Chapter 538 The Viciousness of One’s So-Called Dearest Family
“Fifth Young Lady, have you gone mad? What nonsense are you saying? Servants! Bring the physician here so he can find out what disease she has, to be saying such crazy nonsense and committing such insane acts. This is terrifying!” A calm-faced Madam Dowager immediately pinned the blame on Ning Xueyan as soon as she showed up.
They couldn’t afford to care about offending Prince Yi’s Manor now. Ning Xueyan was dangerous to leave alive.
Besides, Ning Xueyan had committed the crime of killing Madam Ling and they had Ning Yuling as a witness too. She was a criminal. After killing her, they could excuse it as her taking her life out of fear of punishment. All they had to do was produce a body dead by suicide when the representatives of Prince Yi’s Manor come.
It didn’t seem like Prince Yi was sincerely in love with Ning Xueyan anyway. He must have preferred his concubine or he wouldn’t have abandoned Ning Xueyan at the Cold Mountain Temple and sought a physician for a t.i.tleless concubine. Her resolution became firmer at this thought.
All she needed was a reasonable explanation. They were the Lord Protector’s Manor after all. No matter how overbearing Prince Yi was, he wouldn’t say a word about it.
Ning Zu’an had also recovered his senses. He exchanged a look with Madam Dowager and immediately understood her intention. He nodded and said, “Servants! Take the Fifth Young Lady away and examine her. We’ll talk again when she snaps out of it.”
He had already convicted Ning Xueyan of her crime: Madam Ling’s death and her rebellious nonsense were the results of her frantic attack.
The older female servants looked at each other after receiving Ning Zu’an and Madam Dowager’s orders. They had no choice but to approach Ning Xueyan. Their family, their everything, was tied to the Lord Protector’s Manor.
“Stop there. Who dares to touch my master?” Xinmei said coldly, putting herself in front of Ning Xueyan. “Marquis, Madam Dowager, are you trying to kill my master before Prince Yi realizes? Too bad for you. My master has invited the prince here in advance. Right now, he’s probably at the door!”
Just as she was talking, a servant rushed in and immediately found Ning Zu’an. He hurried over and reported, “Marquis, Prince Yi is here.”
Ao Chenyi had come? Madam Dowager and Ning Zu’an were stunned. They never expected him to come. How should they wrap things up now?
“What’s wrong? Do you not welcome me?” A frosty voice emerged from the crowd, immediately dispersing everyone. The person who appeared in the middle of an entourage was undoubtedly Prince Yi, Ao Chenyi. His eyes, so dark they appeared bottomless, forced anyone he looked at to lower their heads, turn pale, and dare not to breathe a word.
Xinmei immediately stepped forward and respectfully knelt to Ao Chenyi. “Your Highness, someone has framed my master. The Lord Protector’s Manor is shielding the true criminal and even tried to put my master to death in front of so many people,” she said, putting the blame on everyone present.
Ning Zu’an shuddered from anger. An insignificant maid dared to speak such blatant lies! It was no wonder Ning Xueyan was so audacious.
He was so furious that he put aside his fear. He stepped forward to point at Ning Xueyan and said sharply, “Your Highness, this is a family shame. She… She pushed Madam Ling into the well and drowned her. We have both evidence and witness, but she refuses to admit it.”
A look of surprise crossed Ning Xueyan’s beautiful eyes. She remembered telling Yu Jian to come and help her using Ao Chenyi’s authority. After all, she had reason and evidence to protect herself if Ning Zu’an and Madam Dowager were not driven to desperate action. Who would have thought that Ao Chenyi would personally come here?
Her heart suddenly turned warm. She watched as he slowly walked over and grabbed her cold hand.
“Lord Protector’s Manor, how dare you say you have evidence and witness when my woman hasn’t said a word in defense. Very well. If you produce wrongful evidence today, we shall be seeing the Emperor.” Ao Chenyi gave her a rea.s.suring look before redirecting his almond-shaped eyes at Ning Zu’an. A cold glint flashed in his deep, dark pupils. It was as if a bloodthirsty creature had quietly slipped by.
Ning Zu’an’s heart began to race.
A eunuch came over, produced a chair out of nowhere, and put it behind Ao Chenyi. Ao Chenyi sat down languidly and cried, “Come on. Who’s the witness? Show us!” He continued to hold Ning Xueyan’s hand, pulling her beside him so that their hands would be tightly bound.
She could feel a warmth coming from him and her nose felt tart. The coldness and stiffness of her body were slowly leaving her. She had experienced similar interrogation in her past life, where she had faced Xia Yuhang’s cold and disgusted face. But now, she could even glimpse some warmth from Ao Chenyi’s usually frosty face.
People were ultimately different after all.
Xinmei quietly said a few words to the guard beside her, who retreated without alerting anyone.
“Your Highness, this is my second daughter. She saw Ning Xueyan pushed Madam Ling down the well.” Ning Zu’an had to bite the bullet at this rate. He could only pray that no one would refute Ning Yuling’s words.
