Ao Mingyu turned the corner and strode toward the artificial hill with a dark face, without taking anyone with him.
Suddenly, a person appeared in his way. He stopped and looked at this person coldly. To his surprise, it was Ning Xueyan, who had a graceful smile on her jade-like face.
"Sorry, Third Prince. I was playing with my maid, and got in your way by accident," Ning Xueyan stood still and apologized, her beautiful eyes misting. After a little dressing up, she was softer and less cold than usual.
She had come from the exit of the Plum Garden which was close to the female seats. Looking at the frightened maid who stood behind her, Ao Mingyu believed that they were in a panic.
"Why didn't you rest there, but came here?" His face softened and a smile appeared on it.
"It's my first time to the imperial palace, so I wanted to come out and have a look at the beautiful scenery around here. I was thinking about going
"Eee? Which manor is that Young Lady from? She is so unruly that she was even dating Li Zhiwen, the playboy! Does she have a crush on him?" "From her look, I can tell that she isn't a well-behaved woman. I wonder what she likes Li Zhiwen about." "They even dare to date secretly in the imperial palace. Maybe they've been having an affair for a long time!" "Definitely! From the happiness in her eyes, I can tell that they have an affair. It's a pity that such a beautiful lady likes a scum! It's said Li Zhiwen has already gotten married, and his wife is very aggressive. So this Young Lady can only be his concubine." "She is so beautiful, but she has no self-respect and has fallen to this degree. It's easy for her to marry a noble childe as his wife, but it seems she prefers to be a concubine. How shameless!" The noble childes behind the wall discussed, looking at Ning Xueyan with disdain and contempt. Th
The paper of the two notes was the same, and if someone compared them in detail, he would find that they were torn from the same piece of paper, and the only difference between them was that one had a name on it, and another one did not have. The crumpled note was broken, but they could vaguely recognize the words 'Third Young Lady of the Nings'. Ao Mingyu combined the two notes together and stood in the pavilion with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked at Ning Xueyan, who was walking down the rockery, and frowned. The slim and weak girl in snow-white imperial gown still stayed calm, and did not show alarm or surprise even something unexpected had happened. But she was a little cold when she left just now. It seemed that she did not want to spend any more time with him. She was a smart girl, and she must have already figured out who wanted to set her up! A playboy had come here after receiving a note from
The banquet started officially. The empress came here to have a look. Since she had no children, of course she was no interested in the banquet at all. She showed her face for a while, then left the principle seats to Honored Consort Ya and Honored Consort Shu. The main hostess of the banquet was Honored Consort Ya, and Honored Consort Shu would help her to host. Both of them had an adult son. Third Prince and Fourth Prince were the most outstanding princes among all the adult sons of the emperor. Honored Consort Ya and Honored Consort Shu sat on the principal seats among the female guests, and Prince Yi sat on the principal seat among the male guests. Because the emperor was not feeling well, he did not show up. Ning Qingshan came in with Honored Consort Ya. Then she went to her own seat quietly, did not seem to be arrogant because of Honored Consort Ya. Seeing her gentle smile, Honored Consort Ya liked her even more. "Only such a woman is
The palace maids and eunuchs were very cooperative, so after a short while, the investigation of them was over. That hair-pin was not on them! "Do I really have to search these Young Ladies for the hair-pin?" Honored Consort Ya was in a dilemma. Her face darkened. All the Young Ladies were from noble families, and it would be an insult to them to search them. But if She did not ask people to search them, she did not know how to solve the problem. Furthermore, the palace maids and the eunuchs had already been searched. "Are all the palace maids and eunuchs who were present just now here? Could any of them haven't been searched yet?" None of the Young Ladies would like to be searched, so someone could not help asking. "Sure enough. There were many palace maids and eunuchs bustling around here just now. Maybe someone has passed by here occasionally and took the hair-pin away," another Young Lady said, following the first one. If t
[Thanksgiving Special Updates][In the folllowing 3 days, we will update 2 chapters each day on this novel,thank you for your continued suppport for TapRead!]"Third Sister, so you think the bracelet is of no importance?" Ning Xueyan asked, pointing at the bracelet. She sneered inside, but did not show it on her face. From the appearance of the bracelet, one could tell it was valuable. And all the gems on it were precious. Ning Qingshan had not expected that Ning Xueyan had such a valuable thing. But she was not that surprised. Since she had been in the imperial palace for some time, and seen many valuable jewels of Honored Consort Ya, she certainly would not make a fuss about a fine bracelet. "Fifth Sister, don't be naughty. The bracelet is really beautiful. But don't worry. I have a pair of bracelets similar to this one. I'll give them to you when we're back," Ning Qingshan said generously. It seemed in any case, she was
The male guests only knew briefly about what had happened to the female guests. It was said that a palace maid stole a Young Lady's stuff. It seemed that the two Young Ladies of the Lord Protector's Manor were involved in this matter. Someone said that Third Young Lady had sent a note to Fifth Young Lady and caused the trouble. Since they were all noble childes, they would not gather to watch what was going on. Besides, the powerful Prince Yi was still on his seat. Therefore, none of the male guests walked to the female guest zone. Even Ao Mingwan, who was focusing on Ning Xueyan, did not know exactly what was going on. He saw his mother call another Young Lady to her and said something. Both Honored Consort Ya and Honored Consort Shu were not stupid, and they did not speak loudly when they were secretly fighting in front of so many people. Besides, it was not that close between the male guest zone and the female guest zone. Therefore, it was normal that
Ning Xueyan was really helpless now. She had a hard time getting rid of Heng Yuqing. No sooner had she crossed a path than she saw Eunuch Zhu, who worked for Ao Chenyi, waiting. He took her into a courtyard. After changing her clothes in the room, they walked out from the back door. Now she had dressed up as same as the woman in veil. On the other hand, the woman in veil had put on an ordinary palace maid's clothes and mingled with the crowd. After getting everything ready, Eunuch Zhu took Ning Xueyan to the seat next to Ao Chenyi. Ao Chenyi and the two princes had the highest status among all the gentlemen present. But the two princes were his juniors. Therefore, he was at the first table alone, and Third Prince and Fourth Prince were at the second table, which was lowered than his. Several noble Princely Heirs were at the third table. Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Min was sitting at the third table and looking at the fem
Everyone fixed their eyes on Ning Xueyan and Ao Chenyi. They had been curious about his favorite concubine before, but no sign showed that Ao Chenyi was fond of her today, and she even looked timid. She was quite different from what the rumors said, so the others lost their interests after looking at her for a while, and they shifted their eyes from her. Now when they saw that Ao Chenyi cared about her so much, they all widened their eyes. It was unbelievable that Prince Yi even treated a 'favorite concubine', who was even more humble than a co-consort so well! Favorite concubine was nothing, but a pet! Prince Yi had not only taken her into the imperial palace, but also asked her advice. Obviously, he cared about her very much. The noble childes gasped, wondering if the most charming and mysterious man in front of them was really the cold-blooded Prince Yi. Only now did they look at him carefully and find him so handsome! Ning
"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