In the study of Xia Manor, Xia Yuhang said while going in circles impatiently with a gloomy face, “Father, what should I do now?” He was not as gentle as usual.
Xia Tian, the Minister of Justice, did not expect such a thing to happen. He frowned and asked, “Can her child survive?”
“Of course the child won’t survive. Father, will my scholarly honour be taken away after such a thing?” Xia Yuhang concerned his scholarly honour most, so that he felt ill at ease. This matter upset all his plans, which made him very angry. After years of effort, he was about to succeed, but failed at the last moment.
Xia Yuhang wished he had killed the baby in Ning Ziyan’s belly as soon as he thought that the child made him like a drowned mouse. If it hadn’t been for this child at that time…
After this matter, Xia Yuhang could imagine that there inevitably would be some people attending the court tomorrow impeached him. The Spring Metropolitan Examination would be held a few months later, and Xia Yuhang was very sure that he would succeed in this examination.
One reason why Xia Yuhang had never taken the exam before was that he felt that he was not ready, and the other reason was his marriage with Ning Ziying. Now everything was ready, and his official career would be smooth with the help of his father and Ning Zu’an as long as he succeeded in the Spring Metropolitan Examination. Unexpectedly, such a thing happened at this time.
How could Xia Yuhang not be angry?
Xia Yuhang bit his teeth and cruelly said, “Father, how about telling others that Ning Ziyan seduced me when I was drunk?”
Ning Ziyan was worried that she would not marry Xia Yuhang, so she deliberately entered Xia Yuhang’s room after drinking. Then the two had sex at that night.
“No.” Xia Tian was a crafty man and much calmer than Xia Yuhang. “Hang’er, you’re smart all the time, how can you put forward such a foolish suggestion at this time? If you say so, you will surely irritate Ning Zu’an. Ning Ziyan is already your wife, can she be downgraded to a concubine?”
The words warned Xia Yuhang and sobered him!
Usually Xia Yuhang was calm and confident. This time, he could not keep calm because all the things were related to him and happened suddenly.
As a matter of fact, he had no way to get rid of these things. The matter that he had premartial sex with Ning Ziyan was wrong. And the matter that he had carried on a clandestine love affair with Chen Hexiang also was wrong. The two matters were exposed together, which greatly influenced his reputation. He could not explain well by himself. Furthermore, the Lord Protector’s Manor was also be involved.
The amour with Chen Hexiang had already upset the people of Lord Protector’s Manor. If Xia Yuhang dumped the blame on Ning Ziyan, Ning Zu’an would stand in opposition. Then things would be totally different from Xia Yuhang’s original intention. He would never do such a foolish thing.
“Father, who is going to deal with us?” After thinking about this, Xia Yuhang calmed down.
He did not believe that the two unrelated things would suddenly be exposed together. It was impossible to be so coincident. There must be someone who did that on purpose.
“I can’t reason it out yet. I asked the maids who accompanied Ning Ziyan all the time. They all said that Ning Ziyan had visited her mother and the Fifth Young Lady before she showed up at the party. After that, the Concubine Ma of Lord Protector’s Manor appeared and talked about the soup with her. Then she drank some and rested. Finally, she miscarried.”
Xia Tian had interrogated the maids and summarized what Ning Ziyan had done the whole day.
The one who poisoned Ning Ziyan must be someone she had seen on that day. But it was a secret that Ning Ziyan was pregnant. In Lord Protector’s Manor, only Madam Ling knew Ning Ziyan was pregnant. Who poisoned her step by step?
“It won’t be marchioness. She’s Ning Ziyan’s biological mother. The Fifth Young Lady was a young girl and I heard that she’s cowardly. Is it Concubine Ma?”
Xia Tian thought and guessed.
Concubine Ma took Ning Ziyan to drink the soup, and then Ning Ziyan had an accident. It seemed logical. But Xia Yuhang felt there was something strange. Suddenly, he remembered the dark jade-like cold eyes. Was the Fifth Young Lady really cowardly and incompetent?
Xia Yuhang coldly said with a gloomy face, “Father, we have to ask someone to investigate the Fifth Young Lady of Lord Protector’s Manor and Concubine Ma. Anyway, it must be one of them.”
How could he not be angry that he had suffered such a big loss this time?
Xia Tian nodded and asked, “What about tomorrow?”
“Father, you’ll talk about it with Lord Protector later and then contact some old friends. Tomorrow, there will be someone impeach me. As long as you and Lord Protector insist that I was drunk at that time and Ziyan was asked to take care of me by her mother, then this problem will be solved.”
Xia Yuhang had had an idea and said to his father with a serious look.
He and Ning Ziyan had been engaged. And it was normal that Ning Ziyan took care of him when he was drunk in Lord Protector’s Manor. In this way, it was reasonable that they had sex that night. At most, it was a mistake they made after drinking.
A mistake was much better than immorality!
Now only this explanation made sense, so Xia Tian nodded and agreed. Suddenly, he remembered another woman and asked while frowning, “But what about that woman?”
At this time, Xia Yuhang had calmed down. He calmly said with a smile on his face, “Father, don’t worry. She’ll change her mind.”
Although Chen Hexiang was also a trouble, only Xia Yuhang and she knew what had happened between them. As long as Chen Hexiang changed her mind, no one would know.
Didn’t Chen Hexiang always want to be his concubine? He would fulfill her wish!
