The Devious First-Daughter

Chapter 575 What Kind of Troops Were Mobilized?

Ao Chenyi would only come after lunch and everyone in the Lord Protector’s Manor had no choice but to wait for the arrival of such an important figure. Thus, it wasn’t until he arrived at the outer courtyard and dined with Ning Zu’an and Ning Huaijing that lunch for the women was finally served in Madam Dowager’s Lucky Garden.

Ning Xueyan didn’t leave immediately after lunch. On the contrary, news came that Prince Yi was leaving.

This was normal. The fact that Prince Yi was able to come was enough to excite everyone in the Lord Protector’s Manor. They had lost the Emperor’s favor following the string of events caused by Madam Ling and her daughters. Even a once-great general like Ning Zu’an was merely given an insignificant role at the Ministry of War and couldn’t even meet the Emperor.

The Lord Protector’s Manor had truly fallen out of favor. Everyone knew this, but fortunately for them, they still had Princess Yi. At this moment, Madam Dowager and Ning Zu’an were so desperate to hold onto this grace that they prioritized it above all else. For this, Madam Dowager and Ning Xueyan also discussed about it.

Ning Xueyan decided to hold a flower-viewing banquet at Prince Yi’s Manor, though the real purpose was to announce her official status as Princess Yi. Even though an imperial decree had been issued, an announcement was necessary. That was Ao Chenyi’s intention in the first place; Ning Xueyan merely disagreed because she found it annoying.

However, Madam Dowager had requested as such and she also had things to straighten out. This banquet would indeed give her a good opportunity.

Female relatives didn’t exist in Prince Yi’s Manor in the past, but there was now a proper mistress in place. She could also attend banquets for female relatives.

Even though spring was nearing its end, there were still flowers blooming at this time and flower-viewing banquets were a common occurrence. It was just that Prince Yi’s Manor had never thrown any.

After lunch, Ning Xueyan returned to the Bright Frost Garden. Lanning helped take off her hairpins as Ning Xueyan preferred to keep her long hair down and untied while sleeping. She climbed onto the bed. Lanning tucked her in before exiting the room carefully and waited outside.

The room was quiet but Ning Xueyan was restless. The news that she received from Ning Lingyun made her heart tremble even now.

She knew that Concubine Xu was a smart person and that Concubine Xu had only a daughter. No matter how much loyal Concubine Xu was to Ning Zu’an, she wouldn’t look the other way and not save her daughter. Besides, in Ning Xueyan’s opinion, Ning Zu’an was a scumbag. If Concubine Xu was smart, she would rely on her daughter more than that man.

Only Ning Lingyun would be Concubine Xu’s lifelong support. Ning Zu’an could never be trusted. Even Madam Ming, who married beneath her status for him, was abandoned by him; there was nothing that he couldn’t forsake.

Therefore, Concubine Xu would definitely understand her meaning and divulge some secrets in exchange for her helping Ning Lingyun.

The so-called military medallion of the previous dynasty was said to be among Madam Ming’s dowry. Ning Zu’an had heard this from an official in Manor Ming by chance. When he asked Madam Ming about it, she refused to say anything and even said that the military medallion was in her father’s hands.

Later, Madam Ming was framed by Madam Ling. Part of the reason Ning Zu’an fanned the flames then was because of this. Madam Ming was demoted from her official wife position and forced to move to the remote Bright Frost Garden. Madam Ling tricked Madam Ming’s dowry out of her hands, but Ning Zu’an didn’t find anything even after searching everything.

He thought that the medallion was in Madam Ming’s former yard, but after searching everything, he still found nothing. He refused to give up and would get back at it every so often. He even dug out a few corners of the room just to find the medallion.

He wanted the military medallion of the previous dynasty because it was said that the medallion could mobilize the former imperial family’s brigade of secret guards.

The brigade of secret guards was said to be unique to the former imperial family and under the direct order of its direct descendants. They were supposed to protect the Emperor of the previous dynasty until all of them died in battle, but an accident seemed to have happened. That was to say, they weren’t with the Emperor when he died.

With the Emperor’s death, the hidden guards were left on their own. No one knew for sure when the rumor started but it was said that they were incredibly powerful. If not for the accident preventing them from being with the Emperor, he wouldn’t have died. And the only thing that could mobilize them was the military medallion of the previous dynasty.

It went without saying that the medallion would be in the hands of the Ministry of War of the previous dynasty, Madam Ming’s family. However, after the Minister of War was martyred, the medallion went missing, perhaps among the people.

There was also a rumor about the missing Great Elder Princess of the previous dynasty. It said that the circumstances were so urgent that the Empress transferred the medallion from the Minister of War to the then-young princess and that the hidden guards didn’t appear on the battlefield because they were protecting her. So, if they find the Great Elder Princess, they might be able to obtain the hidden guards.

