Chapter 547 - News from Heng Yuqing
Chapter 547 News from Heng Yuqing
An anxious-looking Heng Yuqing was pacing around the shopkeeper’s room in Yuyan Shop. When she saw Ning Xueyan push the door and enter, she immediately pulled her to the chairs on the side and made her sit still.
“My family is going to send me to Prince Yi’s Manor.” Heng Yuqing was so panicked that her eyes had turned red.
Heng Yuqing would be entering Prince Yi’s Manor? Ning Xueyan was stunned for a moment. Ao Chenyi had only gotten married, and no matter how one put it, Heng Yuqing ought to be the last person to be sent to him.
“Yuqing, calm down and tell me what is going on.” Ning Xueyan took the anxious Heng Yuqing’s hand and pulled her to the chair beside her.
Lanning retreated from the room, closed the doors, and guarded outside with Heng Yuqing’s maid.
“Concubine Yun told my father that Prince Yi looked at me a few more times the last time he saw me. She said that he seemed interested in me and that his current princess and consort weren’t to his liking. If I can win his heart, it’ll be beneficial for the entire Lord Guardian’s Manor.”
Heng Yuqing was so anxious that she was about to cry. The rim of her eyes was red as she looked at Ning Xueyan eagerly, hoping that she would be able to help her.
Just because Prince Yi took a second look at her, her father wanted to use her to please the prince without even caring for her status as the first wife’s daughter of the Lord Guardian’s Manor. He decided to send her to Prince Yi’s Manor with just a word or two from Concubine Yun. Prince Yi was infamous for his ruthlessness. Who knew if she would lose her life out of nowhere for upsetting him?
Heng Yuqing knew that this was Concubine Yun’s suggestion. Concubine Yun wanted her to get into an accident at Prince Yi’s Manor, and then her severely ill mother would die along with her. Even if Prince Yi spared her life, it wouldn’t be easy for her to return to the Lord Guardian’s Manor in the future.
Her mother was sick in bed at the moment. If it wasn’t for her protection, who knew what that bitch would do? Sooner or later, her mother would die in Concubine Yun’s hands. Worst of all, her father blindly favored Concubine Yun. Concubine Yun was in charge of the manor’s affairs at the moment. It could be said that she had everything except for the title of the mistress of the manor.
Heng Yuqing’s concubine-born sister, Heng Yuwan, was raised more like a first wife’s daughter than she was.
Even so, Concubine Yun refused to let her live. She went so far as to say that Prince Yi’s interest in her was a blessing to the Lord Guardian’s Manor, and that if they didn’t send her to Prince Yi’s Manor, they would invoke his anger and bring ruin to the manor. Remembering this, Heng Yuqing wanted nothing more than to tear that bitch to pieces.
Unfortunately, her father would only listen to Concubine Yun now. Everything she said fell on deaf ears. Besides, she couldn’t argue because parents had the right to arrange their children’s marriage. With her mother sick in bed, no one was there to help her. She became so desperate that she thought of Ning Xueyan and immediately sent her a letter to seek her help.
No matter what, Ning Xueyan was Prince Yi’s consort and would know the situation better than she did.
“Your family’s Concubine Yun wants to send you to Prince Yi’s Manor?” Ning Xueyan frowned, finding this to be strange.
“Yes. She said that since we’re close, we’ll be able to stick together and look out for each other once we’re in Prince Yi’s Manor.”
Heng Yuqing replied.
“What did she say about your mother’s illness?” Ning Xueyan’s long lashes fluttered. When she looked up again, her eyes appeared calm and unreadable.
Heng Yuqing was inexplicably relieved after seeing how calm Ning Xueyan was. She thought for a while before saying, “Concubine Yun said to leave my mother’s illness to her because she’ll cure my mother. She said that as long as I do well in Prince Yi’s Manor in the future, she’d take good care of my mother and not let anything happen to her.”
Heng Yuqing could still remember how certain and sincere Concubine Yun sounded when she said this. This had never happened before.
“Would Concubine Yun be this concerned about your mother’s illness before?” Ning Xueyan’s beautiful brows formed a frown. She felt that there was something off about this, but she couldn’t quite grasp it at the moment.
“She has never cared for my mother’s illness before. There were a few times that my mother needed some good medicinal ingredients for her medicine, but the housekeeper said there weren’t any good ones and gave me some bad ones. I knew that the housekeeper was acting on Concubine Yun’s orders, for a servant wouldn’t dare to speak to me like this. The internal affairs of the Lord Guardian’s Manor had been handed to Concubine Yun ever since my mother fell ill.”
Heng Yuqing sounded angry as she spoke.
When her mother fell ill, it was only natural that the internal affairs of the Lord Guardian’s Manor were left in Concubine Yun’s hands. After all, she still had to take care of her mother and didn’t have the time to manage household affairs.
“What kind of person is Concubine Yun?” Ning Xueyan asked.
Ning Xueyan believed that Concubine Yun was a tricky person. Most of the guests at the banquet were daughters of aristocratic families and Heng Yuqing’s humiliation ended up being Heng Yuwan’s humiliation instead. Yet, Concubine Yun never said anything.
Remembering this, Ning Xueyan suddenly thought of Commandery Princess Xianyun. That was the first time she met the Princess, and the Princess was likely not there just to attend the banquet. Had Heng Yuwan fell into the water at that time, then the Princess would have become a credible witness.
There were so many ladies as witnesses, and there was Commandery Princess Xianyun as well. Heng Yuqing’s reputation was nearly ruined.
