The Devious First-Daughter

“If you have anything from your grandfather, you exchange it with me.” But this time, after saying that, the man in black suddenly stood up as if he had felt something. He listened carefully and then decisively pushed open the window. His figure flashed away, leaving only his voice in the air.

The wind blew in through the window, and it was cold.

“Miss, are you alright?” Another black shadow flashed into the room in a panic. Before she arrived, her voice came through. It was Xinmei.

“I’m fine!” Ning Xueyan had already calmed down and waved to Xinmei, who appeared by the window.

Xinmei breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Ning Xueyan was fine and closed the window for her. Then she stopped at the window and listened carefully before wiping her sweat and coming over. Just now, when she saw a black shadow coming to Ning Xueyan’s place, she was so scared that she almost lost her wits. She almost couldn’t control herself from rushing in immediately.

Fortunately, the man in black didn’t stay long. Otherwise, she couldn’t wait any longer. Her lord sent her to protect this Young Lady, so she couldn’t let anything go wrong with Ning Xueyan.

“Did he come from Ning Qingshan’s place?” Ning Xueyan asked. At the sight of Xinmei, she had figured out who the man in black was. She had sent Xinmei to keep an eye on Ning Qingshan, but Xinmei had come to her place instead of Ning Qingshan’s, which meant that there must be some connection between the man and Ning Qingshan.

“Yes, Young Lady. I’ve been keeping a close watch on Third Young Lady this evening. She slept late. I heard that her legs were painful so that she couldn’t fall asleep. Later, she asked everyone to leave, but she was still awake. I thought it was strange that she had been up late into the night. After all, she was sick. Thus, I stayed there for a while longer. When the candles in Third Young Lady’s room were out, I decided to go back. Just then, I saw this person enter Third Young Lady’s room.”

Xinmei wanted to go over and listen in on their conversations, but she noticed that the man’s Lightness Skill was much better than hers. Therefore, she just chose to stay outside and didn’t dare to make any further move. Later, the man came out. But to her surprise, he turned and came to Ning Xueyan’s place. Greatly panicked, she immediately came after him and rushed over.

Ning Xueyan slightly lowered her eyes, which then blinked along with her long eyelashes. It seemed that she was deep in thought. “It looked that Ning Qingshan was really waiting for someone, and she should have been waiting for this person. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had the strength to stay up until the end of the troubled day.” She knew it long ago that someone was backing Ning Qingshan secretly.

Otherwise, Ning Qingshan wouldn’t have been out of danger several times. In previous, Ning Xueyan was not sure what Ning Qingshan was doing in the study of Ning Zu’an. But she was convinced that Ning Qingshan also came to the study for the military medallion from the preceding dynasty. After connecting these things, everything became much clearer in the eyes of Ning Xueyan.

“Ning Qingshan also wanted to get the military medallion from the previous dynasty, of course, for this person. This man must have promised great benefits to Ning Qingshan, or it was because of some other reasons that Ning Qingshan showed great interest in the study of Ning Zu’an. That person knew that the military medallion from the previous dynasty is in the hands of Ning Zu’an and that things happened to me in my previous life.”

“Judging by the way he spoke, he even knew some private things of mine. Then who was this man? The person was a man, a young one. Aside from this, there was nothing particular about him. Except for Xia Yuhang, Hua Yunheng, who knew nothing about martial arts, was the only young man that I knew in my last life. It seems that both of them can’t be that person.”

“Then, a young man that I was familiar with in my past life but that I didn’t know about him at all, who else can it be?” Ning Xueyan tried to figure it out.

“You can have a rest now. Lanning can go and keep watch on Ning Qingshan. You should act the same as before. Even if I ask you to inquire about the news, you shouldn’t let anyone find out that you’re a martial arts practitioner,” Ning Xueyan said decisively. In her view, this person was dangerous, so she couldn’t let him find out that there was something wrong with her.

“Yes, I got it.” Xinmei nodded and left.

In the dark, Ning Xueyan sat on the bed, frowning and thinking about everything for a long time before she fell asleep again.

In the Lord Protector’s Manor located at the foot of the mountain, Ning Huaiyuan was staring at the letter in front of him. Perhaps, it was because he hadn’t slept for a long time that a malicious and insidious look emerged on his usually peaceful and handsome face. His lips were tightly closed, and no one knew what was in his mind.

“Anyone! Come in.”

“Yes, Eldest Young Master.” A young male servant hurriedly came in and answered.

“Send this letter to the Xia Manor tomorrow, telling them that I invite my eldest sister and second sister to go back, for I have something to discuss with them.” Then he put the letter into the envelope and handed it to the servant. Under the light, a shadow would cross Ning Huaiyuan’s face from time to time, and it looked as if his face was covered with layers of dark clouds.

“Yes, Eldest Young Master, do you want to have a rest first?” The servant took the letter and asked with concern after hesitating for a while. He had been waiting outside for a long time and knew that his master had stayed there in a daze for a long time. He couldn’t understand why his master would stare at a letter from Third Young Lady for such a long time.

“Where did my father sleep?” Ning Huaiyuan asked with a gloomy face. Ning Zu’an also had not been out in the past few days, so the emperor just told him that he didn’t even need to go to court. Of course, he was too ashamed to go out and so stayed at home every day during this period.

“Marquis must be sleeping in his study at this time. I heard that he had drunk a lot of wine tonight, so I suppose that he slept early.” Seeing that Ning Huaiyuan seemed to want to go over there, the servant reminded him.

“You can leave now!” Ning Huaiyuan nodded and waved his hand, signaling his servant to leave.

