The Devious First-Daughter

“Your Royal Highness, my cousin sent news to me about my uncle. It is always not convenient for me to go out, especially when I have to meet my uncle and cousin.” Ning Xueyan hesitated for a moment and told him the truth. But then, she told him somewhat ironically. “Of course, the scene that ‘the hero saves a beauty’ you saw earlier was not planned by my cousin. After all, the ‘hero’ did not get the chance to save ‘the beauty’ this time, and wasted the effort in specially preparing the plot”

“Was that hero named Xia Yudong, the second son of the Xia Tian Family?” Suddenly, Ao Chenyi smiled and asked leisurely. He seemed to be in a good mood. He even poured Ning Xueyan a cup of water and handed it to her, which was very rare.

“Yes.” Ning Xueyan took the cup and admitted that it was true.

“Did you deliberately let the housekeeper in your manor witness this scene?” Ao Chenyi’s eyes narrowed, and his smile was even more brilliant now.

“She does not like the Third Prince and is fond of hitting on the concubine’s son of the Xia Manor. About her deeds, even Ning Zu’an is simply at her wits’ end with her. Isn’t that the truth?” Ning Xueyan took the teacup from Ao Chenyi and smiled a little, behaving with perfect composure. She looked serene as if she thought that Ao Chenyi was not there to criticize her for intentionally causing harm, but instead was praising her.

Looking at her bright and smiling eyes, Ao Chenyi felt that he had never met such a girl who was able to keep her cool, under such circumstances, before.

“It is indeed a wonderful thing for me to have such a smart co-consort.” As the corners of his eyes lifted in surprise, Ao Chenyi became less angry and showed a brighter smile.

“Thank you for your compliment. Anyway, I am no longer your illegitimate favorite concubine. From now on, I finally received my status.” Though Ning Xueyan knew from Ao Chenyi’s words that he was giving her a warning, she still smiled and replied in a gentle voice, pretending that she did not know what he meant at all.

“Oh, are you asking me for your social status?” Curling up the corners of his mouth, Ao Chenyi asked. He suddenly reached out and held Ning Xueyan’s hands together with the teacup, stroking it gently. Ning Xueyan’s hands were colder than usual, but Ao Chenyi’s hands were also not that warm. As their hands touched, both Ning Xueyan and Ao Chenyi felt a little cold.

Ning Xueyan could not help shivering. She had never thought that Ao Chenyi’s hands could be so freezing.

“But didn’t you just guarantee me the status before?” Without averting her eyes, Ning Xueyan looked at the faint smile hanging on Ao Chenyi’s pretty lips, and gave him a slight smile.

“What a bold girl! Yan’er, I seem to like you now.” Ao Chenyi scanned her exquisite face. “She has a face as white and delicate as snow. Her smile is pure and clear, or it is a little childish. It is obvious that she is a little girl that has not grown up yet. But facing me directly, such a little girl is even bold enough to answer my questions without any hint of fear.”

“Besides, I warned her that she could only be my co-consort if she married into my manor, but she still stayed so collected, as if I were talking about someone else’s fate.”

“You must be joking, Your Royal Highness. Well, I have something to deal with, and I don’t want to cause any problems for you either. So I will leave you in peace now.” Gracefully, Ning Xueyan stood up. Rolling her eyes, Ning Xueyan simply did not care that she seemed to have won the handsome, cold-blooded Prince Yi’s “favor.” Of course, from deep inside, she did not believe his words were real.

She was even more convinced that this prince had a cold heart.

If Prince Yi said he liked something, he must be joking, or he must have some other purposes. Thus, Ning Xueyan did not think that it was necessary for her to talk further about this topic with him.

It seemed that the fighting below stopped only after a while, as if these people were actually here to put up a fighting show. Thus, Ning Xueyan certainly could not accompany Ao Chenyi on the show for too long time. Otherwise, once Ning Qingshan found her, Ning Xueyan did not know what kind of disturbance she would create. Ning Qingshan could make a big deal out of nothing, not to mention that a fight had already happened.

