The Devious First-Daughter

Once they entered the palace, they had to learn the rules and etiquette of the palace. Although all of them had studied it in their manors before, it was still not enough, according to the imperial palace’s standards. Therefore, all of them were supplied with maids who specialized in palace etiquette. They were required to be well drilled in all aspects of palace manners.

If there was something wrong, they would have to do it all over again. They were not cut any slack because of their noble status. At the end of a day, even Ning Qingshan’s knees were sore, and her legs were numb. When the maid helped her back to her room, she could not stand it. Honored Consort Ya did not take care of Ning Qingshan in this aspect. It expressed that she made no exception for anyone.

“Third Sister.” After walking a few steps, she saw Ning Xueyan being helped by a maid. Ning Xueyan looked pale and haggard. It was evident that she was not feeling good.

Seeing Ning Xueyan, Ning Qingshan let go of Caifen’s hand and came over, as if she was worried about Ning Xueyan. “Fifth Sister, are you all right? Do you want to see an imperial physician? Don’t get sick at this time. I can’t bear this responsibility in place of grandmother and father.”

“Third Sister, I’m fine. I’m just a little tired.” Ning Xueyan sat down on a stone bench and said softly to Ning Qingshan.

“You’re not in good health all the time. Don’t carry on if you’re not all right. Let’s talk to Honored Consort Ya. Maybe she will reduce the intensity of your paces if she knows you’re weak.” Ning Qingshan sat down on the stone bench with a sincere and kind look on her face.

“No, thanks. I heard that things will be better tomorrow. So, I won’t bother you anymore.” Ning Xueyan shook her head and held her forehead with one hand. She looked sleepy. She did not know anything before, even if she had been practicing hard in the manor, but it was still not enough. It was inevitable that a Mammy would scold her.

At the thought of this, Ning Qingshan was quite happy.

Tomorrow, Ning Xueyan, do you think you will be free tomorrow? Unfortunately, you will have a hard time tomorrow. She would deliberately create problems for Ning Xueyan, so she did not believe that she would not make a fool of herself.

“Since you don’t need the physician, you’d better go back and have a good rest. Don’t get too tired. There are other things to be done tomorrow.” Ning Qingshan pretended to be a good, elder sister at this time. All the young ladies who passed by, looked confused. The relationship between the two Young Ladies of the Lord Protector’s Manor was terribly strange.

“Third Sister, I’ll go back now!” Ning Xueyan nodded and gave a forced smile. She seemed not to be in good spirits. Lanning carefully held her arm, and she stood up. Then, she leaned against Lanning and walked into her room.

Ning Xueyan’s room was a little far, but Ning Qingshan’s room was in the first row, so it was convenient for her to go in and out. The last one was not popular among the ladies, because of the long distance. They all lived in the front, so the rooms in the first two rows were occupied. In the last row, there were only a few people, and several rooms were empty.

Several people, who had been assigned to the last row, asked to be moved to the front, by all means. Ning Xueyan always liked peace and quiet, so she did not care about it.

After turning two corners and knowing that Ning Qingshan had already disappeared, Ning Xueyan stood up straight and walked in slowly. She was not tired at all after the training. Ning Xueyan had not learned anything, but Ning Ziying knew everything. Moreover, under her mother’s strict requirements, she was thoroughly accomplished.

Even the stewardess who tried to find something wrong, could not find fault with her. She let her practice by herself and did not exert any control over her. She deliberately showed signs of fatigue, when she saw Ning Qingshan, because she did not want Ning Qingshan to suspect anything. But now, it seemed that Ning Qingshan was suspicious.

Ning Qingshan’s caring attitude was indeed suspicious!

Besides, the smugness on her face showed that Ning Qingshan must have ulterior motives.

“Lanning, you go to the Eldest Young Lady Heng later. You tell her that I asked you to go there to see if she has any silk threads because I want to embroider a handkerchief when I am free. Then, you ask her privately if she knows anything about the arrangements for these few days.”

“Yes, I’ll go in a minute.” Lanning nodded, sent Ning Xueyan back to her room, and went over to Heng Yuqing’s place.

Heng Yuqing was in the room in front, in the second row. Ning Xueyan and Heng Yuqing had talked about it when they met before, so she knew the exact location, even though she had not visited her officially yet.

Ning Xueyan went back to her room to have a rest, and then she heard Lanning’s hasty footsteps.

“Young Lady, I heard that tomorrow, all Young Ladies will have to show their talents, be it playing a musical instrument or dancing as the first choice. Now, many young ladies have asked their families to bring their familiar traditional musical instruments and costumes to the palace.” Lanning was shocked when she heard the news and had hurried back.

“Tomorrow? It’s so fast!” Ning Xueyan’s eyes were calm, with a trace of coldness in her jet-black eyes. Everyone except her, knew about it. Ning Qingshan was so exceptionally adept in trickery. She kept all the news from her, and wanted to catch her off guard tomorrow.

