Phoenix Reborn: the Prime Minister’s Scheming Daughter - Chapter 338

Ever since the fire in the posthouse, Zhou City had strangely quieted down. The refugees and citizens were extremely afraid. A prince, who was favored by His Majesty, had an accident in their territory and was now unconscious with nobody knowing when he would wake up. Once His Majesty pursued this matter, their good days would come to an end.

The Zhou Family was busy destroying the evidence in the hands of the witnesses and completely wiping out the secrets of the wealth in the mountain. As long as no one proved that the treasures were owned by others before, there was no reason to continue investigating the matter. Although the treasures must be handed over to the imperial court, at least the Zhou Family could survive the ordeal.

In the room, Shen Ninghua carefully changed the medicine for Baili Junyi. Looking at his pale face, she felt her heart aching.

Bai Ruo brought the porridge over. “Miss, I have made some porridge. You should have some.”

Shen Ninghua turned around, took the bowl of porridge, and quickly ate all of it. “Make it a little thinner. I will feed some to His Highness. If he doesn’t eat anything, his health will worsen.”

Bai Ruo nodded, turned around, and walked down quickly. The worry in her heart grew stronger and stronger.

Miss had been acting very normally these past few days. Other than the day when the posthouse was on fire, she had not even shed a tear. She would eat all the food in large mouthfuls without hesitation, including the food she had disliked before. It was as if she couldn’t taste them. Her expression was blank and indifferent without a trace of a smile, except when she was playing with Little Masters.

It had already been five days. Qing Que and Hong Ling had both woken up, but His Highness showed no signs of waking up at all. He even had a high fever two days ago. Miss took care of him without any rest. She had not slept for a day and a night, and there was still no trace of fatigue on the second day.

Bai Ruo had a feeling that the current Miss was as tensed as a taut string. If His Highness did not wake up, she would not relax for a day.

When Bi Zhu saw her coming over, she asked softly, “How is Miss?”

Bai Ruo shook her head. “It’s still the same as before.”

Bi Zhu gritted her teeth and hissed hatefully, “The Zhou Family is becoming more and more restless. If we didn’t take this opportunity to crash them, wouldn’t His Highness’ injuries be in vain?”

Bai Ruo started boiling porridge. “Miss will definitely have a way. It was so difficult back then, but we survived. This time, Miss will definitely have a way!”

On the tenth day, Ye Yi brought his subordinates over to report, “Princess, everything in the mountain range has been cleaned up.”

Shen Ninghua did not respond. She calmly pulled out the silver needles from Baili Junyi’s body and only spoke after packing them up, “Ye Yi, how long have you been working for His Highness?”

“Princess, I’ve been working for His Highness for eight years, three months, and twenty-five days.”

Shen Ninghua walked to a chair at the side and sat down. Her back was straight, and one of her hands was placed on the back of the chair. Her crimson sleeves accentuated her fair jade-like fingertips. There was no expression on her beautiful face, but it was full of nobility and dignity.

“You were there and saw everything that happened between me and His Highness. Let me ask you, what is my identity?”

Ye Yi was moved. He raised his hand and asserted respectfully, “You are His Highness’ legitimate wife. Your title, Noble Prince Zhaohua, was personally bestowed by His Majesty. Your position is the same as a Royal Prince!”

Shen Ninghua’s brows twitched, and an oppressive aura suddenly spread out. “Let me ask you again, what is my identity?”

Ye Yi trembled. He never thought that such a petite body could actually erupt such a strong aura. “Y-You are His Highness’ legitimate wife…” He originally wanted to answer, but when his eyes met Shen Ninghua’s, he suddenly stopped.

Those eyes were calm without any ripples, but Ye Yi could see that they were full of killing intent. He suddenly remembered that His Highness had suffered a loss at the hands of the princess in front of him, who was skilled in medicine and seemed to be better at using poison. However, she did not like to do it herself. His Highness cherished the princess very much, so he did not show her skills often. If his answer today could not satisfy the princess, today would probably be his last day.

“You are my Master!”

Ye Yi lowered his head, his expression filled with unprecedented respect and honor.

A hint of a smile appeared on Shen Ninghua’s lips.

“Good, it’s a good thing you understood in time. Since that’s the case, announce my identity truthfully. Baili Junyi is currently unconscious, so I will represent him. If anyone is unable to completely follow my orders, drag them out and beat them to death. I only want to keep those who are smart and loyal. The rest are useless, so there’s no need to keep them alive.”

Ye Yi’s heart trembled. He felt a chill down his spine, but his attitude became even more respectful. “Yes, Master.” In the beginning, he was not willing to admit Shen Ninghua’s leadership because he assumed that she was too kind to become a good leader and avenge His Highness. Now that he heard her direct and blatant order, how dared he question her the slightest bit?

Shen Ninghua nodded with satisfaction. She looked at the list of goods in her hand and could not help but sigh.

“The Zhou Family is really bold. They dared to embezzle more than half of the silver from the disaster relief, and no one doubted the oddity. Every year, bandits crossed the border and robbed countless treasures and food. In the end, they all went into the Zhou Family’s pocket! Ye Yi, I have an assignment for you. Bring back the boss of those bandits. No matter what price you pay, I want to see them in three days!”

