Everyone saw a surprised-looking maid of Prince Yi’s Manor behind them.

Seeing that Third Young Lady Ning had been warned earlier, it became apparent that her motive in coming here wasn’t so pure. There was also the fact that the Third Prince decided to return in the middle of their stroll. Could it be that they had planned for a rendezvous?

And at the Prince Yi’s Manor, at that! The Third Prince wasn’t acting in a way that befitted his status.

“Third Sister insisted on coming here, saying that there might be a place we can rest in. She said her foot isn’t well,” Ning Lingyun explained on her sister’s behalf. Her explanation, however, made everyone look at Ning Qingshan’s legs and made the latter feel like her secret had been exposed. She even felt that they were giving her extra glances because they noticed that her foot was lame.

“Shut up! Stop talking!” Ning Qingshan retorted angrily. She wanted to strangle Ning Lingyun to death but her excessive reaction made everyone think she had a poor character. She was a completely different person behind everyone’s back. To think that the Third Prince treated such a woman as his treasure and even met her privately. It seemed that he didn’t have a good eye for people.

This made it seem like the Third Prince, ever the gentleman, was also a two-faced person.

The rest looked at Ning Qingshan and then at Ao Mingyu. Although they didn’t say anything, it was obvious what they were thinking.

Ao Mingyu was so angry that he wanted to blow up. He never imagined that Ning Qingshan would be so stupid. In her letter, she said she would ruin Ning Xueyan’s banquet. He didn’t believe that she could create much trouble in Prince Yi’s Manor but she sounded so certain that he couldn’t help but trust her.

Thus, he went along with her plan. To him, Ning Lingyun was an insignificant sacrificial piece. Being able to suppress Ao Chenyi was too much of an advantageous move.

Little did he imagine that when he rushed over, he would see Ning Qingshan hugging Ao Xian’s leg and the two of them falling over after fighting. The others were giving him strange looks, too. Veins throbbed on his forehead. How could he not be angry when this plan had even affected his reputation? He stared at Ning Qingshan with intense hatred in his eyes.

He wanted to be the Crown Prince, so he tried his best to appear gentle and graceful to everyone and everything. He wanted others to think of him as a modest gentleman so he could earn the support of the court officials. Could someone tell him what was going on now? Where did that idiotic Ning Qingshan find the nerve to fight with Ao Xian?

The Fourth Prince stepped forward to ease the situation. “Take the ladies of the Lord Protector’s Manor away. This is a rest area for male guests.” Although Ao Mingyu was his rival, they were at Prince Yi’s Manor after all. Prince Yi was their biggest competitor; they had to defeat him in order to stand a chance.

“Let’s break it up. We should be checking out the flowers in the manor. This is a flower-viewing banquet, after all. It wouldn’t be nice to tire ourselves from walking around before getting a drink, would it? If Uncle finds out, he’ll criticize me for not entertaining you well.”

“Let’s go! Let’s go! We should check out the flowers!”

“The flowers in Prince Yi’s Manor are gorgeous. Come on, let’s go and take a look.”

Since Ao Mingwan had said as much, the other Princely Heirs knew better than to say anything else. They played along and pretended as if they didn’t see the miserable Ning Qingshan. They did what they should, be it turning their heads, looking behind them, or stepping aside, to open up a path for the ladies.

Ning Qingshan also knew that it was time to leave. She immediately stood up and walked away.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd made a quiet, mocking sound of laughter. It was barely audible but Ning Qingshan was riled up upon hearing it. She sped up, almost as if she was fleeing. All she wanted was to leave this place and not hear anyone mocking her.

“Oh my, she’s lame?” someone commented in a quiet voice.

“You’re right! So she’s a lame beauty.”

“She might be lame, but she’s still beautiful.”

These words, and their mocking intention, were said softly but managed to turn Ning Qingshan’s pale and ashen. If it weren’t for what little rationality she had left, she would have screamed. She had to grit her teeth to suppress the hatred she was feeling. Without turning her head, she walked out of the crowd.

Ning Lingyun chased after her with quick steps.

What a farce, indeed! It wasn’t because of a rendezvous but because the well-behaved and elegant Third Young Lady Ning got into a fight with the bratty Ao Xian! What a shocking event!

Some of the Princely Heirs had even heard their elders praising this young lady to high heavens and making her sound perfectly unrivaled. It was as if she was some kind and gentle fairy descending from heaven! If there were quite a few of them wanted to marry her, were it not for the Third Prince… A few of them started to look at the Third Prince in reverence.

Good thing there was the Third Prince! If they were to marry her, she might just fight with them every day. The rumors about her couldn’t be believed! Moreover, she was a lame person too! There was not one good thing about her, so it was a wonder that the cultured and refined Third Prince would want someone like her. Perhaps… the taste of a royal was different than most people!

“Was that the Third Prince’s consort?” someone mocked. The rest was wondering who was so foolish to voice that out, only to realize that he had every right to say that. It was the elder brother of the Third Prince’s soon-to-be princess Commandery Princess Mu Ling, Feudal Prince of Yunnan Mu Yunfei.

Marrying such a consort would inevitably put immense pressure on the legitimate princess. The Third Prince’s messy relationship with Third Young Lady Ning was still an existing affair. Who knew if he would end up favoring his consort so much that he would belittle his princess?

