Chapter 414: Truly Very Ill-mannered

The air suddenly turned eerily cold, as if something was hanging over everyone’s hearts, ice cold, with a daunting aura. Ning Xueyan lowered her hand and tugged at the hem of her sleeve, and fell silent with everyone.

Ning Qingshan was even more restless, sensing that chilling gaze, falling on herself, as if the blood in her body was about to freeze.

“This is the concubine you have arranged?” With a somewhat decadent voice, it sounded pleasant, but it made people feel chilling for no reason, especially when it was asked about herself. Ning Qingshan’s hand tightly grasped the handle of the round fan in her hand, but dared not move again. Her pale white forehead was already slightly sweaty, and the originally unremarkable head-lowering action suddenly seemed to weigh a thousand pieces of gold.

She wanted to see Ning Xueyan’s reaction, but unfortunately, she felt it was very difficult to even turn her head at this moment.

“Yes, it is indeed the concubine that Father Emperor chose for this nephew.” Ao Mingyu answered, even with a trace of a gentle smile on his face, just as he was on normal days. No one saw his momentary stiff action, taking the opportunity to glance at Ning Qingshan, and a glimmer of killing intent flashed between his eyebrows.

Every time he saw Ao Chenyi, he had a great mental burden, as if no matter where he went, he would inevitably be the focus of everyone. Even if he didn’t say or ask, he was still the center, just like even after Father Emperor ascended the throne, he hardly mentioned the Imperial Younger Brother, nor did he explicitly announce it to the world. But even so, everyone still knew that he was the Imperial Younger Brother, the next emperor chosen by the Former Emperor.

And he, the legitimate prince, was therefore in an awkward position. This was simply the shame of all of the Emperor’s sons now, so as long as it was possible, he would definitely snatch the future throne back from Ao Chenyi…

“Come here, let This King take a look.” Ao Chenyi nodded, and his handsome eyes fell coldly on Ning Qingshan again.

Ning Qingshan had just paid respects to him with everyone. At this time, letting Ning Qingshan come over alone, and moreover, with such a somewhat faint attitude, the expression on Ao Mingyu’s face did not change, but the veins in the hand hidden in his sleeve were exposed, tightly clenched.

Ning Qingshan felt that she should stand up and respond generously, but her whole body involuntarily became tense. She of course knew Prince Yi, and even saw him from afar at the banquet, but a person like him killed without blinking, and was capricious; one mistake might lead to a disaster.

Enduring the lingering fear in her heart, she lowered her head and returned to Ao Chenyi, performing a great worship, even though she had just paid respects before, she dared not casually salute at this time.

It was rare to see Ning Qingshan in such a “peaceful” state. Ning Xueyan secretly glanced sideways, but unexpectedly met those slender phoenix eyes. Although the handsome eyes were still so chilling, overflowing with cold air, Ning Xueyan saw a trace of languid playfulness from them. She hurriedly lowered her head; this person really had some bad taste.

“I heard that Third Young Lady Ning is beautiful as a flower, gentle and quiet, and moreover, is righteous and filial to the world. Raise your head and let This King take a look, is the rumor mistaken?” Ao Chenyi said coldly.

Ning Qingshan’s hand tightly held the round fan, and stiffly raised her head. She also wanted to show some backbone, and let the Third Prince look at her with high regard, but under the strong, icy cold aura of Prince Yi, it was already not bad that she could maintain herself without trembling. She had lived in the palace for a while, and also met the current Emperor, but now she felt that the Prince Yi in front of her was even more imposing and overbearing than the Emperor.

Tensing her body, she made herself look normal, slightly raised her head, looked at her nose with her eyes, and looked at her heart with her nose, it was best to not speak or move; if she wanted to perform further, it would inevitably reveal timidity.

“Hmm, looks good, Mingyu, a little prettier than the two I was given last time.” Ao Chenyi’s slender phoenix eyes landed on Ning Qingshan’s face, as if he was quite curious, sizing her up for a few moments. Finally, he turned to Ao Mingyu on the side and spoke.

Comparing the future concubine of the Third Prince to a dancing girl who could be given away casually, a trace of viciousness flashed in Ao Mingyu’s eyes. From Ning Xueyan’s perspective, he could see that his drooping sleeves tensed slightly at the position of his hand, but immediately, those tense hands became calm again, as if Ning Xueyan had misunderstood just now.

Ao Mingwan sat on the side, as if he was interested in the topic of his teacup, and was full of interest as he looked at the color of the flowers on his teacup, looking back and forth carefully, as if he hadn’t noticed the abnormality in the air at all.

Ning Lingyun was so frightened that she dared not breathe, and Ning Huaijing also lowered his head, unable to see the expression on his face, but at least, on the surface, they felt nothing.

“Yes, thank you, Uncle, for your praise.” Ao Mingyu had calmed down, and ignored the wronged look that flashed across Ning Qingshan’s face, and said faintly.

“Alright, This King should go now. Mingyu, Mingwan, are you two going to wait at Duke’s Mansion a little longer, or will you go back with This King.” Ao Chenyi stood up, and a faint smile appeared in his bottomless eyes. With a wave of his wide sleeves, the blooming Manjusaka flowers seemed to come alive, and it was bewitching with a bloodthirsty kind of evil.

He seemed to have completely ignored that Ning Qingshan, the future concubine of the Third Prince, was still kneeling there, performing the salute.

