Chapter 439: Why Do You Have Someone Else’s Husband’s Gift?

Chapter 439: Chapter 439: Why Do You Have Someone Else’s Husband’s Gift?

The young ladies were in an uproar.

Each and every one of them was whispering, all saying the same thing: they didn’t dare to eat.

Meanwhile, Shen Ningning tasted a piece, her expression unchanged.

It was salt and pepper flavored.

However, it wasn’t as good as what Sister-in-law Liu from her village made.

When Sister-in-law Liu fried locusts, they always came out golden-brown and crispy. Sprinkled with salt and pepper and a dash of chili powder, the aroma was simply divine.

These ones made in the palace were mediocre at best.

Shen Ningning ate, puckering her lips slightly. "It tastes pretty average."

The surrounding young ladies watched her, so brave and bold, and all gasped, their eyes wide.

Among the young ladies at Shen Ningning’s table, the first to pick up her chopsticks was Liang Yici.

Her expression was tense, and when she was serious, she looked just like Fang Qingdai.

Liang Yici ate three in a row. After chewing for a moment, she gave a slight nod.

"The taste is acceptable. When I lived on the border with my mother, I even ate fried grasshoppers."

When the young ladies heard her, there was another round of gasps.

Seeing that Liang Yici had started eating, Ye Shangyi no longer hesitated. She tried a few and nodded in genuine approval.

"These are better than I expected."

Qi Xiuwei looked the most timid and delicate. It had only been two years since she recovered from a major illness, and her face was still pale, the color on her lips coming from rouge.

She looked at the plate of fried locusts before her, her eyes flickering as if she were hesitating.

Shen Ningning knew her personality, so she said, "Xiao Wei, if you can’t stomach it, don’t force yourself."

Qi Xiuwei shook her head, looked up at Shen Ningning, and a gentle, shy smile blossomed on her lips.

"I’ve had them at home, too. The chef would mash them up, mix them with pepper, and toss them with shredded lotus root. That way, they taste much more fragrant."

The other young ladies: ...

They were truly and utterly impressed with the people at Shen Ningning’s table!

No wonder they all ended up sitting together.

However, while Shen Ningning and her friends weren’t afraid, the people at the next table with Mo Zhirou covered their mouths and noses, frowning with disgust.

"I can’t bring myself to eat them. It’s not that they taste bad, but I find it cruel," Mo Zhirou sighed.

Princess Consort Qi was intrigued. "How is it cruel?"

Mo Zhirou stood up, her figure as frail as a willow in the wind. "Your Highness, to ensure the locusts’ texture, I’ve heard that they are thrown whole into the hot oil while still alive, dying in an instant."

"The thought that they are living creatures too... I just can’t bring myself to take a bite. I would rather go hungry than eat a locust."

Ye Shangyi nearly rolled her eyes into the back of her head.

"Miss Mo, by your logic, do the crops the locusts eat deserve it? Are the farmers who grow those crops not worthy of pity either?"

Liang Yici crossed her arms, frowning, and was even more direct: "How pretentious."

Qi Xiuwei was more timid and didn’t dare to agree out loud, but she nodded silently. "Mhm!"

Shen Ningning, on the other hand, let out a snort of laughter.

With the four of them acting in concert, Mo Zhirou was so furious her fists clenched beneath her sleeves.

"That’s not what I meant, Miss Ye, please don’t misunderstand..." Mo Zhirou stammered, looking as if she had been wronged.

Seeing this, a young lady beside her stood up to speak for Mo Zhirou.

"Sister Zhirou isn’t wrong. Aren’t locusts killed while they’re still alive? Crops don’t have lives."

Ye Shangyi slammed her hand on the table and shot up. "If you’re so principled, then you shouldn’t eat grain from now on!"

Seeing the two sides at daggers drawn, the circle of the Capital City’s most noble young ladies about to erupt into a fight, Princess Consort Qi merely watched with cold eyes, a playful smile on her lips, but did not intervene.

Just as Shen Ningning was about to speak, a dark shadow flashed across the sky. Then, a dark object fell directly onto Mo Zhirou’s head.

