The Devious First-Daughter

Everyone fixed their eyes on Ning Xueyan and Ao Chenyi. They had been curious about his favorite concubine before, but no sign showed that Ao Chenyi was fond of her today, and she even looked timid. She was quite different from what the rumors said, so the others lost their interests after looking at her for a while, and they shifted their eyes from her. Now when they saw that Ao Chenyi cared about her so much, they all widened their eyes.

It was unbelievable that Prince Yi even treated a ‘favorite concubine’, who was even more humble than a co-consort so well!

Favorite concubine was nothing, but a pet! Prince Yi had not only taken her into the imperial palace, but also asked her advice. Obviously, he cared about her very much. The noble childes gasped, wondering if the most charming and mysterious man in front of them was really the cold-blooded Prince Yi.

Only now did they look at him carefully and find him so handsome!

Ning Xueyan raised her head slightly and whispered in Ao Chenyi’s ear.

Because her voice was too low, nobody else had heard it. In fact, she was threatening Ao Chenyi angrily, saying, “Prince Yi, do you want me to tell them who I am?”

Although she wore a veil, since they were so close, Ao Chenyi could see the indignant expression on her tender, fair face. She bit her lip, and stared at him angrily under the veil, like a kitten that was pissed off. It seemed that if he pushed her any further, she would stretch out her sharp claws. A trace of smile suddenly appeared in Ao Chenyi eyes.

“My favorite concubine said that according to etiquette, it was inconvenient to show her face here,” Ao Chenyi said casually, curving up his lips.

They were at the male guest zone. Although there were some palace maids serving them by their side, they were only servants. It was really improper for Prince Yi’s woman to lift her veil in front of so many people. Hearing what Prince Yi said, most people thought the excuse reasonable.

Ao Mingyu was surprised that a concubine had the guts to refuse his request. A coldness of anger flashed in his eyes. “This woman is really insensible!” he thought.

“Uncle, my father held this party mainly for you. Please choose one or two from these noble Young Ladies at least. After all, Prince Yi’s Manor needs a real hostess,” Ao Mingyu said with a smile. When he raised his head again, he had recovered his composure.

“Yes. Uncle, my father repeatedly reminded me and my third elder brother, saying that we must ensure that you could choose a satisfactory consort. We can’t just watch your backyard go unattended. It’s also grandfather’s will,” Ao Mingwan said in agreement, smiling. He even wanted to force Ao Chenyi with the previous emperor’s will.

The previous emperor had chosen Ao Chenyi as the successor of his elder brother, the current emperor, so Ao Chenyi could not disobey his order. And it was true that before his passing away, the previous emperor had urged Ao Chenyi to get married as soon as possible. But for a variety of reasons, the matter was put off till now.

When talking about the previous emperor, Ning Xueyan, who was leaning against Ao Chenyi, sensed that Ao Chenyi’s body went stiff, and the hand which was landing on her waist contracted forcibly. Although Ning Xueyan could not see his expression at the moment, she could feel something strange about him.

“Oh? Then which beautiful lady does your father think is good enough for me?” Ao Chenyi asked lazily. Although he was smiling, everyone could see the coldness and killing intent in his eyes.

Some people were looking at him just now. Now they all lowered their heads, hoping that they had not come to the party today.

If they had known that Prince Yi would attend the party, they might not have come!

It seemed that something bad would happen. Everyone knew that the emperor had expressed many times that he would arrange the marriage for Prince Yi, but nothing happened finally. It must be Prince Yi who had privately refused him. After all, he had not refused him in front of others, so although he had made the emperor embarrassing, Prince Yi should not be taken as disobeying his decree.

But things were different today. The two princes had put it straightforward on behalf of the emperor in front of so many noble childes. It showed the emperor’s determination. If he was a little tougher, he would designate a woman to be Prince Yi’s wife. If Prince Yi did not agree, he would disobey the emperor’s decree. Anyone who dared to disobey the emperor’s decree would be killed, and his clan would be exterminated!

But it was impossible for Prince Yi to accept the punishment without a fight!

Everyone fell into silence.

Ao Mingyu and Ao Mingwan exchanged glances and watched every movement of Ao Chenyi cautiously. They moved backward a little, and their smiles were frozen. Although they had the preparation in mind, under the powerful aura of Ao Chenyi, they could not help but take a step backward.

The atmosphere was tense.

Ning Xueyan became nervous as well. She moved slightly in Ao Chenyi’s arms. She suddenly saw several silver spots flashing, and she became worried. Those things should not appear at a party like this.

She narrowed her eyes and wrote something on Ao Chenyi’s chest with her finger.

Ao Chenyi suddenly smiled. He grabbed Ning Xueyan’s hand and said softly, “Sweetie, don’t worry. I won’t bring a woman who will bully you to my manor.”

Ning Xueyan’s hand and her body went stiff. She bit her lip, and did not know what to say. She took a deep breath and decided not to say anything. Otherwise, she might be even angrier.

Ao Chenyi’s suddenly changed his attitude, and the atmosphere was immediately eased up a lot. After comforting her favorite concubine, he turned to Ao Mingyu and said lazily, “Which noble Young Lady does your father want me to marry?”

Everyone was shocked. They shifted their gazes from Ning Xueyan to Ao Chenyi. They looked at his cold and charming face, speechless. “Is this Prince Yi consent to get married?” they wondered.