“We will go back with Uncle.”

“We are willing to go back with Uncle.” The Third Prince and Fourth Prince responded.

Seeing that the two of them wanted to go back with him, Ao Chenyi nodded with satisfaction. He waved his wide sleeves and was about to walk out, but stopped when he passed Ning Xueyan, turned his head and looked at Ning Xueyan, and said with a somewhat disdainful manner: “The pair of jade scepters in the betrothal gifts, This King sent them to the principal wife’s betrothal gifts. The servants delivered them to the wrong place. This King has to go to Marquis Anguo’s Mansion now.”

Ning Xueyan knew that these words were addressed to her. This was the explanation for why he suddenly appeared in Marquis Anguo’s Mansion today. At that moment, Ning Xueyan calmed her mind and lowered her eyes, and said faintly, “Yes!”

Seeing that he was about to leave, Ning Xueyan reminded him again, “Your Servant’s Third Older Sister…”

“Oh, Third Young Lady Ning, get up too!” Ao Chenyi seemed to have also discovered that Ning Qingshan was still kneeling beside him, and waved his hand languidly but with extreme elegance.

That kind of disrespectful attitude gave Ning Qingshan a feeling that she was like an ant. Subconsciously, she bit her lip. She had always considered herself to be superior, and if it weren’t for the need, the few in Duke’s Mansion would not have been so hypocritical. Now she was suppressed by Ao Chenyi to death, and she didn’t even dare to look at him.

Why could Ning Xueyan speak calmly, and even dare to remind this bloodthirsty Prince, but why couldn’t she not only do it, but also need Ning Xueyan to remind her to get up? The Third Prince was still here, how would he view her? Would he think that she was a cowardly and incompetent person?

She cannot be so useless.

She cannot let the Third Prince look down on her, and even more so, she cannot let Ning Xueyan, this bitch, be above her. She is a concubine, and she is also a concubine; from the point of view of status, she is not much worse than her.

With a bite of her teeth, her eyes suddenly lifted, wanting to let herself boldly look straight at Prince Yi, but at the moment she raised her head, she couldn’t help but shudder, and couldn’t help but gasp.

She had secretly watched Prince Yi from afar, and only thought of him as a handsome young man, and that he was extremely cold. But how could the view from afar compare to the direct view up close now.

The facial features on that face were exquisite to the extreme, and there was a bit of bewitching among the handsomeness, but more was the eerie chill. Those slender eyes were extremely deep and gloomy in eye color, as if all the light had been absorbed, making people afraid to look at it. It was eerie, even if he did not speak, it made Ning Qingshan feel suffocated.

She instinctively avoided her head, instinctively gripping the round fan in her hand, but because she was too terrified, she couldn’t use force for a moment, and the place she was holding could not do so, and she only heard a “hissing” sound, the round fan in her hand was torn apart, and the beautiful faces of the beautiful court ladies were broken from the middle, showing a kind of unexplained eeriness.

Ning Qingshan’s actions were greater than her thoughts, and she suddenly lowered her head, and heavily kowtowed on the ground, her voice trembling, “Your Servant is rude, please, Your Highness, forgive me!”

“Truly very rude!” Ao Chenyi said with a casual tone, his bottomless eyes fell on Ning Qingshan, the corner of his mouth raised, and he strode away. Ao Mingyu followed behind him, his gaze also fell on Ning Qingshan, and a trace of annoyance flashed in his eyes. He did not require Ning Qingshan to be able to face Ao Chenyi’s pressure directly, but at least she didn’t have to be so panicked, and even tear up the fan in her hand.

The appearance of being in a panic was even worse than Ning Lingyun, who had been trembling slightly on the side, and made herself lose all face in front of Ao Chenyi.

His gaze flickered slightly, falling on Ning Xueyan, who was standing on the side, although she was lowered her eyes, she appeared calm and peaceful. His eyes were complex and obscure. It was not to say that she had much demeanor, but at least she could face it calmly. Ao Chenyi’s words just now did not just explain why he came to Duke’s Mansion, but also indicated his contempt for Ning Xueyan.

The betrothal gifts that had been sent out, he wanted to take them back, and even said he wanted to send them to Marquis Anguo for Princess Xianyun. No matter what kind of thing this was, it was a great shame for a woman, and she even accepted this fact calmly, without a trace of anger or grievance.

Graceful and generous, and didn’t forget to remind Ao Chenyi about Ning Qingshan, who was being neglected.

Even a man could not be so calm when facing Ao Chenyi. Which of the ministers in the court could say that they were not surprised and not afraid when facing Ao Chenyi, and that they were completely calm?

But she, as a woman, was neglected by Ao Chenyi, not only neglected, but also slapped in the face. The betrothal gifts that had just been delivered to the Duke’s Mansion were actually taken back. An unexplained annoyance arose in her heart. How could he treat her like this? How could he put her in such an awkward situation?

Originally, he still doubted whether Ao Chenyi was really interested in Ning Xueyan. Now it seems, he was just wronged for her, and angry for her. A woman like her deserved better, and this better, originally she could have given.

Biting her teeth, a trace of shadow flashed in her eyes, and followed Ao Chenyi’s footsteps. Ao Mingwan also stopped by Ning Xueyan’s feet, and then also directly ignored her, and walked out.

The three masters left, and a large group of servants outside, all left with them, and the pavilion was immediately quiet.