Chapter 441 - 160: Taunting
Ning Lixuan didn’t recognize Xi Yu or Xi Juan, but he had seen Bai Yi. When he saw Bai Yi, he mistook Yueyao, who was wearing a moon-white dress and covering her face with a veil, for Mingzhu. Ning Lixuan was uncomfortable; he had not expected to run into this troublesome cousin while picking up a painting.
There was also a marital connection between Duke Ning’s Mansion and Marquis Jingning’s Residence, which made Mingzhu and Ning Lixuan cousins of sorts.
Ning Lixuan asked in a deep voice, "Why have you also come to Four Treasures Square?" The elders at home, especially his mother, really hoped he would marry Luo Mingzhu, but he did not like Luo Mingzhu, not at all. Mingzhu, leveraging her status, had done many things that annoyed him. He had no choice but to deal with Luo Mingzhu due to the Luo Family’s influence. If it were truly up to him, he wouldn’t want to have anything to do with Mingzhu at all.
An accident had befallen the legitimate child of Duke Mansion years ago, and there was a fierce struggle among the concubine-born children for the nobility title. In the end, it was Ning Lixuan’s father, the current Duke, who succeeded.
The current Duke had secured the title partly because the previous Duchess had found him mediocre and easy to control. Those who are easy to manage usually don’t have much ability. Over the past decade, Duke Ning’s Mansion had fallen to the periphery among the power elite of Capital City. That was why the Duchess wanted Ning Lixuan to marry Mingzhu, since the Marquis Jingning was among the most powerful.
Since the Duchess harbored this wish, she naturally expected her son to treat Mingzhu well, and she was also very affectionate towards Mingzhu. Unfortunately for her, Ning Lixuan preferred gentle and graceful talented women and did not fancy a pampered and spoiled girl like Mingzhu, spoiled by her family. His mother’s nagging only made him resent Mingzhu more.
Yueyao, unlike the naive Mingzhu, immediately detected the impatience in Ning Lixuan’s words. Yueyao wondered why this person she did not know was speaking so rudely to her.
Bai Yi approached Yueyao and said softly, "Miss, this is the Heir Apparent of Duke Ning’s Mansion." Bai Yi’s whisper could actually be heard by everyone around.
Yueyao had an impressive memory of Ning Lixuan, as Mu Qinglian had said that Ning Lixuan was the ideal husband that every girl in Capital City wanted to marry. Thus, Yueyao turned and looked steadily at Ning Lixuan.