Chapter 451   I Didn’t Do Anythingv

“Rest assured. I came up to the mountain today with my favorite concubine to pray for blessings. Unexpectedly, I saw Ao Mingyu bully my girl. It’s unbearable to any man. I just slapped him, which is light punishment,” Ao Chenyi said listlessly with a hint of coldness across his eyes.

“Your Highness’s favorite concubine has also come. Where is she?” Ning Xueyan blinked her watery eyes and understood what Ao Chenyi meant. She hurriedly got up, looked around, and asked in confusion.

“Rest assured. Of course, my favorite concubine is in my courtyard. Yan’er, I’m sorry for making you feel aggrieved.” She moved her eyes to look around, looking quite cute and cunning. At the sight of this, Ao Chenyi also raised his face and lazily pinched her ear.

It meant that the person pretending to be Ao Chenyi’s favorite concubine was not here, but in the courtyard where Ao Chenyi usually lived after coming up the mountain. Ning Xueyan didn’t live in the courtyard, where Ao Chenyi usually lived, when recovering from her wounds, although Ao Chenyi spent most of his time in Ning Xueyan’s courtyard.

Of course Ning Xueyan knew that the so-called Ao Chenyi’s favorite concubine was meant to attract others’ attention, and the lady was actually her. She certainly wouldn’t have any trouble with herself, and even got a lot of benefits because of this “Ao Chenyi’s favorite concubine” coming out of nowhere. Even the fact that she and Commandery Princess Xianyun were going to marry Ao Chenyi at the same time didn’t put her in the spotlight. But now, she suddenly had some worries.

“Your Highness, do you really think that we should let your favorite concubine exist all the time?” With a light sigh, Ning Xueyan unconsciously blurted it out. In the past, no one was in charge of the backyard of Prince Yi’s Manor. Although there were numerous women, none of them had status. Moreover, Ao Chenyi showed no tenderness toward women. He was ruthless, and would directly kill the enemies as soon as he found anything unusual.

Thus, even if some people wanted to mess up Ao Chenyi’s backyard, they didn’t dare to act rashly, so his backyard was in a stable situation. Later, ‘his favorite concubine’ showed up, and they got a target. However, this target was protected so well that no one could see her. Even if those people wanted to deal with her, they couldn’t. Besides, those women had no right to say something bad to the favorite concubine.

But now Ao Chenyi was getting married and would have a consort and a co-consort at the same time. Obviously Commandery Princess Xianyun definitely would not leave “Ao Chenyi’s favorite concubine” alone, but this so-called “Ao Chenyi’s favorite concubine” was fictional. They were in the same manor, so it was impossible for Ning Xueyan to play two roles.

“Don’t worry. I have my plan,” Ao Chenyi said with a languid smile and looked at leisure. It was obvious that he had a plan. “Do you want to know where Ao Mingyu is now?”

Where was Ao Mingyu? Wasn’t he in Cold Mountain Temple? Had he gone back in a hurry after being scolded by Ao Chenyi? Ning Xueyan thought it impossible. Ao Mingyu was the Third Prince and had always enjoyed a good reputation. If he really went back in a hurry because of Ao Chenyi and the news went out, it would be a scandal.

If someone observant investigated into it, he might suspect something. It would definitely disgrace Ao Mingyu. So in any case, he should stay in Cold Mountain Temple for at least one day. Besides, he should show his concern for Ning Qingshan gently. But since Ao Chenyi asked this, his meaning should be different.

“Did the Third Prince leave Cold Mountain Temple for an emergency?” Ning Xueyan moved her eyes which were like dark jade, turned her head sideways and asked with curiosity. She really couldn’t figure out what was so important that Ao Mingyu even went down the mountain in a hurry regardless of his good reputation. He had come to Cold Mountain Temple in the name of seeing Ning Qingshan.

Seeing her show less coldness and more childishness and innocence of a girl, Ao Chenyi couldn’t help reaching out to touch her head again. When he met her for the first time, he just looked at her from a distance. He only found that the little girl was so cruel to herself. She bit herself and made her arm drenched with blood. After that, she could still frame someone else in an extremely natural way as if nothing had happened.

At that moment, her ruthlessness and decisiveness inexplicably made him feel that she was like him.

What did she look like when he met her for the second time? She seemed to be piteous with stratagems that were inconsistent with her age. Even when the poisoning incident was exposed in front of her mother’s temporary memorial tablet, she could make use of him cleverly and say what she wanted to say and thus to make Ning Zu’an investigate into the matter and give her an explanation.

He had always been the one plotting against others. Since when there was someone who was not afraid of him and made use of him? He found it interesting at that time, so he gave her a chance to go over to him. In fact, everything or everyone he took a fancy to must belong to him, no matter the one was willing to belong to him or not.

Even if she rejected the chance to go over to him, he would definitely give the chance to her. He just wanted to see how far she could go.

As he expected, she had never let him down and was completely different from other girls. Most of the girls trembled with fear when meeting him, while a few of them were shy with other intentions. Only she was calm, neither humble nor pushy. She was obviously so scared, but she still managed to straighten her weak body to confront him and make a deal with him without the slightest compromise.

She was like a little wild cat who was on the alert and ready to escape at any time, while reaching out her sharp claws in an attempt to bluff.

With more than coldness and gloom on his handsome face, he lifted the corners of his mouth, then he let out a laugh and said, “He had to go back!”

