Chapter 292: Chapter 292: Calling for Help, but Encountering Xie Ming’an

Ye Shangyi was confused. "Why? We can’t even light a lamp?"

Shen Ningning pressed down on her hand. Her voice was soft and sweet, but her small face was serious.

"Look around us. It’s all Buddhist books and Buddhist Scripture. My brother told me that to make the Sunlight Tower insect-proof and moisture-proof, they coated the wood with a layer of oil lacquer."

"This kind of oil catches fire very easily. That’s why the Sunlight Tower should be without lamps year-round. Even when my brother was locked in the Sunlight Tower, he didn’t light any lamps."

Hearing this, Ye Shangyi finally understood.

With so many bookshelves packed so densely in the Sunlight Tower, and the floor coated in a layer of wax!

If a fire broke out, it would instantly become an inferno.

And the door was already locked. They had no way to escape.

Her face turned deathly pale, and she grew frantic. "Are you saying... this oil lamp was left here for us to light, so that a fire would start...?"

"Consort Rong wants to burn me alive?" Ye Shangyi finally realized the truth.

But she couldn’t believe it.

She had always been diligent and loyal, and had never once defied Consort Rong.

She even got along harmoniously with the Ninth Prince.

Why would Consort Rong want her dead!

Shen Ningning saw that Ye Shangyi was shivering violently. Her lips, which had turned a dusky color from the cold, were also trembling.

She squeezed Ye Shangyi’s hand. "The Sunlight Tower is a place Uncle Emperor built for my brother’s illness and to pray to the heavens for blessings."

"This place holds too much symbolic meaning. If it were to be burned down, it would surely be seen as an inauspicious omen in the eyes of the world."

"But I haven’t figured out Consort Rong’s exact intentions either..." The little girl scratched her cheek.

No matter how you looked at it, Consort Rong’s plan was terrifying.

Ye Shangyi immediately hid behind Shen Ningning.

"Then we won’t light the lamp. I’d rather freeze to death."

Shen Ningning blinked a couple of times. She looked at the oil lamp, then glanced at the window not far away.

The little girl suddenly had an idea.

"If Consort Rong’s people don’t come, then we’ll just call for help ourselves!"

She picked up the oil lamp, ran to the window, and lit it with a flint.

Ye Shangyi jumped in fright. "Shen Ningning, be careful! Don’t get us both burned to death!"

Shen Ningning ignored her.

The oil lamp in her hand flared to life with a soybean-sized flame, illuminating her small, milky-white face.

The little girl stood on her tiptoes and placed the oil lamp on the windowsill.

Ye Shangyi suddenly understood. "You want to use the lamp to tell people there’s someone in the Sunlight Tower?"

Shen Ningning nodded. Her voice was soft and sweet, and the expression on her small, round face was calm and cute.

"The Imperial Guard changes shifts every hour. As long as they patrol nearby, they’re bound to see the light here."

With that, the little girl cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Help! Is anyone there?!"

Ye Shangyi steadied herself against the wall and slowly walked over to Shen Ningning’s side.

The two of them shouted in unison.

After a short while, Ye Shangyi stared intently and saw several figures actually walking toward them!

However, the night was dim, and with the swirling snow pellets, it was impossible to see who they were.

The palace lanterns they carried were also swaying wildly from side to side.

"Someone’s coming! Someone’s finally coming!" Ye Shangyi felt a surge of hope and called out with even more effort.

Shen Ningning, for her part, held up the oil lamp, reached out the window, and waved it back and forth.

The small flame finally guided the newcomers to them.

When Shen Ningning saw their faces clearly, her voice stopped abruptly. The words of help were forcibly swallowed back down.

Ye Shangyi took a closer look and was on the verge of crying with joy.

"It’s Mr. Xie, your second brother, Xie Ming’an!"

She excitedly tugged on Shen Ningning’s sleeve. "We’re saved."

Xie Ming’an’s gaze, reflected in the faint candlelight, was bottomlessly deep and dark.

He glanced at the tightly locked door beside them.

"What are you two doing here?" Xie Ming’an’s voice was incomparably cold.

