Landlord Du watched as Minister Wei stared in stunned silence.
"Lord Minister?" he called out tentatively.
Suddenly!
Minister Wei snapped back to his senses, snatched the inkstone from the desk, and smashed it over Landlord Du’s head.
"Oof!" Landlord Du failed to dodge, taking the full force of the blow.
He fell to the ground, clutching his head and begging for mercy. "Lord Minister, what’s wrong? Spare me!"
"You useless piece of trash! I knew you were incompetent from the start. If you’d just killed her back then, we wouldn’t have all this trouble now!" Minister Wei cursed.
"Don’t you realize? This Shen Ningning is now highly favored by the Crown Prince! If she reports what she saw to him, neither of us will survive!"
Minister Wei was all too familiar with Mo Lingwei’s methods.
The Crown Prince was both insane and cruel, his thoughts unfathomably deep.
Landlord Du covered his head and pleaded, "Lord Minister, please, for the sake of my unwavering loyalty and all the silver I’ve offered you, calm your anger!"
Minister Wei’s eyes were bloodshot with rage.
If the Emperor discovered that he was the one who had colluded with the bandits, the entire Wei Family would face annihilation.
After a moment, the fury in his eyes gave way to a sinister, despicable glint.
"I’ll ask you one last time. Are you certain the person who saw you trading with the bandits that day was this Shen Ningning?"
Landlord Du nodded affirmatively.
"It was definitely her!"
That night, he had been trading with the bandits in the woods under the cover of darkness.
But when he turned around, he saw a small, short figure hiding behind a bush.
Once spotted, the figure quickly scrambled into the thicket and vanished.
By the time he went to look, the person was long gone.
And on the ground was a single, torn little shoe—Shen Ningning’s.
The next day, he went to find Wang Guihong and saw her scolding the little girl.
"You little orphan! You spent a whole night on the mountain. If you were going to die, you should have died far away! What are you doing back here?!" He still remembered Wang Guihong’s words with perfect clarity.
’So, there’s no mistake. The person peeking that night was Shen Ningning.’
Minister Wei exhaled slowly, his tone vicious. "Then don’t blame me for being merciless with her."
Landlord Du felt a sense of relief.
’As long as Minister Wei makes a move, no one survives.’
He got up disheveledly. Blood streamed from his broken forehead, but he didn’t dare wipe it away.
"Lord Minister, I will take my leave now."
Minister Wei shot him a cold glance, his threat chilling. "Don’t run your mouth when you leave. Otherwise, don’t forget I still have one of yours in my hands."
"I will serve you faithfully my entire life, Lord Minister, and never have a shred of disloyalty!" After Landlord Du pledged his allegiance, Minister Wei told him to get out.
***
The weather was scorching. Although it had rained a few days prior, it did little to stop the fiery sun.
The earth was baked dry, covered in cracks, but Xiangyun Village was filled with laughter and joy, both inside and out.
When it had rained before, everyone had seized the opportunity to store a large amount of water.
Some villagers, seeing a glimmer of hope, began to meticulously care for their loquat trees.
Shen Ningning rode the Black Wolf King to find Chen Ye, asking him to drive the horse-drawn carriage to Xitai Village.
Chen Ye agreed without hesitation.
On the way to Xitai Village, Chen Ye couldn’t help but say, "Miss, you’re bringing so much food to the Wu family. If they’re swindlers, this will only make them cling to you even more."
Chen Ye thought Shen Ningning was trying to move them with kindness, but human nature was often insatiably greedy.
The little girl turned her head and looked at the carriage full of rice and fine flour. She reached out a small hand to stroke the Black Wolf King’s fur.
"Brother Chen, I have my reasons for doing this. Don’t you worry!"
Hearing her say this, Chen Ye also smiled. "The young miss always has a plan."
A lively sparkle danced on Shen Ningning’s round, rosy cheeks.
’She had brought Chen Ye and Langlang with her today. Of course she had another purpose for going to Xitai Village!’
When they arrived at the village entrance, her carriage immediately drew the attention of the Xitai Village residents.
This village had many wealthy people, but a horse-drawn carriage was still a rare sight.
Shen Ningning’s carriage had just stopped at the Wu family’s gate when Qian Siniang rushed out to greet her, overjoyed.
"Ah! Ningning is here!"
Chen Ye got out of the carriage first and began to unload the sacks of rice and flour.
Qian Siniang’s triumphant gaze swept over the onlookers as she raised her voice even louder. "You should have just come yourself! Why did you bring so many things?"
The carriage curtain moved, and Shen Ningning’s delicate, fresh little face appeared.
She smiled sweetly, her voice soft and tender. "My grandma asked me to bring these. We bought too much before, so I’m sharing some with you."
The little girl hadn’t brought any of the grains or fruits grown in the Immortal Realm.
