Chapter 570   She’s Your Biological Sister

Sapphire-colored embroidered brocade, white jade crown atop the head, handsome and elegant appearance, an amorous smile—this man was the very picture of a bewitching demon when he curled his lips. When he smiled enchantingly at her, his almond-shaped eyes were slightly narrowed.

Though stunned, Ning Xueyan quickly calmed down. She walked to the table in the room and sat down. “Princely Heir, why did you invite me here? Do you have business with me?”

She was certain that the one who summoned her was the Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Min. In her past life, she had seen how extraordinarily ruthless this man could be.

In the beginning, she was perplexed as to who would want to meet her, and in such a mysterious way too. When she ran into Xia Yuhang outside the store, she nearly thought it was him. She quickly dispelled the idea because Xia Yuhang wasn’t that capable and he wouldn’t act so mysteriously either.

It was evident from his method and secretive summoning of herself that the person was powerful.

Xinmei was outside. Seeing as he could appear in this room without alarming anyone, his martial arts should be better than Xinmei. She knew it wouldn’t be a wise idea to summon Xinmei in now, so she sat down and waited to see what he would do.

“Aren’t you going to call for help?” Wen Xueran raised an eyebrow.

“Would I be able to call for help faster than your movement?” Ning Xueyan retorted calmly.

“How heartless of you, Fifth Young Lady. When you fell down the cliff, I was the one who called help for you, you know.” Wen Xueran looked aggrieved. That expression, coupled with his handsome face, would have induced guilt in others but Ning Xueyan continued to look at him with a poker face.

“You were really slow in calling for help,” she said with a smile.

To be honest, Wen Xueran couldn’t be blamed for being late in getting help. Ao Chenyi was simply too quick in coming down the cliff. She didn’t inquire if Wen Xueran brought help afterward. The fact was that Ao Chenyi had rescued her.

“I was a bit slow, I admit. When I arrived, I saw the backs of Prince Yi and his guards. I was just a teeny bit late,” Wen Xueran said with a grin.

Ning Xueyan abruptly stood up and said earnestly, “Thank you for your help, Princely Heir. It has been a long time coming.” Her watery eyes gleamed. She raised her head and said seriously, “Please call me Princess Ning in the future. I’ve stopped using the title of Fifth Young Lady a long time ago.”

She was now married to Prince Yi, so outsiders shouldn’t refer her as Fifth Young Lady Ning anymore. Even so, certain people continued to make the same mistake.

Wen Xueran accepted her curtsy with a smile. Watching her sit down again, he turned the folding fan in his hands in a circle. Amusement lit up his handsome face as he asked softly, “Why don’t I call you Yan’er?”

“Princely Heir, you called me here to talk to me about Sister Ziying, didn’t you? I don’t think I have anything to do with her matter. At most, you can consider that I dislike Madam Ling and her daughters and feel upset on Sister Ziying’s behalf. Why would you think her matter has anything to do with me?” Ning Xueyan’s eyes were cold. She didn’t want to discuss her title with him anymore.

The Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Min was quite “famous” in the capital. There was no shortage of women who would throw themselves at him, but fortunately, he wasn’t as unscrupulous as Ao Xian and never forced women to do anything they didn’t want to. Even so, he was still known to be a playboy. She didn’t want to be the shield for this man’s playboy reputation.

“Of course it has something to do with you. She was your biological sister.” Wen Xueran stopped smiling. When his usual amorous and suggestive smile left his face, he immediately exuded a tremendous coldness that made people feel a chill in their hearts. His aura had completely changed.

Sure enough, this man’s so-called love affairs had always been a facade.

What made Ning Xueyan feel so horrified that she couldn’t even sit still was his words. Her body became stiff even as she trembled all over, unable to even say anything.

She had always suspected it. They had the same butterfly mark and the same habit of never letting anyone watch them bathe. She learned the rumor that the butterfly mark could be found on descendants of the former imperial family. Then, there was her origin. Everything was all her speculation. She thought it was her own secret and that it was all in the past. She was no longer Ning Ziying of her past life. Their only connection was their common surname of Ning and their apparent relationship as girls from the same clan.

“Princely Heir, there are some matters that you can’t say nonsense about.” In her ears, her voice was low and gloomy as if it belonged to a stranger.

There wasn’t any emotion in her voice but it was cold enough to make its listeners shiver. There was a shred of tremor that she had suppressed with all her might.

“I know you must have investigated the matter of your mother losing her legal wife position. Even if Ning Zu’an hated your mother and wanted to make Ning Huaiyuan his heir, he could have just named Madam Ling as his wife. He didn’t have to treat your mother so cruelly. Madam Dowager was your mother’s aunt. Even for appearances’ sake, she wouldn’t have let her niece lose her position as the legal wife. Does this sound reasonable to you?”

Wen Xueran stared at her calmly without his usual flashy smile. This was the true Wen Xueran and it overlapped with the man in his memory perfectly.

