Chapter 237: Chapter 237

Jing Shu stayed here to continue disguising herself as if she had been captured, accompanied by a few Imperial Guards who remained to assist and protect her.

Jun Ning returned to the banquet with an Imperial Guard.

The banquet hadn’t ended yet. However, there were significantly fewer people than at the beginning.

Crucially, it wasn’t just minor figures missing, but key figures like Emperor Yongning, the Empress Dowager, the Crown Prince, and the Crown Princess Consort.

Even Jun Ning’s mother, Qiong Hua, wasn’t present.

Jun Ning felt puzzled but did not dwell on it. She sat down in her seat, feeling her sleeve.

She confirmed she had the rat poison with her and ensured she was fully prepared to face the schemes of Yao Yao and Jun Yang.

Yao Yao and Jun Yang saw Jun Ning return, and a flicker of barely noticeable delight flashed in their eyes.

Jun Ning noticed it but pretended not to see.

On the side, Jun Yu asked, "Yi Yi, where did you go? Everyone heard you and Jing Shu disappeared and went looking for you."

No wonder the important figures were missing!

"Are you two alright?" Jun Yu asked with concern.

Jun Ning gave Jun Yu a reassuring look, "We’re fine."

As soon as the words were spoken, Yao Yao and Jun Yang both moved towards Jun Ning, Yao Yao not speaking to Jun Ning because of their recent disagreement and not standing too close, remaining behind Jun Yang.

Jun Yang, like a firecracker, loudly said to Jun Ning, "Hey, I have something to tell you!"

Jun Ning remained silent.

Jun Yang didn’t mind and continued, "Just when Yao Yao and I went to relieve ourselves, we saw that Jing Shu you’ve been looking for. She’s over there near the Western Wing. Apparently, she’s twisted her ankle and stepped in a pile of dog poop and has been crying nonstop."

Jun Yang grimaced with disdain, "She’s crying so loudly, it’s incredibly annoying. I’d really love to shove a few stinky socks in her mouth."

Jun Ning still said nothing, just gave a light "oh," to show she understood.

But after making the sound, she didn’t move for a long time.

Jun Yang, seeing this, was puzzled as Jun Ning’s reaction wasn’t what she had expected.

She asked, "I’ve told you where Jing Shu is, why aren’t you going to find her? Weren’t you just looking for her?"

"I want to find her, but..." Jun Ning said, "But I just twisted my ankle when I went out, so I can’t walk over."

"What? You can’t walk over?" Jun Yang was distressed, her voice raised. To those who didn’t know, it seemed like she was very concerned about Jing Shu.

Yao Yao, standing behind Jun Yang, quickly tugged on Jun Yang’s clothes, signaling her to stay calm and not reveal their motives.

Jun Yang, noticing the movement behind her, immediately relaxed her expression and was no longer in such a hurry.

"Hehe!" She looked at Jun Ning’s foot and sneered a few times, continuing in a nonchalant tone, "If you can’t walk over, then just let Jing Shu stay there. I heard it’s haunted over there at night; let’s hope she doesn’t get scared to death by ghosts."

"Haunted?" Jun Ning feigned a very worried look, "Really? The palace is actually haunted?"

"Of course!" Jun Yang said, "I heard that several palace maids have been scared to death before."

"Then I must go see, but..." Jun Ning seemed troubled, "but my foot hurts so much I really can’t walk over."

Hearing this, Jun Yang grew nervous again.

Was the half-month-long meticulous scheme prepared by her, her father, and Yao Yao going to be in vain just because of Jun Ning’s injured foot?

Jun Ning must go over there.

In her anxiety, Jun Yang wanted to say something to quickly coax Jun Ning to go over.

At this moment, she hoped Jun Ning would overlook her foot pain, endure it, or even hop on one foot to get over there.

But before she could speak, she was pulled back by Yao Yao behind her, signaling her not to continue.

Jun Ning saw through everything and smiled slightly, then opened her mouth to ask, "Could Sister Yang and Sister Yao Yao help me over?"

Jun Ning had two purposes in asking this.

One was that she genuinely wanted Jun Yang and Yao Yao to help her over. The other was to give them a chance to decide—did they truly intend to harm her?

If they chose not to help her over, she would let them off today. However, if they were determined to force her to walk into the trap they had set up, she wouldn’t show mercy either.

Jun Yang and Yao Yao were still considering and did not immediately respond to Jun Ning.

Seeing this, Jun Ning pretended to sigh with regret and said, "If you find it difficult, then forget it! I can’t go myself, but I can send someone." Thıs content belongs to 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱

The matter could end here.

But unexpectedly, Jun Yang spoke up.

Earlier, Jun Yang hadn’t responded to Jun Ning immediately—not because she’d suddenly grown a conscience and didn’t want to harm Jun Ning anymore. She was planning to take advantage of Jun Ning’s request for help to negotiate some terms.

She had her eyes on the longevity lock Jun Ning wore around her neck. It was so beautiful, she wanted to claim it for herself.

But seeing Jun Ning say that, she immediately abandoned the thought.

She said, "Anle, we’ll accompany you. It’s no big deal; we can help you."

Saying this, Jun Yang stepped forward first to support one of Jun Ning’s arms, appearing very affectionate. Yao Yao wasn’t just standing there either; she stepped forward to support Jun Ning’s other arm.

Jun Ning chuckled bitterly to herself, thinking, "I gave you the chance, but you refused."

Jun Yang and Yao Yao, one on each side, supported Jun Ning as they headed towards the Western Wing, none of the three spoke a word along the way, only focusing on moving forward.

Before long, they would reach the Western Wing’s location.

The Western Wing was so named because the palace it resided in was at the far western end of the entire palace, with nothing below but a high platform, and on top of the platform was an extended area with only one room, hence being called the Western Wing.

At night, it was quite eerie, with no people and no sounds to be heard. It was terrifyingly silent, unnaturally so.

Twenty meters from the Western Wing was a little dark room prepared by Jun Yang and her father, full of rats.

When Jun Yang and Yao Yao led Jun Ning here, they both stopped in unison, looked at Jun Ning in between them, and spoke meaningfully.

"Anle, do you see the figure in front of the Western Wing? That’s Jing Shu."

"Before meeting Jing Shu, could we take a tour of this room on the side first? I overheard it’s haunted inside and quite interesting."

"Do you want to go in and see what the ghosts look like?"

"We can accompany you in together."

"Really?" Jun Ning said, "But I’m afraid of the dark. I need you to lead the way ahead, go in first, and then I’ll follow. How about that?"