The Devious First-Daughter

Chapter 574 Giving up Ya Moqin, Reason for Saving Ning Qingshan

Ning Lingyun had fought with both Ning Xueyan and Ning Qingshan. One time was her fighting Ning Xueyan on her own and the other time was colluding with Ning Qingshan to frame Ning Xueyan. The last time was when she plotted against Ning Qingshan with Ning Xueyan’s help.

She lost the first time. Despite getting her marriage with Ao Xian approved, she lost the second time and therefore lost the marriage. The third time, she worked with Ning Xueyan and ended up getting her marriage with the Third Prince approved...

“Fourth Young Lady, the Fifth Young Lady is here.” A maid’s voice came from outside.

“Hurry up and invite her in.” Ning Lingyun composed herself before tidying her clothes with Caiyun’s help and rushing out.

Ning Xueyan strode in through the gate of the courtyard. Most people at the manor had already received news that the Fifth Young Lady had become Princess Yi and nobody dared to slight her. Everyone bent over backwards to serve her with a smile.

Ning Xueyan glanced at the servants in the yard. Although this yard was smaller than the Bright Frost Garden, it was a much prettier building. Other than the older female servants watching the gate, there were quite a lot of servants here, no less than the ones in the courtyard of a wife’s daughter like her. In fact, they had more people here than the Bright Frost Garden of yesterday.

Concubine Xu was indeed extraordinary to be able to protect her daughter so well. She was able to obtain such a good courtyard and so many servants to take care of Ning Lingyun even under Madam Ling’s control.

In the past, she thought that Madam Ling allowed Ning Yuling to live peacefully on the basis of Concubine Xu’s honesty and loyalty to her. She didn’t think so now. Concubine Xu was no ordinary woman. A cold smile appeared on Ning Xueyan’s face. It seemed that she had underestimated Concubine Xu.

“Fifth Sister, have a seat.” Seeing Ning Xueyan enter the room, Ning Lingyun beamed as she gave her the main seat. There was a slight timidity in her eyes.

She was a little afraid to see Ning Xueyan.

Ning Xueyan wasn’t courteous with her. She calmly sat down on one of the chairs and smiled. “Fourth Sister, how have you been doing?”

“I, I’m okay. I’ve been writing and copying Buddhist scriptures. Grandmother told me to copy them.” Under Ning Xueyan’s gaze, Ning Lingyun pinched the hem of her clothes uneasily. Even though she was older than Ning Xueyan, she felt like she was being seen through by those clear, watery eyes.

“Fourth Sister, when do you plan on entering the Third Prince’s Manor?” Ning Xueyan raised an eyebrow.

Stunned, Ning Lingyun raised her head anxiously and asked, “I thought I’m supposed to go with Third Sister?”

“What if Third Sister doesn’t want to? I heard Honored Consort Ya likes her very much. If she tells Honored Consort Ya, we don’t know if the Third Prince will listen to Honored Consort Ya and give you up.” Ning Xueyan put on an apologetic look as if Ning Qingshan had really told Honored Consort Ya about the matter.

“She... She wouldn’t. Isn’t Third Sister locked up in her yard right now, not allowed to leave?” Ning Lingyun shook her head with force but her face was already pale. She knew that Ning Xueyan’s words might be true. That day, Ning Qingshan looked like she would swallow her alive.

Watching Ning Lingyun put on a strong appearance, Ning Xueyan leaned backwards serenely and asked, “Even though you’re grounded in your yard, you can send a letter to Concubine Xu through a maid if you need anything, don’t you?”

These words set off an explosion in Ning Lingyun’s head and her face immediately turned pale.

She was locked up too. Even though she couldn’t leave and her servants couldn’t go out freely, they could secretly do so if they wanted to. She herself often sent Caiyun to see Concubine Xu and Ning Qingshan’s maid Feilian had come here several times too.

The secret message bore Ning Qingshan’s goodwill; she expressed her willingness to get along as sisters in the future.

That was to say, it wouldn’t be all that difficult for Ning Qingshan to send someone out to send a message! Knowing how jealous Ning Qingshan was toward her the last time, she felt that it wasn’t entirely impossible that Ning Qingshan would persuade the Third Prince to not marry her. So, whatever Ning Qingshan said about reconciliation between sisters was a lie to deceive her.

“Fifth Sister, what, what should I do?” Ning Lingyun’s expression changed drastically after understanding this. She respectfully bowed to Ning Xueyan and pleaded, “Please save me, Fifth Sister.”

“Save you? Fourth Sister, that’s the Third Prince’s Manor that you’re talking about. What could I do?” Ning Xueyan sighed and shook her head, looking helpless.

“You’re the princess now, the Third Prince’s aunt. I’m sure you have a way.” Ning Lingyun’s expression changed greatly after seeing Ning Xueyan shake her head.

“So what? You won’t be so naive as to think that Prince Yi is more persuasive than Honored Consort Ya, do you? Third Sister has always been a favorite of Honored Consort Ya and I heard that they have a very good relationship. I don’t believe that they just get on very well. Perhaps, Third Sister was connected with the Grand Tutor Ya’s Manor before she came to our manor.”

Ning Xueyan sighed as she spoke nonchalantly. A cold glint flashed in her beautiful, watery eyes. Whether it was because of Ning Qingshan’s poisoning of Madam Ming or Ning Qingshan’s repeated attempts to harm her, her grudge against Ning Qingshan was well-formed. Since that was the case, she must eliminate Ning Qingshan’s accomplices and made it so that Ning Qingshan could never make a comeback again.

