Chapter 459 The Teacup Was Broken
Ning Xueyan knelt in front of the figure of the Buddha, worshipping in silence with her eyes closed. Her long and thick eyelashes left shadows on her tender face. In front of the sacrificial table, there were some ornaments that belonged to Madam Ming, as well as some bowls and cups, plates of fruit and a big censer.
The sounds of chanting, accompanied by the rhythmical drumming on the wooden fish, was soothing and calmed one down. It felt quiet and distant in this smoke-filled room.
Ning Ziyan knelt with Ning Xueyan for a long time. At this time, she whispered with a smile on her face, “Xueyan, have a rest. You are still so weak. If you keep doing this, you will pa.s.s out and I am sure Mother will be heartbroken.”
Ning Zu’an’s Legal Wife was Madam Ming, so she was the mother of all his children.
Ning Xueyan nodded. Holding Xinmei’s hand, she stood up and rested in the side hall. Ning Xueyan took a sip of the tea that a young monk had prepared for them and gradually recovered. Slight color came back to her face and she looked a little better.
“Eldest Sister, you can go back now. I will stay here and take care of everything,” Ning Xueyan said softly with a smile.
“Fifth Sister, we are sisters. You do not have to be so polite. You are not in good health now. How could I just sit back and leave everything to you?” Ning Ziyan said with a smile.
She sounded so affectionate! People who did not know her would think that the sisters were really close. Ning Xueyan sneered secretly. It seemed that Ning Ziyan was going all out to put on a good show of their sisterhood today. She felt funny when she saw Ning Yuling and Ning Ziyan acting like this just now.
What kind of person was Ning Yuling? How could she be so willing to be suppressed by Ning Ziyan? When they went to Xia Manor, Ning Ziyan would never be the same good sister as she was now. So Ning Ziyan was determined to show her temperament and the deep affection between them.
Of course, Ning Ziyan would not do this for no reason. Ning Xueyan had seen how attentive and gentle she was in her last life and in the end, Ning Ziyan killed her. It was only at the last moment that she discovered Ning Ziyan’s vicious intention. If Ning Xueyan had died unexpectedly in the previous accident, she would never know how vicious Ning Ziyan could be.
Now Ning Ziyan was again plotting against Ning Xueyan, which meant that Ning Ziyan was going to kill her. Before doing that, Ning Ziyan tried to pretend to be a good sister, so that others would not suspect her after something happened to Ning Xueyan. It was exactly the same thing that happened to Ning Ziying in her last life.
It seemed that Ning Qingshan’s letter really gave Ning Ziyan an idea.
“Xueyan, look, these are your favorite cherries and strawberries. I brought them from the foot of the mountain. There aren’t too many of these in the manor, so you can have a taste of them. When you were young, you ate them all every time they were sent to Bright Frost Garden.” Ning Ziyan smiled and pushed the two fruit bowls to Ning Xueyan.
Her favorite strawberries and cherries? Ning Xueyan raised her shimmery eyes and pushed the fruit plates back to Ning Ziyan. She covered her nose with a handkerchief and said, “Times have changed. At that time, we had no fruits in Bright Frost Garden, let alone cherries and strawberries. But now, I am going to disappoint you because I really do not like eating them anymore.”
It sounded like she was clearly disgusted with them rather than merely disliking them.
Ning Ziyan’s eyes blazed, but she immediately replied with a smile, as if she did not notice the sarcasm in Ning Xueyan’s words. “Since you do not like them, then you do not have to eat them. Later, I will ask them to cook some dishes that you used to like before. You need extra nutrition. You were seriously injured, so you should take care of yourself.”
The fruits and dishes she liked, as well as her attentive att.i.tude, made Ning Xueyan sneer in her heart. Ning Ziyan must surely be plotting against her. This morning, when Ning Ziyan went up to the mountain and saw Ao Chenyi leaving, she must have thought that it was safe and was now trying every means to test Ning Xueyan.
“Thank you for your kindness, Eldest Sister, but I do not have a good appet.i.te recently. I do not like what I used to eat in Bright Frost Garden. Maybe I am a little different after I am out of Bright Frost Garden,” Ning Xueyan said lightly. She was not lying. When she was Ning Ziying, the things she liked were naturally different from those of the actual Ning Xueyan.
When Ning Xueyan lived in Bright Frost Garden, most of the time, she was unable to choose what she ate and whether she liked it or not. Madam Ling was very strict with Bright Frost Garden. The things Ning Xueyan had and the food she ate were much worse than what the ordinary servants had in the manor. People would only send the leftovers or things they did not like to Bright Frost Garden.
Therefore, Ning Xueyan was not picky about food since she could not tell which dishes were her favorites. When it came to her favorite food, Mother Han was not sure what Ning Xueyan liked or disliked when she was in Bright Frost Garden.
The one who had favorite dishes was Ning Xueyan. What she liked and disliked were obvious now. Since she moved out of Bright Frost Garden, she was no longer the obedient Fifth Young Lady. So the kitchen would prepare some dishes she liked, according to her preferences.
