novelThe Orphan of the Former Dynasty
| ← Ch.265 | Ch.267 → |
Earrings and hairpins? Ning Xueyan looked at Wen Xueran with meaningful eyes. She frowned slightly. People like him could really do this just for fun.
When they met the second time, he questioned her with a sword about a nun's whereabouts. Was he looking for that Jingkong?
Such a problem suddenly flashed through her mind, which was abrupt but reasonable. She just felt that Wen Xueran was not seeking fun by sitting up there.
But if he was not, what would be his target? The earrings, hairpins, or pendants?
She was shocked. If he questioned her with a sword in the last life because he was looking for Jingkong, whom she knew about, he was likely looking for her or the earrings in her hand.
It was her family affair and she had never heard that it had any relationship with the Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Min. In her last life, when she was in the regions south of the Yangtze River, her father and mother had never mentioned Commandery Prince Min. Thinking of this, she also felt it was impossible. It should be a coincidence.
"Young Lady, over there, he is asking for you." Qingyu pulled Ning Xueyan's hand and led her to look over in that direction.
Looking down at her, she discovered that the Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Min had stepped down and was standing near the door. The little servant who had been behind him was standing behind her now. He looked at Ning Xueyan and respectfully said, "Fifth Young Lady, my master wants to have a talk with you."
On the stage, Ning Qingshan and Ning Lingyun were still looking at the earrings and hairpins one by one and they would not come down any time soon. Ning Xueyan nodded and followed the servant to the platform with Qingyu.
"Fifth Young Lady, why don't you go up and have a look? Those are all treasures of our store, and they are rarely taken out to solicit customers." Wen Xueran smiled at Ning Xueyan, who just arrived, smiling breathtakingly.
"Thank you for your kindness, but I am not good at evaluating jewelry, so I can't judge their value, " Ning Xueyan laughed softly, glancing at the stage, and said leisurely.
"All women like jewelry and they always have their own opinions, don't they? Why don't you care about them?" Wen Xueran didn't feel any embarrassment about Ning Xueyan's rejection. Instead, he folded his fan into his hand, smiled slightly, and asked curiously.
"If a person has to live on medicine, how can she develop a high taste? I think you will be disappointed." Ning Xueyan forced a smile and her eyes turned cold, not trying to hide her disaster in the Lord Protector's Manor.
Such things could not be concealed, and she had no intention of doing this.
"I have seen the Fourth Young Lady's hairpin and it is very special. I heard that it was given to her by Madam Dowager. I am wondering if the Fifth Young Lady has any jewelry given by your elders. May I have a look?" Wen Xueran noticed that Ning Xueyan was unhappy, so he changed the subject, looking at her and asking gently.
"Only girls are interested in those things. I never thought that you would be curious about them, " Ning Xueyan said as she remembered something.
"I admire beauties, and of course I like the objects that could make them more beautiful, just like the Fifth Young Lady's earrings..." Wen Xueran said as he stretched out his hand to touch the pendant on Ning Xueyan's earring from Madam Ling.
"Princely Heir, please don't do that." Ning Xueyan's face turned cold. She took a step back, lifting her head a little higher to avoid Wen Xueran's hand. Her eyes were dark and inexplicable.
"Fifth Young Lady, I just want to take a look at your pendants. I am not deliberately toying with you." Wen Xueran's eyes blinked, and he was a little upset, as if he was being so rude because he was anxious to see the earrings.
And his affectionate eyes were revealing an emotion. Being stared at by such a handsome man, few women were able to remain calm. Even if his actions were abrupt, they would seem reasonable because of his eyes.
Was it because he liked her, so he could not help doing that...
And the reason why he acted ambiguously was that he was really interested in her...
Anyway, all these possibilities would make girls shy and unable to raise their heads as they were thinking about it. In the end, they would be too shy to speak to him. However, Ning Xueyan subverted Wen Xueran's thoughts because she was looking at him coldly.
She didn't show any bashful expression because of his words or actions.
"My sisters are coming down, Princely Heir, see you later!" Seeing that Ning Qingshan had come back, Ning Xueyan left without any hesitation. She turned around and walked toward Ning Qingshan with Qingyu. Ning Xueyan had a different feeling about the Princely Heir, who looked very amorous.
She could not tell clearly, but in short, she knew that he was dangerous!
It might be because of his gorgeous looks. She would be the public enemy of all the women if she stayed with him. It might be because he set up this competition today, or even because of the way he talked to her...
