"No trouble at all. Anyway, I have nothing to do recently. Everyone involved in those cases are dead. I'm very bored!" After saying that, Ao Chenyi tried to show a gentle smile.
But in Xia Tian's eyes, the smile was treacherous and cold.
Almost instantly, Xia Tian made his decision. He said in panic while kowtowing, "Your Majesty, in any case, that woman lost her baby because my son kicked her. So it's normal that she hates my son. He made the mistake on impulse. He will be responsible for that. Your Majesty, please punish him."
At this time, Xia Tian did not insist that his son was framed by someone and his attitude also softened.
This meant that there was no need to investigate this matter and Xia Manor was willing to take full responsibility. Meanwhile, Xia Tian also flattered the emperor by what he said.
In times of danger, Xia Tian remembered what Xia Yuhang said last night. Xia Yuhang had told Xia Tian that
"Concubine Ma, when I came here just now, I heard that the First Madam had asked someone to send you meals even if she's in the Buddha Hall. She's really generous. In my opinion, if something happens to you in the future, it must have nothing to do with the First Madam." Lanning glanced at Concubine Ma and spoke slowly while picking up the hamper. This hamper was prepared by Madam Ling! After knowing that, Concubine Ma became shocked and grabbed the handkerchief in her hands. First Madam always returned evil for good. Concubine Ma had bit her and this matter had come to a deadlock, so the First Madam would not let go of Concubine Ma. This was a threat to Concubine Ma! "Fifth Young Lady, don't go. Please do me a favor!" Concubine Ma could no longer control her fear, and couldn't help asking for help in a tremulous voice. Ning Xueyan stopped, but did not turn around. She directly said, "Concubine Ma, if you need any
"Look, it's Fifth Sister. Why are carrying a hamper at this time? Grandma has already eaten. Don't you think it's too late for you to send her food now?" Ning Xueyan and Lanning encountered Ning Lingyun who was on the way to Lucky Garden. Ning Lingyun saw the hamper in Lanning's hands and could not help but mock Ning Xueyan. Ning Xueyan did not take Ning Lingyun's sarcastic ridicule seriously. Ning Lingyun, the daughter of a concubine, always followed Ning Yuling's lead and curried favor with Madam Ling in order to have a good marriage in the future. But Ning Xueyan knew well that Ning Lingyun would eventually become a stepping stone for Madam Ling's children. Ning Xueyan glanced at Ning Lingyun and asked, "Fourth Sister, who made you so angry?" "Great wits have short memories. Fifth Sister, you made Second Sister angry and didn't dare to see her. So you requested me to see her and face her anger. You're a coward." Remembering what had happe
Ning Xueyan frowned and said in confusion, "Father, does this matter have anything to do with mother? Concubine Ma said that this matter is not what I thought. She also said that she would tell me later when she had the chance." Concubine Ma did not say anything. Knowing that, Madam Dowager and Ning Zu'an looked at each other. They felt shocked, but also relieved. Madam Dowager finally smiled and euphemistically said, "This matter naturally has nothing to do with your mother. The womenfolk's courtyard is under your mother's control. When something like this happened, she is also sad and should take the responsibility. Since Concubine Ma isn't pregnant, I'll let her tell the truth. She dared to lie to me. It's detestable of her!" Madam Dowager dumped the blame on Concubine Ma, even though she knew Madam Ling was behind this evil. In such a big manor, no one really cared about Ning Xueyan. For the people of Lord Protector's Manor
Madam Ling arrived soon after. She looked a little bit old, although pious, in a simple cloth gown without any makeup on her face, instead of wearing her fineries as usual. The bandage wrapped around her ears, in particular, made her appearance inferior to that of the young and charming Concubine Ma. "Madam Ling, yesterday you said that Concubine Ma had an affair with another man, and was seen by a maid, so she caused the blame of the abortion to shift onto you. Is that true?" Madam Dowager asked. "Mother, I heard all this from Biyun. I'm also not sure. I was about to ask more yesterday, but had no time since you told me to go to Buddha Hall. Why don't you ask her yourself now?" On her way here, Madam Ling had learned about Concubine Ma's farce. She was startled at first. Now she was staring at Concubine Ma with cold eyes, leaving the judgment to Madam Dowager and deliberately avoiding the fact that Concubine Ma had once been poisoned. Lucki
"You are so…" Ning Zu'an glared at Madam Ling with the two fire-fork shaped veins on his forehead swelling. Madam Ling had sensed the danger already but was unable to interpose Ning Xueyan's spouting statement or to keep up with her thoughts. When Madam Ling finally took a tumble, it was already too late. Subconsciously, she cried with an affectedly effeminate voice, "Marquis!" Then she went limp and fell onto the ground weakly, her head colliding against a column beside her and blood bleeding profusely. Mother Chen went forward to hold her without delay and shouted to the crowd, "Hurry up! Hold Madam back to the yard right now and call a physician. My goodness, she was so seriously hurt. What shall I do?" Seeing this, Ning Zu'an knitted his brows slightly. He hesitated for a while when hearing the words of "back to the yard". After all, they had been couples for years and he felt a little bit sympathetic for her.
