Chapter 48 What an Adorable Girl!

Because of this matter, Shen Xuanlin and Shen Ninghua gradually became familiar with each other, and their relationship was obviously much better. Shen Xuanlin would wait at the entrance of Shen Ninghua’s Yingyue Courtyard when he was free. If Shen Ninghua found out, he would happily run in and play in the courtyard after she permitted him to do so. If Shen Ninghua did not notice him, he would not be upset and would just wander around the entrance of Yingyue Courtyard.

Early in the morning, Qing Que looked at the door and said, “Miss, the youngest master is here again.”

Shen Ninghua smiled somewhat helplessly. It had been many days, and somehow Shen Xuanlin seemed to be attached to her. He kept wandering in front of her door. “Invite him in for a talk.”

After receiving the message from Qing Que, Shen Xuanlin quickly ran in. “Eldest sister.”

“Mm, why are you here? Have you had breakfast?”

“Not yet…” Shen Xuanlin lowered and shook his head embarrassedly. He heard that eldest sister was going out today, and he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to see her. So he got up at the crack of dawn and ran over. The maids who waited upon him were so scared that they all knelt on the ground.

Shen Ninghua looked at him disapprovingly. “Bai Ruo, go and bring some food for Xuanlin to have his breakfast. Xuanlin, you can come and play here at any time. There’s no need to be so early.”

After she publicly punished the servants of Yecui Courtyard, all the servants in the Shen Mansion were in a state of panic. After witnessing Shen Ninghua’s mercilessness, no one wanted to look for trouble.

Shen Dong was slightly unhappy when he heard Shen Ninghua punished his servants with protracted kneeling. But when he noticed the improved performance of the servants in the family, the discomfort in his heart dissipated. Just a few days ago, a maid in Shen Yulan’s courtyard offended her mistress. After Shen Ninghua obtained Shen Dong’s consent, she gave the maid some strokes and dismissed her. After the two incidents, the servants of the Shen family no longer dared to be lazy or loose in their work. Everyone’s eyes widened for fear that there would be any negligence in their work.

Shen Xuanlin absent-mindedly ate his snacks and stared at Shen Ninghua doing her makeup. He unconsciously muttered, “Eldest sister, you are very beautiful.”

Today, Shen Ninghua wore a red dress with white fine yarn and a jade-colored yarn robe embroidered with peony patterns, which made her outstanding appearance look even more extraordinary and stunning. When she heard Shen Xuanlin’s words, her hand that was carrying a hairpin with pearl and jasper paused. Then, she smiled and said, “Are you teasing your eldest sister this early in the morning?”

Shen Xuanlin blushed as he lowered his head and retorted, “I’m not.”

It took Hong Ling a while to restrain her laughter after she entered the door. “Miss, the Old Lady delivered a message that the carriage is ready.”

“Alright, I see.” Shen Ninghua nodded and stood up to look at Shen Xuanlin. “Be good and study at home today. I’m going to the Palace.”

Shen Xuanlin immediately got up and ran to Shen Ninghua. He bit his lips and said a little embarrassedly, “Eldest sister, will mother and second sister come out?”

Shen Ninghua’s expression changed slightly, “Who told you this?”

“I…I knew everything. The empress is giving a banquet in the Palace today. She personally ordered mother and second sister to enter the Palace as well.”

“Are you afraid?”

Shen Xuanlin shook his head. “I’m not afraid of them,”

Shen Ninghua asked. “Then what are you worried about?”

“I’m afraid that they will cause trouble for you, eldest sister. Mother and second sister have always disliked you.” It was as if he had thought of something, and Shen Xuanlin’s eyes were filled with anger. Previously, he overheard Madam Zhao and Shen Linghan commenting on Shen Ninghua, saying that they must kill her. At that time, he did not have a favorable impression of Shen Ninghua and didn’t mind it. But now, it was different. He wanted to protect Shen Ninghua.

