novelThe Reunion of the Niece and Uncle
| ← Ch.031 | Ch.033 → |
"Come here, sit down." The madam showed thin happiness on her face with complex emotion emerging from the bottom of her eyes. There was a little sadness in her eyes. She reached out to point at the stone chair aside asking Ning Xueyan to sit down.
"Yes, thanks a lot, my aunt!" Ning Xueyan calmed down immediately from the shock. The aunt in front of her was a smart woman. She might suspect Ning Xueyan's identity already, so she tested her by words all along. Ning Xueyan was aware that her pale face and the infirm body was the defect to lead to people's suspicions of her identity.
However, Ning Xueyan was short-staffed. Although her two maids were gumptious, she still needed to handle something herself. She had no choice but to disguise as a manservant using a roomy robe to cover her track. But any experienced man could tell she was a skinny sick girl.
"Yan'er, he is your uncle's son, you can call him Brother Hua. Hua'er, this is your Sister Yan." The madam introduced them to each other.
"Nice to see you, younger sister Yan, " Hua'er said indifferently after waking up from the shock. His lip was curved with taunt. He looked her up and down and said, " Sister Yan's robe was so beautiful that luckily my mother was sharp-eyed to notice you. Otherwise, we will miss you."
Ning Xueyan really didn't know why her cousin was angry at her. She lifted her pretty eyes and smiled, holding no grudge against him."So glad to see you, my brother Hua."
Seeing Ning Xueyan saluted him with a good attitude, Ming Yuanhua couldn't stump her more. He snorted and turned around, ignoring Ning Xueyan. He seemed so angry. Even though he looked like one or two years older than Ning Xueyan, he was childish like a kid. Ning Xueyan felt funny.
Her cousin truly didn't like her! And he showed her dislike all over his face!
"Madam, my young master, the lord is coming! The lord is coming!" Some older female servants who stood by the road screamed abruptly. One of them even ran as screaming.
Three people in the pavilion stood up immediately looking towards the crossing in excitement together. Some horses appeared indistinctly in the dust, running to them fast...
Five or six horses stopped at the Shili Pavilion together. Ning Xueyan just saw clearly that a middle-aged man of about 40 years old was ahead. He lifted his leg getting off expertly and strode into the pavilion. Madam Ming walked to him excitedly with her hands, which held a handkerchief, trembling.
She was a sedate woman but couldn't help herself now.
"My lord... you... you are back!" She said whimpering. The tears flashed through her eyes making them red.
"Yan? Why are you here?" Ming Feiyong didn't expect his wife would be here, so he was surprised. He wrote a letter saying that he would come back, but they needn't pick him up because he wanted to talk to his niece first.
"I... I'm here for you... you." Madam Ming stammered. She was so excited that her tears dropped ceaselessly. Her husband stayed at the frontier over a decade and never returned before. Usually, they could get his letters only. Hearing he could come back, she couldn't wait to see him arriving here early with her son for seeing him soon.
"Don't cry. You are an adult. Kids would laugh at you. Is this... Hua'er? Look, how big he is!" Seeing his wife's tears, Ming Feiyong felt heartache and reached out to wipe her tears gently. His face looked tender. He threw his eyes on Ming Yuanhua. It made him feel good that his son was vigorous and robust.
"Father, my dear father. How's everything going?" Ming Yuanhua was moved to see his mother crying. His lip trembled a little, and then he saluted his father with respect. He grew up along with his father's stories, which his mother told him. Knowing his father was a general so he must stay with the troops, he was proud of him. But when his father really appeared in front of him, he wasn't so excited.
"Okay, okay... everything was good!" Ming Feiyong answered, showing tears in his eyes. He pulled his son near him then slapped his shoulder hard with mixed feelings. If he had the choice, he wouldn't stay there for that long. And in the duration, he never came back once.
Ming Feiyong's eyes fell on the last person here. Dressing like a manservant, Ning Xueyan didn't catch his attention at the beginning. But he remembered his family sat with this servant just now. It meant he wasn't ordinary. He withdrew his eyesight suddenly after seeing the bloodless pale face.
"Uncle, I'm Yan'er." Ning Xueyan said. She didn't know why she wanted to cry with them. Seeing their reunion, she had red eyes, too. It was supposed to be a happy scene, but she dropped her head for glossing over her excitement. When she raised her head again, there was a soft smile on it.