“It’s all right. Your sister is busy enough with her own affairs now. Come and watch a good show with me.” Ao Chenyi did not plan to let Ning Xueyan go. In high spirits, he stood up and walked over to the screen. From its top, Ao Chenyi took down an ink-black cloak with bright, gorgeous flowers embroidered on it. With one glance, Ning Xueyan immediately knew that the cloak belonged to Ao Chenyi.

Ao Chenyi took down a cloak. Then, he walked up to Ning Xueyan and put it on her. After reaching out to fasten the cloak for her, Ao Chenyi pulled it and pulled the hood forward, hiding Ning Xueyan’s face. Originally, Ning Xueyan was much smaller than Ao Chenyi. With his loose cloak covering her, no one could see clearly who was in it.

“Your Highness, where are you going?” Ning Xueyan asked helplessly. At this time, under the hood, she could not see anything, but darkness before her. Though she did not know what Prince Yi was up to, Ning Xueyan was relieved. Since Ao Chenyi told her that Ning Qingshan could hardly look after herself, Ning Xueyan was sure that no one would find out that only she was missing.

Though partly hidden and partly visible, Ning Xueyan’s half-exposed snow-white skin and small red lips, which were plump and glossy, looked stunningly pretty against the black cloak.

Abruptly, Ao Chenyi lifted her hood up. Raising his long and narrow eyes, he said, “If you don’t want others to notice you, you should rest quietly in my arms.” With this, he pulled Ning Xueyan to the back window. He briefly checked the direction and immediately got out of the room after picking up Ning Xueyan. Jumping up and down a few times, he leaped toward the place that had a light.

Outside, the wind was very strong, plus Ao Chenyi was jumping above the houses. Thus, Ning Xueyan had to hold on to Ao Chenyi tightly, for fear that she might fall off the roof, if he should accidentally drop her. In fact, she was not afraid that he would make a mistake. Instead, she was afraid that Prince Yi, who usually didn’t act according to common practice, would do some unreasonable things.

After all, no one knew what this Prince Yi with his everchanging moods, would do next.

Ning Xueyan clung tightly to Ao Chenyi’s slim waist, her head resting in his arms. But still, she was acutely aware that they were actually not far from the house that they were in earlier. It was true that Ao Chenyi had made several leaps, but he only did that to avoid taking the straight line. After all, there was a brightly lit street in front of them. Perhaps, people there would see them if they happened to look up.

But the position that they occupied now was perfect. They were standing neither in the draught nor at the forefront. Before them, a tall eave happened to curve up. Thus, even if someone was looking in their direction, he or she could not see them.

“Are you afraid?” Ao Chenyi’s voice echoed in Ning Xueyan’s ears along with the warm wind, blowing upward through her beautiful hair. Somehow, Ning Xueyan flushed, her heart fluttering slightly. At this moment, Ning Xueyan tried so hard to stop herself from gazing at his face, which was only a very short distance away. Calmly, she asked, “I suppose that I’m fine. But I do not know what you are trying to spy on.”

“If I say that I am here to find out about an affair, will you accompany me to watch the whole show?” Under the dusky night light, Ning Xueyan could not see Ao Chenyi’s eyes clearly. She could only feel that his evil but charming ice-cold aura, enveloping her.

“Your Royal Highness, you are so unique!” Not knowing what to say, Ning Xueyan racked her wits and finally complimented him, her watery eyes blinking.

“It’s rare for me to enjoy such a good show. After witnessing so many flashes of knives and swords on the battlefields, I surely need to experience the tenderness and sweetness of this world. Let’s watch the pair of lovers and make tonight an unforgettable night.” Ao Chenyi seemed to be rather happy, and even, his treacherous voice did not sound as chilly as usual. Reaching over, he pressed Ning Xueyan into his arms. With his excellent eyesight, Ao Chenyi could clearly see Ning Xueyan grimace and pout.

When he saw her expression, Ao Chenyi thought in his heart. “This little girl is getting bolder, and she even dares to sneer at me.”

“Oh, whose tenderness and sweetness would you like to see, Your Royal Highness?” Ning Xueyan asked casually, without being aware that Ao Chenyi had seen her look of disdain. Meanwhile, she was observing the surroundings around the place where they sat. Then she found that there was dim light spilling out of the place not far away from them. “Is there a hidden window on the roof?” Ning Xueyan wondered.

