Chapter 531 - Who Welcomed Commandery Princess Muling

This was Prince Yi’s Manor, not her homeland of Yunnan. She couldn’t just do whatever she wanted here.

This was Prince Yi’s Manor. Even if she married the Third Prince in the future, this was still his uncle’s manor. The people here were ranked higher than her.

This was Prince Yi’s Manor. Only they had ever caused trouble for others, never someone else troubling them.

This was Prince Yi’s Manor, a place that had always represented power. Although the status of a Commandery Princess was high, a princess with a foreign surname was still beneath the rank of Prince Yi’s consort, so why was she scolding the consort?

…

One simple sentence, yet its meaning was multitude. It was enough to render Commandery Princess Muling speechless. No matter what, it seemed that she had no right to scold Ning Xueyan. The person in front of her wasn’t just the unfavored Fifth Young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor. Who knew if she would end up offending Prince Yi today? When they were at the front hall earlier, she noticed her older brother was trembling in front of the Prince.

They were on disagreeable terms with each other and she wasn’t in the mood to enjoy the scenery with Ning Xueyan. After a brief conversation, she excused herself saying that she didn’t want to be a bother. Coincidentally, his brother Mu Yunfei—who had been busy dealing with Ao Chenyi—also excused himself in a hurry.

When Mu Yunfei came out of Prince Yi’s Manor, he entered his sister’s carriage instead of riding his horse.

“Brother, how did you meet Ning Xueyan?” Commandery Princess Muling asked, her expression darkening when she saw her brother. Mu Yunfei didn’t react much when Ning Xueyan showed up, but as his sister, she noticed his huge emotional turbulence.

“Who? Oh, you meant Consort Ning. It’s nothing. We don’t know each other.” Mu Yunfei shook his head vigorously and wiped the cold sweat on his face. He had no desire to be gentle now. Remembering the Prince who made him feel cold down to his very core, whose every sentence clung onto the word ‘beauty’, he felt a deep fear.

Fortunately, he didn’t do anything else afterward nor did he investigate Consort Ning’s identity. Had he left any trace behind, he wouldn’t be able to leave the manor so easily.

“If there’s nothing, why are you panicking?” Commandery Princess Muling didn’t believe him.

Mu Yunfei didn’t want his sister to know his true emotions, so he changed the topic to focus on her. He retorted angrily, “Panicking? Speak for yourself. I told you not to interact with Wen Xueran, but you even became his penpal. Are you hell-bent on bringing the Mu Manor to ruin?”

Commandery Princess Muling fell quiet at the mention of Wen Xueran. After a while, she finally said quietly, “Brother, I won’t! Don’t worry. I’m not going to do anything. I just want to make things clear with Brother Ran.” In the past, she really believed that she would marry Wen Xueran.

“Brother Ran! Brother Ran! What would the Third Prince think if he hears? You’re going to be his wife soon! Stay away from the Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Min from now on. If any unpleasant rumors come out of it, it’ll be too late for you to regret,” Mu Yunfei scolded her, annoyed at her attitude.

“Enough, Brother. I get it. Please don’t interfere with my business.” Her eyes turned red at his scolding.

“Even if you don’t want me to interfere, I have to. I’m your brother. You know very well that Yunnan isn’t like Annan. We’re not as powerful as they are. So, don’t do anything that will incur suspicion and jealousy and just behave properly as the Third Princess. Your duty is to bear a son. And if the Third Prince has the chance to ascend the throne, you giving birth to a son is so much more effective than you marrying a Princely Heir.”

Mu Yunfei lowered his voice to educate her on the opportunities what her upcoming marriage could bring her. It was quite the convoluted matter, so the Mu Manor prioritized the marriage greatly. That was also why he, as the eldest son, was dispatched here to send his sister’s dowries first. Unexpectedly, his sister was still longing to marry Wen Xueran. The thought of it filled him with anger.

He thought that his sister wasn’t sensible enough.

“I get it, Brother, so please drop the topic. Let me think about it in peace,” Commandery Princess Muling said, unable to stop her tears from falling. She covered her eyes with a handkerchief and leaned on the carriage wall. Her voice sounded choked with emotion.

Mu Yunfei gave up talking to her when he saw that he had made her cry. He sighed. He was upset as well. Was Prince Yi aware that he had once coveted Consort Ning? He decided that as soon as he returned home, he would destroy the Consort Ning’s portrait. If the truth was uncovered, he wouldn’t be able to deny it and said that he didn’t know the consort. He could still excuse himself now, saying that he had inadvertently run into and offended her.

All of his thoughts were on whether Ao Chenyi had found his secret. He never asked who Consort Ning was, so naturally, he didn’t realize that she was Ning Yuling’s target. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so stupid as to let his guard act with Ning Yuling.

After Commandery Princess Muling’s attention was diverted by her brother, she was in such a bad mood that she didn’t have the mind to think about Ning Xueyan anymore.

At the entrance of Prince Yi’s Manor, Commandery Princess Xianyun’s older female servant watched Commandery Princess Muling enter the carriage. She then looked into the manor, surprised that she didn’t see her master anywhere. She turned around and looked at Commandery Princess Muling’s carriage in confusion. This carriage had been to the Lord Peace’s Manor more than once, and both Commandery Princesses had always gotten along. Back in the Lord Peace’s Manor, her master would always see Commandery Princess Muling out, but she didn’t this time!

