Wolf-Raised Cub with a Space: Surviving the Disaster Years
Chapter 175: Don’t Be Afraid, Brother Is Here
Zichen Palace was in utter chaos, and Shen Ningning, locked away in the torture room, hadn’t slept well either.
Having not slept a wink all night, her small face looked listless.
In particular, beneath her sparkling eyes, faint dark circles had appeared on her fair, tender skin.
The guards had already changed shifts twice, and each time, they would tell their colleagues, "The little girl in the innermost cell is not to be tortured. Commander Lu gave specific orders."
So, while the little girl was spared from torture, she couldn’t sleep. She was forced to watch as the guards dragged barely breathing, blood-soaked figures from different cells, whipping and interrogating them viciously off to the side.
The wails and screams constantly assaulted Shen Ningning’s ears, and her little face grew paler by the second.
A frightened look appeared in her large, dark, and clear eyes.
Then, a mangled, bloody heap was thrown into the cell opposite hers.
THUD. The dull sound of a body hitting the ground made Shen Ningning, who was pressed against the bars of her cell, flinch.
She looked across and could just barely make out the face of a middle-aged woman beneath a mess of filthy hair.
The woman’s face was covered in blood. After a moment, she staggered into a sitting position, groaning in pain.
But the moment her eyes met Shen Ningning’s, the middle-aged woman suddenly flew into a rage.
BANG! She grabbed the bars.
"Lady Xin! You’re Lady Xin!" the woman shrieked, her expression wild. A moment later, she burst into frenzied laughter.
Shen Ningning was startled at first, but she gradually understood. "Lady Xin? Is that ’Xin’ as in the word for ’heart’? Do you know my mother?"
The woman didn’t answer, only pointing at her and laughing mockingly. "Lady Xin, so you’ve fallen this low too! What good is your cleverness now? You still ended up locked in this place! HAHA!"
As she spoke, a murderous hatred filled her eyes. "I’m going to kill you!"
Shen Ningning watched as the woman began to slam her head against the bars repeatedly, as if trying to break through the cell door with her skull.
She scrambled to her feet, her sweet, childish voice laced with urgency. "Guards! Guards, quickly! This prisoner is going to kill herself!"
At Shen Ningning’s shouts, two guards ran over. One of them raised a wooden club and struck the woman on the neck, knocking her unconscious.
The guard looked at her filthy face and grumbled, "You’re the most unruly one in this whole cell block. Any more trouble and you’ll get the whip."
Shen Ningning quickly took the opportunity to ask, "Officer, who is she? Why is she locked up here?"
The guard glanced at her, initially not wanting to answer. But Commander Lu himself had given instructions; this little girl was likely no ordinary person.
So, the guard answered gruffly, "Who else? Just some attendant from the Cold Palace. Been locked up so long she’s lost her mind."
"She was sent here for trying to start a fire in the Cold Palace."
"What’s her name?" Shen Ningning pressed.
The little girl was smart. She wanted to remember this person’s name so she could investigate once she left the torture room.
’Maybe I can find my father and mother!’
The guard frowned, thought for a moment, and looked at his colleague. "What was that attendant from the Cold Palace’s name again?"
His colleague also thought for a moment. "I think it was Qing He? Qing as in ’clear water’ and He as in ’lotus flower’."
Shen Ningning secretly committed it to memory.
After the guards left, she leaned against the cell door and once again began to worry about Mo Lingwei’s condition.
The little girl pressed her small, fair hands together, sincerely praying for him to get well.
The worry from a sleepless night left Shen Ningning utterly exhausted.
At some point, she fell asleep. When she next awoke, it was to someone gently shaking her.
"Shen Ningning. Shen Ningning."
The little girl forced open her heavy eyelids. Her whole body ached as if she had been beaten with a stick.
She groggily looked at the person before her, her vision slowly sharpening from a blur into focus.
Xie Mingxu’s face was right in front of her.
"Brother," the little girl’s soft, sweet voice was a little weak. "Why are you here? Is the Crown Prince alright?"
Xie Mingxu nodded. "The Crown Prince’s condition has been stabilized. The matter has also been investigated, and it has nothing to do with you. I’m here to take you out."
He reached out and had just touched Shen Ningning when he realized her body was burning hot!