“Your Highness, tell me why he had to go back?” With her long eyelashes fluttering, Ning Xueyan was a little interested. She didn’t really want to know what Ao Mingyu wanted to do, but she thought it might be useful for her. She was very interested in something that Ao Mingyu cared about.

Ao Chenyi raised his eyebrows and looked at Ning Xueyan, who was raising her curious face in his arms, with interest. He casually stroked her long hair, which was hanging down from her head to her back, and felt that it was silky and warm, “Of course there is a story. The Eldest Young Lady of Grand Tutor Ya’s Manor is going to marry Ao Mingwan. How can he not be anxious?”

Ning Xueyan raised her eyebrows. It was really a result she didn’t expect. “How could Grand Tutor Ya agree with it?”

Grand Tutor Ya was tightly tied to Ao Mingyu’s party. How could he think of going over to Ao Mingwan’s party? After all, Grand Tutor Ya’s Manor was different from Lord Protector’s Manor that could seek backing from both parties.

“Every emperor has a cabinet composed of his own favorites, so does the master of a family. Grand Tutor Ya is old!” Ao Chenyi said listlessly, with his slender and white fingers across her dark hair.

What he said was vague, but Ning Xueyan understood it all. After thinking for a moment, she asked in a low voice, “Does the Eldest Young Lady’s father wants to marry her to the Fourth Prince?”

“Although Grand Tutor Ya is in a high position, he has little real power. Now he is old. On the side of Ao Mingyu, the Third Prince who is highly regarded by the emperor, he has gradually dropped out of the power center of the imperial court on his own initiative. Most of the time, he doesn’t say much in the imperial court so as to avoid suspicion.”

“But Grand Tutor Ya’s son is different. He is young and strong with great ambitions. Ya Moqin was supposed to be the Third Prince’s co-consort. It’s fine, and the two families are closer to each other. However, because of Ning Qingshan, Ya Moqin was implicated and lost the position of co-consort. In the future, she will be at a disadvantageous position even if she can be the Third Prince’s co-consort...”

Ao Chenyi said lightly and sounded cold. He lifted the corners of his pretty mouth to show a sarcastic smile. He was not the only one who could clearly see through the stratagem of Grand Tutor Ya’s Manor, so could the emperor. Someone really interfered too much. No matter who was the emperor, he couldn’t tolerate this kind of recalcitrant maternal relatives.

“Your Highness, did you reveal some of the Third Prince’s deeds to the emperor?” Ning Xueyan blinked twice, looked up with a sparkle in her dark eyes and asked softly. She got up from Ao Chenyi’s arms and sat on the bed on knees. With her long black hair streaming loose from her head down to her slender body, she squinted charmingly at Ao Chenyi. The fact that the emperor thought of this thing meant that there was something behind it.

“I didn’t do anything!” Ao Chenyi said with a serious look. However, the faint delight in his slanted eyes obviously looked a little sarcastic. He said that to show that he was innocent, but he failed.

“Your Highness, does Grand Preceptor Ya’s Mansion have something to do with the former dynasty?” She just blurted it out. After that, she pressed the edge of the bed with her hands on both sides and raised her watery eyes at leisure, still seeming to be curious.

In the last life, the girl, who had a voice similar to Ya Moqin’s, had appeared in her home and lived there for a period of time. Her mother was so cautious that she wouldn’t allow someone she was unacquainted with to live in their home. Moreover, they seemed to be intimate friends.

Ao Chenyi stared at Ning Xueyan with his deep eyes. There was a beam of dim light across his slanted eyes, making him look a little blurred and dark. He showed a lazy smile on his handsome face and motioned for Ning Xueyan to fetch a cushion. After that, he leant against it to make himself feel more comfortable.

“Yan’er, are you asking whether Grand Tutor Ya’s Manor has something to do with Ning Ziying who lived in your manor?”

He was so straightforward that Ning Xueyan felt her heart skipped a beat. Looking at his deep eyes, she couldn’t help clenching her fists. It was related to the secret of her rebirth. There was something she really didn’t know how to tell him. She bit her lips and looked straight into Ao Chenyi’s eyes without dodging his eyes. “Yes, I really want to know.”

She didn’t think that she could hide her unusual reactions in front of Ao Chenyi. So she just went straight to the point and said it directly. There was something that she couldn’t check out easily. If it was so easy to investigate into the affairs of Grand Tutor Ya’s Manor, it would be impossible for it to remain influential in two dynasties.

“Grand Tutor Ya was the Minister of Personnel of the previous dynasty. He won the favor of the emperor of the previous dynasty, but betrayed the previous dynasty afterwards and joined himself to my father’s side. Honored Consort Ya was a noble lady of the previous dynasty as well as a noble lady of the current dynasty. Compared with other old ministers of the previous dynasty, Grand Tutor Ya is the greatest winner.”

Ao Chenyi’s voice was faint and distant. He seemed to mention it inadvertently. However, his light voice made Ning Xueyan felt inexplicably cold and gloomy. She subconsciously reached out to hold Ao Chenyi’s hand and almost unconsciously grabbed his hand firmly. She felt a part of her heart was stabbed by something and unconsciously clenched her fists.

At this moment, Ao Chenyi made her feel that he was far away from her, so far that she almost felt that he was the only one traveling alone in the vast world. With some coldness in his icy and bloodthirsty eyes, he slightly squinted at an unknown place outside the window.