“Young Lady, do… do you have any familiar musical instruments or dresses that you need? Eldest Young Lady Heng told me that she asked someone to get them for her. Do you want her to take them for you…” When Lanning asked Ning Xueyan, Lanning’s voice became softer and softer, and she even looked a little angry. After she followed Ning Xueyan, she knew that the young lady in front of her was smart, but she had never learned anything formally.

The Lord Protector’s Manor had mistreated her, so there were no instruments or dancing dresses for her.

“Lanning, go ask Eldest Young Lady Heng to tell Xinmei that I want a dancing dress.” Ning Xueyan stood up and looked out of the window. Her eyes were cold and dark. Was it just a competition? Ning Qingshan would not let such an opportunity go. She even felt that this sudden competition had something to do with Ning Qingshan.

Furthermore, on the first day, the chief eunuch had not said anything about the arrangements for these days. Why did such a thing suddenly happen?

No matter in her previous life or this life, she had never danced in the Lord Protector’s Manor, so no one knew that she knew how to dance. But no one knew that in the south of the Yangtze River, these were all her compulsory projects. Her mother had strict requirements on every project she had to learn.

“Young Lady, I… I don’t know if you have a dancing dress.” Lanning blinked and asked in confusion.

“I don’t know either, but Xinmei will know.” Ning Xueyan chuckled.

“Yes, I’ll go and tell Eldest Young Lady Heng immediately.” Lanning was stunned at first, but then she smiled. She nodded and was about to go out when she suddenly stopped. “Young Lady, can you dance?”

“Yes!” Ning Xueyan said with certainty, with a faint smile on her face.

Lanning did not feel relieved until Ning Xueyan gave her a firm answer. The Young Lady said she could, so she could.

Because they would have a song-and-dance competition, they had to rest early so as not to be short of energy tomorrow. Besides, many well-informed young ladies also knew that the performance was not only for the imperial concubines, but also for the Emperor, several Princes, and Princely Heirs.

On such an occasion, if one made a fool of herself, she would never be able to show her face again. It was not just about the failure in the Beauty Contest.

If one performed well, she could even make a blockbuster. Thus, all the beautiful girls pulled up their socks, and prepared to make an excellent performance to gain more points for themselves.

In the evening, the maid, Caifen, secretly returned to Ning Qingshan’s room.

“How did it go?” Ning Qingshan asked behind a pearl curtain. She was playing the zither and practicing a little, while in the room. She felt it was not bad. Hearing the voice, she knew that Caifen had come back.

“Young Lady, everything is ready. That eunuch was not willing at first. Then, he immediately agreed with a smile, after I gave him the banknotes you prepared. At first, I thought he was a person who did not covet money.” Caifen lifted the bead curtain and came in with disdain.

“Does not covet money?” Ning Qingshan sneered. She sat down on a stool covered with brocades, lifted the teacup at the table, and took a sip. “A eunuch, who’s in charge of musical instruments, doesn’t have much money. He seldom has such a chance to get money. How can he not be greedy for money? Does the eunuch know who you are?”

“He did not get a good look at me. There are a few pock-marks on my face. Even if I stand in front of him tomorrow, he will not remember who I am.” Caifen wiped several charcoal dots on her face with a handkerchief, and said this proudly. She believed that in the dim light, the eunuch could only see a few pock-marks on her face, and had not seen her face clearly.

“That’s good. Caifen, thank you!” Ning Qingshan nodded with satisfaction, and then sighed helplessly. “Now I only have you and Mammy Luo as my henchmen. If it weren’t for my helplessness, I would not have let you take this risk. I’m such an incompetent master.”

“Young Lady, I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid to do anything for you and my sister.” Seeing that Ning Qingshan was concerned about her, Caifen was touched, but then she gritted her teeth with hatred.

If it weren’t for Ning Xueyan, she would have been reunited with her elder sister. At that time, her elder sister said that everything had been arranged and asked her to wait for her. However, when she came over, she saw her elder sister’s bloody and cold body. At the thought of this scene, Caifen was full of hatred for Ning Xueyan.

Her sister was her only relative in the world, but now she had been killed by Ning Xueyan. She hated her!

Therefore, she was willing to cooperate with Ning Qingshan to frame Ning Xueyan. Was there anything better than taking revenge for her sister and becoming the Young Lady’s henchman?

Dusk had fallen. In most of the rooms, the lights had been turned off. The rooms in the last row were the quietest. There were only a few people. So, there was no sound at this time. After helping Ning Xueyan to prepare for bed, Lanning blew out the lights. She went outside, frowning and sighed gently. The Young Lady had fallen asleep, but she could not sleep. The Eldest Young Lady Heng’s people did not bring anything back.

How could she not be anxious? However, the Young Lady did not seem to be worried, and had fallen asleep early.

Nothing was ready for the competition tomorrow. What could be done about it?

Suddenly, she heard a slight sound. When she looked up, everything went dark. She fell on the bed, without knowing what was going on…