“What? Consort Ning will invite several good young ladies having close relationships with her to a banquet held in the mansion tomorrow?” Commandery Princess Xianyun hardly believed what she heard. She suddenly put down the handkerchief in her hand and glared at Qingyu in front of her, shocked.

She only had one thing in her mind. “Ning Xueyan is crazy. She was reprimanded by Ao Chenyi when she went to the Moon-embracing Tower, but she even dared to do this. This is really crazy!”

“Outsiders do not know about the situation of Prince Yi’s newly married princess and consort, but don’t we know about it ourselves?

“All the people in the mansion know that the prince really doesn’t have much interest in me, his princess, and Ning Xueyan, his consort. Besides, we have just been in the mansion for a few days. Before she gets familiar with all the people here, she even wants to think about holding banquets. What on earth does she want to do?

“To challenge the cold treatment from Ao Chenyi? She really wants to die!”

What was so important for her to be a consort? Commandery Princess Xianyun was sure that Ao Chenyi had thousands of ways to deal with her. Although he could not simply kill her publicly, a thing like imprisoning her was of no difficulty for him to do. She had the Lord Protector’s Manor as her backer, but what was the point of that?

“Princess, it is actually not a banquet but a party with one dining table to be held in the Pear Flower Garden, and a few girls who have good relationships with my mistress will be invited to come to chat and relieve boredom. It’s not a formal banquet. Our mistress says nothing will exceed the fixed requirements. Please rest assured, princess.”

Now, Qingyu was no longer the one who was timid before anyone she met. She stood with her head respectfully bowed in front of Commandery Princess Xianyun, talking properly and fluently.

“Your master has gone to invite them?” Commandery Princess Xianyun felt that she was so powerless.

“Not yet, for she is waiting for you to agree, princess. Our mistress will invite them tomorrow morning. It’s too late tonight, and it’s not convenient to go out.” Qingyu acted in a manner that the thing should be done according to the rules.

“It’s not convenient to go out?” Commandery Princess Xianyun turned up her nose at it. “Ning Xueyan angered Ao Chenyi not long ago. If she dares to tease him again, she is doomed to suffer.”

“Whom will Sister Ning invite?” She did want to agree so casually. “Anyway, Ning Xueyan has taken the matter to heart. The more troublesome she becomes, the more generous and smarter I appear to be. When we are compared, it is clear who is better and who is inferior by just taking a glance.” She was suddenly stricken by the idea and asked casually.

“Our mistress hasn’t fully decided yet, but the lady of the Lord Guardian’s Manor is sure to be invited. First Young Lady Heng and our lady have always been close friends. When our lady was married and brought here, First Young Lady Heng even came and gave a gift to our lady. And the others should also be those who did this!”

Qingyu was not quite sure about this, so she just gave an embarrassed smile.

“Lord Guardian’s Manor?” Commandery Princess Xianyun became serious as she heard this. As for Heng Yuqing’s matter, she had almost gotten it done. As long as Ao Chenyi agreed, Heng Yuqing could get married and be brought to Prince Yi’s Manor, becoming a consort like Ning Xueyan. Generally speaking, Ao Chenyi, a person with the title Prince Yi, should have a princess, two consorts, and two concubines of lower status.

But now he even lacked one consort.

“Before getting married, Ao Chenyi could not say it, but now when he is married, it is nothing for him to have one more consort or lack one. Now it seems that he is so dissatisfied with both me, his princess, and Ning Xueyan, his consort, so I believe that as long as the empress brings it up, Ao Chenyi will agree and will not care about what it is.

“But why does Ning Xueyan want to invite Heng Yuqing to the house to chat at this critical moment?

“Does she really just want to invite those good friends of hers who gave her gifts previously to the house to play?” Commandery Princess Xianyun frowned. She suddenly thought that she was wrong. “Maybe I was truly wrong.

“I was careless, or perhaps my eyes and ears lost their functions and then I made a wrong judgment because I have been in the Great Wisdom Garden since I was married and came to Prince Yi’s Manor. How could I think that Ning Xueyan is extremely stupid? Maybe she is not smart in a few aspects, such as her visit to the Moon-embracing Tower today.

“But what about the other aspects? That is not sure. That day Ning Qingshan used every word to indicate that I should be wary of Ning Xueyan, saying that Ning Xueyan’s character and performance are completely inconsistent. When she spoke of the case of Ning Ziyan and Ning Yuling, she suggested that Ning Xueyan’s traces could be found in it.”

“Is your Third Young Lady coming here?” Commandery Princess Xianyun asked suddenly when remembering Ning Qingshan.

“Speaking of giving gifts, the elder sister Ning Qingshan must have also done it.”

“Possibly, but I don’t know if Third Young Lady will have time tomorrow. Surely, Fourth Young Lady must have no time because she was sick the day before yesterday,” Qingyu said with a smile that covered up the affair of Ning Lingyun and Third Prince. Although Third Prince admitted it, he had done an unfair thing to Ning Qingshan.

The necessary punishment of being locked up at home was done to show to Ning Qingshan.

“Okay, let Sister Ning prepare for it. Tomorrow I might also go and bother Sister Ning.” Commandery Princess Xianyun paused a bit and said smilingly as she nodded, “It happens that I’m also getting bored these days, and let me go and join in the fun in Sister Ning’s place.”

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“Yes, princess. Let me leave.” With her goal reached, Qingyu bowed respectfully and retired after Commandery Princess Xianyun waved to her.

“What does Consort Ning mean, princess?” Xiangrong couldn’t help asking after Qingyu went out.