The more convincing of the two rumors was the latter. After all, the mutiny of subordinates happened so suddenly at the time that the palace couldn’t immediately control the situation. It was normal for the Empress to deploy a brigade of soldiers to escort the princess safely out. For a child to escape such chaos without anyone noticing, she surely must have had people protecting her.

The most likely candidates were the hidden guards.

Thus, everyone began to search for the missing Great Elder Princess in secret. The Emperor even decreed that anyone who could locate the princess or the medallion would be rewarded handsomely. Those in court would be promoted, those not in court would be made nobles, and if one was an exemplary court, one could even pass his title to his descendants.

Such a great reward sent everyone into a frenzy. Everyone’s attention was on the former Great Elder Princess, thinking that they would be able to find the medallion once they find the princess.

Yet Ning Zu’an believed that the medallion was in his manor. He would ask Madam Ming patiently every time, but Madam Ming would plainly say that she didn’t have it every time. Later on, she would even flatly refuse him. That was also one of the reasons why Ning Zu’an would be so resolute in dealing with Madam Ming. Of course, he didn’t want her dead. With Madam Ling around, she would never be able to live well anyway.

Once she couldn’t bear living such a life anymore, she would naturally plead for mercy and take out the medallion. When that time came, he would allow her to live a better life.

Medallion? Medallion? Ning Xueyan opened her eyes abruptly and got out of bed. She suddenly remembered the things that she brought back from the Cloud Reflection Courtyard. Madam Dowager agreed to keep the yard as it was even after she entered Prince Yi’s Manor, so she didn’t take those things with her.

She picked up a hairpin from the dressing table and casually pinned her hair on top of her head. She walked past the mahogany bed to its back, where she had Xinmei dig a hole at the bottom. The small package fitted the hole perfectly, hidden behind a plank of wood.

If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought the plank of wood was just a textural part of the wooden bed leg.

After prying the wooden plank down, she took out the small package inside the hole and put the plank back up. She would take this package to Prince Yi’s Manor with her. It wasn’t safe to leave it here.

She opened the package and took out a letter in it, a letter from her mother in Jiangnan to Madam Ming. When she found the letter, Madam Ming was already dead. She left the letter untouched because she didn’t want to ruin her belongings, but she had no choice but to read it now. The letter might contain unexpected information.

She believed most of Wen Xueran’s words but she was still in the dark about some details.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, she opened the letter with trembling hands.

The letter began by greeting Xianglan. It was indeed addressed to Madam Ming, whose maiden name was Ming Xianglan. Signed at the end of the letter was the maiden name of her adoptive mother in her previous life.

The letter was pretty short. Her adoptive mother asked that Madam Ming take more care of Ning Ziying and even repeatedly reminded Madam Ming not to let anyone find out Ning Ziying’s identity. And while Madam Ming’s daughter Ning Xueyan could never know that Ning Ziying was her biological sister, they could at least live together temporarily.

Toward the end, the letter expressed that though the previous dynasty was no longer and traitors were in power, they would eventually come to a ruin in the new dynasty. Technically speaking, the previous and current dynasties weren’t true enemies. Ning Ziying and Ning Xueyan were both girls and had no need to rejuvenate their country. All they had to do was become an ordinary person and marry a good husband.

They had no need to ask for more.

The pair of earrings was considered a hint for the sisters. It would be great if they could recognize each other through the earrings but it didn’t really matter if they couldn’t.

Mother’s letter was full of peace and protectiveness of Ning Ziying. She kept mentioning that Ning Ziying was pure and kind and required Madam Ming’s care lest she was cheated. Mother asked that Madam Ming help reject Xia Yuhang’s marriage offer if Xia Manor was merely pitying Ning Ziying for being an orphan with a tragic life.

Mother never liked Xia Manor; she felt that Minister Xia had ulterior motives. However, at that time, Hua Manor used the engagement as a bargaining chip and bore ulterior motives, making Father angry. It so happened that Minister Xia was interested in forming a marriage alliance, so they hastily agreed on the engagement. Mother was very concerned. Xia Yuhang looked like a gentleman but he might not be truly trustworthy; it was very likely he had other objectives.

Reading the letter made Ning Xueyan feel like she could see her adoptive mother’s gentle and soothing smile. It gave her the urge to cry, and tears really did steam down her face. She closed the letter and put it away. She knew that she couldn’t keep the letter but she couldn’t bear to destroy it now. Besides, she was still in the Lord Protector’s Manor and the Bright Frost Garden was now without its owner. If people were to smell the smoke, they would inevitably be suspicious. It was better to return to Prince Yi’s Manor to deal with the letter.

She put the letter back and put down the small package under her pillow before taking out of her hairpin and continuing her nap.

After sleeping for two hours, Ning Xueyan woke up and took the small package with her. She said goodbye to Madam Dowager before returning to Prince Yi’s Manor. Naturally, before going home, she deliberately left a message for Ning Lingyun. It was her repayment of Concubine Xu’s favor.

The message was a name written in codes...