Chapter 315: Get Out of My House
Second Madam Xie frowned and hastily read on.
Xie Yuanjiu had written in the letter:
[Mother, Uncle despises it when you associate with that crowd of riffraff from the city, especially the likes of Divine Women and their supernatural nonsense. If he finds out that you not only consorted with a Divine Woman but also used Evil Magic to curse someone, he and Father will absolutely never forgive you!]
Reading these words, Second Madam Xie’s heart leaped into her throat.
Panic and anxiety began to set in.
She continued to read.
Xie Yuanjiu wrote:
[Uncle is the Prime Minister. What you’ve done will likely reach his ears soon. Rather than wait for him to find out and condemn you, it’s better to strike first. I’ve thought about it, and there is only one way to help you.]
[The only way is to shift the blame for this onto Shen Ningning. Since she is so deeply favored by Uncle, he won’t blame her even if he suspects something is amiss.]
Second Madam Xie hesitated, muttering, "Will this really work...?"
Unexpectedly, she glanced down and saw that Xie Yuanjiu had left one final warning—
[If you can’t be ruthless, Father will utterly despise you when the truth comes out.]
The color instantly drained from Second Madam Xie’s face.
She decided right then and there to follow Xie Yuanjiu’s advice and frame Shen Ningning for visiting the Divine Woman.
But...
Second Madam Xie had never been resourceful, and at that moment, she couldn’t think of a good plan.
She summoned a servant girl and ordered in a low voice, "Send someone to keep an eye on Princess Funing’s movements for me."
Shen Ningning, concerned about the secret hunting in Xitai Village, chose a day to visit, bringing Chen Ye and the Black Wolf King with her.
Just as they entered the village, she saw a couple in the distance, pushing and pulling their daughter, who was crying and begging for mercy.
"Father, Mother, I’m begging you, please don’t sell me! I can work, I can tend the fire and cook. Please let me stay."
"Ru’er, stop struggling. We have to sell you so your two younger brothers can survive!" the mother said, wiping away tears.
But her hands were ruthless as she pushed the girl, who had not yet come of age, directly into the arms of a human trafficker.
The human trafficker clasped his hands in thanks and had his subordinate hand over a quilted coat he was holding.
Then, the subordinate tied the girl’s hands and feet, stuffed a rag in her mouth, and tossed her onto an ox-cart.
No matter how the girl struggled and screamed hysterically, she couldn’t draw a single sympathetic glance from her parents.
The human trafficker signed the papers, took the girl, and left.
A frown creased Shen Ningning’s round face.
She moved to intervene but was stopped by Chen Ye.
"Miss, it’s best if you don’t get involved in this."
"Why?"
Chen Ye pressed his lips together and gestured for Shen Ningning to look at the girl’s parents.
She saw them holding the quilted coat, their eyes shining as they stroked it over and over, laughing as they went back into their house.
They showed not a shred of sadness over selling their daughter.
Chen Ye said, "Helping them once is one thing, but what if it happens a second or third time?"
"Even if you rescue that girl, it will be pointless. Her parents will only see her as a resource to be traded with someone else."
Displeasure showed on Shen Ningning’s fair, delicate face.
"They say the heavens are ruthless, but I think human hearts can be just as cold sometimes."
Chen Ye sighed. "This is how the world is. The buying and selling of people has become commonplace. Miss, we should find the village chief of Xitai Village and discuss the hunting issue as soon as possible."
Shen Ningning nodded but couldn’t help looking back at the human trafficker’s ox-cart.
The cart, carrying the girl who had been sold, had already become a black dot in the distance.
Shen Ningning had no choice but to look away.
When they arrived at the village chief’s house, Village Chief Mei learned it was Shen Ningning and hastily welcomed her inside with a fawning smile.
Before long, news had spread, and the people of Xitai Village had all gathered at the doorway to watch.
They looked as if they had just seen a god of wealth arrive at their doorstep.
Shen Ningning briefly explained the reason for her visit.
She hoped the villagers of Xitai Village would stop hunting in the mountains.
Before Village Chief Mei could say anything, the villagers crowded at the door began to clamor angrily.
"Princess Funing, you and Xiangyun Village are rich in resources and have everything you could ever want. It’s easy for you to say that!"