Back to the Bright Frost Garden from Madam Dowager's courtyard, Ning Xueyan picked up a book at will, flipped it through, and then sat by the window in a daze. Images of her previous life slid by in her mind as flowing water. Madam Ling had treated her so warmly like a true mother since she came to the Lord Protector's Manor, and Ning Ziyan also took her as a blood sister and sent to her courtyard all the delicious food and interesting playthings, making her believe that she had chosen the right persons to depend on. Later on, Xia Yuhang came to visit them. He didn't avoid her since she was so close to Ning Ziyan like a sister of her. What happed later was well-reasoned. But now, when thinking back, she always felt that she had neglected something important. "Young Lady." Lanning came in with a cup of tea. She put the cup down and said to Ning Xueyan with a smile, "Young Lady, I have had the food shared by some maids of the cou
Madam Ling coldly asked with an unhappy face, "What's the matter?" "Although marquis has pity for you, he went to Concubine Ma's courtyard and asked people to invite a doctor for Concubine Ma as soon as I left." Mother Chen said indignantly, "This b*tch had promised to you, but eventually she helped Fifth Young Lady deal with you. She's an ungrateful person." Madam Ling gritted her teeth and asked again, "What about that little b*tch?" Mother Chen knew that Madam Ling was asking about Ning Xueyan. She answered while pointing to Bright Frost Garden, "I've already inquired about it. I heard that nothing had happened to Fifth Young Lady and Madam Dowager had rewarded her a lot of things and asked maids to send them to Bright Frost Garden. The servants said that the Fifth Young Lady is preferred by Madam Dowager and no one will dare to slight her and she will certainly get a good marriage." "A good marriage!" Madam Ling snorted col
He was looking forward to her performance more and more... "Prince Yi, you can rest assured. I will be "close" with you when I pretend to be your favorite concubine, but not now!" Ning Xueyan faced Ao Chenyi's gaze and did not conceal the coldness and anger in her eyes. She looked straight into Ao Chenyi's beautiful but oppressive, tyrannical eyes, and said with courage, "Please behave yourself." A little girl dared to not only look at him directly, but also disobey him and ignore his fierceness and cold murderous look. None of the officials in the court dared to do so! Ao Chenyi showed a slight smile on his cold face. Then he jumped up from the bed, stood at the head of the bed, and quietly looked at Ning Xueyan with his back to the moon. An extremely cold smile appeared on his beautiful, evil face. Even the room was also full of gloomy atmosphere. "Yan'er, you must remember that you're my favorite concubine. You belong to nei
"What will you do now?" Ning Xueyan had to take two quick steps to catch up with Ao Chenyi's pace. "Destroy the nine barbarian states alongside Wen Xueran?""No." Ao Chenyi raised an eyebrow and smiled mysteriously. "I'll negotiate with Wen Xueran."Confused, she repeated, "Negotiate?""The people of the nine barbarian states have always been different from those of the central plains. They're valiant and barbaric. For many years, they have wanted to invade us. If it weren't for the princes of Annan holding down the front, the nine barbarian states would have attacked us a long time ago. Annan troops have fought the nine barbarian states more than our troops did, and they have a better chance of winning too."Ao Chenyi said calmly. He didn't like the nine barbarian states in the slightest. If it weren't his father forbidding him from going to the faraway hinterland of the nine barbarian states, where death was almost certain, he wo
It didn't take long for Qingyu to return from the Lord Protector's Manor with a new piece of news. It was said that there had been a haunting in the prayer hall of the manor.Rumor had it that an older maid became ill from the fright of seeing a ghost.A long time ago, the Cloud Reflection Courtyard was said to be haunted too. No one dared to come close at that time, not even during the day. Even though the rumors died down later on, a few people who were deeply affected by the events said that the situation was still grave then.Therefore, even though only a maid had seen the ghost, the rumors spread like wildfire in the manor.The prayer hall used to be Madam Dowager's favorite spot. It was later used to imprison Madam Ling for some time. Now that Madam Ling was dead, everyone feared that she was the ghost. It was said that Madam Ling was an evil woman when she was alive. Even in death, she might become a malicious ghost. The sit
Ao Chenyi was so close that his handsome face was all that Ning Xueyan could see, and he didn't look all that happy. Then, she realized that she had been holding tightly onto a strand of his black hair.She flung her hand and hastily released the strand of hair in her hand. She even caressed the hair on his temples with a wide smile. "Why are you here? When did you come? Why didn't you wake me up?"Ning Xueyan looked truly confused as if she really didn't know that she had grabbed Ao Chenyi's hair until it hurt."Playing dumb, huh?" he said coldly, frowning at her. His slender fingers reached out and lightly pinched the wing of her nose."Ouch!" Ning Xueyan held her nose pitifully. Her limpid eyes seemed glazed over as if brewing tears."Now you know it hurts!" Ao Chenyi's thin lips were curved into a smile. He was satisfied to see her not daring to voice her frustration.Ning Xueyan nodded firmly without
"Can you remember it now?" Ao Chenyi narrowed his eyes and knocked on their table with his slender fingers. His voice sounded a tad threatening."I… I really can't remember." Ning Xueyan felt like she had thought of all the possible answers but she was still coming up empty. She had no choice but to admit her fault."You really can't remember?" His beautiful eyes curved into a charming arc and his expression was sinister. Sure enough, this was a bad situation to be in. She didn't even hesitate to grab his hand with a bright smile on her tender face."Even if I can't remember, you can still remind me, right?" She knew it would pay well to cajole this man.Ao Chenyi wasn't polite with her either. He turned his hand over and pinched her soft face. His expression had improved considerably. There was a faint smile on his face as he asked, "If I tell you, can you really understand and remember what it is?""Of course I can!"
