Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 336 Sealed Past (Part 1)
The story dates back more than 60 years. The Ning family lived a simple life in a remote mountain village, working from sunrise to sunset.

Every year, the clan sends one or two young people out to purchase the necessary living supplies. This year, it was the clan chief's daughter, Ning Juexia, who went out to buy supplies. At only eighteen years old, she bid farewell to her parents and clan members and took the clan's goods down the mountain.

She first sold the goods to get money before buying supplies. Because it was her first time doing business with outsiders, she was unaware of the wickedness of people and was almost cheated out of all her money. Fortunately, a kind and handsome young man came to her aid and exposed the swindler with ill intentions.

Ning Juexia was furious and beat up the swindler.

To thank the young man for his help, Ning Juexia offered to treat him to a meal, which he gladly accepted. The young man then revealed his name to him: Yang Ziyuan.

Although Yang Ziyuan was dressed plainly, his speech revealed that he had received a good education and must have come from an distinguished background.

Ning Juexia and Yang Ziyuan had a pleasant conversation. Not long after they parted, they met again. This time, Yang Ziyuan was in trouble and was being robbed by two thugs. Ning Juexia happened to witness this and immediately drew his sword to help him.

The moment Ning drew his knife, the two thugs were so terrified that they ran away in a panic.

Yang Ziyuan thanked Ning Juexia repeatedly and extended a warm invitation to him to dine at the most famous restaurant in the area.

The two drank a lot of wine, and after getting drunk, they took a boat trip on the river to enjoy the beautiful night view.

On a beautiful night with perfect scenery and a full moon, after the alcohol took effect, the two of them inexplicably embraced, and then something indescribable happened.

Afterwards, Ning Juexia came to her senses and regretted her impulsiveness, but since it had already happened, she could only grit her teeth and face it.

She wanted to pretend nothing had happened, but Yang Ziyuan insisted on taking full responsibility. He handed his jade pendant to Ning Juexia as a token of their engagement and solemnly promised to visit her home to propose marriage.

……

When Yan Ciwan heard this, she couldn't help but ask, "Ning Juexia accepted it?"

Nie Xiayun shook her head: "No, the Ning family never intermarries with outsiders. This is a rule passed down from our ancestors. Also, you can't call her by her name. You have to call her great-grandmother."

Yan Ciwan was taken aback: "Could it be that after that night, Ning Jue... no, Great-Grandmother got pregnant with Grandpa?"

“Yes.” Nie Xiayun couldn’t help but sigh when she mentioned this, her heart filled with helplessness at the capriciousness of fate. “Although she had a good impression of Yang Ziyuan, it was far from the point of entrusting her life to him. Moreover, the Ning clan strictly forbade intermarriage with outsiders. As the clan leader’s only daughter and the future heir, she had to set an example and could not break the rules casually. She returned the jade pendant to Yang Ziyuan and refused his marriage proposal. But not long after she returned home, she found out that she was pregnant.”

……

Ning Juexia was still too young. When she found out that she was pregnant, she immediately panicked.

Her first thought was to tell her parents. They had more life experience than she did and would definitely know what to do.

So she packed all the supplies she had bought and hurried back to her clan.

The clan chief was quite happy to see his daughter return safely, but his joy was short-lived. He soon learned from his daughter that she was pregnant.

The clan chief's wife felt that since her daughter was pregnant, it must be a predestined marriage, and she could tell that her daughter had feelings for Yang Ziyuan, so she might as well go along with it and make it happen. But the clan chief felt that things were not so simple. He went through the whole process of how his daughter and Yang Ziyuan met and felt that there were too many coincidences involved.

The fact that Ning Juexia had once displayed the Ning Dao in front of Yang Ziyuan made the clan leader even more worried.

He expressed his suspicion: "Perhaps all of this was Yang Ziyuan's elaborate scheme. He already knew A Xia's identity and deliberately approached A Xia in order to find our Ning clan through A Xia."

Ning Juexia was startled, but she quickly denied it, saying, "No way, Yang Lang's family is in business. He's just an ordinary rich young master. Why would he go to such lengths to find our Ning family? There's absolutely no need for that!"

"There have been rumors that our Ning clan's longevity formula can grant immortality. Some people believe it and try every means to find out where our Ning clan is. It's hard to say that Yang Ziyuan is one of them."

Ning Juexia still refused to believe it, shaking his head and saying, "It's impossible. I've never told him that I'm a member of the Ning clan, nor have I ever told him anything about the Ning clan."

The clan chief's wife also said, "Husband, you're probably overthinking it. Not everyone in this world believes in the absurd idea of ​​immortality."

Seeing that both mother and daughter said the same thing, the clan chief could only sigh: "I hope I'm just overthinking it."

Despite saying that, the clan chief secretly sent several clan members to patrol down the mountain to see if there was any unusual activity. If everything was normal, that would be best, but if there was any unusual activity, they could buy themselves some time to respond.

……

When Yan Ciwan heard this, her brows furrowed tightly.

Considering the fact that the Ning clan had been wiped out, she already had her answer in mind, saying, "The clan leader's guess has come true; Yang Ziyuan did indeed harbor ill intentions."

Nie Xiayun nodded: "Yes, actually, not long after Ning Juexia came down the mountain, Yang Ziyuan had his eye on him. The swindler who tried to cheat his mother-in-law out of her money was arranged by Yang Ziyuan in advance, just to create an opportunity for him to meet Ning Juexia. Later, when he was bullied by local thugs, it was also a show he deliberately put on for Ning Juexia."

So-called serendipitous encounters are nothing more than premeditated schemes.

Beneath the sweet coating lies the ugliest greed and desire in the human heart.

Nie Xiayun continued, "Ning Juexia rushed back to her clan without noticing that someone was following her. The person following her was sent by Yang Ziyuan. Yang Ziyuan is actually the third prince of the Heng Dynasty. His father, the old emperor of the Heng Dynasty, is seriously ill and there is no cure. He fears that he will not live much longer. Yang Ziyuan heard that the Ning clan's longevity formula can cure all diseases and grant immortality. However, the Ning clan is isolated from the world and their whereabouts are secretive. No one knows their whereabouts."

In fact, Yan Ciwan knew very well that the rumors were exaggerated. Cultivating the Longevity Technique could indeed prolong life, but it was impossible to cure all diseases, and immortality was even more absurd.

However, Yang Ziyuan didn't care about any of that at the time. To be precise, he didn't care whether the Longevity Formula really worked. All he wanted was an opportunity to show his filial piety.

The old emperor had five sons, all of whom were eyeing the position of crown prince, but the old emperor had yet to make a decision on which son to appoint as crown prince.

Yang Ziyuan knew that his father did not actually want to abdicate. How could someone who held supreme power be willing to just leave like that?

He heard that the Longevity Formula could grant immortality, so he told his father about it, which greatly interested his father. He then devised a plan to obtain the Longevity Formula and present it to his father, which would surely win his father's favor and allow him to ascend to the position of Crown Prince.

The final result proved that he made the right bet.