The Devious First-Daughter

In Foggy Courtyard.

Ning Qingshan came back with a cold face. As soon as she entered the room, she picked up the flower vase and smashed it on the ground. The vase shattered into pieces.

Hearing the noise, Mammy Luo came out of the room and saw Feilian, who was with Ning Qingshan. Feilian frowned and hurriedly followed Ning Qingshan into the room.

“Bi*ch! Bi*ch!” Ning Qingshan cursed in a low voice, with a ferocious look on her face. She tore off a section of the beaded curtain in the inner room. The crystal beads scattered all over the floor. Mammy Luo followed her into the room. After thinking for a while, Feilian stayed outside. She picked up all the beads on the ground, but at the same time, listened attentively to what they were saying inside.

“Young Lady, what happened? When you left, you were in such a good mood. Why did you come back in such a bad mood?” Ning Qingshan dressed up so beautifully and had rushed out excitedly. Mammy Luo did not understand how she became so angry in such a short time. Since the incident at the imperial palace last time, Ning Qingshan had seldom been so emotional.

Ning Qingshan sat down on the couch and in a furious tone, said, “Mother Han, it is that b*tch Ning Xueyan who brought Prince Yi here. However, I suffered a disaster.” As soon as she thought of what had happened earlier, her hatred of Ning Xueyan rose in her heart.

“Young Lady, don’t worry. What was wrong with Fifth Young Lady?” Mammy Luo was totally confused. She tried to pacify Ning Qingshan first.

Ning Qingshan angrily narrated the whole story. When it came to the most humiliating part, her eyes seemed to blaze with anger.

“Young Lady, don’t be angry. I think that even if you were frightened and made a gaffe today, the Fifth Young Lady will not get any benefits.” Mammy Luo suddenly smiled, after she heard what Ning Qingshan said.

“Why?” Ning Qingshan asked, gritting her teeth. Then she turned around to Mammy Luo.

“Young Lady, only the people in the manor knew what happened to you today. It is no big deal, even if others know about it in the future. Everyone is afraid of Prince Yi. So what if you, a girl from a boudoir, were so frightened that you accidentally tore the fan? However, a pair of jade Ruyi Sceptre was taken away from the Fifth Young Lady’s betrothal gifts. By comparison, it is not a serious matter.”

Mammy Luo gave her view on the matter, with a happy smirk on her face.

“You just said that Prince Yi would proceed to the Lord Peace’s Manor, after taking away the jade Ruyi Sceptre. This matter will soon be spread to the Lord Peace’s Manor. Princess Xianyun of the Lord Peace’s Manor will be the consort. She wants to suppress the Fifth Young Lady. She will make use of such a good opportunity to spread it. With the deliberate publicity from the Lord Peace’s Manor, the Fifth Young Lady will be disgraced.”

“But I can’t stand it. In front of that bitch and the Third Prince…” Ning Qingshan said angrily. Her identity and status were much higher than Ning Xueyan’s, so she had never thought highly of Ning Xueyan before. But now, she had been humiliated in front of Ning Xueyan. How could she bear it?

So, even though she knew that Ning Xueyan did not ask Prince Yi to come over, she still blamed Ning Xueyan. She felt that if it were not for her, she would not have felt so humiliated.

“Young Lady, please wait for a moment.” Seeing that Ning Qingshan still wanted to say something, Mammy Luo waved at her and turned toward the bead curtain. “Feiyue, you go out first. I have something to say to the Young Lady.”

“Yes!”

Under the bead curtain, Feiyue stood up respectfully and left.

“Mammy, you don’t have to worry about it. She will not say anything,” Ning Qingshan said with certainty. Both Feiyue and Feilian belonged to Madam Dowager, but they had been serving her for a long time already. Since Feiyue had met with an accident, Feilian had become more cautious. Ning Qingshan did not think that she needed to be on her guard against her. She did not believe that Feilian would dare to betray her, when she alternated kindness with severity.

“Young Lady, it is better not to let others know about your affairs. The lesser the people who know about it, the safer it is. It is better to be cautious.” Mammy Luo frowned helplessly at Ning Qingshan’s arrogance. It was not because she did not believe her, but because what she said next might reveal her master’s background. This background was too shocking. When she first heard about it, she was shocked and could not come to terms with it for a few days. If she had not been that loyal to her master, maybe she would have had other ideas.

Therefore, it was better not to say something like this in Feilian’s presence.

“Young Lady, do you feel sad and angry because you were wronged today?” Mammy Luo said to Ning Qingshan, with a serious look when she saw that Feilian had exited the room obediently, and closed the door.

“Yes, she is just a concubine’s daughter. How dare she compete with me? What’s more…” Ning Qingshan’s face blushed in mortification. Of course, she cared about it. What she cared more about was that Ning Xueyan had been treated differently by Ao Mingyu. When she thought that Ning Xueyan dared to seduce Ao Mingyu, Ning Qingshan wished that she could eat Ning Xueyan.

“Young Lady, you are noble, but the others do not know you. In the eyes of others, you are a young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor. What’s more, you are an adopted daughter, and you are not that much superior to the Fifth Young Lady. Maybe people think the Fifth Young Lady is closer to Marquis.” Mammy Luo knew what Ning Qingshan was worried about, so she decided to get to the root of the problem.

“Humph, she is just the daughter of a minister. How dare she compete with me?” Thinking of her identity, Ning Qingshan looked up and raised her chin in disdain.

