The Devious First-Daughter

The right-side yard of Cold Mountain Temple and Honored Consort Ya's dwelling were the most luxurious places of the temple. Now, Prince Yi, Ao Yichen, who was one of the most powerful man with a changeable mood, lived in the right-side yard.

Therefore, the yards around it were empty because nobody dared to live by his side. It seemed deserted there.

Ning Xueyan was in servant clothes so nobody noticed her along the road. She passed by two detours, finding that there were two poker face guards standing upright by the door. They were staring at her expressionlessly with some sharpness in their eyes, which was frightening.

Time was tight, so Ning Xueyan did not want to waste any. She stepped forward, saying with smile, "Please tell Prince Yi that someone from Lord Protector's Manor wants to see him."

The guards looked at her from head to toe, then one opened his mouth and said, "Wait here!"

He went to ask for permission. After a while, he came back to his position and waved to Ning Xueyan. "He said yes!"

It seemed that he did not plan to lead her in, so Ning Xueyan walked inside on her own.

As she stepped inside, Ning Xueyan discovered that Prince Yi's yard was much bigger than Honored Consort Ya's. Several small yards stood there one by one. It looked magnificent.

Looking around, Ning Xueyan chose to walk toward the middle yard. It was where Prince Yi obviously was because it was right in the middle and had four guards standing outside.

The four guards stood upright without moving as they watched her coming over. They also did not intend to lead her in.

Walking in deeper, she became more surprised. There were paintings and sculptures everywhere, which did not fit here. They were luxurious and varied and it could be seen that they were taken good care of. Only one precious black chrysanthemum had been on display at the Chrysanthemum Party, but there were two of them here.

Besides that, some flowers present were not shown at the Chrysanthemum Party. They were colorful and difficult to find, but now they were planted in the yard, which surprised her even more. This place was especially prepared for Prince Yi because luxurious ornaments were everywhere, which did not fit in with the temple.

"Fifth Young Lady, please follow me." The silence was broken before she had finished looking around. A shrill voice was heard, then she turned back to find the lovely face of a eunuch.

"Please!" Ning Xueyan said politely. She was clearly aware that the reason she was able to be here was that Prince Yi knew who she was.

The little eunuch led her into a luxurious room, serving her with desserts and tea. He told her that Prince Yi was busy now so she had to wait. Ning Xueyan nodded then the little eunuch excused himself.

It was so quiet here that there was almost no sound. Ning Xueyan would have thought it was empty if she had not seen the eunuchs outside. In this weird room, Ning Xueyan felt danger for no reason. Some wind blew behind her head, so she turned around.

She only saw cold light come toward her with a voice that said, "Bastard, die here!"

There was a sword!

Any girl would run away while screaming involuntarily if they saw this. However, Ning Xueyan did not even try to evade it. Her dark eyes were as peaceful as the surface of a lake. Her face did not change in the face of the sword.

The cold light stopped in front of her forehead.

Before she could see clearly, Ning Xueyan heard a beautiful, cold voice say, "The daughters of Lord Protector's Manor are all intrepid."

The door opened and Prince Yi came in with some eunuchs beside him.

The one who had pretended to be an assassin held back his sword and stepped back with respect.

Some equinox flowers were embroidered on Prince Yi's clothes. They were red and stood in the middle of a black color. When he moved, you could see the flower blossoms. With the dark background, it looked like blood flowers, which bloomed in hell. Those clothes made him look more handsome.

Unlike the female beauty of Wen Xueran, Prince Yi was more cold and enchanting. Not only his delicate eye features, but also his lifted, amorous lip all had a natural coldness and hegemony. His cold eyes especially seemed to be filled with a bloody darkness inside.

There was no doubt that if he wanted Ning Xueyan's life, she would be unable to run away from him.

Thus, she never tried to flee.

How could anyone assassinate undisguised in his yard and be ignored? Unless he did it on purpose...

Prince Yi and the emperor were well-matched. This meant he was extraordinary and noble—he was one of the most powerful men in the world.

Ning Xueyan's dark eyes flickered a little. She tried to calm down as she bowed to him. "Your Highness."

Ao Chenyi sat down elegantly. Although he showed a handsome smiling face, the sharpness inside his eyes was easy to see. It could almost destroy Ning Xueyan's soul. Nobody could keep calm while being watched by his eyes. Ning Xueyan tried her best to control her breath and four words jumped into her mind—evil, tricky, cold, and cruel.

Being the emperor's brother as Prince Yi but getting no overt objection from him was the reason why he was extraordinary.