Shen Ninghua didn’t expect him to be so straightforward. She paused slightly. “It’s been more than a day or two since they disliked me. If you don’t get too close to me, they will definitely not implicate you. You…”

“I’m not afraid of being implicated. Eldest sister, I want to protect you!” Shen Xuanlin said excitedly.

Shen Ninghua smiled and didn’t care about his words. “You’re still young, so you don’t need to get involved in these things.”

Shen Xuanlin still wanted to argue, but Bai Ruo came over to remind Shen Ninghua, “Miss, it’s time.”

“Yes, let’s go.”

Watching Shen Ninghua’s back, Shen Xuanlin angrily stomped his feet. Just like those servants said, eldest sister was helpless in the Shen family, so he must become her support! He was almost ten years old, and he was no longer a child!

After the Second Prince returned to court and sorted out the affairs of the army, he directly gave up his military leadership to the emperor. The emperor was very happy. Not only did the Second Prince receive the title of Commandery Prince, he was also bestowed the title of Virtue. This was the first time that any prince other than the Crown Prince had received a title. The emperor still felt that the reward was not enough. He held a celebration banquet, and all officials above the fifth rank could bring their family members to the banquet.

Shen Dong certainly would not go with the female family members. Early in the morning, he brought Shen Xuanye, Shen Xuanhua, and the other male family members with him riding horses to the Palace.

At this moment in Songtao Courtyard, the First Lady and Shen Linghan were standing in line. Maybe because of the meditation in the ancestral hall for a long time, the First Lady had calmed down a lot. Even though she was driven outside, there wasn’t the slightest bit of anger, but a faint sense of guilt and sadness on her face.

Madam Su and Madam Meng helped Old Lady Xiao out, one on the left side and the other on the right side. Old Lady Xiao’s face was very gloomy. Shen Ninghua quietly followed behind her with a calm and indifferent expression as if she wasn’t affected by her emotion at all.

“Greetings, mother (grandmother).” Madam Zhao and Shen Linghan saluted together.

Old Lady Xiao coldly glanced at the two of them and said sarcastically, “Get up, my old bones can’t withstand the visit of two noble ladies.”

“Mother, what you said makes me extremely ashamed.” Madam Zhao knelt on the ground with a thud, and tears kept falling down her cheeks.

Shen Linghan also knelt on the ground without saying a word. She only silently wiped her tears with her handkerchief. Shen Ninghua looked at Shen Linghan and couldn’t help but frown in her heart. Shen Linghan had changed a bit too much.

Shen Linghan was much thinner than before. Her sharp chin made her eyes look bigger and brighter. Her curved brows made her look as if she was sobbing, giving her an indescribable charm. At this moment, she was like a willow trembling in the wind or a delicate flower bathed in the rain. Such a girl aroused people’s desire to protect her.

The two of them were personally designated by the empress to enter the Palace, so Old Lady Xiao wouldn’t be silly as to make things difficult for them. Therefore, she could only suppress her anger to the bottom of her heart, and her expression became even gloomier. She ignored the two of them and directly let Madam Su and Madam Meng help her into the carriage.

The First Lady’s eyes were filled with tears as she turned to look at Shen Ninghua. “Ninghua, I’m sorry about what I did to you. I know my mistakes.”

“Mother, you are too polite.” Shen Ninghua said indifferently.

“I know you have a grudge in your heart. It’s understandable that you won’t forgive me. But Linghan is your younger sister. You two are both the first daughters of your father, and you should help each other. Please take care of your younger sister.”

Shen Ninghua looked at Shen Linghan and said indifferently, “Mother, you are right, I will take good care of my younger sister.”

Madam Zhao immediately heaved a sigh of relief and pulled Shen Linghan over. “Alright, you and your sister sit in the same carriage. Hurry up and go. Don’t make your grandmother wait.” After saying that, she directly walked towards the carriage where Old Lady Xiao was sitting in.

Shen Linghan bit her lips as if she was afraid of Shen Ninghua. When she noticed that Shen Ninghua was looking towards her, she immediately revealed a smile and timidly said, “Eldest sister.”

