In a flower hall of the Lord Protector's Manor's courtyard, there were a number of female guests. They chatted happily and burst into laughter occasionally.
Ostensibly to congratulate Ning Zu'an's marrying a new concubine, but they all had other plans. Third Young Lady of the Lord Protector's Manor was no ordinary. She was not only beautiful, but gentle, graceful and decent as well. Everyone could tell that she had a bright future, and some well-informed person even said that Third Prince had already waited in the manor when Third Young Lady just returned yesterday.
Who was Third Prince? He was the real imperial family member! Normally, only those young ladies from noble families waited for him, and he would never take the initiative to wait for them. It was said Third Prince's cousin who had grown up together with him returned to the capital yesterday. However, he didn't wait for her at Grand Tutor Ya's Manor, but went to the Lord Protector's Manor inste
Ning Qingshan cursed inwardly. Today was supposed to be her day. She had tactfully indicated to Madam Dowager that she wanted to greet the guests alone and Madam Dowager had acquiesced to her request. Her purpose in doing so was to show how graceful, generous and gentle she was. However, all her plans were ruined by a few words from Ning Xueyan. It was her first time to attend the banquet of the social circle after she had cultivated in the nunnery for three years, so today was very important for her. Ning Xueyan's sudden appearance made her passive and she couldn't act as calmly as she used to be. Even though her smile was still perfect, under the smiling gaze of several ladies, she showed some flaws. There were many smart people among the guests! Ning Xueyan didn't protest Ning Qingshan, but smiled quietly. Her jet-black eyes shone brightly and after glancing at all the guests, she finally fixed her eyes on Ning Qingshan. "Third Sister, gr
"Grandmother!" "Grandmother!" The moment they entered the room, Ning Xueyan and Ning Qingshan bowed to Madam Dowager. "Get up." The smile was back on Madam Dowage's face. She then introduced the old ladies beside her to Ning Xueyan and Ning Qingshan, and they bowed to these old ladies, with smiles. "Madam Dowager, are they the granddaughters you have hidden away? How beautiful they are! You're so lucky to have two such fairy-like granddaughters!" an old lady in a brown garment said in admiration. "Sure enough! Look at them! If I have just one granddaughter like them, she will surely be the apple of my eye. But you have two! Madam Dowager, you're really lucky!" another old lady in a blue garment with a slanting collar said in agreement. On the whole, Ning Qingshan looked more outstanding than Ning Xueyan. Women looked their best at sixteen. Ning Qingshan was gentle and graceful, and her face was as be
"Third Sister, since you are so smart, how can you know only a little? It so happens that there is something I do not understand in the account books, can you give me some advice?" Ning Xueyan asked, with a smile. She spoke naturally, and Ning Qingshan almost forgot to reply. She blinked, and then she was overjoyed. She was just thinking about how she could make Ning Xueyan bring out the account books here. To her surprise, Ning Xueyan had put her neck into the noose by asking her to check the account books! So it was no wonder she became so excited. "Fifth sister, if there is anything I can do for you, I will certainly do my best," she said with a smile, trying to suppress her excitement. "Lanning, bring the account books here," Ning Xueyan immediately ordered Lanning, who was standing behind her. Lanning already had preparations in mind. She nodded to Ning Xueyan, and after a short while, she brought out several account books
There was a touch of coldness in the depth of Ning Xueyan's eyes, and the faint smile on her lips gradually turned to a sneer. "Ning Qingshan is really not easy to deal with! She has even come up with such an idea to disentangle herself from me! Since Xia'er accused me like that, I have no chance to send the account books to Foggy Courtyard today," she thought. She knew that Xia'er was inspired after her master slapped her and knelt down in front of Madam Dowager for her mistake. That was why she banged her head so hard onto the ground. She wanted to arouse the other's sympathy and let them suspect Ning Xueyan by hinting Ning Xueyan was a vicious girl and she was trying to frame Ning Qingshan's maid. Seeing everyone watching herself, Ning Xueyan walked over calmly and knelt down as well. "Grandmother, don't be angry. I should be blamed. I just wanted to joke with Third Sister, but I didn't expect that she would have been implicate because of
With the picking up of the account books one by one, Ning Qingshan's breath sharpened unconsciously. It seemed she couldn't stay calm and maintain her perfect smile any longer. The maid picked up the first account book and shook the dust off. Both the top and the bottom cover were clean. Then she picked up the second one and shook off the dust as well, and there was no stain on it either. How could all of them be clean? Now four of the five account books had been found clean, so Ning Qingshan became nervous and sweat beamed from the tip of her nose. There was only one account book left. The last one must be the stained one! The maid picked up the last account book and shook the dust off it. She then piled all the account books up and held them firmly in her arms before turning to leave. "That's impossible! Why none of them was stained?" She was a hundred percent sure that the stained page would be exposed, but tha
A maid in the blue padded jacket rushed toward Foggy Courtyard. As she walked in a rush, she walked so fast that she nearly tripped over a stone. The maid took a sigh of relief when she found herself at the gate of Foggy Courtyard. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with a handkerchief and was going to walk into the courtyard. "There are many guests in our manor today. You are walking in such a hurry. What if you disturb the guests?" Lanning walked out from nowhere and said crossly, staring at the maid. Hearing that, the maid was taken aback. When she found that the person in front of her was the first maid Lanning, she immediately argued for herself, "Sister Lanning, Third Young Lady asked me to find Mammy Luo and tell her to put the account books which Fifth Young Lady had sent here at a safe place so that they won't be stained." "Mammy Luo is at Foggy Courtyard?" Lanning asked, pretending to be surprised. Mammy Luo was ver
"Young Lady, how can this, this account book be here?" Mammy Luo said, pointing at the account book with fishy flavor. She was so shocked that she could hardly speak. Madam Dowager had asked her maid to take the account books to Ning Xueyan. However, she had been knocked by another maid on her way and she twisted her ankle. The maid who had knocked her agreed to help her to take the account books to Ning Xueyan. Thus the account books fell into the hands of Mammy Luo without being noticed. She asked Xia'er to bring the braised fish in brown sauce from the kitchen and then poured the juice onto one of the account books and carefully made the juice permeate the bottom cover little by little. Then she piled the five account books. Because she did it very carefully, nobody could find anything abnormal from appearance. Unless these account books were taken down one by one, or the others couldn't find the stained one. Besides, the maid who had sent the account
Xia'er was dragged outside the courtyard and to prevent her from screaming, her mouth was plugged with a piece of cloth. Ning Zu'an ordered the guards to execute the punishment. The servants knelt on the ground in the courtyard, lowering their heads. None of them dared even breathe heavily. Soon, the sound of sticks hitting people and muffled grunting came from outside the courtyard. The air seemed to be filled with a faint bloody smell. Mammy Luo knelt on the ground with other servants with a pale face. She was scared and she had never expected that Madam Dowager would have ordered people to beat Xia'er to death. How could she be so cold-blooded to kill a person just because she had stained an account book! The air was suffocating in the room as well. Junior Concubine Xu was so scared that she covered her mouth with her hand, shivering behind Ning Zu'an. She had forgotten that today was her big day. She had been very happy when she took the jewelry from