"AH!" The young lady who had just spoken up for Mo Zhirou saw clearly what the thing was, screamed, and stumbled back, her face pale.

"What is it? What’s on my head?" Mo Zhirou reached up to touch it.

The group of young ladies’ faces paled in terror. "It’s a locust! It fell on your head!"

Mo Zhirou’s whole body stiffened, and then she started shrieking, "Get it off me! Someone, get it off!"

The servant waiting on her hurried forward. After taking the locust off her, they saw it was already dead and threw it on the ground.

Mo Zhirou instinctively lifted her foot and stomped on it viciously. "Disgusting! How dare it fall on me, the stupid thing!"

Seeing her trample it repeatedly, when she moved her shoe away, the locust had become a flat, yellow smear.

One of the young ladies gagged.

Shen Ningning blinked. "Miss Mo, didn’t you say you couldn’t bear to eat fried locusts? But you can bear to stomp on one with your foot. That’s a special kind of mercy, isn’t it?"

Mo Zhirou snapped back to her senses, her expression changing.

She stiffly raised her head and found everyone staring at her with shocked and horrified gazes.

In that instant, Mo Zhirou was filled with extreme hatred for Shen Ningning.

’Whenever I’m around her, I always end up embarrassing myself!’

Princess Consort Qi smoothed things over with a faint smile. "Alright, it was just an accident. You should sit down as well."

Only then did Mo Zhirou lower her head and dejectedly sit back down.

Shen Ningning looked at the eagle, Mengyi, perched on the eaves not far away and couldn’t help but smile secretly.

’All those hundreds of chickens Mengyi ate weren’t for nothing! He’s finally tamed, and he even knows to drop a locust on Mo Zhirou at the critical moment.’

Next, a dark glint flashed in Shen Ningning’s eyes. It was time to get to her main point.

After all, she hadn’t come here just to celebrate Princess Consort Qi’s birthday.

Taking advantage of the moment when everyone was chatting amongst themselves, Shen Ningning walked over to Mo Zhirou.

In a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, she asked, "What happened to that Jade Token from last time? I really like that piece of jade. If King Shu has no other plans for it, I’d like to buy it. What do you think?"

Mo Zhirou had just lost face because of Shen Ningning and was racking her brain for a way to get back at her.

Hearing this, she immediately looked up, her tone cold and her smile not reaching her eyes. "How unfortunate, Princess. The Jade Token certainly can’t be returned to you. No amount of money you offer will work."

As she spoke, a trace of contempt flashed in Mo Zhirou’s eyes.

She deliberately raised her voice so everyone could hear. "My father, the King, has already given the Jade Token to my mother. Surely the Princess doesn’t think my father would be willing to sell that Jade Pendant to you now?"

Everyone turned to look in their direction.

Princess Consort Qi, being far away, couldn’t hear their argument clearly, but she frowned in suspicion.

She had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, the next second, Shen Ningning pointed toward Princess Consort Qi.

The little girl wore a look of utter confusion, blinking her large, round, dark eyes.

"What? You said King Shu gave it to Princess Shu? Then why does the Jade Token hanging around Princess Consort Qi’s neck look exactly like the one you bought?"

Everyone was stunned. Their eyes flew to Princess Consort Qi, and indeed, the Jade Token hanging from her neck, set against her embroidered collar, appeared an even deeper, more translucent emerald green.

The look in Princess Consort Qi’s eyes changed drastically. Before she could take it off, everyone had seen it.

But Mo Zhirou questioned Shen Ningning’s words.

"Princess Funing, you can’t just say things like that! My father told me very clearly that this Jade Token was to be a gift for my mother. How could it possibly be with Princess Consort Qi!"

However, Mo Zhirou took a few steps closer and looked intently.

It really was the Jade Token she had helped buy!

Seeing the chilling expression on Princess Consort Qi’s face, Mo Zhirou felt a sense of dread.

’How did the Jade Token end up in Princess Consort Qi’s hands?’

Everyone looked at Princess Consort Qi in silence, waiting for her answer.

Just then, a Palace Attendant from a short distance away announced, "Princess Shu has arrived!"

Shen Ningning’s eyes narrowed into a smile.

’My guest of honor has arrived!’