If Shen Ninghua hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would definitely not believe that the person who had presumptuously framed her up earlier would turn into a white rabbit that could easily be frightened.

Shen Ninghua meaningfully glanced over her. “Sister, hurry up and get on the carriage. We can’t be late for the imperial banquet.”

“Yes, elder sister.”

Inside the carriage, Shen Linghan cowered in a corner and remained silent. Shen Ninghua didn’t know what play she was putting on, so she simply ignored her and closed her eyes to rest. She had a feeling that this trip to the Palace wouldn’t be a peaceful one.

She had long predicted that Madam Zhao and Shen Linghan would be released, but she never expected that it would be so easy. These past few days, Shen Dong had been negotiating with the Zhao family. The Zhao family’s attitude was tough at first, but then softened when they learned that Zhao Yunxiang embezzled Madam Xia’s dowry. First, they took action to control the rumors, and then sent people to secretly retrieve all the items on the dowry list that were given out. They also made up for some of the items that they couldn’t find with things of the same value. On the tenth day, a full hundred boxes of dowry were neatly delivered to Yingyue Courtyard, along with silver notes with the worth of 5,000 taels at the bottom of the box.

Shen Ninghua did not decline, and accepted everything they sent over.

However, Shen Dong seemed to be angry with Madam Zhao. Although the Zhao family made several requests, he did not let Zhao Yunxiang out of the ancestral hall. It wasn’t until yesterday that the empress sent an oral edict asking to see Madam Zhao and Shen Linghan that Shen Dong let them out of the ancestral hall.

Stepping into the Palace again, Shen Ninghua sized up the familiar scenery around her with coldness in her eyes. This magnificent red-walled and green-tiled cage emitted a luxurious aura. It was suffocating as usual.

“Linghan, you’re here.” Just as they got off the carriage, Zhao Ruyun walked over with her maids.

Shen Linghan greeted Zhao Ruyun with a smile. She stepped forward and intimately held Zhao Ruyun by the hand.

“Why are you so skinny now? I’m really sorry for you. But those who did bad things feel at ease. The heavens have no eyes.” Zhao Ruyun glanced at Shen Ninghua and said sarcastically.

Shen Ninghua raised her eyes. Her gaze swept across Zhao Ruyun’s hand. “Cousin, are your fingers alright?”

Zhao Ruyun abruptly withdrew her hand back into her sleeve, and her eyes were filled with resentment. “Hmph, are you disappointed to see that I’m fine?” Thinking of the humiliation of kneeling down and admitting her mistake, she trembled with anger.

“Why should I be disappointed? Cousin, your words are really strange.”

“Don’t think that I don’t know what you’re thinking. Shen Ninghua, do you think that if Linghan falls out of favor, you can take her place? That would happen only in your dream!” Zhao Ruyun sneered.

The smile on Shen Ninghua’s face faded. “Cousin, you are really going to great lengths to protect my second younger sister. Even after you know that your fingers festered because you had touched the poinsettia in her courtyard, you don’t mind at all.”

Shen Linghan’s face turned pale, and tears began to fall from her cheeks.

“Don’t be so hypocritical. I can do whatever I want.” Zhao Ruyun pulled Shen Linghan. “Cousin, auntie wanted to see you. Stop crying. Let’s go.”

Shen Ninghua snorted coldly in her heart, and the ridicule in her eyes became even more obvious.

Chu Junyi swayed his fan and walked over. Seeing Shen Ninghua standing at the entrance of the Palace, he slowly walked near her and said, “Miss Shen, are you dumped here?”

Shen Ninghua turned her head. “That’s right, I have to trouble you to bring me in.”

Chu Junyi smiled, “Of course, first young lady, I will do whatever I can to help you.”

“Then why don’t you lead the way?” Shen Ninghua raised her eyebrows.

Chu Junyi curled his lips and answered lazily, “Alright.”