The Devious First-Daughter

“What a piece of sensational news that the Second Madam of the Lord Protector’s Manor died at Eldest Young Lady’s wedding ceremony! There are many interesting rumors about it,” Yun Luoluo said with a sneer.

The way she spoke was very rude and she even made fun of Madam Ming’s death! Ning Xueyan’s face darkened at the words, a coldness flashing in her eyes. As soon as Ning Ziying and Ning Xueyan’s memories merged, she had regarded Madam Ming as her own mother, so of course she was annoyed when she heard Yun Luoluo insulting Madam Ming.

With a sneer on her lips, she said, “His Majesty has drawn the conclusion. Second Young Lady, aren’t you satisfied with His Majesty’s decision? It seems you have more guts than those officials and dare even speak out against His Majesty’s will.”

Although the Lord Peace’s Manor was Empress Dowager’s family home, she had died and all the other noble families knew that the Lord Peace’s Manor was declining. Only very few young men of the Yun Clan were outstanding and they could hardly become the backbone of the manor. Except for Commandery Princess Xianyun, the Yun Clan could not be compared with the Lord Protector’s Manor at all.

Being polite did not mean being tolerant. Ning Xueyan did not think that she should put up with such a person who was gossiping about her mother. If she did not fight back, she would not only swallow the bitterness silently but also be looked down upon by those noble Young Ladies as well.

“You…” As Ning Xueyan expected, hearing the words, Yun Luoluo blushed and did not know what to say.

The emperor had made his attitude known through the punishment. Everyone knew that because the Lord Protector’s Manor held the wedding for Ning Ziyan after Madam Ming had just died, Madam Ling had been beaten with sticks at the imperial palace and stripped of her title as the Marchioness. If Yun Luoluo still gossiped about this, it would be against the emperor’s will.

“Fifth Young Lady, do you know who you are talking to? My master is Commandery Princess Xianyun’s younger sister, Lord Peace’s wedded wife’s daughter. Do you know which manor Empress Dowager was from? The Lord Peace’s Manor!” The maid behind Yun Luoluo suddenly stepped out of the crowd and shouted at Ning Xueyan. She raised her head high and pointed at Commandery Princess Xianyun when she spoke this.

She specially mentioned that the Lord Peace’s Manor was Empress Dowager’s family home, hinting that in any case, Ning Xueyan’s status was lower than her master’s.

Commandery Princess Xianyun seemed to be talking to a Young Lady with her head lowered and did not notice what was happening.

Having got Ning Xueyan’s hint, Lanning took a step forward and shot back. “My master is talking to your master. You are just a maid. How dare you butt in? Did the Lord Peace’s Manor teach you to speak in this way?” she asked in surprise with a faint smile.

Lanning was the most capable and the smartest among Ning Xueyan’s maids. She had sensed the anger in Ning Xueyan’s words, so she immediately fought back without showing mercy. Seeing that the maid still wanted to say something although she was blushed with embarrassment, Lanning continued, “Everyone present knows that Empress Dowager was from the Yun Clan, so it’s unnecessary for a maid to remind the Young Ladies. Since Lord Peace’s Manor is the most distinguished lady, Empress Dowager’s family home, of course her family is good at etiquette training. It’s said that the Young Ladies from the Lord Peace’s Manor are as well-bred as the empress.”

“Since you know it, how dare you…” The maid shot back subconsciously.

“How dare we? It seems you also think that the Young Ladies of the Lord Peace’s Manor are as well-bred as the empress?” Lanning asked in surprise.

“Impudent! Go back to your place!” Obviously, Commandery Princess Xianyun had found them fighting, so she shouted at the maid, raising her head.

As well-bred as the empress? That meant the Young Ladies of the Lord Peace’s Manor were likely to be the empress in the future. However, since the present empress was still on the throne, talking about another woman’s potential to become the empress would be a taboo. Although the Yun Clan was Empress Dowager’s family, nobody dared to talk about this.

“Humph! What an eloquent maid!” Yun Luoluo said angrily in a low voice. She was so angry that she gritted her teeth. However, since Commandery Princess Xianyun was annoyed, she did not dare to say anything offensive to Ning Xueyan.

“Second Young Lady, compared to your maid, my maid is not that eloquent,” Ning Xueyan said carelessly with a smile.

Looking at her delicate and charming face, Yun Luoluo became even angrier. She gritted her teeth and managed to hold back her anger. Although she was reckless, she was not stupid. If the emperor and the empress heard that some Young Lady of their manor had the potential to be the empress, it would bring disaster to their family. Since the emperor’s successor had not been decided yet, who dared to say that someone had the potential to be the future empress?

It was easy to suspect that the Lord Peace’s Manor was plotting something!

Lord Peace’s Manor could not afford the consequence of this.

“Fifth Young Lady, I’m sorry for my younger sister’s rudeness,” Commandery Princess Xianyun apologized with a smile. She was not partial to her sister while mediating the conflict between Ning Xueyan and Yun Luoluo. Compared to the narrow-minded Yun Luoluo, she was much more generous.

“Commandery Princess Xianyun, you are too modest. If Second Young Lady did not say something insulting to my mother, I would not have shot back,” Ning Xueyan said with a smile, neither humble nor arrogant. She was calm when she spoke this and looked noble even in front of the distinguished Commandery Princess Xianyun.

