Chapter 491 Planning, and Responses of Different Parties
Of the several princes, only Third and Fourth Princes had grown up and had their own mansions outside. It was said that in a period of time, the emperor would officially give them t.i.tles. Anyway, he must let them have official t.i.tles before they got married.
Previously, Third Prince’s house had a fire, and the main fire site was in the front yard. Although urgent repairs were done at this time, the house had not been completely repaired yet. Therefore, Ao Mingyu’s meeting place was moved to the backyard. Fortunately, these few women who lived in his inner courtyard did not have t.i.tles, so he did not feel this action was reckless.
Ao Mingyu and Xia Yuhang sat in the new study. Xia Yuhang was fiddling with the celadon teacup in his hand, absorbed in thought, and his uncontrollable and excited look that appeared just now had already gone. Instead, he was calm and elegant and even had a smile, but Ao Mingyu walked around twice in the room, looking angry.
“Yuhang, it is said that he went to the Marquis’s Manor to ask for the dissolution of the betrothal, didn’t he? Why did he give it up later?” After walking around a few times, he finally stood in front of Xia Yuhang with a sneer on his face.
“Are you asking so for the good of Fifth Young Lady Ning or the Lord Protector’s Manor, Your Highness?” Xia Yuhang put down the teacup in his hand, raised his head, and asked gently.
“Is there any difference? They are the same!” Ao Mingyu said unhappily, just feeling exceptionally upset. He sat down angrily, picked up the teacup at hand, and drained it. “Now Ning Xueyan is the wife’s daughter of the Lord Protector Manor, and she is about to marry my uncle. Compared with Ning Qingshan who married me, she is much more important.”
He wanted to marry Ning Yuling in the beginning, but Ning Qingshan in the end. Since he would build a marriage bond with the Lord Protector’s Manor, Ning Qingshan was put under the name of Madam Ling. But G.o.d’s way is higher than man’s. At last, affected by Madam Ling’s incident, Ning Qingshan had a much lower status than Ning Xueyan.
She became a concubine’s adopted daughter. Then, Ning Zu’an would not spend much time on her.
Compared with the status of the wife’s daughter Ning Xueyan, Ning Qingshan’s status was much lower. Besides that, what made Ning Qingshan a joke was the matter that she took Madam Ling as her foster mother. Originally, she was the wife’s daughter of the Marquis’s Manor, for she was put under the name of Madam Ming, though not comparable to the daughter under the name of the official wife.
Therefore, Ning Qingshan had been striving to change her ident.i.ty and become the daughter of Madam Ling in so many years of the past.
If nothing bad had happened to Madam Ling, Ning Qingshan would have done the right thing. Although she would have unavoidably been gossiped about by others, she, the consort of Third Prince, would have gotten her social status raised by the Lord Protector’s Manor. Even though some would have thought that she was too sn.o.bbish, they would not have been too harsh on her. But it was different now because Madam Ling had become a well-known venomous woman.
Then Ning Qingshan ended up with a funny result that she chose the wrong person. She, who was the wife’s high-ranking daughter previously, became a concubine’s daughter, who was even more lowly than the fake daughter of the wife. More seriously, she had this result due to her own decision, and others would attribute all the ridiculous results to her. Now the outsiders were joking about this matter of Ning Qingshan that she wanted to climb high but fell.
And words about this news became even a little more unpleasant to the ear on the streets.
“It is said that Third Young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor is stupid; otherwise, how could a lady with her ident.i.ty become the daughter of a concubine!”
Remembering what he heard outside these days, Ao Mingyu felt very angry and thought that all his face was lost. Of course, the fact that she became the daughter of a concubine and was not taken seriously was also a reason for it.
“Your Highness, if it’s just because of the Lord Protector’s Manor, you can rest a.s.sured because the Lord Protector has never paid any attention to this Fifth Young Lady. When I went to the Lord Protector’s Manor in the past, I only heard of this Fifth Young Lady, but I never met her. It is said that she has not been out of the Bright Frost Garden for several years, and neither Madam Dowager nor the Lord Protector takes her seriously.”
Xia Yuhang spoke with a nonchalant smile. No unsettled feelings could be seen in the depths of his eyes as if he was truly talking about something that had no connections to him. Completely being an outsider, he talked soberly.
“Compared with Fifth Young Lady Ning, Third Young Lady Ning is much more valued. Your Highness, if you are still not satisfied, it is said that Fourth Young Lady…” Xia Yuhang did not finish his words, only gave Ao Mingyu a smile that the latter knew what he meant, and glanced at Ao Mingyu with ridicule, “Your Highness, if you are willing, this is a good opportunity. Anyway, two are better than one!”
“You are talking about yourself, right? You married the two daughters that the Lord Protector doted on the most.” Angered by Xia Yuhang’s leisurely att.i.tude, Ao Mingyu was pleased and could not help making fun of him. Ning Ziyan and Ning Yuling, the two greatly favored daughters of the Lord Protector’s Manor in the past, were all married into Xia Yuhang’s mansion, and they were all concubines, but he had never thought about it.
When he remembered that Ning Yuling almost became his princess, Ao Mingyu suddenly remembered Ning Xueyan’s look he saw for the first time that day when he was in the Cold Mountain Temple, and then the smile on his lips faded a bit. If he had determined to directly get rid of Ning Yuling that day and wholeheartedly asked for marrying her, perhaps she would marry him today.
“What are you worried about then, Your Highness? I have two, and so do you. Fifth Young Lady Ning is one person, but you have a higher quant.i.ty. Even if the Lord Protector could not count numbers, he would know what is important. Besides, lots of people in the Lord Protector’s Manor are dissatisfied with Madam Ming’s occupying the official wife’s position.”
