Chapter 496: Planting a Seed of Doubt in Tuo Ye’s Heart

Chapter 496: Chapter 496: Planting a Seed of Doubt in Tuo Ye’s Heart

Shen Ningning knew it. The people sent by Changliu Country weren’t just going to wait obediently for her to find their so-called Tenth Princess.

Sure enough, not even half a month had passed before Xiuxiu couldn’t hold back any longer.

He took matters into his own hands and came up with a plan: any girl around seventeen or eighteen years old who came to have her finger pricked for a drop of blood would receive one tael of broken silver.

By the time Shen Ningning found out, Xiuxiu had already booked out an entire inn in the Capital City and begun his clandestine operation.

On this day, Xiuxiu sent someone to invite Shen Ningning to the inn.

He had reserved more than half of the private rooms on the second floor.

"Greetings, Princess. Your Highness, our gimmick has already made a splash. Lately, there’s always a long line of people outside the inn. You can bring out the Jade Ring now."

Shen Ningning didn’t quite approve of their methods.

But people are driven by profit. In the eyes of many commoners, there was only that one tael of broken silver. They were overjoyed at the thought of getting money for just a drop of blood.

Shen Ningning didn’t stop them. She handed over the Jade Ring and sat casually to the side to watch.

In the spacious private room, the young girl’s figure was hidden behind a screen. She reclined on a soft couch, eating the fresh fruit Xiuxiu had prepared for her.

After just two bites, she recognized the taste.

She looked at Tuo Ye, who was standing to the side, seemingly as a guard but in reality keeping a close watch on her.

"Did you buy this fruit from a stall on the street?"

"Yes, what about it?" Tuo Ye frowned. ’What trick is this Princess trying to pull now?’

"Is the shop called Wolf’s Sweet Water?"

"It is." Tuo Ye was just starting to find her annoying. ’Why does she keep asking such pointless questions?’

Suddenly, it dawned on him. ’Wolf’s Sweet Water... "Wolf"!’

’So that’s Princess Funing’s shop?’

As expected, Shen Ningning was already smiling sweetly. "Thank you for the business. Next time you go, buy me some bayberries. Make sure to go in the morning, or they’ll be withered by the afternoon."

Tuo Ye seethed with frustration!

’She’s really gloating now.’

This fresh fruit wasn’t cheap. Buying so much had cost them nearly eighty taels.

Tuo Ye stared at her, his gaze cold. ’Go on and eat. No one can out-eat you.’

Just then, Shen Ningning noticed him staring. "You want some too? Here, a reward for you."

Her jade-like fingers picked up two bayberries and offered them to him.

Tuo Ye refused coldly. "I will not."

"Go on. Following Xiuxiu around all day, have you ever had a chance to eat something this good?"

Hearing this, Tuo Ye became even more infuriated.

’She really looks down on me.’

Back in Changliu Country, he held a noble status. Although he hadn’t eaten much fresh fruit...

...that was only because their land of Changling didn’t produce much of it to begin with.

’Whenever there was anything good, wouldn’t his father, the emperor, have given it to him first?’

Seeing him stay silent, Shen Ningning pretended not to notice that he was ignoring her.

"Fine, don’t eat it. Someone who’s never had a bayberry before wouldn’t understand how good they are anyway."

Her words triggered Tuo Ye’s competitive nature.

He snatched the bayberries, tossed them into his mouth, and chewed furiously, as if venting his anger.

Shen Ningning fanned herself and let out a soft laugh, her lovely face filled with girlish innocence.

But Tuo Ye read a hint of mockery in her smile.

He was just about to say something, to tell her not to go too far.

But the moment he opened his mouth, the two bayberry pits lodged themselves perfectly in his throat.

The sensation of the foreign objects was overwhelming. He clutched his neck, his expression changing, and snatched the teapot to pour its contents into his mouth.

Shen Ningning jumped in fright and quickly said, "That’s boiling water!"

"AHH—" Tuo Ye was already letting out a scalded cry. He roared, "Why didn’t you say so sooner?!"

Shen Ningning looked innocent. "You didn’t ask. You just grabbed it and drank. Who acts so rashly? What, did you choke?"

Tuo Ye was already finding it difficult to breathe. It was excruciating.

As he paced back and forth, Shen Ningning handed him a Red Fruit. "Here, eat this. See if it can push the pits down."

Tuo Ye believed her, took it, and took a bite, then swallowed hard.

However...

He choked even worse.

Shen Ningning covered her mouth with her fan. "Oh! Your eyes are rolling back."

Tuo Ye was in agony, yet his mind still wandered. ’This Princess Funing is definitely messing with me on purpose!’

