Chapter 262: To Scare the Cat out of the Bag

“You don’t need to worry about these things. Yuan’er said that he has a solution, so he can do it.” Seeing that Mother Chen was absent-minded, Madam Ling told her, with an unhappy look on her face.

“Yes. I acted beyond my duties.” Mother Chen nodded.

“Mother Chen, do you think the lords of the court will take a fancy to that little bi*ch?” Although she did not take any action these days, Madam Ling felt more and more anxious after she thought about it. That little bi*ch looks pretty good, so Madam Ling was worried that she might be selected. Until then, whether she was at court or in a prince’s mansion, it would not be good for Madam Ling.

“First Madam, don’t worry. Although Fifth Young Lady looks good, she is thin and weak. Looking at her face, one can tell that she is not suited to have children. Whether she is at court or in a prince’s mansion, if she can’t have a child, she will come to a bad end.”

At this time, Mother Chen had calmed down and was gently soothing Madam Ling.

When it came to the matter about male offspring, Madam Ling relaxed and headed towards Bright Frost Garden, with a malicious and proud look. “Right. Without a son, a woman will be like a flower in the water and a moon in the mirror, no matter how cosseted she is.”

“Yes. First Madam, you’re right.” Mother Chen responded carefully.

“However, I’m still not assured. If the little bi*ch is favored, maybe she will do something to us.” Madam Ling still felt anxious after thinking about it. She patted the edge of the bed hard. These days, she felt ill at ease. She thought the Beauty Contest was beyond her control, and something might happen.

“First Madam, if you really don’t want Fifth Young Lady to be chosen, it’s not impossible.” Seeing that Madam Ling was distressed, Mother Chen had an idea and immediately proposed it to her, in a low voice.

“Do you have any good ideas?” Madam Ling was overjoyed.

Mother Chen nodded, leaned her head against Madam Ling’s ear, and whispered. Hearing that, Madam Ling started laughing and continuously nodded. If her son knew this, he would not approve. Anyway, she did not want to hurt that little bi*ch, but merely wanted to add a dash of unpredictability to her situation.

“First Madam, First Madam.” When they were talking, a maid was calling at the door, asking to be let in.

“Go and see what she wants.” Madam Ling felt less apprehensive and more at ease, and she signaled to Mother Chen.

Mother Chen answered and opened the door. The maid at the door reported respectfully, “First Madam, our Fifth Young Lady sent me here to ask you if you have the old account books of all the shops. Without them, she can’t check the accounts and check on the property.”

Hearing this, Madam Ling remembered that most of the shops of the manor had fallen into the hands of Ning Xueyan. She could not help, but feel distressed, because those were all her property. The da**ed older woman took all her property to offset Madam Ming’s dowry. How could she not feel depressed? She had operated the shops for Madam Ming for so many years. Even if she did not achieve anything, she had still put in a lot of effort!

Those shops were her assets. The thought of all these falling into Ning Xueyan’s hands, made her even more determined not to let it go.

“I don’t have any of the account books right now. You ask Fifth Young Lady to look for them by herself.” Madam Ling said spitefully.

“Yes.” Seeing Madam Ling’s dissatisfaction, the maid said nothing more. She bowed respectfully and retreated, so that Madam Ling could not vent her anger on her.

When the door closed, a ferocious look appeared on Madam Ling’s pretty face.

“How dare Ning Xueyan, that little bi*ch, dare to take over her shops.” She would never let her wish come true, which was to get hold of the old account books and check the accounts.

To keep Ning Zu’an’s reputation unsullied, she had to give the shops to Ning Xueyan now, because she had been caught red-handed by Ming Feiyong. When she came out of the Buddha Hall, the issue had been settled. Ning Zu’an had scolded her for this. However, she was not Ning Zu’an and Madam Dowager. At that time, she still had Madam Ming’s dowry list.

And, she had been hiding it. So, Ning Xueyan’s list was either a fake or directly from the Ming Family. There could not be a second list.

Therefore, as long as the list was in her hands, she would wait for Ning Xueyan to produce the two lists. Even though she was short of one list, she would still be able to take back those shops, furniture, screens, beds, and antiques.

So, the account books with Madam Ming’s signature should not fall into the hands of that little bi*ch.

She would not deal with her because of Yuan’er, but it did not mean that she would not take any action…

“Mother Chen, you go out tomorrow and ask the Vice Minister of Justice’s Manor to send me some furniture that I used to love. Use two big carriages to send them over.”

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She had a stern look on her face.

“Yes, Madam!” Mother Chen nodded, as she understood tacitly.

In the Bright Frost Garden, Ning Xueyan was listening to Qingyu’s report. Qingyu specially mentioned Madam Ling’s look.

