The Devious First-Daughter

“Older sister, this courtyard still looks the same as before. Can I stay here for a little longer?” Hua Qiuying looked at the courtyard in front of her with tears welling in her sadness-filled eyes, looking as if she was reminiscing.

This was the courtyard that caught Hua Yueying’s eye at the very beginning. Even among the courtyards in Prince Yi’s Manor, it was quite exquisitely built, especially with its refurbishment later on. However, it was abandoned when the marriage fell through. When Commandery Princess Xianyun entered the manor, she once sent someone to inspect the courtyard. She didn’t end up choosing this place after hearing that it was Hua Yueying’s pick, thinking that it would be unlucky.

It meant that the courtyard was left empty with barely any visitors save for the occasional servants who would drop by to clean. Everything was left exactly in its place, though the arrangement was completed by the servants at Prince Yi’s Manor as Second Young Lady Hua never spent even a day here. The maid who was leading the way didn’t think Hua Qiuying had anything worth reminiscing about.

Hua Manor ought to be the best place for her to reminisce about her sister!

Unfortunately, she was just a maid and could not reject Hua Qiuying. She was sent here to lead the way for Hua Qiuying anyway. She nodded but continued to follow her around.

Hua Qiuying entered the main room and paused, her gaze settling on one of the window sills inside. She wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and said in a low voice, “This place looks very similar to my Second Sister’s courtyard at home. Well, this place was refurbished to look like a copy of her courtyard. Brother Yi took the care to send someone over. I was curious, so I took a look then.”

Her voice was low but it just so happened to be loud enough to reach the maid’s ears. Still, she was just a maid and Hua Qiuying’s words weren’t directed to her. It went without saying that she stayed behind Hua Qiuying without saying anything, pretending that she was mute.

Following those words, a seemingly nonchalant question emerged. “Is Brother Yi around?”

This question was for the maid. Hua Qiuying turned around to look at the maid, making it impossible for her to pretend to be mute anymore.

“His Highness is in the palace right now.”

“Then, is your Princess around?” Hua Qiuying asked.

The maid wasn’t from the Pear Flower Garden but she was aware of Ning Xueyan’s napping habit. After thinking about it, she answered, “Yes, but she might be taking a nap at this hour.”

“Not Princess Ning. What about the former princess, Commandery Princess Xianyun?” Hua Qiuying asked softly. “Wasn’t she conferred the position of the princess?”

“She’s now Consort Yun,” the maid replied with her head lowered. Although her expression was neutral, a glimpse of confusion crossed her eyes. Wasn’t there an imperial edict? Why did Third Young Lady Hua look like she didn’t know?

“Oh. Since the Princess is resting, can I meet Consort Yun? Consort Yun entered the manor as the princess and oversaw everything in the manor. I would like to ask her if she has seen a particular item. It belonged to my sister. It was brought here back when they were refurbishing this place. We thought it would be fine since Second Sister would be coming here, but who knew…”

Hua Qiuying’s request was polite, but her voice appeared choked with emotion toward the end as if she truly loved her sister.

“Um… our consort doesn’t receive guests.” The maid rejected the request, looking conflicted. Everyone knew that Consort Yun wasn’t just demoted from her official position; she also tried to frame Princess Ning. Her freedom was restricted and not just anyone could meet her.

“Consort Yun can’t receive guests? Why? Did Brother Yi lock her up?” Hua Qiuying looked surprised as if she had just learned that Commandery Princess Xianyun couldn’t meet guests.

The maid couldn’t answer Hua Qiuying’s question, so she said vaguely, “It’s inconvenient.”

Hua Qiuying looked conflicted. After thinking about it, she suggested in a gentle voice, “Then, can you bring a letter to Consort Yun for me? I just want to ask if she has seen the thing.” She fished out a piece of silver from her sleeve and handed it to the maid. “It’s just a question for Consort Yun. Nothing will happen.”

The piece of silver was quite large and heavy. The maid nodded and accepted it calmly. “Third Young Lady Hua, you can give me the letter. I’ll deliver it to Consort Yun right away, but she tends to ignore people.”

Commandery Princess Xianyun used to be Princess Yi, so it was only natural that she would be in a bad mood and get mad at the servants after being demoted to be a consort. Hua Qiuying thought this was normal. She would be very upset if she was in the same situation; she might even end up beating several servants to death with a rod.

“Just hand this letter to Consort Yun. Remember, you must hand it to Consort Yun directly. I’ll be waiting for you here. If there’s any reply, you can let me know directly.”

Hua Qiuying took out a handkerchief and shook it on a nearby chair. She sat down and reminded the maid again. This courtyard would be cleaned periodically, so there wasn’t much dust. There wasn’t much dirt left on the chair with a quick clean using her handkerchief.

“Yes, I’ll be on my way now.” The maid nodded. She looked around the room and hesitated. “Third Young Lady Hua, I suggest that you don’t move the things here for the time being. If you see anything you need, you can tell me to deal with it for you later. Her Highness will punish me otherwise.”

“Don’t worry. You can leave. I don’t need anything for the time being. I’ll let you know what I need when you return.”

