Chapter 467: Could It Be That the Emperor Really Knows?

Chapter 467: Chapter 467: Could It Be That the Emperor Really Knows?

Perhaps Xie Ming’an’s warning had worked.

A month passed, and King Shu and Princess Consort Qi made no further moves.

Every time Shen Ningning went to the palace to play with Mo Lingwei, she would hear that Princess Consort Qi had been heartbroken ever since the Ninth Prince left.

She spent all day in her chambers, refusing visitors and devoting herself to chanting Buddhist scriptures.

Even when the Emperor inquired about her well-being several times, she only answered from behind her door.

If Shen Ningning hadn’t known what she was really like, she might have actually believed the woman had turned over a new leaf.

「Early autumn arrived.」

Shen Ningning went to her shop to check the accounts one day.

Unexpectedly, just as she arrived, Wuer came running over. "Miss, there was a beggar lying by the door last night. His face was disfigured beyond recognition and he was on the brink of death, but he kept insisting on seeing you."

Shen Ningning’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Where is he?"

"We thought he might be someone you know, but we were also worried he might be carrying some disease, so we moved him to the woodshed in our backyard for now."

Shen Ningning quickly had Wuer lead the way.

When they rushed to the woodshed and pushed open the door, they saw a man who looked like a beggar lying unconscious on the floor.

Wuer and the others had laid out a soft pallet for him, and a bowl of clean water was placed on the ground beside him.

The young girl took two steps closer and could smell the foul odor coming from him.

But Shen Ningning wasn’t repulsed; she just curiously studied his exposed face.

From his brow bone to his jaw, his entire left cheek looked as if it had been seared by fire. His features were twisted and somewhat horrifying, but after looking for only a moment, Shen Ningning immediately recognized him.

"It’s Mr. Zhang Liu!" ’Just as Second Brother said, he’s still alive!’

Shen Ningning quickly asked, "Have you had a doctor look at him?"

Wuer shook her head. "Because we were afraid his unknown identity might bring you trouble, Miss, Aunt Yun said not to call for a doctor just yet. We gave him some of the shop’s mountain spring water a few times."

The mountain spring water in the shop was all brought down from Wolf Mountain daily on Shen Ningning’s orders.

In reality, it was Spiritual Spring Water.

Fortunately, she had studied the Qihuang Skill with the Divine Doctor, so she quickly knelt to take Mr. Zhang Liu’s pulse.

His pulse was chaotic and erratic, but there were no signs of major illness. He was likely just extremely weak from prolonged starvation.

Shen Ningning immediately told Wuer to go cook some eggs with brown sugar.

Just as Wuer left, Mr. Zhang Liu heard the commotion and slowly began to wake up.

"Boss, is that you, Boss..." Mr. Zhang Liu’s voice was weak and his gaze was cloudy, but he tried his best to see clearly.

Shen Ningning quickly took his hand. "It’s me, Uncle Zhang. You’re finally back! We were all so worried when we heard you had died in the fire!"

Mr. Zhang Liu coughed incessantly. Shen Ningning helped him sit up and gave him some water to drink.

After calming down a bit, he looked around and realized he was finally safe, and his face streamed with tears.

"Boss, I almost didn’t make it back to see you." He wept as he recounted the hardships of his journey, hiding and fleeing.

Listening to Mr. Zhang Liu’s fragmented story, Shen Ningning gradually pieced together what had happened.

It turned out that when he was leading the farmers to plant the sweet potato vines, he had been deliberately thwarted by Mr. Li, just as she’d suspected.

The Li Family had repeatedly demanded silver bribes from him. His refusal to pay led to the tragic fire that followed.

Fortunately, he had long since discovered that Mr. Li intended to silence him, so he had dug a hole in a corner of the sweet potato vine storehouse as an escape route.

And his suspicions proved correct.

The fire broke out in the middle of the night. He had been forced to drink a lot of wine that evening, but he fought to stay conscious and crawled out through the hole.

He didn’t dare look back. Knowing someone wanted him dead, he just kept running.

