The Devious First Daughter

Chapter 167. Finale

It didn't take long for Qingyu to return from the Lord Protector's Manor with a new piece of news. It was said that there had been a haunting in the prayer hall of the manor.

Rumor had it that an older maid became ill from the fright of seeing a ghost.

A long time ago, the Cloud Reflection Courtyard was said to be haunted too. No one dared to come close at that time, not even during the day. Even though the rumors died down later on, a few people who were deeply affected by the events said that the situation was still grave then.

Therefore, even though only a maid had seen the ghost, the rumors spread like wildfire in the manor.

The prayer hall used to be Madam Dowager's favorite spot. It was later used to imprison Madam Ling for some time. Now that Madam Ling was dead, everyone feared that she was the ghost. It was said that Madam Ling was an evil woman when she was alive. Even in death, she might become a malicious ghost. The situation was much worse than in the Cloud Reflection Courtyard.

Ning Xueyan listened to the report carefully. She didn't treat it as just an interesting rumor. She looked at Qingyu and frowned. "What did the maid see?"

"She didn't see anything. She said that a candle suddenly lit up in the prayer hall and that she heard a faint crying from inside. The maid is responsible for the prayer hall, so she remembered very well that the candle was unlit before. Naturally, no one could have gone there to cry."

The prayer hall was located in a secluded corner of the manor. Besides Madam Dowager, no one liked going there. Even if the servants of the manor were upset about something, they wouldn't have gone out of their way to visit that place. They would be punished if they were discovered.

.....

The night came soon enough. The weather was poor today, and the sky was filled with dark clouds even at night. Ning Huaiyuan stood in front of a large boulder with a few men dressed in black. They were on a mountain surrounded by rocks, so the large boulder didn't seem out of place.

"Young Master Ning, are we going in now?" The boulder had been pushed aside with just the right force. Ning Huaiyuan looked at the newly-revealed opening with a grim expression. This was his fifth time returning to the capital since he left for good.

He had personally requested to return to the capital this time. All he could do was focus on one obsessive thought: kidnapping Ning Xueyan. She hurt his mother and two younger sisters and rendered him miserably homeless. He wanted to ruin her and destroy her reputation in revenge.

He wanted to take her to the frontline of two armies and tie her high up on the flagpole. He wanted to see if Ao Chenyi could continue the war then!

He would hang her, the Empress of a nation, high up in front of the two armies and use her to force Ao Chenyi into backing off so that Annan could become independent from Chu State and establish their own state. Even if she could return to the palace afterward, only death awaited her.

Who would believe that the Empress would still be untouched after being kidnapped?

His goal in coming here was kidnapping Ning Xueyan. He desperately wanted to see her shocked and panicked face, to see her pleading with him tearfully, to see her kneeling at his feet...

He wanted her to die...

"Let's go!". They had explored the tunnel yesterday without any trouble. The secret tunnel was a piece of information that they learned from a maid of the late Empress who was left wandering in the wild.

It was apparent that it had been a long time since anyone used the meandering tunnel. Under Ning Huaiyuan's leadership, the men in black carefully made their way to their destination. Ning Xueyan must be asleep at this hour but Ao Chenyi might not be. It was said that Ao Chenyi had been working hard to reverse his image as the willful Prince Yi.