Anyway, she felt that Wen Xueran was not genuine.
Behind her, Wen Xueran beat his palm with his fan rhythmically, smiling with interest. He had never seen a girl who could stay calm when facing his charming actions.
"Princely Heir, Old Master asked you to go back, " a subordinate came over and said respectfully behind him.
"He should be staying with his beauties during this period. Why he is asking for me?" Wen Xueran turned around and returned to the store behind him.
"He said that there was something urgent that you needed to see. You can enjoy the festive lanterns later, " the man trotted away and respectfully replied as if he hadn't noticed that the son didn't show enough respect to his father.
"The lanterns are boring. Is the carriage ready?" Wen Xueran asked.
"They are waiting for you outside the back door, " said the man.
Wen Xueran nodded, and staggered to the back of the store. The people had crowded around the store and carriages could not enter inside, so they had to take the small lane at the back door. However, even though they were familiar with the roads, it was dark in the back and could not be compared to the front.
When Wen Xueran stepped onto the dark path, another carriage was moving on this dark road at the same time.
Third Prince Ao Mingyu in the carriage had a dark face, and his eyes fell on a beautiful 16- or 17-year-old girl in the carriage. Being stared at by such sharp eyes, the girl was trembling. She had been sent here and there along the way and was getting more and more scared.
"You were adopted when you were two or three years old, and you don't have any memories before that?" after looking at her for a while, Ao Mingyu changed his expression and asked gently. He behaved in a soft manner and showed a gentle smile, becoming an elegant gentleman under the light.
The girl did not know who the man in front of her was, but because of his gentle and handsome expression, she became less terrified. She blushed and replied shyly, "Yes, when I was a kid, I was separated from my natural father and mother. About 13 years ago, my foster parents adopted me, but I was too young to remember anything. My mother said that when I was found, I was well-dressed and should belong to a rich family."
At that time, the former dynasty had just ended. As many powerful families fell down, their children got lost.
"Have your foster parents ever told you what happened when they met you?" Ao Mingyu frowned and asked..
"Nothing more than that. They said I was sitting alone at the door of his house at that time, " the girl thought for a moment and answered honestly.
Ao Mingyu's gaze fell on the girl, trying to decide if she was telling the truth, before he asked, "Has anyone ever come to you since then? Or to your foster parents?"
"No one ever came." The girl shook her head, and because Ao Mingyu looked gentle, she was no longer afraid. Instead, staying so close to a young man in a carriage, she could not help blushing.
"Are there very many people like you or at your age in your area?" Ao Mingyu looked the girl up and down and asked casually.
During wartime, there were quite a lot of orphans who were lost. The former dynasty was destroyed and many families were separated. Many children lost their shelter due to the war. Things like this happened a lot, for example, the two people whom Grand Tutor Ya asked Ya Moqin to take back from the south.
Although he had known that the chance was very small, Ao Mingyu had to ask personally. Where was she, the princess of the former dynasty who had escaped alive? Many years had passed, but he found nothing. Had she died when she fled away at that time since she was only two or three years old?
"Who are you looking for?" the girl hesitated and asked, biting her lips worriedly.
"I am looking for my sister. She was lost that year, and I have found nothing useful so far." Ao Mingyu looked upset. He reached out and rubbed his forehead, a chill light flashing across his eyes."Has Ao Chenyi found her already?" He should send people to watch Prince Yi's Manor's back yard.
Maybe he should send the girl into Prince Yi's Manor since he could not figure out if she was the princess. If she was sent to Prince Yi's Manor and Ao Chenyi figured it out, he would not let her go like himself.
He slowly stroked the tea cup with his hand. The tea in the cup had become cold, so it felt chilly.
"It turns out that you are looking for your sister. I... I heard that there was such a girl... but... but her family looked after her carefully and few people knew that she wasn't the daughter of that family. And she seldom went out on the street, so no one had seen her. But my aunt was working there, and she brought the child to the masters of the family."
The girl hesitated to finish her words. Her aunt had told her that she should never say these words to anybody since that family had treated the girl as their real daughter. But this man was looking for his sister, and it should be a good thing to help the girl find her own family.
"Bang!" The tea cup fell down. As the wind blew, the curtain was lifted slightly. Ao Mingyu's face looked dark in the night.
| ← Ch. 265 | Ch. 267 → |