Chapter 439   Catch Fire, Another Accident

The Third Prince’s Manor was on fire!

The fire started in the evening, and it was said that it started in the kitchen of the Third Prince’s Manor. At that time, the Third Prince was receiving guests, so there were plenty of people bustling in the kitchen. No one knew of which pot the oil spilled out, and then others pots were ignited and the fire rose to the sky at the moment.

The sky above the Third Prince’s Manor became burning red. Even in the distant Cold Mountain Temple, Ning Xueyan, who was leaning against Ao Chenyi’s shoulder and sitting on the couch in front of the window, could clearly see the burning red sky in the distance. Because she had slept a lot during the day, it was not easy for her to fall asleep after waking up this time.

“Is the Third Prince also one of those behind the accident?” Looking at the flickering sky in the distance, Ning Xueyan slightly closed her eyes, bit her lip and asked softly.

Ao Chenyi reached out to pull the quilt on her. Under the moonlight, his handsome features were less cold but gentler than usual, “Ning Huaiyuan found the two punks, but they actually worked for Ao Mingyu. They usually perform some tasks in secret, and seemed to have nothing to do with Ao Mingyu.”

Ning Huaiyuan might think that his lackeys were capable of setting up such a trap in such a short period of time, but Ao Chenyi was not naive enough to think so. Startling the horses, Ning Xueyan’s carriage crashing into trees, the coachman passing out, and the carriage being pushed down the mountain deliberately, all of these indicated that this trap for Ning Xueyan was not that simple.

Moreover, it could not be accomplished by only two people.

It could be said that punks were at the lowest level of society. How could they set up such a well-organized trap? If Ning Xueyan hadn’t saved herself, she would have been smashed to pieces. No one would doubt it, because it was so coincidental that no one could find any trace.

As long as the two punks pushed the carriage down and cleaned up all the traces, coupled with the old maid in the carriage behind as the witness, no one would consider it a murder. They could only sigh that Ning Xueyan had an unfortunate life.

In other words, if it weren’t for Ao Mingyu’s intervention, they couldn’t have done it so perfectly. Ning Huaiyuan was incapable of dealing with it in such a short time. Ning Huaiyuan had worked for Ao Mingwan before. Although Ao Mingwan considered him a trusted subordinate at that time, Ao Mingwan had not exposed all his strength to Ning Huaiyuan. Ning Huaiyuan could protect himself, but he could not be so capable.

“Did you burn Ao Mingyu’s manor to avenge me?” In the dark, only the sky outside the window flickered in the distance, and the wind whipped across the night sky from time to time. Nevertheless, Ning Xueyan didn’t feel cold, because she was wrapped in a thick quilt, and most of her body was in Ao Chenyi’s arms.

Perhaps because the quilt was a little too thick, she felt her face burning and her heart warm. Fortunately, in the darkness, no one would see her blushing face. She bit her lip, trying to suppress the melting emotion in her heart.

In her last life, she had been blindly obedient to Xia Yuhang because she had been engaged to him long ago. She considered Xia Yuhang her beloved and was devoted to him. At the thought that Xia Manor did not show any regret when she met with a misfortune, valued her wholeheartedly and sincerely allowed her to marry into their manor, she thought that she should be more virtuous.

Therefore, she gave priority to Xia Yuhang in everything and usually would not deny every request made by Xia Yuhang.

She could even accept that Chen Hexiang pushed her into the water.

Xia Yuhang seemed to have acquiesced to her tolerance and made her give up in everything. Thinking of it now, she was just blindly devoted to Xia Yuhang at that time, while Xia Yuhang accepted the love and affection from her and others. How could such a person really value her in his heart?

It could be said that since her mother passed away, no one had really cared about her, cared about her ideas and stood up for her. Now even if Ao Chenyi didn’t say anything, she could clearly feel the trace of concern. How stupid she was in her last life! She considered her concession Xia Yuhang’s true affection for her.

She felt a dull pain and inexplicably aggrieved in her heart. She bit her lip hard, but still couldn’t suppress the sadness in her heart. She shed tears inexplicably. It seemed that since she met Ao Chenyi, she had cried more often. She exerted herself to clench her fists, tried hard to stop her shoulders from trembling and cried silently in the dark.

Seeming to have noticed that Ning Xueyan was acting strangely, Ao Chenyi reached out to wipe her face. Her tender face was wet. He involuntarily sighed, pressed her head into his arms and patted her on her back gently.

“It’s interesting that Ao Mingyu’s manor caught fire. Today he invited guests to his manor. Among the guests, there were several ministers on good terms with Ao Mingwan.” Ao Chenyi’s voice sounded cold and treacherous in the dark, but it made Ning Xueyan feel at ease.

She put away her tears little by little, but didn’t get up from his arms hurriedly. After thinking for a while, she asked in a muffled voice, “Did those people show their support to the Fourth Prince before?”

Everyone knew that both the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince were the emperor’s sons and wanted to take Ao Chenyi’s position. The emperor didn’t want Prince Yi to succeed the throne. However, the deceased emperor issued his decree in public, so the emperor couldn’t deny it. During so many years, he could only make others forget Ao Chenyi’s identity as the emperor’s younger brother and call him Prince Yi. His intention was obvious.