“Yes, Master!”

After Ye Yi left, Shen Ninghua looked at Bai Ruo. “Bai Ruo, give the order to arrest the Zhou Family!”

“Now?”

“Yes, now!”

Bai Ruo lamented worriedly, “Miss, the citizens and the refugees have finally calmed down. What if they start a riot out of anger if we arrest the Zhou Family’s people now?”

Shen Ninghua’s eyes were cold, and she curled her lips into a sneer. “Riot? Junyi and I had tolerated them all the time because we were concerned about their feelings, but in the end, what did we get for our tolerance? The posthouse was on fire! The fire was so big, but no one came to put out the fire! Yes, many of them went to the mountains to watch the refinery process, but was the city completely empty? No! They clearly wanted to see us die!”

Bai Ruo’s expression changed, and her tone was a little resentful. “Miss, I will go and instruct them now.” Miss was right. It was true that these people were deceived, but this could not be used as an excuse for them to turn a blind eye on such a serious matter!

“Leave half of the guards here and take the rest of them to the Zhou residence. If anyone tried to stop you, just hit them with sticks. If you kill them, it’s on me!”

“Yes, Miss!”

Zhou Ziqing was listening to Zhou Da’s report. Before he could react, he saw the housekeeper running in frantically. “Patriarch, bad news! Prefectural Prince Yi’s guards broke in. There are hundreds of them, and they’ll arrive soon!”

Before he could finish his words, the door of the room was kicked open violently. A group of armored guards with serious faces directly took action and detained all the people present.

Zhou Ziqing’s expression changed. “What did I do wrong to receive such harsh treatment from you?”

He did not receive the slightest response. The guards directly grabbed him and his people, tied them up, and escorted them out.

The citizens who followed the troop were all bewildered. Wasn’t Prefectural Prince Yi unconscious? Why were his guards making their moves on the Zhou Family? Was it Princess Zhaohua’s order? No matter who gave the order, they were abusing their power again. They couldn’t just sit by and do nothing.

A group of people immediately blocked the way of the guards. They thought that with so many people blocking the way, the guards would not dare to act recklessly. Unfortunately, before they could stand firm, military batons rained down on them.

“Hey, how dare you beat innocent people?!”

The guard, who was the leader, revealed a trace of ridicule on his face. Because of the Master’s order, they respected these people, but in the end, they were so insatiable. Now, they could give these people a good beating with the Master’s permission. Someone else would be responsible if they beat these people to death anyway.

Zhou Ziqing’s expression completely changed. He lowered his head and quickly thought of a countermeasure. According to the reports from his men, Baili Junyi was still unconscious, so this time, it should be Shen Ninghua who gave the order. Her actions seemed to be completed deranged. Did Baili Junyi succumb to his injuries?

The people were still standing firmly at first, but they yelped in pain after they were hit by the military batons. They were used to being arrogant. After the previous gathering and winning against Baili Junyi, they looked down on the imperial family members, feeling as if they were weak and defenseless. Today, they realized the difference in their status and strength.

Not long after, the crowd was dispersed, and a lot of people hid on both sides of the street. The guards directly escorted the Zhou Family away.

After the burning of the posthouse, Shen Ninghua brought Baili Junyi to the courtyard they had bought earlier. The courtyard was very large, but there were not many rooms, so it was quite spacious and empty. Even after so many people came in, it did not seem crowded.

Bai Ruo entered the room. “Miss, a total of fifty-three people, including Patriarch Zhou, are arrested, and they have all been brought here. Zhou Da is in Zhou Ziqing’s study room, so he was brought here by the guards too.”

“Okay, tie all of them up and throw them in the side courtyard.”

“Yes, Miss. Oh, and about Zhou Jingshu. She is very ill and is not doing really well because no one seemed to have called a doctor for her.”

Shen Ninghua asked coldly, “Can she survive for three more days?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, just make sure she is alive for three days.” It was fine as long as she didn’t die in these three days. Three days later, her life or death would have nothing to do with her.

The citizens of Zhou City began to run amok after Shen Ninghua ordered to arrest the Zhou Family and even permitted her guards to injure the people. Many people were filled with righteous indignation and surrounded Shen Ninghua’s residence, demanding her to release the Zhou Family immediately. Some even demanded Shen Ninghua and her guards apologize to the Zhou Family and the people who were beaten, or they would never let them off the hook.

Just like last time, the people gathered outside the courtyard with sickles and hoes.

Bai Ruo entered the door and reported, “Miss, what do you think we should do now?”

Shen Ninghua took a sip of porridge and fed it to Baili Junyi mouth-to-mouth. “Just like last time, give those people a good beating. It’ll be on me if anyone dies!”

“Yes, Miss.”

Not long after, there was a commotion outside. Shen Ninghua wiped the corners of Baili Junyi’s lips with a handkerchief. Her eyes were slightly reddish and watery. “Junyi, wake up quickly, or I’ll go crazy.”

In the past, she had no one to rely on but herself. She moved her way forward without any sense of fear or hardship. But now, she was used to having someone to rely on, so when she had to walk forward alone, she felt extremely scared. Junyi, wake up…