Chapter 393

The Third Prince was suddenly enlightened. It finally dawned upon him, and he realized that he had wasted a great opportunity by exposing Qi Ying’s scandal too frantically.

“Mother, maybe there is still room for redemption. Although I didn’t use the trump card at the right time, it’s already exposed. Maybe we can turn things around and achieve the effect we want by manipulating the situation.”

Noble Consort Li glared at him with disappointment. “Manipulating the situation? What do you plan to do now that she’s dead?! Someone murdered Qi Ying. His Majesty will be busy appeasing the Qi Family, and he will not allow anyone to make an issue of Qi Ying’s death! Also, Lin Feiran is involved in this, and His Majesty will not want this matter to fester. Forget it. The Qi Family is lucky this time. Qi Ying’s death has saved their reputation somehow. We’ll talk about the rest later.”

After this incident, not only could she not exploit the matter of Qi Ying getting pregnant out of wedlock, but she also needed to help keep it a secret. After all, all her plans at this point would be in vain if she threw Lin Feiran under the bus.

When the Third Prince heard her say this, he was extremely frustrated. He had long been harboring resentment toward Baili Jinchuan when he was trusted by the Emperor and was becoming increasingly prestigious in the army. “Mother, can we repeat the same trick? Yes, Qi Ying is the only legitimate daughter of the Qi Family, but you can come up with some illegitimate daughters or exploit the issues among the ladies of the previous generation.”

Noble Consort Li’s face turned red. She glared at him, wishing she could slap him. “Stupid! Do you take the Qi Family as a bunch of fools?! We should be thankful if they didn’t follow the leads and track us down after this incident! Don’t underestimate them. They may look small, but they have a solid foundation. This incident is enough to alert them into strengthening their defense. Baili Jinchuan may be a big threat, he lost his martial arts skills, and he’s weak, so he’s not our biggest enemy. We had better focus on the Crown Prince and Baili Junyi. Don’t go after the Qi Family again without my permission, do you hear me?!”

The Third Prince pouted and mumbled, suppressing his frustration, “Okay.”

Noble Consort Li sighed slightly and went forward to help him up. “You are a prince. Do what you should do in the court and gain your Father Emperor’s trust and favor. That’s all I ask for. Don’t get involved in the harem’s affairs if you can. From now on, don’t agree with anything Lin Feiran says or asks you to do. Focus on what you need to do in the court. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Feeling a headache, Noble Consort Li waved her hand to dismiss him. After that, she suddenly felt an intense headache and smashed the teacup to the floor. “You are all such a nuisance!”

Inside Royal Prince Yi Mansion, Shen Ninghua was playing with the two children. As they grew up, their personalities became more distinct. Big Boy was the adventurous type. He would go around searching for treasures all day. On the other hand, Baby Girl was quiet most of the time. When she saw something she had not collected, she would try her best to keep it.

Looking at Big Boy who happily took away the whole set of white jade cups, Shen Ninghua massaged her forehead dejectedly, but Hong Ling chuckled delightfully. “Miss, you should be happy that the two Little Masters have such a close-knit relationship.” Baby Girl had coveted the teacups for a long time, but Shen Ninghua never agreed to give them to her. After knowing about this, Big Boy came to pester Shen Ninghua all day long. Finally, having enough of his shenanigans, Shen Ninghua gave them the teacups.

Shen Ninghua donned a bitter smile. “I wonder from whom does she inherit the greedy personality.”

Hong Ling smiled and said, “Little Prefectural Princess is not greedy. She liked to collect things, that’s all. Bi Zhu told me that when she helped little Prefectural Princess sort out her items, she found that Prefectural Princess even kept the grass grasshopper that little Bei Zi gave her. If she was greedy, she would not care about such a worthless thing.”

Shen Ninghua smiled. Indeed, the two children were pure and kind in nature. She wouldn’t have allowed them to have their way if they had bad habits. “Are they still harassing the guards at the gate?”

“Yes. The two Little Masters are diligent in this matter. Every day, they will go to the gate with the twelve golden zodiac animals and threaten the guards. They claim that the tiger will eat them if they don’t make way. In fact, I heard little Bei Zi ask His Highness to add the lion and leopard to the collection, so that there will be fourteen zodiac animals.”

Shen Ninghua laughed out loud in amusement. “Oh, I think he is trying his best to add more backups since the tigers can’t scare the guards.”

“The guards are particularly overjoyed when you gave them a monthly bonus, so now, they are glad to tease and play with the Little Masters.” Indeed, the children were adorable. They wanted to go out so badly, but they would not throw a temper. Sometimes, when they ran fast and fell, they would not cry. They would get up, pat the dust off their clothes, and scare the guards with the tigers. Everyone was happy to play with these two cute children. After all, it was rare to see such lovely and adorable Little Masters.

“Let them be. By the way, is there any news from the palace?”

“His Majesty asked Second Prince to bring Side Concubine Yang back, and she was grounded. The patriarch of the Qi Family was summoned by His Majesty to the palace, and they talked in private for an hour. Then, the patriarch brought Qi Ying’s corpse back and a funeral is now under way. As for the rest, other than executing a few palace maids, there was no other news.”

