person she forgot was herself.
"Aren’t you coming with me?"
"I want to go back to Wolf Mountain." The little girl’s eyes were still dark and empty.
Xie Suzhi said urgently, "No, Ningning, your hand must be injured. Let’s go back and have it treated together."
Shen Ningning turned her little head away, as if she didn’t want to speak to him.
Mo Lingwei sensed the delicate tension between them.
He swept Shen Ningning up into his arms. "We’re going back to the palace. I’ll have an Imperial Physician look at you. Your injury is what’s important."
The little girl quickly asked, "What about Chancellor Xie?"
Mo Lingwei knew she was soft-hearted. "He won’t be neglected. Men, bring Chancellor Xie back with us."
Shen Ningning told the Black Wolf King to follow them, while the rest of the pack returned to Wolf Mountain first.
She had caused quite a commotion, and she was afraid her grandmother would worry if she found out tomorrow.
The other wild beasts, seeing she was safe, returned to the depths of the forest on their own.
Mengyi flapped its wings, circling above their heads.
Mo Lingwei looked down at Shen Ningning’s small, milky-white face, where a dried tear track remained.
He asked in a low voice, "Did Xie Suzhi wrong you?"
Shen Ningning silently shook her little head.
But her eyes, honest as ever, reddened again.
She couldn’t help but glance back.
Xie Suzhi was being carried down the mountain on a stretcher by the Crown Prince’s personal guard.
Blood dripped from him, drop by drop.
After a moment’s thought, Shen Ningning finally said, "He took an arrow for me."
Only then did the gloomy look on Mo Lingwei’s face fade somewhat.
"Good thing those assassins were stupid. Once they entered the mountains, they were on my turf, and they still dared to make a move." Shen Ningning puffed out her rosy cheeks, her tone adorably fierce.
As she spoke, she suddenly realized something.
"Brother, how did you know I was in danger?"
"Intuition," Mo Lingwei replied, his voice cool and pleasant. "My heart started racing for no reason. I was afraid something had happened to you, so I came."
"Then how did you know I was on this mountain?"
Mo Lingwei lowered his gaze to her. "I didn’t at first. I found you by following the moonlight."
Shen Ningning probably didn’t know.
Just as Mo Lingwei had entered the mountains, unsure of which direction to search...
...a sudden gale had swept through the sky.
Immediately after, the moonlight, like a white blade, had sliced through the clouds.
After the clouds parted and the mist scattered, the bright moonlight shone directly down on a single spot in the wilderness.
Mo Lingwei knew then that Shen Ningning was there.
And with the little girl as the epicenter, the dark clouds in the sky were scattering at an incredible speed!
The moonlight was as bright as day.
「Back at the palace.」
Mo Lingwei brought both Shen Ningning and Xie Suzhi to his Zichen Palace.
He summoned six Imperial Physicians to see to them.
Xie Suzhi’s face was as white as a sheet, but he still said weakly, "Check on Ningning’s injuries first."
Shen Ningning pouted. "One Imperial Physician is enough for me."
An Imperial Physician diagnosed the little girl’s injuries.
Shen Ningning’s left hand was badly sprained, and her wrist was already swollen.
Other than that, she had no other injuries.
Xie Suzhi, on the other hand, was severely wounded. Not only had he lost a great deal of blood, but he also had a pre-existing cough.
It took the Imperial Physicians a great deal of effort to treat him.
While the Imperial Physicians were arguing over which medicine to prescribe for Xie Suzhi, he dragged his bandaged body past the screen partition and into the other room to see Shen Ningning.
At that moment, Mo Lingwei was feeding Shen Ningning brown sugar eggs.
When the little girl saw Xie Suzhi, her small eyebrows knitted together at once.
"You should be resting. What are you doing here?" she said, refusing to eat any more of her egg.
She rolled over and lay back down on the couch. Careful not to put pressure on her injury, she held up her left hand, which was swollen like a little bun, her back turned to them in a pout.
Mo Lingwei’s eyes were cold. "Chancellor Xie, you should go back and lie down."
But Xie Suzhi pressed his pale lips together. "This servant has a few words he must say to her."
Shen Ningning’s long, thick lashes were lowered. "If you’re here to apologize, don’t bother. You’ve already said it."
Her voice was dejected.
But Xie Suzhi said, "If I don’t say this, I fear I won’t be able to rest in peace even if I die today."
Shen Ningning thought for a moment and finally sat up.
She turned her small, rosy face toward him, her gaze dark.
"Brother, could you leave us for a moment?" Shen Ningning had a feeling that Mo Lingwei shouldn’t hear what was about to be said.
Mo Lingwei glanced at Xie Suzhi.
He nodded. "Alright. I’ll be right outside the door. Call me if you need anything."
After Mo Lingwei left, he closed the door.
Only the father and daughter remained in the room.
Xie Suzhi sat down by the couch. "Can you let Daddy see your hand?"
Shen Ningning hid her small hand, swollen like a meat bun, behind her back.
She feigned indifference. "If you have something to say, say it quickly."
A bitter smile touched Xie Suzhi’s face.
"Ningning, the truth is, I confirmed you were my daughter even before I left for Shu State. My original plan was to bring back the maid who knew the truth, to prove your identity and formally bring you back into the family."
"But... that maid told me," Xie Suzhi’s voice dropped to a whisper, "that the person who paid her to steal the child... was the Emperor."
Shen Ningning’s large eyes widened.
She had suspected Consort Rong, but she never imagined it would be the Emperor!
"Why would Uncle Emperor do that?"
"You’ve heard the rumors that the Crown Prince is the reincarnation of an Evil God, haven’t you?"
Shen Ningning nodded.
Xie Suzhi continued, "The Crown Prince was born with a strange cold-illness. Whenever a natural disaster is severe, his condition worsens dramatically."
"The Imperial Physicians were helpless. They predicted that if his illness wasn’t cured, he wouldn’t live past the age of eighteen."
A tremor ran through Shen Ningning’s wide eyes.
Xie Suzhi sighed. "The State Preceptor once secretly told the Emperor that sacrificing a blessed girl to the heavens after her coming-of-age ceremony would cure the Crown Prince’s illness."
"I only found this out later. It was then I understood why the Emperor was so determined to find the child born on that rainy night. It was for a sacrifice."
"Ningning, you are my daughter. If things had gone as they should have, you would be the fifth young miss of the Xie Mansion, and your given name would be Yuan Ning."
"But I didn’t dare acknowledge you. I was afraid the Emperor would take you away after you came of age. You said I chose the worst possible way to handle it, and I admit it. I should not have deceived you."
Xie Suzhi spoke with sincerity, the rims of his eyes red.
He was nearly forty, and the grief of yearning for his wife and daughter for so many years had long since etched a haggard look upon his face.
Now, pale as a sheet from blood loss, he looked even worse.
He regarded Shen Ningning as being as important as his own life.
Only now did Shen Ningning understand.
Why the gazes Xie Suzhi and Xie Mingxu sometimes gave her were filled with guilt and a sense of indebtedness.
It turned out she wasn’t a child who had stolen someone else’s life.
She was the fifth young miss of the Xie Mansion, Xie Yuanning.
Shen Ningning was silent for a long time.
Finally, she spoke, her small face now calm.
"I have only one condition."