To let the room be well lighted, people would specially leave a small window at a specific part of the roof. Usually, the so-called hidden window was loosely covered by several tiles so that the light could pass through them to the room, but the rain could not. Since the hidden window had little use, ordinary families would not use it. “Well, in front of us, the light must have spilled from the hidden window.” Ning Xueyan thought.

“But why would this family construct a hidden window here? Is it because the room below is not a central room, and so it needs a hidden window to get the light?”

Seeing that Ning Xueyan was lost in her thoughts and paying little attention to his words, Ao Chenyi suddenly felt a little unhappy. All of a sudden, he reached out and placed his hand under Ning Xueyan’s jaw. Then, he exerted some force, trying to turn her face toward him.

However, Ao Chenyi caught Ning Xueyan off guard, because she had never thought that Ao Chenyi would act like this. She only felt that she could not stop herself from falling and was about to scream subconsciously. Fortunately, she quickly came to her senses. She hurriedly zipped her lips. Her hands instinctively reached backward and clasped Ao Chenyi’s sturdy waist.

“Your Highness, you…” Shocked by his sudden action, Ning Xueyan was somewhat annoyed. Looking up, she was about to say something.

But she suddenly felt something soft and cold touching the corners of her mouth. Instantly, Ning Xueyan swallowed her words and reached out to touch her lips subconsciously. She knew that Prince Yi could not see her moves clearly, but she still blushed, immediately.

“Did I just touch his lips just now?” She thought.

“So did you want to kiss me so far in advance? But it is a pity that I plan to do that after our wedding. However, since you appear to want me so badly, I may as well satisfy you now.” A little quiet laughter followed Prince Yi’s words, which sounded strangely lazy. Ning Xueyan could feel his chest vibrating slightly, along with his laughter. In an extremely overbearing manner, his hands locked tightly around her slender waist, and he did not seem to want to let her go at all.

Now Ning Xueyan’s face was burning hot. “How could this man talk in such a shameless way? He said all of this as if I could not wait to do something intimate with him. I have hugged and embraced him, but I have no other choice. What’s more, it was too early to say anything about the marriage between us. Besides, he didn’t say it right. The wedding he just talked about should be a matter between his principal wife and him. It is none of my business.”

“Your Highness, the wedding night is the night between you and your principal wife. What has that got to do with me?” Feeling angry and ashamed, Ning Xueyan wanted to turn around. However, she could not do so, because Ao Chenyi had no intention of removing his hand under her chin.

“Are you blaming me for not making you my principal wife? But my principal wife must be a wedded wife’s daughter from a noble family, who can be considered as a real noble Young Lady.” Ao Chenyi said rather lazily. He sensed that Ning Xueyan felt very uncomfortable, so he released his hand that was holding on to her chin.

Ning Xueyan was speechless. “Why would he talk about these totally unrelated things? I am not even his co-consort. How could he start talking about the wedding? But sure enough, no normal person can understand such a man’s way of thinking. Why would he explain the wedding and marriage issue in such a solemn way? Is he trying to make me understand the status that I deserve? But I clearly know my status the whole time, don’t I?”

“Your Royal Highness, there are some people down there now. Are we going to see them or not?” She reached out and pushed Ao Chenyi away, removing her hand away from him to point down. Just now, she heard a voice from below.

“Yan’er, don’t you want to listen to other lovers’ honeyed words?”

Suddenly, Ning Xueyan had an uncontrollable urge to swear. Extending one of her hands and pressing it against Ao Chenyi’s chest, she slowly spat out her words one by one, through her clenched teeth. “Your Royal Highness, if I remember correctly, it was you who asked me to witness the private scene between lovers.”

“Oh, it was me. Then, let’s watch the scene together!” Ao Chenyi seemed to say this with great relish. He stretched out his hand and took away a loose piece of tile which was set against the hidden window. A faint light coming out of the window enabled them to see the scene below clearly.

But Ning Xueyan’s eyes froze right after she saw the graceful figure of a woman who was standing in the room. “Why is she here?”