Chapter 391: Princess Funing! The Power of Life and Death
When it first left the palace, it tried to run toward the Cold Palace.
That was its old haunt, but Pei Yin couldn’t let it just go back. So, he and the other imperial guards worked together to drive it away, forcing the black cat into the territory of the inner palace.
Once it entered the area of the Six Palaces, the black cat went wild.
It squeezed through holes, leaped high, jumped onto roofs, and slipped through gaps in walls.
It forced many large, black rats out of their holes. The black cat would pounce swiftly, kill them with a bite, and then go after the next one.
In just one full day, it had exterminated a great number of rats.
The Emperor couldn’t help but marvel at the power of a natural predator.
"This method is effective after all." He nodded slowly, his majestic gaze turning to Qi Jingchun.
...
A few days later, when Shen Ningning went to her classes at the National Academy, she heard Ye Shangyi complaining.
"The Emperor is being too ridiculous this time!"
Shen Ningning looked surprised. She glanced at the various students around them, then took Ye Shangyi’s hand and led her to the edge of a secluded pond.
"How dare you speak ill of Uncle Emperor! Aren’t you afraid of being punished?"
"I can’t help it! The Emperor is being truly absurd this time. Did you know that the Abandoned Princess Consort Qi, the one who bullied us, has been released from the Cold Palace?"
Shen Ningning actually didn’t know about this.
She had been busy shuttling between the city and Xiangyun Village these past few days, helping with the free clinics.
"Why?"
"I heard she raised a cat that’s very good at catching rats. It caught several hundred over a few days and completely stamped out the rat plague in the palace. Because of that, the Emperor reinstated her. She’s Princess Consort Qi again."
She just wasn’t given back her honorific title, "Rong."
But this decision had already infuriated Ye Shangyi.
But there was nothing she could do; after all, even her grandfather was powerless.
Shen Ningning had a moment of realization. "No wonder I saw the government putting up a royal notice this morning! Uncle Emperor is encouraging every household to raise skilled cats to catch rats."
Ye Shangyi pouted, her lips sticking out so far you could hang an oil pot on them. "I’m not raising one, anyway."
She was afraid that a cat that could catch rats would be dirty.
Besides, where would you find such an obedient cat?
Shen Ningning blinked her big eyes. "How about I lend you one of my cats? I guarantee it’ll catch rats and won’t hurt anyone."
Ye Shangyi was surprised. "Don’t you already have a pack of wolves? When did you start raising cats?"
"Well, you can’t really call them cats. They’re lynxes from the forest, and a few tigers."
When Shen Ningning finished, Ye Shangyi’s face went pale, her lips trembling in fear. "What?"
Seeing her so frightened, the little girl quickly explained, "They’re very well-behaved! They don’t eat people, and they’re super strong."
’Otherwise, why do you think there are no rats on Wolf Mountain?’
"How can you use lynxes and tigers as cats? Shen Ningning, why do you specialize in raising such ferocious beasts!" The very thought terrified Ye Shangyi.
Just then, Lu Shaoyuan’s voice came from behind them.
"There you two are! I’ve been looking all over for you. Look what I brought!"
Shen Ningning and Ye Shangyi turned to see Lu Shaoyuan approaching, holding a tabby cat.
The kitten was probably just a month old. It had a soft meow—a real little fluffball!
Ye Shangyi’s eyes went wide, and then she burst out laughing mockingly.
"You expect *that* cat to catch rats? It’s so small, you’ll be lucky if the rats don’t carry it away."
Shen Ningning added, "What a tiny little kitty. Has it been weaned yet?"
Lu Shaoyuan had expected them to praise him for acting so quickly, but instead, they took turns mocking him!
"Don’t look down on it. It’s better to train a cat to hunt rats when it’s a kitten. It won’t be weak when it grows up."
Shen Ningning reached out and petted the well-behaved little kitten.
"It’s so cute!"
Seeing that she liked it, Lu Shaoyuan couldn’t help but offer, "Why don’t I give this one to you? My mother brought home a whole litter, so we have more at my house."
Before Shen Ningning could answer, Ye Shangyi had already refused for her.
"Ningning has ’cats’ at home that could be the great-ancestors of this little kitten of yours."
Shen Ningning gave an embarrassed smile.
That evening, when she returned to Wolf Mountain, the Black Wolf King and the others rushed over as usual to sniff the little girl.
They immediately sensed something was off.
"Smells like cat," Wolf Three said in human speech.
The wolf pack instantly surrounded her, huddling the little girl in the center.
