An unfamiliar maid passed the note to Lanning who handed it to Ning Xueyan.
Orchid Garden was the courtyard between Bright Frost Garden and Lucky Garden.
Ning Xueyan believed that Madam Ling had murdered Madam Ming. However, it was Qingrui who had been punished for it. Without any explanation, Madam Ling had asked people to catch Qingrui and beat her to death with sticks. Therefore, there were many doubts in this matter. Madam Ling knew that as Madam Ming's daughter, Ning Xueyan would definitely want to know the cause of her mother's death. Obviously, Madam Ling had thought of it carefully when she designed the trap.
However, Ning Xueyan was no longer what she used to be, but Ning Ziying, who had reborn. From the vague words on the note, Ning Xueyan could tell that Madam Ling was going to frame her. Of course she would pretend that she did not find anything wrong.
"I will have Ning Ziyan fall into her mother's trap step by step
Ning Xueyan felt comfortable with the coldness when she spread out the ointment on her wrist. After the ointment became a little dry, she pulled down her sleeve and stood up with a smile. "Lanning, we should go out to meet people now. If we stay at the backyard on this joyous occasion, the others may think that we did something disgraceful and dare not to show up in public." All the maids in the room understood what she was hinting, and they all laughed. Without any hesitation, they helped Ning Xueyan dress up again. Ning Xueyan asked Xinmei and Qingyu to stay at the courtyard and walked out with Lanning. To her surprise, as soon as she arrived at the courtyard gate, she saw Third Prince and the others coming over. Ning Xueyan could not help frowning. She really did not want to see them. Therefore, when they told her that they mainly wanted to have a look at the buildings of Bright Frost Garden and by the way ask for a cup of t
"Marchioness, what do you mean?" Ao Mingyu was also stunned. But then he asked, narrowing his eyes. Seeing the Third Prince's expression, Madam Ling thought that for the moment, he could not remember the "Yan'er" that she was talking about was Ning Xueyan. So she explained more straightforwardly. "Third Prince, Fourth Prince, I am talking about the thing that the Fifth Young Lady has done. She behaved disgracefully just now in the backyard. With a man, she... But it was an accident and a misunderstanding. For she is a Young Lady of the Lord Protector's Manor, I hope that both of you forgive her. I am here to apologize to you for her misbehaviors." Madam Ling heaved a deep sigh, appearing like a loving mother who truly cared for her daughter. Thus, when she indiscreetly mentioned the man, she deliberately stopped talking and successfully aroused everyone's curiosity. These people present were at a loss. Out of curiosity, they speculated that
The sharp pain at her wrist finally woke Madam Ling up. When she saw Ning Huaiyuan holding her wrist, her eyes became red, and Madam Ling nearly burst into tears. "Mother, if you go on acting up, you are forcing Ziyan to take the road to destruction!" Ning Huaiyuan's low and insidious voice sounded in Madam Ling's ears, which greatly shocked her. Finally, she came back to her senses. Suppressing her impulse to vomit blood, Madam Ling forced herself to smile at Ning Xueyan and Ning Qingshan, showing a face that looked uglier than a crying face. Leaning against the maid beside her, Madam Ling turned around and trudged inside. Now the news that Ning Ziyan had an accident occupied her head. More than that, Madam Ling knew it was her fault. "Because of me, my second daughter was disfigured. Also, because of me, my eldest daughter's reputation was ruined. Now... What should I do?!" Thinking too much, Madam Ling felt that her whole head was buzzing
Ning Zu'an called Ning Xueyan and Ning Qingshan. Of course, Prince Yi asked him to do this. Ning Zu'an let his two unmarried daughters come here only because that Prince Yi had heard Ning Qingshan's good reputation. He wanted to see this lady who had gained a widely known reputation for her loyal and filial manner. But if Ning Zu'an let Ning Qingshan come over alone, it was highly improper. Therefore, Ning Zu'an also asked Ning Xueyan to come here with her. In this way, two Young Ladies from the Lord Protector's Manor would meet Prince Yi together. And the Third Prince who left just now would not take it as an offense. "So she is your Third Young Lady. She indeed looks smart and beautiful. Have you ever planned to marry one of your daughters to me?" Not in a hurry, Ao Chenyi smiled gently. Staring at the two girls up and down with his pretty eyes, Ao Chenyi seemed to be very interested in them. "Prince Yi, Honored Consort Ya had mentioned th
Of course, Qingyu didn't happen to stay at the gate of the backyard. Since Ning Xueyan found the strange item of Ning Zu'an's account, she cut the cost and let Qingyu wait around the backyard gate where she had seen someone come to look for Ning Zu'an in her last life. Usually, only a few people would go out of the manor, so it was not easy for others to enter the manor even through the backyard gate. But today was different. In this manor, many people were coming and going. To go the easier way, some servants directly passed in and out of the back door. Thus, these guards at the entrance were much less vigilant than usual. If someone wanted to go into the manor to find Ning Zu'an, today was his or her best opportunity. Ning Xueyan also checked the background of the older female servant who guarded the back door. She worked neither for Madam Ling nor the Madam Dowager. Instead, she was the mother of Ning Zu'an's former subordinate, who was disabled on the
Xinmei returned in the evening but didn't bring back many messages. The friend that the middle-aged woman went to visit was a young student. They seemed to be quite close to each other like they were mother and son. The woman brought him some clean clothes to change his clothes for washing. After chatting for a long time, they parted with reluctance. All their acts unintentionally showed the family affection between them. "Young Lady, the young man came out through the side door. Right after finishing talking with the woman, he closed the door and left. There was no one around that I could ask for more information." Of course, Xinmei could not climb over the wall to enter the academy in broad daylight because it would attract others' attention. "What is the size of that academy?" Lowering her head, Ning Xueyan touched the cup in her hand and asked after thinking for a moment. "It has an average size, not as large as those big a
Ning Huaiyuan was really upset today. A wonderful party had been ruined by such a scandal! It not only disturbed the people of the Lord Protector's Manor, but also annoyed Xia Yuhang and he had taken Ning Ziyan and Xia Yudong back to his manor. Ning Huaiyuan knew that Xia Yuhang was not easy to mess with and if his mother thought that she could control the Xia Manor by marrying Ning Ziyan to Xia Yuhang, she was too naive. Ning Huaiyuan felt that he had never seen through Xia Yuhang. He had objected to Ning Ziyan marrying Xia Yuhang, but Ning Ziyan had been so fascinated by this man and insisted on marrying him. "Ziyan... Xia Yuhang won't believe that Ziyan had an affair with Xia Yudong, right?" Madam Ling asked anxiously after thinking it for a while. She became listless at once at the mention of Ning Ziyan. Every man who had seen that would think that his wife was having an affair, so Madam Ling was really worried about Ning Ziyan now.
"What a piece of sensational news that the Second Madam of the Lord Protector's Manor died at Eldest Young Lady's wedding ceremony! There are many interesting rumors about it," Yun Luoluo said with a sneer. The way she spoke was very rude and she even made fun of Madam Ming's death! Ning Xueyan's face darkened at the words, a coldness flashing in her eyes. As soon as Ning Ziying and Ning Xueyan's memories merged, she had regarded Madam Ming as her own mother, so of course she was annoyed when she heard Yun Luoluo insulting Madam Ming. With a sneer on her lips, she said, "His Majesty has drawn the conclusion. Second Young Lady, aren't you satisfied with His Majesty's decision? It seems you have more guts than those officials and dare even speak out against His Majesty's will." Although the Lord Peace's Manor was Empress Dowager's family home, she had died and all the other noble families knew that the Lord Peace's Manor was declining. Only ve
"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