"Your Highness!" The comer was a fat old man. Because of obesity, he shook while he was walking. On hearing the noise here, he turned his head and saw the Third Prince. Then he immediately hurried to come to salute Third Prince. The Third Prince was the favorite son of His Majesty, how could Marquis of Ping"an not immediately come to flatter him?
"Marquis of Ping"an!" The Third Prince waved his one hand and his gaze fell on Ning Xueyan who was not recover from the fright and leaning on her maids. When he held her hands just now, he felt that her hands were thin and soft, as if something was attracting him so that he could hardly let go of her hands.
"Third Prince, thank you for saving me!" Ning Xueyan seemed to recover from the fright. She pushed aside Qingyu, respectfully walked to the Third Prince and saluted him.
Her blue dress was very old, and its material was also not very good. It could be seen that it was made years ago. Seeing her dress, the Third Prince unconsciously frowned. When his gaze fell on her face, he frowned more greatly. Her delicate face was blocked by the heavy bangs so that she looked very normal.
If he had not observed her carefully, he would surely have thought that she was not as beautiful as the maids around him.
All her beauty was covered up by her bangs and clothes.
The color of her lips was as light as ever, but her face was better than before. Although she was still weak and pale, but looked ruddier. The Third Prince suddenly thought that her delicate face under the heavy bangs should be more beautiful and charming!
Suppressing the inner impulse, the Third Prince turned to Ning Lingyun and asked, "What happened just now?"
"Your Highness, we were playing just now. But unexpectedly, I didn"t control myself and accidentally pushed Fifth Sister. Fortunately, you saved her. Otherwise I would be guilty if she was injured." Hearing that the Third Prince was talking to her, Ning Lingyun became excited and her voice became more delicate.
"It"s clear that she pushed our Young Lady. But now she actually said that they were playing." Qingyu was unhappy when she heard what Ning Lingyun said and was about to refute. But she was stopped by Lanning and was unwilling to stand aside while pouting and looking at Ning Lingyun with hatred.
Ning Lingyun answered in a delicate voice, which only made Third Prince frown with displeasure, but attracted Marquis of Ping"an who stood beside the Third Prince. He thought that the woman in front of him was really nice. She wore a light pink gauze skirt and a belt of the same color was around her slender waist, which made her slim and graceful.
Then he looked at Ning Lingyun"s face which was snow-white and delicate. Her cheeks were pink and her watery eyes were full of shyness. Marquis of Ping"an thought he was attracted only by her one look. Marquis of Ping"an was originally lecherous. Now when he suddenly saw such a beautiful woman, he instantly indulged himself with her beauty with mouth opening and l.u.s.t in his eyes.
"Is this the Second Young Lady of Lord Protector"s Manor?" Marquis of Ping"an had already heard that the Second Young Lady of Lord Protector"s Manor was extremely beautiful. And he wondered whether the girl in front of him now was the Second Young Lady of Lord Protector"s Manor.
Ning Lingyun was not as beautiful as Ning Yuling. However, she specially dressed up and pretended to be shy and feminine today. Anyway, she was the Young Lady of a respectable family, and had learned the etiquette. At this time, her shy expression and delicate voice greatly attracted Marquis of Ping"an.
He did not expect that there was such a beauty in the world. He believed that everyone would envy him if this beauty belonged to him.
As for Ning Xueyan who looked normal, Marquis of Ping"an had not seen her face clearly so far and directly neglected her.
Again, someone mistook Ning Lingyun for Ning Yuling, which made Ning Lingyun angry. On hearing that, she immediately winked at the maids standing beside her. Then a maid took a step forward and said while holding her head high, "The Second Young Lady? This is the Fourth Young Lady!"
Ning Lingyun was so excited to see the Third Prince that she did not hear his address to Marquis of Ping"an at all. At this time, she could only saw the handsome Third Prince.
Usually, Ning Lingyun was suppressed by Madam Ling and Ning Yuling. So she had never seen an honored guest before. She only once saw the Third Prince in the distance and fell in love with him at that time. However, Ning Yuling was supposed to marry the Third Prince. As the daughter of a concubine, Ning Lingyun had to hide her love to Third Prince in her heart. If Ning Yuling knew that she liked the Third Prince, she would lose her life.
Ning Yuling would never allow others to covet her things, not to mention the Third Prince. In the past, if Ning Lingyun touched Ning Yuling"s things, Ning Yuling would beat Ning Lingyun first, and then tore up those things so that Ning Lingyun would not get them.
Therefore, Ning Lingyun never dared to do anything when faced Ning Yuling!
Ning Lingyun had thought that there would be no chance for her to marry the Third Prince. Every dog has his day. Unexpectedly, the marriage between Ning Yuling and the Third Prince had failed and the always arrogant Ning Yuling finally had to marry such a playboy as Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li.
This result made Ning Lingyun extremely happy and she might laugh from her sleeping!
Ning Yuling did not have the opportunity to marry the Third Prince, which meant that Ning Lingyun got the opportunity. People of Lord Protector"s Manor would not miss the opportunity to ally with the Third Prince by marriage. Madam Dowager would tightly grasp the Third Prince. As for Ning Xueyan, Ning Lingyun directly ignored.
In Ning Lingyun"s opinion, herself was slender and in good shape and the skinny Ning Xueyan could not win her. No man would be interested in such a skinny woman.
Ning Lingyun was different from Ning Xueyan. Although she was the daughter of a concubine, she lived in a s.p.a.cious room, wore clothes of good quality, and ate delicious food. There also were many servants served her. Although her life was not as good as Ning Yuling"s and Ning Ziyan"s, she was indeed regarded as a Young Lady. In order to have a good reputation, Madam Ling had never mistreated her.
