Chapter 10 The Young Lady of the Duke's Mansion 5

A few days later, the palace announced that it would hold a selection of imperial concubines.

The talent selection, which had been suspended for ten years, was to resume this year. However, this time it was a small selection, meaning that officials in the capital could register any suitable women of marriageable age. The Duke of Dingguo, who had received fervent hints and explicit suggestions from Eunuch Su, submitted the names of his niece and daughter.

Seven days later, all the selected young women entered the palace.

Learning etiquette and manners had exhausted Ning Yan. One evening after dinner, she took Cui'er for a walk in the Imperial Garden and happened to run into Pei Che, whom she had met once before.

Just as she was about to turn away, she heard the eunuch beside Pei Che say, "Whose daughter is this? Why doesn't she come and greet the Crown Prince?"

Ning Yan: ...It's actually the Crown Prince! But that makes sense, at this age and at this hour, there's no one else but the Crown Prince who could be in the palace.

After all, the second prince was only thirteen years old.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Pei Che took a few steps forward, stopped in front of Ning Yan, hesitated for a moment, and then reached out to help her up, saying, "No need for formalities."

His fingertips touched the woman's soft hand, and the warm touch made the prince quickly withdraw his hand.

The crown prince left in a hurry without saying a word.

Three days later, four of the selected women were given to other princes' residences as concubines or secondary wives, while the rest were sent back.

Then, the Duke of Dingguo's mansion received an imperial decree bestowing a marriage upon them.

Ning Yan became the Crown Princess.

The emperor and empress were in a great hurry to get married, and the wedding date was set for half a month later.

Ning Yan never expected to be favored by the Crown Prince, but since she was about to get married, it was time to avenge the Duchess of Dingguo.

That day, Cui'er, who was keeping watch over the main courtyard, returned and reported, "Miss, Madam has gone to the pond to feed the fish."

Ning Yan immediately stood up: "Then let's go too."

Cui'er quickly grabbed the fish food she had prepared and followed.

By the pond, the Duchess of Dingguo was leaning on the railing watching the fish in the pond when she heard footsteps and glanced in Ning Yan's direction.

Ning Yan bowed and greeted her. She had inquired beforehand and learned that none of the four maids around the madam could swim. On the day the original owner had the accident, Cui'er was sent away. It was only after she noticed something was wrong and came back to find the original owner that the original owner was rescued.

Therefore, she also sent away the Duchess's two maids.

"Yanyan is getting married in a few days, and your aunt is so happy for you."

"My aunt will soon have a princess as a daughter-in-law, and Yan Yan is happy for her too."

Lady Dingguo's face stiffened. Ning Yan was still so bad at speaking; no wonder she had never liked her.

"Is your aunt unhappy? Then why don't you, Yan'er, cheer her up?"

After saying that, she grabbed Lady Dingguo's arm and pulled her close to the railing, then pushed her into the pond with a forceful push.

With a "plop," a large splash of water erupted from the pond. Lady Dingguo cried out in alarm, "Help, help me..."

Ning Yan watched coldly as the fear in the eyes of the Duchess of Dingguo grew ever stronger, and as she slowly walked toward death.

Cui'er was terrified by this scene. "Miss, what if the Duke or the Heir Apparent finds out what you're doing?"

“If you know, just tell the truth. If she does the first day of the month, I'll do the fifteenth. It's fair and just.”

Besides, she's the Crown Princess now. Even if her maternal grandmother knew, she wouldn't be afraid. Would they dare to tell anyone?

Seeing that the Duchess of Dingguo had eaten a few mouthfuls of dirty water and was becoming weaker and weaker, Ning Yan smiled. At this moment, footsteps came from afar. It should be the two maids returning. Ning Yan thought to herself: Her good aunt is quite lucky.

"Cui'er, let's go back."

"Huh? Ah! I'll be right back."

Ning Yan returned to her room and lay down on the small couch to rest. She fell asleep soon after. When she woke up, she heard a servant report that the lady had fallen into the water and was unconscious after being rescued. The Duke had to ask the imperial physician to administer acupuncture to bring her back to life. It was said that she had been suffocating for too long and might be bedridden for the rest of her life.

"Also, the two maids who served the lady closely were beaten to death today."

Ning Yan hummed in agreement. "Who gave the order?"

"Yes, it's the old lady."

Ning Yan raised an eyebrow. So, after the Duchess woke up, she was unwilling to accept the situation and told the truth. As a result, the old lady directly killed the maid who served her.

