Do you know what it feels like to fly a kite? Ning Chen knew, and it was not the first time. He was taken away in a daze, and when he reacted again, he was already in the palace.
Ning Chen felt regret in his heart. He hadn't even had the chance to state his request. If he had known earlier, he would have discussed the conditions with Yue Hanyi. Now, it was all over. There was nothing left.
Seeing that Ning Chen was still in a daze, Qing Ning wanted to kick him and warned him," The Empress is in a fit of anger. Be careful with what you say later."
"En, huh?" Ning Chen responded and immediately reacted. He was a little nervous. Zhangsun wouldn't really hit him, right?
"Sis Qingning, you have to put in a good word for me!”Ning Chen asked shamelessly.
" Now you know how to be afraid. Why didn't you think of the consequences when you ran away?" Qing Ning said angrily.
" Hehe." Ning Chen smiled awkwardly. He didn't know that he would be caught so easily.
"Sis Qingning, how did you find me?”Ning Chen asked curiously.
" I saw you on the streets earlier today before you were hiding from me. I didn't catch you immediately because I wanted to see where you've been hiding," said Xiaoning honestly.
"..." Ning Chen was so remorseful that he wanted to slap himself. He had delivered himself to the door. Why did he have to buy shoes? Couldn't he just endure for two days?
" Let's go, the Empress is still waiting for us," urged Qing Ning, who was worried.
Although Ning Chen was unwilling, he could only follow. This time, he couldn't hide. No matter how Zhangsun punished him, he just had to grit his teeth and endure it.
Weiyang Palace was as peaceful as usual. Zhangsun sat in the main seat of the hall. His beautiful face was a little tired. Compared to the past few days, he looked a lot more haggard. Two consecutive days of sleepless nights were slowly destroying Zhangsun's remaining splendor.
Beside Zhangsun, a beautiful figure stood quietly. She was about sixteen or seventeen years old and wore a light purple dress. Her skin was as fair as snow, her eyebrows were like a painting, and her eyes were like autumn water. She was extremely beautiful.
Ning Chen followed Xiaoning into the room and saw the young lady beside Zhangsun. He couldn't help but feel a little flirtatious. It was no wonder that the Ninth Princess was said to be extremely beautiful.
"A femme fatale!"
Ning Chen secretly muttered. He was thinking a little too far ahead and was distracted again.
At the side, Qing Ning was so angry that she had nothing to say. She wanted to remind Ning Chen, but she did not want to overstep her boundaries since the Ninth Princess was around.
"Bang!"
Zhangsun slammed the table and tea spilled all over the floor.
"You still know to come back!" Zhangsun's anger rose as he stood up and shouted.
Ning Chen's body trembled and he was shocked. Only then did he come back to his senses and look up at Zhangsun. However, when he met Zhangsun's angry gaze, he immediately lowered his head guiltily.
" I admit my mistake," Ning Chen said sincerely and guiltily.
Beside Zhangsun, Xia Xinyu was also shocked. This was the first time she had seen her mother so angry. She couldn't help but glance at Ning Chen out of curiosity.
Seeing Ning Chen's guilty expression, Zhangsun suppressed his anger and said," Tell me, what did you do wrong!”
Ning Chen thought for a moment and said softly," I shouldn't have tied Sister Qingning up. I shouldn't have taken the palace's artifacts for myself. I shouldn't have faked the Empress's order and sneaked out of the palace."
Ning Chen thought about it carefully again, afraid that he would forget something that would anger Zhangsun again." I…I shouldn't have bargained with the Empress and refused to return to the palace."
Ning Chen then looked at Xiaoning, afraid that he would miss out on any crimes that he did not know about." Anything else?" he asked quietly.”
"…" Qing Ning turned her face away and pretended not to see him.
"Good, very good. If you didn't say it, BenGong really wouldn't know that you've made so many mistakes."