“It was the Emperor who bestowed her as my consort! Let’s go out lest Uncle can’t find us when he shows up.” Had it been anyone else who spoke, Ao Mingyu wouldn’t have replied. He was too furious to speak. However, the speaker was Mu Yunfei and he couldn’t ignore him. Still, he made sure to emphasize the fact that it was the Emperor who granted the marriage.

Mu Yunfei didn’t care if Ao Mingyu didn’t want to continue this conversation. He looked in the direction where Ning Qingshan disappeared in and said worriedly, “I hope she won’t harm my sister when she enters your manor! My sister is a proper young lady who grew up in a wealthy family; she has never seen such rowdy actions before.”

Ao Mingyu’s eyes turned cold as he clenched his fists under his sleeves. Then, he said calmly, “It won’t happen. She’s just a consort.”

“Good to know, good to know.” Mu Yunfei looked relieved but soon appeared frustrated as if he was deeply worried. “But there’s only a slight difference between a princess and a consort. If she ever tries to… My sister won’t be able to win against her.”

“No, she’s far beneath the Commandery Princess,” Ao Chenyi said and left it at that. He turned around and strode away. The group of men followed after him, all looking at each other with pensive smiles.

It seemed that Third Young Lady Ning wouldn’t be able to keep her position as the Third Prince’s consort anymore!

Although it was the Emperor who ordered the engagement and it was a certainty that the two manors would be allied through marriage, Third Young Lady Ning wasn’t the only unmarried lady from the Lord Protector’s Manor. It was fine in the past, back when Third Young Lady Ning was the wife’s daughter and the other was a concubine’s daughter. Now, both were concubine-born, so it didn’t matter anymore. All it mattered was approval from the Lord Protector’s Manor. Since the Third Prince had said as much in front of everyone, it meant that he had given Feudal Prince of Yunnan’s Manor his promise.

In other words, the Third Prince had promised the Feudal Prince of Yunnan’s Manor that Third Young Lady Ning wouldn’t retain her position as his consort.

Honored Consort Ya adored Ning Qingshan. It was said that the Third Prince had some feelings for her too, and she lost her position as his princess because of a mishap at the imperial harem drafting. Many people thought that she would have a bitter rivalry with Commandery Princess Mu Ling after entering the Third Prince’s Manor.

Now, however, it seemed that Third Young Lady Ning had lost all competitiveness.

One of the mistresses pointed at the significantly taller Moon-embracing Tower in surprise and asked, “Huh, isn’t that Prince Yi’s Moon-embracing Tower in front? Princess Ning, do you think we can go there and have a look?”

On their way here, Ning Xueyan found herself surrounded by many mistresses and young ladies. The mistress who spoke was introduced earlier as Censor-in-chief Chen’s wife. Censor-in-chief Chen’s first wife died early; this was his second wife. Heng Yuqing had already quietly told her this earlier.

Since the guest had asked as much, even going as far as saying that she would only stand at the gate and look from a distance, Ning Xueyan couldn’t very well refuse. She nodded. “Sure. Let’s go there and take a look. But Moon-embracing Tower is where His Highness usually rests in and not even I can go in whenever I wish. I’m sorry but we can only look at it from the outside.”

“It’s all right. We just want to take a look.”

“I heard the Moon-embracing Tower is quite tall even among other buildings in the capital. Aside from the stairs in the palace, I’ve never seen anything taller than this tower. I’m glad to even have a look at it.”

“Come on, let’s go together…”

The mistresses knew that Prince Yi was a cold-blooded one and that not anyone could enter his place. It was good enough that they could look at the building from outside the courtyard. Since even Princess Ning couldn’t enter as she wished, no one made any excessive requests. The group headed toward the Moon-embracing Tower, chatting and laughing along the way as if they were just going to admire the building.

Ning Xueyan took up the rear, stopping to sneer on the inside. It seemed that these people deliberately giving her trouble, and it wasn’t just one of them. It was obvious from the way they were rushing to look at the tower.

Xinmei quietly walked up to Ning Xueyan and whispered, “Master, the two of them are back.” The group was moving forward and no one noticed that Ning Xueyan had fallen behind them.

“Help them tidy up before bringing them over. They’re from the Lord Protector’s Manor, after all. We can’t have them lose their dignity at my banquet.” Ning Xueyan nodded and then went after everyone. She knew that Xinmei was referring to Ning Qingshan and Ning Lingyun.

Ning Qingshan wasn’t just trying to harm Ning Lingyun but her as well. Ao Mingyu was naturally going along with Ning Qingshan’s plan to frame Ao Chenyi. Unfortunately for them, their scheme was destined to fail. Prince Yi’s Manor wasn’t as relaxed as it appeared. Ning Qingshan thought she had succeeded, but she had fallen for her and Ning Lingyun’s plot.

Still, regardless of how embarrassing Ning Qingshan was, Ning Xueyan had the sisterly duty to preserve her dignity. It was a futile attempt but she still had to keep up appearances. At least, she wouldn’t let anyone point out any problems from Ning Qingshan’s appearance.

“Yes. I’ll help them look presentable again.” Understanding her intention, Xinmei nodded. “Then the things here…”

“It’s fine. Nothing will go wrong here.” An indistinct, cold smile appeared on Ning Xueyan’s face as the gate of the distant Moon-embracing Tower came into view. So many people were trying to disrupt her flower-viewing banquet or taking advantage of the chaos to cause trouble. They must think of her as a pushover who they could manipulate!