Chapter 571: Provocation
Chapter 571: Chapter 571: Provocation
Mo Lingwei rushed back to Zichen Palace, but he couldn’t find Shen Ningning anywhere.
Just then, Qing Yuan returned from outside. When she saw Mo Lingwei, her face turned ashen as she came forward to beg for forgiveness.
"Please punish me, Your Highness. I failed to protect the Princess. Just now, the Emperor sent Commander Lu to forbid the Princess from staying in Zichen Palace, for fear of spoiling Your Highness’s special arrangement."
Qing Yuan was sharp, and with just a few words, she explained the situation clearly.
Mo Lingwei’s eyes darkened. "What’s gotten into Father to come up with such a crooked idea?"
He had been wondering how Meng Wanning had even gotten permission to enter the palace. It turned out his father, the Emperor, was backing her all along.
He had been the one to invite Shen Ningning. Hearing this, Mo Lingwei could only imagine how awkward she must have felt.
"Where did the Princess go?" he asked Qing Yuan.
"The Princess had me pack her bags, and she took paper and a brush with her to the Sunlight Tower."
The moment Qing Yuan finished speaking, Mo Lingwei set off in a hurry.
He couldn’t allow any misunderstandings to exist between him and Shen Ningning.
However, before he arrived, the Emperor had already sent someone to inform Meng Wanning, telling her to go directly to the Sunlight Tower to apologize to Shen Ningning.
Before the hall of brilliantly lit gods and buddhas, Shen Ningning sat quietly on a meditation cushion. On the table in front of her lay a half-copied Buddhist Scripture.
And Meng Wanning was kneeling before her as if in repentance.
Meng Wanning had been there for a little while. The moment she entered, her eyes reddened in front of Shen Ningning as she spoke of her "unwitting" transgressions.
"If I had known that you had made plans to dine with the Crown Prince, I would never have kept him with me, no matter what. Princess, I would never dare to have any thoughts of competing with you. Please, forgive me."
Meng Wanning’s words had already brought a faint, complicated expression to Shen Ningning’s fair face.
Mo Lingwei had said he would be back for dinner, but he had gone to see Meng Wanning instead.
Shen Ningning knew Mo Lingwei didn’t truly like Meng Wanning, and that there was probably some other reason. Yet, just the thought of it filled her with a profound sense of helplessness.
The young woman couldn’t help but recall what the Emperor had said that day in the bamboo garden—
Crown Prince Mo Lingwei was the future Monarch of Cangyun Country. How could he possibly not take other concubines for her sake?
The sight of Meng Wanning crying before her gave Shen Ningning the disorienting feeling that she was already living in the rear palace, just one of Mo Lingwei’s many concubines.
The thought was suffocating.
She asked herself over and over, ’If one day my husband had to dine with another woman, breaking a promise we had made, could I truly accept it?’
Perhaps the Emperor was right. She liked Mo Lingwei, but she was unwilling to wrong herself by accepting other concubines by her husband’s side.
Meng Wanning was still sniffling and crying. Shen Ningning spoke coolly, her voice carrying the faint sternness of someone of higher status.
"Crying before the gods and buddhas is extremely inauspicious. If you must cry, do it outside."
Meng Wanning’s sobs stopped abruptly.
She quietly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Please forgive me, Princess. If you do not like it, I will never dare to interact with the Crown Prince again."
"What you two do has nothing to do with me," Shen Ningning said, calmly beginning to pack up her paper and brush.
Just then, Mo Lingwei arrived. A cold glint flashed in Meng Wanning’s eyes. She quickly stood up and spoke first:
"Your Highness, I have already apologized to the Princess. I only entered the palace to present a medicinal formula, not to fight for your favor. I hope the Princess won’t misunderstand."
Her words skirted the main issue. Though what she said was true, it only made Shen Ningning feel even more distant and cold.
Mo Lingwei had practically sprinted over. He was still panting when he reached Shen Ningning.
He ignored Meng Wanning and rushed to explain to the young woman, "I suddenly received an urgent report from the border tonight and had to deal with it first. She only entered the palace after that..."
Before he could finish, Shen Ningning looked up and cut him off. "Brother, you don’t need to explain. This has nothing to do with me."
Meng Wanning secretly watched Shen Ningning’s expression.
She was trying to gauge whether the Princess was truly angry. Secretly, she hoped that the Princess and the Crown Prince would get into another argument.
