The Devious First-Daughter

At this time, Ning Huaijing had cleared all his heart knots and thoughts. So, he could not face Ning Huaiyuan with a stiff expression anymore. He said naturally, “I did not say anything. I want to get to know Fifth Sister.”

“Don’t you already know each other?” Ning Huaiyuan raised his eyebrows.

“Father pointed her out to me, but I did not talk to Fifth Sister,” Ning Huajing said with a smile. He looked at Ning Huaiyuan with a trace of contemplation in his eyes. If he remembered correctly, the Fifth Sister in front of him was not Ning Huaiyuan’s biological sister.

Ning Huaiyuan’s attitude was strange! There was something indescribably strange, but for a moment, Ning Huaijing could not think of anything strange about it. Ning Huaiyuan was only Fifth Sister’s half-brother, but he seemed to pay more attention to her.

They left after talking with Madam Dowager for a while. When they walked to the intersection, Ning Huajing walked with Ning Xueyan because he wanted to go and see Madam Yu.

Madam Yu’s home was relatively remote, which was beside Ning Xueyan’s. The courtyard was not big, and it was used as a storage place for all the junk. So, it was a good place for Madam Yu, even though it meant that she had been banished to a distant place. However, Madam Yu did not ask for anything, so there was no problem.

“Second Brother, what are we going to do?” Ning Xueyan and Ning Huaijing walked in front, followed by maids and young male servants.

“What do you mean?” Ning Huaijing turned his head, and his eyes sparkled under the moonlight.

“Second Brother, do you want to take the imperial examination to win a scholarly honor or official rank for Concubine Yu?” Ning Xueyan’s words sounded like a joke. It was not that simple to fight for such a position. He had to at least be a high-ranking official.

“I want to take this Spring Metropolitan Examination. Let’s see if I can attain it!” Ning Huaijing frowned.

“Mother does not have a title now. Second Brother, if you want Auntie Yu to be ennobled, you’d better work hard,” Ning Xueyan said softly.

Ning Xueyan’s words sounded casual but it made Ning Huaijing feel uncomfortable. The vicious woman wanted to be ennobled by him. “She should not even think about it.” But what was his identity? When it was only his mum and himself, everything could be settled well. In this case, how could a concubine be conferred a title, instead of the legal wife?

Initially, he did not want to have anything to do with the Lord Protector’s Manor. Since he and his mother had been driven away, he did not want to go back. If it weren’t for being cornered this time, he would never let his mother go back to the Lord Protector’s Manor to be a concubine, and be suppressed by that vicious woman all the time.

“Let’s wait and see then!” He said with some foreboding. Nobody knew what would happen in the future.

Hearing the sadness in his words, Ning Xueyan smiled slightly and said goodbye to Ning Huaijing. Then, she turned to another road and went to Bright Frost Garden. Some things could not be acted on with undue haste.

Slow penetration was more acceptable.

“Young Lady, that little maid was not sleeping in the middle of the night. She was sneaking around in a few places at the corner of the garden. I don’t know what she was doing.” As soon as she entered Bright Frost Garden, Qingyu reported this to her. Ning Xueyan had asked her to keep an eye on the maid with Qing’er. These days, as long as the maid turned around in the garden, Qingyu would keep an eye on her.

Ning Xueyan’s long eyelashes fluttered. She raised her black jade-like eyes and looked outside. She had dinner at Madam Dowager’s place today and talked with her for a while. It was too late. Most of the people in the courtyard were already asleep. She had asked the older female servant who guarded the door to sleep first.

“Qingyu, you and Mother Han go to the place where the maid stayed just now and start digging,” Ning Xueyan said to Qingyu.

Qingyu nodded and left. After a while, she ran in with a pale face, with Mother Han.

“Young… Young Lady, it’s… witchcraft.” Mother Han trembled with fear when she saw the four cloth dolls which were thrown on the ground. Her eyes were filled with fear. She pointed at the little cloth men, who had been pricked with needles.

In the previous dynasty, a concubine in the imperial harem had done this kind of witchcraft, causing a bloody storm. There were more than a thousand people who died at that time. Because of this, many well-known families were exterminated overnight. For a time, everyone became jittery at the mention of witchcraft. Therefore, it was banned in all the aristocratic families’ mansions. Once discovered, the person involved would not be forgiven easily.

Ning Xueyan’s gaze fell on those small cloth men, which had been stained with blood and pricked with needles. Only a trace of ink could be seen at the center of their backs. It should be birthdates and names. It turned out that this was the reason why Madam Ling was able to endure it for so long. As long as someone found these things in her courtyard, it would be inexcusable.

After such an incident happened, even her uncle could not do anything about it. Such a means was a one-off kill!

The woman in the inner manor was not the only one who did this. Sure enough, Ning Huaiyuan had made his move!

He sent a maid to her courtyard with the help of Junior Concubine Xu. The people in her yard had been removed once. Mother Han selected all the latter servants, and Madam Ling did not intervene. When something like this happened, it had nothing to do with Madam Ling at all. He carried out things so resolutely.

Unfortunately, she discovered that there was something wrong with the maid.

Even though she had already figured it out, a cold sweat broke out on her back. She looked up, and her eyes were as cold as ice. “Have you seen it before? What is written on it?”

