Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Reaping the Consequences

Qin Fangmei, accompanied by two male classmates, hid outside Shen Ningning's residence.

They watched as Ren Yu left the room.

Qin Fangmei lowered her voice, "Now's our chance to go there. Ren Yu has gone to eat and won't be back for at least half an hour."

She had just taken a step forward when she was suddenly held back by the sleeve by a male classmate behind her.

The classmate hesitated, "Should we really be searching Shen Ningning's room? Isn't this inappropriate?"

"Yes," another classmate added, "Even if we do go, we should at least get Shen Ningning's permission, right?"

Qin Fangmei was annoyed, internally cursing them as fools.

She feigned righteousness, "We're not stealing anything. We're just checking to see if Ningning has any extra food to share with everyone."

"Before coming here, didn't both of you agree? If you don't want to go, then leave. When Ningning comes back, I'll just tell her it was your idea to search her room!"

The faces of the two male classmates changed, "No! Let's just have a look and leave quickly if there's no food."

They didn't want to rummage through her belongings, but their extreme hunger drove them.

They had heard from Qin Fangmei that Shen Ningning was generous, giving away whole tubs of food to female classmates, which sparked their curiosity.

Qin Fangmei, along with the two, stealthily entered the attic.

Lu Shaoyuan happened to pass by and saw them with a frown.

Inside the attic, they tiptoed up to the second floor.

As expected, Shen Ningning was not there.

The two male classmates immediately noticed five or six red fruits on the table.

Their eyes lit up, "There really is food!"

But Qin Fangmei had a different agenda.

She moved towards Shen Ningning's bed, about to secretly place a captured poisonous insect on her pillow, when suddenly a voice thundered from behind –

"What are you doing!"

Startled, Qin Fangmei's hand trembled, and the box of poisonous insects fell onto her foot, biting her fiercely.

Even through her socks, the bite was painfully sharp!

She stomped her foot, crushing the poisonous insect and releasing a thick, greenish insect fluid.

Lu Shaoyuan, unaware of the insect at her feet, glared at them angrily, "You actually tried to steal. Come with me to see the Master!"

The night was deep, and the mysterious moon hung high.

Master Huang, accompanied by the steward and several villa servants holding torches, stood outside Shen Ningning's room.

The two male students, now terrified, knelt on the ground, weeping.

"Master, we were wrong. We were just so hungry, we thought there might be food in Shen Ningning's room, and rashly barged in."

The other students gathered nearby, whispering and pointing.

Master Huang's face was stern, "No matter how hungry, without permission, barging into someone’s room is no different from being a thief, is it?"

"I teach you the Four Books and Five Classics, and this is how you learn? When we get back, I will write a letter of expulsion to be sent to each of your families!"

Expulsion?!

The two students, terrified, continued to beg for mercy and admit their fault.

But Qin Fangmei was not afraid.

She was confident that Du Yuanwai would protect her. She wouldn't have come to such a small private school in the county if it weren't for her grudge against Shen Ningning!

Besides, the fact that Shen Ningning was hoarding fruit was true.

If it was wrong for her to eat the pigeons, then how was it right for Shen Ningning to secretly eat fruit without sharing with everyone?

What's the point of pretending to be generous if you don’t share your food?

Ignoring the pain on her foot, Qin Fangmei's eyes darted around as she thought quickly.

"But Master, they went in searching for food, while I entered out of concern for Ningning’s safety."

"Because Ningning hasn't shown up, I feared she might have met with an accident."

Master Huang furrowed his brows and paused.

It was almost the hour of Xu, and Shen Ningning still hadn't returned.

He turned to Ren Yu, "Do you know where Shen Ningning went?"

Ren Yu shook her head, "I don't know, she didn't say."

Qin Fangmei, standing beside him, sobbed and wiped her tears.

"Master, Ningning wouldn’t have gone to the mountains in search of food and met with an accident, would she?"

Master Huang, sensing the gravity of the situation, quickly instructed the guards to call out for Shen Ningning throughout the villa.

Soon, everyone gradually returned to Master Huang's side.

They all reported not having seen the little girl.

Just then.

Noisy shouts came from a distance.

The villa's steward was startled, "What's happened?"

