The Devious First-Daughter (Web Novel)

The woman in the portrait was dressed in a gorgeous palace dress. Even with the layers of clothes she had on, she still looked very slender. She had exquisite facial features and a lovely appearance. She was about twenty years old. Her watery eyes were sparkling, and her beauty was natural. She leaned on a couch, amidst the falling peach blossoms and her beauty was enhanced by the peach blossoms falling from the tree.

“Young Lady, look, is it her?” Wen Xueran stretched out his hand and asked, pointing at the beauty in the forest of peach trees.

The woman looked left, then right. It seemed that she could not make up her mind at the moment. When she raised her head and saw that his beautiful, amorous eyes were fixed on her attentively, her heartbeat accelerated. She hurriedly lowered her head and said in a panic, “It looks… very similar, but it doesn’t seem to be … the same.”

Looking carefully, she did not know what was different. She pointed to the person in the picture and said, “She is older.”

Ning Ziying left the regions south of the Yangtze River at the age of thirteen. At that time, she looked young and immature. How could she be as beautiful as the beauty in the painting? At first glance, she looked like Ning Ziying. But when she looked at her carefully, she felt that they were different. She knew that they were two different people.

But when she glanced at it, she felt that they looked alike.

“I’m not familiar with her family. She has a brother, but he disappeared later.”

Ning Xueyan did not know that Wen Xueran took this painting to search for Ning Ziying. She subconsciously felt that Wen Xueran was not as harmless as he looked. Besides, he was dissolute, so Ning Xueyan did not appreciate him. No matter what kind of purpose Wen Xueran had, it had nothing to do with her.

After coming out of the tea shop, Ning Xueyan entered the silk and satin shop opposite. As expected, there were many customers inside, as their materials were of good quality. There were two floors here. From Ning Xueyan’s clothes, the shop assistant could tell that she was a noble lady. He immediately came over, and pointed upstairs, with a smile. “Young Lady, we have some better quality materials upstairs. Would you like to go and have a look?”

Ning Xueyan nodded. She did want to choose good material today. Ao Chenyi had repeatedly warned her to get his robes ready early. Ning Xueyan could not figure out why he was so moody. No matter what the reason was, it was not a big deal for her to do it.

She could only blame herself for her poor skills and slow movements. Anyway, he had said that she must do it herself. In her previous life, her craftsmanship was neither good nor bad.

There was no good material in Bright Frost Garden. It was reasonable for her to come to this shop to pick some. He was a hard man to please, due to his fussy disposition.

Ning Xueyan followed the shop assistant upstairs. There were a number of guests upstairs. The materials there were indeed much better than the ones below. Ning Xueyan took a fancy to an ink colored Xuanwu-textured cloth. This material was light and comfortable to wear. This color was unusually light and quite rare.

Ao Chenyi always liked to wear ink color clothes. Ning Xueyan thought that it was suitable for him.

“Is there any gray Xuanwu-textured cloth?” Ning Xueyan picked up the ink color cloth in order to have a closer look. Then, she looked at the other cloths and asked the servant inside.

“Gray… There seems to be no gray. Young lady, this kind of cloth is generally not so dark. Otherwise, the fabric will not be so soft.” The shop assistant said in embarrassment.

“Is there any light colored cloth?” Ning Xueyan picked up the cloth and looked at it. The material was good. If it were for a housecoat, maybe the color would not be too dark. His clothes had always been ink colored, giving people an impression of coldness and stiffness. Maybe the light color would suit him too.

The housecoat should not be so stiff.

“Young Lady, please wait a minute. I’ll go and have a look.” The shop assistant saw that Ning Xueyan intended to make a purchase, so he said this with a smile.

Ning Xueyan nodded and casually looked at the other cloths beside her.

After a while, the man came back. He smiled apologetically and said to Ning Xueyan, “Young Lady, there was one, but I don’t know if it’s what you want. Would you like to go to the warehouse with me? If it is not to your liking, then we don’t have to take the cloth out from the bottom of the pile.”

“I’m not going to the warehouse. Forget it!” Ning Xueyan frowned.

“Please be assured, Young Lady. The warehouse is right here. We’ll be there in a moment. If you like it, I’ll ask someone to take it out immediately.” The shop assistant saw Ning Xueyan’s hesitation and immediately said this enthusiastically. He pointed to a short passageway behind him as he spoke. He had just come out from there.

From here, one could see that there was a gate in the passage. It seemed that it was not far.

Seeing that the man was so enthusiastic, Ning Xueyan thought that it would not take long. Finally, Ning Xueyan nodded and followed the man into the passageway. The man pushed the door open, and Lanning was the first one to enter, followed by Ning Xueyan.

Lanning suddenly fell to the side and before Ning Xueyan could react, the door closed silently.

It was a warehouse. There were layers of cloth stacked together, from the bottom to the top. It was evident that there was enough stock. But what was wrong with this guard? Lanning fell into the guard’s hands, in an unconscious state.

