“What do you mean now…” Ning Xueyan thought for a while, raised her jet-black eyes to look at Heng Yuqing and asked.

Before she figured out what Heng Yuqing was thinking about, she did not think that she should voice her opinion first.

Now that things had developed to this point, everyone could see that there was something fishy about it. Heng Yuqing was straightforward, but she was not stupid. Concubine Yun’s behavior was so different. After thinking about it for a while, Ning Xueyan could sense that there was something going on. Commandery Princess Xianyun stayed in Prince Yi’s Manor every day as if she did not care about anything. Ao Chenyi had apparently neglected her.

She was neither happy nor angry, but remained calm and composed. However, inwardly she was not as cool as she looked.

Since Ao Chenyi told her about Commandery Princess Xianyun’s family background, as well as the matter about the Empress Dowager and the Lord Peace’s Manor, Ning Xueyan knew that Commandery Princess Xianyun was definitely not a person who was willing to submit to others.

“I don’t want to marry into Prince Yi’s Manor.” Heng Yuqing looked up at Ning Xueyan with a severe look on her face.

She did not want to marry into Prince Yi’s Manor. On the one hand, Prince Yi had always been cold-blooded. On the other hand, she did not want to be someone else’s pawn. After she thought over it, she also felt that there was something wrong with it. What’s more, she was the daughter of the principal wife of Lord Guardian’s Manor. She had her own pride.

It seemed that she would be sent to Prince Yi’s Manor, like a delivery item.

Furthermore, her mother was involved in this matter. In a word, she did not believe in Concubine Yun, nor did she believe her father.

Her father hardly visited her mother now. Since her mother was ill, he did not even ask about her. He stayed at Concubine Yun’s place all day long. People in the manor almost forgot about Madam of Duke who was ill. They only knew that the one who was now in charge of Lord Guardian’s Manor was Concubine Yun.

“How is it going?” Ning Xueyan asked after pondering for a while. After thinking about the incident, people would always feel that it was a conspiracy.

“Father said that he had sent an invitation letter to the palace. He begged the Empress to approve my marriage and send me to Prince Yi’s Manor. If Concubine Yun had not come to ask about my mother, I would not have known that there was something amiss. Or I would still be kept in the dark until now. I would not have known until the imperial edict arrives.”

Heng Yuqing’s eyes were full of grievance and sadness. Their parents and matchmakers often arranged children’s marriages. However, she still had to take care of her mother when she was sick in bed. At this time, her father was indifferent and even wanted to send her to the imperial palace. Thinking of this, how could she not feel aggrieved?

She was the Young Lady of Lord Guardian’s Manor, so she had a noble status. But now, her father wanted to secretly send her to Prince Yi’s Manor as if she was unable get married.

“That is to say, the Empress already knows about it. Perhaps the decree will be issued in the next few days. This is also the reason why Concubine Yun talks to you like this!” Ning Xueyan thought for a while and said, “Have you ever thought about Concubine Yun’s deliberate flattery or her protecting your mother’s behavior? Does it mean that Concubine Yun knows about your mother’s illness?”

When she heard what Ning Xueyan said, Heng Yuqing frowned.

Her mother’s illness had been recrudescent. She had been in bad health for a long time. The doctor only said that she was weak and should not overtire herself. She had to have a good rest. She could not get agitated or lose her temper. She should try to be calm so that she could remain healthy. Therefore, her mother did not care about anything now.

But even so, she was increasingly getting weaker. The doctor said that she did not have much time left.

Not to mention what Concubine Yun’s purpose was, why did she dare to guarantee that her mother would recover?

Suddenly, an idea flashed across her mind. She raised her eyes and said, “Xueyan, do you think my mother’s illness has something to do with Concubine Yun?”

“If your Concubine Yun dares to say that, it must have something to do with her. Otherwise, how will she control you? Now, Commandery Princess Xianyun is the consort of Prince Yi’s Manor and Concubine Yun will definitely be on Commandery Princess Xianyun’s side. At this time, she sent you to the palace and used your biological mother as evidence to deal with you. You can do something that is inconvenient for Commandery Princess Xianyun to do, so…”

Ning Xueyan paused for a while and looked at Heng Yuqing with a meaningful look.

“So, I became Commandery Princess Xianyun’s weapon. I have to stab and hit wherever she wants. As long as I care about my mother, I have to listen to Concubine Yun. Concubine Yun seems to listen to Commandery Princess Xianyun. No wonder she wanted to send me to Prince Yi’s Manor and she assured me that my mother would be fine.” Heng Yuqing gritted her teeth and said.

In fact, she had always suspected that her mother’s illness had something to do with Concubine Yun. But no matter how hard she investigated, she could not find anything. She even secretly took out the medicine used by her mother to let people identify it. However, there was no evidence to prove that there was anything wrong with the medicine. The people she had asked told her with certainty that there was no problem with the medicine.

But in this situation, it was evident that there was something wrong with Concubine Yun. She caused her mother’s illness. She thought of her mother, who used to be so healthy, but now became so thin and withered. How could she not be angry? No matter how much she said, her father would not believe it if there was no evidence.

Compared to her mother, her father believed in Concubine Yun more now.

