Chapter 291: Chapter 291: Sunlight Tower Confinement

After she finished speaking, Consort Rong’s palace maid returned to the hall.

Shen Ningning walked over to Ye Shangyi’s side.

She squatted down to look at Ye Shangyi, her voice soft and sweet. "See? I told you you’d be punished."

Ye Shangyi still couldn’t believe Consort Rong could be so petty.

She frowned, her tone tinged with self-blame.

"This isn’t Her Highness’s fault. It was my carelessness."

"I lost the dozen or so copies of the scriptures that the Ninth Prince worked so hard to write, praying for the cold disaster to pass quickly."

"His Highness trusted me so much, entrusting all of them to my care, yet I failed his trust."

At this, Ye Shangyi let out a heavy sigh.

Then, she rallied her spirits and urged Shen Ningning, "You should leave the palace. Her Highness surely won’t make me kneel for too long. She said it was just to teach me a lesson."

Shen Ningning blinked her long lashes, truly at a loss for how to persuade Ye Shangyi.

Just then, a cold sensation landed on the little one’s cheek, melting into water in an instant.

Puzzled, Shen Ningning reached out a small hand to touch it.

It was melted snow...

Lifting her eyes to the sky, she saw that the gloomy horizon was now filled with flurries of sleet!

Ye Shangyi stared in astonishment, murmuring, "It’s snowing again."

The already cold weather was now joined by a biting north wind.

Mixed with the sleet, it blasted right into their faces.

Ye Shangyi had already been kneeling for some time, and now she was shivering uncontrollably from the cold.

"So cold!" she exclaimed, her breath fogging in the air.

Shen Ningning turned her head and looked at the palace hall.

’It’s snowing now, and Consort Rong still won’t let Ye Shangyi get up?’

"Now I really can’t leave. If I go, you might freeze to death here," the little one said to Ye Shangyi.

With that, she took the initiative to walk up the steps and ask the palace maid to announce her to Consort Rong again.

Shen Ningning found it strange.

She had already guessed that Consort Rong was not as gentle as she appeared.

But in the eyes of others, Consort Rong had always been magnanimous and generous.

Yet this time, she was punishing Ye Shangyi in public.

’Isn’t she afraid of her gentle image being shattered in everyone’s eyes?’

Soon, the palace maid returned, her brow furrowed with anxiety. "Our mistress has also fallen ill."

Shen Ningning’s little face froze.

"Then what are Her Highness’s instructions for Ye Shangyi?"

The palace maid shot a resentful glance at Ye Shangyi.

She said, "Commandery Princess, there are some things this servant shouldn’t say, but since such a kind person as Her Highness has been made ill by Miss Ye, this servant must speak up."

Shen Ningning cut her off. "What does Consort Rong falling ill have to do with Ye Shangyi?"

The palace maid said indignantly, "You may not know this, Commandery Princess, but Miss Ye has been careless and negligent ever since she became a female official."

"Several times she accidentally spilled ink, staining the Ninth Prince’s poems and paintings. But that was overlooked; Her Highness and His Highness never criticized her, and instead, they comforted her."

"But what Miss Ye lost this time were the scriptures that the Ninth Prince and Her Highness copied together, mother and son, with one heart. They were about to be used to pray to the heavens for the cold disaster to pass quickly."

"Her Highness lost several nights of sleep over these scriptures. But at such a critical moment, the scriptures were lost, the heavens sent a heavy snowstorm again, and Her Highness fell ill, her mind muddled."

"Tell me, isn’t this all Miss Ye’s fault?"

The palace maid’s words made Shen Ningning furrow her little brows.

The little one was born with a sharp and perceptive mind.

At first glance, there seemed to be nothing wrong with the palace maid’s words, but upon closer thought, something felt off...

Before she could think it over carefully, Consort Rong’s Chief Palace Maid emerged from the hall, her expression icy.

