Chapter 240 - What's the Use of All of You!

Meixue waved her hand to let the reporter retreat. Then she turned around and walked into Ningkun Palace.

Zhao Huiying was half leaning on the couch, and the maid behind her was gently massaging her shoulders. Hearing Meixue’s footsteps, she opened her eyes and waved to the palace maid motioning her to step down.

Meixue stepped forward and took the place of the palace maid to gently massage Zhao Huiying’s shoulders. “Your Majesty, news has come that Old Lady Xiao asked to see Princess Zhaohua before she died, but Princess Zhaohua did not show up due to the heavy rain. By the time she arrived, Old Lady Xiao had already passed away.”

Zhao Huiying curled her lips and laughed. “Haha, well, the rain was so heavy that Shen Ninghua couldn’t afford to take any risk. The heavens are helping me. Meixue, you’ve done a great job.”

Meixue hurriedly said, “I don’t deserve your praise. It’s a pity that Princess Zhaohua didn’t go with Shen Dong directly.”

Zhao Huiying’s red lips carried a more obvious smile. “Yes, if she had gone with Shen Dong to see Old Lady Xiao, we would be saved from all the subsequent trouble.”

She had quite a few people ambushing on the road. If Shen Ninghua followed Shen Dong out, they would be intercepted and killed halfway. The heavy rain would wash away all traces. No one would know the cause of Shen Ninghua and Shen Dong’s death. Later on, they could simply put the blame on the Xiao Clan.

However, Shen Ninghua waited until Chu Junyi came back. With the escort of the martial artist Chu Junyi, Zhao Huiying was afraid that things wouldn’t go smoothly and therefore she ordered to abort the assassination. However, things turned out to be better than the original plan. She could torture Shen Ninghua for a while longer. Destroying her reputation was only the first step.

News of Old Lady Xiao’s death spread widely in the capital, and Shen Ninghua was the center of discussion.

The next day, the imperial censors sent the reports censuring Chu Junyi and Shen Ninghua to Baili Qingcang, but the Emperor ignored them.

Inside the Princess’ Mansion, Shen Ninghua changed into a plain-colored dress with traces of sweat on her forehead.

Bai Ruo brought the abortion prevention medicine in and carefully placed the bowl on the table. “Miss, the medicine is ready.”

Shen Ninghua took the bowl and sniffed. A bitter smell entered her nose. She raised her head and drank the medicine. “Alright, let’s go.”

Today was Old Lady Xiao’s funeral, and there was a tough battle to be fought.

Old Lady Xiao originally had the title of First Grade Imperial Mandate, which was removed because of the collapse of the Shen Clan. Now that she was dead, the Emperor specially allowed the Shen Clan to hold her funeral ceremony according to the First Grade Imperial Mandate’s ritual to show his leniency.

Either as a princess or Old Lady Xiao’s granddaughter, Shen Ninghua must attend the funeral.

There were white veils hanging on the entrance of the Shen Mansion, and paper money was scattered on the ground. The scene looked extremely dismal.

Shen Ninghua got off the carriage and entered the mansion with Chu Junyi.

As soon as they entered, someone saw Shen Ninghua, and the atmosphere immediately became subtle.

Madam Su hurriedly went to greet her, “Ninghua, you’re here.”

“Auntie.”

Madam Su’s eyes were filled with exhaustion. Old Lady Xiao passed away so suddenly. She had to prepare a lot of things overnight and didn’t get any sleep the whole night. “I’ve heard about yesterday’s matter. Don’t think too much about it. Although you didn’t arrive in time, you’re just a granddaughter. Old Lady Xiao has sons and grandsons. No matter what, there’s no need for a pregnant granddaughter to run back and forth!”

Hearing Madam Su’s kind words, Shen Ninghua’s heart warmed up. “Thank you, auntie.”

“Alright, go offer an incense stick first, and then sit in the back for a while. When the people are almost there, you can go back.” Before Madam Su could finish the sentence, Shen Dong walked out of the inner hall. Seeing Shen Ninghua, his expression immediately turned sullen.

“The princess is here. Why didn’t anyone notify me?”

Madam Su frowned tightly. “Eldest Brother, Ninghua is pregnant. This is not the place to talk. Let Ninghua offer incense first.”

Shen Dong stared at Shen Ninghua as if he was looking at a stain. In the end, he did not explode in public and only snorted coldly. “Hmph, your grandmother’s soul in heaven might finally be able to rest in peace now.”

Chu Junyi coldly said, “When the old lady sees that her granddaughter is well, she would naturally rest in peace.”

Hearing this, Shen Dong’s face turned ashen. If it wasn’t for the fact that he couldn’t make a scene at the funeral, he would definitely drive Shen Ninghua out again.

Madam Su frowned and turned to comfort Shen Ninghua. “Ninghua, don’t mind.”

“I know.” Shen Ninghua naturally knew that Shen Dong was anger not because she was “unfilial” to Old Lady Xiao, but because he knew that he could not control her. He was just venting his anger.

Xiao Jingran strode in and walked past Shen Ninghua with a mocking smile on his face. “How could a person without a heart care so much?” Logically speaking, there was no need for him to come to Old Lady Xiao’s funeral, but he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to see Shen Ninghua suffer.

The surrounding gazes were pinned on Shen Ninghua like steel needles. Shen Ninghua blinked her eyes, and an icy cold and noble aura slowly surged out. Her calm dark eyes swept around. Immediately, the majority of the people restrained their gazes and lowered their heads.

Shen Ninghua and Chu Junyi stepped into the mourning hall step by step. Bai Ruo had been following behind them. She stepped forward to pick up some incense sticks, lit them and handed them to Shen Ninghua and Chu Junyi.