It seemed that at this point of the letter, the Empress couldn't continue anymore. There were only tear stains on the paper, followed by wide empty spaces.Then, the Empress said how reassured she was that Madam Ming would be taking care of her newborn. Madam Ming would be a fine mother. She had also asked someone to watch over Madam Ming and the newborn. Their statuses in the previous dynasty had vanished like smoke. Time was always moving forward and the changing of imperial dynasties was inevitable.The only tragedy was the eternal separation of her from her husband, and of her from her daughters.The only reason she had written the letter was that she couldn't help herself. If she never said anything, her child would never know the truth. That would have been for the best. Yet, she couldn't accept this, so she would hand the letter to the person who would be looking after Madam Ming. If Ning Ziying's identity was revealed to the world one d
The news of Ning Zu'an's death shocked everyone in the Lord Protector's Manor. Even though the title had been passed onto Ning Huaijing, Ning Zu'an was the patriarch of the family. Even without the title, he was still the most authoritative figure in the manor.Madam Dowager collapsed as soon as she heard the news of his death. She became ill and bedridden, unable to get up.Ning Xueyan couldn't leave the palace freely due to her status as the Empress. She sent Qingyu and Mother Han to the manor and had them inquire about Madam Dowager's health in her place. Mother Han returned to Prince Yi's Manor afterward while Qingyu entered the palace to report to Ning Xueyan.It was inconvenient for Mother Han to live in the palace because she had a son to take care of. Instead of entering the palace with Ning Xueyan, she stayed in Prince Yi's Manor as the housekeeper. Ning Xueyan was prepared to release her from the manor when the situation stabilized in
"The Empress discovered a secret tunnel under Chenyuan Palace by accident. She never told anyone about it. She even killed the maid that discovered the tunnel with her and accompanied her in walking through the tunnel. In other words, she was the only one who knew about it," Ning Xueyan explained.This was the Empress' secret. To prove it, she used Yun Luoluo's incident as an example. When Ning Xueyan was drugged in Chenyuan Palace, the Empress wanted to take her to a room. There, a man would sneak into the palace through the secret tunnel.If Ning Xueyan woke up and discovered herself in disheveled clothes in the presence of another man, she would surely panic. To protect her secret, she would surely agree with whatever the Empress wanted. The Empress wanted to use Ning Xueyan to force Ao Chenyi into accepting his "affair" with Yun Luoluo.Unfortunately, Ao Chenyi had appeared all of a sudden. She didn't dare to do anything with him around, so
Ao Chenyi didn't try to persuade her this time. This had bothered her for so long that she would continue to suffer for it if she didn't cry it out now. He held her tighter and allowed her to wet the front of his robe. She didn't brawl. All she did was close her eyes and let her tears stream down her face. When her tears finally dried, she sat quietly in Ao Chenyi's embrace for a long time.It was so quiet inside the room that she could finally calm down.Her hands were being held so tightly in Ao Chenyi's hand that she could feel the callus in his palm. He was Prince Yi, the late Emperor's beloved prince who grew up to be the infamous Demon King. Those who mentioned his name would often be frightened and alarmed. Only she knew how difficult his life had been.Ao Chenyi was still young when he drew his elder brother's jealousy and suspicion. He was framed, imprisoned, and nearly died. His fiancee abandoned him at his lowest point, sought shelte
"It was and wasn't an accident. He could only blame himself. No matter what, he was the one who forced my hand and cornered me to this state. He ruined my everything. Him dying in my hands could be considered as his retribution."The Empress began to look calm again. She turned her head and stared at Ning Xueyan with a trace of sadness in her eyes. "I invited you here to ask you to let go of my family. It's all my fault and has nothing to do with my family. They're just a small and useless noble family. In exchange for their safety, I'll tell you a secret."Her voice had lost her previous agitation and anger, leaving only a sense of helplessness. She had never put any hope in her family. She thought that she would be able to help her people after gaining power but now that she was in trouble, she was worried that her family would be implicated and sentenced to death.She had resented her family countless times for marrying her off to the Empero