Chapter 84

Chapter 84: Who Says There’s No Food, Wild Chickens Everywhere

Chen Shaobei immediately gripped the rope tightly, with the guards straining to pull.

He commanded loudly, "Pull back, tie it to the carriage, and run forward!"

Only this way could they pull someone back across.

Before Shen Ningning could react, she felt herself swinging in the air, tightly held in Mo Lingwei's embrace.

His voice was urgent, "Are you alright?"

Shen Ningning looked down to see an endless abyss beneath her feet, its bottom invisible.

The guard at the bottom seemed to have been knocked unconscious by a falling plank, hanging limply.

The little one's voice trembled, "Brother..."

She regained her senses and looked at Mo Lingwei, who had no protective gear on him.

Shen Ningning, frightened, her face pale, and her black pupils shimmering with moisture, exclaimed, "Why did you come down too?"

Mo Lingwei, seeing she was unharmed, was no longer tense.

His voice, melodious, said, "I was afraid you would die just like that."

Chen Shaobei peeked down from the cliff, calling out to them.

"Your Highness, are you both alright?"

Mo Lingwei called back, "We're fine, pull us up."

The rope started to move, and he gripped it tightly.

Shen Ningning, fearing he would fall, clung desperately to his clothes.

The carriage began to pull, slowly lifting the rope.

However, Chen Shaobei noticed that the rope at the edge of the cliff was fraying.

If it got any heavier, it would break.

His heart sank.

"Lower another rope!" Chen Shaobei instructed.

He shouted down, instructing Mo Lingwei to grab another rope.

Otherwise, if the rope broke, three lives would be lost.

Chen Shaobei couldn't bear the thought of any mishap befalling the Crown Prince...

However, before they could react,

The rope holding Shen Ningning and the others indeed snapped!

Ren Yu screamed, "They’ve fallen down!"

Chen Shaobei rushed to kneel at the edge of the cliff to look down.

Amidst the vast and noisy mountain dust, no figures were visible.

Everyone's hearts turned cold as snow.

Dead... Had the Crown Prince and Shen Ningning perished in the valley?

Lu Shaoyuan collapsed at the cliff's edge, veins bulging on his neck, eyes red as he shouted, "Shen Ningning! Shen Ningning?!"

The empty valley offered no response.

Qin Fangmei was ecstatic to the point of madness!

Had Shen Ningning finally died?

Xiangqin was the first to burst into tears, soon followed by a chorus of sobs echoing in the scorching heatwave.

  ……

Shen Ningning felt as if she had slept for a very long time.

In her dream, she seemed to be lying in a carved mahogany cradle, reaching out her small hand to grab the cloth doll tied to the bed.

She babbled incoherently.

A gentle voice came from nearby, "Ningning, my dear, have you woken up?"

Mother?

The little one turned her head, unable to clearly see the woman's face, sensing only that she was young, dressed in a purple garment, gently lifting her from the cradle.

There was a particularly pleasant fragrance emanating from her mother, one Shen Ningning couldn’t quite identify.

Her mother's golden hairpin was dazzling, and the sunlight outside the window was warm and comforting.

The room's furnishings were elegant and simple.

However, all of this seemed shrouded in a mist, allowing only outlines to be seen without clear details.

There was a calligraphy hanging on the wall — 'Peaceful Heart' — which caught the little one’s attention.

It was the only thing she could see clearly.

Seeing Shen Ningning staring intently at the characters, the young woman smiled, holding the little one and reading the words one by one.

"Ningning likes this calligraphy written by your father, right?"

"The word 'Heart' is mother’s name, and 'Xu' and 'An' are your brothers. The last 'Ning' is you."

"When Ningning grows up, your father will teach you calligraphy. His writing is the most beautiful."

Brother...

Does she have a brother too?

Shen Ningning asked in doubt, but the sound that came out was just baby babble.

"Madam, I am back," a man's warm and gentle laughter came from the doorway.

