The Devious First-Daughter (Web Novel)

Chapter 332 Fourth Prince’s Lobbyist

“Fifth Sister, you’re smart to say so.” Ning Huaiyuan tapped the table to show his admiration for Ning Xueyan. “In fact, it’s quite simple. I didn’t offer to make a match, but someone asked me to do this, so I have to tell you. He is noble and nice, so if you can be with him, you’ll have a promising future. We may need to count on you later.”

“Who is it?” Ning Xueyan asked vigilantly.

“Fifth Sister, don’t worry. Of course, it’s Fourth Prince.” Ning Huaiyuan laughed and gestured Ning Xueyan to sit down. Then he continued, “Fifth Sister, Fourth Prince has a deep affection for you. He had made up his mind to marry you at first sight. If you could be chosen in the Beauty Contest this time, he would definitely ask His Majesty to marry you to him. With your condition, you’ll become his co-consort at least.”

“Fourth Prince Ao Mingwan?” Ning Xueyan frowned. She didn’t have much contact with Fourth Prince before, even less than the contact with Third Prince Ao Mingyu. She wondered where did the rumor come from. At the thought of this, she could not help but sneer. Furthermore, Ning Huaiyuan said if she could ‘be with’ not ‘marry’ Fourth Prince, so obviously, in his opinion, it would be a great privilege for Ning Xueyan to become even a concubine of Fourth Prince.

He also hinted with regret that if it were not for her loss in the contest, things would be much better.

Anyway, she was so lucky to marry Fourth Prince.

“Brother Huaiyuan, there’s no need to say anything else. At least, I’m Lord Protector’s wedded wife’s daughter.” Ning Xueyan’s eyes turned grim with a hint of coldness in her jet-black eyes.

“Fifth Sister, it’s only a makeshift. When Fourth Prince… as his beloved woman, you’ll get everything you want. With the Lord Protector’s Manor as your backing, you may even become the most powerful woman in the country.”

Ning Huaiyuan thought that Ning Xueyan felt embarrassed, so he persuaded her in a soft voice.

“The most powerful woman in the country? Ning Huaiyuan really thinks ‘highly’ of me!” Ning Xueyan snorted inwardly. “Brother Huaiyuan, I dare not consent to such a good marriage! I’m busy and I have to leave.”

Ning Xueyan stood up and intended to end the conversation. Obviously, Ning Huaiyuan came to her as Ao Mingwan’s lobbyist. What was more, he was trying to persuade her to be Ao Mingwan’s concubine. Ning Huaiyuan said he did not want to discuss it with Madam Dowager because he was afraid that Madam Dowager might marry Ning Yuling to Fourth Prince. It sounded like it was for Ning Xueyan’s own good, but she knew he was egging her to elope to the Fourth Prince’s Manor.

Ning Huaiyuan did not expect that Ning Xueyan would have refused him directly. “Fifth Sister, think about it over. Fourth Prince really likes you…”

“Brother Huaiyuan, don’t you think it’s improper to say something like this to your unmarried sister?” Ning Xueyan sneered with sarcasm in her eyes and said coldly, “I know little about Fourth Prince. Please don’t talk nonsense to me anymore! If other people hear this, they will think that all the Young Ladies of the Lord Protector’s Manor were so unruly!”

Ning Xueyan shot back without mercy. She did not only blame Ning Huaiyuan, but hinted that Ning Yuling was unruly as well. Ning Yuling was ill-famed because of her unruliness. Although rumors about her were limited in a certain range, everyone in the Protector’s Manor was clear about this.

Ning Huaiyuan’s face turned pale at Ning Xueyan’s words. Obviously, there was no room for them to negotiate. “Fifth Sister, you’ll regret it,” he said with a grim look in his eyes.

“Thank you for your kindness, Brother Huaiyuan.” With it, Ning Xueyan walked past him to Qingyu waiting outside without looking at him.

When Ning Huaiyuan rose to his feet, Ning Xueyan had left. He stood still for a while and managed to calm himself down with a strange look in his eyes and a sneer on his lips. “Fine! Since you turned Fourth Prince down on your own, he can’t blame me for it. I’d like speeding it up if you want to course death,” he thought.

He had given her a way out, but she ruined the chance herself.

Flicking his sleeve, he turned and walked towards the outer courtyard. He would inform Fourth Prince about it in advance so that the latter would prepare mentally. No matter how outstanding Ning Xueyan was, he could do nothing help because she had no feeling for Fourth Prince. Ning Huaiyuan knew that he should make it clear to Fourth Prince now. Then if anything bad happened to Ning Xueyan in the future, even if Fourth Prince still loved her, he could not blame him.

That was not bad. Subconsciously, Ning Huaiyuan was unwilling to see Ning Xueyan become Ao Mingwan’s woman.

Of course, if Ning Xueyan was willing to be with Fourth Prince, she could only be his concubine. Besides, Lord Protector would not tolerate his daughter to be a concubine of Fourth Prince, so he would definitely announce to the public that Ning Xueyan died of illness. After her forever disappearance in the Lord Protector’s Manor, people might find a concubine in the Fourth Prince’s Manor who looked the same as Fifth Young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor. But they would be told that they just looked similar by coincidence.

