Chapter 609 Past Cause, Present Effect

The head of the female prison brought Ning Ziyan in and bowed respectfully to Ning Xueyan before leaving.

Sensing that she had arrived at her destination, Ning Ziyan raised her head and revealed a pair of bloodshot eyes. She stared blankly at Ning Xueyan, who looked noble and calm in her chair. Ning Xueyan was, as always, wearing a plain dress with minimal accessories. There was only a small embroidery of a moon on her dress, carrying a touch of greenery.

The dress made Ning Xueyan’s face look as bright and smooth as jade. Her delicate facial features were beginning to reveal what a devastating beauty she would become. She looked a little quiet, a little cold. With unreadable emotion in her ink-black eyes, she stared at Ning Ziyan without saying anything.

All of a sudden, Ning Ziyan found those eyes to be very familiar. She muttered to herself subconsciously, “Ning… Ziying!”

The name had been buried in her heart for a long time; she almost thought that she had forgotten about that idiotic woman who dared to reach above her station. How dare that orphan get engaged with an outstanding man like Xia Yuhang! She was the only woman worthy of such a gentle, handsome man.

Ning Ziying was unworthy.

“You stole her marriage and killed her. Ning Ziyan, you only have yourself to blame for your outcome,” Ning Xueyan said coldly, with a slight smile.

“Ning Ziying, you’re here for me. You’ve finally come to find me!” Ning Ziyan stared at Ning Xueyan. Unbeknownst to herself, she was shouting. She pointed at Ning Xueyan all of a sudden, seemingly above to rush at her. Lanning, who was standing behind Ning Xueyan, stepped forward and stopped her. Ning Ziyan didn’t have much strength, so she stopped moving forward after being stopped.

“Ning Ziying, it’s useless to come for me. It’s your fault for being engaged with Brother Yuhang. The Lord Protector’s Manor was kind enough to take an orphan like you in, yet you dare to covet Brother Yuhang and want to marry him. You should look into the mirror and see if you’re worthy of him.”

The familiar eyes in front of Ning Ziyan turned into the eyes of a gentle, lovely young woman. The sight of Ning Ziying’s eyes brimming with tears after getting reprimanded gave Ning Ziyan a sense of satisfaction. The more she spoke, the more vicious her words became. It was as if this was the only way she could see the desired submission in those beautiful eyes.

Ning Ziying should have submitted to her. She was the eldest daughter of the Lord Protector’s Manor and a young lady of distinguished status. Ning Ziying was just a village orphan. She wanted Ning Ziying to die for daring to steal her Brother Yuhang.

“If you have some wits with you, you’ll give me Brother Yuhang, throw yourself in a river, and die lest you give me and Brother Yuhang trouble.”

The gentle eyes before her turned resentful, with blood spreading over it. There was so much blood that Ning Ziyan felt that even her surroundings had been dyed red. Amid the blood, that beautiful girl collapsed on the ground, still stubbornly refusing to lower her head. She went up and kicked her several times in resentment. How dare that slut charge at her and bite her.

What a slut, indeed. Ning Ziying even smeared her nasty blood on her.

“Get out of my way, slut. Brother Yuhang doesn’t want you. I’m the one he wants to marry,” she shouted.

“Ning Ziyan, are you insane? Well, this is apt. Xia Yuhang is about to marry his sweet bride, so a demoted wife like you can die now. But don’t drag the Lord Protector’s Manor down before dying.” A cold and hostile voice entered Ning Ziyan’s ears while she was muddle-headed, causing her to subconsciously widen her eyes.

She looked at the lovely pair of cold and ruthless eyes. Those eyes were very beautiful, very familiar, but also very cold. They were not at all the ones in her memory. Suddenly, she recovered her senses and looked at Ning Xueyan in shock. She held onto the wall beside her to stabilize her footing.

“Ning Ziyan, no one is going to stop you from going mad but listen well if you want to occupy the position of Xia Yuhang’s wife.” Ning Xueyan looked at Ning Ziyan with a grim expression and a sneer. Ning Ziyan was indeed as selfish and wicked as she thought; not only did Ning Ziyan steal Ning Ziying’s marriage, but she even blamed Ning Ziying for reaching above her station.

How can a person be so selfish and wicked? Everything that she had her eye on could only be hers. If others didn’t give in to her, it would be their fault for being inferior and they deserved to die by her hands. Madam Ling’s two daughters were indeed her very own; all three were just as malicious.

Only they could mistreat others and never the other way around. That was just perfect for Ning Xueyan. This was what she needed at this time.

“Xia Yuhang is going to marry that slut, Hua Qiuying!” Ning Ziyan scolded with gritted teeth. “I’m Xia Yuhang’s official wife, not her! That slut shouldn’t even dream about it.”

“So, you’ve heard about it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter how much you’re against it. Xia Yuhang might come here very soon to coax you into taking all the blame. He’ll say that he’ll try to rescue you. No matter what happens to you, the Lord Protector’s Manor doesn’t intend to care. But think carefully, Ning Ziyan. Ning Ziying was the princess of the previous dynasty. You’ll never survive after killing the princess.”

