The Devious First-Daughter

Chapter 572 A Letter from Aunt Xiang

Ao Chenyi left Yuyan Shop ahead of Ning Xueyan. He had no choice but to leave because his robe was dirty from being used as a handkerchief for her tears. Besides, even if he wanted to show some respect to the Lord Protector’s Manor, he couldn’t let Madam Dowager and the rest obtain it so easily. When it came so easily, it would lack solemnness.

It was best to show the Lord Protector’s Manor grace and majesty at the same time.

Ning Xueyan stayed behind a little longer to calm her emotions. Lanning and the other maids only relaxed after they saw Ao Chenyi walk out with a calm expression. When they heard Ning Xueyan summoning them, they went in to help her freshen up.

“Young Lady, Shopkeeper Han brought this earlier. Aunt Xiang sent it from the palace. I think it’s a prescription.” Once Ning Xueyan was all cleaned up, Lanning took out a letter from her bosom. Such letters would come from the palace every once in a while.

This was a prescription that Aunt Xiang passed on to her master. Before Ning Xueyan opened her own shop, the letter would be delivered to Han Dazhuang first. Mother Han would then bring it into the Lord Protector’s Manor. It was much more convenient now. The letter needed only to be delivered to Yuyan Shop to reach Han Dazhuang.

Ning Xueyan took the letter with a frown. She was quite skeptical. The last time Aunt Xiang sent her a prescription, she said that she was preoccupied with palace matters and might not send her anything for a while. And that Honored Consort Ya was even more preoccupied.

It hadn’t been so long since the last letter, so why was there another one?

She opened the sealed letter and pulled out the paper inside. She raised her eyes and read it. The more she read, the harder she frowned. What did Aunt Xiang mean by this?

Firstly, Aunt Xiang said that Honored Consort Ya was now a Buddhist. Whenever Honored Consort Ya was free, she would listen to Buddhist teachings at the small Jing’an Temple. She was close to Senior Nun Jing Kong, too. Through her friendship with Senior Nun Jing Kong, she also met the Emperor’s mysterious favored concubine, Honored Consort Xia, and both hit it off right away…

The letter was short and sounded full of gibberish too.

First of all, Ning Xueyan was Prince Yi’s Princess and didn’t have much connection with Honored Consort Ya. She had also benefitted from the same incident that gave Honored Consort Ya misfortune. And she had only met Senior Nun Jing Kong two times. Honored Consort Xia? She didn’t think that she had any connection to her either.

They had met by coincidence that day. Even though Honored Consort Xia politely invited her over afterward, she instinctively felt that there was something wrong with the consort, and a major problem at that. But it didn’t have anything to do with her.

Out of the three people mentioned in the letter, she had seen Honored Consort Ya the most. But so what? They belonged to different camps. Besides, she wouldn’t assume that she would be able to do anything to restrain Honored Consort Ya. So what did Aunt Xiang mean?

This letter had come from the palace. It wouldn’t be easy to slip it past so many pair of eyes and deliver it to her hands. Aunt Xiang had once said that it was incredibly inconvenient for her to send a prescription each time. After all, she was Honored Consort Ya’s servant and the consort had always watched over her servants carefully.

This meant that Aunt Xiang’s letter was certainly purposeful. What exactly was it that she wanted to say?

Ning Xueyan read the letter again before putting it back in the envelope. Her long lashes fluttered as she gently bit her lower lip. She felt like she had missed out on some important information.

She was still a child when she first met Aunt Xiang. Back then, Honored Consort Ya had come to meet Madam Ming and intended to leave Aunt Xiang to her, but she refused. For this, Aunt Xiang even kowtowed several times to Madam Ming before leaving reluctantly.

Honored Consort Ya and Madam Ming were both noble daughters of the former dynasty. They were of similar ages and similar statuses. Back in the previous dynasty, they ought to be friends as close as sisters. Later on, Honored Consort Ya married the current Emperor and Madam Ming married Ning Zu’an. Both could have been considered to have undergone a tribulation.

Meeting a familiar face after facing hardship would surely give rise to another kind of affection.

But that was the only time Honored Consort Ya visited Madam Ming. She never came again afterward.

If they were truly close friends, how could Honored Consort Ya not pay attention to the affairs of the Lord Protector’s Manor? How could she not be clueless about Madam Ming’s predicament? Even if she didn’t know the real reason why Madam Ling killed Madam Ming, she could have stepped forward and spoken up for Madam Ming. Back then, she was greatly favored by the Emperor and could have done anything she liked.

Even if Madam Dowager and Ning Zu’an didn’t like Madam Ming, they wouldn’t have treated her so harshly if she had the support of Honored Consort Ya. Neither would they have watched and done nothing as Madam Ling killed her.

That meant that Honored Consort Ya had no intention whatsoever to support Madam Ming.

That would make Honored Consort Ya’s intention in bringing Aunt Xiang to the Lord Protector’s Manor highly suspicious. Since she wasn’t there to support Madam Ming, why did she come to find her? Why did she purposely try to leave Aunt Xiang with Madam Ming? Since when did Honored Consort Ya care so much about Madam Ming that she would leave her most important female servant with her?

