Chapter 318 Petals in the Bathwater

“Aunt, I want that bitch dead. I want her dead.” Ning Qingshan had a ferocious look on her beautiful face.

Looking at her tightly wrapped hands, Ning Qingshan felt a burst of pain, as a wave of hatred and anger surged in her eyes. Hearing the imperial physician telling her that her hand was almost crippled, Ning Qingshan had only the name “Ning Xueyan.” on her mind. It was this bitch who had ruined her hand and the path of her promotion.

“Qing’er, we can’t deal with her at this time. Let’s talk about it later.” The Honored Consort Ya sighed and tried to soothe her, holding her other hand, which was uninjured.

“Aunt, a few days later? Isn’t that when she will be married to my cousin? Aunt, I won’t allow her to marry my cousin.” Ning Qingshan gritted her teeth and looked coldly at the Honored Consort Ya. There was an evil look on her face. She was unwilling to give up. How could she be willing? She was to be the wife of the Third Prince, but how could she become the co-consort?

It was because Ning Xueyan, the little bitch, framed her and made the emperor look with disfavor upon her. He even ordered the Third Prince not to take her as his wife. He thought that her reputation would be a disgrace to the royal family. She could not accept it. For so many years, she had firmly believed that she was going to marry the Third Prince, and she also wanted to marry him.

Even though she had plotted against him with the Honored Consort Ya, she just wanted to leave an impression in his heart. For his sake, she had stayed there for three years. She had lived a quiet life of inaction for three years. She only wanted to have a good reputation that would be worthy of him. But in the end, when she was so close to it, she was downgraded from being the main wife to the co-consort, instead.

How could she accept it!

Even the Honored Consort Ya, who was in front of her, could not suppress the anger in her heart. She felt as if she were going to explode. She would not allow the Third Prince to take another woman as his principal wife. She could not allow that. The Honored Consort Ya had intentionally or unintentionally mentioned that the Third Prince wanted to take Ning Xueyan, as a concubine.

When she became irrational because of anger, her pretty face was almost twisted. For the first time, she refused to listen to the Honored Consort Ya, and there was a hint of madness in her eyes.

“Don’t act like this, Shan’er. The emperor has given an order, so we can’t disobey it,” The Honored Consort Ya said, sounding a bit dismayed, when she saw Ning Qingshan’s reaction. She was helpless. She could not say that she was the one who had requested Ning Qingshan not to be the principal wife, but the co-consort, instead. Now that she had told her, she did not expect Ning Qingshan to react so strongly.

The Honored Consort Ya felt guilty when she saw the crazed and vicious look in Ning Xueyan’s eyes. She had truly wanted Ning Qingshan to be her daughter-in-law. On the one hand, Ning Qingshan was her close relative. On the other hand, Ning Qingshan was able to help her son better, with her current identity.

There were some other reasons. So, in the Honored Consort Ya’s opinion, Ning Qingshan was suited to marry Ao Mingyu in every aspect. However, Ao Mingyu did not want to marry her, and he only wanted to take her as his co-consort. All the rumors in the past became an excuse for Ao Mingyu to oppose the match.

However, as a mother, she could not say no to Ao Mingyu. She did not want to make her son feel wronged. The Honored Consort Ya thought about it when she chose the candidate for Ao Mingyu’s principal wife. She felt that Ao Mingyu’s idea was not bad. In general, Muling was suitable for her son.

Both the principal life and co-consort were suitable candidates. It would be great if both of them married her son. As for Ning Xueyan, the Honored Consort Ya did not like her, but her son loved her, didn’t he? Ning Qingshan and Muling had a stake here, so it did not matter if she gave Ning Xueyan the position of a concubine.

Even if the Honored Consort Ya did not like it, she could only let it go, for her son’s sake. But now, it seemed that Ning Qingshan did not want to do it. Looking at her current situation, she vented all her anger on Ning Xueyan. The Honored Consort Ya was willing to see it, but she did not want to see it.

Even the Honored Consort Ya did not know whether she was willing or not. Whether it happened today or not, Ning Qingshan could not be the official wife. However, she said it now. Coincidentally, Ning Xueyan had annoyed her. So, it would have been surprising if Ning Qingshan did not vent her anger on her.

After all, she was her niece and she felt guilty about her. The Honored Consort Ya was undoubtedly willing to satisfy her at this time. After all, she did not like Ning Xueyan. As for her son, even if something happened to Ning Xueyan, he knew his priority, because Ning Qingshan was important.

“Aunt, I want this bitch to come to a bad end!”

“Okay, let me see if there is a chance. Take good care of yourself and wait for my news.”

“Here are the flowers that your young lady wants.”

“Here are the flowers that your young lady wants.”

“Here are the flowers that your young lady wants.” After the flower baskets were sent to each Young Lady, the palace maids would utter this statement, and then leave respectfully. Perhaps this beautiful girl would become their master in the future. So, it was better to be careful.

