Concubine Yu did not want to pay, yet she wanted something in return! She was equally as scheming.
"Fifth Young Lady, I have evidence to prove that it was Madam Ling who killed your mother. She deliberately framed your mother." After crying, Concubine Yu raised her head and wanted to say something more. But when she saw Ning Xueyan's cold eyes, she smiled bitterly and forced herself to say something else.
It was not easy to fool the Fifth Young Lady. She thought that she could please the Fifth Young Lady by saying telling her this. But at the same time, she was glad that only this young lady would not be at a disadvantage when she was confronted by the First Madam. Otherwise, Jing'er would be...
Thinking of this, Concubine Yu could not help shivering. There was a hint of resolute in her eyes. She made up her mind immediately. Whether it was for Jing'er or herself, she had to say it now.
At first, she just wanted to bury this in her
"Young Lady, it's still the same tea house as the last time. Childe Hua told me that he will be there in the afternoon, and you can go there to meet him." Mother Han came back from outside and hurriedly came in to report. She had sent a letter from Ning Xueyan and waited for a while to get a reply from Ming Yuanhua. It was still considered fast, although it took about four hours for her to make a round trip, even if Ming Yuanhua replied so quickly this time."Mother Han, is your son still at the Qingyun Academy?" Ning Xueyan put down the cold tea. Her long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings. After blinking a few times, she looked up and asked thoughtfully.Mother Han did not know why Ning Xueyan was suddenly asking about her son, but she replied honestly, "Dazhuang has nothing else to do at the moment, so he is still at the Qingyun Academy. Is there anything he can do for you?"For the sake of Ning Huaijing, Han Dazhuang had been sent to
"Cousin, don't worry. I won't act rashly. I'll have to trouble you to give these to my uncle." Ning Xueyan opened the small bag in her hand, took out a few outdated pieces of paper, and handed them to Ming Yuanhua. There was a hint of hatred in her eyes. This was the reason why she had deliberately asked Ming Yuanhua for help today."What's this?" Ming Yuanhua asked, while opening the papers. The smile on his face froze, and the corners of his eyes twitched. He looked a bit more solemn. He read through them rapidly. When he could see it clearly, he clenched his teeth and said, "How vicious Madam Ling is!"After he had promised to frame Madam Ming, Concubine Yu's older brother had kept a piece of paper for his safety. It was a banknote for 1,000 taels of silver with Madam Ling's signature. The date of signature was also written on it, which was the day before Madam Ming was framed.The other piece of paper was the written proof of his role in fr
Ning Xueyan did not stay out for too long. She was just taking a look today. After all, she had to ask Han Dazhuang to recheck the location of the shop. She had chosen some streets that looked good, but she would have to inquire if there were any suitable shops there. Such things did not happen by chance. It was better to choose a suitable one.After she explored the surroundings for a while, Ning Xueyan's carriage returned to the manor. When she got off the carriage, she suddenly saw another carriage at the side. She looked at it carefully and found that the carriage was not from the manor. She winked at Lanning, who was standing beside her. Lanning understood and went out to make some enquiries. Then, she caught up with Ning Xueyan."Young Lady, I heard that Childe Yueming from the regions south of the Yangtze River, came to visit the Marquis. He is now at the Marquis's place." Lanning took a breath, walked to Ning Xueyan, and whispered to her.
Vice Minister Ling was very annoyed these days. His sister and his family affairs were the cause of the annoyance. His son was engaged to the Qian Manor. Going by the status and appearance, Madam Qian's niece could not be compared with Ning Yuling. Besides, his son's engagement with the Qian Manor had offended the Lord Protector's Manor.Ning Yuling was the daughter of the Lord Protector's Manor's principal wife. Besides, she was his niece. In any case, he had to protect her. He felt it would be better to ask his son to marry her and bring her into his manor. If his son felt wronged, he could also marry a co-wife in the future. Her son and daughter were the principal wife's children. It was not a big deal in his manor.Moreover, in this case, if he promised to let his son marry Ning Yuling, all the people in the Ning Manor would thank him. Recently, he had been teased by his colleagues, because of his daughter. Adding to that, the emperor did not attach gre
In the Bright Frost Garden, Ning Xueyan took out a small parcel. There were really not many things in it. In addition to a letter enclosed within, there were some things her mother had kept for her. They were all broken stuff, including a set of clothes that she had worn when she was a child. It seemed that the clothes had been worn by a child of about two or three years old. Although they were clean, there were some tattered parts around the hem and even some scorch marks."Could this be the clothes she wore when she first came to the Ning Manor?" Ning Xueyan thought.Ning Xueyan wondered under what circumstances did she get lost and how her parents had adopted her at once. Although her mother's letter to her was not detailed, even her mother did not seem to know her true identity, Ning Xueyan believed that her mother knew it. Otherwise, her mother would not have asked her to look for Senior Nun Jing Kong.She told her that Senior Nun Jing Kon
In the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard, most of the people were asleep, but Madam Ling's room was flooded with flickering lights. It was evident that the people inside were not asleep yet. Madam Ling had been in poor health for a long time. After the incident at the Cloud Reflection Courtyard, she had been screaming in the night, which frightened all the people in the courtyard so much that they could not sleep well.Later, the Marquis came over and stayed for a night. The First Madam seemed to have made a miraculous recovery. As if she had taken a magic drug, the First Madam stopped taking her medicine. Although she looked weak and could not get up for a while, she obviously felt much better than before.However, Mother Chen, who had always served the First Madam, sometimes did not show up in the morning. It was said that she had a lot of things to do, and the First Madam allowed her to go out. Rumors among some of the older female servants said that Mother Ch
How could Ning Qingshan not be jealous?Both of them were co-consorts. She felt that she should be nobler than Ning Xueyan. But how could Ning Xueyan gain such honors just because Prince Yi would be marrying the consort and the co-consort at the same time? Even though she tried to worship the ancestors ahead of Ning Xueyan before the clansmen, it came to naught because of the incident at the Cloud Reflection Courtyard.Those people did not pay any attention to her at all. She entered the ancestral temple and worshipped the ancestors first. When she came out, nobody noticed her. Instead, they were whispering to each other and talking about the affairs at the Cloud Reflection Courtyard. So, no one cared about her.But now, Prince Yi had sent the betrothal gifts before the Third Prince. Ning Qingshan had privately requested the Third Prince to pay the bride-price earlier, but she received no response at all.She twirled her handkerchi
Third Prince, Ao Mingyu, had really come over in a hurry. It was urgent, and he had something to ask the family members in the inner courtyard of the Lord Protector's Manor. Therefore, after exchanging a few words with Ning Zu'an, he requested to see Madam Dowager in the inner courtyard.Ning Zu'an saw that although the Third Prince was still calm, there was a little impatience in his eyes. Knowing that it was urgent, he did not say anything more. He asked the young male servant to run into the inner courtyard to inform Madam Dowager, while he accompanied the Third Prince directly to the backyard. The Third Prince had come to the backyard of the Lord Protector's Manor many times. Besides, Ning Qingshan was going to marry into the Third Prince's Manor soon, so he was closer to them than anyone else.Therefore, although it was not in line with the rules of etiquette, Ning Zu'an did not care about it. Anyway, sooner or later, they would be a family.
"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