Seeing that Xia Tian was about to leave, Xia Yuhang, who had already regained his calmness, specifically warned his father again, “Father, remember to tell the Lord Protector to block the whole Lord Protector’s Manor and decontrol it after tomorrow’s morning meeting.”
Since Xia Tian could become the Minister of Justice, he was not foolish. He immediately understood the meaning of his son and nodded before leaving. They must block the Lord Protector’s Manor before the news was spread.
If this was not a coincidence, there must be something to come.
Xia Yuhang did not care who wanted to deal with Lord Protector’s Manor and Xia Manor. Now what he had to do was to control the spread of the events happened in Lord Protector’s Manor. Although he was very angry before, he still remembered to ask people to keep watch on Lord Protector’s Manor. His subordinates had reported to him that no suspicious people came in or out.
But Xia Yuhang still felt that there was something wrong…
Qingyu came back from the outside with anger and stamped her feet as soon as she entered the door. She took a cup of cold water and hurried to drink. Ning Xueyan looked at her and asked with a smile on her face. “What’s wrong? You can’t go out?”
“Young Lady, I told them I have to go out to buy medicine for you, but the doorkeepers didn’t let me go out. What’s more, they said that you only care about yourself and are indifferent to Lord Protector’s Manor.”
Qingyu angrily said.
“What can we do then? The woman asked us to fetch some important things from Cold Mountain Temple. What if we can’t get out?” Lanning always was calm, but also was in a hurry at this time.
“If the doctor hadn’t left just now, he wouldn’t be able to leave now. The older female servant who guards the gate said that it’s Madam Dowager’s order that no one is allowed to go out. If someone wants to go out, they must be permitted by Madam Dowager.” Qingyu almost stamped her feet in a hurry.
Ning Xueyan was quite unmindful. She took the handkerchief and saw the embroidered flowers on it by the light while casually asking, “Did Madam Dowager order after someone of Xia Manor arrived?”
“Yes. I inquired about it deliberately. It was said that no one can go out and come in at will since someone of Xia Manor came. Those who purchase daily necessities every day are not allowed to go out, either.”
Qingyu had asked just now. She had thought that the doorkeeper only did not allow her to go out. Then she went to other gates and found that no one was allowed to go out.
“Unexpectedly, Xia Yuhang was so fast!”
“I had seen that he became very angry and lost his mind. Unexpectedly, he became sober after such a short time.”
“Sure enough, he’s not as honest as he looks!”
“I have been engaged with him for ten years and we have been together for three years. But I still didn’t know what kind of person he is. I trusted him so much and finally came to such an end.”
Ning Xueyan faintly said to them, “Lanning, bring Xinmei to Cloud Reflection Courtyard. Xinmei, you can go out there. You’ll go to Cold Mountain Temple to take things out and then send them to Xia Manor at night with your mask on. Remember, don’t tell Chen Hexiang who you are. You just say that you’re a passer-by and happened to hear what she said to the old female servants, and you want to defend her against the injustice.”
Ning Xueyan did not want to be so cautious, but she could not trust Chen Hexiang. Fortunately, she did not ask her servants to invite the doctor for Chen Hexiang. She only asked people to gossip that Chen Hexiang was going to die. Then it happened to be heard by Madam Dowager who then asked people to invite a doctor for Chen Hexiang. The doctor of Lord Protector’s Manor was busy treating Ning Ziyan and had no time to treat Chen Hexiang, so Madam Dowager’s servants had to go outside to invite a doctor.
The doctor Ning Xueyan prepared was waiting at the back door. Sure enough, he was invited to treat Chen Hexiang. Then he deliberately exaggerated Chen Hexiang’s injury when he treated her. Chen Hexiang was weak because she was pregnant. Besides, she carried a hairpin which was poisoned by Ning Ziyan and kicked by Xia Yuhang. It was not strange that she was seriously injured.
Xia Yuhang could never know that how terrible the blow that she would never be pregnant was to a woman.
Chen Hexiang had nothing left now, so she could only risk danger in desperation.
After the doctor left, Mother Han went in to comfort Chen Hexiang. She brought Chen Hexiang a bowl of porridge and asked her to have some first with concern. Then she deliberately said to Chen Hexiang that Xia Yuhang had almost killed Ning Ziyan’s maids when he knew that Ning Ziyan’s child could not survive and promised that he would give a satisfying explanation to Lord Protector’s Manor.
Chen Hexiang immediately understood what kind of explanation Xia Yuhang would give to Lord Protector’s Manor. Ning Ziyan lost her child because she knew the amour between Xia Yuhang and Chen Hexiang.
So, Ning Ziyan would not let her go. Therefore, Chen Hexiang would be killed by either Xia Yuhang or Ning Ziyan!
Although Chen Hexiang was willing to compromise and give up, Ning Ziyan would not forgive her and would murder her. It would be easy for Ning Ziyan to cover up the fact that a concubine died in Xia Manor.
When Mother Han enlightened Chen Hexiang, she also gave an example which could help Chen Hexiang make a decision.
They forced Chen Hexiang to make a decision…
“What Chen Hexiang hid in Cold Mountain Temple may be related to Ning Ziying. If Chen Xexiang carries that with herself, I can use it when I need.”
“Love can make people pay for everything!”
“And hate can destroy everything…”
“Xia Yuhang, Ning Ziyan, and Chen Hexiang, I’ll let you hurt each other.”
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