Hua Qiuying waved her hand, urging the maid to leave.

The maid nodded. She took the path on the left after stepping out of the courtyard. Hua Qiuying followed the maid to the door and was relieved after seeing the path she took. That was the direction of Commandery Princess Xianyun’s courtyard. She remembered that there was another path for Ning Xueyan’s Pear Flower Garden.

She turned around, returned to the room, and sat down again.

Coming here to find a lost item was, of course, an excuse and she had more than one goal to achieve. But there wasn’t anything she could do except to wait here for a reply from Commandery Princess Xianyun. Besides, Prince Yi wasn’t around so there wasn’t any use for her to perform.

How could she accept the fact that she would marry a lackluster aristocrat’s son for no good reason? Her father had kept her in the family for so many years just so she could marry someone with an extraordinary identity. He had wanted to keep her a little longer. It would be perfect if they could wait until they knew for sure who would win the throne, and marry her off to him.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t afford to wait anymore at her age. She must choose a husband now. Compared to Prince Xiang, she thought that Prince Yi would be the final victor. Her second sister and father were truly blind back then; they didn’t notice that Ao Chenyi, who didn’t have the throne, was evenly matched with the Emperor, who had the throne.

How would Ao Chenyi turn out once he won the throne? He would become even more powerful and no one would be able to control him anymore.

If the two were to be compared, Prince Xiang was ultimately weaker. He was barely able to resist Prince Yi with the support of the Emperor and Prince Fu. No matter how she looked at it, Prince Yi had a bigger chance of success. That was why she was determined to marry him. So what if she couldn’t become his princess immediately? With her talent, this wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Besides, she resembled her second sister in certain ways. If Prince Yi could be reminded of her second sister when looking at her, she would benefit as well. It shouldn’t be a problem for her to win his favor.

In the palace, she tried her best to be with Ao Chenyi. Under those circumstances, Prince Yi—who still missed her second sister—would not let her suffer. She also took the initiative to warn him, so he would know that she hadn’t laid out a trap for him. Yet, things changed. Instead of Ao Chenyi lying next to her, it was an inconspicuous man.

She refused to marry such a useless man. With her talent and appearance, she should at least be the mistress of a manor. She should be deeply loved and live a life of glory and wealth. How could an ordinary man get in her way? She should be more successful than her sister, so she couldn’t reconcile with her current situation.

That was why she would do this…

What Hua Qiuying didn’t see was the maid taking a detour and walking toward the Pear Flower Garden. She walked up to the gate and reported to the servant inside. Shortly after, Qingyu came out and led her in. Ning Xueyan was seated inside the room, flipping through a book casually.

She waited until the maid finished bowing to her before asking, “Shouldn’t you be with Third Young Lady Hua right now? Why are you here?”

“I was with Third Young Lady Hua earlier, but she told me to send a letter to Consort Yun. She even gave me a piece of silver.”

The maid took out the letter and piece of silver from her bosom and respectfully presented. Qingyu took the things and handed them to Ning Xueyan.

The maid might not be from the Pear Flower Garden, but she was a trusted aide of Mother Ruan.

The piece of silver was quite large. Although it was a loose piece, it was at least 100 grams in weight. Ning Xueyan observed it for a little while before saying emotionlessly, “Since she gave you the silver, it’s yours to keep.”

She reached out to grab the letter. Commandery Princess Xianyun and Hua Qiuying seemed to be two people from different worlds. It was a surprise that they would be in touch with each other. It seemed that Hua Qiuying had come to meet Commandery Princess Xianyun today. Even so, she hadn’t heard that there was any connection between Lord Peace’s Manor and Chief Hua’s Manor.

Chief Hua was said to be a very fair person who never allied himself with any factions. Since when did he start getting involved with Commandery Princess Xianyun, who was clearly in the Empress Dowager’s faction? And at this time, too.

Qingyu handed the piece of silver to the maid, who didn’t dare to refuse. She knew that the Princess sincerely wanted to give the piece of silver to her, so she thanked Ning Xueyan and tucked it away in her sleeve.

The letter seemed completely ordinary; it wasn’t put in the kind of scented, exquisite envelope that unmarried young women liked to use. The earthy-yellow envelope was inconspicuous. Had the maid not insisted that this was Hua Qiuying’s letter, even Ning Xueyan would think that this was an ordinary letter that she picked up from the roadside.

“Your Highness, there’s trouble! The Prince encountered an assassin and got injured!” A maid ran in, stumbling along the way, and reported what she heard to Ning Xueyan in a panicked voice.

“What? His Highness is injured?”

Ning Xueyan stood up abruptly, her face instantly pale. She had forgotten all about the letter.

“Yes, they’re taking the stretcher to the Moon-embracing Tower right now. Do you want to go and take a look?” The maid immediately wiped the sweat on her face. If she hadn’t gone to take a look at the second door, the Princess might still be in the dark about this!

“All right, we’ll go there right away.” Ning Xueyan’s mind was a mess. She nodded firmly and rushed out. A few steps later, she saw the maid who delivered the letter and quickly said, “Go and tell Third Young Lady Hua that His Highness is injured. Her matter will have to wait.”