Even though there were no other outsiders here, these guards and coachmen had all witnessed the terrible scene. If this tragic thing happened to her, Ning Xueyan knew that it would be effortless for Ao Mingyu to threaten her with it.
Just now, she felt very strange because Ao Mingyu's guards specially told her to sit in the last carriage. However, it was common knowledge that the last one was the easiest to be left behind. Ning Xueyan didn't know what Ao Mingyu meant by doing this, but she was sure about one thing—next, at least Ning Qingshan's carriage would be safe.
After the farce caused by Ao Xian today, Ning Qingshan‘s reputation was on the edge of being ruined now. If anything more happened to her, she could not even join the Beauty Contest. But how could Ao Mingyu allow such a thing to happen? Thus, Ning Qingshan must be in the safety zone. It was also the reason why Ning Xueyan struggled to send herself into Ning Qingshan's carriage.
"W
Seeing Madam Ling's serious face, Ning Huaiyuan knew what Madam Ling was thinking about. He advised her again, "Mother, you have a son and a daughter. Why are you afraid of a concubine, one of a maid origin? Even if she is the most favored concubine now, she is just a plaything. After a while, when my father does not like her anymore, you can beat and scold her. It's all up to you, Mother. Why are you unhappy now?""That little bi*ch, I wanted to keep her for you before, and she agreed. I did not expect that she would hook up with your father only a few days after I went to the Buddha Hall. What a shameless bi*ch!"When Madam Ling talked about this, she wanted to scratch Yu Lian's enchanting face. She had known that this bi*ch would have an affair. To prevent her from serving Ning Zu'an in bed, she specifically told her that she would give her a title when Yuan'er came back if she went with him. Unexpectedly, she was still so dissatisfied with her lot. Mada
Hearing that the back door may not be sealed, Ning Huaiyuan hesitated for a moment, then walked to the back door which was just round the corner.The back door of the Ningying Courtyard was facing the direction of the Bright Frost Garden. But when one came from that direction, one could not see the back door directly, because of a side room that was located there. Part of the room jutted out and hid the back door from one's view. Only when one walked round the side of this room, then could one see the entrance of the backyard.Most of the people came through the main entrance. Only the maids and the older female servants went through the back door due to the convenience.Ning Huaiyuan had orders from Xia Yuhang today, so he had to go to the Cloud Reflection Courtyard to do a search. Xia Yuhang did not say what it was. He just asked Ning Huaiyuan to send Ning Ziying's books to him. Ning Ziying liked reading books. These books were nothing specia
What happened next scared those servants who initially did not believe in the stories told.As soon as they passed, a servant jumped in and slipped. Then they saw a dark, red bloodstain under the door. Some people said that it was the place where the young male servant had hit his head. How could the bloodstain darken so soon after his fall? It was certainly a strange phenomena.When another servant pushed the door open and entered, a few bricks fell from it. Although they did not hurt their heads, they were hit on their arms and screamed in pain.In theory, no matter who had left the bricks, it had already injured many people. How could such a thing happen? Thinking about this, they all had an eerie feeling about the place.After that, everyone was trembling with fear. They were afraid that if they were careless, they would get into trouble. However, there was still a servant who had been hit by another brick. This was quite norma
The book was an old book, but Ning Xueyan had never seen this line of small characters before. If this was the case, had they ever been seen by anyone before?It was the Book of Family Names, a very common book, and a child's primer. In her previous life, her mother had personally imparted knowledge to her. The Book of Family Names was the first book she learned from. She was familiar with everything in it, and she even knew which page had some creases on it.She brought this book to the capital in memory of her mother.So, this book meant a lot of her, as it was something she treasured from the past.However, such a book was a little different from the usual books. If Qingyu had not accidentally sprinkled water on the book, the handwriting would not have appeared. And she never thought that there would be so many characters in this ordinary book.The characters gave her a creepy feeling.Ye:
"It's my good fortune that Madam Dowager and First Madam think so highly of me. However, I'm green and inexperienced. If I can't make the decision, I will be mocked." Junior Concubine Xu looked vexed, as if she did not have the confidence to handle the situation."Ha, ha, ha." Seeing her timid look, Madam Dowager laughed. She pointed to her forehead and said with a smile, "What are you afraid of? I'll help you. Nobody will dare to make fun of you."Madam Dowager was in charge and did not need to check the accounts every day. This was also the reason why Ning Xueyan was able to check the accounts. After all, Junior Concubine Xu was not Ning Xueyan, so she could not be compared with Ning Xueyan, whether in identity or status. Therefore, Madam Dowager was bothered about this.After the Lunar New Year, when Ning Xueyan left, it was inevitable that Madam Ling would be the one in charge. She would arrange for her to take over some things, so that Mad
"What do you mean, Third Sister?" Ning Huaiyuan's face suddenly turned cold and harsh."Eldest Brother, I don't mean anything. I... I don't want you to be sad. From now on, no matter where I am, you will always be on my mind." After saying that, Ning Qingshan's eyes were filled with tears, and she seemed brokenhearted. Suddenly, she pushed Ning Huaiyuan away, turned around, and trotted back to the Foggy Courtyard.Caifen, the maid, had intended to turn around and go out. Hearing the sound of her running feet, she quickly chased after her.Ning Huaiyuan stood there and looked at the direction where Ning Qingshan disappeared to. He frowned and turned to his courtyard, after a while.In the past three years, a lot of things had changed. When they met again, both of them had changed almost beyond recognition. That pure and gentle sister was no longer the same. Furthermore, he had been a little obsessed with her. How could it be possibl
After Mother Wang, who was "dying of illness" had moved away, Madam Dowager was in a good mood. She specifically asked Ning Xueyan to come to Auspicious Fortune Hall, trying to comfort her. After talking to Ning Xueyan for a while, she asked people to bring some clothes and ornaments which were all newly made. The Beauty Contest would last for a long time. Since every candidate's conduct and character needed to be examined carefully, the competition would take at least a month.All the candidates were all noble Young Ladies. It was said that some of them would be chosen as the wedded wives and co-consorts of the two most powerful princes. Therefore, they should be more careful. The Lord Protector's Manor would send Ning Qingshan and Ning Xueyan to attend the contest. Madam Dowager was very confident that they both would marry the two princes in the way she thought was best for the Lord Protector's Manor.Madam Dowager was planning to marry one of them to Th
"What happened?" As soon as Ning Zu'an came in, he saw a crowd of people buzzing in his courtyard. A maid who had been found out in a corner of his study was trembling. It was said that she came from Foggy Courtyard."Marquis, I was guarding the courtyard just now when I suddenly saw a maid waving at me. I had thought that you asked her to find me, so I went over. But when I arrived there, she had gone. Later, I found a book in the study was about to fall down, so I asked people here to check and they found this maid."Since the servant had made up for his mistake, he raised his head high when he answered. Ning Xueyan and Xinmei had told him just now that they was willing to give him the credit for finding the abnormality, so he was very grateful to Ning Xueyan and took her as his savior. If she had not happened to come to the study by accident, he would end up the same way that servant who had been beaten to death had done!Therefore, when Xin
"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