The Devious First-Daughter

Chapter 581 Lanning Isn’t as Good at It as I Am

It was still early when Ao Chenyi came over, but he must have stopped somewhere else for his face was covered in sweat. The first thing he did upon arriving was taking a quick bath and then changing into an ordinary home attire. Before marrying him, Ning Xueyan sewed several home attires for him and kept them in the Pear Flower Garden.

He had been moving those attires to the Moon-embracing Tower, so there weren’t many left here.

Thus, aside from running her errands, Ning Xueyan had been sewing more attires for him. This was, of course, the part that made him the happiest.

She was rather speechless as she watched him step out of the bathroom with his black hair scattered over his shoulders. She put down her needle and thread, stood up, and grabbed the clean towel that Eunuch Zhu was handing her. After pulling Ao Chenyi toward the couch in front of the bed, she began to dry his hair.

“If Xianyun stirs up any more trouble, you can kill her.” He indicated Eunuch Zhu to throw the handkerchief to the floor. His thin lips were curved into a sinister smile.

That was Yun Luoluo’s handkerchief! Ning Xueyan noticed the handkerchief as well when she turned the corner and it went without saying that she saw Eunuch Zhu picking it up. An idea came to her, lighting up her beautiful watery eyes. “Why didn’t you keep it yourself? It smells so nice!”

If she could smell it from such a distance, that could only mean that the handkerchief was heavily perfumed. She could even smell something familiar; it was a popular scent sold in her very own Yuyan Shop. She had requested Lanning to formulate the scent and sold it at the highest price, too. It seemed that Yun Luoluo had poured an entire box of fragrant powder on the handkerchief.

However, putting too much was as bad as not putting enough. The handkerchief was so heavily perfumed that what was supposed to be a light pleasant scent became suffocating.

“What’s wrong? Are you jealous?” Ao Chenyi asked lazily, casting her a sidelong glance.

“Why would I be? I just think it’s a great waste to use so much fragrant powder! She poured it all on the handkerchief. If she uses it a little every day, it could have lasted her an entire month. What a waste,” Ning Xueyan said regretfully. She put more force into wringing the towel so she could drain more water from Ao Chenyi’s hair.

Unfortunately, she was weak. Two wrings were enough to consume all of her energy. She glanced at the man who was leaning against her with a satisfied expression and his eyes closed, somewhat speechless.

Lately, whenever he took a bath at her place, he would inexplicably make her dry his hair.

Ning Xueyan had no choice but to say, “Chenyi, I don’t have any strength anymore!” She pouted where he couldn’t see her.

“It’s okay. I’m not in a hurry.” He was so languid that he didn’t even open his eyes; he looked like he was deeply enjoying this.

Watching him look so satisfied and cozy that he didn’t even feel like talking, a mischievous idea struck Ning Xueyan. Since he was so comfortable, she would reduce that enjoyment for him. She would like to see if he would let her dry his hair in the future after her little trick.

She loosened her grip and grabbed several strands of his hair in the towel, ready to pull it to the side. Suddenly, the demon with his eyes still closed said lazily, “Don’t hurt my scalp or the next time I help you…”

The strength in her hand relaxed. She continued to wipe his hair without betraying her emotion while nonchalantly answering, “You don’t have to worry about my hair. Lanning will help me.”

“She’s not as strong as I am!” Ao Chenyi insisted.

“Who needs your strength? You don’t know how to serve a person at all yet you insist on drying my hair.” Ning Xueyan secretly gritted her teeth. Even though he only hurt her scalp the first time, he would make a mess of her hair every time since. When Lanning styled her hair afterward, she would always complain that her hair couldn’t be combed well. It was quite annoying but this man found great pleasure in it.

He said that he had to return the favor. Since she helped dry his hair, he would do the same as well. The problem was, he was the one requesting her to dry his hair.

Ning Xueyan faked a laugh and blinked before saying earnestly, “Heh. You don’t have to go through the trouble. Let Lanning do it.”

“Lanning isn’t as good at it as I am!” he insisted. He felt that this was his right and must not be stolen by other people.

“Good? Are you kidding me?” Ning Xueyan nearly scolded him out loud. Her hair might be dry by the end of it, but he would make it all tangled and messy.

“You still have room for improvement!” No matter how one looked at it, she seemed to be grinding her teeth while she smiled. Ao Chenyi’s mood improved when he saw her looking like a kitten who was about to go crazy. He reached out to rub her head. “Good girl. Don’t act like you’re a cat that has gone crazy. I’ll be careful next time and won’t mess up your long hair.”

Ning Xueyan rolled her eyes at him. She would have to be pretty dumb to believe him. Every time he would promise not to repeat his blunder but he would continue to do the same thing. Don’t be mad? That was her hair, not cat’s fur!

When another thought struck her, she decided to stop arguing with him on this topic; she had no way of winning against him anyway. She looked at the handkerchief on the floor and a sly look crossed her eyes. “Do you want to marry Yun Luoluo too?”

