The Devious First-Daughter

“Okay, thank you, Third Sister.” Ning Xueyan’s lips curved, and she did not refuse her offer anymore. Since Ning Qingshan insisted on helping her with “good intentions,” how could she refuse?

Since they were going to perform together, it was normal for them to get ready now. After thinking for a while, Ning Xueyan quietly stood up and walked to the wing room at the side. She had to go down to prepare. Ning Xueyan saw that all the ladies who were ready for their performances were waiting in the wing room, on the left side of the hall. They would come out when the eunuch in the hall called their names.

“Fifth Sister, it’s still too early. Let’s go down together later,” Ning Qingshan said with a smile, when she saw Ning Xueyan going down at this moment. Although they were only going to play music, they had to change their clothes and make the necessary preparations.

Ning Qingshan had already got her zither and dress ready. Now she deliberately delayed the time because she wanted to make Ning Xueyan panic. Then, she would make a fool of herself. Not only did Ning Xueyan not have a zither, but she certainly had no outfit ready. She was dressed in the same clothes she wore to court. To make it convenient for them to practice, everyone wore the same clothes.

Her clothes were similar to those of the palace maids. Not only was the material not good, but it had no features at all.

“I… I have nothing to prepare. I’ll go down and have a look first.” Ning Xueyan knew what Ning Qingshan was thinking, so she pretended to be embarrassed.

“Fifth Sister, don’t tell me you did not bring any clothes with you? Do you want me to borrow a dress for you?” Ning Qingshan rolled her eyes and thought of a sinister plan. If her clothes suddenly tore while she was sitting, Ning Xueyan would be truly embarrassed.

“Thank you, Third Sister. I’ve brought my clothes.” Ning Xueyan’s eyes had a hint of sarcasm in them. Ning Qingshan certainly was not letting go of any chance to frame her.

Ning Qingshan knew that Ning Xueyan was wary of her, so she did not say anything more. Ning Xueyan was so sharp that she could not let her find out that she had evil intentions. Otherwise, she would come up with other ways to get even. This time, she would not let her go so easily.

Fortunately, everything was ready now. Even if Ning Xueyan borrowed clothes from anyone now, it would not fit her well. It was said that she had a good relationship with Heng Yuqing. Heng Yuqing was taller than her, so she would probably wear a long skirt. If she tripped her again, she would tumble in the hall.

So, she did not stop her right now. She curled her lips and signaled to Caifen to follow her.

Caifen understood what Ning Qingshan meant. She nodded to Ning Qingshan and hurried to follow her.

For fear of being discovered by Ning Xueyan and Lanning, Caifen followed them carefully. She did not dare to follow them too closely, so she stayed some distance away. Although she could see what they were doing, she could not hear what they were saying.

From a distance, she saw Ning Xueyan and Lanning talking under the tree at the entrance of the main hall, instead of going to the dressing room. When they were there, they put all the musical instruments and clothes in the same room for them to use later. And, they changed their clothes in the inner room.

When they came over today, Caifen noticed that Lanning was carrying a bag at that time. Now, it looked as if it did not contain a dress for Ning Xueyan to change into. The Third Young Lady was right in her prediction. Ning Xueyan was really unprepared, which could be seen from their worried looks.

Suddenly, the two of them seemed to have something more to talk about. Ning Xueyan looked around as if she was about to do some illicit actions. She walked to a small door at the side. When Caifen came over, she also glanced at it. It seemed to be a side door of the hall.

What was Ning Xueyan going to do?

“Where are they sneaking off to right now?” Caifen could not stay any longer. However, they each went their own way, so she did not know who to follow. After thinking for a while, Caifen made up her mind. Lanning hastily went to the hall. Obviously, it was Ning Xueyan who went out discreetly to handle some stuff.

In the imperial palace, Ning Xueyan did not know anyone. What was she trying to do by sneaking out now? Her heart beat faster, and she followed Ning Xueyan secretly. If she managed to find out what Ning Xueyan was going to do, she might be able to avenge her sister. This was the imperial palace, not the Lord Protector’s Manor. Even if Ning Xueyan, the Young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor, made a mistake here, she would be beaten to death.

This was such a good opportunity to find out if Ning Xueyan had committed a crime. How could Caifen let it go?

Lanning was going to the main hall, but she stopped when she reached the door of the main hall. She turned her head and saw that Caifen was sneaking down with the Young Lady. She sneered silently. It seemed that the Third Young Lady had bad intentions when she sent Xia’er’s younger sister, Caifen, over.

After standing at the door for a while, Lanning went to the room where spare clothes and musical instruments for the ladies were placed. Its door was slightly ajar. The sixth lady, who had changed her clothes, was already waiting in the wing-room on the left side of the hall. Ning Qingshan had not come down yet, her Young Lady was not here, and the others would be here later. So, it was reasonable that no one was here at this time.