The Third Prince was the Emperor’s oldest son, followed by the Fourth Prince. The princes and former Empresses before them had died, an evidence of how intense the palace infighting was. Aunt Xiang was an expert at making incense and familiar with every type of incense. She would easily uncover scents that would harm one’s life.

This must also be the reason why the Third Prince could survive in the palace!

Honored Consort Ya would never give away such an important person to Madam Ming, and she had insisted on it too. It was Madam Ming who refused in the end, and Aunt Xiang had no choice but to leave in tears. In the past, Ning Xueyan believed that Honored Consort Ya was Madam Ming’s close friend but she realized now how terribly mistaken she had been.

As far as she remembered, Honored Consort Ya seemed affectionate but was in fact terribly arrogant. She wasn’t sincerely trying to send someone to help Madam Ming gain a better foothold in the Lord Protector’s Manor. The fact was, a word from her was all that was needed. She would have never sent away an important person like Aunt Xiang.

Yet, she did and even insisted on it. She even sent Aunt Xiang to Madam Ming directly, indicating that all Madam Ming had to say was yes and Aunt Xiang would be her servant from then on.

A buzzing sound set off in Ning Xueyan’s head and some memories suddenly became clear.

She had been peeping from a little corner, so she saw the trace of mockery on Honored Consort Ya’s face as she watched Aunt Xiang kneel down in tears.

So, it was all for show…

A show meant for others to see.

It might be for Aunt Xiang’s sake or some other people. Either way, Honored Consort Ya knew very well that Madam Ming would never take in Aunt Xiang. With Madam Ming’s intelligence, she naturally knew that Honored Consort Ya wasn’t sincerely trying to help her and Aunt Xiang was important to her. Had she agreed to take in Aunt Xiang, she would surely offend Honored Consort Ya.

Her life in the Lord Protector’s Manor was difficult as it was. If Honored Consort Ya became another of her enemies, the consequences would be dire.

Therefore, she couldn’t accept Aunt Xiang.

She was still young then, so she wasn’t able to see it. But were Madam Ming and Aunt Xiang blind to it too? Aunt Xiang ultimately left in tears when Madam Ming didn’t take her in. Did this mean both of them understood it well that Honored Consort Ya was putting on a show?

Therefore, even though Aunt Xiang followed Honored Consort Ya into the palace, she still stood on her and Madam Ming’s side.

To ordinary people, Aunt Xiang’s ability would be no more than making and selling incense. But in the imperial family? The real benefit of her abilities wasn’t so simple.

Suddenly, Ning Xueyan remembered her first meeting with Aunt Xiang. She had invited Aunt Xiang over and Aunt Xiang looked like she had seen a ghost before appearing both excited and sorrowful. Recalling Wen Xueran’s words today, if she was Ning Ziying’s biological sister, that would make her the child of the former Empress…

In the end, she concluded that Aunt Xiang was a servant of the Empress of the previous dynasty. That was how she knew Madam Ming. Seeing how dedicated Aunt Xiang was to teaching herself later on, Aunt Xiang might have recognized her identity.

Ning Xueyan picked up the letter in her hand and looked at it again. She was sure that this letter seemingly filled with idle chatter was in fact a warning letter.

Was Aunt Xiang saying that Honored Consort Ya was beginning to suspect Senior Nun Jing Kong? Or that Honored Consort Ya and Honored Consort Xia were colluding? Or that the two of them were going to target her?

Regardless of what Aunt Xiang was trying to express, one thing was for sure. She must be very careful when dealing with Honored Consort Ya and Honored Consort Xia. Those two must have known each other. It was said that Honored Consort Xia was also an imperial consort of the previous dynasty, but her young age didn’t give the rumor much leg to stand on.

Honored Consort Xia ought to be still young when the previous dynasty was still around, so how could she enter the palace as an imperial consort?

Ning Xueyan raised her bright and beautiful eyes and asked, “Where’s the person that Aunt Xiang sent? Is she still here?”

“Yes, she’s still here. She said she wants to buy some makeup. She’s still choosing,” Lanning answered. She paid special care to ask Han Dazhuang to keep the messenger around. In the past, they would only receive Aunt Xiang’s letter and never the messenger. Since her master was here today, she might have something to ask the messenger.

“Bring her here secretly,” Ning Xueyan ordered. There were some things that she had to verify.

Lanning nodded and exited the room. A short while later, she returned with a well-dressed woman in her twenties. Ning Xueyan waved a hand and Lanning left the room to stand guard outside. Even though this was the backyard, it was completely accessible through the back door of the frontyard.

It didn’t take long for the woman to leave the room, turn around, and walk out of the yard. It wasn’t until Lanning saw the woman join the ordinary customers and casually select the makeup items in the shop that she felt relieved.

Ning Xueyan stayed in the room for a while longer. Her eyes were first clouded with confusion but soon turned into determination and finally, serenity. She stood up and walked out of the room, and spoke to her maids.

“We’re going to the Lord Protector’s Manor.”

Since she had made up her mind to face her past, she wouldn’t run from it anymore. The past was shrouded in mystery and greatly affecting her current life. She even felt that she would be led by the nose if she didn’t investigate everything as soon as possible.

In the end, she might not be the only one affected; she might even drag Ao Chenyi down with her.

If so, she would just face it…