Chapter 239 - Rushing About in the Rain

Bai Ruo frowned. “What’s going on?”

“Your Highness, please show some mercy. The Old Lady wants to see you one last time. You can’t be so cold-blooded.”

“Impudent!” Bai Ruo was furious. This servant cried so loudly at this time, was he afraid that he wasn’t making enough trouble?

Shen Ninghua’s eyebrows were cold as if dyed with a layer of frost. “Bring that man in.”

A lad servant who was wet all over was brought into the hall with his arm twisted.

The moment the lad servant entered the hall, he immediately stopped crying. He knelt down to Shen Ninghua and said flatteringly, “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Shen Ninghua was seated and she looked down at the person kneeling on the ground. She asked, “I remember that you are a servant of the Shen Family serving the Old Lady, right?”

“Yes. My name is Wu Ping.”

“Wu Ping? You should be Nurse Wu’s son, right?”

“Yes, it’s me. I’m truly overwhelmed that you still remember me after so long.” Wu Ping knelt on the ground. His eyes occasionally sized up the decorations in Shen Ninghua’s room. From time to time, a light flashed in his eyes.

Shen Ninghua smiled and said, “You rode all the way here. It was hard to ride in the rain, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right. It’s raining heavily but there are still many people on the road. I almost bumped into them. Thankfully, I was smart enough to get out of trouble by telling them I work for Princess Zhaohua’s Mansion. Otherwise, I would still be on the road.”

Bai Ruo’s eyes were cold, and she wished she could slash him with a knife. This servant was too shameless!

Hearing this, Shen Ninghua’s eyes darkened. It seemed that many people already knew that Old Lady Xiao was seriously ill and wanted to see her. “Bai Ruo, Wu Ping must be tired after riding all the way here. Give him some silver and take him to change his clothes. His clothes are soaked and the weather is very cold. It would be bad if he catches a cold.”

Hearing that she mentioned silver, Wu Ping’s eyes lit up and he hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed. This time he was many times more sincere than before. “Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you very much!”

Bai Ruo suppressed her anger and ordered people to bring Wu Ping down.

“Miss, this Wu Ping is obviously used as an abandoned pawn. Why don’t you kill him?”

“The situation is unclear now and we can’t act rashly. Although this Wu Ping is greedy and ignorant, a small potato might be of great use. In any case, it won’t hurt to keep him alive. Let him live for a few more days.”

Bai Ruo nodded. Seeing that Shen Ninghua had been looking out of the window, the worry in her heart grew thicker. “It’s still spring, why is there such heavy rain? And the Old Lady happens to be seriously ill at this time. How annoying!”

The sound of rain rumbled in Shen Ninghua’s ears, and no one could tell whether she was happy or angry. “I’m afraid that someone specifically chose to make her ill in this weather.”

Bai Ruo was shocked. “Miss, do you think it was done by the Xiao Clan? After all, Old Patriarch Xiao had just come to cause trouble.”

“It’s possible. Who knows?” As Shen Ninghua spoke, she suddenly turned to look at the door. Bi Zhu walked in quickly and reported anxiously.

“Miss, your father is here. He is hurrying into the mansion, saying that he wants to see you.”

Shen Ninghua’s eyes turned cold as she watched Shen Dong walking in the rain. She nodded slightly and said, “I’ve seen him.”

Shen Dong’s face was ashen perhaps because he was in a hurry or he was frozen by the rain. When he entered and saw Shen Ninghua, his expression eased up a little. “Ninghua, quickly follow me to see your grandmother. She’s seriously ill. I’m afraid she won’t be able to make it this time. She wants to see you now.”

Shen Ninghua stood there without moving. “Father, you’ve come through the heavy rain and your clothes are all wet. It’s better to change your clothes first. Don’t make yourself ill before grandmother gets better.”

Shen Dong frowned. “There’s no time to care about that. Quickly go with me.”

Shen Ninghua shook her head. “It’s raining so hard now. The carriage hasn’t been prepared yet. Father, sit down and have a cup of tea.”

Shen Dong raised his head and stared at Shen Ninghua. His voice was filled with disbelief. “You’ve come up with so many excuses. Aren’t you going to see your grandmother one last time with me?”

“Father, what are you talking about? Of course I will go.”

“Then what’s there to prepare? I have brought a carriage with me here. It is waiting at the door. Hurry up and go.”

Shen Ninghua shook her head. “I will go, but not at this time.”

“What?” Shen Dong’s face was filled with anger. “Your grandmother is dying and wants to see you one last time, but you keep making excuses. Ninghua, although your identity is different now, have you forgotten what makes you a human?”

“Father, I am grounded and cannot leave the Princess’ Mansion.”

“Don’t worry about that. I just entered the Palace and begged His Majesty to lift your grounding.”

Shen Ninghua asked, “It’s raining heavily outside, and you don’t have an official position. How did you enter the Palace?”

“I happened to meet Chengqian Hall’s eunuch outside the Palace. He helped me report to His Majesty. There wasn’t any delay.”

Shen Ninghua sneered in her heart. What a coincidence. “It’s true that there wasn’t any delay. Less than two hours after I received the news that grandmother was seriously ill, you are here asking me to go to the Shen Mansion and see her.”

“Ninghua, what do you mean? Are you afraid that your father would harm you?”

