Chapter 339 Madam Ling’s Past
In the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard.
When Madam Ling came out to welcome him, Ning Zu’an pushed her away and sat down in the chair angrily. His face was livid and dark. He stared coldly at Madam Ling, who had been pushed to the ground.
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Mother Chen hurried to help Madam Ling up.
“Marquis, what’s wrong with you?” Madam Ling had been shoved for no reason. She was angry at first, but then she calmed down. She stood up with Mother Chen’s help and asked softly, with a smile on her face.
When she was talking about Ning Huaijing with Mother Chen, she felt very proud. Unexpectedly, Ning Zu’an came right away. How could she not feel guilty? Even if she was angry, she did not dare give vent to her anger. Did he come here because of that?
She did that secretly. The First Madam was Madam Ling’s cousin, so outsiders did not know about it. Even if Marquis was exceptionally adept in trickery, it was impossible for him to know of it.
That was what she thought. She calmed down a little. In any case, she could not let the marquis see her behaving abnormally.
“You have done a good thing!” Ning Zu’an used to like this face, but now he only felt that it looked hypocritical and disgusting. He pounded the desk on one side, and shouted.
Madam Ling was so scared that her heart trembled, and her face turned pale. Mother Chen shook her head silently, indicating that the Marquis would not know about it.
“Marquis, what are you talking about? I don’t understand!” Madam Ling could only pretend to play dumb. She blinked her eyes and answered in a soft voice. She seemed to know nothing, and her face looked confused. Her portrayal was flawless.
“How n.o.ble the Marchioness is!” Ning Zu’an sneered. Looking at the face that seemed to know nothing, he was increasingly exasperated. “Do you think I don’t know anything? And you can do whatever you want? Well, well, well, don’t you want to harm my son? How dare you say that?”
Speaking of this later, Ning Zu’an’s eyes stared piercingly at Madam Ling.
He was born to be a military general, and now he was angry. Madam Ling went somewhat weak under his gaze. But she also knew that she could not afford to show any weakness now. She suddenly altered the expression on her face and pretended to be delicate. Tears dripped from her eyelids. “Marquis, what happened to you today? What did I do to make you so angry? You should make it clear lest I am wronged for no reason.”
Whether Ning Zu’an doubted or not, she would not admit it. Anyway, he was an illegitimate child. Would Ning Zu’an have a dispute with her, because of an illegitimate child?
“I’ve wronged you!” Ning Zu’an sneered with a gloomy face. “Look what you did to Ning Huaijing? Did you want to kill him when you found out that I had another son? ”
“Another son?” As soon as she heard this, Madam Ling was stunned at first and burst into tears. “Marquis, what nonsense are you talking about? Another son? Don’t you only have a son Yuan’er? How could it be possible that you have another son? … How can I, your mother, and Yuan’er live in this world?”
Madam Ling knew that Ning Zu’an was a person who was sensitive about his reputation, so she deliberately tried to trap him, using his reputation. Besides his own, there were his son’s and his mother’s. She did not believe that Ning Zu’an would humiliate the whole Lord Protector’s Manor for that illegitimate son.
Madam Ling had forgotten that Ning Huaiyuan and Ning Ziyan were illegitimate children when they first came to the Lord Protector’s Manor. To initially accept another illegitimate son, one may feel a little shameful. If one got used to some things, he would not have such great psychological pressure.
Although Ning Zu’an did not like Madam Yu, she produced a son for him. Ning Zu’an still wanted his son to return to his family if he had good prospects. Therefore, Ning Zu’an did not object to the illegitimate child, as Madam Ling expected.
Madam Ling thought that Ning Zu’an would be embarra.s.sed to say that Ning Huaiyuan was his son, but she was wrong.
“Madam Ling, when you first entered the manor, you were a mistress living outside with two illegitimate children, weren’t you?” Ning Zu’an said with a sneer. Hearing Madam Ling’s words, Ning Zu’an suddenly thought of Madam Ling’s entry into the manor.
This was heart-wrenching to Madam Ling. When she first entered the Lord Protector’s Manor, Madam Ling was a mistress living outside, and then a concubine. It was Madam Ling’s most embarra.s.sing secret. Since she became a legal wife, these things had been banned from any discussion. Once one was found talking about it, they were severely punished.
Over time, no one dared to talk about Madam Ling. Those who came to the manor later did not know that Madam Ling had such a dishonorable past.
Madam Ling had selectively forgotten about the past. She felt that she gained the Legal Wife t.i.tle in a proper way.
