She stood in front of the window and looked at the faint morning light outside. She frowned and was lost in thought.
She had been in the Cold Mountain Temple for half a month. A few days ago, Mother Han sent a letter saying that her uncle would go to the capital soon. Today should be the scheduled day. Ning Xueyan had never met her uncle, but she had heard Mother Han repeatedly promise that her uncle would help her.
Therefore, she wanted to meet her uncle today to see if he was really as Mother Han said. Moreover, if she didn't meet him now, it would take too much time to go to the Lord Protector's Manor to ask for her letter after her uncle finished his task. She had to meet him first to talk about some things.
She had to meet him before Madam Ling and get him to talk.
Seeing that it was still early, he laid back down on his bed. However, he couldn't fall asleep no matter what. His mind was filled with the scene before his death. Blood, suffocation, struggle, pain … Even though he was motionless with his eyes closed, he could still feel the fear and despair of death.
She clenched the quilt under her body and took a long breath to relax herself. But she felt that even the breath she exhaled carried a strong smell of blood! She sat up again, trying to hold back the rolling in her chest. She tried to think of other things to distract herself. Inexplicably, she remembered that her dowry was sent to the Minister's Manor first.
Suddenly, she felt that something was wrong!
She recalled her previous life. Her father died in office. Her mother died after three years of illness. Before her death, she agreed to let her go to the head of the family, Ning Zu 'an. She took all her belongings and went to the capital with the old housekeeper. She lived in the Lord Protector's Manor. Later, Minister Xia came to visit, and Madam Xia and Xia Yuhang came to comfort her.
The Xia and Ning mansions had decided to formally get married when she turned sixteen.
Although she and Xia Yuhang were engaged to each other since they were young, it wasn't like she hadn't met him before. When her father was still in office, Xia Yuhang would come to give her father gifts every year without fail. The Xia family had no intention of going back on their word. As soon as they arrived in the capital, Xia Yuhang even brought Madam Xia to visit her.
At that time, no matter how she looked at it, Xia Yuhang was deeply in love with her. He couldn't hide the happy smile on his face.
When did Xia Yuhang start changing?
Confusion churned in her mind. It seemed to be about a year ago, maybe two years ago, or maybe it was when she arrived in the capital … But she couldn't remember what exactly she did. She only felt that the old butler delivered another batch of things from the old mansion. Xia Yuhang and Ning Ziyan were both there at the time, so they hurriedly excused themselves.
Over the past few days, she had also made some inquiries. The rumor that Xia Yuhang and Ning Ziyan had been engaged since they were young also started spreading around that time!
If Madam Ling and Ning Ziyan had planned to take away her marriage at that time, why did they leave her until the night before the wedding? Was there any difference?
Was it really for the sake of her dowry? But if he died early and lived in the Lord Protector's Manor without any immediate relatives, most of the property would belong to the Lord Protector's Manor. Why did he drag it out for so long? Was there something else that he didn't want to know? He vaguely felt that there was something strange about this.
She didn't know if she thought too much and forgot the fear of death. In the end, she fell asleep.
When Lanning came to wake her up, Qingyu had already prepared breakfast. Because she had to go out, Ning Xueyan didn't go up the mountain today. She took the manservant clothes that Lanning prepared for her. They were not too big or too small, but they were just right. Qingyu and Lanning measured her height and rushed to make the clothes.
"Miss, are you okay going out alone?" Lanning was a steady person. She was really worried about Ning Xueyan going out alone. She heard that Ning Xueyan had never been out of Bright Frost Garden before.
"It's okay. I know the way." Ning Xueyan straightened her clothes and said, "If someone from the manor comes, tell them that I'm sick and can't get up for a while."
Since last time, she defended Ning Ziyan in front of everyone. Although she couldn't completely get rid of Madam Ling's suspicion, at least she showed her sisterhood in front of others. Madam Ling wouldn't be so anxious to deal with her, which gave her a buffer time. This period of time was very important to her.
Madam Dowager sent people to ask her from time to time, which showed that she attached importance to her. Since that time, Ning Xueyan was no longer the unknown Fifth Young Lady of the Lord Protector's Manor. Moreover, she defended the dignity of the entire Lord Protector's Manor, so Madam Dowager had to show her respect.
"Yes, I know. Be careful, Miss!" Lanning nodded.
After arranging everything, Ning Xueyan didn't waste any more time and directly went out of the room. The Cold Mountain Temple was outside the city, not far from the Shili Pavilion outside the city. People coming from that direction had to pass through the Shili Pavilion to enter the capital city. If she waited there, her uncle would definitely meet there.
