The Devious First-Daughter

Everything in front of her was not the usual scenery which one would see in the palace.

Ning Xueyan did not know how she stumbled upon this place. What was this place? The scorched weeds showed evidence of a recent fire. There were some blackened stones and half-burnt planks which had a few words on them. Unfortunately, it was too badly burned, so she could not see what the original words were.

On the half-wall in front of her, some yellowing weeds sprouted intermittently Although it was already spring, the plants did not grow well and were all withered and dry. The crooked pillars were the only props that supported the half-ruined palace. One side had totally collapsed, and the other was already crumbling to pieces.

From the fire scars and the weeds, it was evident that this palace had been burned sometime ago. It should be the ruins of a burned palace from the previous dynasty. No one knew why it had not been repaired and appeared so run down, amidst such a prosperous palace.

Somehow, Ning Xueyan felt an impulse to enter the rundown palace.

“Young Lady.” Seeing her stepping forward, Lanning hurriedly pulled at her clothes and stopped her. “Young Lady, we don’t know what this place is. We’d better not go in.”

What was the imperial palace? It was the most imposing place in the world. How about the palace in front of them? It only showed collapse and decline, which was totally not in keeping with the image of the imperial palace. However, it was still around and seemed to have been there for many years. It would not have existed, if it was not due to some special reason.

This kind of place was often dangerous!

“I won’t go in there. I’ll take a look from the outside.” Ning Xueyan nodded, knowing that Lanning was right. She walked a few steps closer and frowned slightly. It was such a desolate and eerie place. Nobody could ever imagine that such a place existed within the palace. Furthermore, what was the sigh she heard earlier?

“Your Grace, it’s time for us to go back.” A gentle voice came from behind the wall and reached their ears. There was someone behind the wall, and it sounded like an imperial concubine.

Ning Xueyan stopped and hid behind a pillar. The pillar was so big that no one could see them. The more they knew, the quicker death beckoned. Added to this was the fact that they were in the palace. In such an eerie place, the things they encountered seemed very weird and more dangerous.

Although she was curious, Ning Xueyan was not stupid.

There was another sigh, so faint that it was almost lost in the wind. If she had not been listening carefully, Ning Xueyan would not have heard it. It was very slight.

“Your Grace, it’s time to go back. You have not taken your medicine yet, and the emperor may come back later. When he sees that you have not taken your medicine, he will punish me.” The palace maid sounded a little scared, and there was a bit of pleading in her voice. One could tell that she was terrified.

The palace maid would be punished, if the imperial concubine did not take her medicine. It was conceivable that she must be a favored imperial concubine. However, why did the imperial concubine come to such a desolate place?

“Let’s go!” Her voice was gentle and filled with bitterness. It sounded fine, but was also a bit intriguing. Ning Xueyan shrank deeper and closer, and she peeped out furtively.

Two women appeared at the gate of the burned down palace.

A woman, who looked like a palace maid, was supporting another lady. She must be the former “Your Grace.”

The woman was in a light purple palace dress, with her long hair tied up high, in the popular style in the palace. Ning Xueyan had come across several imperial concubines dressing up like this, in the hall. They were both dignified and graceful. However, the woman wore a long light-colored veil to hide her face, only revealing a pair of beautiful eyes.

From the eyes that were revealed, it was evident that the “Your Grace” in front of her was a beauty!

But was there a need to wear a veil in the palace? The emperor was the only man in the palace, and the other eunuchs were not “actual” men. As for the several princes of the emperor, since she was the imperial concubine, she could be regarded as their mother. Thus, there was no need for her to hide her face.

However, this strange imperial concubine not only hid her face behind the veil, but also walked to such a desolate place, to emit such sorrowful sighs.

She took a few steps toward the gate of the dilapidated palace and suddenly stopped. She turned to look at the empty hall and sighed again. It was the same voice Ning Xueyan heard before.

“Your Grace, it’s all over. It’s all over. It’s all over now.” The palace maid seemed to be trying to coax her.

“That person in the past… is so beautiful!” A soft voice rang out.

“Yes, it’s true. Such a beautiful person must have been watching over Your Grace from heaven, for a long time.” The palace maid was a little anxious when she saw that she was reluctant to leave. She comforted her and reminded her that the medicine was ready. If she did not take it, the emperor would be furious when he discovered that. Then the palace maids and eunuchs would be at fault.

“Right, such a beautiful person should be in heaven” “Your Grace” sighed again. This time, she did not look back and walked past the path. Ning Xueyan’s eyes fell on her exposed eyes. Something seemed to flash through her mind, but she could not quite grasp it for a moment. She watched her holding the maid’s hand, as they walked away slowly.

After they left, Ning Xueyan came out from behind the pillar, and strolled over to the front door. With an indescribable feeling, she stepped forward, unconsciously. She reached out to touch the leaning pillar at the gate, and stroked it with her slender fingers. Her heart skipped a few times, subconsciously.

Was this imperial concubine expressing her regret over someone from the previous dynasty?

