Free Web NovelChapter 135: Chapter 135: Just Some Rain, What’s So Difficult?
Chen Shaobei had arrived with his soldiers, still dressed in his silver armor.
Reining his horse to a stop before Shen Ningning, he dismounted and approached. "Miss Shen, the Crown Prince heard your tea stall was opening today and specifically sent me and my men to show our support."
"He’s caught up with something and couldn’t get away, but he specifically instructed me to bring a cup back for him."
As he spoke, Chen Shaobei pulled a heavy purse from his sleeve and placed it on the table.
"Take a look. There are about thirty of us. Is this enough silver?"
Shen Ningning gave a sweet smile. "It’s definitely enough! And even if it isn’t, it’s okay. It’ll be my treat~"
With that, she invited Chen Shaobei to come forward and pick the flavors they wanted.
Jiang Zhi stood behind the table with her arms crossed. She glanced at Chen Shaobei, and remembering that he had spoken a few good words for her once, she couldn’t help but let out a soft hmph.
’I don’t hate him anymore, but I won’t forget how rashly he acted!’
Chen Shaobei seemed to have grown accustomed to Jiang Zhi’s grumpy attitude.
The expression on his handsome, jade-like face was perfectly natural.
He pointed to three of the drinks. "Ten cups of each of these flavors, please."
Without a word, Jiang Zhi immediately started preparing them.
Chen Shaobei asked politely, "Do you need my help?"
After all, he had ordered quite a lot.
Jiang Zhi shot him a sideways glance. "No."
Chen Shaobei pressed his lips together and didn’t press the matter further.
When the sweet teas were ready, Chen Shaobei noticed there was an extra cup.
"You gave me one too many," he said to Jiang Zhi coolly.
Without looking up at him, Jiang Zhi just said, "That one’s on me. You ordered thirty cups, but you only brought twenty-nine soldiers. Add the one for the Crown Prince, and that makes exactly thirty."
"You don’t have to thank me. Let’s just say we’re even now."
Chen Shaobei was taken aback for a moment, then smiled. "Alright. Thank you."
He turned back to Shen Ningning. "The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming up. There will be a palace banquet, and the Crown Prince asked me to tell you that he will come to escort you to the palace for it."
The little one hesitated for a moment.
Before she could speak, Chen Shaobei continued, "His Highness also instructed that Mrs. Qin Sr. should come along."
Shen Ningning’s face immediately lit up with a smile. "Okay! I’ll remember!"
Standing to the side, Lu Shaoyuan swallowed the words he had been about to say.
He had also wanted to invite Shen Ningning to his home to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival and admire the moon.
But it seemed he was always one step behind the Crown Prince.
...
Shen Ningning spent half the day farming in the Immortal Realm.
Her clouds had already grown very large. Each one was as long as a baby’s arm and quite dense.
When Shen Ningning touched them with her small hands, it felt like squeezing a damp ball of cotton.
With a gentle squeeze, water came pouring out with a SPLASH.
She caressed the Cloud Tree, thinking with anticipation, ’Once the little clouds grow a bit bigger, I can let them out to make it rain!’
’Then no one will have to worry about not having water to drink anymore.’
The thought made Shen Ningning happy, so she went back to weeding and tilling the soil around the Cloud Tree.
Finally, she took five or six Aconites and decided to make a trip to the Capital City to exchange them for more silver.
The money from selling the last batch of Aconite was almost gone, spent on the tea stall.
Just after entering the Capital City, the carriage came to a sudden halt.
Chen Ye turned his head toward the curtained window. "Miss, someone is blocking the road ahead."
The little one lifted the curtain to look outside.
She saw an old man in his seventies, dressed in rags, kneeling on the ground and pleading with a wealthy merchant.
Shen Ningning took a closer look and saw that the merchant was none other than Ba Deshun.
His face was filled with contempt. Even as the old man kowtowed until his head bled, Ba Deshun wouldn’t give him so much as a proper glance.
Instead, he impatiently kicked the old man aside.
"You’re desperate for money, aren’t you? Keep pestering me, and believe me, I’ll send you to the government to get a good beating!" Ba Deshun cursed. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
The attendants behind him immediately began hurling insults at the old man as well.