“I’ve seen it just now. It’s Madam Dowager, Marquis, Madam, and Second Young Lady’s names.” Qingyu was afraid, but she had read the names hurriedly. She had been with Ning Xueyan since she was a child. When Madam Ming taught Ning Xueyan, she also learned to read, so she knew these words.

“Witchcraft! What wonderful witchcraft!”

It could kill Ning Xueyan with one stroke. Meanwhile, they could attribute Madam Ling and Ning Yuling’s behavior to the witchcraft. They would push all the blame onto Ning Xueyan. Then, they could kill Ning Xueyan and clear their scandal at the same time. Ning Xueyan clenched her fists and pressed her sharp nails into her palms, which made her feel a stinging pain.

Walking in front of the little cloth men, she squatted and touched the cloth on them with her slender hand. After thinking for a while, she asked Mother Han, “Mother Han, what is the difference in the material?”

Mother Han had calmed down and squatted to take a closer look. She touched the cloth with her hand and said with certainty, “Young Lady, this material is exactly the same as the one sent to you before.”

When Ning Xueyan was about to enter the imperial palace, Madam Dowager asked the manor to make some clothes for them. There was a piece of cloth like this. The cloth was exquisite and exceptionally smooth, that was how Mother Han remembered it.

“The time when Madam Dowager made clothes for Ning Qingshan and me?” Ning Xueyan stood up and asked coldly.

“Yes, it is. It was only sent to you and the Third Young Lady at that time. I heard that Madam Dowager specially ordered it and it was selected from her private storeroom. It’s different from the material that we bought outside.” Mother Han touched it again and confirmed it. To prove what she said, she deliberately placed the material under the light.

“Young Lady, look, this material has been kept for a long time. Its color is not as bright, but it is softer and matches the skin.”

“Only Ning Qingshan and I have it? If these little cloth men appear in my courtyard, I could be convicted of practicing witchcraft. I have the cloth. The dates of birth and the eight characters of a horoscope are of the masters of this manor. Besides, they are buried in my courtyard. I will be convicted.” Ning Xueyan thought.

“Xinmei, bury these things in Junior Concubine Xu’s courtyard!” The cold stare was indifferent under the light. Since Junior Concubine Xu intervened, it would be impossible for her to keep out of the affair. Junior Concubine Xu sent her sick sister to her courtyard, and Ning Xueyan had treated her well. Ning Xueyan never thought that Junior Concubine Xu would conspire with others and kill her after she rose in power.

She wanted to get promoted by sacrificing Ning Xueyan’s life.

“Yes, I’ll go right away.” Xinmei understood the seriousness of the matter and nodded. She walked over and picked up the little cloth dolls.

“After burying, sprinkle these on the soil, and hide this in Junior Concubine Xu’s bed.” Walking to the dresser, she took out a small porcelain bottle from a small drawer on the top. Then, she took out a piece of jade tied with a true love knot and handed it to Xinmei. Xinmei turned and left.

The porcelain bottle contained the powder of red freesia. When it was mixed with a little bit of green licorice powder, there was a subtle fragrance. It smelled faint, but it had a unique function.

Someone seemed to have spread something at the four corners of her garden…

As for the true love knot on the jade pendant, Ning Xueyan had asked Qing’er to make it earlier, after learning about the inside story.

“Young Lady, what about Qing’er?” Mother Han could not help but growl. Mother Han had thought that Qing’er was pitiful, so she did not assign her any hard tasks before. However, Mother Han did not expect that Qing’er was an ungrateful person and had made false countercharges. She almost killed the Young Lady!

“Don’t deal with her first. Let’s treat her like before.” Ning Xueyan smiled slightly, with a trace of coldness in her beautiful eyes. It was not good to alert the enemy. It would be easy to deal with Qing’er, but it would be unfortunate if Madam Ling and Ning Huaiyuan were disturbed! Ning Xueyan was waiting for their next move.

Since they wanted to kill her, she would give them a chance. Junior Concubine Xu and Madam Ling had joined hands. Moreover, Ning Qingshan glared at her so fiercely. So, it would be difficult for her to deal with them. But now, she had the opportunity to do so, how could she waste it?

“Young Lady, since we won’t deal with her for the time being, what about that maid?” Qingyu asked angrily. She had thought that the maid was good because she was not as arrogant as Qing’er. However, she did not expect that the maid was a biting dog.

“Go and check if the maid is Junior Concubine Xu’s,” Ning Xueyan said coldly. Recently, Junior Concubine Xu had become more and more arrogant in the manor. It was said that Ning Zu’an spent more than half of the month with her. It seemed that Ning Zu’an doted on this new favorite concubine.

Some days ago, Madam Ling claimed to be ill for a while, and Ning Xueyan had gone to the imperial palace. Junior Concubine Xu was in charge of a lot of things in the manor. So, she became more and more arrogant. She had funny notions. How could she feel that she was exceedingly beautiful in the country and everyone would throw themselves at her feet?

She thought that she was like a fish in water, but unexpectedly, she was the stupid one.

Ning Xueyan firmly believed that the maid was Concubine Xu’s servant, and she had nothing to do with the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard. Even if something happened, the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard would not be involved.

“Yes, I’ll check it out tomorrow.” Looking at Ning Xueyan’s calm face, Qingyu knew that her master had come up with a plan, so she nodded and left.