Watching Chen Hexiang get blindfolded again and taken out of the room, Ning Xueyan led Xinmei and Lanning back to the main building and sat down.

Xinmei made a cup of tea for Ning Xueyan and asked rather worriedly, “Master, will Chen Hexiang go back on her word when she gets to the Justice Department?” It was evident that Chen Hexiang wasn’t a good woman; she looked like she had so many ideas when she was kneeling on the floor earlier.

“She won’t.” Ning Xueyan took a sip of tea and said leisurely, “She might even be worried that we won’t let her go.”

Chen Hexiang had become a fugitive concubine after causing Ning Ziyan’s miscarriage. If she didn’t make herself useful, the mysterious Madam wouldn’t keep her. Besides, her complaining about Ning Ziying’s death was a much bigger problem than her causing a fellow concubine’s miscarriage.

When that time came, all eyes would be on Ning Ziying. No one would care if she had pushed Ning Ziyan and caused her miscarriage. She was also an important witness in this matter. Xia Manor and the Lord Protector’s Manor could kill her but once the complaint was filed at the Ministry of Justice, it would be the biggest guarantor of her safety.

“What time should we send her to the Ministry of Justice tomorrow?” Lanning asked.

“After lunch tomorrow. We have to let the palace banquet happen smoothly, lest people think His Highness has issues with Prince Xiang and Prince Fu and deliberately caused trouble at the banquet.” Ning Xueyan smiled. She had the whole plan laid out in her head. There would be many eyes watching at the banquet for Prince Xiang and Prince Fu. If something were to happen at the banquet, and related to Prince Xiang at that, people would surely suspect Ao Chenyi.

Post-banquet, it shall be! The matter would be exposed eventually anyway. There was no need to rush it.

Tomorrow would also be the day that she truly avenged herself, the day where her grievances in her past life would be revealed to the world. Xia Yuhang and Ning Ziyan had an affair early on and both their manors already had plans for an alliance marriage. They hid everything from her and even cruelly drowned her in the lotus pond.

Everything happened because of that marriage.

The alliance marriage between Xia and Ning Manors had long been rumored, and the ones involved were undoubtedly Xia Yuhang and Ning Ziyan. Who would have thought that the original fiancee was still alive in this world, only that she was fooled by everyone in the Lord Protector’s Manor and Xia Yuhang?

Later on, Xia Yuhang and Ning Ziyan were punished because of Madam Ming’s death. But no one protested their marriage because both families spread rumors that their engagement had been decided when they were merely children.

She suddenly recalled Xia Yuhang’s seemingly affectionate words that day. To treat a concubine like a wife; what a “loving” remark! Perhaps even Xia Yuhang himself thought he was loving. He might have thought that he had been fooled by Madam Ling and her daughters into causing her death and put the blame on everyone but himself. This was the true face of the “noble” Xia Yuhang.

His gentleness and affection in front of her in the past were all just a pretense.

Ning Ziyan and her mother’s viciousness was even more horrible to think about. Not only did they steal her fiance, but they even made sure she had no way out. They ruined her reputation, had people beat her up, and finally drowned her and Xiang’er in the lotus pond.

When she was reborn, she told her in no unclear terms that she would seek her revenge!

Ning Xueyan rested in the secondary manor for a while before returning to Prince Yi’s Manor for lunch. There was a palace banquet tomorrow. If she spent the night outside, she wouldn’t be able to make the banquet.

In a certain courtyard in the palace, the doors were lightly shut and the room was lit up with candlesticks. Under the light of the candles sat a lovely, twenty-something woman on the left. Women were most beautiful at such an age. When she looked around, she revealed a face of utmost beauty.

“Is he still angry at me?” She looked sad and there was a trace of desolation in her expression.

The woman sitting opposite her was also a beauty in her own right. She said, dissatisfied, “Second Sister, he pretended not to see me. It’s obvious he still holds a grudge about what happened in the past. He used to treat me very well, you know. That would explain why he’d be so cruel to me now. Second Sister, is he still unable to forget about you? How can you treat him like that back then?”

“There wasn’t any room for me to decide back then. Father had the final say and as a daughter, I have no right to say anything. Under those circumstances, the Emperor’s accession was inevitable. He had the Empress and Lord Peace’s Manor on his side. I heard the Emperor’s decree had already been written. If it’s true… once the Emperor reviews the ledger, our entire family will be implicated.”

The woman on the left sighed with a sad expression. With tears welling in her beautiful eyes, she looked extremely pitiful and moving.

“If it wasn’t for this family, why… Why would I do that? I couldn’t marry the person I wanted to and had to conceal my name to marry the Emperor.”

Hearing this, the woman on the right sighed loudly. “You’re right. Who would have thought it? Who would have thought that the Emperor would be helpless against him even after ascending the throne? And judging by the current situation, I don’t think Prince Xiang and Prince Fu are a match for him either. Second Sister, Father wants you to come up with a solution. We have to establish a relationship with Prince Yi’s Manor.”

