Something had happened the day before yesterday that made Third Prince and his mother unhappy. So Ning Yuling needed to be more careful now. She remembered that Honored Consort Ya wanted Ning Xueyan to be her son’s concubine. Ning Yuling had a cold smile on her face. She tried to look for Ning Xueyan but could not find her. Where was the bitch?

Actually, Ning Xueyan was present. She stood in a secluded place, far away from the crowd, so Ning Yuling did not see her. She leaned against a tree, leisurely waiting for their next move. Honored Consort Ya and Lord Protector’s Manor had already decided in secret that Ning Yuling would be Third Prince’s wife. Now she wondered what Ning Yuling would do if she became his wife.

Qingyu had appeared earlier but had already excused herself. There was only Lanning beside Ning Xueyan.

"Are you Second Young Lady of Lord Protector’s Manor?" Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li asked, looking at Ning Yuling with a smile. He only reached out to talk to her politely. It seemed his propriety was less than the dignity of a childe.

He then stared at Ning Yuling lewdly, looking at her from top to toe. He paid special attention to her buxom breasts. This made him even more of a disgrace.

From a distance, she thought he was a noble Princely Heir. Ning Yuling felt something was terribly wrong when he came closer. He seemed like a scoundrel on the street instead of an heir. It was disgusting. His eyes seemed to be removing her clothes. This made Ning Yuling feel ashamed and angry.

He couldn’t be Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li. He was a shameless jerk!

"Who... who are you? Go away!" Ning Xueyan scolded him angrily. She struggled to pass by using the side road. Several noble girls standing beside her noticed what was happening. They retreated after discovering that it was Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li. Everyone knew his bad reputation. Getting involved with him would only create problems. It seemed he was fond of Second Young Lady of Lord Protector’s Manor.

The wastrel and the shrew, this should be fun. The girls mocked her, as they covered their mouths with their hands. They scattered, walking back a few steps because they wanted to see what would happen next.

Princely Heir seemed satisfied. His eyes fell on Ning Yuling’s buxom breasts after scanning her face. Sure enough, she was the type of beauty he fancied. Her pretty face and nice-shaped body made her a rare one. He had lost sleep ever since Chen Qing delivered the painting to him.

When he heard that she would be attending the party today, he purposely came early in the morning in order to meet her.

What surprised him most was that she seemed to have a crush on him, too.

He was looking for her just now. The painter did not give any further details and had said that it was a lady of Lord Protector’s Manor. Thinking that the most famous girl in the manor was Second Young Lady, he believed that the girl in the painting was Ning Yuling. Furthermore, he heard that Ning Yuling was a beautiful girl with a good reputation, as soon as he arrived at Cold Mountain Temple. The girl, who drew the picture, had a good reputation. This made him curious. He had to see her.

A maid came from the other side, lowered her head and said something to his servant before leaving when Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li was unable to find Ning Yuling. She said that Second Young Lady was over there and had asked Princely Heir to come over. It thrilled him greatly.

Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li was a dissolute man. His bones melted when he heard that the beauty had invited him, and he went to see her in spite of everything. Seeing Ning Yuling, he was overjoyed and thought she was the mistress of the maid. She must have been aware of his charm and good looks, so she instructed her maid to tell him that on purpose. However, he was surprised that Ning Yuling was angry. Then he believed he understood her.

She knew nothing about him so she thought he was a wastrel who had accosted her and rebuked him. Luckily, he was a thick-skinned man who was doing this deliberately. He wasn’t angry with her. On the contrary, he kept his smile on face and said, "Second Young Lady, I’m Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li. Nice to meet you!"

After talking, he bowed to her especially. He kept looking at her from top to toe and smiled leeringly at her.

Ning Yuling’s face turned dark because she was angry. As a noble lady, she had never been so humiliated by such a person. And she was so angry that her body trembled. Under his watchful eyes, she didn’t notice what he said. It seemed that his eyes were undressing her. She felt ashamed and full of hate for him.

She shouted furiously, "Guards! Kick him out!"

Ning Yuling was the boss in her manor so her older female servants behind her were good at their jobs. They scrambled to Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li. And the one ahead slapped him in the face.

Although Princely Heir was young, he wasn’t in good shape because he indulged in women and alcohol. After downing two bottles of wine in the morning, the only thing he had in mind now was how to get Ning Yuling in his arms. He didn’t hear what she said. The next moment, he felt a sudden slap on his face.

He became dizzy and stepped back a little. His servants tried to hold him so he didn’t fall down. They shouted, "Heir, heir!"

He was the beloved son of Consort Dowager. She would punish the servants if anything bad happened to him.