“Young Lady, the Fifth Young Lady cannot be compared to you. You are a phoenix in the sky, but she is merely mud under your feet. You are not at the same level at all. And as you can see, the Third Prince is affectionate toward you. Even though you did not do well in the palace, he still wanted to marry you. However, Prince Yi did not take the Fifth Young Lady as his wife. How could he ask her to return the betrothal gift in public? And the Fifth Young Lady did not dare to say anything more. She may have a hard time when she marries into Prince Yi’s Manor?”

To quell Ning Qingshan’s anger, Mammy Luo said something soothing at this time. The anger on Ning Qingshan’s face slowly subsided. Finally, she calmed down and nodded. After thinking for a while, she asked, “Mammy Luo, do you know anything about a butterfly pattern?”

When Mammy Luo appeased her, she remembered that the Third Prince had visited with a strange purpose today. Could there be a mark of the “butterfly” on Ning Ziying from the Cloud Reflection Courtyard? What was that? How was it that she had never heard of it?

“What is a butterfly pattern?” Mammy Luo was stunned and replied.

“It’s just like… a birthmark in the shape of a butterfly. Since it was on the body, it should be a birthmark. It looks like a butterfly. Madam Dowager’s face changed greatly, so she must know something about it. Besides, it is just not any ordinary mark. The Third Prince and the Fourth Prince seemed to have come over today solely for that, in the Cloud Reflection Courtyard. It’s bizarre!”

Ning Qingshan’s voice was low as if she was talking to herself. Her brows furrowed in a frown. She felt that the “butterfly pattern” was significant, but she did not know anything about it at all.

“Young Lady, I don’t know, either. I… I don’t seem to have heard of this before. Could it be that Young Lady Ziying’s status is unusual?” Mammy Luo said with a wry smile. She was only a maid in the Lord Protector’s Manor. Although she had more experience, she did not know anything about this “butterfly-pattern”.

“But I think it’s important,” Ning Qingshan said thoughtfully.

“Young Lady, do you want to ask the master over there? He should know more about it. Maybe you can ask him about it.” Mammy Luo hesitated and suggested this. She could not ask anyone about such things at will, so the mysterious master was the best candidate.

Since Madam Dowager, the Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince knew about it, it seemed that there should be a lot of people who were aware of it. Even if they did not know about it, it would not be a problem for them to send people to inquire about it, because there were a lot of people there.

“Okay, let’s do it.” Ning Qingshan thought for a while and nodded. It seemed to be the best way.

“Young Lady, are you going to visit the Eldest Young Master later?” Since she had made up her mind, Ning Qingshan calmed down as well. Mammy Luo breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yes. Things will be happening soon. How can I wait?” Ning Qingshan sneered coldly. She could not be angry for the time being, because she knew that Ning Xueyan would not be getting any benefits. Co-consort? She had to be alive to be married into the manor. According to Prince Yi’s character, he would kill Ning Xueyan directly, once he received the news.

In the Bright Frost Garden.

Looking at the pair of white jade Ruyi Sceptre in front of her, Ning Xueyan was speechless for a moment.

The white jade Ruyi Sceptre was crystal clear. At first glance, one could already tell that it was a pair of superior jade. They were identical and could be called an heirloom. However, this pair of jade Ruyi Sceptre was in exchange for a pair of inferior ones. Therefore, when Ao Chenyi told Madam Dowager about it, Madam Dowager changed them without any hesitation.

And it was said that the pair of jade Ruyi Sceptre, which had been replaced, had been sent to the Lord Peace’s Manor.

Madam Dowager also warned her not to let any outsiders know about it. As long as they were aware of it, it was okay. The inferior Jade Ruyi Sceptre had been replaced with a superior one. It seemed that Prince Yi attached great importance to the Lord Protector’s Manor. This was the first time that Prince Yi had showed any goodwill to the Lord Protector’s Manor. Madam Dowager hurriedly sent it to Ning Xueyan to let her know that Prince Yi favored her.

Mother Qin also repeatedly told Madam Dowager that when Ning Xueyan married into Prince Yi’s Manor, she had to respect Prince Yi and Princess Xianyun. She could not make any trouble for the Lord Protector’s Manor, let alone upset Prince Yi. Otherwise, the Lord Protector’s Manor would also be involved.

Mother Qin’s words were very courteous. She smiled at all the people in the Bright Frost Garden, as if she was a goody-goody. However, everyone knew that Mother Qin was Madam Dowager’s henchman and the most important stewardess in the manor. Even Ning Zu’an had to show her some respect.

“Well, put it away, Young Lady. It is still part of your dowry. Anyway, it is yours from now on. You can look at it whenever you want.” Lanning smiled and closed the delicate box with the jade Ruyi inside, for Ning Xueyan. She was very happy for Ning Xueyan. In the pavilion earlier, everything went well at first. Later on, Prince Yi’s momentum was so cold that Lanning did not dare to move, when she stood outside.

Anyway, Prince Yi’s momentum was obviously not directed at her young lady. When they were in the pavilion, Lanning felt indignant at the injustice brought about by the jade Ruyi. She thought that Prince Yi had gone too far. How could he say that in front of so many people? Her Young Lady had been humiliated. Now, she was full of joy. As expected, Prince Yi treated her young lady in a different manner.

“Wait a minute. I want to look at it again.” When she closed the lid, something flashed in her eyes. Ning Xueyan stopped Lanning’s hand in a hurry.