She only brought things that could be bought at the market with money.
Wu Cui opened a sack and saw the fine white rice and flour.
The villagers of Xitai Village were green with envy!
Wu Cui couldn’t tear his eyes away. "So much! This must have cost a lot of silver!"
"The silver is a small matter. The main thing is that I wanted to give them to you. If you really are my long-lost parents, then giving you anything is what I should do," the little girl said, smiling with her eyes narrowed.
Qian Siniang was beyond delighted and quickly told Wu Cui to move the things inside.
𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"Oh, Ningning! You are our daughter! Just look at the two of us, we look so much alike!"
She was just about to hug Shen Ningning to show her off to the villagers.
But unexpectedly, the carriage curtain flickered, the little girl stepped aside, and the Black Wolf King leaped out in a single bound.
The sudden appearance of the Black Wolf King, more muscular than a bear, sent the villagers into a series of shrieks. Qian Siniang was so frightened she collapsed onto the ground.
"Such... such a big wolf!" she stammered, terrified.
The Black Wolf King scanned the area with its cold, yellow eyes, then obediently walked to the side of the carriage, allowing Shen Ningning to lean on it as it helped her down.
The villagers who hadn’t run away were in an uproar when they saw this scene.
They had long heard that Shen Ningning of Xiangyun Village could command a pack of wolves.
Seeing it today was truly astounding!
The ferocious, beastly wolf was as docile as a house pet by her side!
And ever since the Black Wolf King appeared, not a single dog in the village dared to bark.
Shen Ningning’s voice was soft and gentle as she reassured everyone, "Don’t be afraid. Although Langlang is the Wolf King, he has a very good temper and never bites people without reason."
The villagers were stunned.
’He’s actually the Wolf King, and even he is willing to bow his head obediently to Shen Ningning!’
"Girl, girl!" Wu Zuchang ran out.
His clothes were stained with some un-wiped soup from his meal.
He wasn’t afraid when he saw the Black Wolf King, just smiled foolishly. "What a big dog!"
The Black Wolf King really wanted to lunge forward and bite him to death.
It only held back after Shen Ningning hugged its head to soothe it.
"Brother Zuchang, this isn’t a dog. It’s a wolf, and the Wolf King at that!" She beckoned with her small hand. "Do you dare to pet him?"
"I... I dare!" Wu Zuchang ran over and reached out his hand.
However, even a fool knows fear. When he saw the Black Wolf King’s deep, haunting eyes, he only dared to lightly touch its ear before snatching his hand back.
Qian Siniang grew a little worried and pulled Wu Zuchang back to her side with an apologetic smile.
"Ningning, let’s go inside and talk. Are you hungry? I’ll make you something to eat."
"Okay," the little girl replied sweetly and followed her in. She had Chen Ye come into the courtyard for a meal as well, while the Black Wolf King found a shady spot to lie down.
It looked like it was about to sleep, but its lazy wolf eyes remained fixed in Shen Ningning’s direction.
The villagers dispersed, gossiping among themselves—
"If she’s really the Wu family’s daughter, they’ve hit the jackpot!"
"Isn’t that the truth? This is only her second visit, and she’s already brought so much food, plus she has a personal guard driving her carriage."
"What I’m most jealous of is that even the wolf listens to the child. How impressive would it be to take that thing out?"
"The Wu family’s good days are here."
Deng Fugui’s mother, Wang Qiao’er, dressed gaudily and about to head out, heard the discussion and quickly grabbed a village woman to ask what was going on.
After she understood the situation, she was immediately furious!
’That Shen Ningning! Back when I asked her to bring out the wolf pack to show off a bit, she wasn’t willing.’
’Now look at her, bringing food to the Wu family and even bringing the wolf along.’
’Why was she so stingy back then?’
The more Wang Qiao’er thought about it, the more upset she became. Shen Ningning was at least half responsible for her divorce!
As she passed the Wu family’s courtyard, Wang Qiao’er spat viciously on the ground.
"What a piece of trash!"
「Inside the house.」
Shen Ningning sat on a chair, a wide smile on her face.
"Aunt Wu, don’t be in a rush to cook. There’s something I need to ask you and Uncle Wu," the little girl said softly.
Qian Siniang tied on her apron and walked over happily. "What is it, Ningning?"
The little girl took a longevity lock from her clothes. "Grandma searched for a long time at home and finally found the lock you were talking about. Take a look, you two. Is this it?"
Wu Cui and Qian Siniang exchanged a glance.
’There really is a longevity lock!’
Wu Cui pretended to examine it for a moment, then nodded repeatedly. "Yes! This is it! It was passed down from my father. Ningning, now you can believe that you are truly a part of our Wu Family, right?"
"That’s not right." Shen Ningning’s little face suddenly turned serious.