Chapter 594: Welcoming God Festival
Chapter 594: Chapter 594: Welcoming God Festival
Lu Fu delivered Shen Ningning’s letter into Mo Lingwei’s hands.
Mo Lingwei hurriedly tore it open.
Shen Ningning’s elegant and neat handwriting immediately came into view—
"Brother, please forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye. Things happened rather suddenly, and I can’t explain everything clearly in just a few words in this letter."
"In any case, please don’t be angry. I have to go to the border to find something very important. If all goes well, I’ll be back in three months. If not, I might not return for a year or more."
"I can’t reveal what it is in this letter, but please rest assured, I didn’t leave because I don’t want to marry you. Rather, I suddenly realized that this thing is crucial for my family to be reunited."
"So, I set out overnight. By the time you read this, I will have already left the Capital City. Time is of the essence, and I didn’t have a chance to leave a letter for Father and the others. Please explain on my behalf. I will write to let you know I’m safe once I reach the border. Please wait for my good news!"
Mo Lingwei read Shen Ningning’s letter over and over again.
The Emperor stood beside him anxiously. Seeing the grave expression on his son’s cold and stern face, he couldn’t help but ask, "Well? Has Ningning really left? Did she say why?"
Mo Lingwei pressed his thin lips together. After a long silence, he folded the letter and tucked it into his sleeve.
The Emperor was stunned. "Why won’t you let me see it?"
"Ningning mentioned some things that were inconvenient to detail in the letter. I think she was afraid something might go wrong, so from now on, no one but me can read this. Father Emperor, please summon Mr. Xie and the others to the palace immediately. I will explain the situation to them."
The Emperor quickly ordered a eunuch to issue the summons.
Chen Shaobei walked up to Mo Lingwei’s side. "What’s your plan?"
Mo Lingwei lowered his voice. "Go and pack my bags for me."
Chen Shaobei was startled. "Why?"
"I’m going after her. I can’t rest easy with her traveling alone. Having someone to help might be better. In any case, don’t ask any more questions. Just go and pack. Don’t let my Father Emperor know."
After speaking, Mo Lingwei patted Chen Shaobei on the shoulder and left on his own.
Shen Ningning’s departure once again stirred up a storm in the Capital City.
Some said Princess Funing had gone back on her word and refused to marry the Crown Prince.
Others speculated that Princess Funing had realized she was still in love with Second Young Master Lu, which was why she left.
But most people believed that as the blessed girl, Princess Funing must have had her own reasons for doing so!
Everyone was waiting for the day she would reappear.
No matter how the gossip and turmoil in the Capital City evolved, Shen Ningning could no longer hear it.
* * *
For a continuous half a month by water, she encountered nothing but good weather, so her journey was smooth sailing all the way.
Even when she did run into bad weather, she had ways to make the skies clear up immediately.
Just like that, only half a month after leaving the Capital City, she had already arrived at a town a hundred li from the border—Anzhou Ping City.
It was already late, so Shen Ningning couldn’t continue her journey. She had no choice but to find a place to stay in Ping City.
She had originally planned to find any random inn to stay at, but to her surprise, she happened to arrive on the day of a local celebration—the Welcoming God Festival.
Here, every household was forbidden from staying in their own homes. It was said they had to welcome the gods into their houses, and if anyone was home, the gods would not enter, nor would they bring any blessings.
So, the common folk had all moved into the city’s inns with their families in tow.
Shen Ningning tried eight inns in a row, but none had any vacant rooms.
She even saw quite a few people sleeping on the floor in the inn lobbies, preparing to make do for the night.
This put the young girl in a difficult position.
Fortunately, the shopkeeper of the last inn was a kind-hearted man.
He saw that Shen Ningning was a young girl, pretty and vibrant, and her accent didn’t sound local.
He said, "Actually, I do have one more room. It was originally for one of my staff, but he had some business a few days ago and went back to his hometown. The room is empty now. It’s in the backyard and a bit simple, but if you don’t mind, guest, you can stay for a night. I’ll only charge you half the price."
Upon hearing this, Shen Ningning was overjoyed and immediately took out her money to pay.
"Thank you so much, Shopkeeper!"
The Shopkeeper led her to the backyard. The small room was next to the kitchen; though cramped, it was clean and tidy.
"We have too many guests tonight, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to tend to everything. So, Miss, if you need hot water, the kitchen is right next door."
Shen Ningning quickly said, "Alright, I understand. Please go on with your work, Shopkeeper."
After the Shopkeeper left, Shen Ningning settled into the room.
She calculated the time. If things went smoothly tomorrow, continuing by water to the border, it would only take about five or six more days to reach Tianshan Mountain, which her mother had told her about.
Shen Ningning took a map out of her sleeve.
She had drawn a diagram of the place her mother described in the voice message, so she wouldn’t forget.
Her mother had told her that at the very peak of Tianshan Mountain, there was a golden Snow Lotus. Buried beneath that flower was a machine.
Shen Ningning needed to activate the machine so that Shen Siyi could successfully find a place to land.
Otherwise, even if her mother found a way to travel through time and space, she would just be adrift in the gaps between dimensions.
The moment Shen Ningning heard her mother could return, she had set off.
She had been traveling all day without eating much, and only now that she had stopped did she feel her stomach start to rumble.
The young girl took a look in the kitchen, but there was nothing to eat. With so many people, the ingredients were likely all gone.
She didn’t want to start a fire herself. ’I still have plenty of delicious food stored in the Immortal Realm,’ she thought. So after returning to her room, she bolted the door tight and entered the Immortal Realm to feast to her heart’s content.
Full and satisfied, the young girl rested for a bit. Just as she was thinking of going out for a walk, she reached the front hall and heard the sound of a heated argument.
"I think you did this on purpose! You knew tonight was the Welcoming God Festival, yet you still arranged for your staff to deliver things to my house. You could have delivered it earlier or later, but you just had to pick tonight! You’ve tainted my home with human presence. When the gods pass by tonight and don’t enter my house, can you bear that responsibility?"
Shen Ningning lifted the curtain and looked into the main hall. A richly dressed man was pointing at the Shopkeeper’s nose and cursing him out.
The Shopkeeper could only force a smile, saying in a placating tone, "Lord Ma, it was your son who requested it. He asked us to deliver five dishes and a soup to your esteemed residence tonight. See, it’s still written on the order form."
"Bullshit!" Lord Ma waved his hand, furious. "My son is young and remembered the time wrong. You’re all seasoned businessmen, don’t you know how important the Welcoming God Festival is tonight? Didn’t it occur to you to confirm the time with him? In the end, this is still your inn’s fault!"
Faced with such a domineering person, the Shopkeeper could only count himself unlucky.
He cupped his hands. "How about this, Lord Ma? I won’t charge you for the food. Please, calm down, won’t you?"
"Useless! Your staff has already set foot in my doorway! The immortals will surely not want to enter now. Just compensating me with money is letting you off too easy!"
"Then what are you suggesting, sir?"
"If you ask me, you should close your inn for the night! You’ve ruined my good fortune, so I’ll make sure you can’t do business either." As soon as Lord Ma finished speaking, a crowd of menacing-looking servants burst in through the entrance, apparently ready to drive out all the guests who had taken shelter there.