Chapter 596   You Can Be the Empress

The three of them sat still in the pavilion, and the servants brought them tea and retreated to the outside. Ning Huaijing glanced at Ning Xueyan and asked with somewhat concern, “Fifth Sister, you don’t look well. You are ill again, aren’t you?”

Ning Xueyan said with a small smile, “I’m fine. Thank you for your care, second brother. Did our father get any news?”

What she was asking about was that Ning Zu’an had written a memorial to ask the emperor to make Ning Huaijing a princely heir. About this, Ao Chenyi had already told her, saying that the memorial had been sent and the news should be announced in one day or two.

“Our father says it might take a few days.” Ning Huaijing smiled and shook his head. He was not anxious about it because he knew that Ning Zu’an had done this completely for the sake of Ao Chenyi; otherwise, it would have never been his turn.

It was not that he really liked this title, but to better protect his mother and fifth sister, he must get it. The reality was that Ning Zu’an had sent the memorial for asking the emperor to grant Concubine Yu the co-wife’s title together with that memorial. Having seen Concubine Yu’s tears of joy that day, he had learned the few words before anyone had said them.

With hardships endured, she had brought him up alone and sent him to school herself. Concubine Yu, who had the wish to get outstanding, wanted him to strive for success and let Ning Zu’an regret and bring him back home. Regarding this, he, her son, respected his mother, of course.

But his mother bore guilt toward his fifth sister, and the guilt had deepened when he had been helped by his fifth sister on the matter of entering the mansion. As for this, he would keep it in mind all the time. He would be the good princely heir of Lord Protector’s Manor and serve as the good supporter of his fifth sister. Whenever she needed him, he would stand on her side.

This was what his mother owed her and also what he owed her.

Wen Xueran patted the table smilingly with his fan. As he blinked his seductively beautiful eyes, he said with a bit of ridicule, “The matter of asking for the princely heir’s title and the co-wife’s title for your mother? Don’t worry about it. The imperial edict should be issued in two days. Now there is only one son in your Lord Protector’s Manor. If the princely heir’s position is not passed to you, whom it should be passed to!”

Ning Xueyan narrowed her eyes and thought, “As expected, he is so well-informed. Apart from the few persons concerned, it is almost impossible for others to know such a thing. In fact, such a thing is just a matter of fulfilling the procedure. It’s not eventful, so it won’t be taken out to discuss. The current situation of Lord Protector’s Manor is that Ning Huaijing is the only son. If the title is not relayed to him, whom can it be relayed to?

“Unless Ning Zu’an doesn’t send the memorial and wants to put it off until he has a son. It will be the same as the time Ning Huaiyuan was the only son previously.

“Now, since Ning Zu’an has taken the initiative to send the memorial and Ning Huaijing has no records of committing blunders, then it is basically a matter of fulfilling the procedure.”

“You knew Childe Yueming before today, right?” Ning Xueyan smiled and turned to look at Wen Xueran.

“I’ve known him since I was young. As a rule-bound man, he insisted on coming here to worship Ning Ziying, saying that she was his fiancée. But they are merely words. It is said that Ning Ziying’s fiancé was not him, but now he still imagines himself so much as the favored man of her,” Wen Xueran said quite disapprovingly, having a smile on his stunning face.

“Sister Ziying’s fiancé?” Ning Xueyan was surprised and mumbled, but Ning Huaijing’s eyebrows furrowed.

“This is just his own statement, and you can’t take it seriously. The affairs of Ning Ziying’s mansion were quite messy, and the marriage was also messy. She was just one woman, but lots of men wanted to marry her. Maybe every suitor thought that he was the only one.” Wen Xueran gave Ning Xueyan a sidelong glance, which contained somewhat playfulness and unrestraint.

Ning Xueyan disliked his frivolous tone. She believed that she hadn’t done anything wrong in her previous life, and the real engagement had been the one with Xia Manor. As for Hua Yunheng, he had only been her elder brother in her memory about her previous life, a brother who had left her inexplicably. Apart from that, others were not worth mentioning. But she had found a strong hint of romance in Wen Xueran’s words.

It seemed that her mansion had been unfaithful and even had wanted to keep relationships with multiple suitors.

“You are so clear about the matter between Hua Manor and Sister Ziying, Princely Heir Wen?” Ning Xueyan looked up at the constantly gentle and affectionate eyes, without the slightest wish to avert them, let alone have the smallest blush because she had seen such a stunning man smiling at her so romantically.

“I know a little. Princess, if you want to know, I can tell you a bit.” Wen Xueran didn’t seem to find the unfriendliness of Ning Xueyan’s words, and there was still a splendid smile in his seductively beautiful eyes. He patted his palm lusciously with the folding fan in his hand, but he stared at Ning Xueyan without a blink.

“Second brother, go and see Childe Yueming. If he has finished the worship, ask him to come and sit for a while,” Ning Xueyan said with a smile after taking a deep breath.

“OK, then I’ll go and see Childe Hua. Please sit for a while, Princely Heir Wen.” Ning Huaijing nodded and stood up. Of course, he knew that his fifth sister wanted to talk to Wen Xueran, so he had replied naturally before leaving the pavilion.

When Ning Huaijing had left, Ning Xueyan took a deep breath and looked at Wen Xueran indifferently, saying, “Is it that you have any misunderstanding about Ning Ziying, Princely Heir?” Since her identity was not a secret to Wen Xueran, her question did not sound strange.

