Chapter 546   Heng Yuqing’s Urgent Letter

When Xiangrong arrived at the Pear Flower Garden, Ning Xueyan was about to leave with Lanning and Qingyu. She stopped her footsteps when she saw Xiangrong.

“Consort Ning, the Princess said that she has been feeling under the weather lately and asks that you take care of any business in the manor. The matters at the Fragrance Garden, in particular, can’t be taken lightly. If they need anything at all, you should help procure them. In a nutshell, we can’t go against the Prince’s intentions. Here are some floral tea leaves that the Princess personally prepared. It’s a small amount, but please try them, Consort.”

Xiangrong came up with a smile and spoke respectfully as she presented the teabag in her hand.

Qingyu stepped forward and took the teabag before retreating to Ning Xueyan’s side.

“Please relay my thanks to the Princess. But I’m afraid I won’t be much help to the Fragrance Garden. I heard that the Prince manages that place himself!”

Ning Xueyan smiled, her eyes icy when glancing at the teabag.

Ao Chenyi had already made himself clear about his “beloved concubine”. Ning Xueyan believed that Commandery Princess Xianyun understood his meaning well.

“The Princess said the Prince is, after all, a man and may not be so attentive and meticulous. There might be some things that he didn’t expect. So, she asks that you help him. We should try our best to offer the best food and items to the Fragrance Garden. The Prince is so busy, and that’s his only interest, so we must do our best to serve him well.”

The Princess’ words sounded so magnanimous that anyone who heard her would have thought that she was a truly virtuous person. There were no flaws in her words and she appeared very humble.

However, if Ning Xueyan was truly just a consort, she would have been unhappy after hearing this. She was the prince’s consort, not the maid of a nameless concubine. It sounded as if she had to immediately serve whatever needs the concubine demanded of her. Moreover, the Princess even specifically pointed out that the concubine at the Fragrance Garden was Ao Chenyi’s favorite.

It was as if Ning Xueyan was nothing at all, just someone that the Prince married to be a wallflower and deal with these errands.

No woman would be happy to hear such words, especially after that “beloved concubine” appeared to have acted so spoiled and invited Ao Chenyi over on his wedding night. She had caused Ao Chenyi to abandon his princess and consort, turning them into a joke. It would have been normal had Ao Chenyi spent the night with Commandery Princess Xianyun instead of Ning Xueyan.

However, the one he spent the night with was someone with lesser status and position than her.

Now, the Princess was asking her to “serve” the nameless concubine with her heart. No matter how well-tempered she was, any noble lady wouldn’t be able to bear this humiliation.

Ning Xueyan nodded casually, looking as if she was so eager to leave to attend to her business that she didn’t hear Xiangrong at all, and said perfunctorily with a smile, “Please tell the Princess that if I’m feeling well, I would surely help her take care of the affairs at the Fragrance Garden.”

“Consort Ning...” Xiangrong wanted to explain even clearly.

Lanning walked over and held her hand, saying affectionately, “Sister Xiangrong, how is this floral tea made? When my master heard that you all picked flowers for tea, she was quite intrigued and asked us about it. But we weren’t very smart and didn’t know anything. This is great. Since you’re here today, why don’t you teach me? At least we won’t be completely clueless when our master asks us again.”

“It’s not very difficult. The next time I come, I’ll...” A panicked Xiangrong rejected Lanning when she saw that Ning Xueyan was about to leave with Qingyu. She was too vague with her words earlier, and Consort Ning didn’t look a smart one, seeing as she didn’t grasp her meaning. She must chase after Consort Ning and clarify herself.

Lanning looked overjoyed. She pulled Xiangrong’s hand, pointed to a bunch of flowers on her right, and eagerly asked, “Great! Sister Xiangrong, look at those flowers. Do you think they can be turned into tea?”

“I...” Ning Xueyan and Qingyu had reached the gates of the courtyard. “I... No...”

“No? What a pity. Do the flowers over there work? I heard these flowers are quite rare in the capital,” Lanning asked, pointing to another bunch of flowers. She had confused Xiangrong.

By the time Xiangrong recovered her senses, Ning Xueyan and Qingyu had already left the courtyard.

“Master, these flowers are the ones that we had chosen. We were the ones who saw them first. You liked their fragrance and especially asked the servant there to keep them for you. But the Princess said that she liked them as well and wanted them for tea. They didn’t even leave a single one for you and now they said they’re sending you floral tea?”

Qingyu spoke angrily as she opened the tea bag and peeked at the tea leaves inside.

The Princess was obviously trying to exert pressure on Ning Xueyan. She had gone to the garden afterward and saw the perfectly fine plant robbed of all its blooming flowers. It was obvious that they had plucked every flower without even leaving a bud behind.

Now, they were even provoking her master under the guise of sending her floral tea. It could be seen that the Princess with a gentle smile was also a hypocrite who would behave differently from her words.

“Qingyu, throw the tea leaves away,” Ning Xueyan said indifferently. There was a peculiar smell coming from the teabag. Others might not notice but she was very familiar with it. They had added a contraceptive incense into the mix. If one were to take in this fragrance continually for a month, she wouldn’t be able to have children anymore.

