The Devious First-Daughter

“Young Lady, she’s the Second Young Lady’s maid. She said that the Second Young Lady wants you to go and see her immediately.” Seeing Ning Xueyan coming out of the inner courtyard, Lanning breathed a sigh of relief and told her what had happened.

Ning Xueyan glanced at the maid and said, “So many things have happened today. What does the Second Sister want to do? I’m going to see Madam Dowager now. If the Second Sister wants to come, she can come along with me.”

Then, she went to Auspicious Fortune Hall with Lanning.

The maids and older female servants who were looking on stepped backward and lowered their heads when they saw Ning Xueyan coming out and then dispersed after Ning Xueyan had left. The Fifth Young Lady was obviously not the same Fifth Young Lady from before.

Was Ning Xueyan going to Madam Dowager’s place?

Ning Yuling’s maid did not dare to follow them. She turned pale and felt bad. So she rushed back to Qingrong Courtyard to report to Ning Yuling.

The atmosphere in Auspicious Fortune Hall was serious. Before Ning Xueyan reached the gate of the courtyard, she heard loud sounds coming from the room. It seemed that something had been smashed. Then a cry of pain came out from the room. The voice from Madam Ling’s. Hearing that, Ning Xueyan coldly smiled.

Then she raised her head and concealed her smile, regaining her calmness.

The maid guarding at the door saw Ning Xueyan coming and reported to Madam Dowager with caution.

After a moment, Mother Qin came out and said to Ning Xueyan, “Fifth Young Lady, please go back first. Madam Dowager is busy now. I’m afraid she won’t have time to see you.”

It seemed that Ning Xueyan did not expect that she would not be allowed to enter the room. She was stunned and softly asked, “What happened in there?”

“Nothing. Many things happened today, so Madam Dowager has to deal with them.” Mother Qin frowned. One thing after another had happened in the manor today. And all were scandals regarding Lord Protector’s Manor. It would have been strange if Madam Dowager had not gotten angry.

It was the marchioness who was kneeling on the ground and being scolded. Besides that, she was an elder. It was not suitable for juniors to see that.

That was why Ning Xueyan was stopped at the door.

“Is grandmother dealing with what happened today? The Second Sister asked a maid to tell me that it has something to do with me, so I rushed over. Please tell my grandmother that it’s regarding my innocence and I must make it clear to her face to face.”

Ning Xueyan spoke with a serious look on her face.

Ning Xueyan was afraid that she might not get in. Unexpectedly, what Ning Yuling had done provided an excuse. After Ning Xueyan jumped over the wall and heard the quarrel at the door, she felt that she came back just in time.

Mother Qin was speechless due to Ning Xueyan’s words. Then she uncomfortably said, “Er… Fifth Young Lady, the Second Young Lady spoke nonsense. Don’t mind what she said.”

“Please tell my grandmother that there are many doubts about today’s affairs. And the matter about Concubine Ma is also strange. Moreover, we knew that Concubine Ma was pregnant because I was poisoned!” Ning Xueyan said implicitly. But the meaning made Mother Qin unable to refuse.

As a matter of fact, Concubine Ma owed Ning Xueyan a statement.

“Er, Fifth Young Lady, wait a minute. I’ll ask Madam Dowager first!”

After that, Mother Qi turned around and went back into the room helplessly and then whispered in Madam Dowager’s ear.

Madam Dowager’s face became gloomier after she listened to Mother Qin. She nodded and said, “Since Yuling asked her to come, let her come in and listen to it together. We have to give her an explanation about the matter of her being poisoned.”

Madam Ling, who stood aside, changed her face greatly when she heard Madam Dowager’s words.

It was Ning Yuling who put the cat among the pigeons again. At this time, Ning Zu’an wished that he could slap her.

Ning Xueyan followed Mother Qin in. First, she saluted Madam Dowager, who was sitting in the middle. Then she saluted Ning Zu’an and Madam Ling, who were standing on one side respectively. Finally, she stood near Madam Dowager’s right hand and looked down.

Madam Dowager was satisfied with Ning Xueyan’s cleverness and politeness. She hummed to her as a greeting.

Ning Xueyan also knew that Madam Dowager had no time to care about her. Anyway, her aim was Madam Ling.

“Tell me what happened to Ziyan. When did she and Xia Yuhang do such a thing?” Madam Dowager was so angry today that she almost fainted. At this time, she angrily scolded Madan Ling while pointing at her even though Ning Xueyan was also there.

“Mother, this… er… Yan’er… I…” Madam Ling could not say a word and sweat broke out on her forehead. Suddenly, she calmed down and said, “Mother, do you remember what happened at the banquet that day? Yuhang was drunk, and you specifically asked Yan’er to go to see him…”

Madam Dowager wanted to get rid of this matter and put the blame on Madam Ling. However, she also approved of Ning Ziyan’s marriage. Once, Madam Dowager had told Madam Ling that Ning Ziying did not deserve Xia Yuhang, which showed that Madam Dowager was satisfied with the Xia family.

Since then, Madam Dowager also facilitated the marriage. Would she now put the blame on Madam Ling?

“What?” Madam Dowager seemed to understand something and her face changed greatly.

Ning Xueyan’s eyes became cold when she clearly saw Madam Dowager’s face. Sure enough, Madam Dowager knew how Ning Ziying died.

