Chapter 61 What’s Your Choice?

Madam Zhao was released from the ancestral hall and became the matriarch of the Shen family again. With the baby to be born, she also suppressed the arrogance of all concubines in the backyard.

Everything seemed to have returned to the way when Shen Ninghua first came to the Shen family. The First Lady’s people became arrogant again. A few of them even took advantage of this opportunity to show disrespect to Shen Ninghua by making things difficult for her from time to time. Everyone’s thoughts surged in their hearts as they watched this situation. Many people chose to attach themselves to Madam Zhao and help her suppress Shen Ninghua.

Bai Ruo was wrapping Shen Ninghua’s fingers with thin white gauze, and her movements were extremely careful.

Hong Ling watched from the side with her mouth open in admiration and couldn’t help but shake her head and sigh, “Ah, only Sister Bai Ruo can do such a thing. If it were me, I would shiver and blur Miss’s dyed nails.”

Bai Ruo was shocked by Hong Ling’s sudden voice. Fortunately, she had already wrapped up the white gauze, so nothing bad happened. After washing her hands, she directly poked her fingers on Hong Ling’s forehead. “You daredevil, how many times have I told you not to disturb?”

Hong Ling felt a chill down her spine. She covered her forehead and complained, “Isn’t everything alright? I didn’t speak until I saw you were about to finish wrapping up the gauze.”

Shen Ninghua smiled as she looked at them. She allowed them to play around while she carefully sized up the porcelain bottles on the table, thinking about which medicine to put on her fingernails later.

Bi Zhu came in with a bowl of bird’s nest porridge in her hand. “Miss, today I went to fetch the bird’s nest for you. I happened to meet the First Lady’s servants. They took away all the bird’s nest. So I could only ask the kitchen to make a new portion for you.”

Bai Ruo and Hong Ling immediately stopped frolicking and their expression turned sullen.

“Miss, every time we ran into the First Lady’s people these days, there would always be some trouble.”

Shen Ninghua smiled indifferently. “The First Lady is pregnant now. With this amulet, why can’t she be arrogant?”

Hong Ling pursed her lips and said, “Miss, you’re right, but why should we always bear with her? You don’t know how annoying those servants were. If I hadn’t seen it last time, the brocade that you left outside would have been ruined by them.”

Shen Ninghua was not angry at all. “Those servants are short-sighted. Don’t you see? How many of those smart people are messing around with the First Lady?”

Hong Ling was stunned for a moment, then she began to think carefully.

Recently, there were indeed quite a few servants who were messing around with the First Lady, but most servants still treated Miss with respect, and even fear.

“The First Lady thinks that with her pregnancy, she can have her way in the Shen family’s backyard as before. But unfortunately, she can’t see the abyss beneath her feet. If she is smart, she should endure at this time. After the baby is born, she can manage to win back my father’s heart. And then perhaps she can regain the glory she had in the past. But she is too impatient. Her baby is only a month old. It is still a question whether it is a boy or a girl and whether the baby can be successfully delivered. However, she is anxiously cracking down on people who are against her. She really isn’t afraid of ruining the child’s luck.” Shen Ninghua said coldly.

Hong Ling nodded repeatedly and stretched her head in front of Shen Ninghua. She whispered, “Miss, do you want me to get rid of that baby?”

Shen Ninghua pushed Hong Ling’s head to the side. “Although I hate the First Lady, I’m not reduced to plotting against an unborn baby.” She had hatred in her heart, but the hatred was not enough to make her lose her nature. If Shen Linghan hadn’t killed her in her previous life, she wouldn’t take her life for the sake of their shared bloodline.

She had a line in her heart. If the line wasn’t stepped on, she wouldn’t resort to killing. But if someone stepped on it or even crossed it, she would definitely make that person pay the price, no matter who it was!

Feeling the murderous aura coming from Shen Ninghua, Hong Ling’s heart trembled. “Miss, I’m wrong.”

Shen Ninghua suppressed her emotions and said, “It’s fine. It can’t go on like this letting the First Lady keep having her way. Go tell the kitchen that my mother is pregnant now and should have the best food. I heard Wang Fu say that there is some good bass today. Let the kitchen send the biggest one to my mother.”

Hong Ling chuckled and nodded. “Yes, I will go and do it now.”

At noon, Shen Ninghua had just woken up from her nap when she heard a loud noise in the courtyard. Not long after, Hong Ling ran over with a happy expression.

“Miss, Master is angry. He beat up all the maids and nurses in the First Lady’s room.”

Shen Ninghua’s eyes flashed with a smile. “Tell me about it.”

“Yes,” Hong Ling began to describe in a vivid manner. “According to your instruction, I told the kitchen to give the biggest bass to the First Lady. The Old Lady saw that the bass in her lunch was much smaller than usual, so she asked about it. However, she didn’t say anything after she heard that the biggest one was given to the First Lady. She just called Master to have lunch with her. When Master returned, he happened to visit the First Lady. Unexpectedly, the servants in the First Lady’s room were laughing and eating the biggest bass. They even mocked the Old Lady for her disability. Master was instantly irritated, and those servants were all beaten up. ”

Shen Ninghua sighed. “Father’s visit was so coincidental.” The First Lady could not stand the fishy smell right now, so she naturally would not eat the bass. She and the Old Lady were the biggest enemies, so she would definitely not return the biggest fish once it had been given to her. As long as she made the right arrangement, the First Lady would not be able to reap any benefits.