"Yan'er, why aren't you afraid?" Ao Chenyi drew back his sharp gaze after raising his eyebrow. His lips moved a little with a slight smile, then he became languid.

"If your place isn't safe, there will be no safe place in the world." Ning Xueyan raised her head calmly with a smile.

Now that Ao Chenyi tried to test her, he had to have an insight into her tricks. Even though he did not know them all, he knew most of them. She had better not try to hide herself in front of him.

"Bold! I didn't expect you to be brave because you are weak after all. Weren't you afraid that I wouldn't save you in time just now and that the sword would really stab you? You are too weak to take that blow!" Ao Chenyi said with an ambiguous smile on his face, although the smile was not from his eyes.

"If you didn't save me, then it would be my destiny to die here," Ning Xueyan replied sincerely while smiling slightly. "Moreover, nobody besides me can be used to look through the study room of Lord Protector's Manor."

Ning Zu'an was the beloved marquis of the emperor with military power. Additionally, the military medallion, which people knew nothing about, would be hidden secretly by Ning Zu'an if it was important enough. It would not be found easily.

"Oh, does this mean I have to keep you?" Ao Chenyi waved to Ning Xueyan suddenly and she stepped forward.

He lifted her jaw suddenly and his fingers pointed against her neck. Ning Xueyan raised her head and looked into his cold eyes as he said, "Yan'er, maybe I will agree to help if you seduce me one more time."

His action was elegant. Ning Xueyan struggled to move her head away without thinking twice. She wanted to get away from him, but his fingers glided down her delicate neck. He could easily break her neck anytime he wanted.

Ning Xueyan tried hard to keep calm and her brain was running fast. A light smile appeared on her lips, looking like a pure white flower. She was calm with also a little coldness.

"If you help me, I'll do whatever you ask."

Pushing Ao Chenyi's hands away slowly, she only tried a little this time and easily freed herself of those beautiful hands.

"Oh, what do you want me to do? I've helped you plenty, but I've seen nothing in return," Ao Chenyi said leisurely while leaning on the chair.

"I'll get what you want as soon as I'm back in the manor," Ning Xueyan answered immediately. It seemed that she was waiting to know his intention.

"There's no hurry!" Ao Chenyi shook his head. His gaze was weird and profound. An evil smile was on his pretty noble face as he said, "I want you to earn Ning Zu'an's trust first."

She felt relieved. Some pressure was removed from Ning Xueyan's heart. She had to fight against Madam Ling back at the manor, so she did not have time to find the military medallion. Besides, earning Ning Zu'an's trust would take time.

The military medallion was so important that Ning Zu'an would never put it away arbitrarily. Even Ao Chenyi could not find out where it was. It was protected well.

Ning Xueyan had planned to take the advantage first.

"Yan'er, did you come here for my pills?" A cold smile was on Prince Yi's lips. His eyes had lights flashing inside them, which looked like freaky ghost shadows.

"Yes, I've been poisoned. It deeply wounded my body. Although I can deal with it later, I still need some of the same pills that you gave me the other day. Please help me; otherwise, when I return to the manor, I can't even ensure my life, let alone anything else."

Ao Chenyi laughed. A lazy smile appeared on his face. He picked up a dessert from the side and took a bite elegantly. "You planned this well. Will you be unable to serve me if I don't give you the pills?"

"I don't dare to deceive you!" Ning Xueyan answered with respect and was unafraid of his awareness. She smiled slightly and took a bow.

Now that she was here asking for his help, she knew she could not keep anything from him. She was willing to tell him the truth.

He was too clever to allow his people to deceive him.

"Well, I give you my permission. Remember, you owe me something." Ao Chenyi's lips moved a little, but his eyes were still cold and profound.

"I will remember!" Ning Xueyan nodded heavily.

She nodded heavily but slowly. Her gaze was solemn, which proved that she really meant it. Ao Chenyi felt happy suddenly, and somewhat of a smile was in his eyes. He clapped and a eunuch came in with his head lowered. There was an exquisite box in his hands.

The box was brought over to Ao Chenyi, then the eunuch excused himself.

Ao Chenyi pressed a button on the box and opened it. Five light, smooth red pills were inside. Their special smell came out, which informed everyone that they were precious.

Only these precious pills could heal Ning Xueyan.

"Here are five. Take one per month. As for your illness, you'll need at least 10. When you've finished these, you can come and get them from here." Ao Chenyi looked at her leeringly and his gaze grew darker.