Seeing Ao Mingyu’s smiling face become serious, Xia Yuhang picked up the teapot at hand, poured another cup for him, and spoke nonchalantly.
“You mean Ning Huaiyuan…” Ao Mingyu’s eyes brightened suddenly.
“Your Highness, so don’t be anxious!” Xia Yuhang smiled but did not say it clearly.
Ao Mingyu nodded, tapped the table a few times with his fingers, and then snorted coldly, “But I can’t let my uncle enjoy the benefit of getting two spouses at the same time, huh!”
Although he knew that Ning Zu’an should still be on his side, when he remembered the clearly soft, delicate face that was so stubborn that he felt sorry, he had an indescribable feeling—he was a little angry and uncomfortable and also had some unknown emotions, so that it was difficult for him to maintain the peaceful att.i.tude he always had in front of others.
“Prince, if it is because of this Fifth Young Lady Ning, it’s not that it’s impossible…” Xia Yuhang smiled.
“What to do? Tell me, can we replace her with Fourth Young Lady Ning?” Ao Mingyu asked immediately as his eyes brightened.
“Your Highness, you are too fanciful. Even if Ning Lingyun is willing, the Lord Protector’s Manor will not be. A few days ago, Prince Yi went to the Lord Protector’s Manor in person. He said that if any more trouble appeared, the entire Lord Protector’s Manor would be punished as the criminal. Under such circ.u.mstances, it’s impossible for Ning Lingyun to smoothly get on the bridal sedan chair.” Xia Yuhang smiled and leaned back.
Also knowing that he was too fanciful, Ao Mingyu had an embarra.s.sed smile, which contained some ridicule and some unspeakable meanings. “What do you think we should do, Yuhang?”
“Tomorrow is the day when Prince Yi marries two ladies at the same time. Prince, you can ask a few people to take action on the way from the Lord Protector’s Manor to Prince Yi’s Manor and take this Fifth Young Lady straight away. Since she is only a consort, the bridegroom will not go and take her from her home, and those who will keep her company on the way are not people of Prince Yi’s Manor. The bridal sedan chair will have left the Lord Protector’s Manor, so even if anything happens, it will have nothing to do with the Lord Protector’s Manor.
Xia Yuhang spoke lightly, still looking gentle and elegant.
“Take her straight away? Hide her?” Ao Mingyu said with a face full of shock. The idea of taking Ao Chenyi’s consort away under his nose was bold indeed.
“Your Highness, if you find it troublesome, you can directly perform the a.s.sa.s.sination. After killing her with a single blow, the a.s.sa.s.sin can go thousands of miles away. Although Prince Yi is an able person, he can’t catch the man in black who broke in because the incident happens suddenly,” Xia Yuhang said with a smile, and his eyes glistened.
“No, I’d better take her away. Anyway, she is just a weak female, and it won’t take much effort.” When marrying two ladies at the same time, Ao Chenyi would be in Prince Yi’s Manor to entertain guests. The bridal sedan chair had not arrived yet, so the guards of Prince Yi’s Manor would surely not escort Ning Xueyan, let alone she was only a consort.
The Moon-embracing Tower in Prince Yi’s Manor.
The Moon-embracing Tower in the moonlight was extremely beautiful. Decorated by the light of the huge full moon that hung high in the sky, the Moon-embracing Tower became even more peaceful. On the highest floor of the Moon-embracing Tower, Ao Chenyi was lying on a large low bed. With his eyes closed, he was listening to the report of Yu Jian, but his long hair fell randomly as if he was a personage in ancient times. One strand of dark hair fell from his head to his incomparably exquisite eyebrow, making his handsome face more and more bewitching.
Although Yu Jian was a man, he did not dare to look at his extremely handsome face and lowered his head, for fear that he would be affected by him. Fortunately, the prince always had a strong imposing manner, so not many people dared to look at this face. Otherwise, lots of women would gather at his house gate to see him and he would not be able to get out.
“Both Ao Mingyu and Ao Mingwan want to meddle in my marriage. For the sake of doing something for my marriage, the two of them have consumed lots of energy. As their senior, I am not qualified,” Ao Chenyi didn’t even open his eyes and said lazily as he heard Yu Jian finish his report. And his long eyelashes flapped, making a few jagged shadows on his eyes.
“I heard that Ao Mingwan asked for marrying the niece of Grand Tutor Ya a short time ago. Unexpectedly, he made it in the end, and Ao Mingyu, who went with him to also ask for marrying her, fell into a shameful situation.”
“Prince, you mean…” Yu Jian asked.
“I don’t mean anything, and I just want to get married nicely. This is a lifetime event, so I am very cautious.” Ao Chenyi lazily leaned back, supported his neck with his hand, and changed into a more comfortable posture, but the smile on his lips was creepy and cold.
“You guys really don’t want to remain in peace. Since you don’t want to remain in peace and even want to make my marriage lively, that’s fine, but I can’t allow you to take away all the lively atmosphere, and I also need to get involved in this lively scene.”
Early the next morning, Ning Xueyan was woken up. She was directly pulled up and dressed up by the bridesmaids for a long time. Fortunately, Ning Xueyan was not in a hurry. Not to mention she was only a consort, even the princess would not be taken from her home by Prince Yi, so as long as she arrived at Prince Yi’s Manor before the auspicious moment, it was okay.
After putting her makeup on and then washing her face, combing her hair, and putting clothes on her, the two bridesmaids smacked their lips and said that they had never seen such a beautiful lady, and such a beautiful bride was just like a fairy coming down to earth.