Chapter 165 - Let's See Who Was Better at Scheming!
Shen Ninghua looked at her arrogant appearance with a cold expression. She hoped Shen Linghan could retain the same pride after she arrived in the Great Yue Kingdom.
Shen Dong’s face was as cold as ice. He looked at Shen Linghan as if he were looking at the mud that was stuck to his clothes. “Linghan is too rude. It’s all because I didn’t properly educate her and raised up such an unworthy descendant. In the future, fa…I can only rely on you.”
Originally, he wanted to refer to himself as Shen Ninghua’s father, but after a pause, he immediately changed his words. Now that Shen Ninghua was a princess, her father could only be that mighty emperor.
Shen Ninghua smiled. She neither agreed nor refused. She tightened her grip on the jade pendant in her hand and slowly walked out of the pavilion.
Shen Dong’s expression immediately turned sullen. When Shen Ninghua walked far away, he suddenly kicked the stool beside him. “Two heartless monsters! Without me, without the Shen family’s nurturing, what kind of things are you?”
Shen Ninghua sat in the lobby and watched Shen Linghan being carried into the carriage by the nurses. She slowly spat out a mouthful of sullen air that had been pressing down on her chest.
Shen Linghan was her source of psychological obsession, one that she must get rid of before she could live a peaceful life. If it weren’t for her, she wouldn’t have fallen into such a miserable state. Therefore, every time she saw Shen Linghan, she wished to crush her to death directly on the ground. However, she didn’t want to ruin her own hard-won second life because of a piece of garbage, so she had to try her best to endure Shen Linghan. Now, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Qing Que, send someone to secretly protect Shen Linghan to ensure that she arrives safely in the Great Yue Kingdom.”
Seeing that she was in a good mood, Bai Ruo was also happy. Hong Ling was puzzled and asked, “Miss, we have been kind enough to her. Why do we still need to protect her?”
Shen Ninghua smiled. “What did you think was the reason that Bu Jinglan put it off by so many days before letting Shen Linghan depart? He wanted to go back to the Great Yue Kingdom first and arrange for someone to kill Shen Linghan halfway. No matter what, he’s the prince of a country. Even though Shen Linghan is only his junior concubine, she succeeded in obtaining a position in his backyard. A cripple in the prince’s backyard is a great humiliation, and he cannot tolerate it. ”
Hong Ling couldn’t help but interrupt from the side. “With Second Young Lady’s temperament, I’m afraid that she won’t be able to live in the prince’s backyard even if she arrives safely in Great Yue. It would be a waste of time and energy for you to protect her on the way.”
Shen Ninghua smiled and didn’t say anything else.
Bai Ruo slapped Hong Ling on the head. “You are getting increasingly stupider. Miss just said that she was a stain in the Sixth Prince’s backyard. There are more than a dozen grown-up princes in the Great Yue Kingdom. The Sixth Prince used to be the most favored one. The other princes must be very jealous. Now that he finally has a stain, the other princes will definitely think of a way to help Shen Linghan survive.”
Shen Ninghua glanced at Bai Ruo with appreciation. This girl was becoming more and more capable of handling things independently.
After about half a month, Xiao Huanxi finally recovered from illness, but she became thinned to the bone.
One day, Yang Yingxue was doing embroidery with Shen Ninghua when Bai Ruo led two maids in through the door.
“Greetings, Princess Zhaohua. Greetings, Miss Yang.”
Shen Ninghua raised her eyes and glanced at their clothes. “You are Xiao family’s maidservants?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Your Highness, our Miss was ill a while ago. Thanks to your help, she has recovered. Therefore, she specially prepared a gift to thank Your Highness.”
Yang Yingxue looked at the dozen boxes that were being carried into the room. When the boxes were opened, rays of golden light emitted. She couldn’t help but shout out in a low voice out of surprise. These boxes were actually filled with gold.
Shen Ninghua curled her lips. She said that she would charge 5,000 taels of gold for saving Xiao Huanxi’s life, and the Xiao family made a fuss by carrying boxes of gold into her mansion in open daylight. She could expect that everyone now knew about this matter. It seemed that the Xiao family were still not ready to stop scheming her. Nevertheless, she was completely fearless.
“I remember Patriarch Xiao said that he would compensate me with a set of high-quality gold needles, right? Did he send them over?”
“They are here. Please take a look.”
