Chapter 141 - Is This a Token of Love?

Shen Linghan was dumbfounded. Seeing that Shen Ninghua was about to leave, she hurriedly sat up and pulled her by the sleeve. “Shen Ninghua, no, Eldest Sister! Eldest Sister, I know that I did a lot of wrong things in the past. Now I know that I was wrong. I shouldn’t have framed you because of jealousy for your beauty. I shouldn’t have tried to murder you time and time again. Please save me. I don’t want to be crippled for the rest of my life. I don’t want to live forever in other people’s ridicule.”

Shen Ninghua’s eyes were cold and she didn’t conceal the mockery in her eyes at all. In her last life, because of Zhao Yunxiang’s framing, she sprained her foot after falling into the valley. Without proper treatment, she was crippled for the rest of her life. Now it was Shen Linghan’s turn to taste the feeling of being mocked and treated coldly.

“Shen Linghan, the heavens are observing when people are doing. This is your retribution.”

‘”No, it’s not my fault. Eldest Sister, I listened to my mother’s so I set you up many times. I regretted it a long time ago. I really regret what I have done to you. Please save me. As long as you are willing to save me, I will absolutely listen to you in the future. I definitely won’t play any trick.”

Shen Linghan’s eyes were seemingly filled with sincerity as she kept praying. It was hard to imagine that this pair of eyes still carried bone-chilling hatred a moment ago. Shen Ninghua pulled back her sleeve and said coldly, “You taught me not to be soft-hearted towards enemies, so you deserve today’s situation. Also, do you remember what sacrifices your mother made in Chengqian Palace to save you? You are actually complaining about her now. Shen Linghan, you are really less than human! ”

After saying those words, she ignored Shen Linghan’s pleading, directly turned around and walked out. Just as she stepped out of the door, she heard Shen Linghan’s hysterical scream.

“Shen Ninghua, you bitch!”

She was indeed an ungrateful wolf. She could shake her tail and beg for some food, but in the next second, she could turn around and bite her benefactor in the throat.

Shen Ninghua sneered and instructed the servants around her, “Close the gate of Qinxue Courtyard. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my orders.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Shen Ninghua called Bai Ruo over and took the notes handed over by Hong Ling. She pointed out all the mistakes that these servants had made. In the end, she directly ordered people to pull down the top ten laziest ones and gave them each thirty strokes.

After thirty strokes, many of the servants had their skin torn and flesh gaping open. The other servants who were watching the execution were so frightened that they almost couldn’t stand up with their trembling legs.

Shen Ninghua did not pay any attention to them. “Although the owner of this mansion is still surnamed Shen, the mansion is no longer Prime Minister Shen’s mansion. It is now Prefectural Princess Zhaohua’s mansion. Therefore, open your eyes wide and see who is the real owner of this mansion. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

“We are guilty. Your Highness, please calm down.” The servants knelt on the ground and expressed their loyalty loudly.

Shen Ninghua said coldly, “I have always rewarded the worthy while giving due punishment to those who deserve it. I will keep an eye on your contribution, and I won’t treat anyone unfairly. But if you don’t do well, I won’t give you a chance to deceive me. If you don’t believe me, you can have a try.”

“We don’t dare.” When Hong Ling handed Shen Ninghua the notebook, they saw that it recorded their daily words and deeds. It even clearly recorded when they ate anything. They hadn’t eaten the heart of a bear or lion. How would they dare to make a mistake after seeing the punishments of the servants?

Shen Ninghua nodded in satisfaction and gave a sign for Bai Ruo to ask the servants who had never made any mistakes to stand out. She then rewarded each of them a hundred taels of silver. Looking at the silver ingots, many servants’ hearts were filled with regret. They had mocked those people for being stupid and not even knowing how to be lazy. Now, they were all regretting it. If they were diligent, they would also be rewarded a lot of silver. Quite a few servants made up their minds and decided that they would definitely do their job seriously, and would no longer be slick in their work.

After teaching the servants a lesson, Shen Ninghua returned to Ruixi Courtyard. As soon as she stepped into the room, she felt a familiar aura. She waved her hand as a signal for Bai Ruo and others to retreat. Then, sure enough, she saw behind the screen Chu Junyi lying on her bed resting.

“When did you come?”

Chu Junyi opened his eyes. His usually deep gaze carried a hint of drowsy exhaustion, making him less sharp but more gentle. “Ninghua…”

For some reason, Shen Ninghua couldn’t help but feel nervous when she heard his low voice. The bottom of her ears unconsciously turned red. “What’s wrong?”

Chu Junyi sat up and pulled her by the sleeve to make her sit on the bed. Then, he hugged her tightly and lay down again. His voice became even deeper. “My beautiful sweetheart, now I only have you.”

Shen Ninghua was shocked and suddenly thought of the Xiao family. “You went back to the Xiao Mansion?”

Chu Junyi was silent for a long time, and his voice was slightly muffled. “Yes, I went back yesterday to see my foster father’s attitude, but I accidentally heard some bad news.”

Shen Ninghua could more or less guess it without asking him. Chu Junyi made known his position in the face of Xiao Fengjue. How could Xiao Fengjue not care? Although the two of them grew up together, Chu Junyi was an outsider with no connection of bloodline. On normal days, this wasn’t a big issue and caused no difference. Once concrete interests were involved, the difference would be particularly clear.

Furthermore, Chu Junyi’s status was not simple. While the Xiao family raised him, they also needed to treat him with much caution. This kind of complicated feeling was probably not very comfortable. The Xiao family had shown remarkable patience by now.