Shen Ninghua nodded. “Alright, got it.”

“Miss, I heard that the Qi Family attached extreme importance to Miss Qi Ying, the only legitimate daughter of the family. Do you think they will make a fuss over her death?”

Shen Ninghua shook her head. “Qi Ying was murdered, but the reputation of her being pregnant out of wedlock was too disgraceful. Now that she is dead, the Qi Family will protect her reputation and image at all costs. Also, His Majesty may feel disgusted if they make a fuss. They might as well take this opportunity to make His Majesty sympathetic to them due to his guilt. It is the best for the Qi Family, Second Prince, and Noble Consort Qi.”

“Yes, Miss. You are the wiser one, as always. Previously, you asked me to investigate the person who had an affair with Miss Qi. Although the clues were wiped clean, I still found some clues. He was a scholar who saved Miss Qi on the street. I followed the lead and found that the scholar was from a poor family, but a merchant sponsored his study in the capital. The merchant has dealings with the Lin Family.”

Shen Ninghua’s eyebrows twitched, and the light in her eyes faded. “The Lin Family? It seems that Noble Consort Li is quite ambitious and cruel. If it weren’t for the Third Prince’s hastiness, she would have only waited for a longer time, and the Qi Family would be completely discredited. It seems that I need to enter the palace to see Noble Consort Qi in a few days.”

Two days later, before Shen Ninghua could enter the palace, someone from the Second Prince Mansion came to the door. “Greetings, Princess Zhaohua. I am Nanny Qiu.”

Shen Ninghua sized her up. “Nanny Qiu? Are you from the Second Prince Mansion? I wonder what is your business here today.”

“Your Highness, Side Concubine Yang unfortunately fell ill, and she is in critical conditions now. In the capital, you are the closest relative she has, so she wants to see you.” After Yang Yingxue became a side concubine, her father was transferred out of the capital, and her mother, Xia Jingqiu, followed her father. Indeed, Shen Ninghua was her only relative now. However, Yang Yingxue hated her to the core. Why did she want to see her?

Shen Ninghua took a sip of tea and did not speak. Xia Rouqin, who was at the side, said, “Nanny, Side Concubine Yang did not have much contact with Her Highness after she was married. Also, you said that she is critically ill, so it’s inconvenient for Her Highness to go over now. It’s more appropriate for Her Highness to visit her after she recovers or becomes better.” How could a sick concubine ask a princess to visit her? Who could take the responsibility if Princess Zhaohua was infected and fell sick? Did Yang Yingxue think that she was even more distinguished than Princess Zhaohua?

Nanny Qiu nodded repeatedly. “Yes, Miss, you’re right, but this time, Side Concubine Yang is really critically ill, and she… she can’t hold on for long. She requested to see Her Highness before she dies. Your Highness, I hope that you can visit her.”

Seeing that Shen Ninghua had no intention of replying, Xia Rouqin quickly continued, “Her Highness will go if she wants to go. After all, they are cousin sisters. But now, Side Concubine is still grounded. If Princess Zhaohua went to visit her without an oral edict from His Majesty and the news spread to the palace, it would…”

“Miss, you’re right. We can’t put the princess in a difficult situation. The Second Prince has already been to the palace to get His Majesty’s permission. His Majesty has granted the permission because Side Concubine is dying. This is why I dare to come here.”

Xia Rouqin wanted to refuse again but stopped when she saw Shen Ninghua slowly put down the teacup. She immediately retreated to the side respectfully without saying a single word.

Shen Ninghua looked at Xia Rouqin with admiration and then said, “Alright, I’ll go and visit her. Qing Que, Rouqin, get someone to prepare a carriage and go with me.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

When Shen Ninghua came to the Second Prince Mansion, she was led directly to Yang Yingxue’s courtyard, which was especially quiet and deserted. A few maids and nannies were standing outside. When they saw Shen Ninghua walk in with Nanny Qiu, they quickly knelt down and saluted.

Shen Ninghua looked around, and her expression changed slightly. “It is indeed a quiet place that is suitable for recuperation.”

Walking into the room, Shen Ninghua saw a skinny woman lying on the bed. She frowned and thought, “In just a few days, Yang Yingxue has become like this!”

Hearing the noise, Yang Yingxue looked up. “Ninghua, you’re here?”

Shen Ninghua stood two steps away from the bed. “I heard from Nanny Qiu that you wanted to see me, so I came over.”

“Yes, I want to see you for the last time. I’m afraid I won’t have the chance to see you again.” Yang Yingxue struggled to get up. Nanny Qiu went forward silently, helped her up, and placed a pillow behind her back. “Nanny Qiu, you may leave. I have something to say to my cousin in private.”

“Yes.”

Nanny Qiu left. Yang Yingxue looked at Qing Que and Xia Rouqin behind Shen Ninghua and pursed her lips slightly. “Ninghua, you have no idea how jealous I am of you.”