Shen Ninghua opened the cloth towel and looked at the row of golden needles on it. A smile appeared on her lips. “Good. Go back and tell Patriarch Xiao I have accepted this thank-you gift.”
The maidservant bowed respectfully and then took out an invitation from her sleeve. “Your Highness, although you have accepted the gift for saving our Miss’ life, your kindness cannot be measured in money. Therefore, in order to thank you, our Miss is going to specially host a banquet for Your Highness.”
Shen Ninghua’s expression turned cold. Her eyes were filled with a light that could see through people’s hearts. The maidservant raised her head slightly and suddenly lowered her head. Cold sweat wetted her back.
Shen Ninghua was Xiao Huanxi’s lifesaver. Logically speaking, Xiao Huanxi must personally come to deliver the invitation to show her sincere gratitude. However, she only sent a maidservant here. Moreover, it was only after Shen Ninghua accepted the thank-you gift that the maidservant took out the invitation card. If Shen Ninghua refused to accept the invitation card at this time, she would seem pretentious. After all, she had already accepted the thank-you gift. For what reason could she refuse the invitation?
“Your Highness, our Miss said that she should have personally come to deliver the invitation, but…”
“Since she said that she should come personally, I’ll take it when she really comes to deliver it personally. You can go back.”
The maidservant raised her head in surprise. Princess Zhaohua actually didn’t give the Xiao family any face. “Your Highness…”
Shen Ninghua frowned. “What? Didn’t you hear what I said?”
Feeling the imposing aura, the maidservant shut up and hurriedly walked out with a pale face.
Yang Yingxue was somewhat worried. “Cousin, is it a bit inappropriate to embarrass Miss Xiao like this?”
“What’s so inappropriate?” Shen Ninghua didn’t care at all.
“After all, that’s the Xiao family. Xiao Jingran has great influence in the court. Xiao Huanxi is his favorite daughter. If he acts against you, cousin, many things will be difficult for you in the future.”
Shen Ninghua chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, cousin. No matter how influential Xiao Jingran is, is he superior to the royal family? I am now a princess. Even if he just refused to salute me, I could use this excuse to punish him for being disrespectful to the royal family. He is not stupid. He will definitely respect me in front of others. What is there to fear?”
“Cousin, as you said, he would respect you in front of people. But what if they secretly schemed against you…”
Shen Ninghua smiled coldly. “Scheming behind the scenes? You don’t know who is better at that!”
Yang Yingxue was stunned for a moment and then lowered her head. She felt that Shen Ninghua was getting farther and farther away from her. No matter how hard she chased after her, she couldn’t catch up with her. She felt frustrated.
“Cousin, I will enter the Palace. Please excuse me for now.”
“Ah, enter the Palace? Okay, I’m fine. You quickly go and mind your own business.”
Shen Ninghua nodded and called the guards to seal the boxes of gold and carry them out of the mansion.
As expected, rumors were spread all over the capital. Some said that Shen Ninghua’s medical skills were outstanding, while others discussed the 5,000 taels of gold she had accepted. There were all sorts of remarks.
Soon, however, their attention was drawn to what happened in the streets. The guards of the Princess’ Mansion carried many boxes and walked towards the imperial palace. The discussion among the people became even livelier.
“Is Her Highness going to send the gold into the Palace?”
“She’s so generous. That’s 5,000 taels of gold. It’s gold, not silver. I’ve never seen so much money in my life!”
“What do you know? That is a lot of gold, but it is also trouble. After all, it is a payment from the Xiao family. If Her Highness received it, it would definitely attract criticism, so she naturally wanted to give it to His Majesty.”
“Yeah…you are right…”
Shen Ninghua ignored all kinds of discussions and directly carried the gold to Baili Qingcang’s Imperial Study.
Seeing those boxes, Baili Qingcang laughed. “You naughty girl, you finally got some money. Why didn’t you keep it?”
Shen Ninghua directly went forward to help Baili Qingcang make ink. “Your Majesty, please don’t tease me. You will know about this matter if you inquire about it. At the request of the Xiao family, I saved Xiao Huanxi’s life. This 5,000 taels of gold is an expression of their thanks to me. If the Xiao family really wanted to thank me, they could just secretly send the gold tickets over. There’s no need to make such a big fuss. They were clearly trying to disgust me and let others see how greedy I am. I can’t do what they wanted to see!”
