Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 341 Asking for Marriage
After that, Nie Xiayun lived in Yan Hengyu's villa. Ning Qingyang once took the opportunity to visit her at the villa. The mother and daughter were overjoyed to finally reunite.

Upon hearing this, Yan Ciwan suddenly asked a question.

Did your mother mention the Fifth Prince to you back then?

Nie Xiayun was slightly taken aback. Although she was just an ordinary woman, she knew that the Fifth Prince of that time was now the Emperor. She shook her head to indicate that there was no such thing, and then asked, "Why do you ask that? Did something happen between her and the Fifth Prince?"

"It's a long story, I'll tell you in detail after we get out. You can continue telling me about your experiences."

So Nie Xiayun continued, "I could tell that Yan Hengyu liked A Yang very much, but A Yang seemed to only feel gratitude towards him, without any romantic feelings. Later, probably because they spent more time together, A Yang was gradually moved by the boy's sincerity, and she agreed to Yan Hengyu's marriage proposal. Yan Hengyu was very happy, and he went to the palace to ask Emperor Wen for a marriage decree. But unfortunately, not long after the imperial decree of marriage was issued, war broke out in Xizhou. The Turks launched a large-scale invasion of the Xizhou border, and the Tubo on the other side were also eyeing it covetously. The King of Xizhou led his troops to fight, but was ambushed and seriously wounded. When this news reached Chang'an, Emperor Wen was furious and immediately issued an edict ordering Yan Hengyu and an old general to lead troops to aid Xizhou. Yan Hengyu left in a great hurry and didn't even have time to see A Yang."

In the face of national war, personal feelings seem particularly insignificant.

After leaving Chang'an, Yan Hengyu traveled day and night to Xizhou. He was worried about his father's safety and also had to find a way to resist foreign enemies. He was so busy that he couldn't even send back a letter to assure his father that he was safe.

Ning Qingyang could only pray every day, hoping that Yan Hengyu would be safe and that the war would end as soon as possible.

Not long after that, something happened in Chang'an as well.

The Crown Prince was implicated in a treason case, followed by Xie Chen and the Second Prince Li Mingguang leading troops to force Emperor Wen to abdicate. The entire city of Chang'an was in chaos.

Taking advantage of the chaos, He Yinuo led a group of people into the Crown Prince's residence. They wanted to take Ning Qingyang away, but fortunately Ning Qingyang had anticipated this and left the Crown Prince's residence in advance, taking her mother to hide in Physician Liu's house.

At that time, Liu had not yet married Chao Yuanzhi. She met Ning Qingyang when she was a female physician in the palace and they became good friends. Even though Ning Qingyang was later transferred to the Crown Prince's residence and the two could no longer meet often, they still kept in touch by letter.

Knowing that something had happened at the Crown Prince's residence, Madam Liu was very worried about her friend's safety. When she learned that Ning Qingyang wanted to bring her mother to her home for refuge, she naturally welcomed her with open arms.

Xie Chen's palace coup ultimately failed, but unfortunately, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess both perished in the incident. The Second Prince, Li Mingguang, was imprisoned after his attempt to seize the throne, and in his anxiety, he eventually chose to commit suicide out of fear of punishment. Two of the three princes died, leaving only the Fifth Prince, Li Baizhou. Thus, Li Baizhou naturally became the only candidate for Crown Prince.

After that, a piece of good news and a piece of bad news came from the border.

The good news is that the war in Xizhou has been quelled, the Turkic army suffered a major defeat, and they have voluntarily submitted a letter of surrender.

The bad news is that the King of Xizhou has passed away.

The throne was inherited by Crown Prince Yan Hengyu, who became the new King of Xizhou. He not only had to handle his father's funeral arrangements but also had to settle the post-war affairs, so he could not leave Xizhou for the time being.

Three years later, Yan Hengyu ended his mourning period and, with betrothal gifts and a large entourage, came to Chang'an to formally marry Ning Qingyang. They held a grand wedding in Chang'an, and although the emperor was unable to attend the ceremony, he sent very valuable congratulatory gifts.

The next morning, the young couple went to the palace to thank the emperor and then bid him farewell.

"Originally, they planned to leave Chang'an and return to Xizhou on the same day after saying their goodbyes, but for some reason, they stayed in the palace overnight and did not return until the next morning."

Yan Ciwan pressed further, "Did you notice anything wrong with Mother at the time?"

“A-Yang looked really unwell at the time. I thought she was sick and wanted to find a doctor for her, but she explained that she looked bad because she hadn’t slept well the night before and that she would be fine after a good rest. She came out of my belly, so I know her too well. I could tell at a glance that she wasn’t telling the truth. So I went to find out what was wrong.”

Yan Ciwan's heart jumped: "What did you find out?"

"I didn't know until I asked around, and what I found out shocked me. That brat Yan Hengyu actually brought back a woman, and he wants her to be his concubine!"

Nie Xiayun was furious when she talked about this, and her voice rose several octaves.

Yan Ciwan was taken aback and asked, "Is it Consort Ji?"

The Queen of Xizhou had only two women in her harem: the principal wife Ning Qingyang and the concubine Ji Songluo. Concubine Ji was Yan Tingyu's birth mother.

"Who else could it be but her?!" Nie Xiayun said aggressively. "When I heard the news, I almost fainted from anger. When Yan Hengyu proposed, he swore to the heavens that he would only have A-Yang as his woman in his life. A-Yang and I both believed his promise. But the day after the wedding, he brought back a woman from outside. Is this something a human being would do?! I went to confront Yan Hengyu right then and there. I demanded a reasonable explanation from him, or this matter would not be over!"

Having gone through so much, Yan Ciwan no longer has any expectations of Yan Hengyu. Now, no matter what outrageous things Yan Hengyu does, she won't be surprised.

She asked calmly, "What did he say?"

Nie Xiayun was still immersed in anger and did not notice that her granddaughter's reaction was not right.

"That brat Yan Hengyu said that Ji Songluo was a woman bestowed upon him by the emperor, who even issued an edict to make her his concubine. With the imperial decree issued, there's no turning back, so he had no choice but to bring her back. But he swore to me that he would never touch a hair on Ji Songluo's head. He said he would treat Ji Songluo like a guest and keep her in the backyard of the Prince's mansion. The only mistress of the Prince's mansion is A Yang, and he only has A Yang in his heart. If A Yang has a child, regardless of gender, that child will inherit everything in the Prince's mansion. He was afraid I wouldn't believe him, so he wrote a guarantee himself, writing down everything he promised and signing it. He gave me the guarantee for safekeeping. If he breaks his oath in the future, I can use the guarantee to slap him in the face."

Nie Xiayun became even more furious at this point and cursed viciously.

"I actually believed Yan Hengyu's nonsense again! If he really didn't touch Ji Songluo, then how did Yan Tingyu come to be? What's worse, Yan Tingyu was even born before you! Yan Hengyu, that bastard who doesn't keep his word! If Ayang hadn't stopped me, I would have really wanted to publish that guarantee and let the whole world know what a shameless thing Yan Hengyu is!"