On the table, there were some flowers that Third Prince had asked someone to send over, early in the morning. Third Prince did things meticulously, so he would not give others something to find fault with. Thus, he sent some to the three young ladies in the manor. Moreover, he sent different flowers to them, so no one could say that he favored one more than another. He treated them equally, according to their preferences.

Ning Xueyan had taken a fancy to some of the flowers in Third Prince’s greenhouse. She seemed to like these flowers very much. So, Third Prince sent them to her.

She sat at the table and tore the petals off one by one. Then, she put them in a stone mortar and crushed them gently. After they were reduced to pollen, she put them into a small bottle carefully. The pollen were very fine, so she had to be extra careful, otherwise, these tiny particles would fly into the air.

“My lady, will First Madam take any precautionary measures because of my words?” Qingyu collected the pollen carefully for Ning Xueyan, and asked.

On the other side, Lanning was collecting another type of pollen. The different types of pollen could not be mixed together. Ning Xueyan divided them into two categories, and put them far apart to prevent them from being mixed.

“When she came out of the Buddha Hall, Ning Ziyan had an accident, and she said a lot of bad things about me, before others. Then, the issue was patched up because of the ‘assassin.’ The people in the manor knew that Beauty Contest is coming up. It’s unwise to make any trouble. Madam Dowager must have asked my elder brother to warn her. So, she will not make any trouble for the time being, but it doesn’t mean she won’t, in the future…”

Ning Xueyan carried a wide cuff with one hand and crushed the petals with the other hand. Her long eyelashes cast two rows of uneven shadows on her tender face. Her face had always been pale. She had a paler complexion than the average woman, which made her look as white as snow.

After this period of rest, her lips turned red, which showed up against her tender skin. Her skin looked smoother and fairer. Her black-jade watery eyes were always shimmering. Although she was a little childlike, she had an exceedingly beautiful appearance.

Even though Qingyu and Lanning saw her often, they could not help but feel amazed, each time they saw her beauty.

“Why don’t you clean up?” She lowered her head and asked softly. Ning Xueyan had not looked up, but could feel that the two maids were distracted.

Qingyu and Lanning stared at each other. Both of them saw the bewilderment in each other’s eyes, and became embarrassed.

Lanning said with a cough, “My lady, you asked Qingyu to say such remarks today in order to provoke madam to launch her attacks, right?”

“No, she won’t launch any attacks now. If so, the marquis will not forgive her, not to mention Madam Dowager.” Ning Xueyan said confidently. She had sent Qingyu to provoke Madam Ling intentionally, to ask her about those account books.

When Madam Ling was cloistered in the Buddha Hall, Ning Xueyan had investigated into those account books. However, she found nothing. It showed that Madam Ling hid them well. So, what she had to do now was to try and scare her, so the cat will be let out of the bag. Only when she reminded Madam Ling of this matter, could she proceed to the next step.

She hated Madam Ling, and Madam Ling hated her. She would not let go of such an opportunity to turn the tables. Thus, those dispensable account books became necessary evidence. She would not let it happen to her. Now that she was no longer the First Madam who governed the backyard, she could not take care of so many things.

The safest way was to find a place she thought was safe to hide them again.

Ning Xueyan guessed that they were not at Lord Protector’s Manor. What she could do was not to seize these account books, but to figure out their whereabouts. Only in this way, could she deal Madam Ling with a vicious blow.

“Qingyu, when you go over to take the hamper, you should talk to the maid from the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard, as much as possible to inquire about things over there. You should ask for more details. If someone asks you why you are paying so attention to that, you can say that I am concerned about Madam’s illness, nothing else.” A dim light flashed across her eyes, as she instructed the maid.

It was time to have dinner at the Lord Protector’s Manor. The maids from the yards of the various masters were there, at the same time. To keep the food from getting cold, they often went over earlier. As soon as the food was ready, they would immediately take them away. Thus, when it was time to have a meal, the maids and older female servants from all yards would be at the kitchen. Everyone was joking and chatting freely, and the atmosphere was very lively.

The masters had their owns minds. The servants were laughing and chatting together, which showed that they all got along well.

Fifth Young Lady of the Bright Frost Garden was not the Fifth Young Lady who used to be bullied. And, she had started to manage the chores. The maids and the older female servants knew that no one would dare to pick on Qingyu. Even those from the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard dared not to make trouble for her.

“My lady, if I always ask about the issues of the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard, won’t I arouse others’ suspicions?” Hearing the order, Qingyu felt a little anxious and said this uneasily. All the maids and older female servants from each house were shrewd. If she kept asking, it would inevitably create suspicion.

“Qingyu, you do what the lady says. It’s good to be a suspect. If you can think of that, don’t you think our lady will also have that thought?” Lanning chuckled to herself, “Don’t you understand what she means?”

Hearing Lanning’s words, Qingyu was stupefied. When she saw Ning Xueyan giving her a spurious smile, she was suddenly enlightened. She reached out her hand to pat herself on the head and laughed.