The Devious First-Daughter

Lanning silently mouthed to Mother Han: “The Fifth Young Lady is back”, suggesting that she rest assured.

Mother Han nodded to show that she understood. It could be seen from her eyes that she was very excited and felt greatly relieved in her heart. If it were the previous Fifth Young Lady, Mother Han would not have had so much confidence in her. But now, the Fifth Young Lady was different, she could certainly clear her of the injustice.

“You little bitch, you even dared to hit me.” The older female servant became furious because she had been beaten by a maid from Bright Frost Garden. How could she live with that in the future? Especially the two maids standing at the door, they laughed while bending forward and backward, which attracted more maids and older female servants here to watch the fun. They pointed at her and talked about her, one and all. The older female servant appeared quite embarrassed.

She climbed up from the ground and rushed at Lanning vehemently.

Lanning neatly flashed back. Then, she pretended to be pushed back two more steps and fell into the nearby woodpiles. She turned around in the woodpiles, so her body and her hair were immediately covered with woodchips. Now her hair fell down and she looked like a terrible mess. Her face also looked dusty and dirty because she had smeared her face with a handful of dust that she picked up from the ground.

Nobody except Lanning and the older female servant knew the facts. The others all thought that Lanning was messed up like this because the older female servant had knocked her to the ground.

The woman had failed to hit Lanning. Thus, she stumbled two steps before she finally managed to stand firmly. Seeing that Lanning knocked herself like this, she could not help swearing at Lanning with her hands against her sides. “You little bitch, who do you think your mistress is? You even dared to be unreasonable and make a scene here. You really didn’t know how little strength you have.”

“You actually dared to disobey the mistress’s order.” Lanning still sat in the woodpiles and had not gotten up. But she was reluctant to show weakness, so she also raised her head and cursed her furiously. “You just wait here. In a moment when Mammy comes here, she will rip your skin off.”

Being so despised by such a little girl she usually used to look down upon, how could the older female servant bear it? So she broke out into curses without thinking. “The mistress? What kind of mistress? There is actually an older female servant who will come here. Which shameless servant dares to rip my skin off? I am one of the First Madam’s people. No one can take her away today without the order from the First Madam.”

Because of Lanning, she had become so angry that she nearly fainted, so she tarred all the others with the same brush.

“How dare you disobey an order from Madam Dowager?” said the older female servant of the Madam Dowager angrily. She was sent by Madam Dowager. After she found that her feet were fine, she happened to arrive here to see a group of people gathered around the door. Before she could see everything clearly, she heard an older female servant shout that only the people of the First Madam could take Mother Han away, which instantly made her extremely furious.

Their two mistresses could not get along. Therefore, neither the people in the courtyard of Madam Dowager nor the people in the courtyard of Madam Ling would give in.

The crowd was parted in the middle. Lanning’s untidy face was the first thing the older female servant of Madam Dowager saw.

Seeing the servant come over, Lanning suddenly looked so aggrieved and she struggled to stand up. “Mammy, she, she won’t let me take Mother Han away. She also insulted the mistress.”

Lanning spoke in very general terms. She did not clearly say who the mistress was. However, she came here to take Mother Han away with Madam Dowager’s people. Thus, her mistress certainly would be Madam Dowager.

Upon hearing that the older female servant had insulted Madam Dowager, the face of the personal servant of Madam Dowager was red with anger. She grabbed the older female servant, who failed to react at the moment, and made for the door. “Come, let’s go to meet Madam Dowager and let her decide who is right. Why does the order from Madam Dowager not work? Why can’t we take the person away? Do we really need to ask the First Madam for permission to take one person away?”

“I have been here for a while. No matter what I said to her, she just wouldn’t allow me to take Mother Han away and she actually spoke ill of the mistresses. Mammy, now the mistresses must be anxiously waiting in suspense. We really can’t afford to shoulder the responsibility.” By her side, Lanning added fuel to the servant’s angry flames.