She pushed the door open and entered the room. In the outer room, the instruments and clothes were left casually about. Lanning had followed Caifen in earlier, and had specially checked the place where she had put them. She had paid attention to it at that time, so she quickly found the place. She took the box of the zither outside.

She quickly took out the zither from the inside, looked around, and casually placed it behind a big chair. The chair was the type that could be found everywhere in the Imperial Palace. It was not eye-catching. Perhaps because this place had not been visited for a long time, it was specially covered with a dust-proof cover.

Everything in the palace was exquisite. Even the dust-proof set was exquisitely made. There were tassels hanging on it, and it also had delicate embroidery on it. The zither that was taken out was half-hidden behind the chair. At first glance, one could not see it.

But if one checked it carefully, it was not well hidden. It was as if it was accidentally placed there. It did not seem as if someone had placed it there on purpose.

Everyone changed their clothes and took their musical instruments from this place. Sometimes they took the wrong one, and then they forgot all about it.

When everything was done, Lanning came out of the room. She looked around and walked to the room, where the musical instruments were kept.

The little eunuch was lazily basking in the sun, by the door. When he saw a maid coming over, he narrowed his eyes. Looking at her familiar clothes, he did not remember who she was.

“Have you prepared the zither for the Young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor?” Lanning asked with a smile.

“I’ve prepared it. Do you want it right away?” The little eunuch immediately remembered the maid, who came to pick the zither for the Fifth Young Lady of Lord Protector’s Manor. It was no wonder that she looked familiar, because the clothes were the same. He stood up with a bow.

“Our Young Lady will be performing on the stage soon. You take the zither and put it in the first red box in the room. Be careful, and don’t break it.” When Lanning followed Caifen, she didn’t know what they said inside, but heard clearly what they talked about outside.

“Yes, yes, yes. Don’t worry. I’ll do it right away!” The little eunuch turned around and went in obediently. As for the reason why she brought only a box without a zither, he did not care. Maybe the Fifth Young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor did not like her zither, so it was normal for her to use the zither in the palace.

“Didn’t two ladies come to pick the zither here, because they were not satisfied with their own zithers?”

After all, the zithers in the imperial palace were better than the ordinary ones!

The eunuch thought so. He took out the zither that Caifen had seen before and carefully took it out of the box. When he found that Lanning was no longer there, he carried the zither to the room over there. As expected, he saw the zither that Lanning mentioned, was placed in the first box. It was easily found.

He opened it, and there was no zither in the box. After gently putting it in, he closed the lid and left.

Lanning did not leave. Standing in the shadows outside the hall, she watched the little eunuch carrying the zither and leaving.

After waiting for a while, Ning Xueyan came back the way she had come. She walked to the tree where they talked before, and glanced at Lanning, who was hiding in the dark. Lanning pretended that she just saw her and hurried over.

“Young Lady, everything is done. The zither has been delivered,” Lanning whispered.

A faint smile appeared on Ning Xueyan’s face. She glanced at the road aside, intentionally or unintentionally, and the corners of her mouth lifted. Ning Qingshan had ordered the zither for her, so it should be okay for her to send it back. Considering how Ning Qingshan would deal with her before, she would bear the consequences of her deeds.

No matter what happened later, it was her fault. It had nothing to do with others. She could not blame anyone else.

In the hall, the music stopped. The fifth lady went off the stage. After a short pause, the melodious sound of the zither could be heard. It seemed that the sixth girl was playing the zither beautifully.

Caifen felt depressed. She had followed Ning Xueyan all the way and thought that she would find something unusual. If she found something wrong with Ning Xueyan, she would be able to kill her without the help of the Young Lady. But contrary to her expectation, Ning Xueyan stopped while walking, and seemed to be enjoying the scenery along the way.

She did not know if Ning Xueyan was silly or stupid. It was her turn to perform soon. She was not prepared, but still was in the mood to come out and enjoy the scenery. Caifen did not think that Ning Xueyan was such a stupid person, so she must have some plans. She stared at her. However, Ning Xueyan did not do anything today. She walked around for a long time with Caifen.

Seeing Ning Xueyan talking to Lanning again, Caifen thought that she was not going out. She could not wait any longer. She sneaked into the room and shook her head at Ning Qingshan, meaning that she did not find anything.

Time was nearly up. Caifen came back, and Ning Qingshan stood up. She was about to change her clothes and prepare for the next show. She took Caifen out of the door and saw Ning Xueyan and Lanning talking under the tree, outside the door. She deliberately raised her voice and said, “Fifth Sister, let’s go and change, together.”

“Okay!” Hearing Ning Qingshan’s voice, Ning Xueyan nodded with a smile, and followed her to the room.