Free Web NovelChapter 191: Chapter 191: I Promise You, Uncle Xie
Xie Suzhi was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was filled with sorrow.
"She’s already dead."
Shen Ningning, who was sitting at her place, froze abruptly.
The Emperor was also greatly surprised. "What? You went all the way to Shu State only to find news of her death?"
Xie Suzhi’s eyes were bloodshot, with dark circles beneath them. "The year my daughter was born, a torrential rain fell upon the Capital City. That’s how the legend of the ’blessed girl’ came to be."
"Because of this, my wife’s maidservant developed a wicked idea. She wanted to steal the child and sell her for a good price. On this trip to Shu State, I finally found that maid."
"Under harsh interrogation, she finally told the truth. As it turns out, while she was fleeing with my young daughter, the baby, being only a newborn, fell ill and died."
At this point, Xie Suzhi, known as the Iron-faced Prime Minister, wept bitterly and beat his own chest in grief.
Shen Ningning murmured, "How is this possible..."
’Am I not Uncle Xie’s daughter?’
Xie Suzhi’s cries affected everyone present, and they all sympathized with his plight.
He said in a hoarse voice, "I have searched for my daughter for nearly five years, only to receive news that she has already passed away."
Among the ministers present, there were many who doted on their own daughters. Hearing this, they sighed repeatedly, remarking, "How pitiful."
Overcome with sorrow, Xie Suzhi suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Chancellor!" "Mr. Xie!" The crowd’s faces turned pale. The Emperor urgently summoned the Imperial Physician.
Shen Ningning also stood up from her seat at once, but Xie Mingxu had already rushed to Xie Suzhi’s side.
The little girl, realizing her status was now nothing, silently sat back down.
Supported by his eldest son and attendants, Xie Suzhi’s trembling body slowly rose to its feet.
He clutched his chest and looked up at the Emperor. His narrow eyes were bloodshot, and his lips were stained with blood, adding a touch of pain and despair to his pale, handsome face.
Even the Emperor was startled. He quickly said, "Minister Xie, in that case, you should go home and rest properly. I will grant you half a month... no, a full month of leave. Please accept my condolences and take care of your health."
Xie Suzhi shook his head, refusing the help of General Chen who had come to escort him back.
"Your Majesty, I have not finished speaking. I beg you to grant me a favor."
He straightened up slightly and took a breath. "The maid also confessed that when my daughter first fell ill, she encountered a kind-hearted farmer who took both her and my daughter into his home to care for them."
"That farmer and his wife cared for my daughter meticulously, but alas, in the end, medicine was of no use."
"However, to thank the couple, the maid gave the Ruyi pendant my daughter always wore to their own daughter."
Hearing this, Shen Ningning’s face turned pale.
Her small hand clutched the Ruyi pendant tied at her waist through her clothes.
Xie Suzhi continued, "Later, when bandits attacked, the farmer and his wife begged the maid to escape with their daughter."
"But the maid was disloyal and faithless. She abandoned their child in the woods and fled far away with my young daughter."
"Today, I am here to ask for a favor for the farmer couple’s child. Their family were my daughter’s saviors. Although they could not save her in the end, this is a debt of gratitude that I must repay."
"Now, I have found their child, who still lives."
Xie Suzhi finally looked at Shen Ningning, his eyes filled with hot tears and complex emotions. "Shen Ningning, you are my benefactor."
RUSTLE—
The autumn wind swept in, carrying the fragrance of osmanthus from across the island. Golden blossoms swirled down into the lake, stirring ripples on its surface.
But among the crowd, there was a deathly silence.
Shen Ningning’s glistening eyes were filled with confusion and shock.
Mo Lingwei shot to his feet, retorting angrily, "This sounds utterly absurd. How did Shen Ningning become a farmer’s child?"
Xie Suzhi nodded. "The Ruyi pendant my daughter wore is made of silver, with a lotus pattern, and has the name ’Shen Ningning’ carved on the back. That Ruyi was given to the farmer couple by the maid as a token of gratitude."
Mo Lingwei furrowed his brow. "If it was something the Chancellor’s daughter always wore, how did you not know about it before?"
Xie Suzhi’s somber gaze shifted to Consort Rong. "This Ruyi was custom-made years ago by Consort Rong and my wife. I was not aware of it."
Everyone’s gaze immediately turned to Consort Rong.
The Emperor asked hurriedly, "Consort Rong, is this true?"
Consort Rong rose gracefully, her eyes heavy with sorrow. She dabbed the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.
"Replying to Your Majesty, it is indeed true. My sworn sister and I made a pact to use the Ruyi pendants as a pledge, so that the children we bore would be like sisters for life."
This was also why the name carved on the Ruyi followed the mother’s surname, Shen, and not the father’s.
The whole truth came to light.
Xie Suzhi cupped his hands in a salute to the Emperor again. "I ask Your Majesty to grant a favor. Shen Ningning is now alone and destitute in this world. I have failed to repay the kindness of her parents, and I wish to take Shen Ningning as my goddaughter. I ask Your Majesty to bear witness that I will never treat her unfairly."
The Emperor fell into thought.
Shen Ningning’s real parents had saved Xie Suzhi’s daughter. Now that Shen Ningning’s parents were deceased, it was not unreasonable for Xie Suzhi to want to adopt her as his goddaughter.
Mo Lingwei looked at the little girl beside him.
He saw her head was bowed, her dark, silky hair hiding her fair cheeks, making her expression unreadable.
He could only sense that her small body was perfectly still, and he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
Xie Mingxu’s gaze was complicated as it shifted from his father’s face to Shen Ningning.
The Emperor also spoke. "I can approve this, but we must first ask the Commandery Princess for her opinion."
And so, everyone waited for Shen Ningning to speak.
The little one kept her head down. The Black Wolf King stood up, walked to Shen Ningning’s side, and nudged her small hand with his head.
Just as Mo Lingwei thought she was in a difficult position and was about to refuse on her behalf, Shen Ningning finally raised her head.
Her large eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, glistening with unshed tears.
"Thank you, Uncle Prime Minister. I accept." As she spoke, Shen Ningning turned her face slightly, pretending to look at the Black Wolf King while actually hiding two streams of hot tears.
Her soft, sweet voice was cheerful, tinged with a barely perceptible sob. "I truly sympathize with what happened to Uncle Xie. Even though we have both lost our loved ones, we must be stronger. That way, our departed family won’t worry about us."
Xie Suzhi seemed dazed, his gaze fixed on Shen Ningning’s face. For a moment, he even forgot to speak.
The atmosphere grew a bit stiff, so the Emperor announced the start of the banquet, breaking the strange silence.
Today was the banquet celebrating Shen Ningning’s enfeoffment as a Commandery Princess, so many people came to offer toasts and curry her favor.
But as she sat amidst the lively crowd, with everyone gathering around her with beaming smiles, the little girl just blinked absently.
Her polite smile was like a floating cloud, ready to dissipate at any moment.
Mo Lingwei couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He set his cup down on the table, took her small hand, and said, "Come with me."
The Emperor was in the middle of a drink. Seeing them leave in a hurry, he called out, "Where are you two going? The banquet isn’t over yet!"
Mo Lingwei and Shen Ningning’s figures had already disappeared from sight, with the Black Wolf King having followed right behind them.
