Chapter 284 – Princess of the Prairie Rules the World – Sowing Discord (09)
The plot hadn’t deviated much due to Bai Tang’s arrival—at least not yet.
In the original storyline, the cannon fodder who grew jealous of Rong Ningjing for curing the sheep disease and earning the respect of the tribe still appeared.
Long Qian was the most outstanding of Master Xin’s many disciples. Master Xin was now old and enjoying his twilight years. It had always been Long Qian who led the other tribespeople in taking care of the sheep and treating their illnesses. Wherever he went, he was met with respectful gazes from the tribe. Over time, Long Qian began to get a bit carried away. He thought that once Master Xin passed on, he would become the tribe’s foremost physician.
He knew of Rong Ningjing—just an ordinary girl in the tribe, as ordinary as they came. How had she suddenly become so skilled? After all, the usual sheep medicine took at least a dozen days to fully cure an illness.
The most skilled healer in the tribe was clearly Master Xin. But this time, it was Rong Ningjing who was being praised. Either she had a secret family recipe, or Master Xin had secretly passed his knowledge to her.
These past days, Rong Ningjing had been spending every day with Master Xin. They claimed it was for “discussion,” but who knew if Master Xin wasn’t secretly teaching her?
The more Long Qian thought about it, the more convinced he became. Bai Tang had only joined in after Rong Ningjing discovered the illness in the flock. Although Bai Tang did have a natural affinity with the sheep, he didn’t show up much. In Long Qian’s eyes, Bai Tang was just ambitious—latching onto the chieftain the moment he arrived in the tribe. A freeloader at best, not worth fearing.
Long Qian deliberately chose a time when Master Xin wasn’t around and approached Rong Ningjing, who was feeding grass to the sheep.
“Good thing we had you, Ningjing. Otherwise, the tribe would’ve suffered heavy losses,” said someone feeding the sheep alongside her.
“It was nothing. I just happened to notice it early,” Rong Ningjing said modestly.
“Long Qian, you’re here! Are you here to do follow-up checks on the lambs?” The person greeted Long Qian enthusiastically as he walked over.
“Long Qian, the lambs are all recovering well. No need to worry,” Rong Ningjing said with a smile.
Long Qian exchanged greetings with the others, but the more he listened to Rong Ningjing, the more uncomfortable he felt.
Was she trying to provoke him? Was she showing off—implying that she was better than him?
Since others were present, Long Qian couldn’t say much. He forced a smile and said, “Ningjing, come help me examine the flock.”
Rong Ningjing didn’t suspect anything and put down the grass in her hands, following Long Qian to the side. Only the two of them could tell whether the sheep were still ill, so no one else followed.
Long Qian casually struck up a conversation with Rong Ningjing, as if unintentionally.
“People from the Central Plains often say, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ You nearly drowned before, but now you seem perfectly healthy—and you can even treat sheep diseases. I remember you never used to be interested in any of this…”
Rong Ningjing became secretly alert. She mentally reviewed everything she’d done since arriving in this world. Nothing too out of line, at most she had used some professional terminology while treating the sheep. Thankfully, that was all. If the tribe ever discovered that she wasn’t the original Rong Ningjing, they might just tie her to a stake and burn her alive.
She glanced at Long Qian, trying to gauge his intentions. He didn’t seem to be probing her deliberately. Calming herself down, she reminded herself to act with more caution going forward. She wasn’t so conceited as to believe she was one of those universally beloved transmigrated heroines in a novel.
Rong Ningjing replied, “I used to just want to have fun and hated studying—too tiring. You know, I’m the only daughter my parents have. If I don’t grow up and take responsibility, what will they do when they get old? I can’t expect them to take care of me forever.”
She used filial piety as an excuse. Normally, anyone hearing that would likely praise her for being thoughtful. But to Long Qian, her words sounded like evasive excuses.
