Chapter 545   The Sound of Zither in the Courtyard

He still couldn’t believe that she was truly dead. How could such a wonderful and gentle woman like her die?

Thus, when he saw Ning Xueyan—the Fifth Young Lady who had been kept away from the eyes of the public—appeared in front of him, he thought it was her!

Even if this didn’t seem possible, he gradually began to think that Ning Xueyan was really her!

“Yuhang, someone must have bewitched my Second Sister. She wouldn’t do something like this. Can... Can you really bring yourself to kill her?” Ning Huaiyuan said, appearing out of nowhere.

Could he not bring himself to kill Ning Yuling? A bitter, almost mocking smile appeared on Xia Yuhang’s face. His heart was empty now without anything that he cared about. A heartless person didn’t care for anyone. Even if he did, he wouldn’t care for a despicable woman like Ning Yuling.

“Huaiyuan, if she’s pitiful, what does that make your mother? If people know that she killed her mother to frame another person, it wouldn’t be excessive for them to demand her die by a thousand cuts.”

Xia Yuhang looked calmly at Ning Huaiyuan.

No matter how terrible Madam Ling was, Ning Yuling’s deeds were even more vicious. Moreover, she committed murder to frame someone else. No matter how one looked at it, there was no reason to spare her life.

Ning Huaiyuan fell silent, his malicious stare directed forward. They remained quiet even after they disappeared out of view...

Not even Xia Yuhang could not see through Ning Huaiyuan...

The entire family worked together to conceal Ning Yuling’s crime, saying that Madam Ling fell into the well and drowned while strolling the garden with her. The maid who followed Ning Yuling had died as well.

Mother Chen didn’t die, but became mute after receiving a cup of medicated wine from Madam Dowager. Madam Dowager only let her live for Ning Xueyan’s sake.

And the family records of the Lord Protector’s Manor had been reopened under the witness of several elders. The time at which Madam Ling had entered the manor had been reverified and amended. When Ning Huaiyuan and Ning Ziyan were born, Madam Ling had yet to be a concubine at the manor. Children born from a mistress couldn’t be considered legitimate. At worst, they were named bastards.

On the contrary, Concubine Yu, the maid who served Ning Zu’an in bed. Her son was well-documented as a son of a concubine.

Ning Qingshan was imprisoned under Madam Dowager’s orders while Ning Huaiyuan disappeared one rainy night.

Some said that he left in despair after the sudden death of his mother and sister. Others said that he left because he couldn’t stand the humiliation of being an illegitimate son. But no matter what the real reason was, the Lord Protector’s Manor couldn’t find him anywhere.

Madam Dowager dispatched men everywhere to look for Ning Huaiyuan, but he was nowhere to be found. She had no choice but to give up after several nights of tears. They still had another heir. Even though she wasn’t close to him, he still had the blood of the Ning family in him. This was much better than the extinction of their bloodline.

Ning Xueyan became “ill” again after returning to Prince Yi’s Manor. Apparently, what happened that day had given her a scare. It was only natural for someone as weakly as her to be intimidated. Who would have thought that she would encounter such a thing on a simple return back to her family manor?

Great Wisdom Garden.

A seated Commandery Princess Xianyun was enjoying a cup of floral tea with a leisurely expression on her face. This tea was Xiangrong’s best handiwork. Xiangrong picked fresh flowers and sprinkled the best ingredients on them. When she soaked them in tea, there would be a pleasant whiff of fresh flower scent.

When the Princess appeared relaxed after sipping the tea, Xiangrong sweetly asked, “Princess, how’s the tea? Aren’t the flowers fragrant?”

“Not bad. These flowers aren’t like the ones in our manor.” The Princess nodded. She liked floral tea very much. Particularly, she liked to have her maid pick budding flowers at the height of spring, dry them for a while, and make them into tea.

“I heard that these flowers can’t be found in our manor; apparently, Annan sent them as a tribute. There are only a few plants in the entire manor. They only bloomed a few days ago, and they’re so fragrant you can smell them from a mile away! I was drawn toward them because of the smell. The servant at the flower garden said that Consort Ning likes the potted flowers too, but I think the flowers are better used as tea for you, Princess.”

Xiangrong felt happy when she remembered the servant’s conflicted expression. Her Princess was the real mistress of the manor. What did the servant mean that the consort wanted the flowers as well? Which manor would have the mistress give way to the consort? Thus, she purposely picked all the blooming flowers, leaving not even a bud behind.

“Since Sister Ning wants the flowers, we should at least give her some. Do we still have some left? Wrap a few flowers and send them to her later. Make them more fragrant so she can enjoy them too. She has always been sickly; only by living plainly can she live a life free of disaster and disease.”

The Princess blew at the petal resting on the surface of the tea and took a sip leisurely. She appeared calm and magnanimous.

“Yes, I’ll send Consort Ning a message later. You’re so generous. You’d even send such precious flowers to the consort. I thank you on her behalf, Princess.” Xiangrong was a maid who knew how to please her master. Making the Princess appear like the most magnanimous person in the world managed to put a little smile on the Princess’ face.