“Yuqing, don’t worry. Since the imperial palace hasn’t issued an order yet, there is still a chance of a turnaround. Some things can’t be done as they wish.” Ning Xueyan analyzed for her. Since Lord Guardian’s Manor had agreed and asked for an imperial edict, the Empress must know about it. Thinking of the apparent intimacy between Commandery Princess Xianyun and the Empress last time, it was not a problem for the Emperor to agree.

The problem here should be Ao Chenyi. Even if it was Commandery Princess Xianyun who had wanted to marry Ao Chenyi in the past, she could not do anything about it if he had not agreed. So, now, how could the Empress secretly issue an edict? Ao Chenyi had never been an obedient person. This was the reason why the decree had not been issued directly.

“That’s right. If you ask Prince Yi to turn her down, I won’t have to marry into Prince Yi’s Manor.” Heng Yuqing misunderstood what she meant. Her eyes lit up and she looked at Ning Xueyan anxiously and expectantly.

“He has no reason to refuse it now.” Ning Xueyan shook her head, with a trace of coldness flashing in her eyes. She did not expect that she would even consider this. If it was before Ao Chenyi’s marriage, he could say that the former marriage was not harmonious, and he missed his former fiancée so he did not want to get married.

However, the problem was that he had been engaged to one princess and two consorts. Among them, County Princess Yuanyun could not marry Ao Chenyi because of the last incident, so he had lost one of his consorts. Now, it was normal for him to have another consort. Besides, with Heng Yuqing’s family background and character, it was not a big deal for her to be a princess, let alone a consort.

Although the Lord Guardian’s Manor was a first-class noble household, it was just a mere facade. She would not be of any help to Ao Chenyi if she married him.

In this view, he could not use the same reason.

Ning Xueyan guessed that the empress would ask Ao Chenyi about it. Even the Emperor could not decide on Ao Chenyi’s marriage, so the empress had to ask about it. Maybe she did not have the opportunity to ask about it, or perhaps she could not find a good reason, so the decree of the marriage had not been issued.

Heng Yuqing did not know what was going on here at first, but Ning Xueyan’s words immediately brought her back to reality. She was from a noble family, so she knew what was going on.

“What should I do? Maybe the decree will be issued in the next few days. If the empress gives the decree, I can’t refuse to get married even if I want to. Besides, my mother is in their hands, so I can’t go against their will.” Heng Yuqing stood up hurriedly and stamped her feet, feeling both angry and anxious.

Ning Xueyan frowned slightly. Heng Yuqing should be more anxious than her on this matter. But for some reason, she felt that she was the one who was feeling even more anxious.

Ao Chenyi had never been a good-tempered person. In his opinion, it was not a big deal for him to have one more woman or one less woman in his manor. Anyway, if one did not make trouble, he would let her stay. If one did, he would beat and kill those who caused any trouble. The way he dealt with them would always be so simple and violent. If the Empress wanted him to take another one, he would do it.

He would definitely not refuse her. In his opinion, it was just a woman.

However, Ning Xueyan could not allow him to do that. If she married into Prince Yi’s Manor, Heng Yuqing would be a pawn, an involuntary pawn. In the end, she would either be hit by Ao Chenyi or killed by Commandery Princess Xianyun.

She did not want to see her good friend get into such a situation. After she entered Prince Yi’s Manor, if she had to stand on Commandery Princess Xianyun’s side, she would go against her and Ao Chenyi. Helping her was helping herself. In comparison, Ning Xueyan felt that she would rather fight an enemy who was not her friend.

Ning Xueyan thought hard about it. She could delay Ao Chenyi for a while. But what about the Lord Guardian’s Manor? Concubine Yun was not a law-abiding person. Maybe she deliberately leaked it out to sound out Heng Yuqing and probably the reason why she leaked it out in advance.

This meant that she attached great importance to this marriage. It was also possible that she thought that even if Heng Yuqing knew about it, she would not be able to do anything about it. In the end, Heng Yuqing had to accept it willingly. After all, if she wanted Heng Yuqing to obey Commandery Princess Xianyun, Heng Yuqing had to take the initiative to cooperate with her.

“Is your sister engaged?” Ning Xueyan suddenly had an idea. Maybe now it was an opportunity.

“No, Concubine Yun said that she would arrange a noble family for her, but she did not do so, so it was delayed.” Heng Yuqing sneered. She had never liked her younger sister, who was a concubine’s daughter. When they met, they often sniped at each other. She was very clear about Concubine Yun’s mentality of making a concubine’s daughter a principal wife’s daughter.

Ning Xueyan was silent for a while. She thought of Ning Lingyun, who always wanted to seek a good match. If her mother was a concubine who was favored and capable, she would certainly not think highly of ordinary families. She would also want to marry someone from a noble family. The best one was, of course, the royal family.

According to Heng Yuqing’s words, Heng Yuwan was an enhanced version of Ning Lingyun!

“Yuqing, if you trust me, go back first and wait for my invitation. As for the other matters, I will take care of them. Don’t worry about the marriage. For the time being, our Prince Yi will not be thinking about getting married. The affairs of the mansion is too messy. There are all kinds of women in it. We have to deal with some of them before we can settle down.”