Baili Qingcang didn’t expect Shen Ninghua to be so straightforward and he laughed out.
The hearty laughter shocked the eunuchs beside. It had been a long time since the emperor had smiled so happily. It seemed that Princess Zhaohua really was the most favored by His Majesty!
After Baili Qingcang finished laughing, he looked at her with a smile. “What, are you prepared to give all the gold to me?”
Feeling his amicable and indulgent attitude, Shen Ninghua couldn’t help but act like an ordinary girl who talks coquettishly with an elder, “Father Emperor, I originally wanted to bring in the gold and asked Your Majesty to give me some gold tickets. Then, I can tell others that I offered the gold to Your Majesty. But since Your Majesty has mentioned it, the gold is all yours.”
“Oh? Are you so generous?” Baili Qingcang looked at her and said jokingly.
“Of course I am.” Shen Ninghua said so, but a trace of pretended pain appeared in her eyes.
Baili Qingcang smiled even happier when he saw her expression. “Alright, then I will accept your filial piety.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for saving me a trouble.”
“Alright, since you are in the Palace, have dinner with me before you leave.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The atmosphere in the Imperial Study was exceptionally good. Baili Qingcang could be considered an elder that Shen Ninghua sincerely accepted in her heart. She said a few sweet words to cheer him up, and a meal was quickly concluded. Shen Ninghua played a few rounds of chess game with Baili Qingcang before leaving.
Shortly after Shen Ninghua returned to her mansion, a eunuch arrived with an imperial edict and some rewards. Although there were only six boxes, the value of the items within was no less than 5,000 taels of gold.
Not long after, news was circulated that Princess Zhaohua donated 5,000 taels of gold, all of which was sent to Jiangnan to reinforce the dams there that protected people’s lives and properties. The emperor issued another decree to praise her.
Immediately after, many officials, madams, and young ladies followed suit. Many civilians, landlords, and rich people also generously donated money. In just three days, the court received several million taels of silver. Even Baili Qingcang was shocked. He issued a decree to praise the several people who had donated the most money and even personally bestowed an official position to a landlord.
For a moment, the country was filled with admiration for the emperor’s wisdom.
Yang Yingxue was dumbfounded. Shen Ninghua sent 5,000 taels of gold into the Palace. But in just a few days, the reward had made up for the silver and her reputation was rising…
Shen Dong’s face was as cold as ice. He looked at Shen Linghan as if he were looking at the mud that was stuck to his clothes. “Linghan is too rude. It’s all because I didn’t properly educate her and raised up such an unworthy descendant. In the future, fa…I can only rely on you.”
Originally, he wanted to refer to himself as Shen Ninghua’s father, but after a pause, he immediately changed his words. Now that Shen Ninghua was a princess, her father could only be that mighty emperor.
Shen Ninghua smiled. She neither agreed nor refused. She tightened her grip on the jade pendant in her hand and slowly walked out of the pavilion.
Shen Dong’s expression immediately turned sullen. When Shen Ninghua walked far away, he suddenly kicked the stool beside him. “Two heartless monsters! Without me, without the Shen family’s nurturing, what kind of things are you?”
Shen Ninghua sat in the lobby and watched Shen Linghan being carried into the carriage by the nurses. She slowly spat out a mouthful of sullen air that had been pressing down on her chest.
Shen Linghan was her source of psychological obsession, one that she must get rid of before she could live a peaceful life. If it weren’t for her, she wouldn’t have fallen into such a miserable state. Therefore, every time she saw Shen Linghan, she wished to crush her to death directly on the ground. However, she didn’t want to ruin her own hard-won second life because of a piece of garbage, so she had to try her best to endure Shen Linghan. Now, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Qing Que, send someone to secretly protect Shen Linghan to ensure that she arrives safely in the Great Yue Kingdom.”
Seeing that she was in a good mood, Bai Ruo was also happy. Hong Ling was puzzled and asked, “Miss, we have been kind enough to her. Why do we still need to protect her?”
Shen Ninghua smiled. “What did you think was the reason that Bu Jinglan put it off by so many days before letting Shen Linghan depart? He wanted to go back to the Great Yue Kingdom first and arrange for someone to kill Shen Linghan halfway. No matter what, he’s the prince of a country. Even though Shen Linghan is only his junior concubine, she succeeded in obtaining a position in his backyard. A cripple in the prince’s backyard is a great humiliation, and he cannot tolerate it. ”
Hong Ling couldn’t help but interrupt from the side. “With Second Young Lady’s temperament, I’m afraid that she won’t be able to live in the prince’s backyard even if she arrives safely in Great Yue. It would be a waste of time and energy for you to protect her on the way.”
