The Devious First-Daughter

“Have you arranged everything else? Don’t let them find the whereabouts of Mother Wang. Tell her not to act rashly, or she will be killed,” Ning Xueyan ordered lightly.

“Yes, I have arranged everything. That maid will continue to serve Mother Wang. After all, she is an orphan who had been bought. She has been with Mother Wang for a long time, and is willing to serve Mother Wang. Besides, she does not know what happened to Mother Wang. When Mother Wang was in the garden, she did her work well. So, it is reasonable for her to say that she wishes to go back to her hometown.”

Lanning nodded and lowered her voice.

Because her young lady had ordered this to be done earlier, the matter was carried out in an orderly way. All things went as planned. She did not leave suddenly. So, even if they found out about the mansion, no one would think that there was something wrong. Mother Wang had gone to the manor, because she had been knocked down by her young lady’s carriage.

She had agreed to send Mother Wang away after she recovered. Now that she was well, it had nothing to do with the Lord Protector’s Manor. Besides, Mother Wang had been away from her hometown for a long time, so it was normal for her to go back. As soon as she left the capital city, nobody would be able to find the truth about a servant, who was unknown to the public.

“Well, you ask Mother Wang not to be anxious. Sister Ziying will be avenged, but we have to take it slowly,” Ning Xueyan said leisurely. She walked back to the table, picked up the cup of tea freshly brewed by Lanning, and took a sip, gracefully. She stared at the floating tea leaves in the cup with her jet-black eyes, with a slight sneer on her face.

In the beginning, she wanted to resolve the matter of Cloud Reflection Courtyard as soon as possible, and do it within three months. Now it seemed that she could not settle it in such a short time. The Third Prince and the Fourth Prince’s intervention could mean that her identity in her previous life had been revealed. No matter what the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince asked for, this matter would not be settled that easily.

If she showed up at this time, it would only arouse suspicion and expose her identity.

Therefore, she decided not to take any action for the time being. Anyway, many people wanted to take action now. She wanted to see how many things that had happened in her past life would be discovered. And, she could take advantage of them to find the answers that she wanted to know. There were too many secrets in her past life and this life. She wanted to let go of some things, but when she saw the same “butterfly pattern” on her body, she knew that there were things that she could not let go, even if she wanted to.

Why did she have such a birthmark on her arms in her previous life and this life? Besides, it seemed that she could not let anyone see it. Both Madam Ming and her mother were careful not to let anyone see her birthmark. Why? She did not believe that it was all by chance.

Ning Ziyan’s former courtyard, the Lord Protector’s Manor

In the main room, Ning Ziyan slapped the maid hard, with a cold expression on her face. The two maids knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, but they did not dare to escape. They allowed her to slap them hard. Their faces had swollen to twice their normal sizes, and they barely see. Their faces and the corners of their mouths were all bloodied.

The other one had already passed out and was lying on the ground beside Ning Ziyan. No one knew whether she was dead or alive.

“Young Madam, please spare my life. Please spare my life.” Her screams for mercy were continuous. However, neither the servants in the courtyard nor the gatekeeper at the door seemed to have heard the cries. They went about their own business. They only peeked at the main room carefully from time to time, and kept their mouths closed.

People in the Lord Protector’s Manor were only aware that the Second Young Lady was vicious. Not only did she beat people to death but also sold them to the immoral places. However, they did not know that the Eldest Young Lady did not show mercy, when she was beating people. It was common for her to have people beaten to death. But compared with the Second Young Lady’s high profile, the Eldest Young Lady was much more low-key.

Even if she had beaten a maid to death, she would ask people to drag her out overnight. She also told the outsiders that she had sent her out and struck her name off. The outsiders only knew that the Eldest Young Lady was kind, but they did not know that she was vicious. Fortunately, that did not happen too often. The Eldest Young Lady wanted to maintain her gentle and gracious demeanor in front of the Eldest Young Master. How could she ever make the Eldest Young Master suspicious?

But today, Ning Ziyan was angry. She had suffered a great loss and had been framed by Ning Xueyan, whom she despised most. In front of so many people, she dared to push her into the lotus pond. However, no one supported her. Even her mother had tried to coax her to calm down.

She had to agree at that time and knew that it was the best way. Ning Xueyan was not the same person she used to be. She could not deal with her at will. But she could not stand it. On the one hand, she regretted that she had not let Ning Yuling torture her to death, when Ning Xueyan had not fully developed yet. On the other hand, she vented her anger on the two maids who accompanied her.

Why did the two maids not pull her away in order to prevent Ning Xueyan from pushing her down? So, when she woke up, she began to torture the two maids. When she saw that the two maids were in a panic, she felt that she could vent her anger a little.

“You b*tch! Why didn’t you cry out just now? Now you can’t stop screaming. Don’t stop screaming! Go on!” Seeing the maid’s head all bloodied, Ning Ziyan felt as if she was hitting Ning Xueyan. She immediately vented her anger and said this with great hatred.

