The Devious First-Daughter

The whole thing was not complicated.

In order to harm Madam Ming, Madam Ling deliberately drugged her tea. Then, she put Madam Ming and a servant from Ning Mansion together. The others saw Madam Ming lying in a disheveled state, on the same bed with the servant. After being caught by Ning Zu’an, the man said that he and Madam Ming had been having an affair for a long time already.

Ning Zu’an suspected that Ning Xueyan was not his daughter, so he wanted to kill the young girl.

Madam Ming begged hard and even gave up the position of the Legal Wife, in order to save Ning Xueyan’s life. After that, she did not say anything to Ming Feiyong. She was afraid that if Ming Feiyong made an investigation, it would be harmful to Ning Xueyan. So, she refused Ming Feiyong’s kindness, which made the brother and sister sever their relationship. Therefore, Ming Feiyong went to the border area for decades.

She did this to protect the young Ning Xueyan. Meanwhile, she was afraid that her elder brother would confront Ning Zu’an head-on.

Ning Zu’an was an upstart and he was valued by the Emperor, so he had great power. Ming Feiyong was his subordinate. When facing Ning Zu’an, there was no hope for Ming Feiyong to win. How could Madam Ming let her brother confront Ning Zu’an? So, she had to make her brother angry, so that he would stay away from Ning Zu’an. In this way, the Ming Mansion lost contact with the Ning Mansion.

The reason why Yu Qing knew about this was because the servant who had been part of the arrangement to frame Madam Ming, was her brother.

Yu Qing and her brother entered the Ning Mansion together. Their parents died early, so they were dependent on each other. The elder brother worked as a servant there. Ning Zu’an took a fancy to his beautiful sister and took her as a maid. Seeing that Ning Zu’an loved his younger sister, the elder brother did not say anything, despite the fact that he did not want his younger sister to become a concubine. At least, his younger sister looked very happy.

Unexpectedly, after he got married, Ning Zu’an drove his pregnant sister out of the mansion and threw her directly to the manor.

Just like Yu Qing, Yu Hu, as her brother, hated Madam Ming. After all, Madam Ming had hurt his sister. However, he was just a servant, so he could not do anything, except to hide his hatred in his heart.

Later, Yu Qing almost lost her life because of childbirth, which made his hatred grow more and more intense.

Later, when Madam Ling wanted to deal with Madam Ming, Ning Zu’an hinted that Yu Hu was his henchman and could be used. They quickly became partners and plotted against Madam Ming. Then, he insisted that Madam Ming had an affair with him. He even said that Ning Xueyan might be his child, because of his hatred for Madam Ming.

“Does Madam Ming know about you and your son?” Ming Yuanhua asked coldly.

Madam Yu was already answering every question he asked. She cried, wiping her tears. She choked with sobs, “No… Madam, I don’t know. My brother did not talk about it, and the Marquis did not, either.”

Ning Zu’an repeatedly sent someone to tell her that if she revealed anything, she might not be able to save his son’s life. How would she dare to say anything? Yu Hu once told her what had happened that year. With intense hatred, she also supported Yu Hu and even asked Yu Hu to avenge her.

However, after the incident, there was a drastic change in Ning Mansion. The wife became a concubine, while the concubine became the wife. Yu Qing was afraid again. When her brother suddenly left overnight, she became extremely panicky. She had a guilty conscience. She was afraid that if she were found out, her son’s life would be threatened.

She hid in the manor wholeheartedly and did not dare to go to the Lord Protector’s Manor. For more than ten years after that, she had gone to the Lord Protector’s Manor only for a limited number of times. She would never go to the Lord Protector’s Manor unless she had to. So, the matter of that year was gradually hidden over time. No one asked about this matter that had been settled.

The matter was not made known. The reason why Madam Ming retreated from the position of the main wife was because she offered up her position. There was no scandal. Except for a few people involved, no one knew the truth about Madam Ming’s concession. Others, who only saw the result, said that Madam Ming was confused. Or they felt that as the daughter of the former dynasty, she was estranged with the current dynasty, so that the reason why she did that.

After Ming Yuanhua figured out everything he needed to know, he turned around and left Madam Yu, who had almost fainted from crying. He rushed to the city overnight, and entered Bright Frost Garden from the back wall, in the night.

Seeing that his cousin’s room was still lit up and the window was half-open, he silently entered Ning Xueyan’s room.

Ning Xueyan was not asleep yet. She sat by the window and casually browsed through a stack of materials. Her eyes were cold.

These materials were sent from Ning Zu’an to Ming Feiyong, and then Ming Feiyong sent them to Ning Xueyan. The details of what happened to Madam Ming in those days, were all there.

It was a unilateral conviction for Madam Ming. It described the situation when it happened, how Madam Ming and Yu Hu were found lying in bed, their clothes in disarray, how Yu Hu confessed, Madam Ming’s self-invited act, Madam Ming’s handprint, as well as the guarantees between Ning Zu’an and Madam Ling.

He assured her that he would not tell others the truth if she offered up the position of the legal wife. Meanwhile, he would grant her and her daughter a chance to live. Even if she became a co-wife, she would be treated as the legal wife.

