The Devious First-Daughter

Lord Mayor was in charge of the security of the capital city. The official position was not a high post in the capital city, a place full of officials. Therefore, Ning Zu’an did not take it seriously when he was taken away by the Lord Mayor’s subordinates. The students of the Academy had a fight. So what?

A rich man’s son fainted. When he woke up, Ning Zu’an would pay a little money at most. He thought the Lord Mayor would save his face. Ning Zu’an did not go there in person, but wrote a letter. He stamped the letter with a seal and asked a young male servant to send it to the Lord Mayor.

The lord mayor’s family name was Si. He was a goody-goody and did not offend anyone in daily life. Moreover, he was capable of dealing with all types of men. He had a good relationship with Ning Zu’an. When he saw his letter, he would let Ning Huaijing go. As for his son, Ning Zu’an did not care, because his biological mother was only a maid.

Madam Yu had said that he was serious about studying. If he could do well in the exams and get an official post, Ning Zu’an would consider letting him regain his roots. But if he was not successful, Ning Zu’an would not think about it.

Even if he did not care, he was still his son. He would bail his son out.

Ning Zu’an thought it would be a child’s play. However, when the letter was sent to Lord Si, the injured, rich boy suddenly died. This blew up the whole incident and it could not be settled in private, because it involved the life of a human being.

Ning Zu’an could do nothing, but try to settle with the family in private. As long as the family withdrew the written complaint, it would be over. When the young male servant took Ning Zu’an’s letter to the wealthy family, he was kicked out even before he could enter the house.

The young male servant was very anxious because he could not enter the house. He listened to a kind-hearted passer-by and stood guard outside the gate. It was said that the Old Lord of the wealthy family would usually return to the manor during this period. At that time, he would rush directly and send the Marquis’s letter to him, which could then be regarded as completing his task.

The servant hid in a corner anxiously and waited for the old master’s sedan. But he did not see the old master coming out in the end. Instead, he saw an older female servant of First Madam sneaking out of the door, and looking around furtively. She saw that no one was paying attention to her, and left in a hurry.

The servant was smart. In the blink of an eye, he followed the older female servant and saw her rushing to the Lord Protector’s Manor. He entered the Lord Protector’s Manor after her, and followed her all the way. After she entered the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard, he returned to Ning Zu’an’s study and reported this to him.

Above a tea shop outside the wealthy family’s mansion, Ming Yuanhua stood at the window with his hands on his back, and saw the young male servant and older female servant leaving, one after the other. He narrowed his eyes and curled his lips in disdain. Madam Ling was vicious and could not stand that Ning Zu’an had other sons. When she knew that this man was Ning Zu’an’s son, she planned to kill him and came to negotiate with the First Madam of the wealthy family.

By sacrificing the son of a concubine, she could befriend the Lord Protector’s Manor that was favored by the Emperor. The First Madam was shrewd and quickly became partners with Madam Ling.

His cousin was right, and Madam Ling deserved to die. He was confident that his aunt had died because Madam Ling framed her. Otherwise, his aunt would not have died at such a young age.

“Let’s go to Eastern City.” He turned around and said to the servant who was following him.

The young male servant nodded and clattered downstairs after him. They got on the carriage waiting outside and went out of Eastern City. The Ming Family had a small village there. Ming Yuanhua never went there, but today he thought it would be a good foothold.

In the outer study of the Lord Protector’s Manor.

Ning Zu’an listened to the servant’s report with a livid face. When he slammed his hand on the desk, all the files on the desk fell to the ground.

Ning Huaijing was his son. Although he did not care about him, he had a kinship with him. There was a difference between a son and a daughter. In public, he only had one son, Ning Huaiyuan. It was a small number. He raised Ning Huaijing and her son because he wanted his son to return to his family, once he rose to power and position.

After all, he had only a few sons.

When he was talking with Madam Yu in the study, the young male servant had reported that he saw Madam Ling’s servant eavesdropping outside. However, he did not care. Now, he understood everything when he thought that the rich boy who fainted, died as soon as his letter was sent out, and then Madam Ling’s older female servant had come out secretly from that manor.

It was not due to the fight in the Qingyun Academy. Obviously, Madam Ling received the news and suspected that Ning Yuling was his son. When Madam Yu came to visit him, Madam Ling had already confirmed it. So, she would kill Ning Yuling.

Since that affair with Madam Ming, Ning Zu’an had not been so kind to Madam Ling. Madam Ming had been alone in the Bright Frost Garden for so many years, and Ning Zu’an did not care about her. But this did not mean that Ning Zu’an wanted her dead. When they were young, they played together. When he married that God’s favored daughter, he had happy memories.

At that time, he had hooked up with Madam Ling, and Ning Huaiyuan was already born. Meanwhile, his sex servant was pregnant. But in order to marry the self-assertive girl, he drove his maid to the village and pacified Madam Ling. He repeatedly said that he would settle her matter later. Eventually, he married Madam Ming.