This was not a secret in the Lord Protector’s Manor’s kitchen!
Under what circ.u.mstances would a person who did not have any preferences before, suddenly change and reject the fruit that she used to eat.
“Eldest Young Lady, when Fifth Young Lady was in Bright Frost Garden, she could only eat what she was given. Now it is different from before and her circ.u.mstance is better now. She no longer favors the things that she was able to eat before.” Xinmei said immediately after Ning Xueyan’s remarks, as if she was trying to smooth out the situation.
Ning Xueyan’s hand holding the handkerchief froze as if she wanted to cover up something. She said, “Yes, things are different now from the time when we were in Bright Frost Garden.”
Hearing Xinmei’s hurried explanation as well as Ning Xueyan’s constraint, Ning Ziyan was glad and said, “Fifth Sister, you are right. It is different from the time when you were isolated in Bright Frost Garden. It is normal for you to change your taste. It is my fault.”
Ning Xueyan nodded wearily, as if she did not want to say any more. She rested her head on her hands and closed her eyes.
Ning Ziyan blinked and asked in a low voice, “Fifth Sister, are you tired?”
“Emm…” Ning Xueyan murmured softly without opening her eyes.
“Fifth Sister, you can rest here for a while. I will go and accompany Grandmother. If you want anything to eat, just send someone to tell me. I have a lot of people with me now. Maybe they can cook the food that you like.”
This time, Ning Xueyan did not even reply. She just nodded slightly and kept silent.
A hint of coldness flashed in Ning Ziyan’s eyes. But when Xinmei turned around, Ning Ziyan showed her a smiling face and left the side hall with her maid. It was just as she had expected. She felt it was strange that a person could become so different for no reason.
Ning Xueyan used to be so timid that she did not dare to say anything, but now she was cunning and clever. Even if it was due to Madam Ming’s death, she could not have undergone such a big change unless there was another reason.
Behind her, Ning Xueyan opened her eyes silently, looking at Ning Ziyan’s back coldly with a sneer. She pointed at Ning Ziyan’s back. Seeing this, Xinmei rushed out and followed Ning Ziyan silently. Lanning walked out from the back of the palace and stood by Ning Xueyan’s side.
“Young Lady, the kitchen nearest here is not far from the main hall, but people do not cook there because it is close to the main hall. Usually, when people hold memorial ceremonies, they will find only tableware in the kitchen. It is regarded as the storage room for kitchen utensils.”
Before Lanning came over, she had already found out what she wanted to know.
“Where do they get the water?” Ning Xueyan looked up at the Buddha statue. Because it was at the side hall, the Buddha statue was not big. Xinmei’s tea was brought in from the side door.
“The water was boiled in the big kitchen. It was sent up to the mountain in kettles for the pilgrims. It is said that it is taken from a well from Cold Mountain Temple. The water is very sweet and clean and all of Cold Mountain Temple drinks it.” It was the information that Lanning had obtained from the young monk.
It was the best water source in Cold Mountain Temple, so its safety could be guaranteed. Moreover, it was not that easy to put poison in it. So it had to be the bowls. These bowls and chopsticks were placed near at hand so that pilgrims could find them whenever they needed them, especially for a memorial ceremony like this. Ning Xueyan had checked and found that those fruit plates had been changed before they came.
Otherwise, after half a month, the fruit plates would be so dirty and not fit to be used by the public.
Ning Xueyan sat up straight and looked at the teacup in her hand. After taking a sip of tea, her hands suddenly trembled and she could not hold on to the cup. The teacup in her hand fell onto the ground with a loud sound. “Bang!” The teacup was smashed into pieces. Ning Xueyan and Lanning were prepared, so only a few drops of water splashed on the hem of Ning Xueyan’s skirt.
The door of the side hall opened and an acolyte in charge of doing odd jobs in the hall looked inside. Seeing that Lanning was squatting down to pick up the shattered pieces of the teacup, the acolyte hurriedly came over with a broom in his hand. He said, “Amitabha. Benefactor, let me do it.”
He looked chubby and was about seven or eight years old. He was very capable and when he smiled, his eyes narrowed into slits.
“There is no need to bother you. I will do it.” Lanning took his big broom and said with a smile.
“Then I will prepare more tea for you.” The young monk was shrewd and knew that Ning Xueyan was the Fifth Young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor, who had been holding a memorial ceremony in the temple for more than half a month. She was a major guest in the temple. When he saw that the broom was taken away by Lanning, he immediately went to prepare fresh tea for Ning Xueyan.
“Young monk, wait a minute. Where did you get this cup?” Ning Xueyan stopped him, looking at the debris on the ground and asked with a smile, as if it was just a casual question.
The young monk was smart. Seeing that Ning Xueyan’s eyes were on the broken pieces on the ground, he thought for a while and said, “Benefactor, these teapots are from the small kitchen. You can be a.s.sured. The teapots in our kitchen are clean. We clean them every day. You do not have to worry about that.”
Looking at Ning Xueyan’s expression, he thought that Ning Xueyan felt that their teacups were not clean, so he explained hurriedly.