“Haha,” Hong Ling laughed. “Master’s visit was not coincidental. It was thanks to the Old Lady’s sophisticated scheme. The First Lady is going nuts now.”

“Mm, there’s no need to worry about this matter.”

Just as they were talking, Bai Ruo walked in with an invitation. “Miss, someone from the Palace said that Princess Anning invited you to a banquet in the Palace and sent you this invitation.”

Princess Anning? Shen Ninghua took the invitation and looked at it. After pondering for a long time, she said, “Bai Ruo, prepare some gifts. I will bring them to Princess Anning tomorrow. I would like to thank her for taking care of me.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Shen Ninghua’s entrance into the Palace was very smooth, so smooth that it made her feel a little surprised. After the guards learned her identity, they only glanced at her for a moment and let her in. When she arrived at the gate of Princess Anning’s palace, there were already palace maids waiting for her. When they saw her, they welcomed her in with brilliant smiles.

“Ninghua, you’re here.” Princess Anning sat at the top seat in a princess dress and greeted Shen Ninghua with a smile.

“Shen Ninghua pays respect to Your Highness.”

Princess Anning did not approach Shen Ninghua. Instead, she instructed her palace maid to help Shen Ninghua up, let her sit down and offer hot tea.

Shen Ninghua glanced around. She did not see anyone else who was invited to the banquet. She frowned in her heart but did not say anything. She only took out the gifts that she had brought into the Palace and said, “Your Highness, thank you for taking care of me last time. I have always wanted to express my gratitude. However, I cannot enter the Palace at will. I can only take the opportunity of your invitation to deliver the gifts. Please forgive me.”

Princess Anning’s smile became a little more embarrassed. After the palace maids put away the gifts, she let them walk out of the room. “I’m really sorry for taking the liberty of inviting you here this time. Actually, I’m not holding a banquet. Someone else wants to see you.”

Shen Ninghua smiled. The person who wanted to see her was probably Baili Jinchuan.

“Who would bother you to do this?”

Before she finished speaking, a man with a gentle expression walked out from behind the screen. It was indeed Baili Jinchuan!

“It’s me. I arrange for such a meeting. Miss Ninghua, you won’t be angry with me, right?”

Shen Ninghua’s eyes flashed with a faint light. “I’m very curious. Isn’t it more convenient for you to see me at the Shen Mansion? Why do you expend so much effort to bother Princess Anning?”

“Given the special period, please forgive me for causing inconvenience for you.” Baili Jinchuan directly addressed Shen Ninghua by her name.

“Special?” Shen Ninghua raised her eyebrows.

Baili Jinchuan sighed heavily. “Ninghua, you should also feel that the people are uneasy about the country’s turmoil now, so we need to pay more attention to many things before doing them.”

Shen Ninghua interrupted him, “Although there are some places in Da’an that are not peaceful now, it can be said that we are still in a piping time of peace. Your Highness, your words are too serious.”

‘”Ninghua, I’m a straightforward person, so I won’t resort to insinuations. About the flood in Ping City, this morning, Old General Xiao personally volunteered to go to Ping City to relieve the disaster. I feel that this matter is very unusual. If nothing serious happened in Ping City, Old General Xiao would not personally go there!” Baili Jinchuan looked at Shen Ninghua. His eyebrows curled up like a verdant mountain, carrying a terrifying aura.

Shen Ninghua sighed in her heart. It was truly a pity that such a person would end up dead in Baili Jinze’s hands.

“Your Highness, shouldn’t you discuss this matter with your most trusted advisers? I’m just a girl. How can I understand these national affairs?”

“No,” Baili Jinchuan’s eyes glittered. “You’re different. Ever since you told me about that fishing theory, I knew that you were an extraordinary person. Ninghua, you can trust me. I definitely won’t hurt you.”

Shen Ninghua’s gaze slowly changed as her pitch-black eyes gradually deepened. “What is your expected result?”

“Result?” Baili Jinchuan’s eyes lit up. Did she really know what to do?

“That’s right. Result.” Shen Ninghua smiled faintly and there was not the slightest ripple in her eyes. “Do you want to relieve the calamity, save thousands of people, and win their support? Or do you want to create a chaotic situation and take advantage of this opportunity to make way to the throne?”

Baili Jinchuan clenched his fists and said in a low voice, “What’s the difference between the two?”

“If you choose the former, then support Old General Xiao. Investigate the situation in Ping City and help him raise money. Prepare yourself. If you choose the latter, you should stop him and allow the situation in Ping City to continue to escalate.”

“I still don’t understand.”

Shen Ninghua smiled faintly. “The former option saved the people from catastrophe. Once your merits are spread out, you will be respected by all the people and thus your reputation will rise greatly. When you compete with the other princes, you can beat them with the hearts of the people! Although the latter requires the sacrifice of people, you can take advantage of the chaos and have your hands in the Jiangnan region. Jiangnan is famous for its wealth. Salt tax alone can fill up one-third of the national treasury. If you control Jiangnan, you will basically control Da’an’s lifeline. Even if things don’t go well in the future, you can use force to realize your ambition!”

Baili Jinchuan’s heart skipped a beat. He had many counselors and they had also mentioned these two choices. However, Shen Ninghua was the first one who was able to make things sound so tempting! Looking at that beautiful face, a ray of light flashed in his heart. He could not let such a girl fall into others’ hands!

The smile on Shen Ninghua’s lips deepened. Her gorgeous smile was like a poppy that captured his soul. “Your Highness, have you made up your mind? What’s your choice?”