Unfortunately, Prince Yi had grown up now. Moreover, there were two talented princes, the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince. When confronting Prince Yi, they had the same interests. However, when confronting each other, they were against each other. So there were the party of the Third Prince and the party of the Fourth Prince in the imperial court, and each of them was independent.

Of course, the party of the Fourth Prince supported the Fourth Prince. They followed the Fourth Prince’s lead and would never blend with the members of the Third Prince’s party. But now, the Fourth Prince saw the members of his party run out from the Third Prince’s manor. What would he think?

“Those people usually support the Fourth Prince indeed, and repeatedly express their loyalty to him. It was supposed to be a secret that the Third Prince invited them to the banquet today, and few people knew it. But now the situation is different. The Third Prince’s Manor was on fire, and no one would be stupid enough to stay there.”

Ao Chenyi said with a smile and patted Ning Xueyan’s back gracefully, as if he was comforting a child. Ning Xueyan blushed again. She really didn’t think that she was a child.

“The Fourth Prince won’t give in.” Ning Xueyan rolled her watery eyes and said.

Ao Mingwan drew those people to his side with painstaking efforts, but Ao Mingyu drew them over in this stealthy way and seemed to intend to make them work as spies in Ao Mingwan’s party. Ao Mingwan certainly would not give in. Honored Consort Ya was powerful, but it was said that Honored Consort Shu was also capable. Otherwise, her son would have not grown up safely.

Capable of bringing her son up in the imperial palace, she couldn’t be stupid. Honored Consort Shu couldn’t compare with Honored Consort Ya, but it was said that she was close to the Empress with no son. Moreover, Ao Mingyu and Ao Mingwan were both the emperor’s sons. The emperor must be impartial before determining the final heir.

“In this case, will they suspect you?” Ning Xueyan asked uneasily. The battle in her backyard couldn’t compare with that in the imperial family. She really had no idea about these things. Although she had lived two lives, she still couldn’t compare with them in plotting. Although she had vented her spleen, she didn’t want the emperor to be suspicious of Ao Chenyi.

The emperor had always been suspicious of him. If the emperor found out that he had intervened in secret, he would probably do something to trap him.

“Don’t worry. I’m in Cold Mountain Temple, sent imperial guards to save my co-consort and went up and down the mountain. I didn’t have time to intervene in their affairs. It’s their own fault that they made such a scene. It has nothing to do with anyone else,” Ao Chenyi said with gloomy eyes. In the dark, his cold eyes were as dark as the night.

In fact, he didn’t care whether the emperor was suspicious of him or not. As long as he existed, he would be suspected forever. Even if he didn’t do anything, the emperor could be suspicious of him as long as he wanted to. Nevertheless, as long as the emperor couldn’t find any evidence against him, he could do nothing no matter how much he suspected him. Now he could watch from a distance the fight between the two brothers and see what scene they would make.

With a trace of delight in her eyes, Ning Xueyan slightly tilted her head, but didn’t get out of his arms. She looked at the flickering sky beneath. It seemed that the fire was still strong and looked so bright from a distance. It could be seen how strong the fire was in that area. Such a big fire didn’t seem to be set by human beings.

“The Third Prince will think that it was the Fourth Prince who instructed someone to set his manor on fire in order to teach him a lesson. Meanwhile, seeing that the Third Prince invited the members of his party to the feast, the Fourth Prince will not let it go at that.” Ning Xueyan yawned slightly. Thinking of something, she was relieved and said with a smile.

Nobody could tell what was going on now. Ao Chenyi, who was supposed to be the suspect, was on the mountain. What was more, it was such a coincidence that Ning Xueyan almost died and had been close to death during this period of time. If they investigated it, they could find out the cause of her carriage crash which was weird. She should have been trapped.

In order to hold Ao Chenyi back, both the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince were likely to set up the trap. Even if both of them claimed that they had been wronged, the emperor might not believe them. After all, the accident was weird.

As the wind blew over, Ning Xueyan coughed in a low voice. Although she couldn’t fall asleep and was in low spirits, the night seemed to have magnified the pain on her, and she felt it unbearable. She looked back at another brightly-lit courtyard.

That was the courtyard where Ning Qingshan lived after going up the mountain. It was said that several physicians had been asked to treat her. Ning Xueyan had heard a girl scream harshly out of control from there a moment ago. Ning Qingshan had always set herself up as a fair lady, but now she failed to keep her dignity. She shouted and screamed in the temple, totally out of control.

Did she break her leg? The Third Prince’s Manor was on fire, and the imperial palace was in a mess. Even if they wanted to ask an imperial physician to treat her, they could find no one...

Qing Xueyan showed a cold smile. Ning Qingshan was vicious and selfish like a viper and tried every means to kill her. Unexpectedly, Ning Qingshan fell down on the same road. When she finally showed up in front of Ning Qingshan safe and sound, she wondered whether Ning Qingshan could control herself!