They could not believe that the arrogant demon suddenly agreed to get married. They thought with his temper, he should have flown into a rage, kicked the chair over, and left, holding his favorite concubine.

Was it because of his favorite concubine that Prince Yi was so abnormal?

People looked at Ning Xueyan with complex expressions. They sized up her, as if they wanted to find something special on her. Prince Yi was not himself today, and this made everyone freak out. They could not tell whether what he said was true or not.

“The granddaughter of Grand Tutor Ya is nice. I saw a buxom Young Lady over there. Mingyu, it’s said she is your cousin. How about…”

Ao Chenyi said with a faint smile, seemed to be very relaxed. He held the beautiful lady with one hand, and lazily pointed with the other one at Ya Moqin, who was looking at Ao Mingyu with affection under a plum tree.

She was Grand Tutor Ya’s eldest granddaughter. It was said that she had just returned to the capital after visiting her hometown.

“Uncle, since you haven’t decided yet, you can make your decision after discussing it with my father. We really don’t know which Young Lady is suitable for you. They’re all beautiful, and I can’t tell who is better.”

Ao Mingyu’s face turned pale, and he immediately stopped Ao Chenyi. He was sure that Ao Chenyi would not let the emperor push him around to get married, so he had said that on purpose. Ao Chenyi had never changed his mind because of others, so if he were cornered, he might resort to force. Ao Mingyu wanted to provoke him, so he had kept on forcing him to choose a Young Lady.

Those who came to attend the party were all sons and daughters of the powerful officials. If something bad happened to one or two of them, nobody could do anything to Ao Chenyi, but if because of Ao Chenyi’s rage, many noble childes died, their families would definitely take Ao Chenyi as their enemy, and would fight him to the death.

Ao Mingyu thought that Ao Chenyi would be guilty of disobeying the emperor’s decree, and the officials would be against him because they lost their children. Even if he would not be killed soon, he could not be the successor of the emperor anymore. Then Ao Mingyu could take his power little by little and asked the emperor to take back all his power. Without the limit of the previous emperor’s will, nothing was a big deal.

But now, what he had expected did not happen!

To his surprise, Ao Chenyi had agreed to choose one of the Young Ladies to be his consort. Besides, he wanted to choose Ya Moqin!

Ao Mingyu did not like Ya Moqin, but he knew that Grand Tutor Ya was on his side. They had made an agreement to marry Grand Tutor Ya’s distinguished eldest granddaughter as his co-consort. That was why Grand Tutor Ya spared no effort to support him. But if Ao Chenyi married Ya Moqin, Ao Mingyu was not sure that Grand Tutor Ya would still be on his side in the future.

Although Ao Mingyu was the grandson of Grand Tutor Ya, it did not mean that the latter would always support him. Once Ya Moqin married Ao Chenyi, Grand Tutor Ya would fall on the side of which was the most powerful. Even though these were all possibilities, Ao Mingyu would not let it happen at all.

“Fine. Then I’ll discuss it with my brother about my marriage. I should choose a noble and gentle Young Lady, so that my woman won’t be wronged.” Ao Chenyi stood up, laughing. He then strode out, wrapping his arm around Ning Xueyan’s slim waist.

A group of eunuchs and palace maids walked out, following him. The princes and childes were left there, dumbfounded.

Third Prince had planned everything carefully, but he failed to achieve his aim because of a favorite concubine! He clenched his fists, the veins on the back of his hands swelling. He had wasted such a good opportunity to show his ability in front of the emperor. He was so angry that he felt suffocated, and he almost passed out.

Fourth Prince, Ao Mingwan was not that angry, because Ao Mingyu was mainly responsible for this matter, and he was just a bystander. Even if Prince Yi fell, Ao Mingyu would be the one who deserved the most credit. Of course, he would benefit as well, but not big. Maybe the emperor would be very happy and appoint Ao Mingyu to be his successor if Prince Yi was deposed. Then he would get nothing from it.

Therefore, he even had a feeling of joy when he saw the veins on Ao Mingyu’s temples swell.

“You may run into those people if you go out like this,” Ning Xueyan said calmly. She leaned against Ao Chenyi, staring at the place where the spots had just flashed.

“Are you scared?” Ao Chenyi suddenly lowered his head and asked frivolously.

“No. Prince Yi, in fact, I’m worrying about you. If troubles were stirred up because of you just now, those people might rush in in your name,” Ning Xueyan answered in neither a humble nor arrogant way. Her stiffed body relaxed a little. Now she was sure that Ao Chenyi had asked her act his favorite concubine because he had a plan.

He took use of a favorite concubine to change people’s impression of him, and successfully broke the emperor’s plot.

She was still worried about Ao Chenyi just now, and reminded him by writing a few words on his chest with her finger, ‘There’s an ambush’. Now she was a little relaxed, but still scared. She figured out the emperor’s intention after thinking over what had happened. He wanted to provoke Prince Yi and force him to fight in the imperial palace. Then Prince Yi would be opposed by everyone in the country.

However, Ao Chenyi defused the crisis easily.

Ao Chenyi was both smart and calculating, so no wonder the emperor was scared of him, but could do nothing to him! Moreover, Ao Chenyi had guessed that although from what he had said, Fourth Prince seemed to be on Ao Mingyu’s side, he did not want to help him from his heart.

“He is both ruthless and horrible. Besides, he seems to be able to see through people,” Ning Xueyan thought.