Of course, it's also possible that she was simply taking her anger out on others, just like the maids who served her were beaten to death. In ancient times, the lives of servants were worthless.

Although her dear aunt was not dead, the current outcome made Ning Yan even happier.

Living a life worse than death is far more agonizing than dying outright.

Soon, the day arrived for the Crown Prince to marry his bride.

Pei Che personally came to fetch the bride, which shows how much the Crown Prince valued this marriage. The Duke of Dingguo and his mother were all smiles. In the end, it was Song Rui, the cousin, who personally carried the bride onto the bridal sedan chair.

After that came the wedding ceremony at the East Palace, and soon Ning Yan was sent to the bridal chamber.

The Emperor and Empress were especially happy today. They not only presided over the entire wedding, but also specifically instructed the Crown Prince not to drink too much at the banquet. After toasting two tables, they had him sent back to the bridal chamber.

Ning Yan heard footsteps and her head moved slightly. "Your Highness."

"Um."

Pei Che walked over and lifted the veil off Ning Yan's head.

"Even the most beautiful lotus cannot compare to her face," Pei Che stared, completely mesmerized. "All of you, leave."

The matchmaker had no choice; she was dismissed before the ceremony was even finished. But how could she dare disobey the Crown Prince?

Pei Che's eyes were somewhat unfocused, but he still remembered that his Crown Princess was hungry. "Are you hungry? I'll have someone prepare some food for you."

Ning Yan smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."

Pei Che blushed again. His Crown Princess truly had the beauty to captivate a city with a smile and a nation with another. He felt that if she smiled again, he really wouldn't be able to control himself.

Soon the food was served, and Ning Yan invited Pei Che to eat with her, but neither of them was really interested in eating. They quickly ate a little something and then had the food taken away.

After they washed up, Pei Che pulled the other person into bed.

Ning Yan thought she was about to face a storm, but this person couldn't even find the door.

Ning Yan grabbed Pei Che's wrist. "Your Highness, haven't you seen any erotic books?"

Pei Che remained silent; he felt nauseous looking at those pages, so he only turned one page before throwing it away.

Ning Yan pushed Pei Che away and then flipped over to pin him down.

Pei Che tried to resist, but Ning Yan, finding him disobedient, simply tied his hands with her belt.

"I will personally teach Your Highness."

The Empress's maid, Du, and the Emperor's chief steward, Su, pressed their ears against the door and listened intently. When they heard intimate sounds coming from inside, they were even more excited than if they were on their own wedding night!

About 15 minutes later, they heard someone inside asking for water. The two of them secretly peeked into the inner room and saw several nightgowns lying on the floor, which showed that the battle had been intense.

The two quickly withdrew one of their protruding heads, but still didn't leave. That night, His Highness the Crown Prince called for water four times, and each time the call lasted longer than the last. Only when there was finally no more noise in the room did the two return to report to their respective masters.

The emperor, who had been granted three days off for his son's wedding, laughed heartily, "Good, good! Now I can finally rest easy!"

Su Fu, go to my private treasury now and move six boxes of things that the Crown Princess might need.

"Okay, pick them out first and have them ready. Just don't disturb the young couple's rest. They can come to serve tea whenever they want; no one is allowed to rush them."

The Empress said in the same way, "Granny Du, you should also go and pick out a few boxes of jewelry. The Crown Princess is beautiful, and she can wear any kind of jewelry. Just choose the most valuable ones and send them all to her."

Upon receiving the order, the two immediately went down to prepare the reward.

The Empress then said to the Emperor, "Yesterday, Consort Wan wanted me to bestow a few more concubines upon the Crown Prince, saying that she wanted him to have children soon. I casually asked her if she had any candidates, and she said that her half-sister was suitable."

The Emperor immediately said with displeasure, "Don't listen to her, and don't interfere in the Crown Prince's private affairs. What I want is a legitimate grandson. The young couple are both good-looking, and their child, regardless of gender, will definitely be an absolute beauty!"

The Crown Prince's situation is special; he might be able to grow seedlings and bloom everywhere if he cultivates a piece of land, or he might end up with nothing at all.

Besides, the reason he had so many concubines in his harem wasn't because he wanted them, but because when he was a prince, the late emperor bestowed them upon him, and he couldn't refuse them or refuse to sleep with them, even though he had lost many children in his harem when he was just a prince.

(End of this chapter)