"Find out where Mother Yun will be locked up," Ning Xueyan said quietly.
"But..." Qingyu said hesitantly.
"Go!" Ning Xueyan said and gave her a push.
This time, Qingyu turned and ran away.
Looking at the back of Qingyu, Ning Xueyan smiled.
Mother Yun was Madam Ling's accomplice and must know a lot about the Madam’s schemes. How could she let her die so simply?
* * *
The Lord Protector's Manor was holding a wedding ceremony and the banquet was arranged near the second door. But the backyard was in chaos, and nobody noticed that somebody was watching them in a loft near the second door .
In a vast, luxurious living room, a handsome man sat against the railing. His clothes had a pattern of bloody flowers on a black background. He was beautiful, but also daunting. Several guards stood far away, at the entrance of the stairs, not daring to move. The temperature around him was distinctly chilly, and the guards kept their distance.
He lifted a glazed cup and took a sip from it slowly, gazing out the window.
At this time, he looked at the thin Ning Xueyan with great interest.
"This is interesting… I didn't expect there to be such an interesting little girl in the Lord Protector's Manor!" he said, as if he had found some interesting prey.
How surprising! Ning Xueyan had always been such a delicate girl; he had not expected her to be as fierce as a wolf. She’d bit herself without any hesitation. Everyone knew that it was easy to be cruel to others, but difficult to be cruel to oneself!
* * *
It was late, and the Lord Protector's Manor was dark. Two people were on the way to the Madam Dowager's Lucky Garden with a lantern. Just now, the Madam Dowager asked Ning Xueyan to see her.
"Young Miss, why does Madam Dowager want to see you now? Will she blame you for what happened?" Mother Han asked anxiously.
"Don't worry. They won't do anything to me!" Ning Xueyan said. She clearly knew Madam Dowager's purpose. So many people gathered there only for one purpose—they wanted Ning Xueyan to be responsible for this matter! It was even possible her father would be there.
Unfortunately for them, she had no intention of taking the blame.
"Young Miss, but..." Mother Han was still worried.
"Mother Han, when I enter the Lucky Garden, you wait for me outside. Then, at the proper time, come in and do what I told you." Ning Xuyan looked down at the path beneath her feet, an intent expression on her face.
Looking at the confident Young Miss, Mother Han relaxed and nodded forcefully. "Don't worry. I've got it all in my mind."
When they arrived at the Lucky Garden, the whole place was ablaze with lights. A large number of servants stood still outside, not daring to move out of fear of provoking the masters in the house.
In the room, the Madam Dowager sat on the couch with an unpleasant look, and Madam Dowager Liu, sitting beside her, also frowned. Ning Zu'an sat calmly to the right of the Madam Dowager, and Madam Ling stood beside his chair with her head bowed.
The Madam Dowager stared at Ning Xueyan angrily as soon as she came in. She knocked on the ground firmly with her crutch and said severely, "Kneel down."
The atmosphere became more tense.
Ning Xueyan was not in a hurry. When she came in, she saw the entire scene clearly and knew that Madam Ling must have said something bad about her. The Madam Dowager also wanted to use this opportunity to suppress her.
Taking a cup of tea brought in by a maid, Ning Xueyan stepped forward and said in a gentle tone, "Grandmother, are you better now? Please, don't be angry. Your health is the most important thing."
Madam Dowager Liu nodded off to the side. "This girl is kind-hearted. Even now, she worries about her grandmother's health. It's totally different from what Madam Ling said."
"Xueyan, did you intentionally make trouble in the front yard?" Madam Dowager Liu asked before the Madam Dowager could tell Ning Xueyan to kneel down again.
"Grandmother, I'm a mistress of the Lord Protector's Manor — how could I do that? My mother has died, I was very sad and hadn't eaten for a day, so I felt dizzy. I knew I couldn’t fall ill, or no one would keep vigil for my mother. I had no choice but to go to the kitchen to get some food with Mother Han," Ning Xueyan said sincerely with tears in her eyes.
"Madam Ling, why there was no servant in Bright Frost Garden? And why did no one send meals?" Madam Dowager asked angrily. Ning Zu'an turned to stare at Madam Ling.
This wasn’t going as Madam Ling had planned. With the Madam Dowager and her husband, who had always favored her, both staring at her, she began to tremble with fear.
"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