From the look of things, Concubine Yun must have known the Princess for they came from the same family. Not only did they know each other, but they must have been close too.
A trace of confusion crossed her eyes. “Did Commandery Princess Xianyun visit the Lord Guardian’s Manor afterward?”
“No,” Heng Yuqing said with certainty. “Commandery Princess Xianyun never came again afterward. After all, Second Sister got into trouble that day and everyone saw how arrogant she was. People also know that she’s just a concubine-born daughter and somehow found out that Commandery Princess Xianyun is related to Concubine Yun. Since then, the Princess never visited again.”
She remembered this well thanks to Ning Xueyan’s reminder that day. It was a surprise that Commandery Princess Xianyun, who had never interacted with the Lord Guardian’s Manor, would show up at the banquet. If the Princess had come with a purpose, her goal must be malicious toward her. So, she ordered her servants to inform her as soon as they heard that the Princess was coming.
Even though Concubine Yun had her people controlling the household, there were still some of her mother’s people managing other matters. It was quite easy for her to find out if Commandery Princess Xianyun had visited the Lord Guardian’s Manor.
She heard that Concubine Yun sent several invites to the Princess later, but was tactfully rejected each time.
Ning Xueyan could understand why Commandery Princess refused to visit the Lord Guardian’s Manor. Heng Yuwan’s reputation had been ruined and worse of all, she was just a concubine-born daughter. It was natural that the Princess wouldn’t bother building respect for her and would want to avoid her if she could. If Heng Yuwan’s reputation were to improve, the Princess wouldn’t have minded getting closer to the Lord Guardian’s Manor.
“Did people from the Lord Peace’s Manor come recently? Or did they visit on the guise of delivering gifts?” Ning Xueyan felt that things couldn’t be so simple.
After hearing Ning Xueyan’s question, Heng Yuqing couldn’t help but lower her head and ponder seriously. Concubine Yun wasn’t a popular person. Other official wives wouldn’t bother associating with a concubine like her. Even if she was her husband’s favorite, her position was too low.
A bright idea came to mind and Heng Yuqing abruptly raised her head. “People from the Lord Peace’s Manor did come not too long ago.”
Heng Yuqing remembered this because of Heng Yuwan. Heng Yuwan had dressed up beautifully in new clothes that Concubine Yun ordered for her and even visited her place to show off.
Her mother was still unwell, so Heng Yuqing had no mood to argue with her. She ignored Heng Yuwan when the latter came in, pretending that she didn’t see her. She even went to the corridor to check on her mother’s medicine herself.
Even though Heng Yuqing ignored her, Heng Yuwan wasn’t going to let her go. She stepped in front of Heng Yuqing, picked up her skirt, and posed in front of her a few times. She even deliberately asked her maids if she looked good.
It went without saying that the two maids were incredibly flattering and praising Heng Yuwan to the high heaven. Heng Yuwan was so smug that she nearly knocked over the pot of medicine. Heng Yuqing became so angry that she pushed Heng Yuwan away, and directly knocked her onto the ground. The dress ended up getting dirtied.
This caused Heng Yuwan to kick up a huge fuss at the courtyard of the mistress of the Lord Guardian’s Manor. Not only did she smash the pot of medicine, but she also demanded that Heng Yuqing should compensate her for the dress. Heng Yuqing was furious as well. The medicine was almost ready, but it was all ruined by Heng Yuwan. The two of them ended up fighting, neither of them prepared to let go of each other.
Just as they were about to bring their fight to their father, Concubine Yun showed up. She first reprimanded Heng Yuwan for being insensible and then scolded Heng Yuqing a little, though not as harshly as she usually would. In the past, she wouldn’t even spare Heng Yuqing for every little mistake she made. In the end, she could even calm down the situation and have the servants prepare another pot of medicine.
Heng Yuqing committed this to memory after seeing the two of them leave in a hurry and even sent someone to ask around. Only then did she find out that people from the Lord Peace’s Manor had come. The reason Heng Yuwan was so well-dressed was that she would be meeting people from the Lord Peace’s Manor.
Concubine Yun was just a distant relative of the Lord Peace’s Manor; she couldn’t be compared to a direct descendant of the family.
“Did Concubine Yun suggest that you enter Prince Yi’s Manor after that? Did she also begin to pay attention to your mother as well?” Ning Xueyan knew something was wrong as soon as she heard Heng Yuqing’s answer.
Heng Yuqing nodded after thinking about it. “Now that you mention it, that’s what happened. Concubine Yun never cared about my mother’s illness before. She always pretended like she didn’t have any relationship with her so that even if something happens to my mother, it would have nothing to do with her. But the day after the incident, she visited my mother and even brought a lot of good medicinal ingredients. She acted as if she was going to take care of my mother.”
Concubine Yun hadn’t cared before, so this was abnormal of her. After being reminded by Ning Xueyan, Heng Yuqing realized that these two matters were somewhat related. Concubine Yun was behaving strangely indeed. On the one hand, Concubine Yun wanted to send her to Prince Yi’s Manor. On the other hand, Concubine Yun behaved as if she wanted to take care of her mother so she could be rid of all of her worries.
It seemed that this matter truly had something to do with Commandery Princess Xianyun. Ning Xueyan was now certain that this was a scheme that the Princess had cooked up. The first wife’s daughter of the Lord Guardian’s Manor was surely more valuable than her. Joining the Prince Yi’s Manor, Commandery Princess Xianyun, herself…
There appeared to be an invisible string connecting all of these factors.
It seemed that this matter wasn’t as simple as it looked!