Ning Xueyan’s lips curved into a sneer. She didn’t give Ning Ziyan any opportunity, lest Xia Yuhang should arrive shortly and coax Ning Ziyan into changing her mind with nice-sounding lies. She must let Ning Ziyan know that no one could save her now and extinguish Ning Ziyan’s hope of leaving this place.

Ning Ziyan was taken aback but immediately, she shook her head and shouted, “The Great Elder Princess of the previous dynasty? Impossible! Impossible! Ning Ziying was a slut from the countryside! How could she be the Great Elder Princess?” She believed that there was still hope for her to get out of prison. After all, Madam Ling was dead and no one could prove her wrongdoing. She could put all the blame on her servants or Madam Ling’s servants.

If someone were to help her out, she stood a good chance of leaving this place. And although Xia Yuhang wasn’t at the manor when she was arrested, her mother-in-law sneaked a message to her, saying that she would help rescue her. Once she was saved, she would still be Xia Yuhang’s wife.

“I heard the Emperor has been looking everywhere for the Great Elder Princess because she has something very important concerning the previous dynasty. This is very important to His Majesty, so he has been looking for many years. But now, she’s dead by your hands. How could His Majesty spare you after you ruined his plans? Never mind you, even Xia Yuhang wouldn’t be let off easily. That’s why he’s so anxious to get married and find a powerful family-in-law,” Ning Xueyan said coldly.

“Do you know why he’d set out a trap for the Hua family? Did you think it’s such a coincidence that he’ll run into Third Young Lady Hua and get discovered in the same bed with her? That he’s forced to take responsibility and marry her? You must know that Second Young Lady Hua was Prince Yi’s fiancee in the past. With such a connection in place, Prince Yi would never watch Third Young Lady Hua become a widow before even getting married and do nothing.”

Ning Ziyan wouldn’t have believed Ning Xueyan’s words if she hadn’t heard what the head of the female prison said earlier. Ning Xueyan sounded even more believable with her cold tone. Moreover, after marrying Xia Yuhang, she came to realize that he wasn’t such a simple man. It wasn’t out of character for him to lay out such a trap.

Ning Xueyan even mentioned Prince Yi. Everyone knew that Prince Yi stayed a bachelor for many years because of his deep love for his former fiancee, Second Young Lady Hua. It was natural for him to help Xia Yuhang, who was about to marry Third Young Lady Hua. Moreover, he was also the only person who could save someone from the Emperor’s wrath.

It was within reason for Xia Yuhang to turn around and ask for Prince Yi’s help. Everything was beginning to make sense.

He was really going to marry another woman. He was really going to get another wife while she died here all by herself. This thought nearly drove her insane.

“I won’t let him get married! I’m his only wife! Me! No one else is worthy of him!” Ning Ziyan screamed, gritting her teeth.

“That’s what I came here for. I wouldn’t have bothered otherwise. If you take all the blame, you’ll die without leaving an intact corpse. Grandmother said that you’ll end up a ghost without a home. Of course, you can forget about Xia Manor claiming your body. Did you think Xia Yuhang will let Third Young Lady Hua be the second wife of a widower and make her salute your tablet for the rest of her life? He’ll divorce you.”

Ning Xueyan was warning Ning Ziyan against taking all of the blame. If Ning Ziyan dared to do so, she would be implicating the Lord Protector’s Manor. The Lord Protector’s Manor would then remove her name from their genealogy records and Xia Manor would naturally abandon her. That meant she would die a lonely ghost without even a resting place, let alone be given a chance to reincarnate.

Of course, Ning Xueyan’s warning could also be understood as such: if Ning Ziyan blamed Xia Yuhang, Xia Manor wouldn’t be able to divorce her so easily and she would remain Xia Yuhang’s official wife. Even with her dead, Xia Yuhang’s new wife could only be his second and would forever be suppressed by Ning Ziyan. And the Lord Protector’s Manor would still care for her in her death.

This was the condition that the Lord Protector’s Manor offered. That was indeed what Madam Dowager said when Ning Xueyan sent a messenger to get her opinion.

If all the blame was put on the Lord Protector’s Manor, they were as good as done for. Ning Xueyan didn’t care for the title of the Lord Protector before, and even wished that Ning Zu’an was stripped from his title, but the current heir was Ning Huaijing. She had to consider Ning Huaijing’s welfare, and of course, she also wanted to hurt Xia Yuhang.

That heartless man who harmed her yet pretended to be affection; she would never let him off so easily.

She would never allow him to push all the blame onto Ning Ziyan…

Ning Ziyan knew that these words came from Madam Dowager, but still, her heart turned cold. She liked Brother Yuhang so much, so she could never let anyone occupy her place. Only she could be Brother Yuhang’s official wife. Even if she died, it could only be her.

“Go and tell Grandmother that I’m the only one who could be Brother Yuhang’s official wife!” Ning Ziyan said, gritting her teeth. Her face looked grim. No matter what Xia Yuhang thinks, she wanted to be tied to him for life. Even if she died, she wanted to occupy the position of his official wife. She wouldn’t let go even in her death…

That was what she deserved. It was also what Xia Yuhang had promised her back then…