Chapter 33 - Fire from the Sky

Shen Linghan stood in the crowd, her eyes full of resentment. Jealousy cast a shadow on her face, which made her originally beautiful face appear ferocious.

Shen Ninghua went to the market with Qing Que and Hong Ling. After a brief walk around, she soon lost her interest and returned to Qinyang Building. Hong Ling asked with concern, “Miss, are you feeling not well?”

“I’m fine.” The streets were still full of traffic, but what she could feel was only coldness. No matter how busy the surrounding areas were, it seemed that she wasn’t interested at all. “You don’t need to accompany me here. Go down and have fun. This is the place chosen by the Second Prince. There won’t be any danger.”

Hong Ling poured a cup of tea for her, “We don’t think there’s much fun down there either. There are too many people. We would rather stay here with you.”

Qing Que didn’t even move, standing beside Shen Ninghua all along. All of a sudden, she frowned and her whole body tensed up. The dagger hidden in her sleeve instantly slipped into her hands. She didn’t relax until a while later.

Shen Ninghua’s drooping eyelashes trembled slightly, “Qing Que, did you see who they were?”

“No.” A trace of seriousness appeared in Qing Que’s eyes. She had just noticed an air of evil intentions. But in a blink of an eye, it had gone. “Those people are experts in martial arts.”

Shen Ninghua took a sip of tea and coldness flashed in her eyes, “Who do you think are delivering themselves to our door this time?”

“I can’t get it.”

“Then you don’t have to guess. Just look carefully a while later.” Shen Ninghua curled her lips. “I remember that the last thing to do on Flower Festival is to set off boat lights, right?”

“Yes, miss. Do you want to set off a boat light in Huanhua Stream?” Hong Ling replied. In the capital, there was no curfew only on this day throughout the year, and people could stay out and play until midnight.

Shen Ninghua nodded, “You go down to buy two boat lights, and we will set them off.”

“Do you want to make any wishes, miss? It’s said that the wishes made on this day are particularly effective, and the Goddess of Flowers is particularly powerful.” Hong Ling said with her eyes narrowed.

Shen Ninghua was quite amused. If she made a wish and hoped that those who offended her in her previous life be sent to hell, maybe the Goddess of Flowers would be scared.

Hong Ling naughtily stuck out her tongue and went down to buy boat lights.

“Qing Que, if someone follows us, don’t pay attention. We will clean them up together at the end.”

“Yes, Miss.” Qing Que replied and kept a more vigilant eye around Shen Ninghua.

Soon, Baili Jinchuan, the Second Prince who had been paying close attention to Shen Ninghua, also returned upstairs. Looking at Qing Que behind Shen Ninghua, he said, “Miss Shen, have you caught any fish?” He had seen Shen Ninghua talking with Baili Jinze. He must test her attitude. A fence-sitter would never be liked.

“Although I don’t like fishing, I’m very particular critical about my fish every time. I don’t fish eel or loach.” Even if Baili Jinze volunteered to knock on her door, she would not be interested.

The setting sun fell on Shen Ninghua from the window, bathing her in golden brilliance and adding some transparent beauty to her. Her delicate face, in particular, was like white first-rage jade, smooth and lustrous.

Baili Jinchuan laughed aloud, “Miss Shen is really extraordinary.”

“I am overwhelmed by the Second Prince’s compliment.”

Knowing that Shen Ninghua had great trust in her maids, Baili Jinchuan didn’t mind Qing Que’s presence. He directly asked, “Miss Shen, that war manual is very rare in the world. Do you have the original copy?”

What Shen Xuanhua had was a copy handwritten by Shen Ninghua. Since they were siblings and the manual was a gift, there was nothing improper for Shen Xuanhua to keep the manual. But if he, an unrelated man, possessed an unmarried girl’s manuscripts, there would be unpleasant rumors.

Shen Ninghua nodded, “Yes, there is.”

Baili Jinchuan was ecstatic. He had led thousands of troops, so he knew how many lives could be saved if a general could use a good war manual properly, “Would Miss Shen give it up?”

Shen Ninghua’s eyebrows curled, and a trace of craftiness flashed in her eyes, “How much does the Second Prince offer?”

“Wh…what?” Baili Jinchuan was stunned. She asked him to buy it?

Shen Ninghua frowned. “That war manual was left by my grandfather to my mother. It’s a treasure of our family. Do you want to take it away for nothing?”

Baili Jinchuan could not help laughing. “How much do you want, Miss Shen?”

“You are the buyer, of course you should make the bid. This book is the one and only in the world.”

She let him make a bid, and at the same time she stressed how valuable the book was. This Shen Ninghua was really interesting. “Five thousand taels.”

Shen Ninghua blinked her eyes. “OK, please deliver the gold tickets tomorrow, Second Prince. I’ll check the number and hand over the war manual.”

Baili Jinchuan was stunned. “You meant…gold tickets?” What he meant was five thousand taels of silver!

Shen Ninghua frowned again, “Do you want to buy a unique war manual with only five thousand teals of silver? Besides, this book was left by my grandfather.” The Xia family was convicted of a great crime, and except for a few women who were married to other families, the rest were all beheaded. But later, the emperor redressed the grievance suffered by the Xia family. The treasures left by Xia family’s old master were definitely worth far more than ten thousand taels of gold, let alone a unique war manual.

Baili Jinchuan smiled bitterly in his heart. His offer of five thousand teals of silver was distorted by her into five thousand taels of gold, and he could not disprove. This was the first time he had experienced such a thing. “OK, tomorrow I will send the gold tickets to you. But Miss Shen, have you figured out how to explain to Prime Minister Shen after he finds about it?”

