Chapter 285 - Let Mother Wang Get Away With a Clever Device
Chapter 285 Let Mother Wang Get Away With a Clever Device
“What do you mean, Third Sister?” Ning Huaiyuan’s face suddenly turned cold and harsh.
“Eldest Brother, I don’t mean anything. I… I don’t want you to be sad. From now on, no matter where I am, you will always be on my mind.” After saying that, Ning Qingshan’s eyes were filled with tears, and she seemed brokenhearted. Suddenly, she pushed Ning Huaiyuan away, turned around, and trotted back to the Foggy Courtyard.
Caifen, the maid, had intended to turn around and go out. Hearing the sound of her running feet, she quickly chased after her.
Ning Huaiyuan stood there and looked at the direction where Ning Qingshan disappeared to. He frowned and turned to his courtyard, after a while.
In the past three years, a lot of things had changed. When they met again, both of them had changed almost beyond recognition. That pure and gentle sister was no longer the same. Furthermore, he had been a little obsessed with her. How could it be possible that she had bewitched him?
Moreover, if he wanted something, but he could not get it, he would rather destroy it!
Since she was about to go to the imperial palace to join the Beauty Contest, Ning Xueyan also had some arrangements to make The first question was whether Mother Wang would stay or go. Since she was not in the manor, it was not safe for Mother Wang to stay here. Madam Ling would soon take over the running of the inner courtyard, so she would have thousands of opportunities to kill Mother Wang.
However, it was not appropriate to send Mother Wang out like this. It was reasonable for her to come in, but it would make her look guilty if she left hastily now.
The next day, news came from the Bright Frost Garden that Mother Wang was seriously ill. Both the doctor of the manor and those hired from outside, could not diagnose what her illness was. They said that she had a high fever that did not seem to be subsiding. They were afraid that it might be time for the manor to prepare for her funeral.
During the Spring Festival Holiday, who would want to have such an unfortunate event happening? Moreover, she was just a servant. Madam Dowager instructed the older female servant to look for Ning Xueyan.
Ning Xueyan met the older female servant in Mother Wang’s wing room.
As soon as the older female servant entered the door, a strong medicinal odor filled her nose. The whole room seemed to be infused with the smell of medicine. It was very pungent. Ning Xueyan sat there with a worried face on her face, and she was frowning.
“Fifth Young Lady, I was sent by Madam Dowager. She told you that if there is no hope for recovery, you’d better send her away as soon as possible. It’s not that our manor is harsh. We can’t let her bad luck rub off on the whole manor during the Spring Festival.” The older female servant stepped forward and bowed to Ning Xueyan, respectfully.
The atmosphere in the room was very unpleasant. She had the feeling that the skinny and pale older female servant on the bed was on her deathbed. The older female servant felt unlucky that she had to visit a dying person. She deliberately stood far away and casually glanced at the bed. Then, she decided to return and report to Madam Dowager.
Ning Xueyan deliberately sighed and said, “We said before that we would take good care of her. I did not expect such a thing to happen. What will the others think of our manor?”
“Exactly. So many people were there at that time. If we send her away now, others will think that we do not carry out our promises. We will lose all credibility,” Lanning said.
“Fifth Young Lady, don’t worry. Madam Dowager said that we will only be relocating her. Then, we will still provide nutritious food and drinks for her and get doctors to look after her. We are not mistreating her. If she dies, we will give her a decent burial. But, we can’t do this kind of thing in the manor.” The older female servant implicitly expressed Madam Dowager’s meaning.
She could hold a funeral in any form, but she could not hold a funeral in the mansion.
“Grandmother said this? Can’t she bend the rules a little?” Ning Xueyan looked embarrassed.
“Madam Dowager said that as long as you don’t do it in this mansion, you can do whatever you want.” The older female servant did not want to linger in such an unlucky room. She tried her best to persuade the young lady and explained Madam Dowager’s intention again. In the lunar New Year, the master did not want to encounter any unlucky matters, and neither did the servants!
“After all, this is my fault. We have a manor in Eastern City. I don’t know if we can put Mother Wang there. Although it’s not our mansion, it’s still our manor. Even if she’s going to… it will show that we are not shirking our responsibilities. If anyone should talk about it, they can’t say that we did not carry out our duties.”
Ning Xueyan thought for a while and was hesitant to put forward the idea she had. After she finished speaking, the person on the bed coughed loudly again.
Lanning rubbed her back soothingly, while sighing, “Alas, I don’t know if she can survive.”
“Madam Dowager said that the Fifth Young Lady could do whatever she wants. Now I’m going to prepare a carriage and send her there.” Seeing the situation in front of her, the older female servant wanted to leave as soon as possible. Anyway, Madam Dowager said that the Fifth Young Lady could do whatever she wanted, as long as Mother Wang left the manor.
Madam Dowager asked her to follow the Fifth Young Lady’s order and she did not even need to report back. So, she promised her immediately.
“Then… that’s it!” Ning Xueyan stood up helplessly.