“So, you’re also a former princess.”

His next sentence was almost a whisper, but it nearly made Ning Xueyan tremble. She pressed the corner of the table with great force so that she wouldn’t lose her composure entirely. She didn’t want to be the princess of the former dynasty at all. That title gave her nothing but an endless nightmare. She couldn’t keep anyone around her alive. In the end, even she was drowned in the bloody lotus pond.

She bit her lip and raised her head sharply. She stared at Wen Xueran with a stern expression and said clearly, “I’m not. I’m a daughter of the Lord Protector’s Manor. My mother was the madam of the Lord Protector’s Manor.”

“It doesn’t matter whether or not you admit to it. It’s a fact.” Wen Xueran narrowed his eyes, refusing to let her off. “No matter how hard you deny it, you can’t hide the fact that you’re the princess. You have the same butterfly mark on your body.”

Ning Xueyan was barely able to analyze his words to retort, “There was only one Great Elder Princess in the previous dynasty, so where comes another one? And my age doesn’t match up either.”

“There’s no doubt that Ning Ziying was also the Great Elder Princess, but people don’t know that the Empress was pregnant when she was fleeing. After she escaped from the palace, she went to her close friend, the then-madam of the Lord Protector’s Manor. Madam Ming then hid the Empress in a courtyard in the countryside. And the child that the Empress gave birth to was you.”

Wen Xueran looked at her with clear eyes. She could even see her pale, panicked face in his pupils.

That was part of her speculation too. She believed that Madam Ming wasn’t someone like that. No matter how disappointed she was in Ning Zu’an, she wouldn’t have an affair with another man. A proud woman like her would never commit such a hideous mistake. Few upstarts would be able to experience a noble lady of the previous dynasty bearing a family heritage spanning hundreds of years.

Manor Ning in Jiangnan was also a noble family rooted in the previous dynasty, but a relatively small one. Thus, it survived the war and ended up in Ning Zu’an’s hands.

Ning Lingyun had once called Ning Xueyan a “mutt” in front of Madam Ming’s altar; there was surely a reason for it. It seemed that Concubine Xu knew something. She suddenly thought of how she and Ao Chenyi secretly saw Ning Zu’an ransacking Madam Ming’s room. She didn’t know who the woman outside was at that time, but the answer was clear now.

It was Concubine Xu. To think that it was Concubine Xu! This meant that Concubine Xu was aware of many things. She might even know more than Madam Ling.

That was why Ning Zu’an and Madam Dowager would be so ruthless. It wasn’t just because Madam Ling gave birth to the only heir, but also because of her mysterious origin. That was why she lived a life worse than a servant’s with Madam Ling in the manor. That was why no one cared even when Ning Yuling nearly killed her. Those people had never saw them as family.

No matter how much Ning Zu’an disliked her, he would at least intervene when his biological daughter was nearly killed by another daughter. Yet, he only watched from a distance before taking another road. It was because he suspected that she wasn’t his biological daughter.

Her body began to shudder. She bit her lips hard as she glared at Wen Xueran. He was also staring at her quietly, allowing her to think in silence.

“Ning Qingshan was said to be the former princess, no?” She gritted her teeth to restrain her urge to scream. Her beautiful eyes were steeped in ice.

“How could it be her? It was just a rumor. When I saw that she owned a hairpin from the previous dynasty, I had someone remark that the hairpin was a mark of the former Great Elder Princess and tell her that she can look for me when she’s in trouble. In order to protect the real princess, it’s necessary to fake one.”

Wen Xueran replied nonchalantly. Ning Qingshan’s incident was purely a coincidence. When he ran into her and saw her hairpin, he thought that she was truly the princess. Numerous unannounced visits later, he realized that she wasn’t the princess but Grand Tutor Ya’s granddaughter. When her father passed away, she was sent to Lord Protector’s Manor to be taken care of.

Grand Tutor Ya’s purpose was, of course, impure. It was fine with him because his purpose wasn’t pure either.

Ning Xueyan was finally able to control her emotions. She sat down with a pair of cold eyes and said, “I’m not the former princess. You’ve made a mistake, Princely Heir. I’m just the Fifth Young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor. I don’t know anything else. Neither do I want to learn anything about Sister Ziying. Please go back.”

No matter what Wen Xueran’s purpose was, she didn’t want to get involved with him. She would rather pretend that he was just joking about her being a former princess.

“Do you simply not dare to admit to being the princess or are you unwilling to face the truth? It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re willing to. Blood is thicker than water. The truth will always prevail. No matter how much you refuse to acknowledge it, you’re still the princess. Are you just going to watch the blood of the former imperial family be shed in vain?” Wen Xueran softened his voice but didn’t stand up.

“Who are you?” Ning Xueran raised her head abruptly and met his eyes. Her beautiful, unfathomable eyes were filled with turbulent emotions.