The Devious First-Daughter

She was familiar with the mark in front of her eyes, because she had it in her previous and present life.

The mark on her shoulder was the same as the one Ao Mingyu was showing to them now.

In her previous life, her mother had repeatedly warned her that she could not show the mark to anyone. When she was a child, her mother bathed her. When she grew up, she bathed herself. Even her maid had never seen the mark. Now, she still maintained that habit.

Fortunately, Ning Xueyan did not like to be bathed by her maids. Neither Qingyu nor Lanning felt that it was wrong for her to bathe herself. Xinmei was disguised as a maid, but she was a secret guard, so she had never done this kind of thing. She also did not think that it was wrong for Ning Xueyan to take a bath alone.

Only she knew that this was all due to her mother’s order, and the reason for this order was because of the “mark” on her body.

She had kept it a secret in her previous and present life, but now it had been discovered. Even if she was calm, Ning Xueyan was startled and subconsciously stepped backward.

“Butterfly pattern.” Instead of Ning Xueyan, Madam Dowager exclaimed. She suddenly stood up, held the table and stared at the pattern on the paper in horror.

“Madam Dowager, do you know anything about that?” Ao Mingyu was confident about it. He shifted his gaze from Ning Qingshan to Ning Xueyan, and even to Ning Lingyun.

Sensing his searching look, Ning Xueyan immediately calmed down and pretended to be at a loss. With her jet-black, jade-like eyes, she looked curiously at the so-called butterfly pattern. Then, she looked up at Madam Dowager.

“It’s really a butterfly pattern!” Madam Dowager sat back feebly on the couch. After a pause, she turned to Ao Mingyu as if she had used up all her strength. She forced a smile on her face and said, “Was that on Ning Ziying’s body?”

“Maybe!” Ao Mingyu nodded and said this seriously. His eyes turned to Ning Xueyan and the others, and finally fell on Ning Lingyun. Among the three of them, the other two had no contact with Ning Ziying. “Fourth Young Lady, come and have a look. Have you seen such a mark on Ning Ziying’s body?”

“I… I have not seen that before.” Hearing his question, Ning Lingyun shook her head with a confused look. An undetectable profoundness appeared in her eyes. However, Ning Xueyan, who had been paying attention to her all the time, detected that. Suddenly, she remembered a past event and her pupils shrank.

“Third Prince, what’s this so-called butterfly pattern?” Ning Qingshan had never seen this before. She looked around, but could not find anything. She raised her head and asked Ao Mingyu in a soft voice.

“Third Young Lady, have you seen it before? Or on someone else’s body?” Ao Mingyu did not answer Ning Qingshan’s question. Instead, he asked her a question in return. He looked at Ning Qingshan with a scrutinizing look.

Ning Qingshan shook her head without any hesitation, and then frowned. She had an intuition that this thing should be significant, but she had never seen it before. She even had a feeling that she had seen it before. “Did Ning Ziying have some secrets?” she wondered.

“What secrets can an orphan girl have? Besides, she’s dead now.” Ning Qingshan thought disapprovingly and pushed the paper aside. Since the Third Prince did not want to tell her, she would not insist on asking. Otherwise, he would be unhappy. However, she wanted to know, too. So, she took a step back, as if she did not really care about it, but listened to them intently.

“It’s impossible. She’s just an orphan girl. She can’t have such a butterfly mark.” Madam Dowager was silent for a while. At this time, she seemed to calm down again, and said firmly.

“An orphan girl? Madam Dowager, don’t you know that she is already an orphan? They are of the same age and have the same family background. As far as I know, the Lord Protector’s Manor is respected by the Ning family, so the Lord Protector is also the leader of the family. The one in regions south of the Yangtze River is also an official family, but it can’t compare with the Lord Protector’s Manor.”

Ao Mingyu picked up a cup of tea beside him, took a sip, and said.

“But the Ning Mansion in regions south of the Yangtze River seems to be rich. It is said that when this Young Lady came to the capital city, she brought a lot of boxes, which were comparable to the dowries of the rich families in the capital city. With such abundant money, some people would think that this Young Lady Ziying came to the capital city to get married.”

“The property, he found that from that property?” Ning Xueyan had to admit that Ao Mingyu had a unique vision. Indeed, when she came here from regions south of the Yangtze River, she brought a great deal of property with her too. However, when she changed the direction halfway, she traveled only with light luggage and a few attendants. At least, more than half of the boxes were gone.

Ning Xueyan had never paid attention to those boxes. Since her mother had arranged a route for her to the capital, she must have had a plan. The so-called money should be for her, to avoid being noticed. Since she was the princess of the previous dynasty, it was reasonable for her mother to do these things.

However, she did not expect that now it had become the evidence of Ao Mingyu’s investigation. So, this so-called butterfly pattern should also be a mark on the former princess’s body.

But after thinking about it, she felt that there was something wrong. Why did Ning Xueyan have the mark of the former emperor’s princess? It was certain that Ning Ziying was the former emperor’s princess. But what about Ning Xueyan? The two of them were totally unrelated. They did not know each other and they had never met. Now, how could Ning Xueyan have the same mark of a butterfly on her body?

