Chapter 78 - Hidden danger is lurking everywhere (1)

Ning Yuxuan was silent for a long time before he suddenly smiled. “If you say you’re Nie Sangyu, then I really can’t believe you. But, regardless of who you are, you really can only be her.”

Ji Man’s heart jumped and she secretly scolded herself. Her careless words had attracted Marquis Moyu’s suspicion. But after Ning Yuxuan said those words, she felt uncertain.

Had he always been suspicious about her?

After the person in front of her turned around and left, Ji Man blankly stood there for a while before she returned to the ting yu xuan.

The crown prince had already left. She reckoned that he had just come here to take a look. Old madame and Noble Consort Nie were still inside talking. In a well-behaved manner, Ji Man poured tea for them after entering the room.

“Do you think I would make life difficult for that woman if she was as well-behaved as Sangyu?” Old madame took the cup of tea and sighed.

Noble Consort Nie smiled and said, “If you’re not satisfied with your daughter-in-law, then just have Yuxuan divorce her and have him remarry. Look at you. Right now, you should be living in comfort in your old age, but you’re letting yourself be angered to this state by a junior.”

“I do want Xuan-er to divorce her.” Old madame looked serious for a moment, but her shoulders slumped down in defeat as she said, “It’s because I’m worried that they’ll act out the tragedy of A Peacock Flying to the Southeast. Xuan-er

is deeply in love with her. I can’t forcibly break up their marriage. I can only hope that Xuan-er will wake up one day and see that woman’s true colors.”

(T/N: A Peacock Flying to the Southeast is a poem about a tragic love story of newly weds that were forced apart by the husband’s mother. As a result, they committed suicide in hopes that they could be together in the next life.)

Ji Man thought; it was an impossible for Ning Yuxuan to wake up on his own. Right now, the story had already changed a lot from the original novel and it continued to deviate even further. Even she didn’t know what would happen in the future.

But, the feelings between the male lead and female lead were the central theme. If one day, Marquis Moyu suddenly stopped loving Wen Wan, what would the novel change into?

—

Wen Wan was very happy that old madame was no longer in the residence, but she felt a bit depressed that Ning Yuxuan hadn’t come to see her in the past few days. Instead, he visited Qian Lianxue and Mu Shuiqing.

Qian Lianxue was sickly and Mu Shuqing was pregnant. There wasn’t anything wrong with him visiting them more often. But counting the days, he hadn’t slept with her for several days already. If this continued, how could she get pregnant?

Wen Wan was very worried. Feeling worried, she went to the garden to walk around. Once she went to the garden, she met Ning Mingjie again. He was feeling bored from being idle, so he was in the garden collecting snow that had fallen on the flowers.

Because of what had happened last time, Wen Wan felt slightly embarrassed when she saw Ning Mingjie. She didn’t know if she should approach him to greet him or turn around and leave. Fortunately, she saw Qi Siling coming over in the other direction, which solved her problem.

“Madam, this concubine has something to say.” Qi Siliang pulled her to the side and they avoided Ning Mingjie.

“What?” Wen Wan looked at her and asked.

Qi Siling had their servant girls stand farther away before she said heartfelt and sincere words, “Madam, the marquis’s household has strict rules. You should avoid the marquis’s cousin as much as possible. Even if you weren’t the woman in the marquis’ heart and you were only an ordinary concubine, he’ll still feel unhappy if his woman gets too close to another man. Don’t try using those cheap tricks on the marquis.”

Her words made Wen Wan feel unbearably embarrassed. She put on a serious expression and said, “I’ve always followed the rules. Who’s playing cheap tricks?”

Qi Siling paused. She didn’t lay bare the truth and only said, “Although the marquis’s cousin looks like a celestial immortal, he’s still a mortal nonetheless. This concubine has already secretly observed him for a while and discovered that he’s very interested in Nie Sangyu. It’s one thing for him to write a poem together with her at Luoyan Pagoda, but Songlan had seen Nie Sangyu coming out of the southern courtyard in the early morning. She probably spent the night in the southern courtyard.”

Wen Wan frowned slightly. For an inexplicable reason, her heart felt uncomfortable. “How could he be interested in Nie Sangyu? They probably only have contact with each other because of his younger sister.”

“Even if he’s not interested, her outcome could still be overturned if she’s not careful about her actions.” Qi Siling faintly smiled. “The marquis has recently been treating that woman, who lives in Feiwan Courtyard, better and better. I heard that when he went into the palace two days ago, he didn’t go see Old Madame. He only visited Nie Sangyu.”

Wen Wan’s heart clenched. She hurriedly asked, “What did they talk about?”

“This concubine doesn’t know. Regardless, the current Nie Sangyu has a sense of propriety and knows when to advance or retreat. She’s knows how to skillfully deal with problems. She’s completely changed from her previous self. Madam, this concubine thinks that if you don’t become guarded against her, the marquis will return to her side sooner or later. This concubine will say the unpleasant truth. Madam, you’ve been with the marquis for less than a year. Nie Sangyu has been with him for over six years.”

Wen Wan was silent. The thing that she was most afraid of, was that Nie Sangyu and the marquis had too much past history. It wasn’t possible for her to insert herself into their past.

Qi Siling has a glib tongue. Her words made Wen Wan’s heart struggle and waver. After she left Wen Wan in the garden, she went to instigate Qian Lianxue. She wanted Qian Lianxue to get angry with Wen Wan and do something against her.

Unfortunately, Qian Lianxue didn’t fall for her trick. She only lightly smiled as she listened to her talk for a while, then she said, “Madam is still Madam after all. I’m already satisfied with being able to eat my fill and wear clothes that keep me warm. Older sister, you don’t need to say anymore.”

Faced with a tactful rejection, the smile on Qi Siling’s face disappeared and she withdrew from Xuesong Courtyard.

—

The crown prince’s servant, Taxue, saluted Ning Yuxuan and said, “Marquis, the crown prince said he’s not done with his assignments yet and won’t be going to Luoyan Pagoda.”

“It’s good that the crown prince is willing to be studious. I won’t bother him.” Marquis Moyu lightly nodded, turned around, and left the crown prince’s residence.

Zhao Zhe had always loved to play and rarely did his assignments. But, he had been surprisingly good lately. Ning Yuxuan hadn’t even seen his shadow during the past two days. Was he really doing his assignments? Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow. Right after he went onto his sedan chair, he ordered the porters for the sedan chair, “Bring me to the palace.”

Two days had passed. He had listened to Nie Sangyu’s words and waited for his mother’s anger to subside before visiting her. If this didn’t work out, he would just blame her.

Translator Ramblings: Tiny, vague spoiler. Things will improve for Ji Man this week. Also, Ji Man is slowly becoming more accustomed to this world and is getting better at figuring out how far she can push things. For example, when she recently called out Marquis Moyu’s bluff of dismissing her.