Lanning looked at the flowers in her hands, and then looked at those carried by the maid beside her, picked up the hem of her dress, and walked in.

Behind the screen in the room, Ning Xueyan was bathing. She had been bathing alone, as she did not need anyone to serve her.

“Young Lady, the palace has sent some flowers. Would you like to put some in?” Lanning asked outside the screen, with a basket in her hand. The flower bath was nothing new among the noble ladies of all the mansions. Even in winter, some noble ladies would take advantage of the flowers from their greenhouses, to take a bath.

It was already spring, and some early flowers were blooming outside. There would be more flowers in the palace. Even if more flowers were sent here, it would not be a big deal.

“No, just put it outside.” Ning Xueyan turned to the screen. The flowers were fragrant, and faint wisps of their fragrance drifted in. After taking a shower with such aromatic flowers, she would naturally have a scent, which would be good for tomorrow’s game.

The flowers had a faint fragrance. If Ning Xueyan had not been familiar with it, she would not have smelt it. However, she knew what it was. Her lips curled silently. It seemed that the Honored Consort Ya wanted to kill her. She did not expect that she would be so impatient.

Ning Xueyan certainly did not know that the Honored Consort Ya had taken advantage of this matter to degrade Ning Qingshan’s position to that of the co-consort. To comfort Ning Qingshan, she would help her to deal with Ning Xueyan. Fortunately, Ning Xueyan was not surprised. Ning Qingshan’s hand had been severly injured, and she had made a fool of herself. It would be strange if the Honored Consort Ya, as Ning Qingshan’s aunt, did not help to avenge her.

She was worried that she could not come up with a solution for the time being. This situation was perfect!

After having a bath, Ning Xueyan got up, dried herself, and put on her clothes. Then, she called Lanning in and scattered all the flowers in the basket into the bathwater. When she finished cleaning up, Lanning helped her dry her hair and Ning Xueyan stopped in front of the bathtub.

The hot water reflected the color of the red flowers in the bathtub, which looked enchanting and beautiful. She inexplicably thought of the black robe embroidered with the Red Spider Lily. That flower was much more beautiful than the one in the basin. If she took a bath with the Equinox Flower that was blooming in hell, she might die directly, even without the effort of the Honored Consort Ya!

She was thinking about it in her mind. She picked up a clean, wet handkerchief, rolled up her sleeves, and soaked the handkerchief to clean the back of her hands and wrists. Then, she put down the rag in her hand, thought for a moment, picked it up, and wiped it on her chin.

“Young Lady, is there something wrong with this flower?” Lanning also noticed that something was wrong and asked.

“It’s okay. It doesn’t matter even if there’s something wrong. Ask someone to pour out the water.” Ning Xueyan smiled leisurely and threw the handkerchief in her hand into the water.

Seeing her attitude, Lanning knew that Ning Xueyan had made up her mind. Lanning breathed a sigh of relief and immediately called two eunuchs in, to pour away the bathwater.

In Shuyu Palace, several palace maids poured bathwater for all the ladies. After all, every girl only brought a maid with them when they entered the palace. These first maids were usually pampered, and could not be made to move the bathwater.

When they saw the flowers floating in the bathwater, they knew that the flowers had been soaked in the water for some time, from the color of the flowers. The two eunuchs looked at each other, and then they quickly poured the water from the bathtub into a bucket on one side. They carried the bucket and walked out.

When the water was poured out, a eunuch sneaked out of the back door, and said a few words to a palace maid who was waiting there. The palace maid nodded and handed over a note in her hands. The eunuch accepted it with a beaming countenance. He was so happy that he could obtain some profit, merely by checking if there were any petals in the bathwater.

Early the following morning, the ladies in each room were up early, and waiting. Some well-informed ladies had known that today’s beauty selection was of great importance. They waited in their rooms, in high spirits. As soon as the Mammy came out to call them, they all went, dressed in their best outfits.

The stewardess took them all the way. She even brought them to walk around the Royal Garden. Along the way, the flowers on the branches had bloomed and looked so beautiful, that the ladies found it hard to walk away from this sight. They looked at them, even while walking. The stewardess did not exercise any authority over them, which made them more excited, so they were unwilling to leave.

Ning Xueyan lagged behind and strolled leisurely. From time to time, she would stop and look at the flowers. When she came to a palace gate, she stopped and lingered there. Ning Xueyan had never seen this scene, and she wondered what they were doing. In her last life, her mother occasionally told her about the Beauty Contest. At that time, she was particularly curious and asked more questions.

She was asking and did not expect that her mother knew anything about it. What was even more surprising was that she was sent here.

All the mammies were here, and there were two mammies guarding the gate. Everything inside was blocked by a screen. Once, one of them entered the room, the door was closed. The heavy curtain blocked everything, so they could not see what was inside. After a while, a beautiful woman blushed and came out of the room. She did not look at anyone and followed the Mammy, with her head down.