Chapter 51: Chapter 51: What Brother? Crown Prince Brother

He pondered for a moment, then asked his guard, "Wang Guihong is dead. Where is her husband now?"

The guard reported, "Blue Chief Clerk moved him and the other prisoners to the western jail of the government office ahead of schedule. County Magistrate Fu Yuansong only ordered him to be imprisoned for one month. He should be released in about three or four days."

Mo Lingwei considered this. "Release him as scheduled. Assign a few people to tail him and see who he contacts."

"Yes."

"And another thing. Investigate who it was that lied and claimed Shen Ningning was dead. Find them for me."

Just as the guard nodded, a figure appeared in the doorway of the hall.

A eunuch announced, "The Emperor has arrived!"

The Emperor entered, and Mo Lingwei’s expression instantly turned cold. He looked at the guard. "You are dismissed."

The guard clasped his hands and respectfully departed.

The Emperor glanced at him and sat down opposite Mo Lingwei.

"What are you busy with?"

"My own affairs. They have nothing to do with you, Father Emperor."

The Emperor was taken aback, and his expression immediately turned cold with displeasure.

His gaze fell to Mo Lingwei’s left hand and he was shocked to see it bare.

"Where are the Buddha Beads I acquired for you? Put them on, now! I warned you not to take them off for any reason!"

Mo Lingwei’s expression was as dark as a storm cloud.

The Emperor searched frantically, finally finding the string of 108 Buddha beads by the pillow.

He immediately took them and placed them on Mo Lingwei’s left wrist.

"Don’t you dare take them off again. The State Preceptor said the Buddha Beads can absolve the sins of your past lives, keep you safe, and protect you from being assailed by evil spirits."

Mo Lingwei clearly didn’t believe this rhetoric and simply sneered.

The Emperor was displeased with his attitude. "Ling Wei, you cannot continue this killing. If there is someone you must kill, can you not tell your Father Emperor?"

"At court this morning, another censor accused you of unjustly killing the Lan father and daughter."

"’Unjustly?’" Mo Lingwei raised an eyebrow, finally looking at the Emperor. "The person they plotted against is named Shen Ningning. She saved my life."

The Emperor fell silent.

After a moment, he nodded emphatically. "Then they deserved to die."

Once the Emperor returned to the Imperial Study Room, he angrily dismissed all the memorials denouncing the Crown Prince.

’Unjustly killed? Bullshit!’

...

Ever since Shen Ningning had come home and told Grandma Qin what happened, the old woman had insisted on accompanying the little girl whenever she wanted to go down the mountain, too worried to let her go alone.

No matter how Shen Ningning tried to reassure her, it was no use.

Today she wanted to check on their house in the village, so she had no choice but to bring Grandma Qin along.

On the road to Xiangyun Village, Shen Ningning rode the Black Wolf King while Grandma Qin sat on Wolf Three’s back.

"Oh, Ningning, you’ve suffered so much." Grandma Qin couldn’t help but tear up whenever she thought about the girl being framed and thrown in jail.

"That Wang Guihong... she was a terrible person. I should never have let her into our family!" Grandma Qin said bitterly.

Years ago, Grandma Qin had inherited one hundred taels of silver from her late father.

She gave fifty taels to her sister, who had married into another village.

She planned to use the remaining fifty taels to arrange a good marriage for her son.

Wang Guihong was from the next village over. When the matchmaker came to their door, she praised the girl to the heavens.

She said Wang Guihong’s sister had caught the eye of a rich merchant who was about to buy an official post and become a Landlord.

As for Wang Guihong herself, she was said to be an eloquent speaker, and was quite pretty and presentable.

The moment she met Uncle Qin, he was completely smitten and lost his head.

The marriage was settled just like that. Even when the Wang family made an exorbitant demand of thirty taels for the betrothal gift, Grandma Qin paid it readily.

She wasn’t asking for much; she just wanted her son to start a family and have someone to look after him so they could live a good life together.

But unexpectedly, just a few years after Wang Guihong married into the family, she revealed her true colors.

Seeing that Grandma Qin was lost in her memories, her face etched with self-blame,

Shen Ningning reached out with her small, soft hand and gently squeezed her grandmother’s fingers.

"Grandma, Crown Prince Brother said he would help me get even!" The little girl’s big, round eyes were bright and shimmering.