“Okay, I’ll ask someone to harness the horse to the cart right away. It’s closer to the gate, so I’ll get someone to wait for you at the back door. Fifth Young Lady, you’d better hurry.” Having received Ning Xueyan’s consent, the older female servant immediately heaved a sigh of relief. She said something, tried to fan away the smell of medicine around her nose with her hand, turned around, and left. The smell of medicine was so strong that it nauseated her.
When the older female servant left, Mother Wang, who was lying on the bed and pretending to be ill, sat up. Before the doctor came, Mother Wang covered her hands with the warmer. So, they thought that her high fever had not subsided yet. Besides, Mother Wang was from the south. She deliberately ate some spicy food, so she flushed a bright red, and her tongue appeared coated. It seemed that she was on her deathbed.
The smell of medicine was disgusting because she had specially added a few strange-smelling herbs.
“Mother Wang, there is a housekeeper called Madam Yu at the place where you are going to. She is the one I asked you to find this time,” Ning Xueyan said to Mother Wang, who was sitting on the bed.
“Don’t worry, Young Lady. I know. I’ll figure it out.” Mother Wang stood up with Lanning’s help, tidied herself, and answered.
Since she heard that Madam Ling had intentionally injured Ning Ziyan, Mother Wang sincerely admired Ning Xueyan and also expressed her willingness to follow Ning Xueyan. This time, she went to that manor for two reasons. On the one hand, Ning Zu’an was there, so Madam Ling could not interfere. On the other hand, it was Madam Yu, whom Ning Xueyan felt that it was necessary to understand.
Lanning and Qingyu held Mother Wang and brought her to the carriage at the back door. After putting her into the carriage, a little maid jumped onto the carriage and left with them.
They bought the little maid from a broker. She started serving Mother Wang yesterday. Today, she accompanied Mother Wang to the manor outside the city. They told her that if she served Mother Wang well, her salary would be doubled. The little maid was pleased and promised Ning Xueyan that she would serve her well.
Qingyu sent Mother Wang to the back door, but she did not go back on the pretext that she was buying some snacks for Ning Xueyan. Seeing that she had handled this important matter well, the older female servant, who was sent by Madam Dowager, was in a good mood. So, she did not bother about the little maid, asked her to bring back more snacks for the Fifth Young Lady, and asked her to take care of her carefully.
Qingyu nodded repeatedly, turned around, and went out of the back door of Lord Protector’s Manor. She walked around a wall and then turned into some shops selling preserved fruit to buy some snacks. Finally, she walked into an alley, looked around, and knocked on the door of a small courtyard.
As the door opened, a tall young man of 17 or 18 years old stood there. When he saw Qingyu, he was stunned at first, and then he was happy. “Qingyu, why are you here?”
“Mammy asked me to come over. I have something to tell you.” Qingyu was somewhat bashful, and her face turned a little red.
“Come in and have a chat ” Hearing that Mother Han asked her to come over, Han Dazhuang hurriedly opened the door to let Qingyu in.
The courtyard was not big, consisting of only one principal room and two wing rooms. Ning Xueyan bought this courtyard for Mother Han after she came out of the Bright Frost Garden. Usually, Han Dazhuang, Mother Han’s son, lived here. Qingyu had been here with Mother Han before, so she was familiar with this place.
“Brother Dahuang, Mammy asked me to tell you that you should pay more attention to Childe Ning of the Qingyun Academy. If he runs into any problems, you should help him. If there is anything wrong, you have tell her immediately.” Although Qingyu was blushing, she repeated the instructions she was told to give, word for word.
Speaking of this, it was a matter of fate. When he went out once, Han Dazhuang saw a few ruffians bullying a teenager. He drove them away and then got to know Ning Huaijing. Once when Han Dazhuang chatted with Mother Han, the Bright Frost Garden knew who he was.
“I know.” Han Dazhuang nodded. He had quit all his other jobs and was now doing odd jobs at the Academy, in order to be near Ning Huai Jing. Of course, Ning Xueyan did not send him there for him to build up a good relationship with Ning Huai Jing. Some things had to be done with precaution, beforehand.
“In recent days, if anything unusual happens to Young Master Ning, Brother Dahuang, you must tell the Mammy,” Qingyu warned again. Of course, these instructions were from Ning Xueyan. Mother Wang had already gone to the manor protected by Ning Zu’an. If Madam Ling had any doubts, she would have it checked out. Maybe she would look for the Qingyun Academy.
It was not the right time for Ning Huaijing to show up. Ning Xueyan had to ensure that no one knew of his existence, so she had to arrange for someone person to help Ning Huaijing secretly. When he thought something fishy was going on, he had to inform Ning Xueyan immediately. So, Mother Han’s son was the most suitable candidate.
“I got it.” After finishing their chat, Han Dazhuang took out a beaded flower. His candid face was somewhat bashful, but he still handed it over and said, “Qingyu, I saw it on the street. It’s… very beautiful, suitable for you. I don’t know whether you will like it or not?”
“I… I like it!” Qingyu blushed prettily. She glanced at Han Dazhuang, bit her lips, took the beaded flower, turned around, and ran out shyly. Although she wanted to stay and have a talk with Han Dazhuang, she was always shy. Besides, Ning Xueyan ordered her to deal with some essential things, so it was not the right time to talk now.