Chapter 416: Startling the Snake, No Fear, I Have a Backup Plan

Chapter 416: Chapter 416: Startling the Snake, No Fear, I Have a Backup Plan

Shen Ningning’s eyes welled with tears as she listened, her gaze turning red.

"But you had a chance! Whether it was Aunt Qingdai or Second Master Xie, they would’ve been so happy if they knew who you were!"

Xu Jingxi gave a wan smile. "Would they really be happy? Liang Yici’s and my identities can’t be exposed. If people found out we weren’t General Liang’s children, how could our mother face the world?"

Shen Ningning fell silent.

So, when Fang Qingdai left the Capital City, she was already pregnant.

But Fang Qingdai was a proud woman. She would never forgive Second Master Xie for sleeping with another woman.

Nor would she allow herself to be trapped in the inner residence, sharing a husband with some other woman.

So she silently left the Capital City.

Shen Ningning asked, "You don’t blame them, do you?"

Xu Jingxi lowered his cool gaze. "As far as I’m concerned, my parents have been dead for a long time."

That was why he didn’t care about the crescent jade. He didn’t mind who had it. He even thought about pawning it for silver when Grandpa Xu was sick.

Unfortunately, no one dared to take it, since they knew it belonged to the Xie family.

"So your last name wasn’t originally Xu? Did you change it later because of Grandpa Xu?" the little girl asked curiously.

Xu Jingxi nodded. "My original name was Liang Zhengyuan."

Shen Ningning suddenly remembered something.

"But all the servants in the Xie Mansion say the crescent jade for the third-born was lost by accident. Is it possible that no one knew Aunt Qingdai was the one who took it?"

Xu Jingxi looked at her. "You don’t know about this?"

Shen Ningning was dumbfounded. "Was I supposed to know?"

Xu Jingxi gave a helpless smile. "Your mother, Shen Siyi, helped my mother get our jades. She gave them to her before she left the Capital City."

"Ah!" Shen Ningning exclaimed in surprise. "Mother knew Aunt Qingdai was pregnant!"

Xu Jingxi nodded. "My wet nurse told me that when my mother insisted on leaving, my Eldest Aunt couldn’t convince her otherwise. So she gave her the jade pendants, which symbolize one’s status as a descendant of the Xie family. She told my mother that if her children ever wanted to return to the Xie Mansion in the future, they would at least have proof and not be left in ambiguity."

Thinking of her mother, Shen Ningning couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. "Mother was so clever!"

’Unfortunately,’ she thought, ’Mother didn’t foresee that Xu Jingxi wouldn’t want to be acknowledged, and Liang Yici probably has no idea she’s a daughter of the Xie Mansion.’

Shen Ningning counted on her little fingers, her cute brows furrowed in calculation.

"Oh no! By that count, I wouldn’t be the fifth-born, I’d be the sixth!"

Xu Jingxi paused, then broke into a smile. "Liang Yici and I are twins, so we both count as the third-born. It won’t push your rank back."

Shen Ningning stomped her foot anxiously. "If only Mother were still here! I’d ask her to give me a little brother so I wouldn’t be the youngest anymore. I can’t be number six!"

Xu Jingxi couldn’t help but smile.

Suddenly, he thought of Liang Yici.

"It’s been so long. Why isn’t she here yet?"

Shen Ningning placed her hands on her hips, looking smug. "Of course she isn’t! How could I let Xie Yuanjiu get her way? I arranged to have Lai Zi’s family and Liang Yici led away much earlier."

"Not only that, I also arranged for people..."

Before she could finish, a Hidden Guard’s voice called out from the distance, "Princess, we’ve caught them!"

Shen Ningning smiled with delight and pulled Xu Jingxi’s hand. "Come on, let’s go see!"

They entered the courtyard of Lai Zi’s house to find two Hidden Guards. One had knocked out a masked assailant, while the other was tying up two more thieves pinned to the ground.

After tying them all up, a Hidden Guard walked up to Shen Ningning. "We found flint on them."

The little girl took one look, then glared at the three men in black.

"I already know who sent you. Come with me to the palace right now and identify her, and I promise I’ll let you live."

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, the men in black moved their jaws, their gazes sinister and fierce.