“I am selling what my mother left behind. Why do I need to explain to him?”

“That’s right. I was wrong.” Thinking of Shen Dong’s expression after he knew this, Baili Jinchuan couldn’t help laughing in his heart. It seemed that this Miss Shen really didn’t want the Shen family to live in peace.

Both of them were in a good mood when they finalized the matter. When Shen Linghan and the Fifth Prince came upstairs side by side, they saw Baili Jinchuan and Shen Ninghua drinking tea.

Shen Linghan said, “Elder sister, no wonder I didn’t find you down below. It turned out you are meeting the Second Prince upstairs.”

Shen Ninghua frowned and looked at her, “Younger sister, you are no longer a kid, so you need to be discreet with your words and actions. The entire building has been booked by Master Chu. I am tired, and I surely can come back to have a rest. Besides, didn’t you see Qing Que here? Younger sister, you should avoid saying something that may be misunderstood. Otherwise, many people would say that something is wrong with the family education of our Shen family.”

Shen Linghan almost failed to hold up the smile on her face. Shen Ninghua didn’t care about her feeling at all and she even pressurized her as her elder sister. This bitch!

“I was just saying. Why were you angry, elder sister?” After saying this, Shen Linghan looked at Baili Jinze with an aggrieved look and tearful eyes.

Baili Jinze looked at Shen Ninghua apathetically, and the uncomfortable feeling surged in his heart again. “The Second Young Lady was just unintentionally commenting. Yet someone loves to judge others in the way they themselves are. Don’t care.”

Before Shen Ninghua spoke, Baili Jinchuan said, “Fifth younger brother, what the First Young Lady said was not unreasonable. One should not only be dignified in one’s deeds, but also be careful with one’s words. You behaved indiscreetly.”

Anger surged in Baili Jinze’s heart. But as a younger brother not favored by the emperor, he was in no position to argue with Baili Jinchuan. Therefore, he could only say, “I misspoke. Miss Shen, please don’t blame me.”

Shen Ninghua glanced smilingly at Shen Linghan’s purple face, “It doesn’t matter. My sister often sees me and can still misunderstand me, not to mention the Fifth Prince and I have just met for the second time. I think this will not happen in the future.”

If Shen Linghan dared to bring up this matter as an excuse again, she could refer to what Baili Jinchuan said today. Then, even Shen Dong dared not say a word of dissatisfaction.

Chu Junyi came up and ordered in a light tone a table of signature dishes and asked all the people to be seated and eat. Shen Linghan was embarrassed for a moment, then she changed into a tearful look. Baili Jinchuan didn’t pay attention to her at all. Baili Jinze lost face because of her. Both of them pretended not to notice her sadness. As for Chu Junyi, he simply ignored Shen Linghan, and did not even cast a glance in her direction.

Shen Xuanhua did feel that something was wrong, but he couldn’t tell exactly, so he had to eat without speaking.

Shen Linghan secretly kept biting a piece of green vegetable, as if she were chewing Shen Ninghua. After a while, she finally eased her mood. “Your Highnesses, I just saw a lot of stores selling boat lights downstairs. A lot of people bought boat lights and were going to set them off in Huanhua Stream. Shall we go and have a look?”

Chu Junyi looked at Shen Ninghua, who was expressionless. “You need to wait until after dark to set off the boat lights. It’s too early now.”

Shen Linghan blinked her eyes. “Nah. Last year, my mother took me to set off boat lights. There were many people by Huanhua Stream. Besides, my sister didn’t get to celebrate the Flower Festival last year. This year, she just recovered from her illness. It’s time to set off boat lights to redeem a wish. What do you say, elder sister?”

Shen Ninghua took a deep look at Shen Linghan. She didn’t say anything until Shen Linghan’s expression slightly changed. “That makes sense. I should set off a boat light to redeem a wish. Your Highnesses and Master Chu, if you have other things to do….”

Chu Junyi drank a cup of wine and said, “I have nothing to do, so I am going to set off a boat light.”

The Second Prince and the Fifth Prince did not speak, but they tacitly agreed to go.

Shen Ninghua drooped her eyes to cover up the cold look on her face. She had thought about how to propose going to Huanhua Stream. Unexpectedly, Shen Linghan brought up the topic first. She didn’t know if any of the people that had been discovered by Qing Que took orders from Shen Linghan. If so, it would be more interesting.

Many people had flocked around Huanhua Stream when they arrived, and the small stream was full of boat lights, which wound down the stream and lighted the whole river.

Chu Junyi took a delicately-made boat light and handed it to Shen Ninghua. “The one you bought won’t float far. You’d better use this one.”

Chu Junyi’s boat light was very delicate. The small boat was made of waterproof paper. Shen Ninghua accepted his offer readily. She let Hong Ling set off her boat light and put the boat light that Chu Junyi gave her in the water.

Looking at the boat flowing far away, Shen Ninghua curled her lips. In her previous life, Heaven didn’t punish Baili Jinze and Shen Linghan. Then she would let them taste retribution in this life. Now that she was given a chance to live another life, she should thank Heaven who never opened his eyes.

She had just stood up when a strong force dashed towards her. Chu Junyi was quick to grab her and prevented her from falling into the water.

Then shouts of the crowd were heard.

“Run, there’s a fire.”

“Help.”

Shen Ninghua looked up and saw that many sky lanterns the height of a person were flying over Huanhua Stream. For unknown reasons, clusters of lighted oil fell into the crowd on the ground.

Many people were hit by the fire, and their light clothes were on fire.

“Heavens, help.”