Make the flowers more fragrant? As the Princess’ maid, Xiangrong naturally understood what her master meant. The Princess hadn’t given birth to an heir yet, so the consort naturally could not have children.

The Princess was satisfied when she saw Xiangrong getting her meaning immediately. Remembering the delightful conversation she had with Ning Qingshan that day, they had both carefully avoided the topic of Ning Xueyan several times. But they were both clever people. She could still keenly sense that Ning Qingshan didn’t like Ning Xueyan.

If there was a chance, the two of them could cooperate very well.

She couldn’t make it too direct as it was their first meeting and could only be vague about it. Nevertheless, she was quite happy with the result. The enemy of an enemy was a friend; this was something she was well aware of from a very young age.

“Go and send the flowers over then. Oh, and tell Sister Ning that I’m not feeling quite well lately so I want her to take care of the affairs in the backyard,” the Princess said meaningfully, putting down her cup of tea. She looked out of the window. From this direction, she ought to be looking at the residence of Prince Yi’s concubines.

That mysterious favored concubine had always concerned her.

What kind of woman was she that she could receive such protection from Ao Chenyi? She had been asking around privately since entering the manor, but the people in the manor seemed afraid of talking about her. It was said that Ao Chenyi once ordered for anyone that dared to speak about his beloved concubine to be killed.

Compared to their own lives, the money and rewards that the Princess offered were far from enough. It was nice to have money, but that was if they were alive to enjoy it.

The Princess was unreconciled.

She was the Princess of the Prince Yi’s Manor. She had used every trick up her sleeve to enter this manor just so she could enjoy the honor of being the princess. She also believed that she would win Ao Chenyi’s heart. No matter from which aspect—talent, appearance, or reputation—she was undoubtedly the most outstanding noble lady in the capital.

She was much better than Ao Chenyi’s previous fiancee, so he couldn’t be still longing for that woman so much that he overlooked her virtues.

Now, who could explain to her what was going on with that beloved concubine who didn’t have an official position? More than one person had seen that concubine. It was said that Ao Chenyi had once ignored etiquette and brought her to the palace banquet. But why was it that she couldn’t investigate anything about the concubine?

She would never let that woman live. Even if that woman was just a beloved concubine without any position, that woman was a threat to her future for as long as she had Ao Chenyi’s heart. No matter what, her dream was to be the Mother of the Nation. Others were optimistic about the Third Prince, but she and the Lord Peace’s Manor had pinned their hopes on Ao Chenyi.

If Ao Chenyi was really that easy to deal with, the Emperor wouldn’t have just let him be for so many years without being able to do anything.

The fact that Ao Chenyi could make the Emperor helpless against him was proof of the strength behind him. She became his princess just so she could be the Mother of the Nation, and this was a position that the Lord Peace’s Manor was fighting for as well. If the Lord Peace’s Manor could push the current Emperor to the throne back then, they could also help Prince Yi ascend the throne.

And she would be the well-deserved Empress, and the future Empress Dowager.

“Princess, that woman never leaves her room. She only has one maid serving her and others can’t approach her at all. But the sound of zither can be occasionally heard when you pass by her place. I secretly went there today and listened. She’s much worse compared to you, Princess. She’s not a properly educated woman if she can’t even play the zither well.”

Qiuhuan couldn’t help but speak up. Even though no one dared to speak about Prince Yi’s beloved concubine, money could do wonders and the Princess was able to at least find a direction. Qiuhuan had secretly observed the concubine’s courtyard for two days and concluded that the Prince had protected the concubine very well.

The gates of the courtyard were almost always closed, with only one maid coming in and out. The concubine had almost never come out. Only the sound of zither would occasionally drift out of the courtyard, indicating that she was playing the zither. Qiuhuan thought that she wasn’t purposely deriding that woman, for her zither playing was truly poor.

“All right. Xiangrong, you can send the flowers to Sister Ning now. See how she’s doing and chat with her about the manor’s affairs. I’m not feeling well lately, so she’ll have to bear the burden with me. Once I’m feeling better, I’ll definitely visit her.” The Princess put down her cup of tea and smiled.

She was currently the most unfavored person in the entire manor, but it wasn’t entirely bad. No matter how bad the infighting got, it wouldn’t be her fault. Once those two fought so hard that they ended up in a lose-lose situation, she would show up and clean up their mess. Those who should be beaten, punished, or sold would be dealt with accordingly. Either way, she would have to return peace to the manor.

When that time came, Prince Yi would find out that she was the only princess that could aid him.

“Yes, I understand,” Xiangrong said, understanding her meaning tacitly. She picked a few dried flowers out of their pile and some tea leaves. Then, she fished out a small sachet from under the Princess’ dressing box, took out some powder, and sprinkled some on the tea leaves. She gave it a shake and indeed, the floral tea became even more fragrant. Even though these light powders had a scent of their own, their smell was concealed by the fragrance of the flowers.

Moreover, the powder was so fine that they couldn’t be seen in the tea leaves.

Xiangrong carefully wrapped up the tea leaves and brought them to the Pear Flower Garden.