Everything in the room was quiet. The fragrance ball on the table emanated light and fresh smell. Lanning didn't want to interfere with her young master to check the account books, so she prepared a cup of tea for Ning Xueyan and then left the room. For those account books that she hadn't finished checking in the day, Ning Xueyan would continue to check after supper.
With the fire burning in the oven, it wasn't cold in the room. Being afraid of the room too stuffy, Lanning opened the window a little to let the fresh air in before her leaving.
Rubbing her forehead, Ning Xueyan closed the account book which she had finished checking and pushed it to aside.
Suddenly, she heard a faint sound close to the window. She raised her head cautiously and saw a man stand in front of the window, wearing a black robe with bright-red lycorisradiata embroidered on it. He was extremely handsome, but on his face, there was a cold and aggressive aura which woul
Ning Qingshan returned to the Lord Protector's Manor in the morning the next day. It caused a sensation because Third Prince came to the Lord Protector's Manor to visit her. Ning Qingshan had always enjoyed a good reputation among the noble ladies in the capital. All the noble families praised her when they talked about the young girl of both loyalty and filial piety. Moreover, although she had been meditating in the nunnery, she would have written some poems occasionally, so she was also famous because of her talent. Even though she was only an adopted daughter of the Lord Protector's Manor, she enjoyed a higher reputation than the daughters who were born by the principle wives of Lord Protector. Besides, Third Prince and Honored Consort Ya paid special attention to her, so few ladies among the noble families could be as famous as she was. In her last life, Ning Xueyan had no connection with Ning Qingshan, so she didn't know m
The moment they walked out the gate of the courtyard, Ning Qingshan pulled Ning Xueyan to the side. When they came to a quiet place, she lifted her skirt hem and was going to kneel down. Ning Xueyan was cautious and she stopped her immediately. "What are you doing, Third Sister?" she asked. "Fifth Sister, mom treated me like her biological daughter, but I couldn't serve her when she was alive. What's more, I didn't see her one last time after she passed away. I was in the nunnery, so I didn't know what had happened outside. But I shouldn't take it as an excuse. Anyway, I should be blamed. I only hope that you won't be mad of me and our sisterhood won't be influenced because of this." Ning Qingshan said sincerely and her attitude would make everyone think that she was admitting her mistake and asking for forgiveness from the bottom of her heart. But it reminded Ning Xueyan what happened to her in her last life. "Sister Ziying, w
What she said seemed natural and reasonable. Before Ning Qingshan returned to the mandor, Madam Dowager had known that Ning Xueyan was scalded the night before, so it couldn't be false. A small burn wouldn't be a big deal if Ning Qingshan didn't grab her hand forcefully. Compare to Ning Xueyan, Ning Qingshan seemed exaggeratedly warm and it even felt like she was making a fuss. Everyone would think that she did it deliberately, and when they thought further, they would be more confused. What did Ning Qingshan mean? Thinking about what Ning Xueyan had acted and spoken, they vaguely felt that Ning Qingshan had gone too far! Madam Dowager's face went dark, and Ning Huaiyuan looked at Ning Qingshan with suspicion. Third Prince frowned. Ning Qingshan seemed to have changed a lot from three years ago! "Sorry! I'm sorry, Fifth Sister! I really didn't know you got injured last night. I thought that you were
"Brother, I was too young and I said something stupid. I hope you can forgive me." Ning Qingshan greeted Ning Huaiyuan with a bow, looking calm and graceful. "Sister..." Ning Huaiyuan looked at her thoughtfully, a strange look flashing in his eyes. He assumed a posture to hold her up, and he found it was difficult for him to call her so intimately like before. He paused for a while and then continued, "Third Sister, let's bygones be bygones. We have grown up, so we should be mature." His previous naive 'sister' had disappeared before she went for the nunnery, and the 'sister' he saw recently was not Ning Qingshan at all! Until now, Ning Huaiyuan still couldn't believe that the slim figure under the plum tree was Ning Xueyan, the Fifth Young Lady who had never walked out Bright Frost Garden! He paid much attention to Ning Xueyan today and he looked at her carefully a few times, but it was hard for him to associate her with that shy, unremarka
Third Prince, Ao Mingyu was going to walk into a restaurant with several guards. He had left the Lord Protector's Manor before supper. The gentle and kind girl who had left three years ago came back. Although she was not as perfect as he imagined, she was still a gentle, graceful and beautiful. What was more, she was much better than Ning Yuling. So Ao Mingyu was satisfied with Ning Qingshan. He had become the emperor's favorite prince now and he was quite different from he used to be three years ago, so even he was satisfied with Ning Qingshan, he wouldn't pay too much attention on her. He had done everything her mother told him to do, and what he needed to do was wait and see how the Lord Protector's Manor would act to show its sincerity. What he had to consider about was not only Ning Qingshan, but the whole situation as well. It would be his best choice to connect with Lord Protector by marriage, but unfortunately, Ning Qingshan's status
Ao Mingyu knew what happened in Cold Mountain Temple as well. He narrowed his eyes, anger flashing in them. He was only testing when he said that he wanted to marry Ning Xueyan. Although nobody of the Lord Protector's Manor had said anything about this, from many things happened later, he realized that Ning Xueyan was nothing important at all to Ning Zu'an, the Lord Protector. Plus he got the news that Ning Qingshan was going to come back from the nunnery, so he gradually gave up thinking about marrying Ning Xueyan. Ning Xueyan's status in Lord Protector's Manor was even lower than Ning Qingshan's! He was also reluctant to marry an unflavored and powerless woman to be his co-consort, but anyway, he had expressed his admiration for her in front of Ning Zu'an, so he thought people of Lord Protector's Manor would treat Ning Xueyan better for his sake. He guessed that her life would be easier after Madam Ling had been put into Budd
Since Yu Lian had become Concubine Xu, in order to distinguish her from the former Concubine Xu, Madam Dowager ordered everyone in the manor called them Senior Concubine Xu and Junior Concubine Xu. Of course Yu Lian was Junior Concubine Xu. Concubines of the manor were also women who had married Ning Zu'an, so Madam Dowager and Ning Zu'an decided to hold a simple wedding ceremony by setting up a few tables of banquet at noon the next day, then Yu Lian would become Ning Zu'an's concubine formally. They planned to have dinner only with some people of the manor, but to their surprise, many guests came at noon the next day. Since Ning Zu'an was a powerful general, the military department members had already heard the news and came to congratulate him. Moreover, they had taken their family members here, so the outer courtyard was immediately filled with greetings and laughter. Madam Dowager was honorable and she wouldn't greet Ning
In a flower hall of the Lord Protector's Manor's courtyard, there were a number of female guests. They chatted happily and burst into laughter occasionally. Ostensibly to congratulate Ning Zu'an's marrying a new concubine, but they all had other plans. Third Young Lady of the Lord Protector's Manor was no ordinary. She was not only beautiful, but gentle, graceful and decent as well. Everyone could tell that she had a bright future, and some well-informed person even said that Third Prince had already waited in the manor when Third Young Lady just returned yesterday. Who was Third Prince? He was the real imperial family member! Normally, only those young ladies from noble families waited for him, and he would never take the initiative to wait for them. It was said Third Prince's cousin who had grown up together with him returned to the capital yesterday. However, he didn't wait for her at Grand Tutor Ya's Manor, but went to the Lord Protector's Manor inste