Master Huang instructed, "Go and see!"

As they approached the front courtyard, Lu Shaoyuan saw a familiar small figure and joyfully exclaimed, "Shen Ningning is back!"

Everyone turned towards the entrance, where they saw the little girl using her clothes to carry a bunch of yellow fruits, walking towards them.

Moreover, she was followed by a troop of monkeys, each clutching fruits in their arms.

The students were amazed, standing nearby but not daring to approach.

Seeing Master Huang, Shen Ningning happily announced, "Master, I found some food!"

She had walked for half an hour, her black hair sticking to her fair cheeks from the heat, making her bright eyes sparkle even more.

Like a morning star in the dark night.

Master Huang eagerly approached, "Shen Ningning, where... where did you find all these?"

Shen Ningning replied softly, "I went to the back mountain this afternoon to find some food for everyone."

"But within a ten-li radius, there are no more wild vegetables. Fortunately, I met a group of kind monkeys who led me to find these fruits!"

She said this and emptied all the yellow fruits from her pouch.

The monkeys behind her also began placing the fruits they had brought next to hers.

The lead monkey chattered at Shen Ningning twice before leading the troop away.

This sight left everyone present completely astonished.

"Shen Ningning can actually command monkeys to find food for her?"

"Not just that. My relative knows people from Xiangyun Village; they say she usually communicates with wolves and was raised by them!"

"She really is quite remarkable!"

Shen Ningning maintained her sweet and gentle smile, her dimples shallow.

She was thankful for the help of these little monkeys.

They said they couldn't help Shen Ningning leave the mountain, but they could solve their problem of not having enough to eat.

So, they led her to a wild tree forest frequented by the monkey troop, laden with yellow fruits.

The yellow fruits, also known as sand fruits, were juicy, not very sweet, but definitely filling.

Moreover, there were many fruits, just small in size due to the lack of water.

To thank the monkeys, Shen Ningning used spiritual spring water to irrigate the sand fruit trees.

Master Huang roughly estimated the situation.

The fruits Shen Ningning brought back amounted to about two hundred!

Enough to last for a couple of days.

The steward of the villa was nearly moved to tears with joy.

"Master Huang, this Shen Xuezi has really been a great help!"

Yet Master Huang looked apologetic, "Shen Xuezi, Qin Xuezi and others were searching for food in your room without your consent, weren't they?"

Shen Ningning had braved the scorching sun to gather so much food.

Their intrusion into her room was truly inappropriate!

After Master Huang finished speaking, Shen Ningning's gaze turned towards Qin Fangmei.

Sure enough, she saw Qin Fangmei's eyes flicker guiltily.

Shen Ningning calmly wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Master, please deal with them according to the rules. I won't ask further."

The little one couldn’t be bothered to say more to Qin Fangmei.

Her tone was completely different from before; soft yet unyielding, making Qin Fangmei involuntarily shiver.

"Ningning, how can you be like this? I was just worried about your safety, that's why I went in with them," Qin Fangmei sobbed, wiping her tears.

Before Shen Ningning could speak, Lu Shaoyuan stepped forward, his tone stern, "Stop your pretense. If it weren’t for you eating the homing pigeons, we could have asked for help from the outside world by now."

"Not only do you show no remorse, but you also stir up trouble. Master Huang, I think it’s time you punished her by slapping her palms, and you haven’t been harsh enough!"

Qin Fangmei was reprimanded.

Bursting into tears, she ran away.

Concerned about potential accidents, Master Huang still asked two scholars to follow her and check.

Shen Ningning indifferently withdrew her gaze, whispering a low "Thank you" to Lu Shaoyuan.

Lu Shaoyuan coughed lightly, "It's what I should do; I don't like her either."

Master Huang instructed the villa's steward to collect the fruits and distribute them individually the next day.

After returning, Qin Fangmei locked herself in her room.

She took off her socks and looked at her foot. The place where the poisonous insect had bitten her was starting to form pus-filled blisters, looking like it was filled with yellowish fluid!

This is bad!

The insect she had captured was a Three-Day Insect, known for its strong toxicity.

If she didn't apply medicine within three days, her foot would become severely infected!