The Devious First-Daughter

Ning Xueyan leaned against his chest, listening to his powerful heartbeats and feeling his hands gently stroking her hair, and then she had an uncontrollable smile on her lips.

People always have greedy hearts. In her previous life, she died so miserably, so she didn’t want to mention love anymore.

But when he loved so passionately that she had to respond, she then realized that he was not doing this attentively alone.

She said that if he lived, she lived!

He said that he would not leave her in life or death!

Both of them understood the meaning of it. They just cuddled together like this silently for a long time. A wind came inside through the window, making some of her hair fall. He extended his thin long hand over, gently rolling up her…

This lasted for a long time, and then there was a knock on the door, which finally brought the two hugging people back to reality.

Eunuch Zhu stood at the door carrying a big food box, with an uncontrollable smile on his slightly lowered face. “My master finally has someone he loves.” So, as his slave, he was very happy for his master, of course. If his prince hadn’t asked someone to cook the dinner and send it here, he wouldn’t disturb them so stupidly.

“Bring it in.” Ao Chenyi relaxed his hands slightly and said lazily, but he didn’t mean to let Ning Xueyan leave.

Ning Xueyan simply buried her head in his arms, motionless.

Seeing that she cutely deceived herself with the idea that others would not be able to see her if she did this, Ao Chenyi raised the corners of his beautiful mouth slightly. “How come there is such a cute little girl!”

After taking out the food lightly and quickly, Eunuch Zhu left hurriedly and closed the door for them on purpose. Although this was the third floor of the Moon-embracing Tower and it was impossible for anyone else to come up, Eunuch Zhu thought that his mistress seemed to be a shy person, so he could not make her angry from embarrassment or anything.

But if that time came, his master would vent his anger on no one but him.

In order to make her feel at ease and protect himself, he knew that closing the door was his best choice. Next, he listened at the door happily for a while but did not hear anything. Yet, he still went downstairs with a smile.

In whatever sense, the smile was like the one a cat who stole something wore, so that Yu Jian at the door pulled him over, wanting to take him to the side to ask about the situation upstairs. Of course, Eunuch Zhu refused him and simply left with the excuse “No one should inquire about the prince’s affairs.” Standing on the side, Qingyu looked at the pair in front of her curiously.

Upstairs, Ao Chenyi released Ning Xueyan, letting her sit down beside him, served her a bowl of rice, and pushed the red bean cakes she liked to her. She was physically weak, and the physician instructed that she needed to eat more red beans, but Ning Xueyan didn’t want to eat red beans, so red bean cakes were made in the style of mung bean cakes. Unexpectedly, their taste was quite good, and she had even fallen in love with this way of eating.

But why did Ao Chenyi have such things? Seeing that he pushed the red bean cakes to her, she knew that he knew she liked eating them, so she couldn’t help having a smile, obediently took the red bean cakes he had pushed over, picked one up, and tasted it slowly. It was fragrant and sweet, and its taste was indeed the same as the one made in the Lord Protector’s Manor previously. No, it was a little better, in fact.

“She gave you the scented tea that can sterilize a person?” Ao Chenyi suddenly sneered as his gentle expression disappeared.

Ning Xueyan was taken aback but immediately remembered the scented tea sent by Commandery Princess Xianyun when she went out earlier. Knowing that what he said was this matter, she shook her head and said with a smile, “Don’t worry. I know everything about the face powder used to hurt people in the palace. Aunt Xiang taught me that, and she seemed to have a good relationship with my mother previously.”

Ning Xueyan felt that she didn’t need to talk about things that happened in her previous life. The past was like the wind that had gone. Besides, she couldn’t explain those things clearly.

So, she took Aunt Xiang as her defense, and it was indeed the truth. Although Aunt Xiang had been serving Honored Consort Ya in the palace, she treated her with all her heart and always brought her some spice recipes, especially those recipes related to reproduction and health. Ning Xueyan was sure that the recipes publicly known in the palace were not as many as those in the hands of Aunt Xiang.

“I will ask someone to send the scented tea to her so that she can enjoy the scented tea alone in the yard.” A vicious look appeared and vanished in the eyes of Ao Chenyi.

This meant that he wanted to lock up Commandery Princess Xianyun.

“Don’t do that now. After all, this scented tea has been passed from hand to hand several times. If she doesn’t admit it, you will not be able to show other evidence. Or perhaps someone will use this to slander me. Don’t worry. As long as you back me up, she dare not really do anything to me. As for the matters in the backyard, you had better let us deal with them ourselves!”

Seeing that he was angry, Ning Xueyan pulled his sleeve and spoke coyly.

The identity of Commandery Princess Xianyun was special. Not only was she from the family of Empress Dowager’s parents, but she also had a close relationship with the empress, and now she was also the princess of Prince Yi’s Manor. If there was no real evidence, it was unjustifiable for Ao Chenyi to deal with her. Of course, if Ao Chenyi were his previous self, he would never care about other people’s opinions and would lock her up as he wished.

Feeling very satisfied with her attitude that she relied on him wholeheartedly, Ao Chenyi eased his expression a bit. Truly, he had more than one method to deal with Xianyun, but these methods were a bit too simple and too rude. “Since I back up Yan’er, she is extremely cautious, and this is my mansion, do I need to fear that Commandery Princess Xianyun will do unruly things?