Of course, the incense would be even more effective if consumed orally. A few times were all it took. That small amount was enough to render her childless for life.

Commandery Princess Xianyun wasn’t just trying to suppress her with the gift of floral tea; the Princess was making her infertile and provoking her into action in one fell swoop as well.

“Master, why are we throwing it away? The flowers are gone, you know. They’ve picked everything the other day.” Qingyu was reluctant.

“If you don’t throw them away and really make tea with them, you can forget about having children in your life,” Ning Xueyan said indifferently.

Qingyu was so taken aback that the teabag in her hands fell to the ground. She immediately closed the bag with a pale face. “Master, there’s something else in this?”

Ning Xueyan looked down and said calmly, “Yes. So, just burn it.”

Qingyu was stunned, but a look of rage quickly appeared on her face. “Master! She’s too much! You really can’t tell she’s like this from her appearance.”

“She has done even worse things,” Ning Xueyan said coldly. She had already investigated the kind of person the Princess was. The Princess had appeared calm and indifferent when she was in the Lord Peace’s Manor, but there was a coincidence too great to ignore. On the day that Heng Yuwan wanted to harm Heng Yuqing, after the Princess heard that she would be marrying into Prince Yi’s Manor with her, she immediately tried to ruin her reputation.

Remembering what Ao Chenyi had told her past stories about Lord Peace’s Manor, Ning Xueyan had guessed that they were mainly in the work of producing Empress Dowagers. This ought to be their biggest desire as well. Even though they had already promoted one of their own into the Empress Dowager position and became descendants of one, the Empress Dowager nevertheless died too soon. They didn’t even have the chance to enjoy power before they went on the decline.

How could such an ambitious family really decline into an ordinary family? Therefore, when the best lady of the Lord Peace’s Manor, Commandery Princess Xianyun, appeared in the world, her purpose was self-evident.

“Master, what should we do?” Qingyu asked anxiously.

“I’m not too worried about the matters of the backyards at the moment. I have always been sickly, so I can’t interfere even if I want to. Besides, the Princess is still around.” Ning Xueyan walked forward.

“Oh, yes. Your health is poor and you can’t interfere with other matters.” Upon hearing Ning Xueyan’s reminder, Qingyu’s eyes immediately lit up.

The truth was that Ning Xueyan’s health was fine. She was frail as a child, so her lips appeared paler than normal, but she was otherwise healthy. Of course, such a complexion was most conducive for her to pretend to be sick. She would appear sick if she was lying down, and perfectly fine if she was standing up.

She could be ill and healthy whenever she wanted to.

“Didn’t the Eldest Young Lady Heng say anything else?” Ning Xueyan frowned, not wanting to discuss Commandery Princess Xianyun with Qingyu anymore. She was rushing out because of Heng Yuqing’s letter. Heng Yuqing had invited her out, saying that there was something important to tell her.

She hadn’t seen Heng Yuqing since their meeting at Hua Yunheng’s Peach Blossom Island. Heng Yuqing had merely sent a maid bearing a gift to her wedding and said nothing else. She was worried, so she had Lanning ask. It seemed that Heng Yuqing’s mother wasn’t in good health so she had to stand by her bed.

“No, all she said was that you must take the time to meet her. The maid who relayed the message seemed to be in a rush. She didn’t even give me a chance to talk to her.” Qingyu put the teabag in a sachet and wrapped it tightly for fear that even a little bit of the aroma would leak.

Since her master said that the scent was harmful, she certainly couldn’t let even a whiff reach her master’s nose. Her master had always been frailer than most; she couldn’t afford any mishaps.

After walking a few steps, they saw that the two older female servants responsible for carrying the sedan chair that another maid had summoned earlier had arrived. Ning Xueyan got on the sedan chair, while Qingyu walked beside her. They went straight to Chuihua Gate. When they arrived, Ning Xueyan got off the sedan chair and went to the outer courtyard. She had already reported her whereabouts to Ao Chenyi, so she went directly to the manor gates and boarded the carriage parked there.

Inside the carriage, Ning Xueyan leaned against the warm, soft couch with a slight frown. It must be no trivial matter if Heng Yuqing was forced to call her out so anxiously, especially since she was now in Prince Yi’s Manor instead of the Lord Protector’s Manor. Everyone knew how bad-tempered Prince Yi was. Had Heng Yuqing gotten into trouble?

Was this related to the Lord Guardian’s Manor or Prince Yi’s Manor? Or did it have something to do with her? She couldn’t think of anything.

It was inconvenient for her to travel after marrying into Prince Yi’s Manor, so she had Qingyu tell the maid from the Lord Guardian’s Manor to ask Heng Yuqing to meet her in her Yuyan Shop. She had mentioned her new store to Heng Yuqing while they were viewing the peach blossoms before, so she had the carriage take her straight to Yuyan Shop.

She closed her eyes slightly, pondering over and over...