"It would be better if you go in first." As he spoke, Jun Yang reached out toward Jun Ning’s shoulder, attempting to push Jun Ning into the black room in front of them.
Yao Yao wasn’t idle either; she put her hand on Jun Ning’s other shoulder, intending to push Jun Ning into the black room together with Jun Yang.
In the blink of an eye, Jun Ning sneered, then broke free from their hands. One on each side, she instead pushed Jun Yang and Yao Yao into the black room and swiftly shut the door.
Jun Ning’s movements were too quick, fast enough to leave no room for escape. Moreover, Jun Yang and Yao Yao were solely focused on causing harm, without any thought of defense; they were easily pushed into the black room by Jun Ning and faced with a room full of mice.
As soon as they were pushed inside, heart-wrenching screams emanated from within the room.
"Get away, don’t come near me."
"If you dare bite me, my father will eradicate your ancestors to the eighteenth generation."
"Get away, all of you!"
Accompanying the screams was the sound of mice gnawing with sharp teeth.
Jun Ning was already afraid of mice, and hearing these sounds made her shiver, her hair standing on end. She didn’t dare stay any longer and quickly retreated to the western chamber, intending to rush back to the banquet with Jing Shu and then instruct Nanny Zhang to report to her father and mother that she had returned.
At that moment, the entire palace was searching for her and Jing Shu, and the entire Imperial Guard had been dispatched. No nook or cranny would be missed by the guards; they would eventually find their way there.
Rather than passively waiting to be found, it was better to take the initiative and control the situation.
Just as she was thinking this, the Imperial Guards, having heard the screams from the western chamber and seen the figures of Jun Ning and Jing Shu under the moonlight, came to them.
Even the best-laid plans can fail!
Jun Ning found herself in a passive situation but quickly regained her composure. Before the guards reached her and Jing Shu, she hastily whispered a few instructions to Jing Shu to prevent her from saying anything she shouldn’t.
Jing Shu nodded after hearing her, "Auntie, I’ve remembered it, don’t worry."
Jun Ning began to untie the ropes that were loosely tied on Jing Shu by the guards just for show. The most update n0vels are published on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦·𝘯𝘦𝘵
In fact, it was to make it look like being captured; the ropes were tied loosely on Jing Shu by the guards and were easy to undo. At this moment, Jun Ning quickly untied the ropes.
As soon as Jun Ning threw the untied ropes aside, Emperor Yongning, the Empress Dowager, Qiong Hua, the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess Consort, and Prince Xiao Yao arrived, followed by a group of Imperial Guards, a large crowd.
Prince Xiao Yao, hearing the heart-wrenching screams from the nearby black room, thought Jun Ning had already been captured and was being bitten by those dark, large, and hungry mice. Unexpectedly, he saw Jun Ning outside the western chamber.
Jun Ning was perfectly fine, without any issues.
Whose child was crying with such heart-wrenching screams while being bitten by mice in that black room?
Prince Xiao Yao wanted to understand but apparently not immediately.
Overwhelmed with emotions, he looked at Jing Shu squatting in front of her, and immediately asked, "Princess Anle, why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be..."
Speaking halfway, Prince Xiao Yao suddenly stopped, swallowing back the words "in that little black room next door" that he dared not utter.
"Supposed to be where?" Emperor Yongning sensed the issue in Prince Xiao Yao’s words.
"In... in..." Prince Xiao Yao laughed awkwardly, looking at the nearby small black room, then said, "I mean, wasn’t Princess Anle supposed to be at the banquet? How did she end up here?"
Emperor Yongning didn’t overlook the pondering look in Prince Xiao Yao’s eyes when he glanced at the room, along with the children’s screams coming from inside...
Emperor Yongning was highly curious about what was happening inside.
He looked at Xiao Lizi and the Imperial Guards behind him, "Go and see who is inside that room? And why there are screams?"
Xiao Lizi led the way with others.
Emperor Yongning’s gaze fell back on Jun Ning and Jing Shu, "Darlings, how did you end up here?"
Jun Ning helped Jing Shu up from the ground and said, "Reporting to Father, I don’t know who brought Jing Shu here and beat her . Sister Yang and Princess An Ding told me she was here, so I hurried to bring people to find her."
"What? Jing Shu was beaten?"
The Crown Princess Consort was shocked. Ignoring propriety, she hurried over to Jing Shu.
A moment ago, she was at a distance from Jing Shu, and in the darkness, she couldn’t clearly see Jing Shu’s injuries on her face, barely recognizing her daughter next to Jun Ning. But for some reason, today the little girl’s face seemed swollen, different from usual.
Unexpectedly, it was because she had been beaten.
After rushing over to Jing Shu, she clearly saw the two red and swollen cheeks of the little girl. Reaching out to touch but fearing to cause pain, her hand awkwardly froze in mid-air.
"Sweetheart, does it hurt?" the Crown Princess Consort asked full of worry.
"It hurts." Upon seeing the Crown Princess Consort, Jing Shu’s grievances and tears, which had long been held back, were uncontrolled and flowed out. She tearfully complained, "Mother, do you know? The woman who captured me not only beat me but also wanted to cut off my fingers."
"What, cut off your fingers?" Everyone was shocked.
Numerous eyes fell on Jing Shu’s hands.
Especially the Crown Prince next to Emperor Yongning. Although he hadn’t rushed over to check on Jing Shu, the deep concern and heartache in his eyes couldn’t be concealed by the endless night.
The Crown Princess Consort reacted even more strongly, nearly fainting from fright.
She mustered her energy and said, "Sweetheart, quickly let mother see your hands?"
The Crown Princess Consort, choked up, checked Jing Shu’s hands. Seeing all ten fingers intact, she breathed a sigh of relief, and a huge stone lifted from her heart finally settled down.
Emperor Yongning and the Crown Prince also breathed a sigh of relief.
Jing Shu, crying, said, "Mother, it’s a good thing Auntie brought people in time to save my hands."
Hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but chuckle.
Heaven and earth could see, at this serious moment, they really didn’t mean to laugh.
However, nobody had ever said that someone saved a specific part of their body before; people usually say someone saved their life. Only Jing Shu said that someone saved her hands.
These words were indeed hilariously funny, making it hard to suppress laughter.
But the next moment, everyone couldn’t laugh anymore.
Because swarms of mice suddenly scurried toward their feet, and these mice were black, large, and numerous, merely glancing at them made one’s hair stand on end...