"Yan'er?" Ming Feiyong moved his hands away from Ming Yuanhua's shoulder. He strode to her, lifting his lip slightly with the fortitude.
"Yes, my uncle, I'm Yan'er! My mom... she..." Ning Xueyan couldn't keep on talking biting her lip. For her, she was not only Ning Ziying, but also Ning Xueyan now. Everything Ning Xueyan went through was like her experience. So in her heart, she already regarded Madam Ming as her own mother. She was so moved to look at Ming Feiyong now.
She only felt her nose sore and was about to cry. Being reborn, she never felt like this way even when she confronted Prince Yi. She even couldn't say the word "died" now.
"My good girl, no more talking. I've known it all about your mom." Ming Feiyong was definitely a broadly experienced general. He was calm now and looked Ning Xueyan up and down, reaching out to touch her head. He sighed and consoled her, "I know. I know it all. My good girl, you suffered a lot!"
"Uncle, I'm not. My mom did." Trying hard to repress her pain, Ning Xueyan raised her pale face forcing a smile.
"Are you dressed like this for avoiding their eyes on you?" Ming Feiyong understood after seeing her clothes. He nodded and appreciated that Ning Xueyan was clever. He was worried that she might be cowardly. Now he sighed with relief. Sure thought the rumor wasn't true.
"Don't worry, my lord. Please sit down and have a cup of tea first." Madam Ming suggested as she walked towards them with red eyes. She served Ming Feiyong a cup of tea herself.
The family sat together again. Several maids were ordered to be out of the pavilion. Some trusted guards stood outside the pavilion, too. Ning Xueyan relaxed her hands and stood beside Ming Feiyong instead of sitting down. They were in Shili Pavilion now. It would be a broad vision if someone looked in the distance. Ning Xueyan was overwhelmed just now, so she sat down with Madam Ming. Now she was aware of this so that she wouldn't make the same mistake again.
The people of Lord Protector's Manor couldn't know she was here to meet her uncle.
Ming Feiyong saw her movement and appreciated her. He didn't expect Ning Xueyan to be such a thoughtful woman in her age. She was tactical, although her body was weak. He got another heartache and hated Lord Protector's Manor more.
He couldn't imagine how his younger sister and niece's life in Lord Protector's Manor looked like. It made a skinny young girl mature!
"Uncle, there are all Madam Ling's staffs in Lord Protector's Manor. After mother's death, Marquis didn't punish Madam Ling. If I'm not careful enough, you will be notified of my death for illness soon." Ning Xueyan explained. She could tell Ming Feiyong's pity in his eyes feeling a bit distress, but she forced a smile with more courage in her eyes.
It was hard for her to deal with Madam Ling, but it was easy for Madam Ling to kill her.
Ning Xueyan deliberately helped Ning Ziyan find Chen Hexiang before and let Chen Hexiang enter Xia Manor for her revenge, of course. However, she couldn't hurt Ning Ziyan for now because Madam Ling wouldn't spare her easily. So she needed to get rid of Madam Ling first, then went after Ning Ziyan and Xia Yuhang.
Ning Xueyan knew how vicious Madam Ling was. If she showed any hatred to her, Madam Ling would be ruthless and kill her immediately. Her mother was gone so nobody would stand out for her in the manor. Nobody would care if she died for no reason like her mother.
Madam Dowager only cared about Lord Protector's Manor's dignity and wealth. She ended her relationship with Ning Xueyan years ago. Now Madam Dowager seemed to treat her well, but compared with other granddaughters, Ning Xueyan was nothing so Madam Dowager wouldn't take the risk of pissing off Madam Ling for Ning Xueyan.
Therefore, Ning Xueyan needed to be more careful to make sure her safety. Only when she was alive, she could avenge herself and her mother and dragged her enemies into the bloody hell.
Blood for blood. She never forgot the despair produced by her death.
Designing by step, leading them to death one by one would be all in her rebirth.
"Pa" Ming Feiyong hit the stone table hard so that the table shook and almost fell down. He scolded, "Dare him!" If his sister didn't decide to pretend to have a good life there and had a fight with him asking him to leave her alone, he wouldn't ignore her for so long.
"Uncle, please don't be angry. I won't let them bully me in the future." Ning Xueyan said gently. She really felt close to this uncle. Just like Mother Han said, her uncle loved her so much. And when he talked about her mom, his eyes turned red with the pain in them. So she was sure he sincerely loved her and her mom.
Ning Xueyan was relieved a lot now.
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