Grandma Qin snapped out of her reverie and said with a sigh, "No wonder his surname is Mo. So he’s the Crown Prince... I should have guessed."

"He has shown us such a great kindness, Ningning. The next time you see him, we must thank him properly."

Shen Ningning nodded obediently, her voice soft and sweet. "I know."

As the grandmother and granddaughter spoke, they entered the village.

When Deng Fugui saw the wolf pack appear, he knew Shen Ningning had arrived.

He ran over happily. "Little Wolf Sister! Oh, Grandma Qin is here too!"

Grandma Qin chuckled as she dismounted from Wolf Three’s back, handing Deng Fugui a Red Fruit.

"Fugui, where’s your grandpa?" She planned to discuss the matter of the Qin Family with the village chief.

"My grandpa and my dad have gone to the fields to till the soil! It’s not just them, almost every family has gone!"

The huge rainstorm the day before yesterday had made the villagers ecstatic.

They had brought out every pot and basin they owned to collect the water.

Once the rain stopped, everyone immediately got busy in the fields, filled with renewed hope for the next harvest.

But Shen Ningning looked up at the even more intense sun.

It was glaring.

The waves of heat made the little girl’s cheeks flush red.

She said, "Grandma, why don’t we go wait at our village house? You haven’t even seen the house Uncle Liu and the others helped us build!"

Grandma Qin agreed with a beaming smile and told Deng Fugui to give them a shout when the old village chief returned.

Back at their house in the village, memories of their past life came rushing back.

Grandma Qin touched the new fence around the courtyard, her eyes filled with emotion.

She smiled and said, "I never imagined that after being renovated, this little courtyard would look so much like it did when I first married into the family. That was over forty years ago... Back then, right here by the gate, we had a loquat tree, just like every other household in Xiangyun Village..."

Strands of Shen Ningning’s dark hair, damp with sweat, clung to her fair forehead as she blinked her big eyes.

"If you like it, Grandma, we can come and stay for a few days every month!"

But Grandma Qin shook her head. "It’s more peaceful in the mountains."

The Black Wolf King threw back its head and let out two howls of agreement. AWOO! AWOO!

Shen Ningning went into one of the rooms, opened the door, and showed Grandma Qin the gifts Mo Lingwei had sent her.

Looking at all the fine silks, Grandma Qin reached out to touch them.

"This is all such fine material. The Crown Prince is truly good to you."

"But tall trees catch the wind. These things are too extravagant. Ningning, when we go out, it’s better to be a little more low-key."

In times like these, she was afraid that being too conspicuous would attract the attention of people with ill intentions.

The little girl nodded obediently, taking the advice to heart.

She took the opportunity to close the door and put everything away into her Immortal Realm.

Just then, the old village chief’s voice came from the doorway.

"Grandma Qin—" he called out, enthusiastically wiping his freshly washed hands as he hurried over.

Grandma Qin went forward to greet him. "Village Chief, has everything been well with you?"

The old village chief beamed, the wrinkles on his face filled with joy. "Well! Very well! Oh, Grandma Qin, the Ningning you brought home is a real little Fuxing! She helped us out a great deal not long ago!"

"I’ve heard all about it," Grandma Qin chuckled. "The child just has a warm heart. Even when things are going well for her, she doesn’t forget the people of the village."

"That’s right, there’s a reason I came down the mountain. There’s something I need to tell you, Village Chief. My son, Qin Sheng, is a disgrace. If he ever comes back to the village, you don’t need to worry about my feelings. Just drive him away. I no longer recognize him as my son."

"From now on, if the county government comes asking for registration, Village Chief, you can just say that the Qin Family only consists of me and Ningning."

The old village chief was stunned for a moment. "Of course. I was originally afraid that being too firm would cause ill feelings, but since you’ve said so yourself, we have no reason to hesitate."

As the two were talking,

the old village chief’s daughter-in-law nudged Deng Fugui.

She lowered her voice, urging him, "Fugui, what are you standing around for? Go play with Ningning!"

Deng Fugui snapped out of it and immediately ran over to Shen Ningning.

"Little Wolf Sister, I have something to show you! Want to come?"

"Okay! Let’s go!" Shen Ningning agreed in her sweet, soft voice.

She mounted the Black Wolf King and followed Deng Fugui.

She watched him run straight into the house and take out a package wrapped in oil paper.