Upon hearing Ning Chen's confession, Zhangsun's chest heaved in anger, and his expression was as unsightly as it could get. Even Xia Xinyu, who was standing beside him, was stunned by Ning Chen's crimes. With so many crimes, any one of them was enough to warrant death. With so many crimes, it would be more than enough if he didn't get dismembered.
"Tell me, how should bengong deal with you!”Zhangsun said in a deep voice.
Ning Chen was put in a difficult position. He definitely couldn't tell her the truth. He didn't want to be cut into pieces yet. He looked at Xiaoning pleadingly and said," Sis, please do me a favor."
Qing Ning's heart softened and she glared at Ning Chen. She stepped forward and said softly," Your Majesty, Ning Chen knows his mistake. The envoy of the Zenith Kingdom is our priority now. Why don't we give him a chance to redeem himself?"
Zhangsun pretended to hesitate and thought for a while, then nodded slightly. She had no intention of beheading Ning Chen, but this guy was too good at causing trouble. If she didn't teach him a lesson, she wouldn't be able to vent her anger.
She had never thought that he would actually dare to sneak out of the palace on his own after she had not agreed to his request to leave the palace. In the end, he actually succeeded.
Zhangsun looked at Ning Chen and said in a gentler tone," Since even Qingning has pleaded for you, I'll let you off this time. However, you can be spared from death, but you can't escape punishment. If you want to leave the palace so badly, I'll ground you for half a year. You're not allowed to step out of Weiyang Palace for the next six months!"”
Half a year? Ning Chen smacked his lips gloomily, but he did not dare to have the slightest objection. He even thanked the Empress for her grace.
The punishment was loud but small. The Ninth Princess was so surprised that she didn't know how to express her feelings. Compared to the eunuch's mistake, being grounded for half a year was really not a punishment.
After dealing with the other matters, Zhangsun collected his emotions and turned his attention back to the matter of the emissary of True Extreme Kingdom.
" This is the ninth princess. You haven't met her yet," Zhangsun introduced her with a serious face.
" Nice to meet you, Ninth Princess." Ning Chen bowed.
"..." Xia Xinyu was at a loss for words as it was the first time she had seen such a greeting.
On the main seat, Zhangsun, who had been suppressing his anger earlier, almost flared up again." Xiaoning, teach him some manners while he's grounded. What nonsense is this?"
" Yes," Qing Ning replied helplessly.
Zhangsun pressed his hand down slightly, then looked at Ning Chen and said seriously," Ning Chen, you said that you could answer the difficult questions of the envoys of True Extreme Kingdom. Is that true?”
Hearing this, Xia Xinyu's body trembled slightly. She looked at the young eunuch who had surprised her several times. She found it hard to believe that this was a problem that everyone was powerless to solve.
"Absolutely," Ning Chen answered honestly. He couldn't stand Zhangsun and the Ninth Princess staring at him.
"What do you need?"
A glimmer of hope rose in Zhangsun's heart. She knew that although this kid had a lot of problems, he was indeed intelligent and could always make people look at him in a different light at critical moments.
" A pot of oil, vinegar, and a kettle. It has to be used," Ning Chen said seriously.
" Qingning, send someone to retrieve it," Zhangsun ordered immediately.
" Yes, sir." Qing Ning nodded and left quickly.
Taking advantage of his spare time, Zhangsun voiced his doubts and reminded," The method of adding vinegar to oil has been tried by someone, and it has been proven to be impossible."
" It's indeed not feasible." Ning Chen nodded and said.
It was rumored in later generations that taking things from oil was because vinegar was added to the oil. When the vinegar boiled, the oil temperature was only 40 to 50 degrees. Every time Ning Chen saw such Hu Che, he wanted to go up and slap them.
In these rumors, many people swore that vinegar would boil at 60 degrees or even 30 degrees. This could no longer be described as light. In fact, it was normal for the temperature to reach 40 degrees in summer, but who had ever seen vinegar boil by itself?
In fact, vinegar was mostly composed of vinegar and water. The boiling point of vinegar was more than 110 degrees Celsius, and the boiling point of water was slightly lower than 100 degrees Celsius. The mixture of the two would at least be more than 100 degrees Celsius before it boiled. At this time, if Shen were to enter, even a piece of beef could be cooked, let alone a human hand.