Now that Ning Zu’an touched a raw nerve in her, she was ashamed and angry. She could not help crying. “Marquis, what are you talking about? How can you hurt me like this? I bore a son and two daughters for you. Each child is dignified and imposing. How can you talk about me, as if I am like a wh.o.r.e? If you are not satisfied with me, you can tell me. Why must you rebuke my children? They’re all your natural children.”
She cried so hard that she could not breathe and almost fainted. Mother Chen hurriedly held her and persuaded her in a low voice, “First Madam, don’t cry. The marquis knows everything about you and Young Master. How could he deliberately say that? I don’t know if the marquis has heard from someone else. I believe that after you make it clear, he’ll know your intention.”
She secretly looked at Ning Zu’an while talking. Her words were full of irony, and made people uncomfortable.
Ning Zu’an was still angry. Now he saw the master and servant whispering to each other, which was like putting on a show. He picked up the cup beside his hand and smashed it on Madam Ling. “Don’t pretend to act. Don’t you want to kill Ning Huaijing? I’ll tell you today that Ning Huaijing is my son. If you dare to hurt him, I won’t spare you!”
The teacup hit Madam Ling’s feet. Fortunately, the tea inside was not hot, but it scared Madam Ling. The water from the cup soaked half of her skirt. Several pieces of broken porcelain pierced her leg. Immediately, she felt a tingling in her leg, which told her that her skin had been cut.
She did not expect Ning Zu’an to become violent over an illegitimate child. Madam Ling was ashamed and angry. Shamelessly, she let out a cry and burst into tears. While crying, she pointed at Ning Zu’an and said.
“Marquis, what are you talking about? Illegitimate child? In the Lord Protector’s Manor, I devoted myself to your family affairs. I did not expect you to have an illegitimate child outside. I’m embarra.s.sed by you. Marquis, don’t you feel sorry for me and our children?”
As tears fell from her pale face, she looked sad and pitiful. In normal times, Ning Zu’an might have softened. But when he thought that Madam Ling wanted to hurt his son, Ning Zu’an was enraged. He could not let it go, because Ning Huaijing was in prison now.
“Stop acting. Did you do that to Ning Huaijing?” He remained unmoved and said coldly.
For the present situation, she had to find a way to get Ning Huaijing out.
“Marquis, what does that have to do with me? I don’t know Ning Huaijing. This is the first time that I heard Ning Huaijing is your illegitimate son.” Madam Ling was reluctant to admit it. She sobbed, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
She thought that if she did not say anything, Ning Zu’an would not find a way to deal with her. As long as the wealthy family insisted that Ning Huaijing had beaten their son to death, even if Ning Zu’an interfered with it, he could not deliberately break the law. Moreover, Ning Zu’an had not acknowledged Ning Huaijing as his son yet. After such a thing happened, it was impossible for Ning Zu’an to accept this son who committed crimes.
“Don’t you think that you did it perfectly? I remember that the Legal Wife of that family seems to be your cousin. What a coincidence! The son of a concubine died. I thought he fainted, so it’s not a big deal. As soon as I got the news, he is dead. Now, Ning Huaijing has become the murderer. Madam Ling, don’t you think it’s too coincidental?”
Ning Zu’an had not suspected Madam Ling before, so he could not remember anything. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was Madam Ling. It was so coincidental that he had to suspect Madam Ling.
Everything has its cause. As for Ning Huaijing, Ning Zu’an had found out privately that he was a law-abiding man. How could he argue and fight with others for no reason? Moreover, he had never fought with anyone before. How could he knock the rich boy out? He was a frail scholar. How could he be powerful?
When Ning Zu’an sent the letter to the lord mayor, he also found out that the son of the concubine was not a good person. He did a lot of bad things and acted tyrannically in daily life. There were some people who followed him. How could so many people fail to defeat Ning Huaijing? And their young master was knocked out by Ning Huaijing?
There were so many things that he felt illogical. When he a.s.sociated it with Madam Ling, everything became logical!
If Ning Zu’an still could not figure it out, he would not have been the Lord Protector anymore.
“Marquis, I didn’t do it. Can you tell me about Ning Huaijing? And why is there an illegitimate son? Do you remember what you said to me? What happened? Yuan’er is your legitimate son. You… how can you have another illegitimate child? And he even made trouble. What will others think of our Lord Protector’s Manor?” Madam Ling cried out loud.
Her voice became unintentionally sharp.
“What illegitimate child? Where did you find the illegitimate child?” Just as they were arguing, an angry rebuke suddenly came from outside. When the two lifted their heads, they saw Madam Dowager, who had an angry look on her face, walking in angrily with Junior Concubine Xu supporting her.
Descendants had always been the thing that Madam Dowager was most concerned about.