So it really was Master Xin who had been secretly teaching her. Lately, Master Xin had been constantly praising Rong Ningjing’s talent and diligence in front of his disciples. If Rong Ningjing had just admitted it was Master Xin who taught her medicine, that would be one thing. But instead, she came up with excuses—and even seemed to mock his own skills in comparison.
After checking the sheep and giving them medicine, Rong Ningjing clapped the dust off her hands and was about to leave. Being around Long Qian was mentally exhausting. How to put it… he seemed to harbor hostility toward her. But they’d never been enemies before, had no debts or grudges—what was there to resent? Never mind. Better to keep her distance from him in the future.
She hadn’t gone far when she happened to run into Tuoba Jingyao, who was out inspecting the area. After greeting everyone, Tuoba Jingyao walked off with Rong Ningjing toward another side of the pasture.
A man and a woman, alone together with no blood ties or relationship, walking off to one side. Long Qian immediately leapt to malicious conclusions.
No wonder Rong Ningjing wasn’t afraid of him exposing her lies—she had the chieftain backing her.
Then it suddenly hit him—hadn’t the chieftain recently been pursuing that young man from the Central Plains…?
A malicious smile curled at the corner of Long Qian’s lips.
So Rong Ningjing wants to replace him? She’s still far from it.
These past couple of days, the tribespeople had been bustling with activity, preparing their belongings. In just a few days, they would be migrating to another location for the winter, so they had to pack up in advance. That way, when it came time to leave, all they would need to do was take down the tents.
As someone now marked with Tuoba Jingyao’s “label,” Bai Tang dutifully stayed behind in the tent to organize their things.
Suddenly, someone appeared outside the tent.
“Is the chieftain here?”
With the tribe about to migrate, this was Tuoba Jingyao’s busiest time. Hearing someone asking for him, Bai Tang worried it might be something urgent and quickly replied, “Ah Yao isn’t here—he went out. If you’re looking for him, try checking over by the sheep pens~”
The boy’s soft, gentle voice floated out from behind the tent fabric, inviting the imagination—people couldn’t help but wonder what kind of person could possess such a voice.
Long Qian had only ever seen Bai Tang from a distance. Standing next to Tuoba Jingyao, he always looked small and delicate. As for his actual face, Long Qian had never gotten a clear look.
“I’m not here to see the chieftain,” Long Qian said. “I came to see you. May I come in?”
Bai Tang paused. He’s here… for me?
“Please come in,” he said.
He hadn’t been in the tribe long, and most matters were handled by Tuoba Jingyao, so he was rarely called on for anything. The only exceptions were when Rong Ningjing or Aqi asked him to help feed the lambs, or when Master Xin wanted to take his pulse. Aside from that, no one had really sought him out.
Long Qian had always known that people from the Central Plains tended to be better looking, as they didn’t have to endure harsh weather or physical labor like those on the grasslands. But even so, he hadn’t expected the boy to be this stunning.
Skin as fair and smooth as white jade, round, clear apricot-shaped eyes, a delicately shaped nose and lips—his looks far surpassed the rough and rugged men of the grasslands. Even the most beautiful girl in the tribe couldn’t compare to the boy before him.
Bai Tang frowned. He really didn’t like the way Long Qian was looking at him—it was as if he were sizing up merchandise, evaluating how much he might be worth.
Qiu’er emerged from the little white house and said, “Tang Tang, this is the one. You need to be careful—he’s the one who got the original host killed in the original storyline.”
Bai Tang’s spirits lifted, and he quickly pulled himself together.
“Is there something you needed?” he asked.
His soft, sweet voice snapped Long Qian out of his thoughts. Long Qian hesitated, as if finding it hard to speak.
“Well… it’s a bit difficult to bring up. I’m not sure if I should even say it.”
Bai Tang took a sip of the goat milk Tuoba Jingyao had left for him on the table, still warm.
“If it’s something you shouldn’t say, then don’t. You can leave now.”
Long Qian was momentarily stunned. That’s not right—this isn’t how people usually respond!
Bai Tang’s expression clearly said, “There’s the door—see yourself out.”