“How is she?” Ning Xueyan glared at the guard who suddenly appeared and growled at him. She knew the man in front of her. Wasn’t he Ao Chenyi’s guard named Yu Jian?

Although she was angry, the tension in her heart was eased.

“Fifth Young Lady, she’s fine. She just fainted. Prince Yi is waiting for you inside.” Yu Jian said with a smile, as if he had not seen the anger in Ning Xueyan’s eyes. He pointed at the door of the inner room, as if he was making a decision for her.

Ning Xueyan was speechless. Like master, like guard.

Although she fainted, Lanning was not injured and was still breathing evenly. Seeing that, Ning Xueyan knew that she was fine. She bit her lips and walked inside. She did not know what Ao Chenyi was going to do.

The door of the inner room was half-opened. There was a small window at the top of the room, and light came in through the window. The person who always liked to wear a black robe was wearing a purple robe today. His ink-like black hair was held back by a purple gold crown. He looked up and raised his long and narrow eyes, along with his eyebrows.

Because of the beautiful purple robe, he did not seem as cold as usual. His handsome face was attractive beyond description.

He seemed to be interested in the material in his hand. When he heard Ning Xueyan coming over, he waved his hand and said, “Come and have a look. How do you like this material?”

She went over and saw the red satin in his hands, Ning Xueyan became increasingly speechless. Since when did this arrogant prince have such a hobby? He did not like inky colors now. In addition to that, he wanted the red color and even held the material against his body.

He raised his charming eyes, pointed at the cloth in his hand, and asked Ning Xueyan, “What do you think of this color for me?”

“Prince Yi, you look good in any color.” Ning Xueyan did not know what he meant. She blinked her watery eyes and answered carefully.

Since when did this imperious prince care about other people’s views?

Ao Chenyi’s eyes flashed with joy. Obviously, he was satisfied with what Ning Xueyan had said. He pushed the cloth into Ning Xueyan’s arms. Ning Xueyan saw something charming in his inky colored clothes and cold eyes, “Make a robe for me.” he ordered.

“Prince Yi, do you want to wear a red robe?” Ning Xueyan was speechless. She looked at Ao Chenyi from head to toe, and the corners of her mouth twitched. She felt puzzled.

“What? I can’t wear a red robe?” Seeing Ning Xueyan looking at him suspiciously, Ao Chenyi’s face turned cold. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Ning Xueyan, with coldness in his eyes, which indicated that he was unhappy.

“Of course not. Prince Yi can wear it. You will look good if you wear bright red clothes.” Ning Xueyan immediately put on a straight face and said seriously. Ao Chenyi seemed to be in high spirits now, so she did not want to irritate him.

“Well, make two sets, one for you and the other for me.” Ning Xueyan’s attitude pleased Ao Chenyi. The coldness in his eyes faded away, and he nodded with satisfaction. Then, he took a piece of cloth from the side and handed it to Ning Xueyan. The two pieces of cloths were identical in color and material.

Ning Xueyan took it subconsciously and blinked. She could not respond for a moment.

“What? Don’t you want to wear the same clothes as me?” The Prince suddenly turned hostile. But now, he was moody again, and his eyes were cold. He looked at Ning Xueyan indifferently, as if he would vent his anger on Ning Xueyan if she dared to say “yes.” He bared his teeth in anger.

A drop of cold sweat quietly slid down her spine. Ning Xueyan woke from her trance. She looked at the cloth in her hands with a funny smile and then looked at Ao Chenyi, who seemed to be threatening her. “Prince Yi, are you asking me to make you a wedding outfit?”

“Yes!”

“Your Highness, you are worrying over nothing. The palace will make this for you. You’re Prince Yi. How can you not have a wedding gown? Until then, the palace will send you a pair of wedding clothes. Both the prince and the princess will wear them. Take it easy, Your Highness.”

Ning Xueyan raised her head with an ingratiating look on her face. It seemed that the Prince was anxious to get married. Now he was eagerly preparing his wedding clothes.

“I don’t like the wedding outfit made in the palace. I want you to make it. Aren’t you free? You can have my wedding outfit ready. Later, I’ll send you some materials to you to make more clothes for me.” Ao Chenyi said impatiently, with an evil smile on his face, which made her tremble with fear.

Was he unhappy again?

Ning Xueyan was speechless. With her watery eyes, she saw that his eyes were cold. His handsome but cold look was enviable. However, under his coldness, no one dared to look up at his face. This man was moody and unpredictable today.

She rubbed her forehead perplexedly and said, “Your Highness, your wedding outfit must match the consort’s.”

Prince Yi and his consort’ wedding outfit should be a match. If she came to the manor as a co-consort, she would have no chance to perform the formal wedding ceremony with Ao Chenyi. Therefore, she could not dress like his consort and it was not suitable that Ao Chenyi’s wedding outfit matched hers.