The Devious First-Daughter

Ning Lingyun was sober-minded now, and she had never been so sober before. Her limbs felt as cold as if she were in an ice cellar. How could she be that stupid by thinking that she had gotten something on Ning Xueyan! She should have thought it over before taking action, because Ning Xueyan was smart and she wouldn’t be easily caught.

“Copy the Commandments for Women several times after returning to your place. You should always keep it in your mind that you are just a humble daughter of a concubine. Without the support of Lord Protector, you’ll be a concubine at most!” Madam Dowager said coldly, narrowing her eyes.

Madam Dowager showed no mercy when she spoke and she almost shamed Ning Lingyun to the utmost by belittling her position in the manor and warning her seriously.

“Got it. I knew I should be blamed. I’ll copy the Commandments for Women immediately. Grandmother, please forgive me.” Ning Lingyun was ashamed, and she dared say nothing except for admitting her mistake. Then she left, covering her face and wiping tears off her cheeks.

“Yan’er, come and sit here.” Seeing Ning Lingyun leave, Madam Dowager pointed at a chair beside her and gestured Ning Xueyan to sit. She looked a little happier and a faint amiable smile appeared on her face.

“I’m coming,” Ning Xueyan answered. She had noticed a change in Madam Dowager’s attitude. She walked over obediently with a smile, and then sat on the right side of Madam Dowager.

She had been considering how to change her cowardly image in the eyes of Madam Dowager. To her surprise, Ning Lingyun brought this opportunity to her today.

By teaching Ning Lingyun a lesson, she had proved to Madam Dowager that she was no longer Ning Xueyan she used to be.

For people like Madam Dowager, there was no so-called family affection, but only interests. Ning Xueyan knew that if she was still a good for nothing grand daughter, even if she had been blackened by Ning Lingyun and died from injustice today, Madam Dowager wouldn’t give her a second look.

Ning Yuling had been sent out of the manor so soon just because she was not valuable any more.

“Madam Dowager, look! How you adore Fifth Young Lady! Don’t worry. She’ll go nowhere, but just stay with you here!” Mother Qin joked timely and lightened the atmosphere.

“She has been a nice girl. She is good-tempered and obedient, just like her mom. Every time I saw her, I thought of her mom. Her mom was just like her at that time. Every time she saw me in the past, she was excited and kept on calling me aunt. If something like that hadn’t happened, she wouldn’t have hidden herself in Bright Frost Garden and cut herself off from the outside world!”

Madam Dowager said with a sigh, seemed to be sad to think of Ning Xueyan’s mother. Her eyes turned red and her voice sounded to choke.

“Hide herself? Mom was abandoned by people of the Lord Protector’s Manor, but Madame Dowager talked as if mom didn’t want them to care!” Ning Xueyan thought angrily. She had seen someone turn the facts upside down, but she had never seen someone do this to this point!

Covered by her long eyelashes, the coldness crossed her eyes. However, when she raised her head again, she looked as if she were surprised. “Grandmother, what happened to my mom? Everyone said my mom was First Madam, and you’re her aunt, why was she abandoned and became Second Madam?” she asked.

Ning Xueyan had asked Mother Han the same question before, and Mother Han told her indignantly that Madam Ming was the rightful wife of Ning Zu’an who had been taken into the manor in a large sedan chair carried by eight people. On the contrary, Madam Ling was taken into the manor later because she had an affair with Ning Zu’an outside of the manor. Ning Huaiyuan and Ning Ziyan were all b*stards she had with Ning Zu’an before she had been taken into the manor.

She gave birth to Ning Yuling soon after she moved to the manor. Before long, something happened to Madam Ming. Then Madam Ming agreed to become Ning Zu’an’s co-wife and give her place to Madam Ling. But Mother Han wasn’t clear what had happened to Madam Ming. She only said that a man was found in her bed.

At that time, it was not long before Madam Ming gave birth to Ning Xueyan, so Ning Zu’an not only suspected that she had an affair with another man, but also suspected that Ning Xueyan was not his own daughter and wanted to kill Ning Xueyan. Madam Ming was mad at him because of this and gave her place to Madam Ling. She preferred to hide herself and Ning Xueyan in Bright Frost Garden. From then on, she had never seen Ning Zu’an.

That was just Mother Han said, but Ning Xueyan keenly felt that there must be something inside!

Madam Ling was aggressive, so she wouldn’t have been reconciled to be a co-wife for a long time. Moreover, Ning Huaiyuan was only an illegitimate b*stard. So in any case, Madam Ling could never have allowed Madam Ming to maintain her position of First Madam. Maybe Ning Zu’an and Madam Dowager thought in the same way.

How could the only male child of Lord Protector’s Manor was an illegitimate b*stard!

Thinking about this, Ning Xueyan’s heart ached. She understood how sad and desperate Madam Ming was at that moment. She could only hide her grievance in her heart for saving her daughter’s life, and she even hadn’t explained to her elder brother. The moment Ning Xueyan heard about it, she had regarded Madam Ming as her mother.

So she wanted to avenge her. It was clear that Madam Ming was set up, but nobody had stood out and spoken for her.

Obviously, everyone in the Lord Protector’s Manor had stood on Madam Ling’s side and watched Madam Ming helplessly give up her place to Madam Ling.

Ning Xueyan’s long eyelashes trembled. A blank expression appeared on her pale but extremely pretty face made her look ethereal. She was too beautiful to be true!

Looking at her charming face, Madam Dowager was gentler to her.