Upon hearing that she might shoulder the responsibility, the servant was unwilling to stop. She had someone else bring Mother Han with them. Then, holding the hand of the servant who guarded the door, she dragged her all the way to Auspicious Fortune Hall. There was a lot of noise along the way so she also brought a large group of onlookers there.

After Lanning and the servant had left, Madam Dowager asked Ning Xueyan to sit down to answer questions. Madam Dowager tenderly asked her about her body condition. She also planned on inviting a physician to take her pulse in order to see what kind of medicine was better for her. Furthermore, she specifically told Mother Qin beside her to prepare some good medicine for Ning Xueyan, and so on. All these things showed how much she cared for Ning Xueyan.

At the side, Madam Ling also chipped in on their conversation from time to time. The scene actually looked quite warm and happy!

When they were acting vigorously, a loud noise suddenly came from outside. The face of Madam Dowager fell instantly. Before she could speak, Lanning rushed in with her dirty face. After entering the door, she immediately knelt down before Madam Dowager with a loud thud. She burst into tears. “Madam Dowager, please exercise justice for our Young Lady.”

She mentioned Ning Xueyan at the beginning. Madam Dowager was stunned and then she looked down at Lanning, whose face was covered with black and white lines now. For a moment, Madam Dowager failed to recognize who she was.

Mother Qin standing by her side actually recognized Lanning immediately. Then she whispered in Madam Dowager’s ear to remind her. Spotting the surprised look on Consort Dowager’s face, Madam Dowager really wanted to explode.

“Lanning, what’s the matter? Didn’t you go to bring Mother Han here? How could you end up like this?” asked Ning Xueyan. She frowned while looking Lanning up and down. She then asked with an unpleasant expression, “Is there anything wrong regarding me that needs my grandmother to get justice for me?”

Because they were just displaying their deep feelings of kinship, Madam Dowager could not blame Ning Xueyan for speaking first. Moreover, Lanning was Ning Xueyan’s maid, so it was normal for her to ask questions first.

“My lady, I went to get Mother Han with the Mammy from Auspicious Fortune Hall. But when we arrived there, that older female servant not only didn’t allow us to take Mother Han away, but she also called you a sickly. And she also said that… She said that you were not the mistress…” Lanning felt so wronged that she could hardly bring out a word. She was angry and annoyed. Unconsciously, the rims of her eyes turned red. It was obvious that she had been bullied badly.

“How dare she do such things? That dog slave, where is she?” Madam Dowager leaned back angrily. She was performing this deep touching bond with her granddaughter here to make others think that she was sincerely good to Ning Xueyan. But she didn’t expect that such a thing would happen. She felt embarrassed and opened her mouth to scold her.

While they were talking, the people from outside arrived!

Entangled with each other, the two older female servants came in. Behind them, Mother Han also came in and then knelt at one side.

In the chaos, Qingyu managed to get in and stood in the shadow behind Ning Xueyan.

The moment Ning Xueyan spotted Qingyu, she knew in her heart that the things over there seemed to have already been completed!

The older female servant who came in first let go of the other servant’s hand and knelt on the ground angrily. She reported loudly, “Madam Dowager, I went there to take someone away, but she spoke rudely. She even dared to speak ill of Madam Dowager. The entire time, she uttered insulting remarks without any good words.”

A moment ago, she talked about Ning Xueyan. Now, the person she talked about was Madam Dowager. Seeing that the eyes of Madam Dowager had suddenly turned razor sharp, Madam Ling felt really anxious. She went over and slammed hard on the face of the servant who guarded the door. Then she said angrily, “You dog slave. How dare you insult Madam Dowager!”

“I, I didn’t insult Madam Dowager. I, I only said that the Fifth Young Lady is sickly. I didn’t curse Madam Dowager at all!” The older female servant was nearly knocked out by Madam Ling. After she heard what Madam Ling had said, she argued loudly in a hurry.

As a matter of fact, she had never abused Madam Dowager. Now she was misunderstood and had been pulled here by someone else. Her head felt all muzzy along the way. Before she could figure everything out, she had been slapped in the face by Madam Ling. All she could hear were the few words: “insult Madam Dowager”. She knew that she had been wronged so she refused to admit to her mistakes and argued loudly.