After that, the situation changed. The coddled female could not help him, but might also hinder him from getting a promotion and getting rich. Although the emperor did not say anything, she was still a remnant from the former dynasty. Although the No. 1 scholar in the previous dynasty Ming Feiyong surrendered, he could not become a first-rank general.

In this respect, Madam Ming had become an obstacle on his upward path. Moreover, she did not give birth to a boy. Besides, Madam Ling was eagerly attentive and flattering. Under his promotion, Madam Ling’s elder brother had a successful official career. Due to various reasons, Ning Zu’an treated Madam Ming with indifference.

Later, Madam Ling married to him. Madam Ling trapped Madam Ming, and Madam Ming proposed to lower her status. He knew about all these things. Then, Madam Ming went out of his life. He did not stop Madam Ling and helped her secretly, because that was what he needed.

His sincerity became vulnerable in the face of interest.

He needed a legal successor and a wife who was good for his career. In any way, he did not think that he was wrong.

Therefore, everything Madam Ling did was under his instructions and permission, but he did not ask her to kill Madam Ming. It was not entirely out of affection. He had always suspected that Madam Ming had something, but he looked around and could not find it.

He wanted to sound Madam Ming out tactfully, but beyond his expectation, she died.

Thinking of this, Ning Zu’an was angry. Madam Ling imperiled the good reputation of the Lord Protector’s Manor time and again. Ning Zu’an took Yu Lian as his concubine partly because he wanted to fight back against Madam Ling. As the First Madam of the Lord Protector’s Manor, she did not know that her maid served her husband in bed. It was a disgrace to her.

After being released from the Buddha Hall, Madam Ling got along with Junior Concubine Xu. She was not estranged from Junior Concubine Xu. Their relationship turned out to be good. Therefore, Ning Zu’an went to the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard from time to time. He thought that Madam Ling had changed her mind after being locked up once.

Unexpectedly, she dared to hurt his own son now. Thinking that this son might be promising in the future and Madam Ling wanted to kill him, Ning Zu’an could not control his anger.

After pounding the desk, he took the young male servant to the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard, and left in a rage.

Seeing Ning Zu’an entering the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard with two servants, Mother Han, who pretended to be watching the scenery, hurried back to Bright Frost Garden.

At the entrance of the Bright Frost Garden, when Qing’er was about to have dinner with Junior Concubine Xu, Ning Xueyan stopped her.

In the past few days, Junior Concubine Xu had been asking Qing’er to have lunch and dinner with her, on the excuse of seeing her younger sister.

The food there was much better than a second-class maid’s, so Qing’er did not refuse. She went there early every day, and people in the Bright Frost Garden did not stop her. But today was different. When she was gorgeously dressed and came out, she met Ning Xueyan, who was standing at the gate.

She had no idea whether she should leave or not.

Her elder sister told her repeatedly that the Fifth Young Lady was different. She asked her to restrain herself and wait for a while. Later, she would bring her to live with her.

“Who are you? Why are you dressed like this? Where are you going?” Ning Xueyan looked at Qing’er coldly. It seemed that she did not recognize her for a while. She frowned, and her eyes were full of displeasure.

“Young Lady, she is Qing’er, the second-class maid in our courtyard.” Lanning hurriedly explained.

“As a second-class maid, she is dressed like this. Others would think she is a Young Lady in this courtyard.” Ning Xueyan narrowed her eyes. Her hidden coldness made Qing’er, who initially wanted to argue with her, shut up in a hurry. Looking at her cold eyes, she seemed to be drenched in ice. Even though Qing’er had been arrogant these days, she was still instinctively afraid of Ning Xueyan.

Qing’er lowered her head and answered, while tugging at her handkerchief, “Fifth Young… Young Lady, I’m going to see my sister.”

“Your sister? I don’t know which courtyard your sister belongs to. How can she afford to give you this silk cloth? I’ll ask someone to check,” Ning Xueyan said calmly.

Her words made Qing’er’s heart tremble. She shrank visibly and was extremely scared because she knew that she should not have worn these clothes as a maid. When she heard that Ning Xueyan was going to investigate, she wanted to discuss it with Junior Concubine Xu. However, now the Fifth Young Lady was glaring at her coldly, and she had nowhere to run.

“Young Lady, Young Lady, something bad has happened. Marquis is rushing to the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard. Something terrible is about to happen!” Mother Han shouted as she gasped and ran over in a hurry, with sweat all over her head.

“Don’t talk nonsense. How could it be possible?” Ning Xueyan frowned.

“It’s true. I am not talking nonsense. Marquis looks like he is out to seek revenge. What… what should we do?” Mother Han was anxious.

It had something to do with Ning Zu’an and Madam Ling, so Ning Xueyan could not make up her mind. Qing’er rolled her eyes and saw that Ning Xueyan and others were in a dilemma. So, she secretly crept off with her maid. She had to tell her sister that the Fifth Young Lady said that she would be checking on her. What should she do?