The Devious First-Daughter

“Find some servants who know him and keep an eye outside the manor gate. If they see that person appear, report to me immediately. We can’t let him escape this time.” Madam Ling knew that she could not move at this time. If she was not careful, the child in her belly might die, so she could only grit her teeth and state this fiercely.

Ten years ago, that person managed to escape. This time, no matter what happened, she would never let him go. As long as he appeared in the Lord Protector’s Manor, she would not let him escape this time.

“Yes, I know. First Madam, you had better lie down. Now, your health is the most important matter. Once that person appears, I will report it to you immediately. I will not let him have the chance to escape again.” Mother Chen knew Madam Ling’s mind best, so she helped her to lie down and comforted her.

“Has anyone from the Vice Minister of Justice’s Manor come over recently?” Madam Ling suddenly remembered something and asked, as she held on to Mother Chen’s hand.

“Yes. Several days ago, Lord Ling asked someone to send some medicine. When I saw that you were still asleep, I did not want to bother you. So I rewarded them and told them go back.” Mother Chen answered. It was a young male servant who sent the medicine at that time. Knowing that Madam Ling’s brother had sent him, she did not think too much about it.

Mother Chen did not mind that Madam Qian was not the one who sent the medicine to Madam Ling. When Madam Qian arranged the marriage for her son and abandoned the Second Young Lady, the relationship between the Lord Protector’s Manor and the Vice Minister of Justice’s Manor was not close anymore. However, Lord Ling was the First Madam’s elder brother. If it had been Madam Qian who sent the medicine here, Mother Chen would have asked someone to throw all the things away.

Mother Chen did not like the Vice Minister of Justice’s Manor at all, so she did not bother too much about the young male servant who sent the medicine here. She gave him several copper coins as a reward, and then sent him away on the pretext that Madam Ling was ill, and could not see any outsiders.

“Go to my elder brother’s manor and see if he can find some people. If they find that person, have him secretly executed.” Madam Ling said ruthlessly. She had let him live for so many years, and she would not allow him to stay alive any longer.

Go to the Vice Minister of Justice’s Manor and ask Vice Minister Ling to look for someone? If this had been the case before, Mother Chen would have gone to the Vice Minister of Justice’s Manor to look for the person, without any hesitation.

However, Madam Ling’s words made her feel guilty and uncomfortable, after the way she treated the person from the Vice Minister of Justice’s Manor. When they came to visit her, she did not treat them well and even sent them away like a beggar. Now, she had to suffer the consequences. Even if Lord Ling did not mind, what about Madam Qian?

“First Madam, please don’t bother Lord Ling. As for this matter, the lesser people who know about it, the better. First Madam, rest assured. I will go and look for the Eldest Young Master in a moment, and he must have a few subordinates. We will have this person punished discreetly. In this way, there is no need to make trouble in the Vice Minister of Justice’s Manor, to avoid having Madam Qian looking down on you again.”

Mother Chen was reluctant, but she had to say something that was pleasing to Madam Ling’s ears. As for Madam Qian, the First Madam had been estranged from Madam Qian since the last incident. Therefore, Mother Chen knew that saying this at this time would inevitably arouse First Madam’s resentment.

As soon as Madam Ling heard that Madam Qian would look down on her, she frowned unhappily, closed her mouth fiercely, and snorted. Madam Qian had rejected Ling’er and asked her son to marry her stupid niece instead. She thought that her niece was better than Ling’er. If Ling’er did not have that accident, her good-for-nothing son would not be worthy of Ling’er.

Madam Ling was willing to marry Ling’er off to Ling Yi. Unexpectedly, Madam Qian did not agree. When she thought of that, Madam Ling was filled with hatred. She felt that it was Madam Qian’s fault that made Ning Yuling end up as a concubine. Besides, Ning Yuling and Ning Ziyan were now married to the same husband, and fought incessantly.

From this point of view, Madam Ling would never forgive Madam Qian. When she recovered, she would send two beautiful concubines to her brother to provoke Madam Qian.

“Then, you can ask Yuan’er for help.” Thinking about it, she made up her mind. Madam Ling nodded and then asked about Ning Huaiyuan.

Ning Huaiyuan’s injury had almost healed, but now he was ordered by Ning Zu’an to study in the study room. Ning Zu’an did not allow him to go out of the study room, when he was free. He said that he was going to take part in the Spring Metropolitan Examination soon, so he had to focus on studying. After all, Madam Ling did not know why Ning Zu’an would kick Ning Huaiyuan. She only thought that Ning Zu’an must have been in an extremely bad mood, to have kicked his only legal son.

She was very dissatisfied with Ning Zu’an, but this was not the time to argue about it now. She had to endure it.

However, she also had a guilty conscience. She wondered whether it was because Yuan’er had schemed against that b*tch, which made Ning Zu’an so angry. But when did Ning Zu’an treat that b*tch so well?

In the following days, the Lord Protector’s Manor was peaceful. The matter of Cloud Reflection Courtyard could not be settled in a short time. Although someone came to investigate from time to time, they found no evidence. The servants only knew that she was an orphan girl and had been raised in Cloud Reflection Courtyard. In the past, Ning Ziying did not have much contact with them, so they did not know what the actual situation was like.

