The Devious First-Daughter

Ning Qingshan watched Ning Lingyun lead Ning Xueyan away. Then she let down the curtain in her hand, and there was a complacent smile on her face. She was smart. The matter of Ning Lingyun framing Ning Xueyan had been instigated by her, secretly. She had already known that Ning Lingyun wanted to frame Ning Xueyan from the many clues, and to break off the engagement with Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li too.

The best way was to let Ao Xian ruin Ning Xueyan’s innocence, and at the same time let others discover it.

Then Ning Xueyan, whose reputation would be ruined, could only be a concubine of Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li. At the same time, what Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li did, would also make Ning Zu’an angry and his engagement with Ning Lingyun would be called off, and Ning Lingyun would be free again.

It was a perfect plan, but Ning Qinshan did not believe Ning Lingyun, so she made another backup plan. If Ning Lingyun’s plan was changed, or if Ao Xian failed, Xia Yudong would appear to save Ning Xueyan and win her love. The final result would still ensure that Ning Xueyan would live a miserable life.

Ning Qingshan’s goal was the same as Ning Lingyun’s. Ning Lingyun’s plan would have a short term effect, and easily discovered, while Ning Qingshan’s plan would have a longer term effect According to Qingshan’s plan, even though Ning Xueyan would finally die, it would not affect anyone else. She just needed to stand by and watch Ning Xueyan’s misfortune.

Ning Qingshan had failed several times when she tried to frame Ning Xueyan, which made Ning Qingshan wary of Ning Xueyan, nor was she optimistic about Ning Lingyun. Ning Lingyun was likely to fail this time, but her plan was perfect.

No one would know that plan for the man who would save Ning Xueyan had been arranged by her. Soft fire makes sweet malt. As long as she could defeat Ning Xueyan, Ning Qingshan was willing to wait. “I failed when I tried to frame Ning Xueyan before, because I was too tense, so now, I’ll do it slowly.”

“I don’t believe that Ning Xueyan will be able to escape this time.”

While she was thinking, the curtain was raised and Feiyue hurried in. She then carefully looked at the door before closing it, looked relieved, and turned around.

She was the maid brought by Ning Qingshan this time. Now she was not the henchman of Madam Dowager. She had already become Ning Qingshan’s henchman because of the threat and benefits from Ning Qingshan. Instead of helping Madam Dowager to monitor Ning Qingshan, she reported fake news about Ning Qingshan to Madam Dowager and devoted herself to helping Ning Qingshan. She wanted to go to the Third Prince’s Manor with Ning Qingshan, and enjoy a higher position and great wealth in the future.

“Young Lady, I have told Mr. Xia Yudong, and he is on the way to the garden.” Feiyue wiped away her sweat. In order to avoid the others, she had ran as fast as she could. Although it was winter, she still felt hot and sweaty.

“Did you ask him to play it by ear, later? If Ning Xueyan finds something wrong and tries to get away from Ao Xian, he will have to come out and help Ning Xueyan.” Ning Qingshan sat in front of the dressing table and reached out to remove the hairpin on her head. Today, she dressed plainly, in order to show Third Prince that her mind had been at peace for the last three years.

So it was impossible for her to frame Ning Xueyan. What happened at the gate of the mansion was a misunderstanding and coincidence.

As soon as the hairpin was pulled out, Ning Qingshan’s dark and straight hair fell to her shoulders. Feiyue came to help her take off the coat and said, “Don’t worry, Young Lady. Mr. Xia said it will be okay. He will pay attention to the situation and said to tell you to relax, and wait for the good news.”

“Do you think will we succeed?” Ning Qingshan stood up and spread out her hands, so that Feiyue could remove her clothes.

“I think it will certainly succeed. The Fifth Young Lady used to stay in Bright Frost Garden and has never seen a handsome and gentle young man like Mr. Xia Yudong. Now she’s out of the Bright Frost Garden and occasionally walks around, but the outstanding men she sees belong to others. Mr. Xia Yuhang is the Eldest Young Lady’s husband and the Third Prince is yours. Besides Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li, she has not seen anyone who is outstanding.”

Feiyue said this with disdain. She used to work for Madam Dowager, who had ignored Ning Xueyan for many years. So people in Lucky Garden also despised Ning Xueyan. Now, they even thought they were more respected than Ning Xueyan.

After taking off her plain coat and skirts, Ning Qingshan laid on the bed and decided to have her rest. What ever happened out there had nothing to do with her.

Ning Qingshan closed her eyes, but was still worried, after thinking about it. It was not easy to deal with Ning Xueyan. The past few times, she was full of confidence at the beginning, but failed in the end. “Feiyue, go to the garden and pretend to pick flowers for me. I want to know the situation.”

Ning Qingshan opened her eyes and said.

Feiyue knew that Ning Qingshan was not at ease. She nodded and answered, “Okay, I’ll go now.” Then she covered her with the quilt, turned around, closed the door, and left.

Although there were no other maids in the room, there was a female doorkeeper at the door. If Ning Qingshan wanted anything later, she could ask for it from her.