Even if Fourth Prince ascended the throne in the future, so what? It was impossible for an inferior concubine without strong family background to become a real powerful woman in the imperial palace.

Ning Xueyan did not know exactly what Ning Huaiyuan was thinking, but she knew Ning Huaiyuan was up to no good. In her last life, Ning Ziying did not have much contact with Ning Huaiyuan. The original owner of Ning Xueyan’s body did not remember much of him except for his indifference. Ning Huaiyuan was even more indifferent to her than to passers-by!

Ning Huaiyuan had never given her a hand when Ning Yuling bullied her. But now, he came to show his siblinghood and even worried that Yuling might steal her marriage. This was obviously false. Ning Huaiyuan had done this either because he was stupid or because he had another purpose.

Did he deliberately tempt her into rejecting Ao Mingwan so that Ao Mingwan would not blame him for it? If that was the case, Ning Huaiyuan would make a move to deal with her soon.

He was cornering her step by step. Men were really different from ordinary women in the backyard!

Unfortunately, Ning Xueyan was a Young Lady from the backyard. If Ning Huaiyuan intended to deal with her, he would have to use the same tactics he used with the backyard women. As not all women were as prudent as him, if he cooperated them to deal with Ning Xueyan, his plan might expose as something would be beyond his control.

Ning Xueyan stood under the tree, watching Qing’er walk out from behind the wall with a younger maid following her. Junior Concubine Xu even asked a maid to serve Qing’er, a second-class maid? It was obvious provocation to Ning Xueyan.

It seemed that Junior Concubine Xu had regarded Ning Huaiyuan as her backing.

She thought that Ning Xueyan would be get rid of soon, so she was so unscrupulous.

“Miss, during your time in the imperial palace, Junior Concubine Xu had requested a few times to Mother Han to send Qing’er to her place. Each time, Mother Han refused her on the pretext of your absence. Then it looks like this!” Qingyu said resentfully at the sight of Qing’er, who wasn’t dressed like a maid at all.

In the past, Qing’er was kind of obedient except for bullying the maids younger than her occasionally behind the others’ back. Now, she not only yelled at Mother Han in front Ning Xueyan and Xinmei, but also had a young maid waiting on her. It was said that her physical conditions were poor, so Junior Concubine Xu had sent the young maid to serve her. It seemed that she had regarded herself as the master of the manor.

“Did this young maid come here in the past few days?” Ning Xueyan looked at the maid with a slight smile, who looked very smart, from a distance. The maid was kind of strong, so one could tell that she was in charge of rough works. Although she was only 13 or 14 years old, she seemed to have great strength which was quite different from Qing’er.

“Yes. She is smart and honey-tongued. She is in charge of boiling medicinal herbs for Qing’er and she would bury the dregs each time instead of throwing them away casually.” Qingyu had a good feeling about this young maid, so she deliberately mentioned her in front of Ning Xueyan.

“Bury the residues? How did you deal with the residues before?” Ning Xueyan asked with a slight frown. She had never cared about this. Bright Frost Garden had the largest number of people who took medicine in the manor, so how to deal with the residues was really a big problem.

“In the past, Mother Han and I would pour all the residues on an open space in the corner of the courtyard. After some time, people would sweep them away. That young maid is very amusing. She said some of the herb residues contain harmful substances, so it was improper to pour them onto the ground. To avoid the residues harmful to your health, she suggested to bury them…”

Qingyu had thought what the maid said made sense, but when she told Ning Xueyan about this, she felt something wrong for no reason. She could not figure out what it was, so she suddenly stopped and asked Ning Xueyan in confusion, “Miss, do you feel something wrong with it?”

Ning Xueyan looked at Qingyu appreciatively. Unlike Lanning, Qingyu had been reckless. Now she could even tell there was something wrong, so obviously, she was more experienced than before. Watching Qing’er walking away, Ning Xueyan moved on and answered, “Instead of paying attention to Qing’er, you should keep an eye on this young maid.”

A trace of a sneer appeared on her lips. Those people wanted to shift her attention, but unfortunately, they underestimated her intelligence.

How could such a rough maid be well-educated and even know the property of a medicine?

She even attracted more attention than the sickly Qing’er, who went to Junior Concubine Xu’s place from time to time every day, wearing ostentatious clothes. It was really surprising!

“Yes, got it.” Qingyu was obedient to Ning Xueyan. Although she could not find anything wrong at the moment, her intuition told her that there was something wrong with the maid, so she nodded immediately.

Her master would not suspect anyone for no reason, so she was certain that there must be something wrong with the maid. She knew she had to be more cautious and never let the others hurt her master.

When Ning Xueyan returned to Bright Frost Garden with Qingyu, Mother Han had been waiting anxiously for a long time. She blinked at Qingyu when she saw them walking in. Qingyu understood her intention immediately, so she walked to the outer room with a nod. Then she sat down and started with needleworks. Although no outsiders were here now, they should be more cautious.

Mother Han pulled Ning Xueyan into the inner room with an anxious look. “Miss, something happened to Childe Ning!” As soon as she closed the door, she said, stamping her feet. She had rushed back the moment she heard the news and had been waiting for a long time. She was told that Ning Xueyan had gone to Madam Dowager’s courtyard, so she did not dare to find her. It made her like a cat on hot bricks.

She wondered what her master would do to deal with this tricky problem.