Free Web NovelChapter 151: Chapter 151: It Will Rain in Shu State
That evening, she went home first.
Grandma Qin had made a spread of delicious dishes.
Ginseng and black chicken soup, crab roe dumplings, cherry pork with yam, and a pot of mulberry and chrysanthemum herbal tea to go with it.
Shen Ningning first secretly stored it all away in the Immortal Realm before heading to the palace to visit Mo Lingwei.
Dusk had settled, and the stars were beginning to twinkle.
This time, the guards didn’t even search Shen Ningning, allowing her to climb the steps and run toward the Sunlight Tower.
"Brother! I’m here!" the little one called out, her face bright with happiness.
She stood at the window, calling out for a long time, but there was no response.
"Brother?" Shen Ningning had no choice but to call out again.
The Sunlight Tower remained completely silent. The little one stood on her tiptoes and peered inside.
She saw Mo Lingwei lying motionless on the ground.
Shen Ningning cried out in alarm, "Brother fainted!"
She shouted to the guards at the bottom of the steps. However, she was too far away, and they didn’t seem to hear her.
Just as Shen Ningning was about to run to them, Mo Lingwei, who was on the floor, propped himself up and called out—
"Shen Ningning, stop shouting."
The little one hurriedly looked back inside the window. "Brother, how are you? What’s wrong? I have to get an Imperial Physician!"
Leaning on the wall for support, Mo Lingwei staggered to the window.
In the moonlight, Shen Ningning thought she saw something white, like frost, clinging to his eyebrows and eyelashes.
His face, too, was unnaturally pale and cold.
Thinking she’d seen it wrong, Shen Ningning rubbed her eyes. By the time she lowered her hands, Mo Lingwei had already moved out of her line of sight. He was sitting in a corner by the window, leaning against the wall and panting.
Now that she couldn’t see him, Shen Ningning grew even more anxious.
"Brother, I’m still going to ask the guards to open the door!"
"No need. It’s just my old ailment acting up. It’s not fatal. I’ll be fine in a couple of days."
His voice was exceptionally weak.
Shen Ningning frowned. "But..."
Mo Lingwei glanced at her, his tone deliberately gentle so as not to frighten her. "It’s already the third day. The rain-praying ritual will be finished in two more days. I don’t want to give up halfway."
"So, Shen Ningning, can you help me keep this a secret? Please don’t tell anyone."
The little one was silent for a long moment before saying in a soft voice, "Okay, Brother. I’ll listen to you..."
She took the food out from the Immortal Realm, but Mo Lingwei struggled just to lift his hand.
’His whole body felt as if it were encased in ice. The slightest movement sent a sharp pain tearing through his heart!’
Seeing that he had no appetite, Shen Ningning had no choice but to put the food away.
Suddenly, she thought of something. "Brother, are the Buddha Beads that Uncle Emperor always tells you to wear with you?"
Mo Lingwei paused. "They’re not here."
Shen Ningning scrambled to her feet. "I’ll go get them for you! Wait for me!"
She hurried down the steps. Mo Lingwei pushed himself into a sitting position and looked out the window.
He watched as her small figure ran farther and farther away under the moonlight.
’This idiot... The Buddha Beads are useless against my condition.’ Mo Lingwei’s frost-covered face was so unnaturally pale it no longer seemed human.
Shen Ningning pinned all her hopes on that string of one hundred and eight Buddha Beads.
’These beads must be important. They have to be able to help Brother! Otherwise, why would Uncle Emperor remind him to wear them time and time again?’
After finding the Buddha Beads, Shen Ningning clutched them tightly in her small hand and rushed back from Zichen Palace.
As it happened, the Sixth Prince, Mo Changgong, was being pushed along a palace path for some fresh air. Around a bend, he saw Shen Ningning running toward him.
He gave a cold wave of his hand, signaling the Palace Attendant to push him further away. He didn’t want to run into the little one.
Just then, Mo Changgong saw the beads she was clutching in her hand.
He scoffed. "Looks like she’s off to the Sunlight Tower to deliver the Buddha Beads to the Crown Prince."
With that, he glanced to the side and called out to a Hidden Guard, "Go make her fall."
Mo Changgong, whose own legs were impaired, felt a surge of irritation watching Shen Ningning run around so freely.
The Hidden Guard picked up a pebble and hid in the shadows. As Shen Ningning ran past, the pebble shot out.
It hit the little girl right in the back of the knee!
"AH—" Shen Ningning let out a small cry as she fell hard to the ground with a THUD.
The Buddha Beads were flung from her hand, scraping against the ground. The string snapped instantly, sending beads scattering in every direction.