“Third Prince, the Nings built up a family fortune in the regions south of the Yangtze River.” Although her face was a little pale, Madam Dowager had basically calmed down. After thinking for a while, she explained.

Since he did not get a satisfactory answer from Madam Dowager, Ao Mingyu picked up the paper on the table and asked, “Madam Dowager, can you let someone accompany me to the Cloud Reflection Courtyard to have a look?”

This request was not too much, and Madam Dowager could not refuse it. Besides, there were people from the Ministry of Justice in the manor these days. “Please feel free to do as you wish, Third Prince. I’ll ask someone to take you there.”

“Don’t be so polite. I heard that the Fifth Young Lady’s courtyard is in that area. Fifth Young Lady, please take me there!” Ao Mingyu smiled, stood up, and said to Madam Dowager.

“Well, alright!” Although it was not very polite, it was along the way. Besides, there were maids following them. Madam Dowager thought for a while, then nodded and agreed.

Ning Qingshan wanted to speak up to offer to take them there. Since they were an unmarried couple, they should not be meeting. Ning Qingshan thought she was being natural, graceful, well-behaved, and propriety-minded. Thus, she could not let Third Prince think she was an impolite person, so she did not say anything in the end.

Ning Lingyun looked at Ao Mingyu with a complicated expression in her eyes, and then stepped aside, with her head down. It was evident that she knew her identity better than before, after being punished by Madam Dowager.

Ning Xueyan did not want to go with Ao Mingyu, but now that he had requested and Madam Dowager agreed with him, she could not refuse him. Therefore, she nodded and said goodbye to Madam Dowager, who was obviously still in a daze. Then, she followed Ao Mingyu and left the courtyard.

Ning Qingshan and Ning Lingyun also came out together. But because their courtyards were in different directions, they separated at the gate of the yard.

After the Third Prince and Ning Xueyan left, Ning Lingyun looked back at the betrothal gifts in the courtyard and said to Ning Qingshan, with a look of envy, “Third Sister, Fifth Sister is indeed lucky. Since Prince Yi thinks so highly of her, maybe the consort will give way to her after she becomes Prince Yi’s co-consort.”

“Princess? Fourth Sister, you’re so funny. How can a co-consort compare with a consort? Prince Yi has seen all kinds of beautiful ladies. How could he embarrass his legal wife for Fifth Sister? Besides, Commandery Princess Xianyun is from the Empress Dowager’s parental family. It’s said that when the Empress Dowager first came to the imperial palace, she was not the most distinguished one. However, she was the victor.”

There was no one else here, so Ning Qingshan did not have to hide her dislike of Ning Xueyan. She looked at the gorgeous betrothal gifts and snorted. She did not believe that Prince Yi would like a young girl who had not grown up. Commandery Princess Xianyun was also not that easy to deal with.

To marry the consort and the co-consort together? She thought it was a good thing. Before she married into the mansion, the legal wife would already have held a grudge against her. She would suffer a lot in the future.

“Yes, you’re right, Third Sister. I was wrong and made you laugh at me. Compared with Prince Yi, the Third Prince is a real gentleman. He’s still polite to our Fifth Sister now. When you marry into the Third Prince’s manor, he’ll regard you as a jewel of the greatest value.”

Ning Lingyun flattered her, with a smile on her face.

Her words made Ning Qingshan happy at first, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly. But at the last moment, she froze and looked sharply at the direction where Ning Xueyan had gone. Her eyes were filled with uncontrollable jealousy and hatred. Ning Lingyun’s words reminded her that Ao Mingyu seemed to treat the Fifth Sister differently.

She had not thought about why the Third Prince would ask Ning Xueyan to go with him, but now she regretted it very much. She was so jealous that she gnashed her teeth secretly. She had not expected that, otherwise, she would have said that she wanted to go with them. She was angry and anxious, when thinking that Ning Xueyan might seduce the Third Prince on the road.

At this time, Ning Qingshan was in no mood to talk. Her face was as cold as ice, and a trace of maliciousness flashed in her eyes. She stared at Ning Lingyun coldly, and then went directly to her courtyard with her maids, ignoring Ning Lingyun. “Ning Xueyan, this bitch, how dare she seduce the Third Prince in front of me?” Ning Qingshan thought.

No one saw that Ning Lingyun, who stayed behind, left the Lucky Garden with a meaningful smile on her face. Instead, she went to another road with her maid. That direction was not to her courtyard, but to Concubine Xu’s courtyard, which had been neglected for a long time. Recently, the manor was in a mess, but Concubine Xu’s place was very quiet.

“Third Prince, do you have something to tell me?” Ning Xueyan followed the Third Prince and walked a few steps behind. When she saw Ao Mingyu standing under a tree, she realized that he was waiting for her. She took two steps forward and put aside all her thoughts. Her long eyelashes fluttered as she asked him, with a calm look in her eyes.