The Devious First-Daughter

When Ning Yuling entered the great hall, Ming Yuanhua, who got the information from the side hall, walked out but did not talk with her. Instead, he only indifferently asked someone to pass a bunch of incense sticks to her, and he himself merely walked to the side.

Although Ning Yuling was very impatient in her mind, she had to make a show. Respectfully, she received the incense sticks, lighted them with a little sad expression, knelt down before the tablet of the deceased Madam Ming with sadness, and kowtowed hard twice.

As soon as she had almost finished her performance, a noise came from outside. Madam Dowager and several older female servants and maids who supported her walked in.

Ming Yuanhua did not like the people of the Lord Protector’s Manor, but Madam Dowager was his senior on the surface, so he certainly had to come over and salute her at this time. Madam Dowager smiled and sat down. Looking at Ming Yuanhua, she nodded in much gratification.

Ming Yuanhua also took the path of learning martial arts, but it was unclear if he was influenced by his father.

He was about to take the examination right away and seemed to have a chance to pass the examination. Anyway, he was a member of Madam Dowager’s parents’ family. On the premise of not harming her interests, Madam Dowager was very willing to see the member of her parents’ family have a promising future.

“Yuanhua, your cousin doesn’t have good health, and you did so much work for your aunt’s religious sin-expiating event.” Madam Dowager took Ming Yuanhua’s hand and heaved a sigh, “Your aunt had a miserable fate and was very stubborn. If not so, she would have still been the marchioness and would not have been like this now.”

Madam Dowager’s eyes turned red as she spoke, and her tears were about to fall. Mother Qin, who was on her side, immediately persuaded her by saying, “Madam Dowager, don’t talk like this. The madam knew you loved her and also knew you had no choice. How could anyone have known… this! The madam did not defend herself at all. Madam Dowager, even if you wanted to help her, you could not!”

“Right, grandma, don’t be sad. If my mother learned it in the lower world, she would be unwilling to see you so sad at such an old age.” Ning Yuling interrupted at the right time, but her frivolous tone made others feel angrier. The original cause of this matter was Madam Ling, so how could this be pleasing to the eye of Ming Yuanhua?

“Right, grandma, please stop being sad!” Ming Yuanhua said indifferently by following their tone.

While they were talking, they heard someone’s noise coming from outside, and the voice became loud at once. It seemed that someone was quarreling.

“What’s wrong? Go and take a look.” Madam Dowager became serious, asking Xiangmiao to take a look.

In a short while, Xiangmiao came back.

“What’s wrong? Why did such trouble occur while we are holding a religious sin-expiating event in the Cold Mountain Temple? It is said that this Buddha hall is very quiet, isn’t it?” Madam Dowager said unhappily. Now, she was expressing her deep and sincere love of Madam Ming to Ming Yuanhua, but she did not expect someone to come to disturb her, so she looked a little unhappy.

“Madam Dowager, it is a middle-aged woman. She said…” Xiangmiao hesitated and looked at Ming Yuanhua on one side.

“What is it? Say it!” Madam Dowager shouted angrily as she heard the words.

Madam Dowager looked determined, and Xiangmiao had to tell her. “The middle-aged woman said that Fifth Young Lady is her child.”

“How is this possible?!” Madam Dowager yelled in wrath and made two thuds on the ground with her walking stick.

“Grandma, it’s hard to send word clearly. Let her come in and say it first, lest that she should make a loud noise outside. It’s easy to talk about this, but it’s unpleasant to the ear,” Ning Yuling immediately came over and suggested.

“My cousin is the only daughter of Lord Protector’s wife in the manor. If she is not my aunt’s daughter, is she an adopted one? Grandma, do you want to see the Lord Protector’s Manor become a joke again? Grandma, if you ask her to come in, do you wish to prove that what she said is true and my cousin is an adopted daughter?” Ming Yuanhua sneered and interrupted Ning Yuling.

“This…” Madam Dowager instantly fell into a dilemma. If she did not ask her to come in, it would be indeed unpleasant to the ear if she made a noise outside. Many madams coming here to burn incense to worship gods were from aristocratic families. If this news was spread, it would be hard to make a clear explanation; if she asked her to come in, as Ming Yuanhua said, she appeared a little guilty. Then, it showed in another respect that Ning Xueyan’s life experience was indeed problematic.

In this way, the Ming Manor and the Marquis’s Manor were bound to have enmity. Now she especially came to worship Madam Ming because she wanted to have a good relationship with the Ming Manor. However, when the current problem appeared, it was a little hard to repair the relationship. For a while, it was difficult to make a decision, so she frowned and didn’t know what to say.

“Madam Dowager, I also went to see the scene just now. A large group of people was in the doorway. The woman shouted so loudly that the pilgrims in the surroundings went to her. Madam Dowager, if you don’t ask her to come in, I’m afraid that all the people in the temple would know that Fifth Young Lady’s life experience is problematic.”

The maid who followed Ning Yuling got the hint of Ning Yuling just now and went out with that maid to take a look. At this time, she answered cleverly. Although she was not bold, she said very clearly. It seemed that if Madam Dowager did not ask the woman to come in now, this matter would immediately turn into a great scandal of the Lord Protector’s Manor.

At the thought of this possibility, Madam Dowager had a serious headache. “Lord Protector’s Manor really can’t bear the impact of anything troublesome anymore!”

“Grandma, ask the person to come in. I do want to see what the trouble is. Is this another scheme used to hurt me?” Words with a smile came from the doorway. Everyone looked up and saw that Ning Xueyan naturally walked in with Xinmei. When she went to Madam Dowager, she especially bowed in a woman’s manner to salute her.