Shen Ningning’s face went pale. Ignoring the bloody scrapes on her hands, she scrambled back up and hurried to pick up the beads.
When she saw that the string had broken and the beads had scattered, she could no longer hold back her sorrow and burst into tears.
Even when she was bullied by Wei Yufu, even when her tea stall was destroyed, she hadn’t shed a single tear.
But now, seeing that she had broken the Buddha Beads that were meant to ensure Mo Lingwei’s recovery, the little one was overwhelmed with guilt and self-blame.
Her heartbroken sobs drifted on the wind. Hiding in the shadows, Mo Changgong nonchalantly cleaned his ear, his expression cold and indifferent.
’So noisy. All she does is cry. I have no idea what the Crown Prince finds so amusing about her.’ With that, he waved his hand, signaling the Palace Attendant to wheel him away.
Shen Ningning didn’t allow herself to be sad for long. Tears streamed down her face, too fast for her little hands to wipe away.
"Brother is still waiting for me," she choked out, and cradling the beads from the broken string, she limped toward the Sunlight Tower.
When she reached the window, she stood on her tiptoes, her voice muffled. "Brother, are you still there?"
The pain had made Mo Lingwei drowsy, but the moment he heard the distress in her voice, he was instantly alert.
"Why are you crying? Did someone bully you?" His face, covered in frost, finally appeared behind the window.
The first thing he saw was Shen Ningning’s tear-filled, red-rimmed eyes.
The little one saw the white frost clinging to his brow and stared in surprise, her tears falling anew.
"Brother, you..."
Mo Lingwei turned his head away slightly, his jaw tight. "I’m hideous like this," he said, his throat working. "Don’t look at me."
’He remembered the first time his illness had struck. The palace maid attending to him had collapsed in terror, pointing a trembling finger at him and stammering, "An Evil God! The Crown Prince is an Evil God!"’
’Deep down, Mo Lingwei never wanted Shen Ningning to see him like this.’
But the little one snapped out of it and quickly shook her head. "You’re sick! You’re covered in frost, you must be freezing!"
At this, she began to sob again, her voice full of apology. "Brother, I’m so sorry! I broke your Buddha Beads! They can’t protect you anymore."
’If Mo Lingwei’s illness doesn’t get better, it’ll be all my fault!’
The more Shen Ningning thought about it, the more she blamed herself. She smacked her own head with her injured little hand.
’It’s all my fault for being so clumsy. If only I’d been more careful while running.’
From inside the window, Mo Lingwei suddenly shot his hand out and grabbed her soft little wrist.
When he turned it over, he saw blood smeared across it from a finger-length gash that was still bleeding steadily.
Mo Lingwei’s expression darkened. "You’re hurt!"
Shen Ningning paid her own injury no mind, crying, "What are we going to do about the beads? I should just call for an Imperial Physician..."
But Mo Lingwei just gripped her hand tighter. His palm was bone-chillingly cold, like holding a handful of snow that would never melt, even in summer.
"Don’t cry. The beads are broken, so be it. I’ll be fine. But you—you’re badly hurt. Go find Chen Shaobei right now. Have him take you to the Imperial Hospital."
However, he immediately changed his mind. "No, forget it. I’ll come out and take you to an Imperial Physician myself."
’He was afraid Chen Shaobei wouldn’t take good enough care of her.’
This only made Shen Ningning cry harder.
’Mo Lingwei had endured so much already, and now he was about to give up just for her sake.’
"Brother, you don’t have to come out! I’ll go see a doctor in a little while. It’s already the third day! It would be such a waste to give up now!"
Mo Lingwei took a deep breath, looking at her. "Fine. But you have to wipe your tears. Watching you cry seems to be making my illness worse."
Hearing this, the little one immediately scrubbed at her face with the back of her hand, her lips trembling as she tried her best to hold back her sobs.
Seeing this, Mo Lingwei smiled. "That’s a good girl. Now hurry to the Imperial Hospital."
The two looked at each other through the window.
The little one said through her sniffles, "Brother, by the time you get out, the Buddha Beads will be fixed."
Mo Lingwei nodded. "Alright. And when I get out, your hand had better be healed."
’He knew she had some sort of magical spring water that would help her heal in no time.’
Shen Ningning said her goodbyes and went straight to find Chen Shaobei.
However, she wasn’t going to have him take her to the Imperial Hospital.
Instead, she asked him for a topographical map showing the route from the Capital City to Shu State.
"What do you need this for?" Chen Shaobei asked, stunned to see her covered in dust and blood.
Shen Ningning’s round, dark eyes held a calm and clever light.
She said, "I have a use for it. Just let me take a look at it for a moment, that’s all!"
It will rain in Shu State!