Shen Ninghua smiled and didn’t say anything else.
Bai Ruo slapped Hong Ling on the head. “You are getting increasingly stupider. Miss just said that she was a stain in the Sixth Prince’s backyard. There are more than a dozen grown-up princes in the Great Yue Kingdom. The Sixth Prince used to be the most favored one. The other princes must be very jealous. Now that he finally has a stain, the other princes will definitely think of a way to help Shen Linghan survive.”
Shen Ninghua glanced at Bai Ruo with appreciation. This girl was becoming more and more capable of handling things independently.
After about half a month, Xiao Huanxi finally recovered from illness, but she became thinned to the bone.
One day, Yang Yingxue was doing embroidery with Shen Ninghua when Bai Ruo led two maids in through the door.
“Greetings, Princess Zhaohua. Greetings, Miss Yang.”
Shen Ninghua raised her eyes and glanced at their clothes. “You are Xiao family’s maidservants?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Your Highness, our Miss was ill a while ago. Thanks to your help, she has recovered. Therefore, she specially prepared a gift to thank Your Highness.”
Yang Yingxue looked at the dozen boxes that were being carried into the room. When the boxes were opened, rays of golden light emitted. She couldn’t help but shout out in a low voice out of surprise. These boxes were actually filled with gold.
Shen Ninghua curled her lips. She said that she would charge 5,000 taels of gold for saving Xiao Huanxi’s life, and the Xiao family made a fuss by carrying boxes of gold into her mansion in open daylight. She could expect that everyone now knew about this matter. It seemed that the Xiao family were still not ready to stop scheming her. Nevertheless, she was completely fearless.
“I remember Patriarch Xiao said that he would compensate me with a set of high-quality gold needles, right? Did he send them over?”
“They are here. Please take a look.”
Shen Ninghua opened the cloth towel and looked at the row of golden needles on it. A smile appeared on her lips. “Good. Go back and tell Patriarch Xiao I have accepted this thank-you gift.”
The maidservant bowed respectfully and then took out an invitation from her sleeve. “Your Highness, although you have accepted the gift for saving our Miss’ life, your kindness cannot be measured in money. Therefore, in order to thank you, our Miss is going to specially host a banquet for Your Highness.”
Shen Ninghua’s expression turned cold. Her eyes were filled with a light that could see through people’s hearts. The maidservant raised her head slightly and suddenly lowered her head. Cold sweat wetted her back.
Shen Ninghua was Xiao Huanxi’s lifesaver. Logically speaking, Xiao Huanxi must personally come to deliver the invitation to show her sincere gratitude. However, she only sent a maidservant here. Moreover, it was only after Shen Ninghua accepted the thank-you gift that the maidservant took out the invitation card. If Shen Ninghua refused to accept the invitation card at this time, she would seem pretentious. After all, she had already accepted the thank-you gift. For what reason could she refuse the invitation?
“Your Highness, our Miss said that she should have personally come to deliver the invitation, but…”
“Since she said that she should come personally, I’ll take it when she really comes to deliver it personally. You can go back.”
The maidservant raised her head in surprise. Princess Zhaohua actually didn’t give the Xiao family any face. “Your Highness…”
Shen Ninghua frowned. “What? Didn’t you hear what I said?”
Feeling the imposing aura, the maidservant shut up and hurriedly walked out with a pale face.
Yang Yingxue was somewhat worried. “Cousin, is it a bit inappropriate to embarrass Miss Xiao like this?”
“What’s so inappropriate?” Shen Ninghua didn’t care at all.
“After all, that’s the Xiao family. Xiao Jingran has great influence in the court. Xiao Huanxi is his favorite daughter. If he acts against you, cousin, many things will be difficult for you in the future.”
Shen Ninghua chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, cousin. No matter how influential Xiao Jingran is, is he superior to the royal family? I am now a princess. Even if he just refused to salute me, I could use this excuse to punish him for being disrespectful to the royal family. He is not stupid. He will definitely respect me in front of others. What is there to fear?”
