Proofread by Men Shunde

Nangong Ning is walking hurriedly, astonished by his words, stares back at Mr. Zong and asks, "What did you say?"

Seeing that she is terrified, Mr. Zong replies unconfidently, "I went to look for the scorpion venom for you when it is said that the Emperor issued an imperial edict bestowing a marriage on you, and the fiancé is the Regent. Is that true?"

Nangong Ning feels her face is probably becoming a little bit green at this time.

  Not because of the toxin in her body, but because she is frightened.

  Why did Mr. Zong hear about the edict outside the Mansion just at the same time Nangong Ning receives the edict inside the Mansion? What does that mean?

Instantly, she feels a menacing atmosphere around approaching her.

  She looks at the fat old face of Mr. Zong, and swallows, whispering to him, "Fat old man, don't you want to kill me, too?"

  Mr. Zong looks at her small pale face, on which there is terror in her beautiful eyes. He doesn't understand and asks, "Miss Nangong, what do you mean? Why do I want to kill you? I'm looking for the herbs of detoxification for you. It is to save you."

  Nangong Ning feels s.h.i.+vering all over. She does feel that the yard is full of a murderous atmosphere.

  Yes, it's from the bodyguards of the Mansion.

  Nangong Ning lifts her eyes, looking around with difficulty. Then she lifts her skirt up and rushes forward like being chased by a ghost.

  She runs into Jun Qianye's study, slamming the door shut behind her.

  Mr. Zong is slow to react, and now he runs so hard after her that his fat face almost hits the door.

  "What's the matter with you, Miss Nangong? Please open the door and I'll tell you about the scorpion venom... "

  "I don't want it anymore! Please go away! Get out of here, all of you!" screams Nangong Ning with her back against the door.

  She tries to calm herself down, then swallows, and finally she bolts the door firmly and goes inside.

  Outside, Mr. Zong keeps knocking at the door but Nangong Ning does not answer, which leaves Mr. Zong completely at a loss.

Seeing the bodyguards approaching with swords in their hands, Mr. Zong asks confusedly, "What's happened? Does Miss Nangong suffer from epilepsy? Or is it because of the toxin in her body? It doesn't seem like that for I have used my acupuncture needle to suppress the toxin. If the outbreak of the toxin…"

  "Mr. Zong, this is the Regent's study. We can't force our way in," says one of the guards coldly who interrupts Mr. Zong.

  Mr. Zong is stupefied. Now he realizes that the atmosphere here seems wrong.

  Inside the study, Nangong Ning heaves a sigh of relief when she hears what the guard says.

  She runs into the study in a panic, which seems a right choice. This is the study of Jun Qianye, where the guards dare not to force their way in except Jun Qianye himself. That is, she is safe here until Jun Qianye comes back.

She doesn't know when Jun Qianye would come back, but she does know that her time is limited, so she has to think of a way to save herself.

  She knows clearly that she will not be accepted as the bestowed wife on Jun Qianye either by Jun Qianye himself or the rest of the Regent's Mansion.

Therefore, everyone in the Mansion, including Jun Qianye himself, would like to kill her now.

The bestowed marriage is known to the outsiders as well as those inside the Mansion according to the information brought back by the fat old man. It is estimated that those in the Mansion do not only have the idea "would like", but may actually put their thought into action now.

She tries hard to calm herself down, not to think of the things outside the study. She looks around in the room.

This is the study of Jun Qianye. Perhaps there are some secrets in the room.

  In the study of the somebody in the ancient, there usually is a secret room or some sort as the novels or TV plays reveal which she read or watched in her previous life.

Maybe there is a secret pa.s.sage in the study of a top somebody such as Jun Qianye.

If she could find it, she will be saved.

Thinking of this, Nangong Ning finds a hope of survival and hurriedly to search carefully.

In fact, there is one thing she forgets.

  Now that she has "offended" Jun Qianye. If she searches everywhere in his private study and finds some "secret" that he does not like others to know, she would double offend Jun Qianye and, therefore, would be killed sooner.

At the same time, Jun Qianye enters the Palace, not knowing that Nangong Ning is so bold that she searches for his secret in his study.

Seeing Jun Qianye coming into the royal study, the Emperor narrows his eyes slightly and then smiles with his eyes wide open on Jun Qianye and says, "My royal brother, do you come here for the sake of my bestowing the marriage on you?"

Without performing the formal etiquette to the Emperor, Jun Qianye walks up, looking in the eyes of the Emperor, and says, "My royal brother, what do you mean? I couldn't understand."

"What else can I mean?" the Emperor says with a relaxed smile on his face. "Perhaps you have forgot how old you are now."

  Jun Qianye motionlessly looks at the Emperor.

  The Emperor continues, "You are old enough to get married."

  Seeing that Jun Qianye still says nothing in response, the Emperor continues, "Nangong Ning is the eldest daughter of the Nangong family, which is n.o.ble enough to match you in marriage although her parents died untimely."

"But she had an engagement with the Crown Prince," says Jun Qianye eventually in a pa.s.sionless voice which shows nothing of his att.i.tude.

  The Emperor looks blankly at Jun Qianye for a quite some time before he continues, "Is that what you really mind?"