Shen Ningning quickly confessed, "It belongs to Lu Shaoyuan! I only petted it twice!"
The Black Wolf King sniffed carefully at the scent on Shen Ningning’s hands.
"Why is he raising a cat? It doesn’t smell good."
The little girl explained, "The city is overrun with a rat plague, so Uncle Emperor wants to stamp it out at the source. He decided to use cats to fight them. It’s a pretty good idea."
’It’s just a shame... that Qi Jingchun, the one who raised the cat, is no good!’
Lang Si howled at the moon, AWOO, AWOO.
He was trying to say, were they going to fall out of favor?
What if, one day, Shen Ningning came back holding a cat?
The little girl couldn’t stop smiling. "I would never get a cat. Don’t we already have some on our mountain?"
The wolves looked at each other in confusion.
’Cats on the mountain? How come we don’t know about them?’
Shen Ningning pointed to the north side of Wolf Mountain. "A group of tigers lives over there. If we really need to catch rats, they should be pretty good at it, right?"
The wolves were stunned for a moment, then they all howled their agreement, AWOOOO!
That’s right. The task of catching rats should be left to the tigers.
As long as no new animals came to steal Shen Ningning’s affection, everything was fine.
However, what Shen Ningning didn’t expect was that the Imperial Decree bestowing her new title would arrive at the National Academy the very next day.
Mr. Han, along with the other teachers and students, knelt on the ground in the courtyard.
Only Shen Ningning didn’t have to kneel. The Chief Eunuch explained that this was a special grace from the Emperor, allowing the little girl to stand and listen.
The Chief Eunuch read the Imperial Decree aloud. It turned out that the Emperor, grateful for Shen Ningning’s service in saving the nation and for offering the Spiritual Medicine, was promoting her to Princess.
The last time, after the great frost, the Emperor had wanted to promote her, but Shen Ningning had refused.
This time, the Emperor didn’t even ask, directly making the little girl Princess Funing.
The Chief Eunuch beamed, his face a mask of flattery. "The Emperor says that from now on, Your Highness the Princess’s stipend will be quadrupled compared to before."
"Most importantly, the Emperor has granted you, Your Highness the Princess, the power of life and death."
"You may execute any official below the fifth-rank without prior approval. You may also flog commoners, as long as it is done in accordance with the law. All of this falls within the scope of Your Highness the Princess’s authority."
Not only that, but her Commandery Princess Mansion was also to be renamed the Princess Mansion.
From now on, she would be listed in the Royal Family’s genealogical records and receive their offerings.
Shen Ningning, however, showed no particular surprise at this, accepting it all with a calm demeanor.
It was the teachers and students present who were utterly astonished.
’Princess Funing is only five years old, and she’s already been promoted to a full Princess?’
’Besides, not every princess is granted the power of life and death.’
’It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she’s being treated like one of the Emperor’s own biological daughters, would it?’
The one who felt the worst was Xie Yuanjiu, kneeling at the very back.
She had already moved out of the Xie Mansion and was living in a remote residence.
The residence wasn’t small, but compared to the Xie Mansion, she felt utterly stifled. Even the servants who waited on her were careless.
Now, listening to the Chief Eunuch read the decree, her heart soured with jealousy.
’On what grounds could Shen Ningning rise so high, to the point of being personally ennobled as a Princess by the Emperor?’
’And her? The young lady of the Xie Mansion, who had studied diligently since she was a child, only to end up living a life inferior to Shen Ningning, a child raised in the countryside?’
She remembered seeing Shen Ningning once, a long time ago. She had been sitting in her carriage, passing through the city gates, and was tossing food out to the refugees.
And among them was a tiny figure clutching a bundle.
At the time, Xie Yuanjiu had glanced out from her carriage. Seeing the girl’s fair, clean skin and delicate, pretty features, she had guessed she wasn’t a refugee.
But seeing her dressed in coarse, heavily patched clothes, she figured her status couldn’t be very high.
But what Xie Yuanjiu never expected was that in just over a year, their statuses had undergone a world-shattering change!
’She used to be beneath me, and now, Shen Ningning can step all over me!’
Shen Ningning had even obtained the title of Princess, something Xie Yuanjiu had always dreamed of.
The next time she saw Shen Ningning, she would have to bow and scrape before the little girl.
Xie Yuanjiu’s nails dug deep into her palms. She bit her lip so hard she could taste blood.
’Shen Ningning not only ruined her life, but she also stole all the glory that should have been hers!’
At this thought, a single, bitter tear of regret and resentment rolled down her cheek.