Seeing that it was almost the time, Ning Xueyan winked at Lanning.

“Why is the Fifth Young Lady sickly?” Lanning growled at the side at the right moment, glaring angrily at the older female servant.

The woman became angry under her gaze and her attention was immediately attracted by Lanning.

She had gotten in such big trouble all because of the little bitch in front of her. Now, she was being beaten and wronged by others. The servant became wild with rage. Not seeing her surroundings clearly, she immediately argued back and cursed, “You little bitch, among all the people in the manor, who doesn’t know that the Fifth Young Lady is sickly? She may die at any time.”

“You actually dare curse our Young Lady! She is the mistress of Lord Protector’s Manor.” Lanning was trembling with anger.

Seeing the weakness of Lanning, the servant pressed on and continued her victorious pursuit. “Why can’t I curse her? What kind of mistress is she? Among all the people in the manor, no one regards her as the mistress. How dare she consider herself the mistress!”

No one knew that the servant would actually say something like this. It was too late for Madam Ling to stop her. Madam Ling went blank on the spot and her face turned pale.

Seeing the servant froth at the mouth with curses, Ning Xueyan immediately picked up the cup by her hand and threw it at the servant. The fine porcelain cup smashed a step away from the servant. It then broke into pieces. A flying piece sliced across the face of the servant and left a bloody mark behind.

The servant shut up immediately out of fear!

Ning Xueyan threw a cold look at Madam Ling, who had yet to come to her senses. Then she turned around and knelt down in front of Madam Dowager with a loud thud. “Grandmother, I volunteer to guard my mom’s tomb. From then on, I’ll stay with oil lamps before the statue of Buddha and I’ll never bring you any trouble!”

Her expression looked firm and indifferent. Her face remained calm. There was only a glimmer of tears in her eyes, which made her look stubborn and beautiful.

There was only silence in the room. They all couldn’t help holding their breath.

“Take her away and beat her to death!” Madam Dowager growled with a solemn face. She made the decision in an instant.

“Grandmother, don’t bother. There are a lot of people like her in the manor, so why should we bother to kill her?” Ning Xueyan said serenely. However, she got a trace of sadness at the bottom of her eyes. She was the first wife’s daughter of the manor, but she was repeatedly cursed by an inferior servant. Anyone in her situation would feel frustrated.

“Madam Dowager, I have never thought that the status of the Fifth Young Lady in the manor is actually no better than an inferior servant. No wonder that even her medicine was poisoned,” sneered the Consort Dowager of Commandery Prince Li. Shaking her head, she thought, “All the people in Lord Protector’s Manor have no standards. They even let a servant tread on the first wife’s daughter.”

“It seems that the status of the Fifth Young Lady is not as high as Madam Dowager has shown us.”

“Fifth Young Lady, don’t be upset. Your grandmother will surely help you vent your spleen. After that, people in the manor won’t dare to look down on you and bully you.” Madam Dowager Liu could not help starting to talk. Although she was not in charge of the internal affairs of Lord Protector’s Manor, she knew that people in the manor treated those people from Bright Frost Garden with indifference.

She just had not expected that even an inferior servant would dare to curse Ning Xueyan. Thus, she glared at Madam Ling and spoke to her angrily.

Although she did not know the whole affair, she knew that servants dared to treat Ning Xueyan with indifference only because it was exactly what Madam Ling meant. So she became more unpleasant regarding Madam Ling.

“I, I didn’t… Guards, take her away and flog her to death!” Madam Ling wanted to argue but she did not know where to start. It had never occurred to her that things would end up like this. She was only anxious to see the servant be beaten to death right now.

The guards had already come in and then they dragged the servant out.

“Young Lady, Young Lady, my poor Young Lady!” Mother Han, who was nearby, suddenly cried out pitifully with a desolate sound. She attracted everybody’s attention and all the people turned their heads to look at her.

It was exactly the moment that Ning Xueyan had been waiting for!