"Oh, are you sure that Ao Mingyu did it? Will you take revenge on him?" Ao Chenyi came over, with a faint smile on his face. He sat down beside her bed, and suddenly reached out to hold her thin and weak shoulder.
"No, I'm telling you that Ao Mingyu is ambitious." Ning Xueyan raised her head and looked steadily at the handsome and sly face in front of her.
"You're honest. Aren't you afraid that I'll send you to him?" Ao Chenyi's thin lips curved slightly, revealing a hint of sarcasm.
"Prince Yi, will you?" Ning Xueyan asked in reply. She stared at Ao Chenyi with her jet black eyes. Although she was nervous, she looked calm.
"Well, I like your honesty. Besides, how can my princess be bullied?" Ao Chenyi stretched out his hand to grab Ning Xueyan's cold little hand and warmed it in his palm. Suddenly, he smiled meaningfully.
"Prince Yi, have you seen Xinmei and Qingyu?" Ning Xueyan lowered her eyes to hide the darkening
Seeing Ning Xueyan asking, Ao Mingyu immediately thought that she was interested in Ao Chenyi. He became angry for no reason, but he said with a gentle smile, "I should not be saying that. After all, he's my uncle's subordinate. But if I don't tell you, I'm afraid that you would not believe me. In the past, a concubine in Prince Yi's Manor was pregnant. She asked the imperial physician to go over. But, he looked down on her status, so, later the concubine and the unborn child died, because he took his time to treat her. However, my uncle showed no interest in it, because he trusts him too much.""Does this mean that Ao Chenyi is ruthless and regards people's lives as worthless? Or that Ao Chenyi's women are not valued, and nobody cares about them, even if they die?" Ning Xueyan paused for a moment. Logically speaking, she should not have enquired further into Ao Mingyu's remarks. However, she was curious about Ao Chenyi, so she hesitated for a moment.Seein
This incident that happened at Cold Mountain Temple was a big disaster. More than half of the Great Buddha's Hall at Cold Mountain Temple was burned down, and the girls who had gone there to burn incense, were all injured. And, three principle wives' daughters were dead. For a time, the capital city was in a mess, and security was very tight.The two daughters who were about to be sent to the imperial palace were injured, especially Ning Qingshan, whose face was swollen. Madam Dowager was worried and immediately asked the doctor to treat her. She had to let her heal before entering the imperial palace. She sent precious herbs to Ning Qingshan's Foggy Courtyard.Madam Ling, who was in the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard, felt distressed and had not been able to eat well for a few days. She secretly cursed the older woman for giving away Yuan'er's things to others.Although she was distressed, Madam Ling di not dare to say anything more. She was no l
The Beauty Contest was scheduled to be held on the eighth day of the lunar month.In the drawing-room of the Lord Protector's Manor, Madam Dowager looked at Ning Xueyan and Ning Qingshan with satisfaction. She could not hide the smile on her face.Ning Qingshan was wearing a light green garment and a peacock skirt embroidered with gold. She had on an agate belt, which was adorned with blue, small fringed beads around her waist. Her black hair was combed into a fashionable drifting cloud bun, which added a bit more charm to her beauty.Ning Xueyan's dress was relatively elegant. She wore a silver-white breast-high Ru skirt, which looked ethereal. She had incredibly slender, delicate facial features, and flawless, white-jade skin. There was only a dangling ornament in her simple bun, and a few strands of black hair fell around her ears. Although her lip color was light, she looked young, innocent, and was as elegant and beautiful as a lotus.
"Are they all here for the Beauty Contest?" Honored Consort Ya sat on the carriage, with a smile on her face and asked gently.She was beautiful and refined, so she was very popular in the palace. Besides, she had a son. Compared with the Empress, who had no children, she was the most influential person in the whole palace. Of course, she was in charge of the Beauty Contest."Yes, Your Highness. They are all daughters of noble families." The first eunuch, who led the ladies into the palace, came in a hurry and answered respectfully, when he heard that the Honored Consort Ya was in front of him."They're beautiful. It seems that there will be more younger sisters in the palace this time." Honored Consort Ya smiled gently and gazed at them with a soft look."They look good, but how can they compare with you, Honored Consort Ya?" The chief eunuch said with a smile. Everyone knew that Honored Consort Ya was the Emperor's most trusted p
Ning Qingshan was secretly taken away by the people of Honored Consort Ya that night."Aunt." Seeing Honored Consort Ya sitting high in the hall, Ning Qingshan felt wronged and immediately burst into tears. She went forward and knelt in front of Honored Consort Ya's knees, tears streaming down her cheeks."What's wrong? Why don't you come up and talk?" Seeing Ning Qingshan so aggrieved, Honored Consort Ya rubbed her forehead and gestured for her to sit down. Then she waved her hand and all the other palace maids and eunuchs left, leaving only one confidant behind."Aunt, do... are you feel satisfied with Ning Xueyan? Don't you want me?" Ning Qingshan stood up obediently, and looked at Honored Consort Ya pitifully, with tears in her eyes."Shan'er, how can I not want you? You're my closest relative. I'm relieved that the Third Prince is with you." Honored Consort Ya's head ached. She sighed and comforted her niece.One
Once they entered the palace, they had to learn the rules and etiquette of the palace. Although all of them had studied it in their manors before, it was still not enough, according to the imperial palace's standards. Therefore, all of them were supplied with maids who specialized in palace etiquette. They were required to be well drilled in all aspects of palace manners.If there was something wrong, they would have to do it all over again. They were not cut any slack because of their noble status. At the end of a day, even Ning Qingshan's knees were sore, and her legs were numb. When the maid helped her back to her room, she could not stand it. Honored Consort Ya did not take care of Ning Qingshan in this aspect. It expressed that she made no exception for anyone."Third Sister." After walking a few steps, she saw Ning Xueyan being helped by a maid. Ning Xueyan looked pale and haggard. It was evident that she was not feeling good.Seeing Ning
As the door was pushed open in the darkness, Ning Xueyan opened her eyes calmly. She looked at the slender but elegant black figure walking to the bed. The figure seemed to be gloomy and cool wherever he went. She sighed softly like Lanning, and then she tried to get up by holding the edge of the bed."Well, you know I'm coming. Were you waiting for me?" Ao Chenyi lowered his head and saw Ning Xueyan calmly sitting up. His long and narrowed eyes seemed to have water flowing through them , which made it difficult for people to guess what he was thinking.The moonlight shone through the window, but Ning Xueyan could still see his sly eyes. She leaned back against the cushion with a slight smile on her lips. "Prince Yi, you don't want me to be sifted out tomorrow!"Tomorrow would be the first round for eliminating people, which would be the most basic one. A noble lady was always good at playing Qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Even if she w
The most famous double-sided embroidery made by the imperial palace of the previous dynasty had become unique and rare, with the fall of the former dynasty. There were only a few pieces that remained in the world. She did not expect Ao Chenyi to have such an exquisite piece of embroidery in his possession. Moreover, it was embroidered on the dancing dress that she had hastily decided to wear."Young Lady, please try it on first. If there is any alteration to be made, I can do it immediately!" Lanning was not familiar with this kind of embroidery technique, but she could feel the texture of the material. The lotuses on the embroidery were all delicately done. She could not help, but want Ning Xueyan to try it on."No. Take it out. You should go to bed early. Maybe there could be some unexpected incidents tomorrow." Ning Xueyan released the hem of her dress, and said softly.Ao Chenyi had sent this to her, so there would not be any issues with th
"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