It was said that Young Lady Ning Ziying died for no reason. After that, everyone thought she threw herself into the lotus pond because she fretted over trifling matters. Some people said that it could be due to the funeral of Second Madam in Lord Protector’s Manor, First Madam had no time to deal with it. So she only buried her dress in the coffin.

So to be honest, no one knew what was going on.

No one would know that Young Lady Ning Ziying died for nothing, and that she had been murdered.

There was no witness, no evidence, and no victim. Since there was nothing, the matter was left in abeyance, but it had to be done. It was said that even the princes in the palace had been alerted. The Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, and even Prince Yi had sent people to inquire about it. It showed that many people paid attention to this case, and the Ministry of Justice could not afford to offend any of them.

Therefore, the verdict could not be settled. Even if they were familiar with the affair at the Lord Protector’s Manor, they still had to check it from time to time, indicating that the people of the Ministry of Justice were seriously looking into this case, and they were not passive in their work. Whether it was for the princes with noble statuses or for others, the people of the Ministry of Justice did not dare to close the case casually.

It was inevitable that the people of the Ministry of Justice would come to investigate the Lord Protector’s Manor, because it was the scene of the crime. And even after such a thorough investigation, they did not manage to find out what had happened in Cloud Reflection Courtyard. Instead the people of the Ministry of Justice discovered another attempted murder, which happened in an alley outside the back door of the Lord Protector’s Manor.

After the investigation, an officer was seen coming out with guards from the back door of the Lord Protector’s Manor. When he heard someone shouting not far away, he immediately brought his men over, in an attempt to save a man. Fortunately, the officer was close to the crime scene. So, he got there on time. Although the assailants escaped, at least he managed to save the man.

The man, who had been saved, cried out his grievances on the spot. It was said that Madam Ling had sent people to kill him. And he was a servant of the Lord Protector’s Manor, more than a decade ago. The reason why Madam Ling wanted to kill him was because he had been involved in Madam Ling’s plot to take over the position of the principal wife, ten years ago.

Many people knew that the principal wife of the Lord Protector’s Manor became a concubine, and the concubine took the place of the principal wife. However, many people had forgotten about this incident which happened more than a decade ago. But a few days ago, this matter was brought up as another concubine came back. Thus, many people knew about it.

A concubine tried to hurt the principal wife, so that the principal wife could only be a concubine. This was much more serious than a favorite concubine killing a wife. It was not long after the establishment of the new imperial court, so the rules were really strict. The royal members wanted to show that they were real nobles, so they would give favorable publicity to tradition. What was more important, they tried to fight for the rights of the principal wife and the legitimate son. Therefore, when such a thing was discovered, it would never be tolerated.

Although this matter was related to Marchioness Madam Ling, the officer of the Ministry of Justice dared not take it lightly. He took the man back to the Ministry of Justice for questioning, overnight. He wanted to suppress this matter in order to find a way to solve the problem, without offending Ning Zu’an. After all, Ning Zu’an was not only Lord Protector. His two daughters would soon be marrying into the royal family. Even if they were only the co-consorts, it would be a great honor.

However, to the surprise of the people of the Ministry of Justice, General Ming Feiyong submitted a written complaint to the Emperor the next morning. He said that the person, who had been saved by the Ministry of Justice, was the suspect whom he had been looking for, during the past ten years. The man was an accomplice, and together with his sister, had been responsible for framing Madam Ming, so she had to give up her position as the main wife.

He accused Madam Ling of sabotaging the principal wife, and he accused Ning Zu’an of killing his wife for the sake of a favorite concubine, according to circumstances.

What was the circumstance? It was the destruction of the former dynasty. Now, it was not far away from the destruction of the former dynasty. Some ministers in the court were old ministers, and some were married to the noble ladies of the previous dynasty. Although they generally did not appear in public now, it did not mean that they could not do something.

Everyone guessed that the reason why Ning Zu’an favored his concubine and killed his wife was that Madam Ming was no longer the noble daughter of the previous dynasty. He was afraid that the emperor would care about this. However, as a husband, he turned a blind eye to it. For a while, the memorial to the throne that impeached Ning Zu’an’s flooded the imperial study.

The Emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation into the matter. As a result, the Ministry of Justice started to question the servant who claimed to be Fugui. The note and the paper describing the case were all presented. At this moment, a servant who claimed to be Madam Ling’s henchman, Mother Yun, also appeared in front of everyone.

At that time, she was the one who contacted the man Fugui. She accused Marchioness Ling of being vicious. Once she was outside the manor, she had deliberately planned this. She knelt in front of the door of the Ning Manor, after giving birth to a son and a daughter with Ning Zu’an. At that time, Marchioness Ming was so soft-hearted that she took her in for the sake of the two children. However, she was so vicious and plotted against the legal wife.

She set up a trap, put some drugs into Madam Ming’s food, and then sent the servant to Madam Ming’s bed. She framed Madam Ming, by stating that she was having an affair with a servant, and even claimed that her daughter was not Ning Zu’an’s. She wanted to execute the Fifth Young Lady, who was still a child. Madam Ming had no choice, but to give up her position of being the legal wife to protect the child.

Such a sensational case of a favorite concubine killing a legal wife stirred up the city. For a time, all the people were on Madam Ming’s side, saying that Madam Ling, the vicious woman, should be cut into pieces.