"Princely Heir, why are you still here at this time?" Ning Xueyan asked faintly, raising her head, who stepped back calmly to avoid the fan and was frightened, but her face did not show it.

"Fifth Young Lady, why are you here at this time? Could it be that you know I’m resting here?" Wen Xueran asked instead of answering, with his beautiful amorous eyes glancing at her. He retracted the folding fan in his hand and circled it two times in a handsome way between his fingers.

In terms of the appearance, it was really no one who could compare with Wen Xueran in this world. The beautiful face of him would even make women feel ashamed too. A beauty that overthrew states and cities that was what he should be! Plus the pair of amorous eyes which always seemed to be affectionate, few young girls would not be shy and blush when they saw his eyes.

However, this Fifth Young Lady of Lord Protector, not only did not have the slightest shyness but even disseminated a sense of indifference, which refused people thousands of miles away. She looked indifference, not because she pretended to refuse, but because she rejected others completely.

"Here is Lord Protector’s Manor. I don’t seem to have to report to you where I am going!" Ning Xueyan looked at him, and then went to one side of the bookshelf. She took a book casually and turned around to go out.

Wen Xueran was surprised that she didn’t even want to say a few more words to him. And did she want to go away right now?

His hand stretched out, and the fan was already in front of Ning Xueyan. Wen Xueran looked this unusual girl in front of him up and down with interest.

He saw that she was wearing a very ordinary light white dress with an unmarried girl’s hair bun, who looked just like an ordinary lady. That plain reflected her pale face and the light lip color as if there was a kind of spiritual beauty and indifference from the bone, which made her look cold and fragile.

Under the long eyelashes, her pair of deep jet-black eyes looked like two pieces of obsidian that kept all the reiki and starlight in the sky inside, which made her pale face a wonderfully embryonic form. The delicate outline of her features had not yet grown, so she looked not remarkable at first glance with her plain face.

But after looking her carefully, Wen Xueran knew that she would surely become an exceedingly beautiful woman before long!

It was the first time that Wen Xueran observed Ning Xueyan’s face so closely. The longer he looked at her, the more frightened he became. Somehow, he felt that he was a little familiar to the face in his heart...

"Princely Heir, is there anything else?" With a little more vigilance, the dark eyes of Ning Xueyan fell on the face of Wen Xueran.

"Aren’t you looking for me here? Why are you leaving so soon? Would you like a cup of tea before you go?" Wen Xueran raised his eyebrows obliquely, with an unusual splendor flashed in his eyes, but he did not withdraw his hand.

He said frivolously with a queer smile on his face. He even stretched out his hand to touch Ning Xueyan’s face. "It’s a rare thing that I am happy today, so I’ll treat you for a drink!"

"Princely Heir, please behave yourself!" Ning Xueyan rebuked. She did not expect Wen Xueran would suddenly stretch out his hand. With a trace of anger flashing through her eyes, she retreated two more steps to avoid Wen Xueran’s hand.

"I even don’t care. Why did you care, Fifth Young Lady?" A glimmer of unusual splendor flashed through the brilliant amorous eyes of Wen Xueran. He withdrew his hand arrogantly, folded his fan, and made a circle around Ning Xueyan. "Didn’t you especially come to see me because I am here?"

"Princely Heir, you misunderstood. I just went to my father’s study to find a book. And I didn’t know you were here!" Ning Xueyan’s voice still sounded flat and cold. She stared at the handsome man in front of her, but her heart still remained calm and quiet.

She stretched out her hand to push Wen Xueran away, picked up her skirt corner, and walked outside!

This time, Wen Xueran did not stop her. The corners of his eyes fluttered two times, and the bright colors in her eyes blocked all his real feelings like a blur of smoke. While smiling, he just watched Ning Xueyan going away with a touch of a thoughtful smile on his lips...

Ning Xueyan didn’t stop all the way. Her body finally relaxed after she passed the second door, and she slowed her pace.