“Who? Yun Luoluo? Please spare me!” Ao Chenyi firmly rejected the idea. He looked at her with a slight smile. “Are you so lacking in jealousy that you want someone to provide you with some?”

“No, I mean Chief Hua’s third daughter.” Ning Xueyan smiled and raised an eyebrow at him as if provoking him.

She wouldn’t have known if she didn’t investigate Third Young Lady Hua. She learned that the unmarried Third Young Lady Hua was quite familiar with Prince Yi’s Manor. The young lady often visited the manor before her second sister’s death and could be considered a frequent visitor. More importantly, she was only eight at that time and no one would expect her to observe the propriety between men and women.

Since Prince Yi was about to marry her second sister at that time, they even prepared a courtyard for her to make it convenient for her to visit her sister in the future. Prince Yi’s Manor had so many empty courtyards anyway that it wasn’t a big deal to give her one.

Things changed after Second Young Lady Hua died of illness and the engagement between both families was dropped. The matter was supposed to end there.

However, Second Young Lady Hua would continue to visit the manor now and then. Everyone in the manor was familiar with her and even Senior Eunuch Zhu liked her adorableness. Seeing as Ao Chenyi didn’t say anything, she would continue to stay in the manor occasionally.

This continued until she was about thirteen. She would continue to visit Senior Eunuch Zhu from time to time and even spend the occasional night at the manor. It became so habitual that Ao Chenyi didn’t pay it any mind, especially since she didn’t appear in front of him. However, one day, she accidentally entered the Moon-embracing Tower and ran into Ao Chenyi inside. This enraged him so much that he banned her from the manor, citing propriety between men and women.

That incident finally put the matter to rest. In the past, her nonchalant visits to the manor prompted many to think that Ao Chenyi would marry his former fiancee’s sister. It was commonplace for a younger sister to complete the engagement following her elder sister’s death.

“They’re no more than a family of lowly scum. Ignore them.” Ao Chenyi opened his eyes ever so slightly to look at Ning Xueyan. A strange gleam flashed in his pupils.

Ning Xueyan was stunned. Though she expected him to be annoyed with Third Young Lady Hua’s actions, she didn’t anticipate hearing such an evaluation from him. She blinked, unable to immediately react. This was completely different from the rumors outside.

Wasn’t it said that Prince Yi was deeply in love?

Wasn’t it said that Prince Yi would surely invite members from the Hua family to any of his banquets?

Wasn’t it said that Prince Yi was so in love with his former fiancee that he remained a bachelor for many years? That he was forced to marry Commandery Princess Xianyun and consort?

After a moment of surprise, she said, “Senior Eunuch Zhu said it’s best to invite her.”

“He’s gotten old!” Ao Chenyi said impolitely, curling his lips into a mocking smile. “They believed they can easily marry into the manor once they have Senior Eunuch Zhu’s approval, but what a pity. Some things never go along with their expectations. Did they think they can make me marry whoever they want? The moment they see me doing well, they start scheming to send women into my manor.”

He looked down on the Hua family from the depth of his heart. If it wasn’t for the Emperor’s decree back then, he would have never agreed to marry that woman. The outcome, however, was what he wanted.

“Oh, all right. Forget about them. All of them want to enter my manor! They must think that my manor is a rubbish bin!” He picked up her hand and caressed it with his own callused hand. His hand was somewhat rough but put her at ease. She was truly at ease. Although she knew that he wouldn’t pay any attention to Third Young Lady Hua, hearing the certainty in his words nonetheless made her smile.

She knew that he was saying this to give her the confidence to do whatever she wanted and not mind Third Young Lady Hua or other women. The one that Senior Eunuch Zhu liked wasn’t who he liked. Naturally, she understood that he was standing up for her.

Mimicking him, she raised her long and shapely brow as well. Her large, glistening eyes gleamed as she smiled and asked confidently, “It’ll be up to me then. You keep yelling bloody murder every day; aren’t you worried about scaring away all those frail beauties?” She then leaned in and whispered into his ear with a smile.

Since this was a backyard matter, she felt that it would be more convenient to use backyard methods.

Physical punishment or murder would work against court officials, but too excessive for women living in the backyard!

After hearing her words, Ao Chenyi’s eyes flashed with a sinister glint. He found it too cumbersome but since Yan’er wanted to brandish her claws, he would just watch her have fun. Besides, her methods were ingenious indeed. He found her adorable as she stared at him with her eyes bright and glistening, her expression looking like she was fishing for compliments.

He couldn’t help but raise the corner of his delicate lips and chuckle. His eyes were marked with a trace of indulgence. “Fine. We’ll go with your way, but promise me you’ll be careful.”

“Don’t worry. If there’s anything I can’t handle, I’ll immediately ask you for help. You won’t ignore me at that time, would you?” Ning Xueyan protested coquettishly.

After considering it, he replied earnestly, “I’m not going to help!” He glanced at her before adding, “Unless you…” He then leaned in and whispered into her ear. Her pale face immediately turned red and she pushed away his handsome face.

“What a shameless person! How can he say something like that? Who says that Prince Yi is a cold and sharp person who doesn’t smile…?”