The Devious First-Daughter (Web Novel)

There was a reason for Madam Dowager’s appearance in the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard.

Seeing that Ning Xueyan did not take any notice of her, Qing’er hurried to Junior Concubine Xu and told her what Mother Han had said. Hearing this, Junior Concubine Xu rolled her eyes and came up with an idea. She did not have time to comfort her sister and went to Madam Dowager. She said that there was a quarrel in the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard, and asked Madam Dowager to mediate.

Junior Concubine Xu was trying to please Madam Ling!

A few days ago, they had a strained relationship, but now they were on good terms. Although she did not know what happened between Madam Ling and Ning Zu’an, it could not be a good thing because Ning Zu’an rushed to the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard in a rage. Junior Concubine Xu wanted to save the situation, but she did not expect that the topic of “illegitimate son” came up as soon as she entered the door.

Her heart thumped, and she immediately felt terrible. Seeing Madam Dowager’s face, she knew that she had heard it too, so she dared not say anything more. She quickly bowed her head and regretted her action. If she had known this earlier, she would not have called Madam Dowager over. This illegitimate child was what Madam Dowager was most concerned about.

From what they said, it seemed that it was Madam Ling who had framed Ning Huaijing.

Junior Concubine Xu was anxious, but she did not dare to say anything. When she saw Madam Dowager standing in the courtyard with a gloomy face, she knew that things would not go well. She could not save Madam Ling now, so she could only stand aside and listen obediently. Then, she followed Madam Dowager and entered the room.

Madam Dowager did not know about Ning Huaijing. When the maid was pregnant, Ning Zu’an told her not to tell anyone for fear that it would be an obstacle for his career. Otherwise, he would force her to have an abortion. So, the maid did not dare to say anything. Ning Zu’an secretly arranged for her to leave the manor.

Now that the matter was revealed, Ning Zu’an also felt ashamed. When he saw Madam Dowager coming in, his face turned red, and he felt embarrassed and annoyed. Meanwhile, he was not pleased with Junior Concubine Xu, who was supporting Madam Dowager. There must be someone who delivered a message to Madam Dowager.

Madam Ling glared at her with unfriendly eyes and cursed in her mind, “Did the little bit*ch deliberately try to trick me by pretending to make peace with me? She wants to go against me on purpose, so she asked Madam Dowager to come here.”

“Mother, why are you here?” After all, Ning Zu’an was more brazen. He calmed down and regained his composure. He stood up and greeted Madam Dowager.

“Why am I here? If I have not come now, my grandson will be killed.” Madam Dowager looked at Madam Ling angrily and said this with hatred in her voice. Then, she sat down in the middle chair without looking back. She knocked hard on the ground with the cane in her hand, and scolded Madam Ling, “I wonder if you were jinxed when you came to our family. You did harm to the Second Young Girl. Now you want to kill my grandson. You’re a vicious woman.”

Ning Zu’an’s lack of children was a point of anxiety for Madam Dowager. Unexpectedly, she had another grandson. Madam Dowager was naturally happy. But when she heard their quarrel, she knew that Madam Ling wanted to kill Ning Huaijing. How could she still dare to show her face? She pointed at Madam Ling and scolded her.

The more she looked at Madam Ling, the more she hated Madam Ling. Now she regretted that she was the Legal Wife. However, she had borne her favorite grandson. Sometimes, no matter how much she disliked Madam Ling, she still had to put on a show. She could not let the others look down upon Ning Huaiyuan, because of this.

On the matter of male offspring, she did not care anymore.

This was Madam Dowager’s bottom line. For her, a granddaughter was a pawn who would marry into another family. In the future, her granddaughter would be a member of another family. So, she did not care too much. However, a grandson was a member of the family. She could not let a woman hurt her grandson.

In Madam Dowager’s mind, a grandson was the most precious. As long as her granddaughter was useful, she would be treated as a pawn, whether she was of lineal descent or not.

“Madam Dowager, I… I don’t know anything. How… how can you say that to me?” Madam Ling said, covering her face with her hands and crying. She looked delicate and pitiful.

She thought that Ning Zu’an would probably compromise in the end, if she kept crying in front of him. Due to this, Madam Ling pretended to be delicate and pitiful. Anyway, as long as she did not admit it or her cousin did not say it, she would have nothing to do with this. Unfortunately, she was wrong. Now, the person in charge of this matter was Madam Dowager.

Madam Dowager had more insights about what had happened in the harem than Ning Zu’an. She immediately realized that it was part of Madam Ling’s evil plan, which was targeted at getting rid of Ning Huaijing.

“What are you crying for? Go and ask your cousin to withdraw that complaint. If something happens to Jing’er, I’ll teach you a lesson.” Madam Dowager was not Ning Zu’an, so she would not let Madam Ling confess first. Her purpose was more definite, and she directly ordered Madam Ling to take action.

“Madam Dowager, I… I have not heard from my cousin for many years. How would she listen to me all of a sudden?” Madam Ling cried. She did not want the son of the lowly maid to enter the Lord Protector’s Manor. The Lord Protector’s Manor belonged to her son, and no one could take it away from him.

