Chapter 270: All Three Young Ladies Are Lost

“I can see that my nephew is not really cherishing the fragrant and pitying the jade!” Ao Chenyi’s slender eyes jumped on Ning Xueyan’s face, his smile handsome and bewitching. He reached out and put the roof tile on, and then he embraced Ning Xueyan and turned to leap away.

The sound of the wind whistling past the ears, the wind was extremely strong, blowing Ning Xueyan’s ears to swell, and she subconsciously buried herself in his arms, only holding Ao Chenyi’s clothes tightly. The speed going was much faster than coming, and she didn’t get used to it at once, suddenly her eyes went black, and the hat was covered without rhyme or reason, and immediately, darkness and warmth appeared.

Unexpectedly, even in the darkness, one could feel such warmth.

It turns out that it’s not only the sun that can make people feel warm.

“Come down, why do you still want to be in This King’s arms, and not come down?” Hearing the languid voice with decadent beauty in his ears, Ning Xueyan then felt the feeling of her feet touching the ground. With a red face, she hurriedly reached out to push him away. Her eyes brightened, the brim of the hat on her head had been lifted by Ao Chenyi. She found that they were now standing in the alley, and the opposite was the brightly lit street.

“Young Lady, you’re back.” Suddenly hearing Xinmei’s anxious voice in the darkness, Ning Xueyan turned her head and saw that not only Xinmei was there, but also Qingyu.

“Is someone looking for us?” Seeing Qingyu, the anxious look on Xinmei’s face, Ning Xueyan was already sobered up and asked.

“Yes, just now the three young ladies all got separated, the mansion is sending people out to search vigorously. If we can’t find them, something will happen.” Qingyu said anxiously.

“Prince, allow me to excuse myself first. I’m afraid that if we can’t find people later, something else will happen.” Ning Xueyan calmed down, and said farewell to Ao Chenyi in a soft voice.

“No problem, anyway, you were originally This King’s concubine. Since you are a concubine, This King won’t mind the slightest loss of reputation.” Ao Chenyi’s eyes were shining in the darkness, and a rare smile was revealed in the profoundness. He waved his hand with great magnanimity and unhurriedly reached out and took off the cloak covering Ning Xueyan.

Seeing him say it so lightly, a few points of shyness and annoyance appeared on Ning Xueyan’s exquisite small face. She bit her lip, and decided not to bicker with him about the advantages of words. Of course, she also understood that she had no right to bicker with him at all. It was just a transaction in the first place, and now she had even traded her marriage.

Then, what she could do next was to guard her own heart!

And what he did just now was not only to show his magnanimity, but also to show a kind of power, or to express a meaning, her weakness and powerlessness in front of him.

She took a deep breath. When the cloak on her body fell to the ground, she immediately turned around and left with the two maidservants. When she got help from him, it represented the generation of the transaction. With his strong overbearingness, she was powerless to resist what he wanted from her, except her own heart.

She only needed to make her own heart stronger.

“Young Lady, after being scattered by the crowd just now, this servant couldn’t find you. I was just about to shout there, when I saw the Third Young Lady walking with someone, and then the Fourth Young Lady was also gone. When I was really anxious, Xinmei came over and brought me here, saying that the Young Lady would be out in a moment.”

Qingyu was really anxious just now, but since Xinmei said so, even if she didn’t fully believe it, she could only believe it. The confidants who followed Ning Xueyan all knew that Xinmei had Kung Fu, and she was also sent out by Prince Yi. Since she said so, there must be a reason.

But just now, the two of them saw Ning Zuan hastily come out of Linjiang Tower with a large group of people. They heard a few servants anxiously shouting behind them, saying that several young ladies were missing, and to quickly find them. If they found out that the young ladies still hadn’t come back by now, something would really happen.

Qingyu was anxiously pacing in circles, even sweat appeared on Xinmei’s forehead.

Fortunately, the Young Lady suddenly descended from the sky, and the noble His Royal Highness, Prince Yi, directly sent the Young Lady back. Although Qingyu couldn’t understand some of his words, fortunately, the Young Lady was back.

“Ning Lingyun is also missing?” Ning Xueyan’s eyes flashed, and a dim light flashed in her eyes. Ning Qingshan went to see Ao Mingyu, and Ning Lingyun went to see who else? Could it be that she also had something going on? Ning Qingshan would certainly take advantage of the situation to disrupt the secret meeting with Ao Mingyu, what was Ning Lingyun doing? She originally thought she was afraid of being “beaten”, but she was still a restless one.

Viewing the lanterns, getting slightly lost is also normal. At this time every year, many people get scattered in the crowd. Why would it alarm Ning Zuan? Ning Qingshan and Ning Lingyun’s maidservants would never be so stupid, so someone must have deliberately leaked this matter.

“We’re going to Linjiang Tower.” Steadying her heart, Ning Xueyan took a deep breath, came out of the alley, and went directly to Linjiang Tower opposite.

As soon as she arrived at the door of Linjiang Tower, she saw a servant coming over: “Fifth Young Lady, you’re back, the Duke and the Old Madam are worried to death.”

His urgent tone, coupled with his anxious appearance, immediately attracted the attention of the people around him.

“Is there anything the matter?” Ning Xueyan smiled gently, and said softly.

Her clothes, although simple, were neat, her hair was groomed without a trace of mess, her complexion was natural, and a pair of smiling beautiful eyes revealed a few points of curiosity in their gentle and soft expression. She really didn’t look like something had happened, and the two maidservants following her also had not a bit of panic in their breath.