"Commandery Princess, Her Highness, despite her illness, says she is willing to give Miss Ye a chance to atone for her mistake."

"The Sunlight Tower houses offerings of scriptures and Buddhist teachings. Please have Miss Ye go there to reflect for half an hour!"

’The Sunlight Tower again.’

She remembered how her brother, Mo Lingwei, the Crown Prince, had been forced to pray to the Heavenly God for help inside it.

Shen Ningning asked in her soft voice, "Does she have to go?"

The Chief Palace Maid nodded.

The little one had no choice but to say, "Then I’ll go into the Sunlight Tower with Ye Shangyi."

For a moment, surprise flashed in the Chief Palace Maid’s eyes.

Shen Ningning went to help Ye Shangyi up. Escorted by Consort Rong’s Palace Attendants, they walked toward the Sunlight Tower, braving the sleet.

Ye Shangyi now understood what was happening.

"Shen Ningning, you’re so silly. You didn’t do anything wrong, why are you coming into the Sunlight Tower with me?"

Shen Ningning blinked her big eyes and said, "To keep you company! Otherwise, you’d be so bored all by yourself."

’In truth, what the little one was thinking was, I want to see just what Consort Rong is planning.’

’Besides, with the two of us together, it wouldn’t be so easy for Consort Rong to find another excuse to make things difficult for Ye Shangyi.’

Hearing Shen Ningning’s words, Ye Shangyi’s expression became a little unnatural and awkward.

She turned her head away. "Who asked you to keep me company? You’re just being presumptuous."

Despite her words, she couldn’t suppress the smile at the corners of her lips.

The two of them entered the Sunlight Tower, and Consort Rong’s people locked the door from the outside.

"This servant will return in half an hour," the palace maid said before turning to leave.

Shen Ningning rubbed her little arms and looked around.

So this was the bone-chilling cold of the Sunlight Tower.

It was surrounded by countless bookshelves filled with scriptures, and the cold fragrance of sandalwood floated in the air.

Ye Shangyi could no longer stand steadily. She sat down to the side, rubbing her sore and swollen knees.

She watched Shen Ningning wander back and forth. From time to time, the little one would stand on her tiptoes, leaning against the only window to look outside.

Ye Shangyi said, "You should sit down and rest for a bit, too. We’ll be able to leave in just half an hour."

Shen Ningning shook her head. "I don’t believe it."

’Consort Rong set this trap and lured Ye Shangyi into the Sunlight Tower just to lock her up for half an hour?’

Shen Ningning had already perceived Consort Rong’s intentions; she didn’t believe for a moment that the decision was so simple.

Ye Shangyi scoffed, "You think too poorly of Her Highness."

However, an hour passed.

Consort Rong’s people had not returned.

Ye Shangyi was already feeling the cold. Her teeth chattering, she asked, "Did the palace maid forget the time?"

Shen Ningning pressed her small lips together. "Let’s wait a little longer."

And so they waited, all the way until nightfall.

Outside, the sky grew dark. Inside the Sunlight Tower, the cold was so biting it felt as if frost could form in the air.

Ye Shangyi was now in a state of semi-consciousness.

She lay on a book-covering cloth Shen Ningning had found, curled up into a ball, still shivering from the cold.

"Have Her Highness’s people come?" she asked weakly.

Shen Ningning shook her head.

Ye Shangyi was on the verge of breaking down.

"I’m so cold, so, so cold. I’m going to freeze to death."

Then, her eyes fell upon an oil lamp sitting on a table not far away!

Ye Shangyi stumbled as she sat up, a look of wild joy on her face.

"A lamp! It’s an oil lamp! Let’s hurry and light it for warmth."

Shen Ningning whipped her head around to look.

On the table wasn’t just an oil lamp, but also a flint.

’It was all prepared for them.’

Suddenly!

Shen Ningning understood. She finally knew what Consort Rong was trying to do.

She grabbed Ye Shangyi’s hand. "Don’t light it!"

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