To the Third Prince, Prince Yi would never be more persuasive than Honored Consort Ya! Ning Lingyun’s face was a deathly shade of white. Ning Qingshan was Honored Consort Ya’s favorite and even caught her exploiting the Third Prince. Even if she managed to enter the Third Prince’s Manor, Ning Qingshan could easily kill her using her status as the consort and Honored Consort Ya’s support.

Ning Lingyun was truly afraid this time!

When Ning Qingshan sent Feilian over to express her sisterly goodwill, did she intend to kill her before she could enter Third Prince’s Manor?

“I heard that the Grand Tutor Ya’s Manor wanted to make their eldest daughter the Third Prince’s consort. But when Third Sister became the concubine, they had no choice but to withdraw. Honored Consort Ya forsake her own niece just for Third Sister’s sake. Eldest Young Lady Ya grew up with the Third Prince and they had a really good relationship, you know. But she had no choice but to marry the Fourth Prince instead.”

Seeing Ning Lingyun’s increasingly pale face, Ning Xueyan fanned the flames again.

After hearing this, Ning Lingyun couldn’t stand straight anymore. She held onto the edge of the table and sat down weakly. Of course, she knew about Ya Moqin. She also knew about Ya Moqin’s deep affection for the Third Prince. She never thought deeply about it before, so she didn’t realize that Ning Qingshan had stolen the title of the consort from Ya Moqin’s hands.

“She... Why would Honored Consort Ya help her so much?” she said, almost muttering to herself.

Ning Xueyan smiled and said serenely, “I’m not too sure. Perhaps Third Sister is simply closer to Honored Consort Ya than Eldest Young Lady Ya is.”

Judging by the fact that Ning Zu’an brought Concubine Xu along when ransacking Madam Ming’s things, it was evident that Concubine Xu was his confidant. Since Ning Zu’an had failed to learn anything about Ning Qingshan’s origin until now, she didn’t mind giving him a hand. It was just like the incident at the study the last time. Once someone started to get suspicious about something, it would be much easier for them to start investigating.

“Fourth Sister, don’t be so worried. Madam Dowager told me to inform you that you’re no longer grounded. But Third Sister still is. If you keep a close eye on her, perhaps it wouldn’t happen and you can still safely follow her into the Third Prince’s Manor.”

Ning Xueyan sounded as if she was comforting Ning Lingyun, but it made the latter even more worried instead.

She wasn’t worried about not being able to marry the Third Prince now. Rather, she was worried about losing her life as soon as she did. If the Third Prince couldn’t even marry the cousin that he grew up with, she would just die in vain if she married him as a concubine alongside Ning Qingshan.

“Fourth Sister, since I have already passed on my message, I’ll be going back to the Bright Frost Garden. If you have more to say, you can find me there later.” Ning Xueyan stood up. She had said everything as plainly as she could. Ning Lingyun wasn’t stupid and Concubine Xu appeared to be a mysterious and cunning person; they would undoubtedly understand the implication of her words.

In a nutshell, Ning Lingyun would surely die if she entered the Third Prince’s Manor with Ning Qingshan.

“I understand. Thank you, Fifth Sister.” Ning Lingyun was so restless that she couldn’t even be excited that Madam Dowager had released her from house arrest. She could only feel nervous and afraid now. She stood on the chair in a daze, not realizing when Ning Xueyan had left. The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. She became more certain that Ning Qingshan was tricking her just to kill her.

She stood up abruptly and told the nearby Caiyun, “Let’s go and meet Concubine Xu.”

No, this wouldn’t do. She must tell these things to Concubine Xu personally and ask her to think of a solution. Between her and Ning Qingshan, only one must enter the Third Prince’s Manor. She hoped that it would be her.

And why was Honored Consort Ya so nice to Ning Qingshan? Shouldn’t she treat her own niece better? She knew that her niece liked her son but gave the consort position to Ning Qingshan. There must be a secret involved or it wouldn’t have happened.

Everyone knew that Ya Moqin had been bestowed to the Fourth Prince, but it was also no secret that she had always been in love with the Third Prince. Just what was it that made Honored Consort Ya sacrifice her niece for Ning Qingshan’s sake? Ning Lingyun felt that there was a secret behind this.

Madam Dowager was now overseeing much of the affairs in the Lord Protector’s Manor, but the actual legwork was given to Concubine Xu. Concubine Xu was well-behaved and would ask Madam Dowager’s opinion on every major issue. Thus, Madam Dowager was very satisfied with the current way of managing the household.

Because of this, Concubine Xu was very busy. She was particularly preoccupied today, the day when Ning Xueyan would return. It was also said that Prince Yi might come later.

Concubine Xu was in the kitchen at the moment, watching the servants preparing a meal. When Ning Lingyun rushed over, Concubine Xu was about to go to Bright Frost Garden to ask Ning Xueyan whether Prince Yi preferred braised or steamed fish.

After Ning Lingyun pulled her aside for a few words, her expression changed. Ning Lingyun was her only daughter and only hope. She would rather believe her biological daughter than Ning Zu’an. She was willing to tell Ning Xueyan some secrets in exchange for Ning Xueyan helping her daughter.

She gritted her teeth and whispered a few words in Ning Lingyun’s ears. A terrified expression gradually appeared on Ning Lingyun’s face as she listened and nodded vigorously. She never thought that something like this would happen at the manor...