“What’s the difference between good and bad? I’m fine by myself without the restraints.”

Chu Junyi tightened his grip on Shen Ninghua’s waist, which made her waist ache a little. However, she did not struggle and allowed him to hug her like that. After a while, Chu Junyi loosened his grip and rubbed against her body. “Ninghua, how about me asking His Majesty to grant us a marriage tomorrow? I want to marry you.”

The lonelier he was, the more he wanted to find a companion. He and Shen Ninghua were destined to be a couple.

Shen Ninghua pondered for a while before nodding. “Alright.” Since this person could cause her mood to fluctuate, it was worth trying to be with him together.

“Ninghua, don’t worry. I will definitely treat you well. The thing that my eldest brother…Xiao Fengjue mentioned will definitely not happen. I will fight for the high position, but I will definitely not use women to fight for it. I disdain to use that kind of method!”

Shen Ninghua moved her arm. “I said yes.”

“I will treat you wholeheartedly and let you live freely. When the time comes, we can have a child. I will teach him martial arts and you can teach him literary talent. He will definitely become an elegant young master capable of both literature and martial arts. When the time comes, he will marry a bunch of wives and give birth to a bunch of grandchildren for us…”

Shen Ninghua twitched the corner of her lips and pushed him away with a slap. “It seems that you are fine. Since you are fine, get up and help me. I need you to do something.” If he continued dreaming like that, they would probably have four generations living under one roof.

Chu Junyi extended his body. His slender body slanted to occupy the entire bed and his head was still outside the bed. He pulled over the pillow and lay on the edge of the bed with a tired aura. Hearing Shen Ninghua’s words, his aura instantly became even gloomier. “Ninghua, you just keep making use of me. I asked you to marry me, but you refused. But you still instruct me to do things for you. I’m so hurt…”

Shen Ninghua couldn’t bear it. She walked forward, dragged him by the arm to pull him out. “Didn’t I just say yes? Didn’t you hear me clearly? Don’t make excuses for not doing things. Get up quickly.”

Just as she was speaking, she suddenly felt a strong wave of strength pulling her. The scene in front of her instantly rolled. When she restored her senses, she discovered that she had already been hugged by Chu Junyi and the two of them rolled around the bed. She was about to lose her temper when she suddenly met a pair of bright starry eyes.

“Ninghua, are you serious? Do you really agree?”

Looking at Chu Junyi’s expectant gaze, she tilted her head and said in an uneasy voice, “Yes, I agreed. A promise is a promise. Why do you have so much nonsense to talk?”

Chu Junyi kissed her red ears and jumped out of bed abruptly. “That’s great. Haha, Ninghua, you just said you had something for me to do. Just say it.”

Shen Ninghua angrily grabbed the pillow on the bed and threw it towards him, but Chu Junyi grabbed the pillow.

“Is this a token of your love for me? Well, the pillow carries a good message and I’ll put it away carefully.”

If she continued this topic with him, she would die of anger. “Alright, focus on the important issues. Baili Jinze and Bu Jinglan have been unconscious for three days. It’s time for them to wake up. Otherwise, the Great Yue Kingdom will probably lose its composure.”

Chu Junyi carefully placed the pillow on a chair beside him and said seriously, “Hmm, yes. What are you going to do?”

“I once reached an agreement with the Duchess of Wei, Madam Zhang. I saved Zhao Ruyun, and in return, Zhao Ruyun must marry the Fifth Prince.”

Chu Junyi paused. “You want Zhao Ruyun to marry Baili Jinze?”

“That’s right. I sent someone to give Zhao Ruyun a prescription that can help Bu Jinglan and Baili Jinze restore their senses. A life-saving favor should be big enough, and it shouldn’t be difficult to have Baili Jinze marry Zhao Ruyun.”

“It’s not difficult, but why did you do this? It doesn’t seem to be beneficial to you at all.” Chu Junyi felt a little strange in his heart. He had long sensed Shen Ninghua’s hatred and disgust towards Baili Jinze. Binding the Zhao family and Baili Jinze together might make Baili Jinze the target of envy and suspicion to some degree, but it seemed that the benefits would outweigh the disadvantages in the future.

“The Zhao family is now the most powerful clan in Da’an. Zhao Ruyun is the only first daughter of Duke Wei. Her marriage is very important to many people. Right now, Baili Jinze is just an inconspicuous prince so people won’t feel anything unusual with their marriage. But what will happen when the matter of the Forest Villa is exposed?” Shen Ninghua’s gaze was cold.

An ambitious prince married Duke Wei’s first daughter. This alliance was too powerful, and even the Crown Prince had to pay extra attention to it. At that time, Baili Jinze’s every move would be observed and analyzed by many people. It could be said that it would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens for Baili Jinze to silently develop his strength!

“What can I do for you?” Regardless of why Ninghua hated Baili Jinze, he was willing to help her dig a hole to bury him!

“Help me conceal the matter of the Forest Villa. Before His Majesty grants Zhao Ruyun and Baili Jinze a marriage, don’t let anyone discover who the owner of the Forest Villa is!”

Chu Junyi smiled confidently. “Alright, no problem. Don’t worry.”

The two of them reached an agreement. Chu Junyi did not delay and was about to leave. But unexpectedly, when he had just arrived at the door, he suddenly turned around and walked back.

Shen Ninghua was stunned. “What’s wrong?”

Chu Junyi walked to the chair and bent down to pick up the pillow. “This is our token of love. I will carry it back and keep it as a treasure.”

“…”