Chapter 188   He Said It was Me Who Had Made the Appointment

“Eee? Which manor is that Young Lady from? She is so unruly that she was even dating Li Zhiwen, the playboy! Does she have a crush on him?”

“From her look, I can tell that she isn’t a well-behaved woman. I wonder what she likes Li Zhiwen about.”

“They even dare to date secretly in the imperial palace. Maybe they’ve been having an affair for a long time!”

“Definitely! From the happiness in her eyes, I can tell that they have an affair. It’s a pity that such a beautiful lady likes a scum! It’s said Li Zhiwen has already gotten married, and his wife is very aggressive. So this Young Lady can only be his concubine.”

“She is so beautiful, but she has no self-respect and has fallen to this degree. It’s easy for her to marry a noble childe as his wife, but it seems she prefers to be a concubine. How shameless!”

The noble childes behind the wall discussed, looking at Ning Xueyan with disdain and contempt.

The man called Li Zhiwen was still in a trance, so he did not hear the discussion behind him at all. Ning Xueyan heard the gossip, but ignored it. When she saw Li Zhiwen, she seemed to be a little surprised. She stood still with a frown, and did not come over to him.

Lanning ran to Ning Xueyan and claimed resentfully, “Miss, you’d better go back now. That psycho kept on saying that you dated him when he saw me, and he asked me to hurry you over!”

“He said I made the appointment with him?” Ning Xueyan raised her eyes and asked, glancing at Li Zhiwen, who was still standing in the pavilion and staring at her.

“Yes. Miss, he insisted that you asked him out. There are many noble childes behind the wall. Maybe someone wanted to frame you!” Lanning said anxiously, wiping off the sweat from her forehead.

“It’s impossible. I don’t believe anybody would set me up.” Ning Xueyan shook her head and looked at the man in the pavilion again, seemed to be a little uneasy. She thought a while and said, “Ask him again who on earth had asked him out. It’s my first time to visit the imperial palace, and I didn’t even know him. How could I date him?”

“Yes, Miss. I’ll ask him now.” Lanning nodded, turned, and was about go to that man.

“Follow me.” Ao Mingyu’s cold, unpleasant voice came from behind. He was only a few steps away from Ning Xueyan, and he had heard what Lanning said the moment he turned the corner of the stairs. Seeing that Ning Xueyan was still standing there calmly and trying to figure things out, he admired her ease so much.

A noble Young Lady should have such tolerance!

Meanwhile, he was a little annoyed. He wondered who had plotted to ruin Ning Xueyan’s reputation. Ao Mingyu knew the man in the pavilion. He was just a playboy. Besides, he had already gotten married. It seemed that the person who was trying to set up Ning Xueyan wanted her to become a playboy’s concubine!

How vicious that person was!

Ao Mingyu decided to find out the person who wanted to frame a Young Lady, as delicate, gentle and graceful as Ning Xueyan.

When he walked up, the noble childes behind the wall were gossiping about Ning Xueyan disdainfully. They were stunned the moment Ao Mingyu appeared in their views. They gasped and immediately scattered. They were back to what they had been, as if they had not seen anything happen in the pavilion.

It was normal for Third Prince to have a woman beside him. The sisters of the noble childes might be one of those women. Furthermore, who dared gossip about the imperial family members? Several childes who had spoken ill of Ning Xueyan behind her back just now began to regret. They would have never dared to say in that way if they knew that this Young Lady had something to do with Third Prince.

Although they were standing under the rockery, they could see Third Prince’s face clearly. He was smiling, but there was no warmth on his face, and when he looked at them, they saw killing intent in his eyes. So everyone could tell that Third Prince was angry.

It seemed that this beautiful woman was close with Third Prince. Third Prince had been gentle, and nobody had ever seen him be angry like this.

Li Zhiwen stared at Ning Xueyan blankly. He thought that the girl in front of her was just like a fairy, and he could not shift his gaze from her. He did not notice Ao Mingyu come over, and still stood there, with all his attention on Ning Xueyan.

Seeing her coming, his heart pounded. He did not notice that the face of Ao Mingyu, who was walking ahead of Ning Xueyan darkened and his smile was about to freeze.

“How dare you not bow to Third Prince?” Lanning walked over and yelled at Li Zhiwen, who was still in a daze.

“Third Prince? Nobody can shift my eyes from the beautiful lady!” Li Zhiwen thought, looking a little upset. He reached out and tried to push the person standing in his way. As soon as he saw the eyes with sneer inside, he could not help shivering. “Third Prince! Third Prince?”

He immediately shifted his eyes from Ning Xueyan. When he saw Ao Mingyu’s darkened face, he was so scared that he was almost felt onto the ground. “What happened? Why didn’t I notice that Third Prince came?”

“Greetings, Third Prince!” Li Zhiwen’s face turned pale. He immediately bowed to Ao Mingyu.

“Why are you here, Mr. Li?” Ao Mingyu sized him up and saw the note beside his feet. The note was similar to the one in Ao Mingyu’s hand from both quality and color of the paper.

“I, I came here to enjoy the scenery, simply enjoy the scenery. The scenery here is especially beautiful,” Li Zhiwen explained. Looking at Ning Xueyan standing beside Ao Mingyu, he was completely sober.

The maid had told him that someone wanted to frame her master, and she had also mentioned Lord Protector’s Manor. Now Third Prince was just in front of him. If they were annoyed, he might die even without knowing the cause.