How could the scheming Madam Dowager know nothing about something that had happened in Lord Protector’s Manor?

“It happened two or three months ago. Mother, have you forgotten?” Madam Ling became confident and her words became more and more fluent. She even said to Madam Dowager with pride, “Mother, that day, they… I also couldn’t do anything about it. Originally, I thought this matter couldn’t be exposed and I had to maintain the reputation of Lord Protector’s Manor.”

Madam Ling spoke with grievance on her face while wiping her tears with her handkerchief.

Ning Zu’an frowned and said in a deep voice, “Mother, forget it. Yan’er and Xia Yuhang love each other and they also got engaged before Yan’er got pregnant. They just made a mistake after drinking before marriage. It’s no big deal.”

Ning Zu’an tried to cover up the big scandal with the excuse that they were drunk. Hearing that, Ning Xueyan sneered in her mind.

Ning Zu’an actually said that Ning Ziyan and Xia Yuhang had been engaged before Ning Ziyan got pregnant and they had made a mistake after drinking. He was so biased!

Ning Xueyan’s natural mother was murdered. But he did not care about the truth and only punished several maids to avenge her.

Ning Xueyan had been poisoned. But when he heard that the concubine who poisoned Ning Xueyan was pregnant, he immediately forgave the concubine and did not care about his daughter’s safety. No wonder Mother Han said that her mother had made the wrong choice.

In his heart, Ning Xueyan and her mother were inferior to a single hair of Ning Ziyan or Madam Ling.

Such a man did not deserve to be a husband and a father.

In Ning Xueyan’s memories, her mother always sat alone by a lamp and made clothes for her while coughing. Who could believe that a Young Lady of Lord Protector’s Manor had not gotten any new clothes in a few years?

Those people in front of Ning Xueyan also lived in Lord Protector’s Manor. It was impossible for them to not know that Madam Ling had treated Madam Ming and Ning Xueyan badly.

Now they wanted to cover up the scandal again!

Ning Xueyan’s gaze became as cold as ice.

She would not let them succeed!

Hearing what Ning Zu’an said, Madam Ling became ecstatic. She turned her head and affectionately looked at Ning Zu’an with a blushed face, and delicately said, “Marquis!”

“Grandmother, let bygones be bygones. Let’s not talk about these past events. Today, there were many people present. Maybe someone will impeach father in the court tomorrow morning. We have to think about countermeasures.”

Ning Xueyan turned around and spoke to Madam Dowager in a gentle voice.

Ning Xueyan’s words not only warned Madam Dowager, but also warned Ning Zu’an. Immediately, their faces changed suddenly.

All the people present at the banquet today were dignitaries. What happened today would inevitably be known by the emperor. If the emperor asked about it tomorrow, it would not be easy to answer.

There had to be an outcome to this matter, otherwise Ning Zu’an would greatly lose face in court.

Madam Dowager immediately made a decision and said in a deep voice, “Take the First Madam to the Buddha Hall to kneel. No one can let her out without my permission.”

“Mother, I…” Madam Ling was anxious at once.

Ning Zu’an stared at Madam Ling with his bloodthirsty eyes and coldly said, “Don’t talk nonsense. Take the First Madam to the Buddha Hall so that she can calm down there.”

It was the first time that Ning Zu’an was so fierce to Madam Ling. She was frightened and knew that he was really angry!

Knowing that she could not oppose him directly, Madam Ling immediately changed her expression to a delicate one. Madam Ling was beautiful. At this time, her beautiful face and aggrieved look made her pitiable.

“Yes, marquis… I won’t say more. As long as you and Lord Protector’s Manor won’t be blamed by others, I’m willing to shoulder the responsibility.”

It seemed that she took the responsibility for the sake of Ning Zu’an and Lord Protector’s Manor.

Looking at her aggrieved expression, Ning Zu’an felt that she really cared about Lord Protector’s Manor. His face softened and he said as he nodded, “Cultivate yourself in the Buddha Hall in order to avoid such things from happening again.”

This was telling her that she would leave the Buddha Hall one day, which reassured Madam Ling.

Immediately, Madam Ling smiled and nodded vigorously. Then she respectfully saluted Madam Dowager before she turned around to leave.

However, both Ning Zu’an and Madam Ling neglected Ning Xueyan, the victim. Madam Ling did not mention her intentionally, and Ning Zu’an did not care about her at all. A daughter who was disliked by him was certainly less important than his lover.

Both of them were disgusting!

“Xueyan, this matter has passed. Last time, your mother was punished by the empress and couldn’t get up for a period of time. We can’t punish her twice for one thing. Furthermore, she’s the hostess of Lord Protector’s Manor,” Madam Dowager had adjusted her mind and kindly said to Ning Xueyan.

“Grandmother, it’s up to you!” Ning Xueyan nodded her head obediently, as if she would agree with whatever Madam Dowager decided.

“You’re indeed sensible. Look at your dress, it’s too plain. Fetch my jewelry box and select some accessories for the Fifth Young Lady. The young girl should be beautiful in her manner of dressing.”

Madam Dowager spoke with a smile on her face.

“Madam Dowager is really good at implementing the stick and the carrot. In your opinion, my life is less valuable than a few pieces of jewelry!

“Madam Ling, don’t think that you can escape this time with the support of Madam Dowager and Ning Zu’an…”