Chapter 469

Chapter 469: Chapter 469

Just then.

Mrs. Qi Sr. arrived in a panic, leaning on her maid’s arm.

As soon as she saw Mo Lingwei, she hastily knelt on the ground with her servants to greet him.

"I was not aware of the Crown Prince’s arrival. This humble residence has failed to welcome you properly."

Mo Lingwei’s tone was icy. "Are you blind? Can you not see the Princess is here as well?"

Mrs. Qi Sr.’s heart trembled. She quickly kowtowed to Shen Ningning in greeting as well.

’No matter how much she disliked the Xie family, she had no choice but to bow her head and curry favor now.’

Shen Ningning watched Mo Lingwei silently.

’It seems my brother is in a truly awful mood.’

The young girl waved her hand, telling Mrs. Qi Sr. to rise.

"Lord Pei has an eagle named Mengyi. It often comes to the mansion to play with Xiao Wei. It flew over just a moment ago. I wonder if Mrs. Qi Sr. has seen it?"

Mrs. Qi Sr. quickly shook her head. "I have not."

Pei Yin, however, frowned. He took a bird whistle from his robes and blew it.

Mengyi did not appear, but Pei Yin, Shen Ningning, and Mo Lingwei all heard the fierce cry of an eagle coming from the rear courtyard.

"It’s over there!" Shen Ningning quickly lifted her skirts and was the first to follow the sound.

Pei Yin and Mo Lingwei followed close behind.

The color drained from Mrs. Qi Sr.’s face. "This is bad."

Her eyes darted about as she frantically tried to think of a way to handle the situation.

When they reached the rear courtyard, Shen Ningning saw two manservants pinning Mengyi down. The eagle, having grown enormous and incredibly strong from the Spiritual Spring Water she had given it, was not easily restrained.

The two servants could barely hold on as Mengyi thrashed its wings, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Let go!" Mo Lingwei roared, startling the two manservants into immediately releasing their grip.

Mengyi had quite a temper. It flapped its wings, then turned and swiped its claws across the faces of the two servants.

Bloody scratches instantly appeared, and they rolled on the ground, howling in pain.

Mengyi screeched and ran to hide behind Shen Ningning.

It cried out, as if accusing them.

It turned out that as soon as it had flown into Qi Xiuwei’s courtyard, it had been seized by these guards.

Not only had that old woman ordered them to capture it, but she had also ignored Qi Xiuwei’s pleas and declared she was going to kill it.

Qi Xiuwei had already cried herself into a dead faint.

Hearing this, Shen Ningning turned to look at the hastily arriving Mrs. Qi Sr.

For the first time, the young girl was truly angry.

"Mrs. Qi Sr., you have some nerve. Mengyi was right here in your mansion. Why did you lie?"

Seeing she could no longer hide the truth, Mrs. Qi Sr. hurriedly explained, "I did not know this was the Princess’s eagle! Otherwise, I would never have dared to conceal it. It’s just... this eagle comes every few days and is a bad influence on Wei’er. We were also afraid the bird of prey would scratch her. Perhaps the Princess is unaware, but Wei’er is to be engaged soon. How could she risk getting injured..."

Beside them, Pei Yin was taken aback.

Mo Lingwei, who had been looking for an outlet for his anger, snapped, "We ask, you answer honestly. That’s all. How dare you lie with me standing right here? I can only imagine how you’d treat Shen Ningning and the others if I were gone."

With that, he lifted his chin and signaled to the Crown Prince’s personal guard who had accompanied them. "Mrs. Qi Sr. deceived a superior. Considering she is an elder, I will not strike her. Instead, her son, Mr. Qi, will receive the caning in her stead!"

Wu Fang asked, "How many strikes?"

Mo Lingwei answered without a second thought. "Fifty. Make sure he takes every one!"

Mrs. Qi Sr.’s face paled, and she immediately began to beg for mercy.

Unexpectedly, Mo Lingwei’s voice grew even colder. "Beg again, and I’ll add another ten strikes."

Mrs. Qi Sr. could only shut her mouth, sobbing but not daring to say another word.

Shen Ningning quietly observed Mo Lingwei’s actions.

The young girl nodded emphatically to herself.