Fortunately, he didn't believe in this legend. Otherwise, if he angered Zhangsun again, he would really suffer.
After a short while, the eunuchs and palace maids in Weiyang Palace set up a pot of oil in the courtyard. Qing Ning entered the room to invite them in before dismissing all the palace maids and eunuchs.
Zhangsun and Xia Xinyu walked into the courtyard to see what Ning Chen had in mind.
There was still a fire under the oil pan. Ning Chen didn't waste any time. He fiddled with the kettle and scraped the scale off. Then, he broke it into small pieces and threw it into the oil pan.
Finally, he poured the vinegar into the pot. Ning Chen took two steps back and stood to the side, waiting in boredom.
"Is it that simple?" Zhangsun asked in surprise.
" It's that simple." Ning Chen nodded honestly. It wasn't a troublesome matter to begin with.
As expected, not long after he waited, bubbles began to appear in the pot. Moreover, more and more bubbles began to appear, and they became larger and larger.
"Empress, try it?" Ning Chen suggested.
Zhangsun walked forward doubtfully and placed his hand above the oil pot. After feeling that it was indeed not hot, he reached his hand in.
The oil had just heated up a little, and Zhangsun finally believed it. His emotions were extremely complicated. The problem that had troubled them for two days had been solved so easily. This contrast made her momentarily unable to describe her thoughts.
" Alright, you can go back to your room and be grounded. I still have something to talk to the Ninth Princess," Zhangsun said calmly after a moment. He picked up a handkerchief and gently wiped the oil off his hands.
" Yes, sir." Ning Chen nodded gloomily. This was really killing the donkey when it's done grinding, burning the bridge after crossing the river, bullying people with power, and being rich and heartless!
Watching Ning Chen leave dejectedly, Zhangsun's beautiful face finally broke into a faint smile. He glanced at Xia Xinyu and said softly," You can rest assured now!”
" Mhm, thank you, Mother." Xia Xinyu's heart was temporarily put down, and her mood was much better. She smiled sweetly and said gently.
" Qingning, keep an eye on this kid. Don't let him escape again!"
Despite feeling gratified, Zhangsun was still worried. She reminded him again. This little fellow was too evil. She was very sure that as long as there was a chance, this little fellow would definitely sneak away again. She was already lucky to find him this time. If he ran away again, with this little fellow's personality, he would definitely hide in a place where they would never find him again.
" Yes," Qing Ning replied softly.
After instructing Xiaoning, Zhangsun turned to his daughter beside him and instructed her carefully," Xinyu, don't tell anyone about what happened today. Do you understand?”
" Xinyu understands." Xia Xinyu nodded lightly and replied seriously.
" Alright, I'm tired too. You can go back first. Xiaoning, go send the Princess off," said Zhangsun, who could no longer hide the fatigue in his eyes.
" I'll take my leave then." Xia Xinyu bowed and left. Qing Ning followed her eldest grandson's orders and left with the Ninth Princess.
Outside Weiyang Palace, Xia Xinyu looked at Qing Ning and finally couldn't help but ask curiously," Sister Qing Ning, what's Ning Chen's background? Why is Mother so lenient?”
After a moment of silence, Qing Ning said," I can only say that the Empress was assassinated outside the palace previously. If it weren't for Ning Chen, the Empress might not have been able to return. As for the other reasons, I'll have to ask the Empress personally."
Qing Ning hesitated for a moment before continuing," Princess, Ning Chen has just entered the palace and is still unfamiliar with the rules. If he offends you in the future, please be magnanimous and forgive him."
"Yeah."
Xia Xinyu nodded, but she was even more curious. She knew very well about Qing Ning's personality. Although she was kind, she was actually very difficult to get close to. Other than her mother, this was the first time she had seen Qing Ning so concerned about someone.
It seemed that she needed to tell her Imperial Brother about this person who had given her so many surprises…
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