Xu Jingxi sensed something was wrong and shouted, "Watch out, they’re going to take poison!"

The Hidden Guards scrambled back to the men and immediately tried to dislocate their jaws.

But it was too late.

The three men in black died one after another, bleeding from all seven orifices.

Shen Ningning was a little stunned and was pulled out of the courtyard by Xu Jingxi.

’They were willing to throw away their lives just to set a fire?’ she thought, shocked. ’Was Xie Yuanjiu able to hire such loyal Death Warriors?’

Shen Ningning was very surprised.

Xu Jingxi frowned, looking at the three bodies in the courtyard.

"There must be another power helping her from behind the scenes."

Shen Ningning’s original plan had been to lie in wait. After catching the assassins, she was going to take them directly to the palace and ask her Uncle Emperor to pass judgment.

She wanted to nip Xie Yuanjiu’s plan in the bud before she could fully execute it.

However, she had underestimated Xie Yuanjiu’s ruthlessness.

’To hire Death Warriors who didn’t fear death just to start a fire... it seems she planned for Lai Zi’s entire family to die all along.’

Shen Ningning realized, "With them dead, Xie Yuanjiu is sure to find out. We’ve tipped her off!"

Xu Jingxi’s expression grew serious. "Then what now? What else could she be planning?"

The little girl’s bright eyes darted about as she thought.

"Then I’ll just have to find another way to deal with her. Good always triumphs over evil. She won’t get away with this!"

Sure enough, Xie Yuanjiu kept a low profile for a while after the incident.

At the National Academy, whenever she ran into Shen Ningning, she would lower her head and avoid making eye contact.

Even when she encountered Liang Yici, she no longer started any conflicts.

Her silence only made Shen Ningning more certain that she was plotting something else.

Liang Yici, on the other hand, was completely baffled. That night, Ye Shangyi and Lu Shaoyuan had actually pulled her aside to count the books in the National Academy’s collection!

At first, she was annoyed, but Ye Shangyi and Lu Shaoyuan claimed they were overwhelmed with the work. Liang Yici didn’t have a cold heart; she never refused to help when she could.

So, she had no choice but to stay and help them count. She hadn’t realized just how vast the National Academy’s collection was!

They were still at it late into the night, and even then, they weren’t finished.

As a result, she couldn’t go to confront Lai Zi’s family until the next day.

Unexpectedly, Lai Zi’s family was gone.

A neighbor said that Lai Zi had heard a nearby town was giving away free Official Silver. All one had to do was trade ten pieces of cloth clothing to receive ten taels of broken silver.

So, he had packed up his family and left the night before.

To this day, Liang Yici still doesn’t know that it was Shen Ningning who helped her, saving her from being framed for arson and murder.

「Half a month went by in a flash.」

On this day, the azure sky was cloudless. Mr. Han organized all the students to go out and sketch and paint.

Everyone sat in the spacious courtyard, basking in the sun, talking and laughing.

Just then, an Attendant Student ran over in a panic, leading a Government Official.

The Attendant Student whispered a few words to Mr. Han, whose face instantly grew solemn. He looked up and said, "Fourth Miss of the Xie family, please accompany the Government Official. There’s been an incident with your mother in prison."

Xie Yuanjiu’s paintbrush fell to the ground. Her face was pale with panic, and she quickly stood up and hurried away with the Government Official.

The surrounding classmates started chattering amongst themselves—

"Why was a prison guard the one to inform her?"

"You don’t know? Second Madam Xie killed a maidservant at the Xie Mansion and was thrown in jail!"

"A maidservant isn’t a master. I’ve never heard of a master having to go to jail for killing a servant."

Shen Ningning listened quietly.

She was drawing Mo Lingwei holding her hand as they admired flowers.

But her ears were paying close attention to the surrounding conversation.

No one knew the truth; they were all just blindly sympathizing with Xie Yuanjiu.

This was precisely Xie Yuanjiu’s goal.

Meanwhile, when Xie Yuanjiu rushed to the prison, she was met with the sight of a body covered by a white sheet.

"Mother! Mother!" A flicker of triumph passed through her eyes, but on her face, she was weeping uncontrollably as she lunged forward.