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.
“No, he won’t,” Ning Huaiyuan answered with certainty.
Xia Yuhang was so smart and he would not be fooled so easily.
Madam Ling, as a loving mother, felt relieved after being assured by his son. “Oh, that’s good! Shall I ask someone to go to the Xia Manor and check how your eldest sister is doing?” she asked.
“Mother, although Yuhang will not misunderstand Ziyan, it does not mean everything is okay. No man can stand the gossip about his wife’s affair with another man. Besides, this man is his younger brother.” Ning Huaiyuan felt ridiculous to see Madam Ling’s relaxed face and he could not help mocking her.
If Xia Yuhang did not care about it at all, he would not have brought Ning Ziyan back to his manor without saying goodbye to them.
“What do you think Xia Yuhang is going do to Ziyan?” Madam Ling became nervous again.
“He won’t do anything to her in front of people. However, I cannot guarantee that he will stay calm after returning to his manor. Mother, you’d better not ask anyone to visit the Xia Manor and inquire information in the few days. My eldest sister will be okay. If you keep on inquiring information and annoy Xia Yuhang, I’m not sure what will happen next.”
Ning Huaiyuan said, raising his eyebrows.
“What shall I do next?” Madam Ling was in a panic and she could only ask her son for advice.
“You should do nothing except for taking care of your health. I will find an opportunity to visit my eldest sister. Don’t stir any trouble again for a while. Third Sister and Fifth Sister will go to the imperial palace soon to attend the Beauty Contest. If they win in the contest, they will rise high. Although Third Prince will marry Third Sister, it does not mean that Fifth Sister is unpopular.”
Ning Huaiyuan came here mainly to warn Madam Ling, hoping she would not make any trouble again. For him, That Madam Ling had repeatedly lost in the battle between Ning Xueyan and her was because she was too impatient and not that smart. For him, Ning Xueyan was only a pawn and she would leave the manor and get married sooner or later. If she was obedient, it would be good to the Lord Protector’s Manor’s advantage.
However, if she did not follow their words, they could let her be their scapegoat. Therefore, it was unnecessary to go against Ning Xueyan and cause so much trouble for the moment.
“Why is Ning Xueyan going to the imperial palace to attend the Beauty Contest? This little b*tch is not qualified to go to the imperial palace. She must have taken Ling’er’s place!” Madam Ling did not figure out Ning Huaiyuan’s intention, but flew into a rage at the shocking news.
“Why? Mother, it is so ridiculous for you to ask such a question. She is the daughter of Lord Protector’s wedded wife. Why are you saying that she is not qualified to attend the contest? Mother, to be honest, she is the real wedded wife’s daughter of our manor. Do you still remember it?” Ning Huaiyuan could not help scoffing at Madam Ling’s wrong-headed persistence. He had no plan to go against Ning Xueyan for the moment.
However, he would not spare her in the future.
Since he had first seen Ning Xueyan, he had been thinking to destroy her, but not now!
“Mother, don’t blame me for not reminding you. Both my grandmother and my father attached great importance to the coming Beauty Contest. I don’t hope anything unexpected happens to our manor again. Don’t do such kind of stupid things again! Otherwise, even though you are the hostess of the manor, my grandmother and my father will not spare you!”
Ignoring Madam Ling’s widened eyes with anger, with one last warning word, Ning Huaiyuan suddenly stood up and walked outward, shaking his sleeve.
The Beauty Contest was coming soon, and Ning Qingshan and Ning Xueyan were the only two Young Ladies with good reputation among Ning Zu’an’s daughters. Therefore, No one was allowed to make trouble at this critical moment. His mother had already annoyed his grandmother and his father, so neither of them had come to visit her after she fell ill. However, she was so stupid that until now, she had not realized it yet. If she went on like this, she might get him into trouble.
For his own future, Ning Huaiyuan would not allow this to happen.
Nothing special happened in the following days. The physician was attending on Madam Ling wholeheartedly at Auspicious Clouds Courtyard. It was said that Madam Ling was very sick, or so it seemed. Therefore, Madam Dowager had to manage the affairs of the manor again. And Ning Xueyan was still in charge of the accounts.
It had snowed for a few times this winter and snow fell from time to time. Since Ning Xueyan was a southerner in her last life, she had liked to watch snow scenes. She was free and had not so many things to handle recently, so she felt very relaxed. Even Madam Dowager had exempted her and Ning Qingshan from offering greetings to her every morning and evening so that they could have a good rest.
This went on for some time until one day Ning Xueyan received Heng Yuqing’s invitation card. She freshened herself up and went to the Lord Guardian’s Manor with Lanning.
As soon as the servant reported to Heng Yuqing about Ning Xueyan’s arrival, Heng Yuqing ran out. She pulled Ning Xueyan into the manor excitedly. They had only taken a few steps forward when they saw Heng Yuwan coming out from the room, shaking the fan in her hand.
“Eldest Sister, is she the guest you invited? From the way you treated her, I really thought that she was some distinguished guest!” Heng Yuwan had seen Ning Xueyan at the Lord Protector’s Manor last time. She had only heard that she was the Fifth Young Lady who was unfavored at her manor. Afterwards, it had been too noisy and she had not found an opportunity to inquire about Ning Xueyan.
Since then, she had always thought that Ning Xueyan was a powerless and unfavored Young Lady at the Lord Protector’s Manor and could not be compared with the noble Third Young Lady.
Therefore, she spoke with obvious contempt.