“Tomorrow morning, you should go to the Lord Guardian’s Manor and tell Concubine Yun that no matter what measures she takes, she must ask Heng Yuwan to follow Heng Yuqing there,” Commandery Princess Xianyun now already had a plan and instructed.

No matter what Ning Xueyan wanted to do, it was suitable for Heng Yuwan who followed Heng Yuqing to keep an eye on Ning Xueyan’s actions, though it might not be suitable for her, the princess, to do it! She knew that Ning Xueyan and Heng Yuqing had a good relationship. Last time in the Lord Guardian’s Manor, she found that Ning Xueyan came on Heng Yuqing’s invitation.

Now Heng Yuqing’s matter was a pressing matter, so she so much wanted to know if Ning Xueyan had learned some tidings before she went to Heng Yuqing, but no matter what, it was unsuitable for her, the princess, to keep an eye on Ning Xueyan, especially when the two of them wanted to have a private conversation on the side.

She would have no fair reason to follow them all the time.

Therefore, Heng Yuwan was her best candidate. She was a younger lady visiting Prince Yi’s Manor for the first time, so it was not wrong at all for her to only have the mind to follow her sister. “As long as she watches Ning Xueyan and Heng Yuqing, I will know whether Ning Xueyan holds this banquet for a purpose or not.

“And when Ning Qingshan comes, I can also ask her about Ning Xueyan. I don’t know whether what she said in the past is true or not, but maybe I can find some clues from her talk.”

“Okay, I am going out early tomorrow morning and will reach there before the people of the Pear Flower Garden can.” Xiangrong heard clearly just now, so she understood what Commandery Princess Xianyun meant and nodded immediately.

It was too late at this time. When the evening lights were lit, people had to get the travel certificate first before going out, but the travel certificates were now not in the hands of Commandery Princess Xianyun, but in the hands of Eunuch Ling. If someone wanted to go out, he would inevitably alarm him, or maybe Prince Yi would even know it. Since Ning Xueyan did not dare to send someone out at this time, surely, Commandery Princess Xianyun was more cautious.

Ning Xueyan’s invitations were sent out in the morning. The people she invited were not many, including a few close relatives of the Lord Protector’s Manor and her good friend Heng Yuqing. Ning Xueyan didn’t know other people, so this was reasonable, but since the invitation was hasty, those close friends were busy and couldn’t come.

Besides, this was a visit to Prince Yi’s Manor, and they heard that Prince Yi didn’t treat Ning Xueyan well, so one or two guests who had time also claimed that they had no time to come.

Therefore, only Heng Yuqing and her sister were present in the end.

The reason why Ning Qingshan couldn’t come was simply that she made Madam Dowager angry. Ning Xueyan said a few words and left that day, and Madam Dowager thought about them again and again, feeling that they were not ordinary words, but she couldn’t temporarily do anything to Ning Qingshan but to punish her by asking her to copy the Buddhist sutra, saying that she would not be allowed to go out of the courtyard before finishing copying 100 times.

This punishment was even more serious than that given to Ning Lingyun. It was possible that Ning Qingshan might not be able to finish copying the 100 times even when she married.

This meant that Ning Qingshan would be simply locked up until she married and Ning Lingyun was also taken to the Third Prince’s Manor.

Commander Princess Xianyun came shortly after the Heng sisters entered Prince Yi’s Manor.

After the four people had a conversation, Commander Princess Xianyun left early but asked them to enjoy their time freely because there were only two guests. Anyway, Heng Yuwan was with them, so she didn’t have to show that she watched Ning Xueyan closely.

Then she just gave them freedom. Ning Qingshan didn’t come, and she didn’t have much to say. “But the Lord Protector’s Manor is strange, and all their girls are sick. Previously there was the case that Ning Xueyan had been sick, and now even the other two unmarried girls are also sick. The last time I saw Ning Qingshan, she did not look sick.

“It seems that the Lord Protector’s Manor has its problems.”

“Xueyan, your place is more imposing than mine. This courtyard is big, as big as two of mine,” Heng Yuqing stood up, walked to the window, looked around, and said with a smile.

“The courtyards of Prince Yi’s Manor are all big, and this one of mine is not a big one. The courtyard of the princess is really big, and the other vacant courtyards are also big. It is said that they are to be used by the future consort and concubines of lower status.” Ning Xueyan also smiled walking over and talked with Heng Yuqing affectionately at the window.

In fact, what she said was a little untrue. The Pear Flower Garden was truly not the biggest, but it was the most exquisite, for every piece of decoration was made with a lot of thought and it was fair to say every plant was so stylish. When he picked this garden for Ning Xueyan in the past, Ao Chenyi had the idea that she was not his princess, so she could not exceed the standards Commandery Princess Xianyun had, but in fact, the layout inside was beyond the reach of that of the Great Wisdom Garden.

“Prince Yi… He is fierce, isn’t he?” Heng Yuqing’s expression became a little unnatural, and she lowered her head slightly.

Heng Yuwan, who was sitting beside them, listened even more attentively. Today, she deliberately went to Heng Yuqing’s courtyard, desperately asking to follow her here simply because she wanted to listen to the private conversation of Ning Xueyan and Heng Yuqing, so she just held her handkerchief silently as if she was in a daze, but in fact, her ears were fully used to receive information from Ning Xueyan and Heng Yuqing.

Since they were in the same room, she could hear them clearly though their voices were not loud.

Sure enough, Heng Yuwan was here today to get the information about the affairs of Prince Yi’s Manor, and she just came at the right time.