She had been exercising and climbing the mountain every day these days. Both her legs and her complexion were much better than when she came. Although there was still a long way to go down from the Cold Mountain Temple, it was not difficult for her.
Hurrying out of the pilgrims' yard, she passed through a few halls and saw the main gate of the Cold Mountain Temple. Seeing the guards at the gate, Ning Xueyan frowned slightly. "Such a large number of people, so many carriages, and a large carriage is blocking the gate. The head abbot of the Cold Mountain Temple is also waiting respectfully at the gate. Someone important is coming!"
Who would come to the Cold Mountain Temple with such great fanfare at this time?
It was a big shot's entourage, and they walked orderly. All the monks who went out to greet them were bald. It would be very conspicuous if she went out at this time. Ning Xueyan knew that she was a tomboy, so of course she paid attention to everything for fear of attracting others' attention. After thinking for a while, she looked at the side door. There were not many people there. All the monks went to the main door to greet them. The side door was slightly closed, but she could still go out.
And it was not noticeable.
Walking a few steps quickly, she went to the northwest side door. She was small and far from the mountain gate, so it should be impossible to see her!
Sure enough, the side door was slightly closed, and no one noticed her figure.
However, a little monk behind the abbot noticed her. He winked at her and made a gesture. Ning Xueyan didn't understand for a moment. From her position, she couldn't see the situation outside. Thinking that the little monk asked her why she wanted to go out, she raised her hand, pointed to the side door, and then pointed to herself, indicating that she wanted to go out.
The little monk over there was a little anxious. He stretched out his hand to gesture, but Ning Xueyan didn't understand.
She simply didn't care. She was in a hurry!
She reached out to push the half-closed door. When she opened it, she suddenly heard an angry shout. Before she could react, a cold light flashed in front of her eyes. "Who is it? Catch him!"
Looking at the sharp thorns in front of her, and then looking back at the little monk who drooped his head in depression and panic, Ning Xueyan suddenly understood that the little monk just told her that there was someone there, but she couldn't see it from her position. So she misunderstood the little monk's meaning and was caught.
In the direction of the cover, there stood a group of majestic guards in armor, half surrounding the large carriage which was almost out of shape.
And she happened to rush out from this direction.
"Who dares to run in front of Prince Yi? Kneel down quickly!"
Prince Yi? This time, Ning Xueyan really changed her face! There was a trace of horror in her bright watery eyes. People in Chu State might not know the emperor, but they must know Prince Yi, Ao Chenyi. His identity was not only Prince Yi, but also the emperor's younger brother named by the former emperor himself. That was to say, if there was no accident, he would continue his brother's throne.
It was the former emperor's decree that the younger brother should die for the younger brother!
It was said that this prince followed the former emperor to the battlefield at a young age, and he was famous for his bravery. He had climbed out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood at such a young age. He really looked down on people's lives, cold and ruthless!
Everyone in the capital knew that Prince Yi was extremely ruthless and ruthless. He once slaughtered ten ministers in one night, and no one in the whole family survived. It was simply appalling. All the civil and military officials in the imperial court were afraid of him. Moreover, he not only controlled the Ministry of War, but also the Ministry of Penalty, and even the Brocade Guard, a secret spy organization.
As long as the Brocade Guard reported someone, he would be sent to the hall of the Ministry of Penalty. Even if he was in the right, he would not be in the right. It would be a piece of cake for him to get a confession.
So although some ministers wanted to support the emperor's son to be the crown prince in private, they dared not to show it.
This prince really controlled the imperial court. He was only under one emperor and above tens of thousands of people. What was more, he was the future emperor, and his actions were bloody. Who dared to fight against him at the risk of death?
Ning Xueyan selfishly thought that such a prince should not come to the Cold Mountain Temple. The Buddha in the temple was full of mercy. Maybe he was overwhelmed by his blood and Qi!
How could Ning Xueyan not panic when she bumped into such a lord? She didn't expect that she would run into such a thing when she came out in a hurry today. She glanced at the curtain outside the ink-black carriage with golden rims. She immediately knelt down and lowered her head to explain, "I'm going to the temple on behalf of my master. Please make an exception for me."
She was born small, but the manservant hat on her head was relatively big. When she lowered her head, half of her head was pressed down, and her entire face was almost hidden under the brim of the hat. Her face could not be seen at all, but it made the guards, who were usually strict, feel that there was something wrong with this person.
"Stop hiding. Take off your hat." A sharp blade directly came over and stabbed her hat. The bright sharp blade scared Ning Xueyan. But she still reached out to press down the brim of her hat and explained in a low voice, "Sir, it's not me. I really didn't mean it. If you don't believe me, I'll go back now. I'll come out after His Highness."
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