It wasn’t until he had run deep into the mountains that he dared to lean against a tree and look back. The fruits of his labor for over a year had been devoured by a sea of flames.

It was also then that Mr. Zhang Liu felt the pain in his face. He realized he had been burned by the fire after all. But he couldn’t worry about that; he had to get away from that dangerous place immediately.

After that, the Li Family must have realized his body was missing, so they secretly sent people to hunt him down.

Mr. Zhang Liu didn’t dare return to the Capital City, nor could he find a way to secretly write to Shen Ningning. He was afraid his letter would be intercepted by the Li Family’s men before it ever reached her.

He could only hide deep in the mountains, foraging for fruit to survive.

Mr. Zhang Liu only dared to head for the Capital City after he heard the news while begging in the lowlands: Shen Ningning had brought the Li Family and Xie Yuanjiu to justice.

The journey had been incredibly difficult. He survived entirely on begging, making his way to the Capital City one step at a time.

Listening to his bitter story, Shen Ningning could only imagine how hard it must have been.

"Uncle Zhang, once you’ve recovered, come with me to the palace to explain what happened to Uncle Emperor. He will surely recognize your contributions, give you a fine reward, and allow you to live out the rest of your days in peace."

But Mr. Zhang Liu shook his head in a panic. "No, no! Boss, I suspect this matter isn’t so simple. The Li Family must have an accomplice in the palace."

Shen Ningning frowned in confusion.

’An accomplice?’

’I always thought the Li Family was acting on Xie Yuanjiu’s orders.’

But Mr. Zhang Liu said, "During the time I was arguing with Mr. Li, he repeatedly threatened me with some noble in the Capital. He said that even if I reported him in the Capital City, that noble would intercept my letters and ensure the Emperor would never believe my words."

’Mr. Li wouldn’t make an empty threat.’

A thought flashed through Shen Ningning’s mind. "The person he was talking about... could it be Princess Consort Qi?"

Mr. Zhang Liu didn’t know who that was and just looked on blankly.

"But if it was a noble in the palace, why would they want to stop us from planting sweet potato vines and destroy them on such a large scale?"

Shen Ningning sighed. "Because that person doesn’t want Cangyun Country to survive the natural disasters at all."

’If the sweet potato vines could be planted on a large scale, it would solve the problem of hunger for countless people.’

’And the one causing these natural disasters clearly wants Cangyun Country to suffer!’

This matched what Master Gu had told Shen Ningning about the Natural Disaster System.

That person was in control of this so-called system and had been causing chaos all along.

Soon, Wuer returned with a bowl of eggs and brown sugar.

Mr. Zhang Liu was simply too weak, and Shen Ningning didn’t feel at ease letting him stay anywhere else.

So she called for the guards from the Princess Mansion and had them carry him there.

There, he would have dedicated physicians and palace maids to care for him, as well as Master Gu for company.

Another half a month passed. Mr. Zhang Liu’s health improved, and Shen Ningning immediately took him into the palace. Fearing she might alert the enemy, she arranged a secret meeting with the Emperor.

The spy King Shu had planted reported the matter to him that very night.

"The princess brought a stranger into the palace. The person wore a cloak, so their face was hidden. They went into the Imperial Study Room and only came out after an hour."

King Shu narrowed his eyes. The candle on the table burned brightly, casting his shadow onto the curio shelf. The mottled, distorted silhouette looked like a demon.

"What exactly are they planning?"

Not long after, King Shu’s spy also learned that the Emperor had secretly summoned Xie Ming’an, though what they discussed was unknown.

A few days later, an Imperial Decree was issued from the palace.

The Emperor was deposing Princess Consort Qi, stripping her of her rank to make her a commoner, and banishing her to the Cold Palace!

King Shu’s heart leaped in shock. He made inquiries through various channels and heard that the Emperor had discovered Princess Consort Qi was hiding something from him.

In that instant, King Shu’s mind was in turmoil.

’Could it be? Does the Emperor really know?’