But Feiyue did not expect the older female servant to leave as well. Soon after she left, a maid came in a hurry and seemed to be looking for something as she walked. Then the maid said something to the older female servant. After that, the two went to Ning Lingyun’s room to look for something. There was no one at the gate at all. A woman dressed in plain clothes came over and saw that there was no one around. She turned and went into the yard and went to the room on the right.

As soon as she passed by, a man staggered in. He saw the woman disappearing into the room on the right, and hurriedly went over. The room was not closed, and he opened the door. He was ecstatic when he saw a set of plain clothes hanging on the screen and rushed to the back of the screen.

Seeing the man coming in, the woman dressed in plain clothes appeared on the other side of the screen. She smiled coldly, turned around and walked out of the room.

There was still no one at the gate of the courtyard. The woman left quietly. Nobody knew that in addition to Ning Qingshan and Ning Xueyan, another woman dressed in plain clothes had also entered the courtyard.

Xia Yudong had been waiting for some time behind a hidden tree, at the entrance of the garden. He was a little anxious. Neither the Fifth Young Lady Ning nor Ao Xian appeared. He felt a little uneasy and frowned. He had seen Ao Xian leaving the courtyard in person, but Ao Xian was not here yet.

He was not a fool and immediately realized that something was wrong. He turned around at once and left the garden. Both Ao Xian and the Fifth Young Lady Ning were not there, and it would arouse other people’s suspicious if he was there alone.

Just after taking a few steps, he suddenly saw Ning Lingyun and Ning Xueyan standing together and talking. He was stunned and instantly hid behind the tree at the side. “Has the venue changed? But it’s obvious that this is not a good place to start the plan. How stupid the Fourth Young Lady Ning is.”

Xinmei had already noticed the figure behind the tree. She reached out and gently pulled Ning Xueyan’s sleeve. Ning Xueyan nodded, and the smile on her face became even gentler. But the smile almost looked like a devil’s smile in Ning Lingyun’s eyes, and she could not help trembling.

“Fourth Sister, you really cannot find your earrings? Search your clothes again.” Ning Xueyan said with a smile, and looked at Ning Lingyun with care.

Ning Lingyun dared not think that Ning Xueyan really cared about her. In order to cooperate with Ning Xueyan, she reached out and patted her clothes, then shook her head to show that she could not find her earrings in her clothes.

“Let’s look for it again. I’ll help you see whether your earrings are, on our way here.” Ning Xueyan lowered her head, and walked forward a few steps as she looked at the ground carefully, as if she really wanted to help Ning Lingyun find the earrings. But she was walking towards Xia Yudong.

There was only a tree over there. If Xia Yudong continued to hide behind it, he would certainly be found.

Xia Yudong had to walk out of the back of the tree and pretended to see Ning Xueyan and Ning Xueyun. He walked to them and politely saluted, saying, “What a coincidence. Where are you going, Young Ladies?”

Xia Yudong did not mention the garden at all.

Seeing that the elegant gentleman was saluting her, Ning Lingyun blushed and hurriedly bowed, softly saying, “Mr. Xia.”

Compared with Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Li, Xia Yudong had a much better reputation. Xia Yudong was a diligent son, born of a concubine. Although his reputation was not as good as Xia Yuhang’s, it was still good. He also preserved his moral integrity and was different from Ao Xian, who was always leering at women.

Besides, he was polite. He treated Ning Lingyun, Ning Xueyan, and Ning Qingshan equally, so Ning Lingyun was very fond of Xia Yudong. At this time, when she saw him salute her, she immediately saluted back gently.

Ning Xueyan smiled when she saw Xia Yudong, who always pretended to be an elegant gentleman, and Ning Lingyun, who also pretended to be delicate and weak. She thought the two really could act well and were a good match.

“Mr. Xia, did you see an earring? One of the Four Sister’s earrings is missing.” Ning Xueyan said gently.

“I just came from over there and did not see anything along the way. Fourth Young Lady, did it drop before you came over here?” Xia Yudong had a feeling that there was a problem with Ning Lingyun’s plan, and he did not know where Ao Xian had gone to. So he specifically avoided the place they were about to go to, and said that to Ning Lingyun.

It meant that they would not find the earring there, even if they went to the garden.

“Yes, Fourth Sister, think about it again. Was it been lost before we came here?” Ning Xueyan seemed to be suddenly reminded about something, and her eyes brightened.

“It’s… it’s possible. Could it be in Third Sister’s place? I went to her… and talked with her in the room.” Ning Lingyun looked at Ning Xueyan’s gentle face, and started to stutter. Looking at the coldness in Ning Xueyan’s eyes, Ning Lingyun dared not play any petty tricks and said whatever Ning Xueyan asked her to say.

She just wanted to get through this safely.

“I happen to be free now. Fourth Young Lady and Fifth Young Lady, let me help you find it together.” Xia Yudong suggested with a gentle look, when he heard that they were going to find Ning Qingshan, as if he really wanted to help look for Ning Lingyun’s earrings. No one knew that he wanted to find Ning Qingshan specifically, and ask Ning Qingshan what to do next!

It was obvious that Ning Lingyun’s plan had failed, and he could not find a chance to save Ning Xueyan for the time being…