The Devious First Daughter

Chapter 149. The voyeurs behind the grove

"Is that Honored Consort Xia? She's really beautiful." A young woman carefully peeped from behind the bushes. Though there was quite a distance between them, her good eyesight allowed her to see the mysterious Honored Consort Xia. It went without saying that she was overjoyed as she whispered to the people around her.

The few of them had secretly gone after Ning Xueyan. They had been worried that the people in front would notice them, but it went surprisingly well. One time, one of the ladies accidentally stepped on a small branch and made some noise. The others became too afraid to even move.

To their surprise, Princess Yi and her maid didn't hear it, as was the smart-looking palace maid. The palace maid appeared out of it, looking deep in thought. This allowed the ladies to follow them and discover such a secret place.

These ladies were more curious than most. The commotion that Princess Yi caused was quite loud but by the time they reached, it was all over. All they knew was that Princess Yi was going to meet Honored Consort Xia. They immediately teamed up and secretly followed her.

"Hey, don't you think that Honored Consort Xia looks familiar?" One of the ladies grabbed the arm of her companion and shook it.

"She does seem familiar. The look in her eye, why does it look so familiar?" Her companion frowned and fell into deep thought.

Right at that moment, Honored Consort Xia stood up and poured more tea into Ning Xueyan's cup. Her entire face instantly came into view.

"Oh my, she looks so similar to Third Young Lady Hua!" One of the ladies exclaimed before immediately covering her mouth.

The lady from earlier carefully identified Honored Consort Xia's face before nodding and said with certainty, "Right, right. She looks just like Third Young Lady Hua. I didn't realize it until you mentioned it, but once you did, I think she looks like her. The consort looks prettier, but her eyes and nose are similar to Third Young Lady Hua."

"Does Third Young Lady Hua have a sister?" another lady, who didn't know Third Young Lady Hua well, asked.

Another lady who was familiar with Third Young Lady Hua shook her head and said, "No. First Young Lady Hua died in the war, Second Young Lady Hua died from a disease. Third Young Lady Hua can't have a sister."

"But... they look so similar!"

"Sigh, can we go back now? We'll be in trouble if Honored Consort Xia discovers us." One timid young lady among them couldn't help but speak up. She had been telling them not to go the entire time, but her companions were so curious that she had to follow them.

"All right. Since we've seen her, let's go back." The ladies' curiosity had been satisfied. They weren't fools, so they knew they must not be discovered. Thus, they secretly returned using the same path.

Behind a tree somewhere else, two people were also quietly retreating.

No one noticed them. After the commotion that Ning Xueyan caused earlier, many people learned that she was off to meet the mysterious Honored Consort Xia and they were all curious about it. In particular, the younger guests were unable to control curiosity and secretly followed Ning Xueyan. The ladies weren't the only group doing so. Besides, everyone was here to tour the imperial garden and no rules were forbidding them from particular places.

Inside the pavilion, Honored Consort Xia was carefully teaching Ning Xueyan about Second Young Lady Hua's preferences back in the day. Perhaps, it was more accurate to say that she was teaching Ning Xueyan how to act more like Second Young Lady Hua. She was so focused that she didn't notice several voyeurs slipping away behind the swaying branches. Meanwhile, Yan Zhen's expression had returned to normal.