Long Qian clenched his back teeth in frustration.
He took a deep breath and reminded himself—Bai Tang is from the Central Plains. He’s not used to the way grassland people speak. He just doesn’t understand. Don’t take it personally.
“This is something I think you should know,” Long Qian continued. “Otherwise… it wouldn’t be fair to you.”
He looked at Bai Tang, but the boy’s expression remained calm and indifferent. He merely responded with an, “Oh,” and showed no other reaction.
Long Qian took another deep breath and pressed on.
“I saw it just now—but it’s not just today. This has been going on for several days now. The chieftain and Rong Ningjing often go off alone together…”
In the original storyline, Bai Tang had been manipulated by Long Qian’s words, which led to him getting the idea to push the female lead off a cliff during the migration. Although he backed out at the last minute, he ended up slipping and falling to his own death.
As for Tuoba Jingyao and Rong Ningjing going off together and whispering in private—Bai Tang was well aware. His man had only learned how to be romantic and expressive thanks to the female lead’s guidance. In truth, Bai Tang was quite happy about that.
“Thank you for telling me,” he said calmly, “but I trust Ah Yao. Sister Ningjing is highly skilled in medicine, and Ah Yao is the chieftain—they’re probably just discussing matters regarding the flock. After all, it was thanks to Sister Ningjing’s discovery that the lambs were treated in time and the tribe’s shared assets were saved.”
The expression on the boy’s face clearly said, “Rong Ningjing is a good person. You’re probably just overthinking it.”
Long Qian was nearly driven mad with frustration.
Great, thought Long Qian, this one’s an idiot too.
He said, “It’s not that I don’t trust the chieftain, but you should understand—he has the right to take multiple wives and concubines. I see you’re all alone here in the tribe, with no family to support you. If you don’t care about that, fine—but if you end up getting mistreated later on, don’t say I didn’t warn you. My conscience is clear.”
If Bai Tang didn’t already know what kind of person Long Qian really was, he might’ve actually believed he was being kind. Unfortunately, Long Qian wasn’t that kind of person.
“Who says Tang Tang doesn’t have anyone backing him? I’m his support! If the male lead dares bully Tang Tang, I’ll make a straw doll and stab him to death!” Qiu’er jumped out first, furious. Long Qian’s words sounded like a curse against Tang Tang, and Qiu’er wasn’t having any of it.
“It won’t happen. Don’t get upset—it’s bad for your system. You still trust the male lead’s character, don’t you? If he mistreats our host, I’ll help you take him down,” said Xiao A, trying to calm hot-headed Qiu’er.
Ever since Qiu’er failed to level up last time, he’d been obsessed with upgrading. He was still gathering energy. Strong emotional fluctuations could cause his system to overheat and damage components—and fixing those would cost more energy. If Qiu’er got himself worked up over something that hadn’t even happened yet, he’d only end up regretting the wasted energy.
“It’s fine, I understand,” said the boy firmly. “If Ah Yao ever treats me badly, I’ll just go back to the Central Plains. Simple as that. But thank you for the warning.”
Long Qian added, “I’m just telling you this in private. Don’t go around saying it out loud—especially not to the chieftain. Men care about their pride, and the chieftain even more so. This hasn’t reached a critical point yet, so don’t let it ruin your relationship.”
Bai Tang’s fearless attitude made Long Qian uneasy. Tuoba Jingyao’s affection for Bai Tang was obvious to everyone—he practically doted on him like he was his own eye. If Tuoba Jingyao ever found out Long Qian was trying to stir up trouble… he’d be finished.
“Don’t worry,” Bai Tang said with a harmless smile. “I’m more than grateful for the heads-up.”
But inside, he was already planning to tell Ah Yao everything as soon as he got back.
Author’s Note:
Bai Tang: Hey, who do you think you’re fooling? Definitely not me.
Tuoba Jingyao: That’s right—my Tang Tang’s the smartest. Now, give me a kiss~