Chapter 424

Bu Yonghan’s fingers trembled slightly as she held the painting. She had restrained herself from tearing the painting into pieces. She could not destroy the painting now. Otherwise, if Baili Jinchuan pursued this matter, she would have no way to explain it. However, she was extremely angry in her heart. Who was the person in the painting? Who exactly was it?

Nurse Wu walked in and saw the gloomy expression on Bu Yonghan’s face. A flash of worry appeared in her heart. “Your Highness, are you alright?”

Bu Yonghan expressionlessly handed the painting over. “Nurse Wu, do you think the reason why the Second Prince hasn’t touched me for so long is that he has someone else in his heart?”

Seeing the painting of a pretty woman, Nurse Wu’s eyes twitched. She carefully examined the clothing of the woman in the painting, and the frown between her brows deepened. “Your Highness, you want to know who the beauty in the painting is?”

“Of course, shouldn’t I know? Baili Jinchuan has been deceiving me so badly. No wonder he has always been cold and indifferent to me. If not due to the need for luck brought by sex on the wedding night, he probably wouldn’t have touched me at all!” As Bu Yonghan said this, she only felt a chill in her heart. It was as if a hole was in her heart, and a cold wind was blowing through it.

Nurse Wu hurriedly comforted, “Your Highness, you can’t think like this. In the worst-case scenario, even if you know that His Highness has someone else in his heart, so what? After the previous Princess Consort passed away, the position had remained empty for nearly two years, but His Highness had never remarried. That at least shows that it is impossible for this woman in his heart to be with him! Otherwise, with His Highness’ ability, wouldn’t it be easy to get a woman?”

“The most important thing is that you have already married His Highness as his official wife. As long as you do not make a big mistake, no one will be able to threaten your position. Even if His Highness has someone else in his heart, that person will still be under you when she marries His Highness. Isn’t it a piece of cake for you to punish someone?”

Bu Yonghan also understood this principle. However, although she understood it, she still felt dissatisfied in her heart. When she thought about the fact that when Baili Jinchuan was sleeping with her, he was thinking of another woman, she felt like a fishbone was stuck in her throat.

“Nurse Wu, find a way to investigate this matter. I must investigate it clearly. I want to know who His Highness has in his heart!”

“Yes, Your Highness, don’t worry. I will immediately send someone to investigate.”

Although Bu Yonghan was already trying her best to plant her agents, her foundation was still weak. Now that it was in the hunting trip period, she did not have much manpower to do the investigation. After several days of effort, there was still no result.

Hong Ling accompanied Shen Ninghua for a walk around the tent. She carefully held Shen Ninghua’s arm, afraid that she would trip on uneven ground. “Miss, Princess Yonghan seems to be looking for someone recently.”

“Looking for someone? Who could it be?”

“The people on her side acted very quickly, and the traces were also wiped clean. However, I have found out that she is looking for a woman wearing a red riding dress.”

Shen Ninghua couldn’t help but chuckle. “Every year, His Majesty leaves the palace to hunt. There are so many women wearing red riding dresses. How long is it going to take her to find this person? Did you find out why she wanted to find this woman?”

“No, I will continue to keep an eye on her.”

“Okay.”

Shen Ninghua did not take this matter to heart. After walking for a while, she went back to the tent to rest. These days, the prey was abundant. There was roast meat every day. Shen Ninghua did not like the smell of meat, so her appetite became much smaller. Not long after, Baili Junyi strode in with two guards carefully carrying two boxes behind him.

“Ninghua, look what good things I brought for you.”

Shen Ninghua could not help but pause. She went forward to take a look at the two boxes. Before she got close, she felt a chill. “What are these?”

Baili Junyi opened the boxes with a smile on his face. There were lychees, strawberries, fresh peaches… and all sorts of fruits. The fruits had sparkling dew on them. The color of the fruits was bright and rich. Shen Ninghua could not help but pause. “Where did you find them?”

Lychees and strawberries were not something that could be found in the north. If they were transported from the south, the journey would be too long and bumpy for the fruits to be kept so tender and fresh.

Baili Junyi smiled and asked Hong Ling to wash the fruits. He helped Shen Ninghua sit down. “Before coming to hunt, I was worried that your appetite would be affected, so I specially sent someone to deliver these from Jiangnan.”

Shen Ninghua was moved, but she could not help but worry. This behavior was too conspicuous. “Don’t do this in the future. I just have a small appetite. How can I waste so much money and manpower just for my own pleasure?” It must take an amazing amount of silver to transport these two boxes of fruits over.

Baili Junyi couldn’t help but reach out and hook her nose. “What are you thinking? I am now just a nominal prince. Father Emperor has never given me an official title. Even if I wanted to exploit the people for the sake of you, I don’t have that much credit. Do you remember the river from the capital to Nanhang?”

“From the capital to Nanhang… I surely remember. But, hasn’t that river been abandoned?” To be honest, although it was called a river, it was actually just a water path that had been dug. Originally, the previous dynasty’s Emperor had ordered the people to dig it for his convenience in touring Jiangnan. It was said that the coolies used at that time had reached more than a hundred thousand people, and the national treasury had been emptied before it was built. This also caused the previous dynasty to decline even more. Later, the previous dynasty collapsed, and this river was also abandoned. No one maintained it, and with the lack of rain, this river was basically blocked.

“I have already had people dig it through again!”

Shen Ninghua could not help but widen her eyes. “You dug it through? How is that possible?”

