Seeing that the Third Prince behind her had gone further, Madam Dowager said in a low voice, "Marquis of Ping'an, what Madam Ling promised you can't be discussed now. We'll discuss it when she comes out of the Buddha hall." It could be inferred that Madam Dowager was angry from her voice, who narrowed her eyes and looked at the Marquis of Ping'an in front of her.
Marquis of Ping'an was different from Lord Protector. He had no real power. And everyone knew that none of his manor was somebody. On thinking that such a person wanted to marry her granddaughter, Madam Dowager got angry. An old playboy who was nobody dared to marry the Young Lady of Lord Protector's Manor. He should know who himself was first.
"Don't worry, Madam Dowager. This was put forward by the marchioness of Lord Protector's Manor first. I was still thinking about whether to agree. After all, the woman I'm going to marry will be my marchioness. I have to be very cautious. Now, I've already
There were five Young Ladies in Lord Protector's Manor. The Eldest Young Lady and Second Young Lady were born of Madam Ling. Both of them were the most prominent in front of people and presented at most of the banquets. So they had a good reputation in the capital. Fourth Young Lady was born of a concubine and was not qualified to attend some banquets. Fifth Young Lady was the daughter of the co-wife, but she was timid and seldom left her courtyard, let alone go out to meet visitors. In many people's minds, there was no Fifth Young Lady at all! This was all Ning Ziying knew in her last life! She just had lived in Lord Protector's Manor for three years. She was not very clear about many things and had not met the Third Young Lady. Combining with the situation of two lives, she only knew something about the Third Young Lady three years ago. It was said that the Third Young Lady was quiet and beautiful since childhood. When she grew up, her rep
The road to her courtyard was closer. Ning Xueyan tidied up her clothes and was about to say goodbye. But a man in the white robe stood in front of her and blocked her way. Ning Xueyan looked up and saw the gentle and elegant face of the Third Prince who asked gently, "Why did you make such a hairstyle?" "Is it really because your maid is not good at it?" The Third Prince insisted on asking for the reason, which was unexpected to Ning Xueyan. She turned her head to Lanning who was standing beside and wanted to dump the blame on Lanning. She really did not want to have any private involvement with the noble Third Prince. "I, I'll make a better hairstyle for our Young Lady next time," Lanning answered the question in fear while bowing her head, looking like she really had done something wrong. The Third Prince asked with a smile on his face while quietly looking at Ning Xueyan. "I heard that you refused to marry me?" At first gla
Being interrupted by the maid, Ning Yuling turned her face with anger, stared at the maid who was rushing in, and shouted angrily, "What's the matter?" "Young... Young Lady," The maid trembled and realized that Ning Yuling would not let go of her if she did not provide some useful information when she was stared at by Ning Yuling. So she immediately said after gasping, "Second Young Lady, the Third Prince is in Lord Protector's Manor now." "The Third Prince?" The anger on Ning Yuling's face disappeared at once. She took the maid's hands and asked in surprise. Seeing that something bad was going to happen, Mother Chen immediately stepped forward and stood in front of Ning Yuling to stop her. "Second Young Lady, First Madam said that you have to practise calligraphy in your courtyard. If you make Madam Dowager angry again, she can't protect you." "Mother had never protected me. I still have to rely on myself. Mother Chen, don't w
Hearing Ning Yuling's questions, Ning Xueyan stopped and faintly said with a slight smile on her face, "Second sister, I'll show this flower to grandmother. Don't you want to show it to grandmother?" "Show it to grandmother? Is this the way to Lucky Garden?" Ning Yuling unconsciously sneered and scolded while making an akimbo gesture, "You little bitch, how dare you lie to me!" "Some parts of this flower are not good-looking. So I want to trim it in the front garden before sending it to grandmother. Second Sister, what are you suspicious of?" Ning Xueyan slightly raised her chin to point to the right front place. There was a garden house where there was some equipment used to trim the flower. Ning Yuling found what Ning Xueyan said was reasonable. She still wanted to make unreasonable noises, but she also knew that this time was not appropriate. Besides, Mother Qin also was there. But she was unwilling to give up in front of Ning Xueyan who
When Ning Xueyan asked what had happened, Madam Dowager immediately said, "Yan'er, Marquis of Ping'an came to Lord Protector's Manor today to propose a marriage!" Ning Xueyan asked innocently with a blank face, "Propose a marriage? To Third Sister or Fourth Sister?” Ning Xueyan's question stunned Madam Dowager who then could not answer. The Third Young Lady and Fourth Young Lady of Lord Protector's Manor were not married yet. So generally speaking, Ning Xueyan had nothing to do with Marquis of Ping'an's proposal of marriage. Mother Qin immediately said with a smile on her face, "Fifth Young Lady, if it were the Third Young Lady and Fourth Young Lady, Madam Dowager wouldn't have felt embarrassed. But Marquis of Ping'an said he wants to marry you. You're still young. Madam Dowager doesn't want you to get married at a young age." Mother Qin just said that Madam Dowager wanted to keep Ning Xueyan, but did not mention that Marquis o
Madam Dowager arrived at Buddha Hall with a group of people. When they got there, she found that no one could be seen at the entrance of Buddha Hall and the door was slightly closed. She did not think much about it and asked Mother Qin to open the door at the moment. The door was pushed open heavily and the maids who stood ahead immediately screamed while covering their faces. Madam Dowager was standing in the middle and could not see it at first. After the maids scattered, the scene inside was immediately presented in front of everyone. There was a man, a fat and ugly old man, lying on the ground in Buddha hall. He was sleeping while holding Madam Ling in his arms. "This... this... Go... go to separate them quickly." Seeing that, Madam Dowager was so shocked that she almost fell down. The muscles on her face trembled and her fingers shook unconsciously. She gritted her teeth and whispered to Mother Qin, asking her to separate them quickly s
Only then did Madam Ling find that she was too excited. She had pulled the older female servant's collar so tight that the older female servant rolled her eyes and could not speak. Seeing that, Madam Ling immediately let go and hastily asked, "Whose maid poisoned my food? Tell us now!" The older female servant coughed violently while covering her throat forcefully as soon as Madam Ling let go. She did not expect Madam Ling to hold her collar so tightly. Fortunately, the Fifth Young Lady had reminded Madam Ling. Therefore, the older female servant bowed slightly to Ning Xueyan to express her thanks while coughing. But in Madam Ling's eyes, the older female servant's behavior convicted Ning Xueyan of sin. She grabbed Madam Dowager's sleeve with excitement and said while pointing to Ning Xueyan, "It's her, it's her! It was she who asked someone to poison my food and to lead the Marquis of Ping'an into here. She wants to ruin my reputation. Mother, please exe
In front of the opened door, Ning Zu'an redirected his gaze from Madam Ling to glare at Marquis of Ping'an. Blue veins were protruding on his forehead. The Marquis of Ping'an turned pale upon seeing his murderous rage. He was so frightened that his legs were shaking and his soul was close to flying out of him. He nearly joined Madam Ling in collapsing to the floor. Forcing a fawning smile on his face, he said, "Lord… Lord Protector… I swear it's all a misunderstanding. I had too much to drink. I don't know how… I end up running here and… There's nothing between me… and Madam!" He had always been a useless fool. This time, he suffered such a bad fright that he couldn't even form full sentences! A miserable silence shrouded the interior and exterior of the building. Ning Zu'an's eyes were bloodshot. He was exuding such an icy air that there was nearly no warmth at all. "You… dare do something like this?" "No… You mi
"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