Wen Xueran smiled softly, his mouth alluring. Although Ning Xueyan was not seduced, she had to compliment inwardly, “When a man is so strikingly beautiful, no wonder all the people’s first impression of him was that he was romantic when they spoke of him. With such a face decorated by the seductively beautiful eyes and the affectionate look in them, he is surely a living romantic young descendent of a noble family!”

“I have no misunderstanding about Young Lady Ziying, but Ning Manor got her betrothed time after time back then. That was not a good taste!” Wen Xueran sighed slightly. “Although she was gorgeous, the family should not let others stand in a line to wait!”

“What do you want to tell me, Princely Heir?” Ning Xueyan’s eyes glistened with a bit of darkness, and some coldness appeared on her stunning face. She didn’t like the way Wen Xueran used to talk to her, though he was dangerous.

“What’s your plan for dealing with it, cousin?” Wen Xueran didn’t answer her but looked at her, referring to something. In his charming eyes, there was an eerie smile. This time, he didn’t address her as “princess”.

“I have no plan. I am fine now!” Ning Xueyan pursed her red lips and said seriously.

“Cousin, your identity is on the opposite side of Prince Yi’s.” Wen Xueran raised his brows, without taking it seriously. He picked up the teacup at hand with his thin, long fingers, took a sip, and smiled even more eerily.

“So what? Now I am Prince Yi’s princess. Previously I was the daughter of Lord Protector’s Manor. I grew up with my mother’s protection, and she only wanted me to live peacefully.” Ning Xueyan’s eyes glistened with a light smile. It was light, but it was quite firm.

“Don’t you want to think it over? Maybe you can have a higher position, right?” Wen Xueran was still smiling with great charms, but his casual words were with somewhat seriousness. In his heart which Ning Xueyan couldn’t see, this stunning man felt irritated. For him, he could stop caring about Ning Ziying, but Ning Xueyan before him...

He had a feeling that the thing was out of his control, but he had somewhat inexplicable anticipation because of it.

“Something happened at one point in the past. I saw the arrogant and overbearing Ning Yuling chasing to beat the thin and weak girl, but she got herself out of the bad situation with such a smart method. Or is it that the eyes that fell on me with an alert from time to time at that time, though her vigilance was little, were enough to make me feel curious?”

He had always been known as someone romantic, and no woman had ever looked at him with such vigilance, as if he would have brought her danger if she had approached him.

After that, he had begun to pay more attention to her gradually and had been unwilling to hurt her without knowing why. When he had learned that she was the daughter of the empress of the previous dynasty, he had almost gone straight to her, for he had had the most convincing reason to go to her and take her away, but he had suppressed the impulse. Indeed, letting her enter Prince Yi’s Manor had been the best thing to do.

Among all the manors, Prince Yi’s Manor had been the most difficult one for him to put someone in. If Ning Xueyan could have stayed there, it might have been more beneficial for him.

But he regretted it a little now. Seeing the clean and faintly deep love in her stunning eyes, he felt that someplace in his heart seemed to be stabbed hard by something. It was quite painful and did not stop. Something was out of his control as if he would no longer catch it.

“I don’t need to have such a high position. I only want to get a man’s heart, and we will never separate even when we are old!” Ning Xueyan smiled, and her long eyelashes flapped down, leaving two irregular shadows on her white face.

With the words uttered, she suddenly felt quite relieved. The “boulder” that seemed to have been on her chest recently had gone with these few words.

It turned out to be so simple that a few words would do.

“You have forgotten your family’s and the nation’s hatreds, haven’t you?” Wen Xueran became serious and had a little coldness in his seductive eyes.

“The change of dynasty has never been women’s responsibility. Besides, do you really think that my father was killed by the Aos?” Ning Xueyan flapped her eyelashes and raised her beautiful eyes to look at Wen Xueran quietly.

Regarding the affairs of the previous dynasty, she had especially investigated them. The first emperor of the previous dynasty had died in the hands of the powerful troublemaking official, but the Aos had not been the main opposition party at that time. It was fair to say that the throne of the Aos had not been taken from the emperor of the previous dynasty, but from those initial powerful troublemaking officials, so Ning Xueyan didn’t think that she, who was in this situation, had a grudge against the Aos.

“But the throne was finally taken by the Aos. Shouldn’t you, who has the blood of the former emperor, take it back?” Wen Xueran looked at her deeply and quite seriously.

“If I want to take it back and be the empress, I will get the people’s lives and property ruined, won’t I? Is this what I and the people really need? I remember that women have no right of succession in the previous dynasty or the present one.” Ning Xueyan was unexpectedly calm and didn’t ask who Wen Xueran was because she didn’t want to know too much.

Since her two adoptive mothers had chosen to let her forget this part of history, she would!

“You... can be the empress! Then you can restore the monarchy of the Xuanyuans!” Wen Xueran lowered his voice a bit unconsciously, but his expectation was shown in his eyes, with some affection that Ning Xueyan could understand. It was not the romance on the surface he had used to show, but the strong affection she could truly see.

Ning Xueyan was really stunned and suddenly widened her watery eyes, looking at Wen Xueran. Anyway, she hadn’t expected Wen Xueran to speak something like this.