The Devious First Daughter

Chapter 94. The Imperial edict is issued

"If it had been only a few years ago, you might have had a chance to meet Sister Ziying. But now, what's the point of talking about this?" Ning Xueyan sighed.

"A beautiful girl often has an unfortunate life. Fifth Young Lady, you're wrong if you say that I did not have a chance to meet Young Lady Ziying. Look at what this is."

Wen Xueran stood up with a smile. With a bang, he folded the fan in his hand. Then he put it on the table next to him, turned around, and took a scroll from the young male servant. The scroll was not big, but it was much smaller than an ordinary one, at a glance. There was also a light brown silk cover, which showed that it had been meticulously kept.

Heng Yuqing also looked over curiously.

When the scroll was unrolled, everyone looked sideways and saw a simple street. The people coming and going were lively. The full moon was in the sky. On a bridge in the middle of the picture, a girl dressed in plain clothes and a maid stood there. Ning Xueyan was so familiar with the beautiful lady that she almost trembled.

She had seen that face for more than ten years, so she knew that it was Ning Ziying. As for the one behind, although it was hard to tell, it could be vaguely seen that it was Lanning. Her face suddenly became pale. How could it be possible? How could Wen Xueran have her portrait?

In her memory, the few times when she snuck out to the night market, she was with Xia Yuhang. But when she looked at the other side of the bridge in the picture, she could not help feeling a thunderclap in her head. She had a shocked look, and she subconsciously clenched her slender fingers. There was a slim figure on the other side of the bridge.

"How could it be possible? How could he know? How could Wen Xueran know about my relationship with Xia Yuhang? Was he there at that time?"

This figure looked clearer than Lanning's image. Although it was just a side view, she could tell that it was Xia Yuhang. He was raising his head and looking gently at the young girl on the bridge. Behind the handsome scholar and the pretty girl, everything had become a background. Even if the two of them did not stand out, one could see them. This was the theme of the whole picture.

"A beauty can be looked at, but not touched. Even if it's just a painting, you can see that Young Lady Ziying is extremely beautiful. If I had known that there is such a beauty in your manor, I would have visited your manor more frequently." Wen Xueran said with a piteous look. He pointed at the girl in the painting with the fan in his hand and sighed as if he regretted not having known her before. However, his tone was frivolous.

"Princely Heir, where did this painting come from?" Although her face was still a little pale, she had basically calmed down. She raised her head and asked gently.

"The Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li gave it to me. I heard that it was Young Lady Ziying from your manor in the painting. Originally, I wanted to visit her. But later, I heard that she had died." Wen Xueran's gaze fell on Ning Xueyan's face, and he suddenly sighed.

He meant that if Ning Ziying were still alive, he would certainly pay her a visit.

"He's an outsider, a romantic Young Master. How could he visit a young lady in the boudoir?" Ning Xueyan gritted her teeth in anger. She raised her head, glared at Wen Xueran, and said rudely, "Sister Ziying would not have any regrets."

Heng Yuqing shifted her gaze from Wen Xueran to Ning Xueyan. Her lips moved, but she did not make any sound in the end. She lowered her head and looked carefully at the painting, as if the person in the picture attracted her.

"Fifth Young Lady, you're not Young Lady Ziying. How do you know Young Lady Ziying will not feel any regret?" It seemed that Wen Xueran did not hear the anger behind Ning Xueyan's words. He proudly raised his chin to Ning Xueyan and flicked his slender fingers on the paper, which happened to fall on Xia Yuhang.