The Devious First-Daughter

“What’s the matter? Third Young Lady Ning, you really know how to act. I can’t believe you’d run all the way here to find men on your lame foot. You should’ve told me earlier; I could have prepared you eight or ten for you so you could fulfill your lust.” Ao Xian looked Ning Qingshan up and down while clicking his tongue twice. He spoke bluntly without giving her any face.

When he remembered that Ning Qingshan had ruined an engagement that he was happy with and harmed the woman that he wanted to marry to the point that their engagement was broken off, he felt anger rise in him. Having learned about Ning Qingshan’s handicapped foot from Ning Lingyun, he held no qualms about saying whatever he could to hurt Ning Qingshan.

“What are you saying, you playboy?” His words sent Ning Qingshan panicking. If such a rumor about her were spread, she wouldn’t be able to hold her head high again.

“Did I say something wrong? Hadn’t the Third Prince catch us red-handed on the bed? Was I wrong? Well, we haven’t exactly done it then, have we? Why don’t we do it now? There’s an empty room inside. We’ll make our rendezvous a reality so there’s at least a reason why I have this bad reputation.”

Ao Xian spoke sinisterly while pointing to a room inside the courtyard. He then reached out as if trying to grab Ning Qingshan’s hand.

“Ridiculous!” She became so furious that she dropped all pretenses. She swung her hand and slapped Ao Xian hard across the face. She was so mad that her face was bright red. She had only ever dealt with gentlemen who would never resort to such dirty speech. For a moment, she was shaking with rage.

Ao Xian wasn’t a man who would suffer his losses quietly, especially from a woman who had once harmed him. He got so angry that his face turned stern. He grabbed the hand that slapped him and yanked it downward while saying furiously, “Slut! You have some nerve to slap me! Do you dare to tell everyone that you never shared my bed and slept with me?”

Ning Qingshan was, naturally, no match for him. He dragged her down with so much force that she fell to the ground right next to his feet. She was in so much pain that she yelped. She instinctively tried to get up, only to hear Ao Xian drone on about that incident. That incident was her nightmare.

To think that the Third Prince saw her being with Ao Xian! Although the Third Prince didn’t say anything about it afterward, she saw clearly the trace of resentment in his eyes at that time. She couldn’t bring herself to recall his expression then. She consoled herself with the thought that the Third Prince would surely know that she was framed, so that trace of resentment wasn’t targeted at her but the perpetrator Ning Xueyan.

She didn’t dare to think about the incident and nor was she willing to. She just wanted to treat it like a nightmare. Since the Third Prince didn’t say anything, it meant that the incident was in the past. Besides, the few people present at the scene wouldn’t say anything about it and no one would know that something like that had once happened between her and Ao Xian. That incident was now hidden deep in her heart.

That incident became a trauma and a weakness that she didn’t dare to think about. But now, Ao Xian was bringing up the matter and his words hammered down on her heart. No matter how well she could control herself, the repeated attacks were enough to damage her self-control.

The color of her face alternated between red and green as a crazy thought took hold of her mind: Ao Xian wanted to expose the matter in front of everyone; he wanted to cause her to lose her standing. No! Impossible! She didn’t want this! Suddenly, she grabbed Ao Xian’s foot and yanked him downward with a strength that even she didn’t know she had.

“Shut up! You’re lying! You’re lying!”

Ao Xian never imagined that a weak woman would exhibit such great strength or that a young noble lady who would appear bashful in front of men would dare to hug his leg and yank him. Caught off guard, he ended up falling with his limbs flat on the ground. He screamed in pain.

“Third Sister… What… What are you and the Princely Heir doing?” Ning Qingshan was startled by Ao Xian’s scream when she suddenly heard Ning Lingyun’s voice. She instinctively turned her head and saw Ning Lingyun standing at the gate of the courtyard, looking at them in astonishment.

“Huh? Isn’t that Third Young Lady Ning? What’s going on with her and Ao Xian?” Another voice resounded. Ning Qingshan watched in shock as a large group of noble young men emerged from the road outside the courtyard. Among the group were the Third Prince Ao Mingyu and Fourth Prince Ao Mingwan.

“Are… Are they fighting?” One of the noble young men couldn’t hold back his surprise when looking at the two people who had fallen to the ground. Ning Qingshan was still hugging one of Ao Xian’s legs while Ao Xian was lying on the ground with his face up. One of Ning Qingshan’s legs laid under Ao Xian’s foot and her neat hair was now a complete mess, with a few strands of hair hanging in front of her forehead.

Those two looked like they had just fought. It wasn’t strange for the hot-tempered Ao Xian to get into a fight but wasn’t Third Young Lady Ning said to be the most courteous and gentle of all ladies? How would she dare to fight with Ao Xian? Even Ya Moqin from Grand Tutor Ya’s Manor, who was considered ill-tempered, would argue with Ao Xian at most and not fight him like a shrew.

Was… Was she even a noble young lady?!

Following their astonished gazes, Ning Qingshan lowered her head to look at herself. She cried out when she saw that she was holding onto Ao Xian’s leg. She immediately pushed his leg away and hastily explained, “I… I accidentally tripped Princely Heir Ao. I… I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Third Sister… How… How did you get into a fight with Princely Heir Ao?”