Completely as if she were out of it, not knowing what happened.

“Just now, someone said they saw several young ladies being scattered by the crowd, and someone also saw the Third Young Lady…” The servant seemed to be momentarily at a loss for words, but he immediately realized it, and immediately covered his mouth, pointing above, “Fifth Young Lady, hurry up, the Old Madam is waiting for you upstairs, I’ll go report to the Duke in a moment.”

After saying that, without waiting for Ning Xueyan to say anything, he hurriedly ran outside.

What happened to the Third Young Lady of the Duke’s Mansion? Those who heard it all looked at each other, and that didn’t mean anything good.

The geographical position of Linjiang Tower today is especially good, right at the end of the Dragon Boat Race on the lake surface. Later, they would use several large boats on this section of the lake and build a high platform. The Emperor, the Empress, and some imperial concubines from the Harem would all attend, which could be said to be an excellent location, so the private rooms in this place were all booked long ago.

Those who booked late simply couldn’t get them.

The Duke’s Mansion had originally booked a bit late, so they didn’t get one before. Fortunately, the shopkeeper of the store also knew that the Duke couldn’t be offended, so he told him that if there were any empty private rooms at that time, they would certainly be given to the Duke’s Mansion first. Actually, every year, some people couldn’t come for various reasons, so the shopkeeper promised this with no pressure at all.

This was also the reason why Ning Zuan had the steward find the three of them again and give them another instruction after the private room was decided.

And those who came here today were of course rich or noble. Many people had heard about the good reputation of the Third Young Lady of the Duke’s Mansion. Of course, the ones below were mostly servants and slave servants, but this didn’t prevent them from stretching their ears to listen to the gossip of the Third Young Lady of the Duke’s Mansion.

The Imperial Selection was about to begin, and many families had people sent into the palace. They had long heard about the matter of the Third Prince and the Third Young Lady of the Duke’s Mansion. Before entering the palace, there were many people who regarded Ning Qingshan as their opponent. Some well-behaved servants, of course, knew the secrets of their own masters, and they would all be prepared to tell their masters and listen to the gossip to get a reward.

Ning Xueyan’s gaze fell on the servant who was escaping. The corner of her mouth curved up, and she turned and walked upstairs. No matter what, Ning Qingshan couldn’t have imagined that the Third Prince had no intention of marrying her as his principal wife. Although these small slanders didn’t have direct evidence, sometimes catching a glimpse of something was enough.

Concubine? Ning Qingshan, who had always been as proud as a princess, if she knew that her cousin, whom she wholeheartedly wanted to marry, was only positioned as a concubine, she didn’t know if she would still be so devoted. Of course, Ning Xueyan wouldn’t feel that Ning Qingshan was pitiful at all.

Some people were originally venomous snakes, and it wasn’t that if you treated them well, they would repay your kindness.

In the private room upstairs, the Old Madam had been worried to death for a long time. She occasionally let the maidservants go down to inquire about the news. Seeing that Ning Xueyan came back in good health, she slightly relaxed, the Imperial Selection was about to begin, and no mistakes could be made at this time.

As soon as Ning Xueyan sat down, Ning Lingyun also went upstairs with her maidservant. Although she looked timidly, but her clothes and ornaments were not at all messy, it was clear that nothing major had happened. The two young ladies of the Duke’s Mansion had returned to the mansion, and the Old Madam could then sit down and eat some pastry.

Ning Qingshan was always intelligent, and the Old Madam felt that since Ning Lingyun and Ning Xueyan were both fine, she would certainly be fine, too, just being scattered for a while, and she’d be found later.

“Fifth Young Lady, where did you go just now, why did you come back so late?” The Old Madam asked Ning Xueyan.

“Grandmother, I was separated from the two older sisters just now, and I came over with Qingyu and Xinmei. I just didn’t know the way very well, and I got lost on the way. We took a big detour, and then asked people, and then we came out from the alley on the opposite side. Only then did I realize that I went the wrong way.” Ning Xueyan explained with a smile unhurriedly, and her face still had a few points of embarrassment.

“If I had known, I would have sent someone there at the time to take a look at you, even the roads of the capital city would make you get lost.” The Old Madam didn’t doubt her, because Ning Xueyan had always been in Mingshuang Courtyard for so many years, and the maidservants she brought with her were also those who had not seen anyone in Mingshuang Courtyard for many years, and the other one was sent over from Ming Feiyong’s mansion, and judging from this, she was not clever either.

“Fourth Young Lady, what happened to you?” Compared to the favorable expression towards Ning Xueyan, the Old Madam was not so polite to Ning Lingyun.

“Grandmother, I… I met my aunt’s cousin, and the two of us stood on the side and talked for a while, and then I came late.” Ning Lingyun lowered her head and stuttered.

“People from Concubine Xu’s family, Fourth Young Lady, you are now a young lady of the Duke’s Mansion, you must remember to maintain your identity, and don’t let others look down on you.” Upon hearing that she was in contact with people from the concubine’s family, the Old Madam’s face fell, and she said with displeasure, the words already implicitly containing a warning.

“Yes.” Ning Lingyun didn’t dare to say anything, and lowered her head in response.

Ning Lingyun and the people from Madam Da Xu’s family met? And they talked for a while. If she remembered correctly, Ning Lingyun had always called herself a young lady of the Duke’s Mansion, how could she specially look for a cousin sister to talk to.

While they were talking, the door of the private room opened, and Ning Zuan, with a stern face, walked in furiously, followed by a somewhat embarrassed Ning Qingshan.