“She will not listen to you? Then why did you send people to her manor secretly? Didn’t you say that you have not received any messages from her for many years?” Hearing Madam Ling arguing back, Ning Zu’an snorted and said.

“I… I…” Madam Ling was anxious and sweated profusely.

“Will you write that letter? Or should I, an old woman, directly report to the Lord Mayor and ask them to help us to find out who added fuel to the fire. A rich man wants to confront the Marquis. Isn’t he afraid of becoming bankrupt?” Madam Dowager said with hatred.

It seemed that if Madam Ling said that she did not agree, she would have a fight with Madam Dowager, in a never-ending situation.

Although Madam Ling had fought with Madam Dowager for so many years, she knew that Madam Dowager would not do anything to her as long as Ning Huaiyuan was there. But now the problem was that the illegitimate child had made an appearance and in Madam Dowager’s eyes, he was equally important. If she had known this, she would have killed him without considering whether he was Ning Zu’an’s son or not.

But now, Madam Dowager had asserted that she was the evil backstage manipulator and threatened her cousin’s family with bankruptcy. If the matter became worse, her cousin would never cover up for her. Thinking of this, Madam Ling had to admit her mistake.

“Madam Dowager… I, I’ll try now. If it doesn’t work, don’t blame me.” She wiped her tears, looking both aggrieved and benevolent.

“Madam Dowager, First Madam must know nothing about it. Even if there is an illegitimate child, First Madam…” Junior Concubine Xu tried to help Madam Ling and tried to find a way out for her.

“You’re a concubine. How dare you talk about the illegitimate child?” Unfortunately, she rubbed her the wrong way. Junior Concubine Xu did not know what had happened before, so her words seemed to be full of sarcasm. However, Madam Ling remembered that when she first entered the manor, everyone in the mansion said that Yuan’er was an illegitimate child. So, she turned around and scolded Junior Concubine Xu.

Being scolded for no reason, Junior Concubine Xu immediately shed tears, trying to gain sympathy. Unfortunately, Ning Zu’an was deeply troubled, and he was not in the mood to see his concubine acting in such a manner. Seeing that Madam Ling was going to write a letter, he bid farewell to Madam Dowager and turned to leave. Even if the person who complained, decided to withdraw the plaintiff paper, it was not easy to settle this, because a man had died.

He had to find someone to do him a favor.

The Auspicious Clouds Courtyard was in general turmoil. No one was doing well. However, the atmosphere in Bright Frost Garden was harmonious. Ning Xueyan sat on the couch, selecting threads for making clothes, while listening to Mother Han’s report.

When Qing’er left earlier, Mother Han went back to eavesdrop. They quarreled so loudly that one could hear their words from outside the wall. When Ning Zu’an went out, she knew that the matter was over, so she hurried back to report to Ning Xueyan.

“Young Lady, that person… is going to enter the mansion soon?” Ning Xueyan was carefully selecting threads, her delicate face tranquil. Her lips were paler than others, so she looked frailer than others. The slanting sun shone over from the window, giving her face which was as white as snow, a natural and charming look.

Such a woman was usually weak and tended to rely on others. Seeing the tender girl in front of her, Mother Han was sincerely convinced. If the Madam had behaved like this, she might not have come to a bad end. The Madam would not have died without first proving her innocence.

After all, the Madam could not be compared with the Young Lady.

The Madam looked tough, but she was tender. The Young Lady looked delicate, but she was strong. They were completely different. So, Madam’s path of life was doomed to be increasingly narrower, but the Young Lady’s was the opposite.

“He won’t go to the manor immediately. It’ll take a few days. Mother Han, please prepare a set of superior “scholar’s four jewels” for me. When my new brother comes to the manor, I’ll go and congratulate him.” Ning Xueyan said casually. She picked up a red silk string in her hand and looked at it against the window.

The threads should be well matched with the red clothes. Otherwise, the set of clothes would be ruined. The Prince, who valued the wedding clothes, was hardly easier to deal with. The best way was not to mess up his business. As for whether he would wear it, it was beyond Ning Xueyan’s consideration.

Since she had already made up her mind to enter the Prince Yi’s Manor, she decided not to think about other things.

Now the most important thing was about Ning Yujing. Several days should be enough for her cousin!

“Young Lady, please be assured. I’ll do it right away.” Mother Han was relieved when she saw Ning Xueyan’s confident expression. Although she knew that the Young Lady would not be wrong, she felt unsure because it was about a male offspring.

“Mother Han, when you go out, go and check whether Qingyu is around or not. Ask her to come over. I need to talk to her.” Ning Xueyan said, as she laid down the silk thread in her hand and nodded with satisfaction.

It was a good thing. It should be over within these few days. Qing’er almost did not stay in the Bright Frost Garden these days. She only came back occasionally when Ning Xueyan called her. Junior Concubine Xu did not take her seriously. She thought that Ning Xueyan’s time was over!

A concubine, who used to be a maid, was short-sighted after all!