Shen Ningning didn’t speak. Ye Shangyi said in a rushed panic, "We were locked in here by Consort Rong, but Her Highness forgot to let us out."

"Mr. Xie, could you please go to the inner palace and pass on a message for us? Ask Her Highness to send someone to let us out."

Xie Ming’an’s gaze shifted to Shen Ningning.

The little girl was biting her lower lip. Her round cheeks, likely due to the cold, had long lost their pinkish hue and now appeared an almost translucent white.

Her long, dark eyelashes trembled. She didn’t look up at him, nor did she open her mouth to ask for his help.

Xie Ming’an stated flatly, "You’re on your own."

Then, he turned and left.

Ye Shangyi stood frozen in place, watching his retreating back.

"Shen Ningning, what did he mean by that? Isn’t he going to pass on our message?"

"Shen Ningning, why didn’t you say anything just now? What’s wrong?"

Ye Shangyi chattered on for several more sentences before she finally noticed that something was wrong with the little girl’s mood.

It was as if the moment Xie Ming’an appeared, the hope in Shen Ningning’s eyes had been extinguished.

The little girl squatted down and hugged her knees. "Let’s just wait for someone else."

Ye Shangyi found it strange.

Shen Ningning’s relationship with the Xie family’s eldest son, Xie Mingxu, was so good, but when it came to this second brother, Xie Ming’an, it was as if they were strangers.

But she could more or less guess why—they most likely didn’t get along.

Ye Shangyi refused to give up. She continued to hold the oil lamp and shout outside for help.

However, the oil lamp was quickly extinguished by the snow pellets, turning into a soggy wick that could no longer be lit.

Ye Shangyi was also exhausted, her entire body ached, and she alternated between feeling cold and hot.

She leaned on Shen Ningning’s small shoulder. The two of them huddled together under a book cover, shivering uncontrollably.

"Shen Ningning, I’m so hungry... If I had a bowl of sweet potatoes in front of me right now, I’d eat it without a second thought."

Ye Shangyi was so cold and hungry she was on the verge of tears.

The moment she finished speaking, Shen Ningning’s small hand held up a piece of dried sweet potato in front of her.

"Want some?"

Ye Shangyi’s eyes went wide. She thought she was seeing things.

"You actually carry dried sweet potatoes with you?"

Shen Ningning smiled sweetly, her dimples showing. "I carry them with me for a little snack anytime."

As she spoke, she untied a small pouch from her waist and handed it to Ye Shangyi.

Opening it, Ye Shangyi saw that there were over a dozen pieces of dried sweet potato inside!

Ye Shangyi began to eat ravenously, but didn’t forget to offer a piece to Shen Ningning. "You have some too."

The little girl pushed her hand away. "I’m not hungry. You eat it all."

After all, she could have a full meal in the Immortal Realm anytime she wanted.

But the food from the Immortal Realm couldn’t be brought out for Ye Shangyi. Therefore, Ye Shangyi could only make do with eating all the dried sweet potatoes.

After eating, Ye Shangyi finally felt a little warmer.

But her head was terribly dizzy, and in the end, she leaned against Shen Ningning’s small shoulder, drowsing off.

"Shen Ningning, do you think... we’re going to die here?"

"Of course not. We’re tough. Good people always have good fortune."

"But I feel like I’m about to freeze to death." Ye Shangyi’s lips were pale and colorless as she listened to the sound of snow pellets hitting the eaves outside.

She let out two weak, bitter laughs.

"I never thought... that the one by my side before I die would actually be you. If I had known we’d become friends, I wouldn’t have bullied you back then."

"Did you bully me?" Shen Ningning blinked her big eyes.

Ye Shangyi had a sharp tongue, but when it came to actual bullying, she had never done anything to truly harm Shen Ningning.

Hearing Shen Ningning’s words, Ye Shangyi closed her eyes and said with a smile, "No wonder even the Crown Prince could be friends with you..."

Her voice grew fainter and fainter, until she lost consciousness completely.

Shen Ningning touched her forehead. It was burning hot.

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