The two of them stood side by side and bowed slightly with incense sticks in their hands. Then, Bai Ruo stepped forward to take the incense sticks and inserted them into the incense burner.

Shen Ninghua turned around and was about to leave when she suddenly heard the surrounding people gasped.

The incense stick that Shen Ninghua had just offered was actually extinguished.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. Maybe a coincidence.”

Shen Ninghua glanced at Bai Ruo. Bai Ruo hurriedly took out the incense stick, relit it, and inserted it into the incense burner. Seeing that the incense stick was burning properly, she heaved a sigh of relief.

However, before she could leave the incense table, the candlestick on the side suddenly collapsed and the candle went out with a puff.

“Heavens, what’s going on?”

“Could there be a ghost haunting?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Everything was fine.”

“Could it be that Old Lady Xiao is expressing her dissatisfaction?”

Once these words were spoken, the hall suddenly quieted down, followed by complete silence.

Everyone stared at Shen Ninghua with an obscure look. Before Old Lady Xiao passed away, she wanted to see Shen Ninghua, who did not show up in the end. This made things seem a little intriguing.

Chu Junyi stepped forward to hold Shen Ninghua’s hand and coldly squinted his eyes. Then, he waved his sleeve and applied his internal force to lift up the yellow cloth under the incense table. A cat suddenly jumped out and meowed at the crowd.

The people who had just spoken were immediately embarrassed and lowered their heads one after another.

Without saying a word, Shen Ninghua walked out of the mourning hall and went to the inner room in the back.

The inner room was the place for women to stay. It was not convenient for Chu Junyi to be there, so he instructed Bai Ruo to stay on high alert and protect Shen Ninghua.

Baili Anning saw Shen Ninghua and hurriedly came over. “Ninghua, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Shen Ninghua shook her head slightly.

Bai Ruo felt something near her feet. She lowered her head and saw that it was actually the cat from the mourning hall. She hurriedly blocked its path and prevented it from approaching Shen Ninghua.

“Where did this cat come from?” Baili Anning was curious.

“I don’t know. It got under the incense table and even knocked down the candlestick.” Shen Ninghua looked at the cat that was raising its head and meowing. Her heart was slightly panicked. After carefully observing it, she did not find any trace of medicine, so she was slightly relaxed.

This kind of cat had a gentle temperament. As long as it was not provoked by drugs, there should be no danger.

“Bai Ruo, carry it out.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After two hours or so, Madam Su came in dressed in mourning attire. “Your Highnesses, ladies and misses, please take your seats.”

After all, Shen Ninghua was related to Old Lady Xiao by blood, so her seat was at the table with only vegetarian dishes. Seeing the dishes on the table, she felt a tumult in her stomach. She covered her mouth and almost vomited.

Bai Ruo hurriedly stepped forward and patted Shen Ninghua’s back. “Your Highness, are you alright?”

Shen Ninghua forcefully suppressed the nausea. But when she saw the dishes on the table, she had lost her appetite. “I’m fine.”

Madam Su ordered the servants to send a bowl of porridge. “Ninghua, have some porridge to warm your body. You can go back after a while.”

Shen Ninghua smiled and nodded. “Thank you, auntie.”

After having half a bowl of porridge, she finally felt better.

The meal was finished very fast. After all, it was a funeral. None of these ladies wanted to stay any longer.

The funeral had been uneventful, and although the food was somewhat nauseating, there was nothing wrong with it. This made Shen Ninghua uneasy. She felt that everything in front of her was like the weird calmness before the snowstorm.

When she was about to leave, Shen Dong came over and blocked her way.

“Ninghua, a praying ceremony will be held tonight. Aren’t you going to stay?”

For a funeral like Old Lady Xiao’s, Taoist priests would be invited to chant scriptures at midnight on the second night. All the family members and blood relatives would kneel on mats facing the west and send Old Lady Xiao’s soul off for the final journey. As Old Lady Xiao’s granddaughter, she should also kneel and cry to show her filial piety.

Shen Ninghua’s eyes turned cold. So this was the trap for her. She was pregnant. If she really knelt here all night, tomorrow she would have to be carried out!

Xiao Jingran did not leave. He stood at the side and looked at Shen Ninghua with a half-smile on his face. His eyes were filled with the pleasure of seeing her suffer. “Yes, after all, there is a blood relationship between you. It is unforgivable if you leave at this time.”

Chu Junyi walked to the side of Shen Ninghua, and his gaze fell on Shen Dong. “Are you done?”

Shen Dong was stunned, and then he was furious. “How can you talk to me like this?”

“If you are done, we’ll take our leave.” Chu Junyi said coldly, “Patriarch Shen, there is no precedent for a princess to kneel on the ground to show how filial she is at the funeral of a first-grade madam. If you insist on creating one, please go to the Palace and ask for the permit!”

Bai Ruo secretly cheered in her heart. Chu Junyi had remained calm after they entered the Shen Mansion. Now he finally exploded.

“What do you mean, you don’t want Ninghua to be filial?”

Chu Junyi sneered. “Ninghua came personally in the rain, offered incense and paid her tribute. What else does she need to do to be filial? Moreover, as a granddaughter, Shen Ninghua has already done her duty well. Filial piety is extremely important, but it is not an excuse for framing others! Patriarch Shen, you tried your best to make Ninghua unfilial before, but now you insist on making Ninghua filial. If Ninghua had to do everything to show her filial piety, what’s the use of all of you? ”

Shen Dong’s pupils suddenly shrank, and his face turned red. “You…are talking nonsense! You’re going against the heavenly laws!”

Chu Junyi’s expression turned grim. Shen Dong’s reaction showed that he was guilty and nervous. Could it be that he had planned something else?