“Moreover, it is truly not the best time to deal with Xianyun now. I haven’t handled the matter of the ‘favored concubine’ properly. When it is the right time, it will be impossible for Commandery Princess Xianyun to refuse to be locked up. Although she got the princess’s position by using all kinds of schemes, it is very easy for me to take it from her whenever I want.”

“Did you promise the Empress in the palace?” Ning Xueyan remembered another thing and asked with a smile.

“No!” Ao Chenyi said lazily. Then he extended his hand, pulled the strand of Ning Xueyan’s fallen hair, squinted at her, and said with an unpleasant look, “My mansion is not accessible to anyone who wants to enter.”

“You refused?” Ning Xueyan widened her eyes suddenly, shocked.

“What do you mean? Is it that you want me to marry one more person and bring her to the mansion?” Ao Chenyi said with a faint smile. His expression seemed to mean that if Ning Xueyan dared to say “yes”, he would never let her off.

“The man is so conceited,” Ning Xueyan pursed her lips secretly.

“I mean, if you hadn’t directly refused, I could think of other ways to let them reap what they have sown.” Seeing his proud look, Ning Xueyan decided to use the ways he could accept to deal with him. To deal with such a conceited person, she really couldn’t refute him directly.

“You have other ways?” Ao Chenyi raised his eyebrows and asked with a faint smile.

“Of course, since they spent so much energy harming me, making me uncomfortable, I have to harm back, lest that one or two of them should always think I am a person they can easily bully.”

Ning Xueyan spoke softly and raised the corners of her light-colored mouth slightly. When he saw this, Ao Chenyi thought that it was completely her coquettish manner.

“Good, then I’ll wait and see.” Ao Chenyi looked at her calmly with a light pampering feeling in his eyes. “If you need my help, just say it. Don’t lock it up in your heart.”

He remembered that she who looked soft and weak was extremely tough inside.

Ning Xueyan instantly put on an extremely beautiful smile, nodded, looked at his alluring face, and said softly, “I only rely on you now.”

She only had him now, no Lord Protector’s Manor or anyone else. Now he was the only one who cared about her in this world, and she was willing to laugh happily for him alone.

After rebirth, she had been relying on herself and only using others, but now she was willing to open her heart and accept him…

After dinner, Ning Xueyan took Qingyu back alone. Ao Chenyi did not go to her Pear Flower Garden or the Fragrance Garden of that “favored concubine”. It was said that since Ning Xueyan left, Ao Chenyi had been very angry and even thrown a few pieces of precious porcelain out of the window.

When the news reached the Great Wisdom Garden, Commandery Princess Xianyun was having dinner. Sitting there with a serious face, she listened to Qiuhuan’s report and had a small smile gradually. “I thought that Ning Xueyan is a little different from me, but now I find that she is the same as me, and she has also lost favor. Like me, she is not valued by Ao Chenyi.”

“She thinks she is so much favored and even dared to visit the Moon-embracing Tower to win his favor. As a result, she didn’t get favor and even angered the prince, and she was then driven out by the prince. She is unaware of her limitations indeed! If Lord Guardian’s Manor can do the thing nicely, I will be able to use Heng Yuqing when she gets married and is brought to the mansion in the future.

“No matter whether Heng Yuqing can be favored or not, Ning Xueyan is hopeless. At most, I will only need to sacrifice a pawn to kill the woman in the Fragrance Garden. When the time comes, I will come out to preside over the overall situation fairly. No matter how angry the prince is, he won’t be angry with me.

“Because nothing has connections to me.”

“Give me another bowl of rice,” Princess Xianyun ordered as she suddenly had a good mood.

“When Ning Xueyan couldn’t give birth to a child and couldn’t win his favor, she, who has such poor health, will lose her life after several times of punishment, so I really don’t need to be angry with a dying person.”

“Okay, let me scoop rice for you now, princess.” Seeing that Commandery Princess Xianyun became happy, Qiuhuan smiled and hurriedly served her another small bowl of rice.

Xiangrong brought a few items in at this time. When she sneaked a peek and saw that Commandery Princess Xianyun had calmed down, she was relieved. When she went to the Pear Flower Garden earlier, she didn’t find out what Consort Ning was going to do, so she had been anxious when she came back, afraid that the princess would blame her. Now when she saw her happy face, she knew she wouldn’t have trouble.

“Princess, Consort Ning of the Pear Flower Garden has sent someone over,” Xiangrong reported after stepping forward and saluting.

“What is she up to by sending someone here now?” Commandery Princess Xianyun frowned. “I didn’t expect Ning Xueyan to be so stupid that as soon as she was punished by the prince, she went to my place to make trouble. Sure enough, she is not smart, but this is good. With such an extremely stupid Ning Xueyan present, I can be seen as a generous and smart person.”

“Let her in!” Commandery Princess Xianyun nodded with a mocking and complacent smile, put down the bowl and chopsticks in her hands, and cleaned her mouth with a handkerchief.

She just wanted to see what Ning Xueyan would do next.

It happened that she was being coldly treated by the prince now, so she couldn’t intervene in so many things in the mansion. “Then let the mansion be messed up. The more chaotic, the better. When the chaos is out of control, the prince will compare the stupid Ning Xueyan with me and remember that he still has me, his princess. Then he will need me, his princess, to handle affairs.”