“Cousin, as you said, he would respect you in front of people. But what if they secretly schemed against you…”
Shen Ninghua smiled coldly. “Scheming behind the scenes? You don’t know who is better at that!”
Yang Yingxue was stunned for a moment and then lowered her head. She felt that Shen Ninghua was getting farther and farther away from her. No matter how hard she chased after her, she couldn’t catch up with her. She felt frustrated.
“Cousin, I will enter the Palace. Please excuse me for now.”
“Ah, enter the Palace? Okay, I’m fine. You quickly go and mind your own business.”
Shen Ninghua nodded and called the guards to seal the boxes of gold and carry them out of the mansion.
As expected, rumors were spread all over the capital. Some said that Shen Ninghua’s medical skills were outstanding, while others discussed the 5,000 taels of gold she had accepted. There were all sorts of remarks.
Soon, however, their attention was drawn to what happened in the streets. The guards of the Princess’ Mansion carried many boxes and walked towards the imperial palace. The discussion among the people became even livelier.
“Is Her Highness going to send the gold into the Palace?”
“She’s so generous. That’s 5,000 taels of gold. It’s gold, not silver. I’ve never seen so much money in my life!”
“What do you know? That is a lot of gold, but it is also trouble. After all, it is a payment from the Xiao family. If Her Highness received it, it would definitely attract criticism, so she naturally wanted to give it to His Majesty.”
“Yeah…you are right…”
Shen Ninghua ignored all kinds of discussions and directly carried the gold to Baili Qingcang’s Imperial Study.
Seeing those boxes, Baili Qingcang laughed. “You naughty girl, you finally got some money. Why didn’t you keep it?”
Shen Ninghua directly went forward to help Baili Qingcang make ink. “Your Majesty, please don’t tease me. You will know about this matter if you inquire about it. At the request of the Xiao family, I saved Xiao Huanxi’s life. This 5,000 taels of gold is an expression of their thanks to me. If the Xiao family really wanted to thank me, they could just secretly send the gold tickets over. There’s no need to make such a big fuss. They were clearly trying to disgust me and let others see how greedy I am. I can’t do what they wanted to see!”
Baili Qingcang didn’t expect Shen Ninghua to be so straightforward and he laughed out.
The hearty laughter shocked the eunuchs beside. It had been a long time since the emperor had smiled so happily. It seemed that Princess Zhaohua really was the most favored by His Majesty!
After Baili Qingcang finished laughing, he looked at her with a smile. “What, are you prepared to give all the gold to me?”
Feeling his amicable and indulgent attitude, Shen Ninghua couldn’t help but act like an ordinary girl who talks coquettishly with an elder, “Father Emperor, I originally wanted to bring in the gold and asked Your Majesty to give me some gold tickets. Then, I can tell others that I offered the gold to Your Majesty. But since Your Majesty has mentioned it, the gold is all yours.”
“Oh? Are you so generous?” Baili Qingcang looked at her and said jokingly.
“Of course I am.” Shen Ninghua said so, but a trace of pretended pain appeared in her eyes.
Baili Qingcang smiled even happier when he saw her expression. “Alright, then I will accept your filial piety.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for saving me a trouble.”
“Alright, since you are in the Palace, have dinner with me before you leave.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The atmosphere in the Imperial Study was exceptionally good. Baili Qingcang could be considered an elder that Shen Ninghua sincerely accepted in her heart. She said a few sweet words to cheer him up, and a meal was quickly concluded. Shen Ninghua played a few rounds of chess game with Baili Qingcang before leaving.
Shortly after Shen Ninghua returned to her mansion, a eunuch arrived with an imperial edict and some rewards. Although there were only six boxes, the value of the items within was no less than 5,000 taels of gold.
Not long after, news was circulated that Princess Zhaohua donated 5,000 taels of gold, all of which was sent to Jiangnan to reinforce the dams there that protected people’s lives and properties. The emperor issued another decree to praise her.
Immediately after, many officials, madams, and young ladies followed suit. Many civilians, landlords, and rich people also generously donated money. In just three days, the court received several million taels of silver. Even Baili Qingcang was shocked. He issued a decree to praise the several people who had donated the most money and even personally bestowed an official position to a landlord.
For a moment, the country was filled with admiration for the emperor’s wisdom.
Yang Yingxue was dumbfounded. Shen Ninghua sent 5,000 taels of gold into the Palace. But in just a few days, the reward had made up for the silver and her reputation was rising…
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