Madam Ming had done all those deeds, but he absolved her of all her crimes after she offered up her position of legal wife. No one would ask whether Ning Xueyan was Ning Zu’an’s daughter. It seemed that Ning Zu’an treated Madam Ming well. After all, a woman, who had committed such a crime, would be put into a river inside a pig cage. Perhaps a wealthy family or a noble family would not do that. However, she would be secretly executed, and that “bastard” would die.

Ning Zu’an seemed to be very kind to Madam Ming by doing this.

But if Ning Zu’an knew about it, maybe he was secretly adding fuel to the fire! If so, such a man was not only worse than a beast, because he once said that he wanted to take good care of her. Ning Xueyan was almost sure that Ning Zu’an had intervened in this matter.

The thoughts of the two lives had been mixed. She was the “bastard” who had almost been killed by Ning Zu’an.

“Cousin.” A figure flashed in front of the window. Ming Yuanhua, dressed in black, appeared at the window.

Ning Xueyan raised her head and hid the excitement in her eyes. She said naturally, “Cousin, please sit down. Did Madam Yu say anything?”

Since something had happened to Ning Huaijing, Madam Yu must be in a panicky state. It was the best time to attack.

“Were you waiting up for me?” Ming Yuanhua immodestly sat down on the chair opposite Ning Xueyan. Looking at her exquisite makeup, he could not help, but ask in surprise.

“Did Madam Yu confess today?” Ning Xueyan nodded slightly with a gentle smile. However, in the eyes of Ming Yuanhua, this smile seemed plaintive and indifferent. Thinking of everything that he knew, Ming Yuanhua took pity on his cousin, who had suffered so many mishaps in her life.

For a moment, he did not know where to start.

No one could bear this blow since her biological father was the one who framed her biological mother. His cousin was always gentle. Although she was smart, she was barely 15 years old. How could she bear this blow? He did not know whether he should say it or not.

Ning Xueyan’s face was plain and white. Her white skin was as smooth as an egg membrane. Under the candlelight, she looked even more fragile. Her thick eyelashes were like two small brushes. As she breathed, they gently fluttered over her skin. Her exquisite facial features showed her fragileness, which made people feel sorry for her.

“Cousin, is that person related to Madam Yu?” Ning Xueyan did not raise her head. She picked up a pair of scissors next to her and carefully snuffed the candle. A cold smile appeared on her face.

“Yes, how did you know?” Ming Yuanhua did not know how to say that, but Ning Xueyan’s words helped him out of the predicament. He immediately replied.

“Yu Hu’s surname is Yu, and Madam Yu’s surname is Yu. I could not find Madam Yu before, because I did not know that she had an illegitimate child, and she used to be Ning Zu’an’s bed companion. Yu Hu insisted that he had an affair with my mother and said that I was his daughter, and he specifically mentioned it several times. If he only had an appointment with Madam Ling, he only needed to say that he had an affair with my mother. He did not need to mention or include me.”

With a trace of sarcasm at the corners of her mouth, Ning Xueyan lowered her eyes and smiled gently. As long as others saw Madam Ming lying with him, his identity would inevitably be suspected. There was no need for him to mention it again and again. He had said it several times in the confession. One time it could be accidental, but if was several times, then it was inevitable.

What made the male servant bring it up again and again at the risk of his life? He did not even care if Ning Zu’an, as a male master, could control his anger. Even if Madam Ming were a victim, Ning Zu’an would still feel humiliated, especially in front of a servant. The reason why he did not care about Ning Zu’an’s face was because he held a grudge.

He held a grudge against Madam Ming, and his surname was Yu. Besides, the news from the manor suggested that the woman, who gave birth to an illegitimate child for Ning Zu’an, was once a maid at the Lord Protector’s Manor. Her surname was Yu, and she had been secretly hidden by Ning Zu’an before Madam Ming entered the mansion. Madam Yu was mentioned slightly in the miscellaneous record of the Lord Protector’s Manor.

It wrote that the maid was Ning Zu’an’s personal maid. Before Madam Ming married into the mansion, she was seriously ill and was sent back to the manor. Then, there was nothing about her.

Everything disappeared from the record, as if she was just an ordinary maid.

If she had not checked the account books and occasionally found out about this manor that had always been in debt, no one would have known that this matter had something to do with the maid who had been sent away.

“Cousin, where is Yu Hu now?” She looked up again, and her eyes were clear and bright.

“She said that Yu Hu left the Ning Mansion at that time. Even after so many years, they have not contacted each other. Only a few years ago, Yu Hu sent a letter to inform her that everything was fine. He also told Madam Yu not to worry, and said that he would come back to see her and his nephew in a few years.”

After saying that, Ming Yuanhua took the tea from Ning Xueyan and held back his excitement, asking, “Cousin, can we let Madam Yu tell the truth as a testimony to avenge Aunt?”

As long as the matter of that year was exposed to the public, Ning Zu’an, Madam Ling, and the whole Lord Protector’s Manor would lose face. Aunt’s grievance would also be cleared, and those who harmed Aunt would be punished.