Her expression was natural and calm as if she had never heard a quarrel from someone about her life experience when she was at the door.

“Why is Ning Xueyan here at this time?” Ning Yuling frowned secretly and subconsciously looked at the side. Just now when she saw Ning Xueyan’s ink-black eyes inadvertently, she seemed to feel that an icy cold feeling entered her eyes. Immediately, she had a bad hunch.

“How could Ning Xueyan appear here safe and sound? Ning Ziyan set a tryst for her and someone, didn’t she? Did Ning Xueyan see it through and escape? Or did she just not meet the person under the wrong circumstances? Or…” As she thought this way, Ning Yuling could not help turning her eyes to watch Ning Xueyan’s expression.

Her expression was relatively natural, but why did she hold her handkerchief so tightly? There was a stain at the corner of her skirt, but she could not judge where Ning Xueyan got it. She always thought that the latter was calm and did everything calmly, but why did she get a stain at this time?

And her maid Xinmei had been hanging her head timidly, so she could not see her expression. Ning Yuling was not familiar with this maid, but when she returned, she asked about her information. It was said that she was a maid sent by the Ming Manor, and she should be Ning Xueyan’s confidant.

But this confidant seemed not to have done anything that suited her position today, and she even looked a little panicky.

By comparing the expressions of the mistress and her servant, Ning Yuling formed a judgment in her mind that something must have happened, but the thing was perhaps not among the unexpected situations as Ning Ziyan had expected. Fortunately, Ning Xueyan’s tryst should have become a fact, though there were some unexpected situations.

“That’s fine.” Ning Yuling was a little relieved. Even if he did not have factual proof, Prince Yi, who had a suspicious nature and was arrogant, would get something if he did a careful investigation when he met this situation. With this experience, Ning Xueyan must be very worried, though no one knew it now and she looked calm.

After thinking about it like this, Ning Yuling was relaxed, and her expression even became much more natural. When Ning Ziyan came in a while, Ning Xueyan would not be able to take care of two situations at the same time. Then, she would only need to say a few words to stir up trouble. Next, she could watch the fun.

Since Ning Xueyan had said it, Madam Dowager was naturally happy to do it. Instantly, she nodded and said to Xiangmiao, “Go and ask her to come in.”

In a short while, a middle-aged woman, who was in her 30s or 40s in ordinary clothes, was taken in. At first glance, one would think that she was no different from ordinary women, but if one looked at her carefully, he could find that her eyes were much more flexible than those of ordinary women.

When she came in, she was timid, but her eyeballs turned in an unbridled manner.

When she got inside and saw Madam Dowager sitting at the front, she immediately knelt down with a thud and cried, “Madam Dowager, please have mercy and give my daughter to me. I only have this daughter. For so many years, I’ve only gotten this daughter. If you take her away, you will make me die!”

“What are you talking about? What daughter? What does your daughter have to do with our Marquis’s Manor?” Madam Dowager knitted her brows and said unhappily.

“Madam Dowager, I am from Taiyuan, Shanxi. My husband’s family name is Li, and my father’s family name is Chen. My husband died early, and we only had one daughter. She and I had been living together, and I treated her as my treasure, but this child disappeared two years ago. Initially, I wished to end my life, but I was saved by others. Helplessly, I came to the capital to visit my relatives, but I did not expect that I saw your respected mansion’s Fifth Young Lady. Then, I knew that my daughter was not dead. Instead, she went to a rich family to enjoy her life.”

The middle-aged woman spoke tearfully. She shed tears and had a runny nose, looking desperate.

“What are you talking about? How could my cousin be your daughter?” Ming Yuanhua shouted angrily as he heard these words at this moment.

“This Childe, I’m not talking nonsense. My daughter was very bright and beautiful and looked the same as this girl in your mansion. The saying goes that a daughter is a piece of meat in her mother’s heart. Although I haven’t seen her for two years, I can still know that this is my daughter. I beg of you, Madam Dowager. Please give my daughter back to me, and I will make a longevity tablet for you and pray for good fortune for you.”

The woman shed more tears. “My daughter was well-behaved and clever, and people in the towns around us knew that our family raised a little ‘fairy,’ but no one expected that she had been cheated and taken to the capital. Madam Dowager, I beg you to let my daughter off. Everyone says that your mansion’s Fifth Young Lady was very pudding-headed in the past. How could she be as clever as my daughter?”

Initially, Madam Dowager was dubious about it, but when she heard these words now, her heart couldn’t help beating violently once. The previous reputation of Ning Xueyan was not good – she was timid and overcautious. Even when she met servants in the past, she was timid, and she was never such a properly-mannered daughter of a prestigious family that she presented now.

No one had been in charge of the Bright Frost Garden, and Madam Ming and Ning Xueyan had almost been isolated from the public’s sight, but when she reappeared in front of the public, Ning Xueyan was completely different from the previous herself in both character and behavior. Was it untrue that she got a clear mind because she was stimulated by Madam Ming’s death?

Her eyes falling on Ning Xueyan, somehow, Madam Dowager wanted to survey her.

“Can it be true that Fifth Sister is not real, grandma?” Ning Yuling pulled Madam Dowager’s sleeve at the right moment and asked in a whisper.

Previously, Ning Xueyan was confused about a few things, but certainly not everything. Now, she was really clear about them and then hung her head slightly to cover the coldness in her eyes. It seemed that the next scene would be what she had guessed…