The other older female servants tried to rush up to him, when they saw the one ahead hitting him, but they failed. They knew they could not give up the chance to show their loyalty because Second Young Lady was furious now. Seeing Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li’s servants coming, they didn’t wait and tried to push the servants away, in order to hit the heir.

The servants stayed with Princely Heir in case the older female servants hit him again. He was precious. Even his father would be punished if he beat or rebuked him harshly. Of course, they would protect him until death. So, they fought back.

The place where Ning Xueyan stood in was a brae. She saw everything clearly. Putting her fingers slightly on Lanning’s hands, Ning Xueyan moved her eyes to the south-west corner of the party, from Ning Yuling’s angry face. She heard voices from there, too. However, it sounded much lower compared with the ones coming from the fight.

There was a slight smile on her face, but there was no happiness in her eyes.

Madam Ling wanted to slander Ning Xueyan. But Ning Xueyan played her back at her game, now her daughter was the one who was being played.

The older female servants wanted to hit him again as Princely Heir’s servants tried to protect their master. This caused chaos and attracted the attention of Honored Consort Ya and the other people who sat on the other side. A royal maid came over hurriedly. She whispered to Honored Consort Ya. Honored Consort Ya looked at Madam Dowager of Lord Protector’s Manor and frowned. Her face turned dark.

"Honored Consort Ya, what’s wrong? Why are they making so much noise? These days, young ladies and childes can’t seem to behave." Consort Dowager of Commandery Prince Li’s Manor said unhappily after seeing what had happened on the other side. She always preferred quiet places.

"Go! Go and ask what has happened?" Madam Dowager thought something wrong so she asked Xiangmiao to check. But after thinking for a while, she said, "Find Second Young Lady first."

She had a bad feeling.

The noisy crowd moved towards them before Xiangmiao’s could respond. Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li, who was obsessed with the beauty, had been beaten badly, had just regained consciousness. He found himself being teased by the noble ladies and childes who stood beside him. His face darkened after assessing the situation.

Nobody could humiliate him like this. The person he hated most now was Ning Yuling. She asked the maid to guide him here, but then she pretended to be lofty and ignored him. Moreover, she asked her servants to beat him. There was no way he would let her go so easily. He became instantly angry even though Ning Yuling was a beauty. He played with beautiful girls every day. There was one, who became haughty because she was indulged by him and ended up being flogged to death.

"Stop! I am here because Second Young Lady asked me to come over. I will cut your hands off if you hit anyone again. Ning Yuling! Tell your servants to stop immediately!" Princely Heir yelled.

He didn’t notice any other stuff now and pushed his servants away and rushed to slap the older female servant hard. He used all his strength. The crowd became quiet when they found that he was truly angry and heard his words clearly.

He had said that Ning Yuling was the one who invited him here and wrote him a letter, which could be termed as a private relationship. But she chose to have a relationship with this dissolute Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li. People thought Ning Yuling fancied his status, so she invited him secretly. She did not expect him to turn out to be a playboy, so she had put them both in an awkward situation now.

"You are talking nonsense! I never wrote to you!" Ning Yuling’s face turned red after hearing what he said, "Hit him! Hit him harder!"

"Beat them! You! The slutty bitch! You dare to ask me to come over but dare not admit it. You even asked your people to hit me." Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li had never been humiliated by a woman before. He got angrier and stared at Ning Yuling in a rage. And he moved forward and slapped her on her cheek.

She, the bitch, was the one who wanted him here. How dare she pretend to be the innocent one now? This pissed the arrogant heir off horribly. He couldn’t care less about what she was or he needed to exercise more tolerance when he was really angry. The reality was that he was embarrassed because of her.

The heirs and childes Ning Yuling saw in her daily life were all elegant. They talked gently with smiles and were polite. She never saw anyone like him. Being beaten by Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li was unexpected, so she was confused at that moment. Flowers fell down from her head and her hair was loose. She fell awkwardly onto an older female servant.

The noble daughters around watched the drama, pointing at her at the same time. The heirs looked at them from a distance, with disdain on their faces. Nobody tried to interfere. She even saw Third Prince, who was talking to several noble girls facing her just now, turn around after discovering what happened, and leaving her with a view of his back.

She was ashamed, furious and felt so wronged. She looked at the crowd and not finding anyone to help her, couldn’t repress her feeling anymore. She started to cry and turned to run to Madam Dowager. The older female servants stopped scuffling and ran behind her. They tried to console Ning Yuling, "Please don’t cry, my Second Young Lady. We will tell Madam Dowager and she will back you up."

"My lady, no need to hurry. Madam Dowager is there..."