He fell to the ground, rolling back and forth, and knocked the screen over in the process.

Outside, the crowd of girls who had come to "give blood for money" screamed in unison.

Xiuxiu’s expression changed. He rushed forward nervously to help up the Third Prince.

Shen Ningning covered her mouth and nose with her fan, her bright, dark eyes fixed on Xiuxiu’s actions.

’He’s just a guard. Why would a veteran official like Xiuxiu be so nervous and concerned?’

Tuo Ye lay on the ground, gasping for breath, muttering, "It went down, it went down..."

Unexpectedly, the fall had actually dislodged the two fruit pits in his throat, and he had swallowed them.

He was covered in sweat, and Xiuxiu also breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Xiuxiu asked hurriedly.

Tuo Ye, having just had a near-death experience, was in no state to answer. Besides, choking on fruit pits was truly embarrassing.

Shen Ningning said unhurriedly, "I thought he looked rather pitiful, so I offered him two bayberries. Who knew that your guard here, who looks so big and strong, has a throat as narrow as a pinhole? Two little pits nearly choked the life out of him."

The girls present made sounds of pity and amusement.

They whispered among themselves—

"He’s so built, but his throat is that narrow? Doesn’t that mean he must sound like a sissy when he talks?"

"He’s nothing like my husband. When my man opens his mouth, he sounds like a bellowing yak."

Everyone laughed.

Tuo Ye felt utterly humiliated as Xiuxiu helped him to his feet.

His cold, vengeful gaze swept over Shen Ningning’s face.

’She actually made me lose face like this. Just you wait. I won’t let her get away with it.’

Xiuxiu’s attendant set the screen back up. Outside, the long line for "blood donation" continued unabated.

Shen Ningning leaned against the windowsill, bored.

Tuo Ye seemed to be afraid of her now. Even though he had to stand guard nearby and couldn’t leave, he made sure to keep his distance.

Shen Ningning’s red lips curled into a sneer. "Only those with a guilty conscience need to be afraid."

Her voice was too soft for Tuo Ye to hear. He just felt that the whole incident had been too strange.

’I had just been cursing Funing in my head, thinking it would be great if she ate herself to death.’

’But in the next second, I was the one who choked?’

’Could it be that the heavens truly favor this girl, so much that I can’t even think a single bad thought about her?’

Just then, Xiuxiu’s questioning voice came from beyond the screen. "Ma’am, this is the fourth girl you’ve brought. Do you have that many daughters?"

"Yes, yes," the woman replied in a thick, rural accent. "Don’t have much else at home, just a lot of kids. What’s wrong, can’t we get the money?"

Xiuxiu frowned. "But all four of your daughters are the same age, and they don’t look alike. That’s not very likely, is it? They aren’t your children."

The woman became belligerent, planting her hands on her hips and pointing at Xiuxiu’s head as she cursed.

"You old man, why are you making so much trouble? What do you care if they’re my daughters or not? You want blood, I want silver. Just hand it over and be done with it!"

Xiuxiu stopped the guard beside him from seizing the woman.

He maintained his smiling demeanor. "But if you don’t tell the truth, how are we to know if they are really eighteen or nineteen, or if you’ve just brought people to fraudulently make up the numbers?"

The woman looked as if he had hit a nerve. Her aggressive expression suddenly vanished, and her eyes began to shift evasively.

Xiuxiu smiled menacingly. "If you’re lying, you’ll have to return the silver."

"Return it, my foot! I don’t want it anymore, is that okay? Daughters, let’s go." She grabbed her so-called daughters and turned to flee as if she had a tail between her legs.

Xiuxiu looked at the people still in line and announced, "If anyone else is in the same situation, there’s no need to come forward. Otherwise, even if you take the silver, we will find a way to get it back. Everyone here is an honest citizen trying to make a living. It would be a shame if my guards were to get heavy-handed."

His combination of warning and intimidation worked, scaring away some of the guilt-ridden tricksters.

Behind the screen, Shen Ningning gently waved her fan and glanced at Tuo Ye.

As expected, she saw him frowning, listening intently to the commotion outside.

A glint appeared in Shen Ningning’s dark eyes.

Her voice rang out clearly. "I thought old Master Xiuxiu was just putting on a show about finding the Tenth Princess. I didn’t expect him to be so serious about it. It’s quite admirable."

Her words completely ignited the suspicion in Tuo Ye’s heart.

’But Xiuxiu told me the Jade Ring was a fake. How could it possibly find my sister?’

’If it’s fake, why is Xiuxiu being so serious?’

’Something’s not right. Could it be... that Xiuxiu is lying to me?’