Chapter 472: A Self-Inflicted Doom

Chapter 472: Chapter 472: A Self-Inflicted Doom

The Emperor was at his wit’s end. He turned to his guards. "Why haven’t you brought King Shu here yet? Send someone else to get him!"

If they didn’t leave soon, it would be too late.

However, the imperial guards who had gone to King Shu’s meditation chamber returned to report, "We did not see the King in his room, Your Majesty!"

The little monk guarding the gate couldn’t help but speak up. "An hour ago, I saw him heading down the mountain. I thought all you benefactors already knew..."

The Emperor’s heart sank.

Shen Ningning hopped off Jiang Zhi’s back.

The little girl’s eyes were dark as she said, "It seems King Shu was the one who destroyed the road."

"How could this be? How could this be!" the Emperor mumbled in disbelief. "My own brother... wants to see me dead?!"

Shen Ningning had already figured it out.

’Today’s downpour and the resulting flood must be the work of King Shu and Princess Consort Qi working together.’

’It was probably the incident with the Ninth Prince that finally made them decide to make a fatal move against the Emperor and Mo Lingwei.’

’And this was the perfect opportunity. The Emperor’s visit to pay respects to the Empress was usually a secret trip with a small entourage, and Mo Lingwei had to accompany him.’

’King Shu and Princess Consort Qi had planned it all out. During the visit to the Empress’s memorial, Mo Lingwei would have a sudden relapse. The Emperor would surely be frantic, leaving him unable to deal with the impending flood.’

Just then, Mo Lingwei, who was slumped over Chen Shaobei’s back, suddenly spoke, his voice weary. "He won’t get away."

The Emperor quickly turned around. "My son, you’re finally awake!"

Mo Lingwei slowly steadied himself on his feet, and an imperial guard immediately brought over a chair for him.

The young Crown Prince’s face was pale, but his sharp, dark eyes had already regained their brilliant light.

"Today was a trap set just for him. I already arranged for my men to be in the area, anticipating that he wouldn’t behave."

The Emperor had a sudden realization.

No wonder Mo Lingwei had asked him to play along and announce in advance that he would be making a low-key trip with King Shu on the anniversary of the Empress’s death.

’So it was all to force King Shu to reveal his true colors!’

Shen Ningning ran to Mo Lingwei’s side. "Brother, are you still feeling unwell?"

Mo Lingwei slowly shook his head. His body was still weak. The Spirit Grass in his stomach was making him break out in a sweat, but it felt incredibly refreshing.

It felt as if the chill was being forced out from every corner of his body.

"I’ll be fine after a little rest." Seeing her worry about him, Mo Lingwei suddenly felt a little happy.

Just then, the Crown Prince’s personal guard, whom he had arranged to lie in ambush nearby, returned, dragging the fugitive King Shu with them.

Judging by the various bloodstains on them, they had clearly been through a brief struggle.

It seemed King Shu had lost.

He was forced to his knees before the Emperor.

"Just as the Crown Prince suspected, before King Shu tried to escape down the mountain in his carriage, he had his men use explosives to create a rockslide, blocking the path down."

So, those few rumbles they had heard were actually the sound of cannons.

The Emperor frowned at King Shu. "Why would you do this?!"

King Shu clenched his jaw and refused to answer, looking as if he were ready to die.

"I’ve already done it, so why would I fear the Emperor’s punishment? There’s no need to ask anymore. Whatever the crime, I’ll bear it all!"

The Emperor was enraged. "You!"

Shen Ningning immediately said, "Uncle Emperor, don’t be in such a hurry to pass judgment. That would be letting him off too easily. I have a way. When we get back to the capital, I’ll be able to root out his accomplices."

King Shu’s heart skipped a beat. He looked up at Shen Ningning, his gaze sinister.

He slowly began to laugh, a wild, arrogant sound.

"Go down the mountain? All of you will be buried here with me! You can’t leave! This rain will only get heavier, and when the flood comes rushing down, we’ll all die together!"