The little one looked over and saw her father standing in the doorway, backlit by light, making his face indiscernible.

She could only discern his tall figure, dressed in luxurious robes.

Father...

Shen Ningning reached out her small hand, whimpering, "Daddy..."

She called out, her words unclear.

The man hurriedly approached, carefully picking her up, "Daddy's darling!"

She tried to open her eyes wide, wanting to clearly see her parents' faces.

But this blissful dream abruptly ended at that moment.

"Shen Ningning? Shen Ningning!" Urgent calls echoed in her ears.

The little one opened her eyes, her cheeks wet.

She touched her face, finding it streaked with tears.

Mo Lingwei, seeing her awake, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Were you crying and shouting because of a nightmare?"

Shen Ningning slowly sat up, the aches in her body completely dispelling the haze in her eyes.

"Brother, I think I dreamt of my mother and father. In the dream, I was so small, I couldn’t see them clearly."

This had never happened before.

She had never dreamt of her parents, let alone memories from when she was a baby.

Thinking of this, Shen Ningning quickly lifted her clothes to check if her Ruyi was still there.

Thankfully!

Although we fell, the Ruyi is still here, and the jade my brother gave me isn’t lost!

Mo Lingwei gently reassured, "I'm also having people look for your parents; I believe we'll have news soon."

Shen Ningning nodded lightly.

She looked around and saw nothing but wilderness, realizing they had fallen into a deep forest.

Looking at Mo Lingwei, she noticed scratches from branches on his cold and handsome face.

"Brother, you're hurt!" The little one was very concerned.

Mo Lingwei seemed unconcerned, pointing at Shen Ningning’s cheek, "You are too."

"Falling from such a height, it would be odd not to be injured. Luckily, we landed on some branches, otherwise, we would have been buried here."

Shen Ningning shivered with fear.

Her small hand clutched her chest, relieved, "That's good, that's good!"

But she hadn’t noticed the guard who had fallen with them.

"Where is the guard, brother?"

"I'm not sure, he might have fallen somewhere else."

When Mo Lingwei woke up, he didn't see the guard.

The sky was nearing evening, with the sun slanting westward.

It seemed that at least three hours had passed since they fell.

Mo Lingwei checked Shen Ningning's joints to make sure she wasn't seriously injured, then helped her to her feet.

"Let's head east before the sun sets."

Eastward was the direction of the capital; if they kept going, they would eventually find a way out.

Shen Ningning dusted off her clothes and hurriedly followed him.

The little one clutched Mo Lingwei's hand tightly.

After a moment's thought, she said, "Brother, thank you."

Mo Lingwei glanced at her, "Thank me for what? I haven't even rescued you out of here yet."

"But because you came, many of my classmates were saved. Everyone will be thankful to you," the little one said, blinking her clear black eyes.

Mo Lingwei just smiled and said nothing.

Just then, a slight rumbling noise came from their stomachs.

The little one looked down at her own belly.

Odd, she shouldn't be hungry.

While waiting for the bridge to be fixed in the morning, she had eaten all the red berries.

Mo Lingwei's face turned slightly embarrassed, "No need to look, it's me who's hungry."

Since setting off for Jingshan in the morning, Mo Lingwei hadn’t had a drop to drink.

Shen Ningning also noticed his lips were dry and pale.

"Brother, we need to find something to eat."

"The forest here is too withered, let alone wild rabbits or chickens, even wild berries might be scarce."

The little one blinked, "Is that so? But I heard from grandma that the mountains have everything."

Mo Lingwei, however, wasn't hopeful.

They might encounter wild animals, but it wasn’t certain they would find food.

Just then,

He heard a "gobble gobble" sound.

Shen Ningning exclaimed excitedly, "Brother, there's a chicken over there!"

Mo Lingwei turned to look.

In the grass not far away, a hen was strutting leisurely!

It was plump and meaty.

He was slightly surprised.

"Wild chickens in such a place?"