’Yep! My brother seems to be genuinely furious.’

’He’s probably in a foul mood. I’d better not provoke him.’

Shen Ningning made a request. "How is Xiao Wei? I’d like to see her."

However, when she went to see Qi Xiuwei, she found her still unconscious.

She hadn’t seen her in some time, and Qi Xiuwei had grown frighteningly thin.

Shen Ningning was quite worried. When the maids weren’t looking, she took out a waterskin filled with Spiritual Spring Water and some red fruits from her Immortal Realm and placed them by Qi Xiuwei’s pillow.

"Xiao Wei, you have to get well soon."

Just then, a weary voice came from the doorway. "Has the Princess come to see Wei’er?"

Shen Ningning stood up and saw Mrs. Qi of the Yu Family enter with her maids.

The young girl was very polite. "Greetings, Mrs. Qi."

Mrs. Qi had a kind face. Seeing Shen Ningning, she smiled wistfully and nodded.

"Wei’er doesn’t have many friends. The Princess is certainly her best one. Thank you for coming to see her. Otherwise... once she is engaged, she will have to leave with the Princely Heir."

At this, Mrs. Qi wiped away a tear and began to sob.

Shen Ningning glanced at the doorway where Mo Lingwei and Pei Yin were talking, though she couldn’t hear what they were saying.

She took the opportunity to sit down with Mrs. Qi at the table.

"Mrs. Qi, forgive my bold guess, but you don’t want Xiao Wei to marry a man so much older than her, do you?"

Mrs. Qi paused. She didn’t dare nod, only glancing cautiously outside.

Then, she whispered, "Yes... She is my own daughter. How could I bear to see her become someone’s second wife? But my mother-in-law is domineering. I can’t win against her."

Shen Ningning composed herself. "Actually, I’ve always wanted to know what happened back then, when my mother was living in the Qi Mansion. What could have caused such a complete break between her and your family? Mrs. Qi, can you tell me?"

Mrs. Qi’s face paled, and she shook her head instinctively. "I can’t say... Mrs. Qi Sr. forbids anyone from mentioning it."

Shen Ningning’s dark eyes glinted. "If you are willing to tell me, then I will do my best to help Xiao Wei and ruin this engagement."

Mrs. Qi’s heart skipped a beat. She looked up, clearly tempted.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the maids standing by the door.

Steeling her resolve, Mrs. Qi told Shen Ningning everything about what had happened all those years ago.

It turned out that when Shen Siyi was first brought back to the Qi Mansion, she looked to be about fourteen or fifteen. Because she was beautiful and spoke with uncommon elegance, Mrs. Qi Sr. developed other ideas. She took the initiative to keep her there, even having Mr. Qi Sr. at the time adopt her as a daughter.

Princess Consort Qi and Shen Siyi were about the same age, and they called each other sisters, sharing an excellent relationship.

Later, when Princess Consort Qi secretly met and fell in love with the King Shu, Shen Siyi even helped cover for them, deflecting the strict Mrs. Qi Sr.’s inquiries.

But a secret like that can’t be kept forever, and Mrs. Qi Sr. eventually found out.

Mrs. Qi spoke cryptically. "I don’t know the specific details. Mother-in-law never spoke of it at home. I only heard from my husband that my sister-in-law seemed to have done something terribly disgraceful—something that would ruin the Qi Mansion’s reputation if it ever got out."

A suspicion began to form in Shen Ningning’s mind.

’Could she mean that Princess Consort Qi was pregnant with the King Shu’s child?’

Afterward, for reasons unknown, Qi Jingchun pleaded with Shen Siyi—who had always indulged her—to marry the King Shu in her place. It was likely so she could better care for their child.

But Shen Siyi had already met Xie Suzhi by then and could never agree to Qi Jingchun’s absurd request.

"The two of them had a terrible fight. After I married into the family, I had never seen their relationship become so strained. Through the door, I heard Miss Shen say to my sister-in-law, ’I truly regret giving it to you.’ After that, Chancellor Xie came and took the Princess’s mother away. From then on, our two families broke off all contact and never associated again."

At that very moment, upon hearing this, Shen Ningning was certain.

’Mother’s Natural Disaster System... She really did give it to Qi Jingchun!’