The Princess had sent her to the Lord Peace’s Manor to fetch something. She saw no one even after looking around at the entrance for a while, so she returned to the Great Wisdom Garden. When she saw the Princess’ maid Xiangrong at the gate of the garden, she immediately asked, “Did Commandery Princess Muling just visit?”

“She came? Where is she?” Xiangrong looked out the gate but didn’t see anyone.

“Didn’t she just leave? I saw the carriage at the entrance earlier. Isn’t she here to visit the Princess? That doesn’t make sense. Commandery Princess Muling is still unmarried, so if she’s here at the manor, she has to be received by the female owner,” the older female servant said, puzzled. Toward the end, she sounded as if she was talking to herself.

Commandery Princess Muling had come, but the one who received her wasn’t their Princess. This made Xiangrong frown. She summoned a little maid over and told her something. The maid immediately ran out to find out what had happened. She returned when Xiangrong was delivering a bowl of white fungus soup to the Princess.

Panting, she secretly beckoned Xiangrong who was inside the room.

Xiangrong nodded and stepped out quietly. Commandery Princess Xianyun raised an eyebrow and looked at the sneaky maid outside. She picked up the bowl of white fungus soup and started drinking it gracefully. When she was done, she put down the spoon. At that moment, Xiangrong returned to the room with an unpleasant expression.

“What’s the matter?” the Princess asked, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief.

“Princess, Commandery Princess Muling has just visited,” Xiangrong said, lowering her head. She knew she couldn’t hide this matter.

“Sister Muling is here? When did that happen?” The Princess stopped wiping the corner of her mouth midway.

“An older servant watched her leave. I sent someone to find out what happened earlier. Apparently, the Prince told Consort Ning to receive Commandery Princess Muling. But you’re his Princess. Why did the Prince ask Consort Ning to welcome Commandery Princess Muling instead of you?”

Xiangrong was indignant on the Princess’ behalf. Thinking about it, her master was the rightful Princess of the manor and Commandery Princess Muling was an honorable guest as well. Why did the Prince let Consort Ning receive Commandery Princess Muling? Why didn’t he ask the Princess to welcome the guest, when she was right at home? This didn’t make any sense.

“Did you find out the news yourself?” Commandery Princess Xianyun asked, appearing calm.

“Yes. If I didn’t ask, no one would have told us anything. The older servant happened to be out today, or we wouldn’t have known what had happened in the front hall.” The more Xiangrong spoke, the angrier she became for her master. Her master was the rightful Princess!

The Princess lowered her head and looked at the floor quietly, her eyes filled with anger. She clutched the handkerchief in her hands with force. Both she and the consort were abandoned by Ao Chenyi on their wedding night, so how did Ning Xueyan end up winning his favor? And yet she couldn’t?

Had she really inadvertently committed a mistake?

But, she had simply wanted to straighten out his harem for him! She didn’t expect the troublemaker to be someone that the Emperor sent. How could she be blamed? It wasn’t like she could stop halfway. That was the Emperor! How would she dare to offend him?

The Prince had actually pinned the entire blame on her, and started to dote on that sickly, do-nothing Ning Xueyan.

The more you do, the more mistakes you commit; the lesser you do, the fewer mistakes you make—there was indeed truth in this saying!

But, she was the Princess! Shouldn’t she interfere in this matter? Shouldn’t the Princess help him manage his harem? Any instances of mismanagement were simply because she hadn’t figured out the situation. Did he have to neglect her? Did he have to uphold Ning Xueyan just to suppress her?

The thought of it made the Princess both wronged and upset. She had been holed-up in her garden for the past few days to show Ao Chenyi that she was regretting her actions. It was also to show that she was giving in into him. Who knew that this wasn’t enough to placate him? He even went so far as to use Ning Xueyan to humiliate her.

“Don’t worry about it. If the Prince doesn’t summon us, we’ll spend our days here quietly. Don’t ask about the Pear Flower Garden’s affairs either. I don’t want the Prince to think that I’m planning anything.” By the time the Princess looked up, she was once again calm. No one could see any trace of her previous fury.

“But, Princess, you’re the rightful Princess of this manor!” Xiangrong said angrily.

“What does it matter? Those who act brashly here aren’t the masters anyway. Tell everyone in the Great Wisdom Garden to be careful. Don’t let them act out. If anything happens, it won’t be our fault.” The Princess’ smile was ice-cold. Since the Prince didn’t want her to interfere with the manor’s affairs, then she would just stay put.

If he wanted to use that sickly woman to anger her, let him be. He still had that precious concubine that he wouldn’t let anyone touch, didn’t he? That concubine even had him stay over on their wedding night. From this, she could tell how pampered and proud the concubine was. From the look of things, Consort Ning seemed more loved than the rightful Princess was.

She didn’t have to resort to any tricks at all. All she had to do was make Ning Xueyan and that favored concubine meet each other. The corner of her lips curved into a mocking, satisfied smile. She could just stay in her garden and watch all the drama unfold. She would wait until enough of a ruckus had occurred to step out. At that time, the Prince would definitely realize that she was the most capable and knowledgeable one…

She would definitely get the chance to repay all the humiliation that she had suffered today!