Heng Yuqing almost lost her temper at the sight of Heng Yuwan, a fury look crossing her eyes. Ning Xueyan pulled her hand and smiled at Heng Yuwan. “Is this Second Young Lady of the Lord Guardian’s Manor? Yuqing, I’m surprised that you two sisters to be so close and the difference between the wedded wife’s daughter and the concubine’s daughter is not obvious. I will ask the Young Ladies of other manors to learn from you when I visit them in the future.”
How could the difference between the principal wife’s daughter and the concubine’s daughter not be obvious? There was a world of difference between the two! If the outsiders knew that a concubine’s daughter had shouted at a noble principal wife’s daughter, the manor would get into trouble and even Lord Guardian could not afford it.
Heng Yuwan froze for a while. She did not expect that the unfavored Fifth Young Lady would have been so quick-witted and shot back so soon. Besides, it was obvious that what Ning Xueyan said was more reasonable.
Fortunately, Heng Yuwan was a smart girl as well. Since Ning Xueyan was not easy to provoke, she immediately pretended that she did not understand what Ning Xueyan was hinting. “Fifth Young Lady, you are too polite. Please get into the room first. I will be back after greeting Commandery Princess Xianyun,” she said with a smile.
“Commandery Princess Xianyun?” Ning Xueyan frowned slightly. She was a little surprised that Commandery Princess Xianyun, Yun Cai’er, would come to attend the birthday party held by a concubine’s daughter.
Commandery Princess Xianyun, Yun Cai’er, was Empress Dowager’s relative, so she was no ordinary at all. Although Empress Dowager had passed away, Yun Cai’er was still the emperor’s family member. Therefore, as the eldest daughter of her family, she was titled Commandery Princess. It was said that the emperor liked her very much and she had grown up at the imperial palace, so she was familiar with the princes since childhood. However, nobody could tell which prince she was closer with.
How could such a distinguished princess come here?
“Heng Yuwan’s aunt is the distant relation of the Yun family.” Heng Yuqing knew what Ning Xueyan was wondering, so she whispered in her ear.
They greeted the guests in the flower hall. There were not so many visitors and the friends who had been invited by Heng Yuqing and Heng Yuwan were all Young Ladies. Therefore, it was inconvenient for Lord Guardian to show up, so he only asked people to bring more ovens here. The flower hall was as warm as spring and everyone took off their robes as soon as they entered the hall.
This made them feel both convenient and relax.
The flower hall of the Lord Guardian’s Manor had been specially designed with a rockery and a few streams on one side of it. There were also a few plum trees along the streams. The plum blossoms bloomed in the snow, emitting a trace of fragrance in the air.
There was a door near the rockery. If the guests felt stuffy in the flower hall, they could go out and get some air here. Under the rockery were the plum trees and a small lake, gathered streams flowing. The environment was so elegant!
Many noble Young Ladies had come, so Heng Yuqing had to leave Ning Xueyan alone to greet them. Ning Xueyan walked out from a side door and saw a platform outside with handrails on both sides. There was no handrail in front of her except for a stone table and a few stone stools, looking both natural and elegant. If it was not winter, it would be an ideal place to drink tea and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
“Miss!” Lanning pushed her slightly from behind, gesturing her to look over there.
Holding up the tea cup and taking a sip of tea, Ning Xueyan looked in the direction Lanning was pointing at quietly. She saw several strong female servants sit there chatting. It seemed they had been tired of the work, and were talking excitedly behind a tree.
Where they were was behind the rockery, facing the wind, and it was obvious that it was not an ideal place for chatting. Besides, their masters were greeting the guests in the flower hall now. Why were they so bold to chat under their masters’ noses? It must be because the hostess of the manor was ill, the servants were slacking.
It was too windy here and after standing for a while, Ning Xueyan felt a little cold. She then turned around and returned to the hall with Lanning. As soon as she stepped into the room, she felt warm at once.
The guests were talking excitedly in the hall. Since they were all Young Ladies about the same age, they did not need to care too much about etiquette, so they had a lot in common. Seeing Ning Xueyan coming, Heng Yuqing pulled her to a girl in gorgeous dress and introduced to her, “Xueyan, this is Commandery Princess Xianyun of the Lord Peace’s Manor.”
The Empress Dowager’s clan, the Yun Clan, had been made of Lord Peace’s Manor by the emperor.
Commandery Princess Xianyun seemed to be a very kind girl. She was very pretty and whenever she smiled, a lovely pair of dimples would appear on her face, making her even more amiable. She looked both gentle and graceful. When she saw Ning Xueyan bowing to her, she reached out to help her up and said with a smile, “Fifth Young Lady, you are so polite!”
“Is this Fifth Young Lady of the Nings who has been in the limelight recently? I had only heard of Eldest Young Lady, Second Young Lady, Third Young Lady of the Nings, and had known nothing about Fifth Young Lady. It seems that after Second Madam’s passing away, Fifth Young Lady suddenly became well-known.” A mocking voice ringing out beside her.
Ning Xueyan looked aside and saw a beautiful girl. She wore a pink dress and gorgeous jewelry, looking arrogant.
“This is Second Young Lady of the Lord Peace’s Manor.” Heng Yuqing knew that Ning Xueyan did not know other noble Young Ladies in the capital, so she reminded her in a low voice.
“Thank you for caring about the Lord Protector’s Manor’s business,” Ning Xueyan said with a smile, looking at Second Young Lady of the Lord Peace’s Manor, Yun Luoluo, quietly.
In any case, it was improper for a noble Young Lady to gossip. However, it seemed that the Second Young Lady of the Lord Peace’s Manor had not realized that Ning Xueyan was satirizing her and was still challenging Ning Xueyan, looking at the Young Ladies around her.