Deliberately, she took advantage of the chaos in the manor to explore the study of Ning Zu’an to investigate on the spot whether or not Ningzu’an had the military medallion from preceding dynasty. Ning Zu’an must not simply have placed it in a prominent place. Otherwise, with the ability of Ao Chenyi, he could find at least a trace of it.

But what she didn’t expect was that why Wen Xueran was still here?

Something so big happened in Lord Protector’s Manor. But as an outsider, he hadn’t yet gone. How could Ning Zu’an trust him to be in the study?

The study of Ning Zu’an was not accessible to anyone who wanted to enter it. Even his favorite daughter Ning Yuling was not allowed to enter the study at her will. So why could Wen Xueran stay in his study at this time?

A flash of inspiration flashed through Ning Xueyan’s mind. A study without servants, the partly-closed door, and Wen Xueran who stood in the study. All these seemed to indicate that there was something strange.

"There is something wrong. There is something wrong with Wen Xueran!" The idea suddenly crossed Ning Xueyan’s mind.

Ning Xueyan stopped suddenly and looked back. She hesitated for a moment, then turned around with determination and walked to Bright Frost Garden.

No matter what purpose Wen Xueran had, or he was looking for something just like her, it all had nothing to do with her. It wouldn’t help even if she went back to the study now because Wen Xueran could never be as harmless as he appeared. She obviously could not deal with Wen Xueran alone.

The evening meal of Lord Protector’s Manor was particularly late today. Qingyu came in with a food basket. As soon as she entered the door, she covered her mouth and laughed.

"Silly girl, what makes you so happy?" Lanning came over to take the food basket of Qingyu and asked.

"I just heard that Second Young Lady rushed into Buddha Hall and quarreled with First Madam who then slapped her twice. Now she is crying and making trouble in Qingrong Courtyard, saying that she will never marry Marquis of Ping’an even if she dies. She even disturbs Consort Dowager of Commandery Prince Li’s Manor," Qingyu said excitedly.

Second Young Lady used to bully her lady ended up like this today. How could Qingyu not be unhappy?

"Did Madam Dowager go to Buddha Hall?" Ning Xueyan took the chopsticks Lanning handed her with a smile and asked.

According to the temper of Ning Yuling, she would certainly go to make a scene in Buddha Hall after Ning Lingyun provoked her several time. When she was furious, she wouldn’t listen to whatever Madam Ling said. After all, she thought Madam Ling sacrificed her happiness for her own interest. Even though Madam Ling was her biological mother, she would not say anything good to her at this time.

Therefore, Madam Ling was sure to beat her

"Too much noise is in Buddha Hall so that servants in the manor dared not to hide this thing. They reported the situation to Madam Dowager. When Madam Dowager arrived there, Second Young Lady had already smashed everything in Buddha Hall here and there. Madam Dowager became so angry that she urged people to pull Second Young Lady away," Qingyu said excitedly with bright eyes.

"And what happened in the end?" Ning Xueyan took a slight sip of soup to moisten her throat, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

"I don’t know what happened in the end. Anyway, both the marquis and Madam Dowager both got angry. They scolded First Madam, too. It was so great that it was in chaos there." Qingyu felt very relieved now when she thought about how Madam Ling and her daughter had treated her lady in the past few years.

"Lanning, tell Mother Han later that anyone in my courtyard is strictly prohibited from discussing this matter; otherwise, they will be expelled from Bright Frost Garden." Ning Xueyan thought about it carefully and ordered seriously.

"Yes, I will go to tell Mother Han right now." Lanning was cautious, and she knew that they should not make others suspect their lady at this time. Immediately, she nodded. She cast a look at Qingyu and retreated.

Qingyu was straightforward, but she was not reckless. Now that she also understood and put away the smile on her face. She thought of Madam Ling’s means and felt worried about Ning Xueyan. She said, "Young Lady, if First Madam comes out and knows from Fourth Young Lady that you are behind all this, she will never let you go."