Shen Ninghua stared straight into Shen Dong’s eyes. Her black eyes were bottomless. “I don’t dare to think like that, but I won’t go until Chu Junyi comes back.”

“Chu Junyi? He was called into the Palace by His Majesty. Who knows when he will be back. How long do you have to wait?” Shen Dong said angrily.

“No matter how long, I have to wait.”

Shen Dong took the teacup and threw it to the ground. “Shen Ninghua, are you planning to completely abandon filial piety?”

Shen Ninghua did not answer. She only watched the rain outside the door getting heavier and heavier.

Given the cold shoulder, Shen Dong suddenly laughed loudly. “Haha, good, really good! Back then, when the Shen Clan fell and you brought your grandmother over to support her, many people praised you for observing filial piety. Now it seems that you were just putting on a show. I can’t have the honor of having you take a look at your dying grandmother!”

Shen Dong emphasized “have the honor” and his eyes almost burst into flames.

Shen Ninghua remained unmoved. “No matter what you say, father, it’s useless at this time. I won’t put my baby in danger.”

A trace of sadness flashed across Shen Dong’s face as he said with an ashen expression, “Alright, since that’s the case, then I won’t make things difficult for you. Farewell, Your Highness.” After saying that, he turned around and walked into the heavy rain, quickly leaving the Princess’ Mansion.

Shen Ninghua sat in the chair silently for a long time without responding.

Bai Ruo was very worried, but she didn’t know what to say to comfort her. “Miss, take care of yourself. Think of the little master.”

Shen Ninghua sighed slightly, “It’s fine. You go to see if Hong Ling is back.”

After about another hour, Hong Ling ran in. Her clothes were soaked. “Miss, Master is back.”

Chu Junyi hurriedly rushed back all the way, feeling extremely annoyed in his heart. As soon as he entered, he saw Shen Ninghua, whose expression was not very pleasant. “Ninghua, sorry I’m late.”

Shen Ninghua shook her head. “It’s fine. Let’s go to the Shen Mansion now to see my grandmother.”

“Alright.”

Chu Junyi did not change his wet clothes and he directly accompanied Shen Ninghua out.

The carriage ran very fast, braving the heavy rain and advancing quickly.

Shen Ninghua looked at the street through the window of the carriage. As expected, she saw a lot of people on both sides of the road. They stood under the roofs to shelter from the rain and pointed at the carriage as it drove by.

Shen Ninghua closed her eyes slightly to suppress the coldness. Her reputation for being unfilial was about to spread. What a vicious plan!

As soon as the carriage came to a stop, Chu Junyi got off the horse and walked over to help Shen Ninghua out of the carriage.

Qing Que sheltered Shen Ninghua with an umbrella and tried not to let her get caught in the rain. However, the rain was heavy and it was windy. Not long after Shen Ninghua came out, her dress was wet.

Originally, the Shen Mansion was temporarily used as Shen Ninghua’s Princess’ Mansion. However, after the new Princess’ Mansion was built, this place was restored to Shen Mansion.

At this moment, the bright red gate was tightly shut, obviously without any intention of welcoming anyone.

Hong Ling knocked on the door in the rain for a long time, but no one came over to open the door.

Chu Junyi frowned tightly. “Ninghua, you stay in the carriage. I’ll call at the door.”

Shen Ninghua nodded. The rain was too cold and she couldn’t risk the baby.

Just as she was about to get into the carriage, the door was suddenly opened. Shen Ninghua turned around and saw Shen Dong dressed in linen mourning attire.

“What are you doing here?”

Shen Ninghua stood still again and said, “To see grandmother.”

Shen Dong’s face was tense and grim. “Your Highness, you are mistaken. You have nothing to do with the Shen Clan. Old Lady Xiao is not your grandmother. I’m sorry that Your Highness took the trouble to come here. Please go back.”

Shen Ninghua ignored Shen Dong’s bad attitude and asked with a frown, “Grandmother passed away?”

Shen Dong sneered. “Yes, she passed away. She wanted to see her granddaughter before she died. She just passed away with regret! Your Highness, are you satisfied?”

“I’ll go in and see grandmother.”

Shen Dong took a step forward and blocked the door. “I don’t dare to trouble Your Highness. Your noble body cannot be contaminated by the dirty aura here. Please go back. Someone, close the door!”

Immediately, a lad servant slammed the door shut.

Hong Ling’s expression turned furious and she kicked the door hard. “Let me force the door open.”

“Stop!” Shen Ninghua shouted and stopped Hong Ling. “Let’s go back.”

“Your Highness?” Hong Ling was surprised. After taking so much trouble, were they going back like this?

“Let’s go back!” Shen Ninghua’s voice was as cold as ice.

Chu Junyi withdrew his gaze and turned to help Shen Ninghua get into the carriage. “Let’s go back first.”

Inside the Princess’ Mansion, Bai Ruo was surprised to see Shen Ninghua returning so quickly. “Your Highness, why did you come back so soon?”

Chu Junyi frowned and glanced at Bai Ruo. “No more questions. Prepare some hot water to let Her Highness bathe and change her clothes.”

More than half of the hem of Shen Ninghua’s dress was wet. She only felt better after she felt the warmth of the room.

Bai Ruo was worried. “Yes, I’m going to prepare hot water.”