Because once their relationship deteriorated and they pushed each other away, it would be like a broken mirror that could not be mended. Making up would become nearly impossible.
Mo Lingwei wanted to comfort Shen Ningning, but when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he didn’t know how to begin.
But his gaze fell and he saw that she had finished packing the scriptures she had copied, her hand resting on her bundle.
"Come back to Zichen Palace with me. No matter what Father said, you don’t have to pay it any mind. In this Imperial Palace, what I say goes."
But Shen Ningning shook her head and stood up, holding her bundle.
"I’ve finished copying the scripture. And you said it yourself, Brother—Uncle Emperor’s illness can’t be cured by prayers, but by quiet recuperation. I can’t help with that. Since things have come to this, I’ve done all I can. Please arrange for a carriage to take me home now, Brother."
Unexpectedly, Mo Lingwei shot out a hand and grabbed her wrist. "You can’t leave. You promised me half a month. It’s only been a few days!"
His handsome dark brows furrowed, and turbulent waves churned in his sharp eyes.
Meng Wanning stared at the hand Mo Lingwei used to grip Shen Ningning’s wrist, her eyes burning with jealousy.
Shen Ningning struggled free, staggering back two steps.
She tried to keep her tone calm as she explained, "Brother, half a month won’t change anything. We both know that. If you think that spending half a month together will stop me from getting engaged to Lu Shaoyuan, then you’ve misunderstood."
Mo Lingwei shuddered.
The Shen Ningning before him seemed both the same as and different from the girl who had shared a boat with him just yesterday.
Her voice, her face, her smile—they were all the same as usual.
What was different was the warmth in her eyes yesterday, which had confirmed for Mo Lingwei that her coldness was just an act, that he truly held a place in her heart.
But now, Shen Ningning had put on that distant, icy expression again, pushing him a thousand miles away.
Mo Lingwei suddenly pointed at Meng Wanning. "You’re misunderstanding me because of her, aren’t you? If I get rid of her, will you reconsider?"
Meng Wanning’s face went white with fright, and she hurriedly knelt before Shen Ningning.
"Princess, save me! SOB, I didn’t do anything! I only came in to present a medicinal formula. I have absolutely no intention of competing with you for the Crown Prince..."
"Shut up!" Mo Lingwei’s mind was reeling with emotion. He felt that Meng Wanning’s words, while sounding like an explanation, would only cause more misunderstanding.
Shen Ningning’s tone was faint and cold. "It has nothing to do with her. You’ve misunderstood from the very beginning, Brother. Perhaps I shouldn’t have come to the palace and given you the wrong impression. This whole farce should stop now."
An icy chill gradually rose in Mo Lingwei’s sharp eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed.
"How can you give up so easily? Shen Ningning, don’t force me to make a move against Lu Shaoyuan. I’ll do anything for you."
Shen Ningning glanced at him, her voice tinged with disappointment. "Don’t you force me either, Brother. Otherwise, you know... if I want to hide where you can’t find me, you really won’t be able to."
Mo Lingwei shuddered.
He knew she wasn’t bluffing. She had an Immortal Realm with her. He had personally watched her enter it once and disappear for a long time before re-emerging.
He’d heard that there was food and drink in the Immortal Realm; she could stay inside for a lifetime if she wanted.
While Mo Lingwei stood there, stunned, Shen Ningning picked up her bundle and brushed past him to leave.
If he wouldn’t arrange a carriage for her, she was prepared to walk out of the Imperial Palace on her own.
Mo Lingwei’s figure looked lonely and bewildered from behind. He didn’t follow, unable to snap out of his stupor.
"Your Highness... Crown Prince?" Meng Wanning looked at his expression, at the desolation that seemed to spread from the depths of his soul. She couldn’t help but ask tentatively, "Aren’t... aren’t you going after her? The Princess has already left."
"Get out." Mo Lingwei lowered his head slightly, the bleak word spilling from his thin lips.
Meng Wanning didn’t hear clearly and took half a step forward. "What?"
"Get out! I command you to get out of the Imperial Palace, and get out of the Capital City! Immediately! Otherwise, you will face the consequences." Mo Lingwei exploded with rage, scaring Meng Wanning so badly that she fell and landed on the floor.
Then, Mo Lingwei snatched the scriptures Shen Ningning had copied from the table and strode out, his face dark.