The words Ning Lingyun used to provoke Ning Yuling could not stand up to close scrutiny at all. If Ning Yuling had not been in that situation, she would not have been easily deceived and would not have rushed to Buddha Hall to make a scene with Ling either. If they made a further investigation on this matter, they would inevitably find out Ning Lingyun and then Ning Xueyan.

If First Madam knew that Ning Xueyan was behind this matter, there would be no way for her to survive!

"First Madam will suspect me, but she has no evidence." Ning Xueyan gave a gentle smile. She seemed to have considered everything in advance and felt quite confident now.

It was not because Ning Xueyan believed that Ning Lingyun was a trustworthy person. But after what had happened, Ning Lingyun was completely on the opposite side of Madam Ling and her daughter. Even if Ning Lingyun told them the truth, she would make one more enemy of herself beside Madam Ling and her daughter.

If Ning Xueyan got punished by this, Ning Lingyun would be the next one who was going to suffer!

And it also involved the scandal that she deliberately seduced Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li. If others knew it, Ning Lingyun also would have no way to live. Therefore, Ning Lingyun would never get herself in trouble.

Ning Xueyan was sure about this, so she did not need to hide her thoughts from Ning Lingyun!

The news that Ning Lingyun and Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li was going to marry was spread out in that evening. As for Marquis of Ping’an, he would marry a concubine-born daughter in Lord Protector’s Manor. It was said that both of them were engaged long ago, before Madam Ming’s death. So their marriages could not be regarded as impolite.

The rumors going around the manor had stopped long ago. Those bigmouth older female servants and maids in the backyard were beaten so severely that they could not get out of bed. Except for Bright Frost Garden and Madam Dowager’s Lucky Garden, in almost every other courtyard, there were some people be beaten. For a time, no one in the manor dared to gossip.

People outside had already heard that daughters in Lord Protector’s Manor would marry into Commandery Prince Li’s Manor and Marquis of Ping’an’s Manor. At this moment, though they were surprised when they knew the people who would marry, they thought it was normal. It was good that Marquis of Ping’an could marry a concubine-born daughter of Lord Protector’s Manor. As for Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li, it was not proper that he would marry a daughter of a concubine. But it was still a good marriage for him because Lord Protector was in a high position and had great power.

And Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li himself was not a well-behaved person. So no daughter of an official wife from a good family was willing to marry him. Perhaps he wanted to play up to Lord Protector’s Manor, so he would like to take the daughter of a concubine as his wife.

Of course, these were the words outside Protector’s Manor, which saved the dignity of Lord Protector’s Manor on the surface.

The treatment inside the manor was utterly different. Although Ning Lingyun got this marriage, she had knelt for half of an afternoon in Auspicious Fortune Hall. It was not until she fainted that Madam Dowager let her go back. Concubine Xu also knelt there with her. No evidence proved that they did all of this. But there were so many coincidences that could arouse the suspicions from others.

Madam Dowager had experienced lots of things during the long time she spent in the courtyard. How could she not understand the trick?

But what could she do even if she had seen through everything? If she also punished Ning Lingyun, who would marry into Commandery Prince Li’s Manor. Though Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li was not a decent man, he still was a noble prince. As the daughter of a concubine, Ning Lingyun was fortunate to marry someone who was high above her rank. And Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li kept saying it was all his fault and actually took all the blame on himself. He insisted on that even when Consort Dowager became so pissed off.

Anyway, he said he must marry Ning Lingyun. Otherwise, he would run away from home and never come back. Feeling helpless, Consort Dowager had no choice but to agree!

In this case, if Madam Dowager must punish Ning Lingyun, Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li was sure to make some more trouble and publicize the scandal all over the city.

That night, after a noisy day, Lord Protector’s Manor finally quieted down. People in each courtyard were all exhausted and were going to go to bed early.

Suddenly there came a shrill and frightened scream. Madam Dowager, who was supposed to go to bed, was so scared that she almost fell off the bed.

Because this scream was really too harsh and lamentable, which made people feel creepy...