King Shu was right. The rain was pouring, and he had used cannons to blast a huge gap in the mountain ridge.

If the rain continued like this, the flood would likely swallow the entire National Temple.

The abbot of the National Temple pressed his palms together, his calm, compassionate expression tinged with sorrow.

"Amitabha Buddha. So this is the calamity that was to befall our temple."

The Emperor viciously kicked King Shu twice, but it still wasn’t enough to vent his anger.

The road down was blocked. There was no escape.

The most urgent task was to stop the rain.

He could only turn to Shen Ningning for help.

"Ningning, you always have a solution. Could you please think of a way to stop this downpour?"

Shen Ningning had already considered it.

She had already mentally rummaged through everything available in the Immortal Realm.

A moment ago, the little girl had crushed two of the Little Golden Pills that represented the sun, but it hadn’t stopped the rain.

Princess Consort Qi must have activated the Natural Disaster System.

If she wanted to stop this disaster, there was only one way.

Shen Ningning steeled herself. "I’ll go try on my own."

Then, she walked to a side room and shut herself inside.

The little girl slipped into the Immortal Realm and returned to the machine that could destroy natural disasters.

This time, when she pressed the red button, it again prompted her to enter a password.

Shen Ningning’s head ached.

’What kind of password would Mother have set to protect this program?’

The little girl racked her brain.

’If I were Mother, I would...’

Shen Ningning touched the screen and saw many letters appear for her to choose from.

She recognized them. From reading the dictionary her mother had left behind, she knew this was called Pinyin.

’In that case, the password might be a series of names.’

She first tried her mother’s own name, Shen Siyi, but it was incorrect. Then she entered "Moon Landing," which was also incorrect.

The system prompted that she only had one last chance.

If she failed, the program would activate its self-protection mode, and she wouldn’t be able to try again for three days.

"Darn it!" The little girl paced around anxiously.

’One last chance,’ she thought. ’Should I try Father’s name, or should I use...’

A flash of inspiration struck Shen Ningning.

’That’s it! If it was Mother, she might have used this as the password.’

The little girl quickly typed in the Pinyin for the four-word phrase: "A Heart at Peace."

This time, it prompted: Password Correct!

She was overjoyed and hurriedly pressed the red button.

A cold, female voice announced—

"Natural Disaster System self-destruct sequence initiated."

At that moment, far away in the palace, Princess Consort Qi, who had locked herself in her room, was continuously rubbing a Jade Pendant.

The madness in her eyes gave her a ferocious look. Outside, the thunderstorm roared, mirroring her mood.

"Rain! Rain harder! Let Shen Ningning and all the others die in the flood!"

She had to admit, this thing Shen Siyi had given her back then was a real treasure, always coming in handy at the most critical moments.

However, just as she was lost in her frenzy, she heard a sharp CRACK.

The Jade Pendant in her hand had split down the middle!

Princess Consort Qi’s expression changed. "How can this be?"

She quickly clenched her fist around the Jade Pendant, afraid it would break completely, but it was no use.

The entire Jade Pendant grew scorching hot from the inside out. Just as Princess Consort Qi could barely hold on, it suddenly shattered into dust!

In almost the same instant, the roaring thunder and rain outside stopped completely.

Princess Consort Qi’s eyes went wide. She shrieked hysterically, "No! Don’t! How could you break now? Keep raining! Rain!"

Suddenly!

A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking her directly and shattering the roof.

Princess Consort Qi tumbled from her bed. As she lost consciousness, she was still clutching a fragment of the broken Jade Pendant.

What she didn’t know was that after destroying the Natural Disaster System, Shen Ningning had intended to leave the Immortal Realm.

But then the little girl saw another red dot flashing on a different screen.

Just like last time, she touched it and summoned a bolt of lightning.

As Princess Consort Qi lay charred and on the brink of death, she thought she saw Shen Siyi appear before her.

"I told you long ago: you reap what you sow." Shen Siyi’s gaze was cold, as aloof and superior as ever.