"That’s right! You don’t lack food, but we’re desperate! Go ask around the village—is there a single family that doesn’t have someone who’s been hurt by hunger or cold?!"
"Princess Funing, you’re supposed to be a blessed girl, and this is your advice? We live by the mountain, so we should live off the mountain. If we don’t hunt, are we supposed to just watch ourselves starve to death?"
Listening to the crowd’s furious words, the expression on Shen Ningning’s little face remained unchanged.
Village Chief Mei glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before raising a hand to silence the villagers.
"That’s enough! Her Highness the Commandery Princess came to our village to discuss this properly. If you keep shouting, you can all get lost!"
The crowd fell silent, but their eyes, sharp as thorns, were fixed on Shen Ningning’s small figure.
Village Chief Mei rubbed his hands together, cupping his teacup to preserve its last bit of warmth.
He was over forty, with a round face that narrowed his eyes into slits when he smiled, giving him a calculating look.
"Princess Funing, if you ask us not to hunt, we will certainly cooperate. A while ago, Old Man Qian’s two sons went hunting in the mountains and lost their lives."
"We don’t want to do such dangerous things either. Since you’ve brought it up, this is perfect. What are you planning to give us?"
Shen Ningning blinked her big eyes, not rushing to answer.
Village Chief Mei’s smile slowly faded. "You don’t plan on giving us anything? You think you can convince us to stop hunting with just your words?"
"Oh, Princess, you’ve got the wrong idea then. Our entire village needs to survive. If you forbid us from hunting, you have to at least give us something. Without any goods or compensation... well, this Wolf Mountain doesn’t belong to you alone."
Shen Ningning asked in her soft voice, "If I were to give you something, what would you want?"
Village Chief Mei immediately said, "Each household must get one hundred taels of silver in compensation, right?"
"Also, I heard that every household in Xiangyun Village has at least five quilted coats, and you made up the difference for those who didn’t. We wouldn’t dare ask for that many, but three quilted coats, one greatcloak, and two cotton quilts per household... that’s not too much to ask, is it?"
The Xitai villagers shouted from outside.
"And rice and flour! Three pounds for every family!"
"Right! And pork and mutton."
Listening to this, Chen Ye clenched his fists, his gaze turning sharp as he stared at the Xitai villagers.
Suddenly, Shen Ningning slapped her small hand on the table with surprising force.
The chattering villagers instantly fell silent.
Shen Ningning stood up and looked at Village Chief Mei, her young face cold.
"I came here to negotiate in good faith, but what you’re asking for, Village Chief Mei, is nothing short of an outrageous demand. Since that’s the case, I’ll be leaving. It’s not too late to find me again once you’ve thought it over."
She led Chen Ye to the door.
Surprisingly, Village Chief Mei didn’t try to stop her.
Instead, he said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, "Safe travels, Princess. It’s freezing cold, and we’re too thinly clothed to see you off."
"But I should give you a straight answer, Princess. After we’ve rested up, we’ll still go hunting in the mountains. After all, we need to live, and we need to eat."
Shen Ningning didn’t respond and left with Chen Ye.
She hadn’t gone far before she heard the Xitai villagers muttering behind her—
"That little girl has no sense of gratitude."
"Yeah, she even stayed with the Wu family before, but she hasn’t done anything to help our village."
"How could you even think that? That foolish boy, Wu Zuchang, died because of her."
Chen Ye couldn’t stand it any longer. He gripped his sword and started to turn back.
"Miss, they’ve gone too far!"
But Shen Ningning remained calm, her fair little face nestled in a rabbit-fur collar.
"Brother Chen, don’t go. It’s not worth arguing with them."
The two of them returned to the carriage.
Chen Ye was still fuming. "You shouldn’t have been so soft-hearted, thinking of compensating each of them. But they just made outrageous demands."
"Since they’re so ungrateful, just let them go into the mountains and get themselves killed!"
Shen Ningning pressed her lips together. "I was only doing it for Brother Zuchang’s sake."
"But since we couldn’t reach an agreement, then so be it!"
Shen Ningning had just returned to Xiangyun Village.
When she saw Grandma Qin in the courtyard of her village house, angrily driving a tall, thin man out with a broom.
"Get out! Get the hell out of my house!"