klisemfg Chapter 339: The Missing Ning'er
Chapter 339: The Missing Ning'er
Chapter 339: The Missing Ning'er
Ji Meiqing grew angrier the more she thought about it. She thought, "Just because she's a princess, does that give her the right to break up others for her own benefit? That's so selfish!" Besides, the princess had forced Shen Bin into this situation; she wasn't so foolish as to not understand that forced relationships don't work.
"Alright, don't overthink it. Let things take their course. What's meant to happen will happen." With that, she hugged Ji Meiqing tightly, letting him stay in her arms.
Feeling somewhat frustrated, she realized that even though the Drunken Immortal Pavilion's business was stable, she couldn't understand why Ji Meiqing refused to return to Rongcheng. Now, with so many troubles arising, when would they be able to return to Rongcheng and live a peaceful life with Ji Meiqing? Thinking about this, she couldn't help but sigh.
Hearing Lu Yu's words, Ji Meiqing nodded in agreement. Hearing Lu Yu sigh, she raised her head slightly in his arms and asked, "What's wrong?" Lu Yu replied indifferently, "Nothing."
Hearing Lu Yu's reply, Ji Meiqing snuggled closer to him and slowly drifted off to sleep. Lu Yu looked at the girl in his arms; she seemed to have had a long time without a good night's sleep, her brow furrowed even in her sleep. He placed a kiss on her forehead, held her, and slowly fell asleep himself.
The sun was warm today. Zhao Ning'er finished washing the clothes and hung them to dry in the attic. Looking at the bright sunshine outside the window, she felt cheerful. Thinking that Shen Bin, who was still lying in the back hall, had almost recovered, she felt even happier. After hanging the clothes, she dried her hands on her apron, took it off, and hurried to the back hall.
Lying on the bed in the back hall, Shen Bin's face had already regained its color, no longer as pale as before. Although he was in a coma every day, he could still feel that the person who had been watching over him day and night was Zhao Ning'er. He wanted to wake up, but he felt very dizzy and weak all over.
Zhao Ning'er stayed with her every night, and she would always whisper in his ear, sometimes crying and sometimes laughing. When she mentioned falling into the water, she hugged herself and burst into tears. He always remembered what Zhao Ning'er said: "Young Master Shen, do you know how scared I was? I was afraid something would happen to you. When I fell into the water, I felt like I was going to die."
Hearing Zhao Ning'er cry, Shen Bin longed to hold her in his arms and comfort her, but he was powerless to do so. Suddenly, a ray of sunlight shone in.
The sunlight was a bit too bright for Shen Bin to see the person's face, but he could make out her silhouette—it was Zhao Ning'er. Shen Bin squinted and turned his head, realizing his carelessness, and quickly pulled down the curtain. The back hall began to darken again.
Shen Bin propped himself up on his arms, and Zhao Ning'er quickly stepped forward to support him. "Ning'er, you've had a hard time these past few days." Zhao Ning'er was clearly a little taken aback by Shen Bin's sudden words. But seeing that Shen Bin was alright, she felt much more relaxed.
"How could you be so foolish? The lake water was freezing cold, why did you jump in?" Zhao Ning'er said, biting her lip, sounding a little aggrieved. Shen Bin had no idea that his simple thanks would hurt Zhao Ning'er, and he pulled her into his arms. Without warning, Zhao Ning'er fell into his embrace.
This seemed to be her first intimate encounter with Shen Bin. She felt somewhat uneasy in his arms, trying several times to push him away, but despite his seemingly delicate and scholarly appearance, Shen Bin possessed extraordinary strength. She could only obediently stay in his embrace. Shen Bin stroked her head with his other hand and said, "You know, when I saw you floating on the lake, I wondered if you had already left. But I still couldn't believe it, so I jumped in. I wanted to see you alive and kicking in front of me. Heaven has been kind to me; it didn't let you leave me."
Shen Bin finished speaking in one breath. Zhao Ning'er in his arms didn't say anything, but he could feel her trembling shoulders. Shen Bin lowered his head and saw that Zhao Ning'er was already in tears. He gently wiped away her tears and held her tightly, as if afraid that she would disappear.
After Shen Bin recovered, Zhao Ning'er was overjoyed and followed him around every day, inseparable. Ji Meiqing watched the two of them together all the time, but showed no joy whatsoever. She looked at them with concern, noticing that they had been getting along well and she hadn't heard of any accidents. Just as Ji Meiqing was beginning to feel relieved, an unexpected incident struck.
"Sister Ji, Sister Ji!!" Early that morning, Ji Meiqing was still sleeping at the inn when she heard a loud knocking on the door. Annoyed, she opened her eyes, got dressed, and went to open it. Lu Yu, who was sleeping next to her, also got up and dressed when he heard the noise.
"Zhao Lei, what brings you here so early in the morning? What's the rush?" Ji Meiqing looked at Zhao Lei standing at the door, drenched in sweat. It was obvious he had run all the way from Zuixianlou to the inn, which puzzled Ji Meiqing. Ji Meiqing stepped aside, inviting Zhao Lei inside to discuss what was on his mind.
Lu Yu, sitting on the bed, didn't react much when he saw Zhao Lei. Zhao Lei entered the room, also unaware of Lu Yu sitting on the bed, pacing anxiously back and forth, scratching his head in thought. When he saw Ji Meiqing, he hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. Ji Meiqing, seeing that Zhao Lei seemed to have a lot to say, grew somewhat anxious.
"Zhao Lei, what's the matter so early in the morning?" Lu Yu said, sitting beside him. Zhao Lei looked at Lu Yu sitting on the bed, feeling somewhat rude. He had been in the room for so long without noticing that there was someone else there. He bowed slightly to Lu Yu, then looked anxiously at Ji Meiqing and said, "Sister Ji, my sister...she...she's missing. Please help me find her."
Upon hearing Zhao Lei's words, Ji Meiqing froze on the spot, unable to utter a single word for a long time, and cast a pleading look at Lu Yu. They both knew without guessing that Princess Xiangping was behind it all, but Ji Meiqing hadn't expected Princess Xiangping to act so quickly, catching them completely off guard.
"Zhao Lei, are you sure Ning'er is missing? Not kidnapped?" Ji Meiqing still couldn't believe that Princess Xiangping could be so ruthless, so she asked to confirm.
Zhao Lei looked at Ji Meiqing with some confusion, but after all, Ji Meiqing was the only person he could trust now. He took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Ji Meiqing. Ji Meiqing trembled with anger when she saw the words on the paper.
"I found this on my sister's desk this morning; it was stuck with a dart in it," Zhao Lei said calmly. Ji Meiqing put away the paper and said to Zhao Lei, "Your sister is in trouble this time."
After saying that, she pulled Lu Yu, who was sitting on the bed, up and directly ordered a carriage to go to Zuixianlou. The three people in the carriage were all very uneasy along the way. Especially Ji Meiqing; although she had never met Princess Xiangping, she found her to be even more terrifying than Princess Xunhua based on her character and conduct.