“Young Madam, I… I did not make it in time…” The maid stuttered and pleaded. From time to time, she looked behind her, hoping that someone would suddenly appear and save her. Otherwise, she would soon be killed by the Young Madam.

“Not yet? It’s not too late now. Now you’re screaming. Do you want to attract the attention of the other people here? Unfortunately, it is only my people here. You can’t save yourself, no matter how hard you scream.” Ning Ziyan said sharply, “You’re like that little b*tch Ning Ziying, thinking that someone will come to save you, right? You are hoping that someone would suddenly appear and save you.”

“Young Madam, I would not dare. I really don’t dare!” The maid cried and did not dare to look back anymore.

“Didn’t you pass a message to the Eldest Young Master on behalf of my Second Sister? Why don’t you dare to do that now? Didn’t you send a message to the Eldest Young Master, saying that my Second Sister was feeling uncomfortable?” Looking at the maid crying, Ning Ziyan suddenly remembered what had happened in the manor before, and slapped her hard again.

Thinking that Ning Yuling said that she was sick while she was having dinner with Xia Yuhang, she was furious. Ning Yuling was in good health. How could she be sick? Besides, she was so delicate. Upon thinking of this, she hated her even more.

“And the maid in front of me was the one who sent the message at that time, wasn’t she?” Thinking of this, Ning Ziyan wanted to slap her again, but her hand stopped in mid air.

“What’s the matter?” The angry voice came from the door. With an imposing appearance, Xia Yuhang stood at the door and looked at Ning Ziyan coldly.

“I… I, I was pushed into the lotus pond by Ning Xueyan just now.” Ning Ziyan did not expect that Xia Yuhang would appear so suddenly. Shouldn’t he be with the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince now? Why would he suddenly come back? After a moment of hesitation, she quickly lowered her hands. With that thought in her mind, she hurriedly explained and wanted to let the matter go.

“You hit her?” Xia Yuhang stared at Ning Ziyan coldly, as if he were looking at a stranger. This made Ning Ziyan panic as if something was about to disappear. She hurriedly stood up, wiped her tears with a handkerchief, and rushed over to him with an aggrieved look, “Yuhang, I did not do it on purpose. I… I have been wronged. Fifth Sister, why is she so vicious? I’m her sister!”

Xia Yuhang moved aside to avoid Ning Ziying. He looked at the two maids on the ground with their bloodied faces. Suddenly, another bloody face flashed in front of his eyes. He was shocked. He looked at Ning Ziyan more and more coldly, and there was even a hint of sarcasm lurking the corners of his mouth.

“I did not expect that such a person was the Eldest Young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor, Ning Ziyan, who used to be gentle and virtuous. I was wrong.”

“No, Yuhang, I did not do it on purpose. I was too angry just now. I… I was too angry, so I did something wrong. Please forgive me, please forgive me. I will not do this again.” Seeing Xia Yuhang’s gloomy face, Ning Ziyan had a bad feeling. She pulled his sleeve and pleaded sadly with him, tears streaming down her face.

Since they got married, Xia Yuhang had treated her less kindly than before. Not only did he ignore her, but sometimes he even looked at her with a cold gaze, making her feel as if she was sitting on pins and needles. He also disregarded her wishes and promoted Chen Hexiang, who had caused her to lose her baby, to be a concubine. It seemed that the gentle and graceful childe had suddenly changed into another person.

She was careful and dared not do anything wrong. Because of her, Xia Yuhang’s scholarly honor was affected. Her parents-in-law scolded her in the Xia Manor. She acted more carefully and did not dare to disobey Xia Yuhang. To keep Xia Yuhang’s heart, she also did whatever he wanted later. She even agreed to play a trick.

It was not only her idea to get Ning Xueyan to marry into the Xia Manor, but also Xia Yuhang’s. She wanted to make Ning Xueyan become a concubine as what Madam Ling suggested. Thus, she could control her life and death in the future. At first, it was Xia Yuhang’s idea. She could understand what he said, but she had to accept it, because she dared not to go against his will.

She did not expect that her sister, who had conspired with her, to marry into the Xia family, instead of Ning Xueyan. And for Xia Yuhang’s sake, she did not dare to refuse to let her sister marry into the Xia family. Who could she tell about this grievance?

“You did not do it on purpose, did you?” Xia Yuhang did not look at her. Instead, he looked at the hand in his hand and suddenly pushed her away.

Ning Ziyan was caught unawares. She staggered a few steps back and could not stand up straight. She immediately fell to the ground and hit herself hard on the corner of the chair. She cried out in pain, and everything turned black before her eyes. It took her a long time to recover from the shock.

When she raised her head again, there was no one at the door. Xia Yuhang had already disappeared. Her husband, whom she had tried so hard to get, was so indifferent to her. She could not help bursting into tears. She picked up the things around her and smashed them fiercely…