Ning Xueyan was having lunch when she received Madam Dowager's letter.She pulled out the letter and read it with a thoughtful smile. She would be checking out the Imperial Examination Ranking tomorrow and visiting the Lord Protector's Manor while she was at it. This was a good excuse to gather the family and worship their ancestors together. Even though the excuse was somewhat forceful, it made sense.She put down the letter with a slight smile and a calm expression. "Qingyu, reward the messenger. Tell her I'll check out Brother's ranking tomorrow and will return to the Lord Protector's Manor in the afternoon to worship the ancestors together."The Imperial Examination Ranking was usually announced in the morning. If she wanted to check it out, she would have to visit at that time. Many impatient people would keep watch outside the building, while the bigwigs in the capital would choose to visit during the morning."Yes," Qingyu a

The carriage stopped in front of the Literature Recourse Institution. Most people who wanted to see the Imperial Examination Ranking would wait here as this place offered amazing tea and liquor. It was still early when they arrived. Since it didn't make sense to wait inside the carriage, they exited the carriage with their maids and entered a nearby teahouse. They wanted to go upstairs and request a private room directly opposite where the ranking would be announced.They had just entered the teahouse when they heard a voice from behind. "Fifth Sister."Ning Xueyan stopped walking and turned around. She saw a surprised-looking Ning Qingshan standing beside a carriage with Caifen. She was surprised that Ning Qingshan would come so early. She noticed that there weren't many carriages on their way here, and Ning Qingshan's carriage had been stopped before they got here. It seemed that Ning Qingshan had been waiting here a long time ago."You're he

All of Ning Xueyan and Xinmei's attention was on the dark, indistinguishable objects. There seemed to be words written on them.They walked until they were about five steps away from the well platform and stopped moving forward. They started at the well from a distance for a while before turning around and walking away in disinterest.Someone abruptly emerged from a big rock on their left and charged at Ning Xueyan. Everyone was well aware of how weak Ning Xueyan was. If she were knocked over, she would surely fall on the well platform. Even if she didn't fall into the well, she would still fall on the side of it and wouldn't be able to get up.If someone else pushed her again at this time, she would fall directly into the well.The other silhouette who charged at Xinmei didn't try to bump into her but reached out to lift her. If Xinmei were just a regular maid, she wouldn't be able to dodge the figure but she wasn't. She evaded th

"Fifth Young Lady, have you gone mad? What nonsense are you saying? Servants! Bring the physician here so he can find out what disease she has, to be saying such crazy nonsense and committing such insane acts. This is terrifying!" A calm-faced Madam Dowager immediately pinned the blame on Ning Xueyan as soon as she showed up.They couldn't afford to care about offending Prince Yi's Manor now. Ning Xueyan was dangerous to leave alive.Besides, Ning Xueyan had committed the crime of killing Madam Ling and they had Ning Yuling as a witness too. She was a criminal. After killing her, they could excuse it as her taking her life out of fear of punishment. All they had to do was produce a body dead by suicide when the representatives of Prince Yi's Manor come.It didn't seem like Prince Yi was sincerely in love with Ning Xueyan anyway. He must have preferred his concubine or he wouldn't have abandoned Ning Xueyan at the Cold Mountain Temple and sought

"Even if you're a princess of the previous dynasty, you're still the only I want." His warm breath was right beside her ear, bringing with it a temperature that made her heart race. Unable to hold back her tears anymore, they fell down her face. Her body trembled, but Ao Chenyi simply held her even tighter, giving her the impression that she was being truly and deeply loved.She had been so worried lately, fearful of reliving her past. She was afraid that she would suffer yet another tragic end after she lost her worth. Even if a voice in her head kept telling her that Ao Chenyi wasn't Xia Yuhang, it couldn't calm her panic and anxiety.Ao Chenyi sighed when he felt the woman in his arms tremble. He led her behind a tree for privacy and gently caressed her hair. His thin lips curved into a smile and gentleness surfaced in his unfathomable eyes. "If there's something I want, I'll fight for it myself. I won't exploit my woman for it."Something i