With blood streaming from his forehead, the old man choked out, "Mr. Ba Sr., please, have a heart. My granddaughter was a maid in your estate, and she died under mysterious circumstances."
"The people at the coffin shop all said she was violated before she took her own life!"
Ba Deshun’s brows shot up. "What? You expect me to find the real culprit for your short-lived granddaughter?"
"After your granddaughter died, there was no one to do her work. Do you know how much of my time that wasted? I haven’t even settled the score with you for that yet!"
The old man flinched, intimidated.
He asked, trembling, "Then... my granddaughter worked at your estate for half a year. Can you at least give me her wages?"
Ba Deshun sneered. "Give them to you? In your dreams!"
He kicked the old man to the ground.
Ignoring the pain, the old man scrambled back up and started kowtowing again.
"That child had a hard life. Her parents died young, and my wife and I are old and sick. We were counting on her wages for medicine to save our lives."
"Mr. Ba Sr., I’m begging you. If you don’t give us her wages, my granddaughter won’t be able to rest in peace!"
The surrounding crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger.
Ba Deshun was losing face, so he came up with a nasty trick.
"You lowlife, are you trying to scare me with talk of ghosts and gods?"
"Fine, you want me to give you the wages? Then kowtow and pray to the heavens! If the heavens make it rain for you, I’ll pay you her wages. I’ll even pay you double. How about that?"
The old man’s face froze.
The people in the crowd began to whisper—
"That’s asking the impossible. How long has it been since it last rained?"
Even Chen Ye couldn’t bear to listen anymore.
He glanced to the side and asked, "Miss, do you need me to step in?"
Shen Ningning’s small, round face was calm and composed.
She shook her head. "No, let’s just wait and watch. Ba Deshun will be forced to cough up those wages today."
Chen Ye was stunned.
He looked up at the bright, clear sky.
It was almost the Mid-Autumn Festival, but the weather showed no signs of cooling down. The scorching sun still blazed overhead.
’Making it rain just like that? Easier said than done. It would take an immortal’s pity, which is nothing short of a fantasy.’
The servant behind Ba Deshun began to jeer. "Go on, pray! Why have you stopped? Weren’t you so self-righteous just a moment ago?"
"Hmph, if you ask me, he’s just trying to extort silver from our master!"
The old man wiped the sweat from his brow and began to kowtow to the vast sky.
"I beg the Rain Godess for pity, I beg all the immortals, please, give me a way to live..."
Ba Deshun froze, then spat on the ground. "What a crazy old fool."
"Let him kowtow. We’re leaving!"
Just as he was about to leave with his men, a low RUMBLE of thunder echoed from the sky above.
A rainy wind rose out of nowhere, and dark clouds suddenly covered the sky.
The onlookers were all stunned.
Just moments ago, the sun had been shining brightly. Now, the sky was filled with dark clouds, and the rumbling thunder was so powerful it made one’s chest go numb!
Suddenly!
A single, bean-sized raindrop fell.
It was followed by a PATTER, and then a torrential downpour began.
Among the common folk, some cheered, some were dumbfounded, and others called out to friends and family as they rushed home to collect the water.
Joyful shouts filled the streets—
"It’s raining! It’s really raining!"
Inside the carriage, Shen Ningning quietly drew her small hand back.
She watched the old man’s face break into a smile of ecstatic relief.
Then she turned her head and saw that Ba Deshun was actually trying to run away!
"Brother Chen, go stop him," the little one ordered, her eyes turning cold.
「At the same time.」
「Inside the Wei Mansion.」
Minister Wei rushed into Wei Yufu’s room and pulled his napping daughter out of bed.
"Daughter, this is our chance! It’s raining outside. This is the perfect time for you to make an appearance!"
’As long as the Emperor’s spies see her, the credit for today’s rain will go to his daughter.’
Wei Yufu, grumpy from being woken up, snapped, "Dad! I’m not even awake yet!"
"You can sleep anytime, but this rain is perfectly timed! If we don’t go now, we’ll miss this golden opportunity. Hurry!" Minister Wei grabbed her and started dragging her outside.