So Ning Lingyun was well-proportioned. In addition, she was very young. She was only 15 years old. Therefore, she was certainly different from Ning Xueyan who had been malnourished and sick.
Madam Ling was not allowed to leave the Buddha Hall. Concubine Xu took charge of the housekeeping power. So she knew that the Third Prince would come today. Ning Lingyun also got the good news. How could she not dress up well? This would be the first time she appeared in front of the Third Prince. So it was necessary for her to dress up well so that the Third Prince would marvel at her beauty and fall in love with her.
So Ning Lingyun took out the dress Concubine Xu had secretly made for her and put it on. When people noticed her, she would certainly tell others who she was.
The Third Prince did not look at Ning Lingyun. He turned to Ning Xueyan and asked her in a soft voice, "Fifth Young Lady, were you just playing?"
Ning Xueyan had already got up after saluting the Third Prince. Hearing his question, she smiled slightly, lowered her head and nodded, as if it was not her who almost b.u.mped into the rockery just now.
However, she slightly bit her lips, leaving a light mark on her lips which then disappeared. This exactly showed her grievance. At this time, Ning Xueyan did not want to be showy, so she did not want to talk to the Third Prince
In Third Prince"s opinion, Ning Xueyan"s performance meant that she did not dare to voice out her discontent even though she was angry and aggrieved. He remembered that Ning Yuling had stopped her and asked servants to beat her. And today Ning Lingyun had pushed her and she also did not dare to revolt. Thinking of those things, the Third Prince became unhappier and her gaze fell on her slender neck and the corners of his eyes shivered unconsciously.
"Your Highness, we"re in a good relationship, how could I hurt her?" Seeing that the Third Prince ignored her, Ning Lingyun was embarra.s.sed and stared at Ning Xueyan fiercely. Then she made eyes at the Third Prince with a more charming smile on her face. The Third Prince was clever. He would certainly receive Ning Lingyun"s hint.
On seeing the seductive, unrestrained Ning Lingyun, the Third Prince became unhappier and avoided looking at her. He had already known that the Fourth Young Lady of Lord Protector"s Manor was the daughter of a concubine, but he did not expect that she dared to seduce a man in public. She was so misbehaved that she did not look like a Young Lady of a decent family.
"Ning Zu"an"s daughters were fierce, except for her!"
The Third Prince glanced at Ning Xueyan"s face once again. He still could not see her expression and only saw the heavy bangs. So he hummed helplessly in his mind. He wanted to help her, but she did not say anything. Therefore, he had no excuse to help her.
The Third Prince was unhappy with Ning Xueyan"s silence. He casually greeted Ning Lingyun, turned around and went to Auspicious Fortune Hall.
Today the Third Prince came here because of something important. Every year on this date, he would come to Lord Protector"s Manor. To others, he had claimed that he came here to visit Madam Dowager. The relationship between the Third Prince and Lord Protector"s Manor was good, and the Third Prince had visited Lord Protector"s Manor from time to time. So it was not clear to anyone that the Third Prince had been here on this date for the past three years regardless of the weather.
Ning Lingyun became embarra.s.sed and angry when she saw that the Third Prince greeted her casually and then directly went to Lucky Garden without saying anything. After the Third Prince left, Ning Lingyun had to turn around and followed him while holding the maid"s hands. Anyway, the Third Prince would surely stay longer once he met her grandmother. At that time, she would have a chance to talk to him again.
"I didn"t expect that there"s such a beauty in Lord Protector"s Manor. You"re exceedingly beautiful. They all said that the Second Young Lady of Lord Protector"s Manor is beautiful. But in my opinion, only Fourth Young Lady is a beauty." The Third Prince did not like Ning Lingyun, but Marquis of Ping"an fell in love with her. At this moment, he quickly walked to Ning Lingyun and praised her while narrowing his eyes.
Ning Lingyun was startled by the unexpected sound. She looked back and saw Marquis of Ping"an. When she saw that he looked at herself with l.u.s.t in his eyes as if he was going to take off her clothes, Ning Lingyun felt disgusted and subconsciously moved to avoid him.
However, he still came alongside and went on praising, looking like a fly which stared at a piece of stinky meat.
Although this man was old and ugly, what he said satisfied Ning Lingyun, especially when she was ignored by the Third Prince walking ahead. At this time, Ning Lingyun felt very dignified when Marquis of Ping"an flattered her.
So she smiled at him and said, "Thank you for your praise!"
Her smile and words fascinated Marquis of Ping"an more. Marquis of Ping"an was lecherous and those girls from respectable families had never smiled at him like that. So he immediately became fascinated when he saw Ning Lingyun"s smile and stared at Ning Lingyun. He only felt that the girl in front of him was his right girl.
Those women in the red-light district were naturally inferior to the girls from respectable families. Seeing that Ning Lingyun had gone far, Marquis of Ping"an walked quickly to catch up with her. He believed that Ning Lingyun attractively smiled at him just now because she had been fascinated by his handsome demeanour.
Marquis of Ping"an paid all his attention to Ning Lingyun and accidentally stepped on a stone, so that he teetered. Seeing that Ning Lingyun was in front of him, he directly threw himself to Ning Lingyun with open arms. He fell because the road of Lord Protector"s Manor was not smooth. It was not other people"s fault. Furthermore, he and the girl in front of him had fallen in love with each other at first sight!
So it was natural that they could not help themselves...