The servant left with the letter. In the room, Ning Huaiyuan carefully took out a jewelry box from the drawer, opened it, and looked at it. The corner of his eyes twitched, which then showed a trace of viciousness.

He couldn’t be a concubine’s son who was inferior to Ning Huaijing, and he couldn’t live on as an illegitimate son. Otherwise, everything about him would be ruined, and even he himself would be trampled by others. He would become the son of the evil woman, the illegitimate son of a bastard, and a worthless son of a concubine. How could he be willing to live with these cheap titles?

At first, he thought that it was easy to deal with Ning Xueyan. To end all the troubles that Ning Xueyan might bring to him, he pushed her down the mountain with her carriage. However, he didn’t expect her to be so lucky that she survived, though being treated in such a brutal way.

The scandal of the Lord Protector’s Manor was publicized widely, and now everyone knew about it. His mother was sure to come to this sticky end, and his father suffered too. These days, Ning Zu’an took to drinking to forget his sorrows and was drunk every day. It was not that he didn’t know that, but since no one liked it, there would still be opportunities.

The people of Xia Manor arrived at Cold Mountain Temple two days later. It was said that they came here to pay respects to Madam Ming. Of course, the persons from Xia Manor were Ning Ziyan and Ning Yuling. As the Young Ladies of the Lord Protector’s Manor and the daughters of Madam Ling, it seemed very natural for them to come here.

When there came the message that Ning Ziyan and Ning Yuling arrived at Cold Mountain Temple, Ning Xueyan was playing chess with Ao Chenyi.

Ning Xueyan was not good at chess, so she just placed her chess pieces freely to kill time. Today, Ao Chenyi came here with his favorite concubine to show off, and the few personal maids of Ning Xueyan were also driven out of the door, buttoning up their mouths and standing there submissively. Compared with the eight maids of Ao Chenyi’s favorite concubine, Ning Xueyan’s maids were a small and underprivileged minority.

It seemed that this co-consort that hadn’t yet married Ao Chenyi was far inferior to his favorite concubine.

Of course, these people outside didn’t know the person who attended upon Ao Chenyi and Ning Xueyan when they were playing chess was precisely the favorite concubine, who was actually a secret guard like Xinmei.

“Do you want me to help you?” Ao Chenyi said with an evil smile. After he placed the chess piece in his hands, a large ring of encirclement was formed—he cut off all the possible ways out for Ning Xueyan’s chess pieces. No matter how she studies the situation, there was no way out. Depressed, Ning Xueyan threw the chess piece in her hand into the chess basket aside. She didn’t want to play chess with him anymore. Just by a few steps, he left no way out for Ning Xueyan.

“There is no need to do this. Anyway, all of this is about the backyard. Xinmei alone is enough to help me. You can go back now. I can’t let your favorite concubine always come here to bully me. After all, as the daughter of the principal wife of Lord Protector, I feel a little shamed when bullied by your favorite concubine. Besides, between men and women, there should be a prudent reserve. We shouldn’t meet each other often before we get married.”

Ning Xueyan said justly and severely. Hearing what she said, the private guard standing aside felt upset. How could she become the one who bullied Ning Xueyan? Obviously, she came here to be bullied.

Ao Chenyi glanced at her sideways, and an evil but charming smile emerged on his beautiful lips. He put down the chess piece lazily and waved to her. On the alert, Ning Xueyan leaned back and blushed for no reason. Then she simply stood up and walked to the window. While biting her lips, she had her back to him.

“Don’t you really need my help?” Ao Chenyi asked, narrowing his deep and cold eyes. He turned gloomy, and his ice-cold but powerful aura coming from above covered Ning Xueyan. Ning Xueyan knew clearly that he was unhappy now!

The female secret guard acted as if she didn’t exist. She hid in a corner and stood there silently like a statue, eyes on the ground.

Ao Chenyi had asked this question before. Ning Xueyan turned around, looking at him. She was still biting her lips, faltering for she really didn’t know how to say it. But with his clever mind, how could he not doubt about it at all? However, even if he had a suspicion, she couldn’t say it out loud. After all, rebirth was such a weird thing. Who would believe it?

If she told him the truth, what would he think of her?

“My, my mom had something to do with Ning Ziying’s mom… I want to know what happened between them. Besides, I want to find out the reason why Ning Zu’an would marry my mom. I have a bad feeling about some of the things. Also, the military medallion, which is said to be my grandfather’s, how could it end up in the hands of Ning Zu’an?” Ning Xueyan said, eyes blinking. Her long eyelashes covered half of her eyes, which made her look a little disengaged.

Ning Xueyan was telling the truth, and she really wanted to know the answer. Except for the secret of rebirth, she had told him almost all the matters of great concern to her. Whenever she thought of the life of Madam Ming, who was originally a well-known lady but died without rhyme or reason, her heart ached. She seemed to have already regarded Madam Ming as her mother.

The overall mood of the room was downbeat, and Ning Xueyan could almost hear her heart beating. Even though she hesitated, she said it. But she did not know if Ao Chenyi would believe her or not. After a long time of dull silence, she almost confirmed that he did not believe her. A hint of bitterness welled up in her heart while a faint smile appeared on her lips. “That’s good!” She thought.

“Since it’s a matter of the back courtyard, you can handle it yourself. If you need anything, send Xinmei to tell me. I will go down the mountain soon, so should you. Remember to send the wedding robe to me earlier.” The man’s pleasant voice sounded a little enchanting. Ning Xueyan did not know when he reached out his hand and lifted her chin.

His sharp slanted eyes didn’t look as ferocious as Ning Xueyan had imagined. Her weakness that he sensed softened his heart. Then, Ao Chenyi took his beloved young lady into his arms and whispered gently in her ears, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here!” He comforted her.