“Commandery Princess Xianyun, Xueyan, let’s chat over there and have some tea.” As the host of the party, Heng Yuqing came over to mediate. She gestured Commandery Princess Xianyun to take a seat and then sat down next to her with Ning Xueyan.

The tables were set in a circle with a big fire oven in the middle. The oven gave off a lot of heat and made the hall very warm.

The Young Ladies were chatting behind the rectangle tables with fruits, desserts and tea, looking joyful.

Instead of Heng Yuwan, it was Commandery Princess Xianyun who sat on the principal seat. Heng Yuwan and Yun Luoluo were sitting on both sides of her. Heng Yuqing had to sit at a place far from the principal seat with Ning Xueyan by her side, and they were far from the oven as well. Fortunately, there were also some mall ovens in the room, so they did not feel cold.

When Yun Luoluo found Ning Xueyan and Heng Yuqing sitting in the corner, she immediately shot a contemptuous glare at them. “Birds of a feather flock together. Unpresentable people like to get together.”

Although she did not mention their names, from the direction she was looking in, everyone knew that she was talking about Ning Xueyan and Heng Yuqing.

Hearing that, Heng Yuqing flew into a rage and was about to bang the table. She was a straightforward person. If her mother had not reminded her not to stir trouble, she would not have put up with Yun Luoluo for such a long time. Now she could not hold back her anger anymore under Yun Luoluo’s repeated provocations and was about to stand up angrily.

Ning Xueyan pulled her sleeve and made her sit down again. “Yuqing, what’s wrong with you? Are you going to bite a dog if it bit you?” she said with a gentle smile.

She was talking to Heng Yuqing in a voice neither loud nor low. However, everyone heard it. Since Ning Xueyan was not talking to her, Yun Luoluo did not know what to say except for gritting her teeth. If she retorted, it was clear that what she had just said was aimed at Ning Xueyan.

Fortunately, Commandery Princess Xianyun was a smart girl. She pretended that she heard nothing and began to chat casually with Yun Luoluo and several other Young Ladies. The tension was relieved and everyone’s attention was drawn by them. Now no one was focusing on the conflict between Ning Xueyan and Yun Luoluo anymore.

Seeing no one watching them, Ning Xueyan held up the tea cup and took a sip of tea. “Does Commandery Princess Xianyun keep in touch with your second sister?” she asked in a low voice.

“No, she doesn’t. Heng Yuwan said that her aunt was the remote relative of the Yun Clan, so she could be regarded as the Empress Dowager’s family member. However, Lord Peace’s Manor has never sent anyone here, and obviously, no one admitted that she was the Empress Dowager’s family member.” Heng Yuqing also felt a little strange after calming herself down.

Every family had a few distant relatives who might be down, but normally, no one would like to admit that he was related to such relatives as it would lower his status. Commandery Princess Xianyun was so distinguished, so of course she would not be proud that her relative was a concubine.

Then what was she doing here today?

“Since your mother was ill, why did your father still hold such a big birthday party for your sister?” Ning Xueyan asked with a frown and glanced at those Young Ladies. All the Young Ladies present today were the principal wives’ daughters of noble families and none of them was the daughter of the concubine. It seemed that Heng Yuwan only made friends with the noble Young Ladies, whose mothers were principal wives.

How could so many principal wives’ daughters were willing to make friends with a concubine’s daughter?

At the mention of it, Heng Yuqing became very resentful. She snorted and answered angrily, “I don’t know what my father is thinking about. My mother was so sick, but he followed his concubine’s words and held the birthday party for her daughter. My mother did not want me to make any trouble, so I came here with Heng Yuwan.”

When she talked about this, Heng Yuqing was in rage, an angry look crossing her eyes. Her mother had become ill with depression because her father only favored Heng Yuwan and that b*tch. He did not seem to think that he had done anything wrong and still treated Heng Yuqing and her mother indifferently, but spoiled his concubine’s daughter so much, as if she were his wedded wife’s daughter.

The doctor had told Heng Yuqing that her mother might die soon. At the thought of this, she had an impulse to rush to Heng Yuwan and slap her in the face.

The party was really strange! The Hostess was sick but Lord Guardian still was in a mood to celebrate his concubine’s daughter’s birthday. It seemed he had really treated his concubine’s daughter as his principal wife’s daughter. Could it be because he would make Heng Yuwan’s aunt the Hostess, Commandery Princess Xianyun had come here to attend the party?

After all, having a relative who was a lord’s wedded wife would benefit Lord Peace’s Manor a lot.

However, Ning Xueyan was sensitive to the fact that it was not that simple. Heng Yuqing’s grandfather was also powerful. What had made Lord Peace so confident that Lord Guardian would definitely make Concubine Yun his principal wife? Normally, even if Lord Guardian really wanted to do this, he had to wait for more than half a year. Then why did he hold such a big party for Heng Yuwan?

“Eldest Young Lady, Second Young Lady wanted you to go over and ask you something,” a maid whispered in Heng Yuqing’s ear. Since Ning Xueyan kept an eye on Heng Yuqing, she heard every word clearly.

“What does she want with me?” Heng Yuqing stood up and said angrily. When she raised her head, she saw that Heng Yuwan was walking to the side door.

“I also feel stuffy here. Let’s go over there and have a look!” Some Young Ladies felt tired after sitting for a long time, so they also stood up and walked to the window in small groups to enjoy the scenery and relax themselves.