Chapter 375 The First Wife Given Away by Her Husband (13)

It seems she absolutely cannot show her face next time we make a move.

Back at the palace, Prince Yue had important business to attend to and went to his study. Ning Yan wanted to tidy up and take a nap, but then Pang Xuan'er arrived.

"Greetings to my stepmother."

Despite being told to pay her respects, Pang Xuan'er didn't even bend her waist, and instead looked at Ning Yan with a defiant expression.

Ning Yan's face remained expressionless. "You don't need to call me stepmother. Just call me Princess or Madam. My son also calls you Father, Your Highness."

Pang Xuan'er's expression froze.

Are you saying you're disgusted with me?

"What do you mean by 'dislike' or 'dislike'? You're not my child, and I never intended to raise you. If it weren't for the prince's request for an imperial decree to grant us marriage, we would never have crossed paths in this life."

I neither gave birth to you nor raised you; even calling you "stepmother" would be an insult to you.

Pang Xuan'er couldn't understand; was this woman being sarcastic?

"Aren't you afraid that if word gets out that you said that, people will talk badly about you behind your back?"

Ning Yan raised her hand, signaling the maid to bring tea and snacks. "Does anyone dare to say this to my face?"

It doesn't bother me at all; let people say what they want.

Pang Xuan'er slammed her hand on the table. "You, you, you! You're just pretending! Otherwise, why would you have my father send my aunt away as soon as you entered the manor?"

Ning Yan spread her hands, "Princess, think about it, I didn't even know how many people were in the Yue Prince's mansion before I entered the mansion."

On your wedding day, your dear aunt came to the bridal chamber and beat my maid. What would you have done in her shoes?

Pang Xuan'er: "I can kill that person." After saying that, she fell silent as if someone had grabbed her by the neck.

Ning Yan didn't embarrass her, and changed the subject, "You and your aunt have been together for many years, so you must know what she's thinking. To be honest, I don't really care how many women your father has."

"You're talking nonsense. What woman isn't jealous?"

"With so many women in your father's harem, how could I possibly be jealous of them all?"

One more or one less makes no difference; it's just a matter of drinking one more cup of concubine tea.

As long as I am a princess, she will always be a concubine, always subordinate to me. In fact, if she misbehaves, I can easily punish her. What right do I have to spout nonsense?

"You really think so?"

"Women have a hard time in this world. Men can have three wives and four concubines, but women are only allowed to follow the three obediences and four virtues. As long as the concubines behave themselves and don't cause trouble, I will treat them all the same and will not mistreat them."

So, what difference does it make if there's one more or one less?

Pang Xuan'er somewhat believed her, but still felt something was wrong. She kept thinking about it as she left, and only realized what was wrong when she saw her aunt again.

Her aunt taught her how to keep a man under her control, to keep an eye on him and prevent him from being seduced by other women, and how loving him meant she couldn't bear to give him away to someone else.

But even a princess as noble as the Second Princess has concubines in her husband's household. How could she possibly find a man with whom she could be devoted for life?

It was only then that she realized: this Ning woman didn't like her father!

How dare she?

Her father was none other than the renowned King Yue, the God of War of the Great Mo Kingdom!

He was second only to the emperor, so how could the Ning family not like their father?

Pang Xuan'er was someone who couldn't keep things to herself, so after sending her aunt away, she went to the study in the front yard.

“Father, do you know that Ning Shi doesn’t care about you at all! You think of her and pamper her in everything you do, but she doesn’t like you at all. You should just divorce her!”

How could any woman in the world not like her father?

If her uncle hadn't ascended the throne, she dared to say that there were far more women who liked her father than her uncle!

King of Yue: "You went to see her?"

"Yes! Daughter just wants to see what it is about her that has her father so bewitched."

But she actually said she didn't care that you had taken an aunt as a concubine.

The King of Yue's face darkened.

Tell me in detail what she said to you.

Pang Xuan'er wasn't very good at mimicking others, but Ning Yan's reaction today was so novel that she actually mimicked those words perfectly!

"Do you think she doesn't like you or care about you?"

The King of Yue's furrowed brows gradually relaxed. This silly girl, when did the Queen stop caring about him?

She just doesn't mind having another concubine in the household, but she didn't say she didn't mind him sleeping with her, so she still loves me!

"You're just a kid, you don't understand anything, so stop talking nonsense. Go back to your courtyard and embroider your wedding dress."

The princess's wedding dress was naturally made by embroiderers; the King of Yue simply didn't want to see his foolish daughter.

Fortunately, she had a good eye for choosing a husband. The heir of the Marquis of Nan'an was alright, except that he was neither good at literature nor martial arts.

The Marquis of Nan'an had no ambition and would not get involved in the princes' struggle for the throne, so she could live a peaceful life.

As for whether or not to take a concubine, well...

Pang Xuan'er left in a huff, but from then on she frequently came to see Ning Yan.

When Ning Yan had nothing to do, she would go to the small Buddhist hall to copy scriptures and write large characters, or sit on a prayer cushion and chant scriptures while turning her prayer beads, just like a living Buddha who was pure of heart and desires.

As Pang Xuan'er visited more often, her mood became less irritable than before. Occasionally, she would chat with Ning Yan about gossip from outside the manor, which Ning Yan would listen to with a faint smile. Their relationship was no longer so bad.

Seeing this, Xiang Zizi felt uneasy, and she moved her plans forward.

This day was Pang Xuan'er's birthday. Because her birthday was also the anniversary of her mother's death, she never celebrated her birthday. She would simply have a meal with the Prince of Yue, burn some paper money and incense for her mother, and that would be the end of her birthday.

The only opportunities Xiang Zizi could have to dine with the King of Yue were only twice a year: once on Pang Xuan'er's birthday and once during the Chinese New Year.

Therefore, administering drugs became a very normal thing.

Listening to the sounds coming from the side room, Ning Yan asked Pang Xuan'er, "Princess, tell me, if your aunt really succeeds today, how will your father treat her?"

Pang Xuan'er glanced at her father, whose face was dark with anger, and couldn't help but shudder. "I'm afraid he'll kill Auntie."

"Therefore, if a man has no interest in you, never try to win him over with such despicable methods."

You'll only suffer and regret it if you do that.

"And if you hear of someone drugging a man and getting into his bed, and succeeding, then the man probably also had feelings for the woman; otherwise, it wouldn't have worked."

The King of Yue chuckled again, “Your Highness, you believe that I have no one else in my heart, right?”

"The prince and Madam Qu have known each other for a long time and live in the same mansion. If there were really something going on, they would have had a lot of children over the past ten years. Why wait until now?"

I knew from the beginning that the prince had no feelings for her.

Pang Xuan'er: That's right. If I liked someone, I would have liked them long ago. Why wait until now?

The thought of being tricked into sleeping with someone she didn't like filled Pang Xuan'er with disgust.

The Prince of Yue embraced Ning Yan and said, "Your Highness, let's go back. Tomorrow we will send Xiang Zizi out of the palace. She has an affair with a guard. If she doesn't marry, she will only have the company of a Buddhist monk and a lamp."