Baili Junyi went forward and hugged Shen Ninghua, his tone carrying a hint of guilt. “Ninghua, in order to dig this canal, millions of taels of silver have been thrown in. Do you think I’m too wasteful?”

Shen Ninghua turned to look at him, her usually calm eyes carrying a trace of excitement. “If you can dig through the canal with just a few million taels, you will be Da’an Kingdom’s God of Wealth!”

Baili Junyi curled his lips into a smile. “The one who knows me is indeed my wife. I dug the river to transport Jiangnan’s items to the capital within fifteen days. Two-thirds of the time is saved. In less than two years, our several million taels will become tens of millions of taels of silver!” Baili Junyi did not say more, but Shen Ninghua understood.

Jiangnan was the most prosperous area of Da’an Kingdom. However, due to the long distance and inconvenient transportation, there were very few dealings between the north and south. With this canal, it would only take fifteen days to transport goods from the south to the capital. The profit was simply unimaginable.

Shen Ninghua paused and suddenly turned to look at Baili Junyi suspiciously. “I’m afraid what you just said about being wasteful is not about digging the river, right?”

Baili Junyi quickly smiled. “My wife, how can you be so smart?”

Seeing his expression, Shen Ninghua snorted coldly. “I knew it. After the fruits were transported over, you reported the news of the canal being dug through again to Father Emperor, right?”

“Yes.” Baili Junyi rubbed Shen Ninghua lovingly. “Ninghua, your husband has become a pauper again. I’ll have to rely on you for food and clothes from now on.”

Shen Ninghua couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, stop pretending to be pitiful. Don’t scare our daughter.”

Speaking of the baby in Shen Ninghua’s belly, Baili Junyi immediately became serious. “Oh, my good daughter, don’t worry. Daddy will definitely earn a full set of dowries for you. If the in-laws don’t treat you well, you can use money to smash them to death!”

Early the next morning, Baili Qingcang sent someone to grant Baili Junyi a break so that he didn’t need to care about the surrounding area anymore and could accompany Shen Ninghua properly.

Shen Ninghua was very happy. With Baili Junyi accompanying her, it would be fine to walk around the surrounding area. Shen Ninghua changed into a light set of clothes and walked around the forest. When she saw wild rabbits running past, she picked up a small bow and shot an arrow. Unfortunately, the bow she was using now was too small. The arrow didn’t even touch the rabbit hair.

Shen Ninghua didn’t care. She just played for a while since she was already here. Bu Yonghan, who was accompanying Noble Consort Qi, was a little absent-minded. Her eyes fell in the direction of the forest. Noble Consort Qi didn’t bother to talk to her and went back to the tent to rest and let Bu Yonghan do whatever she wanted.

Bu Yonghan strolled around in frustration. Suddenly, she heard the discussions of a few maids.

“His Highness the Fifth Prince and Princess Zhaohua really love each other.”

“Yeah, Her Highness is so beautiful. If I were a man, I would probably hold her carefully in my palms too.”

Another palace maid retorted, “Although Princess Zhaohua is very beautiful, Princess Yonghan is not inferior to her. Especially when Princess Yonghan is wearing a red riding dress, she looks very cool. I am stunned.”

“Princess Yonghan’s beauty is in the range of mortals, but Princess Zhaohua is different. This is the first time you have come to hunt with the Emperor, right? You have never seen Princess Zhaohua wearing a riding dress. I can’t forget it even until now. At that time, Princess Zhaohua was also wearing a bright red riding suit, like a blooming peony in the sun. Oh, I don’t know how to describe her. Anyway, if you look at her, you won’t forget it for the rest of your life.”

Bu Yonghan stopped, her fingers slowly closed, and she finally grasped her palm tightly. “It turned out Shen Ninghua also wore a red riding suit!”

Those palace maids were still talking, “Moreover, I have heard a piece of news. At that time, Her Highness was not married yet, and several princes had feelings for her!”

“What else do you know? Tell us quickly. Which princes?”

“I’m not too sure. Anyway, the hunting trip at that time was very dangerous. The Second Prince was seriously injured, and he ended up losing all his martial arts skills. That also happened during the hunting trip. But I don’t know what exactly happened. Alright, let’s not talk about it anymore. If someone hears us, our lives will be lost.”

Bu Yonghan turned around. Her body was stiff, and she didn’t look like herself. She walked back to the tent and took out the painting. She slowly imagined Shen Ninghua’s face in the painting. She was indeed beautiful enough to cause the downfall of a country. Bu Yonghan only felt cold all over and the blood on her body was about to freeze. “Shen Ninghua, the person in the painting is Shen Ninghua!”

Baili Jinchuan! How dared he? How could he! At that time, Baili Qingcang had already accepted Shen Ninghua as his adopted daughter. In all seriousness, she was his younger sister. If not for the fact that no one knew that Baili Junyi’s identity was a prince when he was chosen as an imperial son-in-law, it would have been impossible for him and Shen Ninghua to be together. It was impossible for the royal family to marry a princess to a prince, even if this princess was only an adopted daughter.

However, Baili Jinchuan fell in love with her. His martial arts skills must have been disabled for her sake! Did he still love Shen Ninghua in his heart right now?

Thinking of this possibility, Bu Yonghan fiercely tore the painting in her hand and directly poured oil on it to light it up. She watched as the painting turned into ashes in the flames. Her face distorted several times and finally stopped at the thought of a killing intent!