“I… Why is it me again? What solutions do I have? I’m an imperial consort now, the Emperor’s consort. How would I dare have anything to do with him?” The woman on the left got angry. She picked up the cup of tea beside her and threw it to the floor, causing a crisp sound as the cup broke.

The noise traveled far in the empty hall, even causing an echo. However, the palace maids and eunuchs outside had received orders to stay outside. They dared not to enter even after hearing the noise.

“Second Sister, I want to get involved with him but he’s ignoring him.” The woman on the right reached out to take her sister’s hand. With a firm expression, she said, “Second Sister, can you think of a way to send me to his manor? Father said that there’s room for improvement as long as we can send me to his manor. Maybe in the future, he’ll become the Emperor and you can be with him again.”

Be with him again? The woman on the left sat there with a blank expression. The muscles in her face twitched twice. She gritted her teeth. As long as he still liked her, they could be together again. Knowing his arrogant temper, he could even immediately make her his empress.

Such a thought filled her with excitement and her eyes lit up. Yes, she knew his temper well. He might just do that.

“Okay… I’ll try and help you. But don’t blame me if it doesn’t work!” She gritted her teeth as if she was making a tremendous determination. The woman on the left nodded. “Tomorrow, tomorrow, I’ll find you an opportunity. You have to seize it yourself. If it doesn’t work, you have to explain it to Father yourself.”

“Thank you, Second Sister. Don’t worry. He treated me very well in the past. I doubt I can’t win over that sickly woman on her deathbed. Besides, that weakling got her position from Commandery Princess Xianyun. There’s nothing wrong with me stealing the position from her.”

The woman on the right smiled smugly, looking completely different from her depressed expression earlier.

“Go back first. The Emperor might have agreed for you to visit me in the palace, but it’s still not a good idea to stay this late. And I need time to think about what’s the best thing to do tomorrow.” The woman on the left started to make her guest leave. Indeed, she had to consider carefully how to mend her relationship with him.

She thought about doing the same the last time. When she heard that he would be entering the palace, she tried to have a chance encounter with him under the guise of a maid. She would then put all the blame on other people, and she would remain that gentle and beautiful woman.

Because of the past incident, she was unable to show herself publicly in the palace. What she wanted was to be the mother of the nation, not live on with a shameful identity. She thought that she didn’t have any hope anymore, but it seemed that there was still a big chance. After all, that man was able to be evenly-matched with the Emperor.

She was his original fiancee, and everyone else was merely his concubine. Therefore, she was the likeliest person to be the Empress. Since young, she had always considered the position of Empress as her own. Only someone like her was worthy of becoming the Empress. And she looked down on the current occupant of the position from the bottom of her heart.

Had she known that he had such a good future ahead of him, she would have never listened to her father and made such a decision. She also regretted it now. She wanted it to steal him back. As for her sister’s proposal, she could only laugh at it. Still, it didn’t matter if her sister wanted to enter Prince Yi’s Manor. Her sister could always check out the situation for her first.

With her third younger sister, who shared similarities with her, entering the manor in the first place, she would make a bigger impact once she married Prince Yi.

Everyone knew that he didn’t get married for many years out of deep love for her. One of her princesses was bestowed by the Empress, and the other was simply chosen by him. Neither of them could compare to her. She believed that he was bound to be excited the moment she showed up in front of him. When that time came, she would just have to remove the current princess from her position.

She had seen that woman before. That woman was a gentle, timid, and useless kind. Although that woman was pretty, she was still too young and her face still carried a trace of childishness. That woman wasn’t as glamorous as she was.

A smug expression appeared on her face as she thought this. After watching her sister leave, she ordered the maids to prepare a bath of petal flowers again. She wanted to bathe and change her clothes.

She was looking forward to tomorrow…

The one in the palace wasn’t the only one looking forward to tomorrow. So was Ning Xueyan. She had returned from outside the city. After having an early dinner and bath, she climbed onto her bed. Ao Chenyi’s visits were always uncertain, so she couldn’t be sure if he would come today. However, he would ask Ning Xueyan to sleep on time and not wait for him. He would come himself if he wanted to.

She had been sleeping for a while when she felt the vague presence of someone beside her. She subconsciously hugged him tight, leaned in, and fell asleep again in contentment. Watching Ning Xueyan hug him like she was an octopus, Ao Chenyi felt a tad bit helpless. Still, he reached out and hugged her.

She found the most comfortable position to sleep all by herself and drifted to dreamland with her mouth slightly pouted. Staring at her cute and defenseless little face, as well as her rare sleep-induced ruddiness, Ao Chenyi gently tucked her hair in. He sighed deeply before closing his handsome, almond-shaped eyes.

Tomorrow, there would be more than one troublemaker running around.