When Ning Hui saw Yan Xuanjing frowning at his elder sister's retreating figure, he knew that Yan Xuanjing had heard her thoughts too. He said, "Brother A-Xuan, don't take what my sister just said to heart. She means you no harm."
Yan Xuanjing nodded slightly without saying anything, but inwardly he disputed Ning Hui's words. He had certainly felt Ning Sang-sang's overwhelming ill will.
Jingzhe, who was pushing Yan Xuanjing's wheelchair, looked bewildered at Ning Hui's words. He was certain that Third Miss Ning had not said a single word to his prince just now. Why would Fourth Young Master Ning say something so strange to his prince? And his prince had even responded. Had Jingzhe somehow gone deaf just then and failed to hear Third Miss Ning speak?
Ning Sang-sang followed Ning Chengxiao, admiring the scenery on either side.
Ning Chengxiao walked silently beside her. Unable to tell his younger sister that everyone could hear her thoughts, he pondered for a while before expressing his warning indirectly. "Sang-sang, that Yan Xuanjing doesn't look like someone to trifle with. Be careful what you say to him in the future."
Yan Xuanjing looked harmless to man and beast alike, yet he gave Ning Chengxiao a dangerous feeling. Besides, Ning Chengxiao had heard that Yan Xuanjing had suffered terribly since childhood. Having grown up in such an environment, his heart was probably full of darkness. Although Ning Chengxiao sympathized with him after learning what he had endured as a child, he did not want his innocent, foolish younger brother to have too much contact with Yan Xuanjing, lest Yan Xuanjing hurt him.
Yet his foolish younger brother adored Yan Xuanjing because he had saved his life. He refused to listen to Ning Chengxiao's advice and insisted on going to play with Yan Xuanjing. Ning Chengxiao had stopped trying to interfere, figuring that with Yan Xuanjing's aloof, cold disposition, his brother would soon tire of pressing his warm face against a cold backside and stop seeking him out.
What he had not expected was that, three years later, his brother remained just as enthusiastic toward Yan Xuanjing as ever.
Ning Sang-sang nodded obediently. "I know, Second Brother."
*[Yan Xuanjing is the book's main villain, after all! He's ruthless and vicious, the sort who always repays a grudge. I definitely have to watch what I say around him. If I accidentally offend him, won't he dig a pit and bury me in it?*
Ah, but the reason Yan Xuanjing is so ruthless and dark inside is that he grew up in such a terrible environment.
His childhood was truly miserable. He was born after the emperor of the Yan Kingdom drunkenly forced himself on a palace maid. Everyone in the Yan royal family despised him. He never had enough food or warm clothing, and the royal family bullied him and played cruel tricks on him. Even the palace servants bullied him and took their anger out on him.
When he was seven, a eunuch with vile intentions tried to abuse him. He picked up a rock and battered that eunuch to death, splattering his hands, body, and face with brain matter. From then on, darkness took root in his heart. Whenever anyone dared bully him, he would remember it, then find a chance to torment them until they wished they were dead, watching them struggle and breathe their last.
*By the time he came to Great Chu as a hostage, he already had more than ten lives on his hands. While he was a hostage in Great Chu, people shunned and bullied him, making his heart grow even darker. He wrote the names of everyone in Great Chu who bullied him in his own blood inside the secret chamber in his study. He even planned how each of them would die, just waiting until he grew powerful enough to deal with them all.]*
Hearing Ning Sang-sang's thoughts, Ning Chengxiao knitted his brows tightly. He had never imagined that Yan Xuanjing's heart was so dark. He could not help worrying about his foolish younger brother. His brother was far too close to Yan Xuanjing-it was truly dangerous. It seemed he needed to give his foolish brother a stern warning to stay away from Yan Xuanjing, lest he accidentally offend him and earn his hatred.
"Second Brother, Sister, slow down! Wait for us!" A young man's clear voice rang out behind them.
Ning Chengxiao snapped out of his thoughts and turned to look. Seeing his younger brother and Yan Xuanjing approaching, he suddenly remembered what his sister had thought on her first day home about a man having his eye on Ning Hui. His brows immediately drew together. Could the man coveting Ning Hui be Yan Xuanjing?
Just as that thought arose, his sister's inner voice sounded:
[Yan Xuanjing and my little brother-one looks like a male fox spirit, and the other is as radiant and pretty as a young girl. No wonder Imperial Uncle Yang has his eye on both of them.]
Hearing Ning Hui's words, Ning Chengxiao narrowed his eyes. That Yang Wenguang truly deserves to die. How dare he covet my younger brother!
Before you continue