The two sisters spoke at the same time. When Ning Lingyun finished her question, Ning Qingshan immediately turned her head and glared at her in anger. She looked like she wanted to eat Ning Lingyun alive, scaring Ning Lingyun so much that she took two steps backward. Ning Lingyun shook her head timidly and said, “I’m sorry, Third Sister. I… I’ve misspoken.”

Both had such contrasting expressions that no matter how one looked at it, it seemed that Ning Lingyun was the one getting bullied. This astonished everyone once again.

“Hey, how can an elder sister be so fierce? No wonder you even tripped me and fought with me earlier! So this is how you bully your younger sister behind everyone’s back,” said a provoking voice. It went without saying that it came from the man who fell on his back earlier. Ao Xian stood up and spoke in a deliberately provoking voice while pressing the back of his head.

The Fourth Prince glanced at the Third Prince before asking, “What exactly happened?” He was responsible for entertaining the guests today on Ao Chenyi’s behalf so he had to clarify the matter.

“How would I know? God knows what’s wrong with her. Hiding here and peeping into the courtyard was one thing, but when she saw me, she tried to hit me out of shame and anger! She probably ate the wrong medicine! The Third Young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor is really violent. Consider this my defeat!”

Naturally, Ao Xian knew what he could say and what he couldn’t now that the Third Prince was here. He rubbed the back of his head in pain, his expression carrying a trace of fear. He looked as if he had been bullied. It was enough to make people take several more looks at Ning Qingshan.

Third Young Lady Ning even managed to hit Ao Xian until he laid flat on his back! Just how violent was she?

Wasn’t she said to be gentle, kind, and well-reputed? The woman before them had clearly gotten into a fight with someone! Who was this woman, who had several strands of hair hanging down?

“Third Sister, let’s stand up.” Seeing that Ao Xian had gotten to his feet, Ning Lingyun immediately tried to help Ning Qingshan stand up.

Perhaps Ning Qingshan was too heavy or perhaps Ning Lingyun didn’t have much strength. Ning Lingyun hadn’t propped Ning Qingshan fully before she staggered and caused both of them to fall. Ning Lingyun was fine and immediately got back on her feet. On the contrary, Ning Qingshan, who had a problem with her foot, couldn’t get up anymore after falling down a second time.

The idea that she had embarrassed herself again in front of everyone, and because of Ning Lingyun at that, Ning Qingshan looked chagrined and furious. She was pretty sure that Ning Lingyun had deliberately humiliated her earlier. When Ning Lingyun extended her hand again, Ning Qingshan shook it away with a cold face and stood up by herself while holding onto the gate of the courtyard.

“Third Sister.” Ning Lingyun appeared timid as she glanced at Ning Qingshan before looking at everyone. She lowered her head and obediently stood behind Ning Qingshan.

Her expression and demeanor made Ning Qingshan even more resentful. Wasn’t Ning Lingyun making it obvious that she was bullying her?!

She took a deep breath. She knew that she couldn’t argue with Ning Lingyun about this now. Although she wanted to tear Ning Lingyun apart at this moment, she had to put on a smile to show that all was well between them.

“What are you doing here?” the Third Prince asked, his expression gloomy. He couldn’t keep quiet anymore. After all, everyone knew that Ning Qingshan was his soon-to-be consort.

“I… I came here with Fourth Sister to get some rest. We saw that there’s a courtyard here so we stopped here.” Ning Qingshan immediately understood that the Third Prince was giving her a chance to step out of this situation. She immediately put on a gentle and graceful demeanor to show that she was just a frail woman. Usually, this was her most effective expression.

With this expression, Ning Qingshan believed that everyone would think that she had, at most, made a mistake in trespassing here. It was her first time coming to Prince Yi’s Manor so it wouldn’t be a big deal to accidentally enter a place that she shouldn’t. Unfortunately, she had forgotten her circumstances and inappropriate words earlier.

Her angry, stricken face was completely gone with a turn of conversation; she looked like a different person altogether. The change came so quickly that everyone looked at her speechlessly. Third Young Lady Ning was sure a capable one, to change herself in front of so many people without even blinking.

“Are you saying that you accidentally came here? What a joke! Then why did you get so ashamed and resentful from just a few words from me? You even tripped me! It’s obvious that you’re guilty of something.” Ao Xian couldn’t help but sneer after seeing Ning Qingshan wear such an expression in such a short time. He refused to believe that she had accidentally come here.

“I… I tripped you by accident,” Ning Qingshan explained tearfully. But her aggrieved expression wasn’t quite so persuasive with her messy hair.

Ao Xian got even angrier at the thought of the incident last time and retorted furiously, “You always have so many excuses! Last time was an accident, so is this time. Wouldn’t you claim the same next time…”

“Enough. Stop arguing. Let’s go. Third Young Lady Ning, you should return with your sister. This is close to the outer courtyard, after all.” Seeing that Ao Xian had more to say, Ao Mingyu immediately interrupted him. If this incident was linked to Ning Qingshan and Ao Xian, Ning Qingshan wouldn’t be the only one humiliated. He would be cuckolded too.

His chiding meant that he wouldn’t pursue this matter anymore.

“Huh? Third Young Lady Ning? Fourth Young Lady Ning? Hadn’t I told you that this leads to the outer courtyard, Third Young Lady Ning? Why did you still come here?” A flabbergasted voice resounded, causing everyone to turn their heads.