When he touched her forehead, sure enough, she had a high fever.
Xie Mingxu’s eyes darkened. "Shen Ningning, are you sick?"
The little girl tried to stand but felt dizzy and fell backward, thankfully caught by Xie Mingxu.
She pressed her temples, her little brow furrowed in pain. "Brother, my head hurts so much."
Shen Ningning’s little face was as red as a boiled apple and scorching to the touch; she must have been in terrible discomfort.
Without another word, Xie Mingxu swept her up into his arms. "Just hang on. I’m taking you to see a doctor."
In his broad embrace, the little girl felt a sense of security again, so she stopped trying to stay strong and drifted off into a drowsy sleep.
Xie Mingxu’s carriage sped out of the palace, heading straight for the Xie Mansion.
When it screeched to a halt at the entrance of the Xie family estate, his tall figure emerged from the carriage, holding Shen Ningning.
A gatekeeper hurried to greet them. Xie Mingxu urged in a low voice, "Get Sima Han to my chambers. Quickly!"
"Yes, I’ll see to it at once."
Along the way, all the servants of the Xie Mansion saw their young master storming back to his courtyard, carrying a delicate-looking little child, his expression so grim that no one dared to approach.
Around the corner of a long corridor, a dignified young lady surrounded by several maids also witnessed the scene.
"Fourth Miss, look, it’s the young master. I heard the Divine Doctor was just sent back this morning, and now the young master has summoned him to his courtyard to treat someone. I’d guess it’s for that little girl he’s carrying, right?"
The Fourth Miss, Xie Yuanjiu, kept her eyes fixed on Xie Mingxu’s departing back.
Her eyes were hazy and dark, as if she was remembering who the little girl in his arms was.
Xie Yuanjiu’s head maid, Cai Ying, was still complaining, "I truly feel it’s unfair to you, Fourth Miss."
"Even though the young master used his own connections to invite the Divine Doctor to the capital, he was brought here to treat the Second Master."
"Now, the Second Master has barely been seen, yet the young master has taken him away to treat that strange little girl."
"I heard from the front courtyard that this girl supposedly poisoned the Crown Prince! The young master carried the Divine Doctor into the palace first thing this morning all to clear her name and stand up for her."
A flash of displeasure crossed the depths of Xie Yuanjiu’s eyes.
She glanced to the side and lightly admonished Cai Ying, "That’s enough. Stop your nonsense. Brother is a steady person, much like our uncle. He has never made a mistake. Why must you chatter on?"
Cai Ying lowered her head, aggrieved. "I was only speaking out for you, my lady. The young master is so good to a strange little girl, but whenever he sees you, he always acts so distant."
’What is my lady lacking?’
Xie Yuanjiu’s expression was unreadable, and her tone became deliberate. "It doesn’t matter. I don’t mind. Brother and I are family, after all. No matter how wonderful someone else is, they’re not his kin."
「At that moment.」
Xie Mingxu placed Shen Ningning on his own bed and called a maid to wipe her face with warm water.
The Divine Doctor, Sima Han, was carried in on the back of his attendant.
The little old man patted his chest and caught his breath.
Then, he pointed at Xie Mingxu and shook his head, complaining, "This old man is just a bag of old bones, running around for you, Young Master. It hasn’t even been an hour since I got back from the palace, and you’ve already woken me up again."
"This morning, when we went to the palace, you ran so fast you nearly rattled my old bones to pieces!"
With that, he glanced down at Shen Ningning on the bed.
He threw up his hands. "See? Isn’t she just lying here perfectly fine? What are you in such a hurry for?"
"But, speaking of which, this little girl really does look a bit like Madam Xie. No wonder you’re so concerned."
Xie Mingxu’s gaze darkened. "Enough nonsense. She’s burning up. Hurry and take a look at her."
Sima Han stepped forward confidently, saying, "Relax. It’s probably just a common cold, or maybe she’s been overly frightened. What else could it be?"
However, as he placed his fingers on Shen Ningning’s wrist to take her pulse, the carefree, bantering look on his face vanished.
Sima Han’s expression grew solemn, and he remained silent for a long moment.
Xie Mingxu felt a growing sense of urgency. "What is it?"