From Third Prince’s look, Li Zhiwen could tell that he cared about Fifth Young Lady very much. Li Zhiwen was a playboy, but he was not stupid. He had already seen the situation clearly, and he dare not say that it was Ning Xueyan who had asked him here.

“The scenery here is especially beautiful? Mr. Li, it seems you want to stay here all along? Then I will tell the chief eunuch to arrange for you. Then you can stay here forever.” Ao Mingyu suddenly smiled gently.

But in Li Zhiwen’s eyes, such a smile was horrible. His back sweated. “Does Third Prince want to kill me and bury me here? Then I will really unable to leave the imperial palace anymore,” he wondered.

“Third Prince, a palace maid... gave me a note. She told me that.... a Young Lady wanted me... to be here,” Li Zhiwen immediately explained. Under the gaze of Ao Mingyu’s glittering eyes, Li Zhiwen dared not to hide the truth anymore. He had never been so sober, and he saw the gentleness in Third Prince’s eyes when he looked at Ning Xueyan. Besides, he dared not to offend Ning Zu’an either.

If Third Prince and Ning Zu’an found out that he wanted to take advantage of Fifth Young Lady, he would die a graveless death, and even his family could be sentenced.

“A note? Where is it?” Ao Mingyu reached out and said slowly.

“Third Prince, I... I’ll show it to you now.” Li Zhiwen put his left hand in his right sleeve and began to fumble. He was so nervous that he forgot that he had given the note to Lanning just now. Now he was trying to find it out to prove his innocence.

However, no matter how he fumbled, he could not find the note. Sweat immediately rose from his forehead. Although Ao Mingyu was smiling, his eyes were filled with coldness. Li Zhiwen’s hands could not help trembling. He said, “Third... Prince, I’m not lying. The note was just in my hand.”

“Is this one?” Ao Mingyu pointed at the note beside his feet.

“Yes, yes. That’s it!” Li Zhiwen exclaimed excitedly. He crouched and picked the note up. Then he handed it to Ao Mingyu respectfully and felt a little relieved. Fortunately, he had the evidence to prove his innocence.

He thought since he had not done anything to Ning Xueyan, of course he was innocent. Fortunately, he had not put his dirty ideas into action, and he would never dare to mention it in the future anymore.

“Mr. Li, so you came here to date a Young Lady because a palace maid had given you a note?” Ning Xueyan raised her head and looked at Li Zhiwen with a faint smile.

“Yes. I’m telling the truth. I wouldn’t have come here if that palace maid didn’t give the note to me.” Li Zhiwen was so nervous, like being on pins and needles. He did dare look at Ning Xueyan, and he answered everything she asked, lowering his head.

“Fifth Young Lady, why did you come here?” Ao Mingyu glanced at the note and asked Ning Xueyan with a smile.

“I heard that the scenery of the imperial palace is beautiful, and from the Graceful Moon Pavilion, one could see most of the palace. I came to the imperial palace for the first time and I was curious, so I came here.” Her eyes flickered with bewilderment and irritation. Obviously, she had realized what was happening.

Since it was Ning Xueyan’s first time to visit the imperial palace, it was no wonder that the scenery here was extremely attractive to her.

Moreover, only those who came to the imperial palace for the first time did not know that there was a yard beside the Graceful Moon Pavilion for resting.

The male guest seats of the Plum Garden were close to this yard, so there must be many noble childes here. A Young Lady who knew such things would never venture here, unless she was new to the imperial palace, and knew nothing of it, like Ning Xueyan.

Li Zhiwen, the man in front of him was not that powerful, and his father was only a grade four official. It seemed it was his first time to visit the imperial palace as well. Ao Mingyu had met him two times outside the imperial palace. Since Li Zhiwen was a well-known playboy, Ao Mingyu had some impression of him.

Ao Mingyu was confident that it was impossible for Ning Xueyan to have a crush on Li Zhiwen, let alone date him at a place that was easy to be found out, unless both she and Li Zhiwen were framed by someone. Of course, that person’s target was not Li Zhiwen, but Ning Xueyan.

At thought of the delicate and weak girl in front of him almost being set up, he could not help being angry. If he had not come with her, the amazing girl’s reputation would have been ruined, and have to be a concubine of a playboy! Ao Mingyu cursed inwardly, eyes burning with anger.

He shook his sleeve hard and shouted angrily, “Get out!”

“Yes, yes, yes...” Seeing the killing intent in Ao Mingyu’s eyes, Li Zhiwen answered in a hurry. He passed them, shivering, and then ran down as fast as he could. Because he was too nervous, he bumped against a stone on the rockery. Regardless of pain, he ran helter-skelter.

“Nothing is special here. Let’s go!” Ao Mingyu looked around and said. His face turned soft when he looked at the pure and dark eyes of Ning Xueyan.

“Well, let’s go. Third Prince, thank you for your help. I’m leaving now.” Ning Xueyan nodded and bowed to Ning Mingyu with a faint smile. She looked at the yard behind the rockery and saw those noble childes. None of them were looking at them.

“You’re welcome. You’d better not walk about in the imperial palace, but go back to the Plum Garden,” Ao Mingyu said meaningfully.

Ning Xueyan smiled and stopped talking. Then she walked down the artificial hill with Lanning.