“Your mom shouldn’t be blamed. Because your dad and Madam Ling had already had three children by that time, your eldest brother, your eldest sister and your second sister, your mom thought that your dad only cared about Madam Ling and alienated her; she did… such a thing. Forget it. Let bygones be bygones. No matter what happened, your mom is my sweet niece forever in my heart.”

Madam Dowager waved her hand with a sigh, as if she were a generous person who would not care about the past.

“She really knows how to act!” Ning Xueyan snorted inside. But she hadn’t expected that Madam Dowager would tell her the truth. Both she and her mother’s brother were tracing the past. Her uncle asked somebody to tell her that the man who had been found in Madam Ming’s bed was still alive. He was investigating further according to the trace of the past. If he had gotten the evidence to prove that Madam Ming was set up, Madam Ling would be finished.

Ning Xueyan sighed too, just like Madam Dowager did. She frowned, looked as if she were not interested in knowing more about the past, and she didn’t ask more about this.

Madam Dowager felt relieved. She admired Ning Xueyan more about her smartness. “The girl is so smart! She sensed that I was a little impatient, so she didn’t ask more. It’s a pity that such an excellent girl was born by Madam Ming!’” she thought.

“Madam Dowager, these are the account books of the inner courtyard for today. I’ll put them here. If you’re not tired, please have a look at them.” With that, Mother Qin walked in with a pile of account books in her arms. She then put them on the tea table in front of Madam Dowager.

Madam Dowager frowned at these account books. She waved her hand helplessly and said with a sigh, “You brought them again! I’m so old, but I have to administrate the inner courtyard!”

Madam Ling was still in the Buddha Hall, and Concubine Xu’s administration power was suspended as Madam Dowager had suspicion of her because of Ning Lingyun. Now everything of the outer and inner courtyard had to be decided by Madam Dowager. It had been a long time since she took care of so many things, so after barely holding out for a few days, she could hardly stand it.

“Madam Dowager, you’re not old at all. I’m even older than you.” Mother Qin was smart, and she knew what to say at this moment. Then she pointed at Ning Xueyan and continued, “Look, at least you have an obedient and smart grand daughter like Fifth Young Lady. None of my grand sons would like to stay at home, and I can’t see them all day.”

Mother Qin had a son and his slave identity had been removed under the help of Madam Dowager. Her son had several children, and none of them were girls, all were boys.

“Mother Qin, you’re kidding on me,” Ning Xueyan said with a smile, listening to Mother Qin joking with her master.

“Fifth Young Lady, I’m not kidding on you. I’m praising you sincerely. From the way Fifth Young Lady speaks and acts, everybody can tell that you’re a madam’s daughter. Madam Dowager, why are you still hesitating?? Just ask Fifth Young Lady to help you to check some of the account books. When Fifth Young Lady marries to someone of other manor and becomes the administrator in the future, she will have to manage the internal affairs of the manor.”

Mother Qin blinked to Ning Xueyan while talking with Madam Dowager with a smile, hinting her to share Madam Dowager’s work on her own initiative.

“Mother Qin!” Ning Xueyan flushed with shyness, but she chose to ignore Mother Qin’s hint.

“Yan’er, won’t you help me?” Madam Dowager asked. She was convinced that Ning Xueyan had no ulterior motives. She had been a little suspicious of her sudden assertiveness, but when she found that Ning Xueyan wasn’t attracted by Mother Qin’s proposal, she felt assured.

She felt tired to manage the affairs of the manor, but she was worried that Ning Xueyan might plot and take power from her. When she saw Ning Xueyan ignore Mother Qin’s hint, she was relieved and asked with a smile.

“Grandmother, I have no idea how to check them,” Ning Xueyan looked at the account books, seemed embarrassed.

“You little girl! How could you say you have no idea? If you don’t know how to check the account book, how can you administrate a manor? Take some of them back and have a look. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just come and ask me.” The more Ning Xueyan refused, the more Madam Dowager thought that she didn’t have the ambition to administrate the manor, and the less she was suspicious of her. Now she was asking Ning Xueyan from her true heart to check these account books.

“Ur… Grandmother…” Ning Xueyan bit her lips and looked at Madam Dowager, saying, “Alright then.”

“Take these back and have a look. I have told you to come and ask me if there was anything you didn’t understand,” Seeing Ning Xueyan had agreed, Madam Dowager said with a smile, picking several from the account books.

Mother Qin walked over to Lanning and asked her to hold the account books.

Afraid Ning Xueyan didn’t understand, Madam Dowager opened an account book and gave her some instruction.

Two hours later, Ning Xueyan walked out from the courtyard of Madam Dowager. Lanning stood behind her, holding several account books. The servants at the gate of the courtyard greeted her respectfully, “Fifth Young Lady!” Since Madam Dowager attached so much attention on her, all the servants thought that Fifth Young Lady’s luck was going to change, and Bright Frost Garden wouldn’t be the ‘Cold Palace’ in the manor any more.

After walking out of the gate, Ning Xueyan was about to turn to the path toward Bright Frost Garden when she suddenly saw Ning Lingyun standing in the intersection not far away from her.

At the sight of Ning Xueyan, Ning Lingyun immediately walked over, lifting her skirt hem. “Xueyan! Xueyan!” she called her name.

“Fourth Sister, anything else?” Ning Xueyan stopped. She looked at Ning Lingyun who was nervous with a faint smile. Ning Lingyun looked gentle and weak, but there was a trace of calculation in her eyes.

She hadn’t given up yet!