“Young Lady, let’s go back. Maybe the Honored Consort Ya and the Third Young Lady will be sending someone to look for you later,” Lanning said anxiously. Although she appeared calm, she felt that this place was dangerous, so she subconsciously stopped Ning Xueyan.

“They won’t look for me, especially at this time.” Ning Xueyan stood at the gate, with a flash in her eyes. She did not elaborate further, but there was a hint of sarcasm on her face.

The Honored Consort Ya was looking for her? Didn’t she look for her just now? She had the little eunuch beaten to death, in front of her, which seemed to serve as a warning. That was why the two eunuchs wielded the cane so viciously, in front of her. The Honored Consort Ya was a smart person. If she troubled her at this time, people would have doubts about the relationship between Ning Qingshan and herself.

Since Ning Qingshan had been hiding in the Lord Protector’s Manor for ten years, it meant that she must have devised a plan. Was she doing this to get the military medallion of the previous dynasty? Grand Tutor Ya was an intelligent person. In her opinion, the Honored Consort Ya was not the kind of person who would make a fuss over such a trifling matter. How could she do something suspicious when everyone was watching?

Therefore, she would not do it directly. Maybe she would do it in private. She was eager to leave the palace, but she could do nothing for the moment. She could only count on Ao Chenyi, and believed that he would find a solution.

“What about the Third Young Lady? I’m afraid that the Third Young Lady’s hands will not be healed by today. When she came down, I saw that she was severely injured, and even the bones of her finger could be seen. Fortunately, you found this out earlier. Otherwise, you would be…” Lanning did not finish her words, but somehow, she managed to convey her thoughts.

If it happened as Ning Qingshan had expected, Ning Xueyan would not only lose her reputation, but would also be eliminated in the first round. Moreover, her hands would have been severely injured. Thinking of this, Lanning could not help shuddering. The Third Young Lady was so vicious!

Ning Xueyan did not stand there for too long. In the imperial palace, they could not watch and listen, as they wished. After they came out by the only path they could see, and walked for some time, she met a palace maid and asked for the direction to the Shuyu Palace. Ning Xueyan took Lanning back. What a coincidence! Using the path, they arrived at the back of the palace in a short time.

The place where Ning Xueyan lived was the last one. It was good to get in through the back door, which cut her journey down by at least half of the time taken.

After returning to Shuyu Palace, Ning Xueyan found out about Ning Qingshan, even before she sat down. One of her hands was seriously injured. Not only did she hurt the skin and flesh, but also her bones and muscles. So, she had to leave the palace and return home tor recover. As for what she had said before, it could not be taken seriously, because she was raving due to the severe pain.

Someone had taken responsibility for this. Both the eunuchs who took charge of and maintained the musical instruments had been beaten to death. If they had discovered earlier that the strings on the zither had been damaged, this incident would not have happened. Therefore, the two eunuchs were held responsible for this.

It was inevitable that the two eunuchs would be beaten to death.

When such a thing happened in the imperial palace, no one mentioned the results of the knockout. Maybe those young ladies were so traumatized after the accident. All of them were not able to perform well, so they could not be included in the assessment criteria. About Ning Qingshan, opinions varied. Some of them said that due to the intense pain, of course, she could be feeling dizzy, and spouted nonsense.

Some people retorted that if she was indeed dizzy, she would not have recognized the Fifth Young Lady standing in front of her. Everyone saw her gritting her teeth, as she cursed. Could a giddy person make such a hideous face?

Fortunately, these discussions had nothing to do with Ning Xueyan. Everyone thought that Ning Xueyan was good when they talked about her. Although Ning Qingshan had made a mistake, Ning Xueyan tried to cooperate with her, so it showed that she had a deep affection for her sister. Later, Ning Qingshan talked nonsense, and accused Ning Xueyan of being an evil manipulator. Ning Xueyan kept her cool and showed great dignity. She gave her explanation without appearing servile or bumptious.

Although everyone looked down upon Ning Xueyan before, they thought highly of her now, because of this matter.

It was quiet the next few days. There was almost no master here, except for the Mammy. Maybe the Honored Consort Ya had little thought for anything else, because of Ning Qingshan’s matter. Perhaps she could not handle two things at the same time, because she had a lot of things to do in the palace.

A few days passed. Suddenly one day, Ning Xueyan’s Mammy came to tell her that there would be a knockout match tomorrow and asked her to make the necessary preparation. She told her that she should take a bath and change her clothes tomorrow, while waiting for the call from the front.

These words immediately spread throughout the entire Palace and caused quite a stir. Although they did not know the rules of elimination, they made the necessary preparations. They asked the people in the palace for flower petals and prepared to take a bath. They hoped that they could stay.

Every noble lady represented a family’s interest, so they had to put in more effort. They had to dress up carefully, so the palace granted whatever was requested by the ladies. Baskets of fresh flowers were sent to Shuyu Palace and scattered into buckets of hot water, allowing the ladies to take a flower bath. At this moment, the palace was filled with the fragrance of flowers.