“Bring her here.” Ao Chenyi directed a frosty stare at Ning Yuling. His eyes were so cold that they appeared bloodthirsty. Ning Yuling sneakily raised her head to look at him but trembled with fright upon meeting his gaze, unable to utter a word. She allowed a guard to approach her and take her to kneel in front of Ao Chenyi.
“You saw everything?” asked a melodious but cold voice.
“Yes… Yes, I did,” Ning Yuling stammered. To sound more convincing, she added, “I saw Ning Xueyan push my mother into the well with my own eyes. My mother cried and pleaded for her life, but Ning Xueyan ignored her. Please uphold justice for us, Your Highness.” She began to sob at the end of it.
“Shut up. If you cry again, I’ll throw you into the well,” Ao Chenyi said coldly. His voice made Ning Yuling feel like she had been licked by a venomous snake and she immediately fell silent.
His words weren’t just empty threats. How could this man be so terrifying?
Ao Chenyi didn’t even look at the embarra.s.sed expressions that Ning Zu’an and Madam Dowager had. He softened his voice and asked Ning Xueyan who was standing beside him, “Yan’er, what do you have to say?”
“Bring her here.” Ning Xueyan pointed at a person who had been ignored by everyone.
Only then did everyone notice the person standing behind a crushed stone. It was Madam Ling’s personal servant, Mother Chen.
Ao Chenyi shot his guard a look, and the guard immediately understood his intention. He walked over, carried a limp Mother Chen back, and tossed her in front of Ao Chenyi.
“If you can’t explain clearly, I don’t mind using torture,” Ao Chenyi said lazily, leaning against the chair with ease. The bloodiness of his words, however, was enough to make everyone shudder.
Madam Chen slumped to the ground. She looked at the trembling Ning Yuling and then at Ning Zu’an and Madam Dowager. Finally, she sneaked a glance at Ao Chenyi. She knocked her head to the ground, as if she had made up her mind, and cried loudly, “It’s the Second Young Lady… She pushed Madam Ling and framed the Fifth Young Lady.”
Her words stunned everyone. Had Ning Yuling killed her own mother to frame Ning Xueyan? Was she even human?
Ning Yuling was taken aback but her face quickly turned pale. She pointed to Mother Chen and yelled hoa.r.s.ely, “Liar! Ning Xueyan must have bribed you into speaking up for her!”
“Second Young Lady, you were the one who bribed me. You said you’d give me money if I speak up for you, and you’d even help me retire comfortably. I was so afraid that I didn’t dare to use the money. I have been keeping it with me all along,” Mother Chen defended herself. She took out a small pouch from her arms.
When she opened it, everyone was shocked to see four or five silver paper notes worth a few hundred taels inside.
“Go and investigate!” Ao Chenyi said coldly. A guard grabbed the pouch and left. The circulation of every paper note was well-doc.u.mented and the marks on each note represented different meanings.
Ning Yuling’s expression changed. She never imagined Mother Chen to keep the money with her, and even take them out at this time. The paper notes were all hers. When she was sent to Xia Manor, she brought nothing except her own savings and those paper notes were part of them.
A quick investigation would tell them what they needed to know.
“Your Highness, this was the maid who lured Consort Ning here. I knocked her out at the Bright Frost Garden earlier. I’ll bring her in now.” Before Ning Yuling could recover her senses, another guard carried a maid in. It was the same maid that tricked Ning Xueyan into coming here. She had also been bribed by Ning Yuling.
Ning Zu’an and Madam Dowager felt a bad premonition after seeing Ning Yuling’s panicked face. It was apparent that she had framed Ning Xueyan. Their so-called witnesses were now evidence for Ning Xueyan.
Sure enough, when the maid woke up and realized that the person in front of her was Prince Yi, she revealed the truth without having to be threatened. She immediately pointed to Ning Yuling and exposed her. She said Ning Yuling helped her apply for leave in return for a favor. She would leave and visit her dying father at home after tricking the Fifth Young Lady into coming here. There would be no proof once she was gone.
The whole incident had pretty much cleared up. The vicious one was obviously the Second Young Lady, Ning Yuling. She killed her own mother, brought the Fifth Young Lady over, and made a fuss all so she could frame her. The whole thing was her self-orchestrated show to harm the Fifth Young Lady.
“Servants! She said she saw everything, didn’t she? Since her eyes are useless, let’s dig them out!” Ao Chenyi’s voice was strangely cold, making Ning Yuling feel as if something had slipped down her throat. It was an eerie and terrifying sensation.
Even more terrifying was the guard who came over and pressed down the corners of her eyes with great skill. A sharp scream resounded, horrifying everyone so much that they felt their legs turn soft. A cowardly one even fainted.
Ning Yuling rolled over the empty ground while covering her eyes and b.l.o.o.d.y face. She was in so much pain that she kept screaming, every sound sharp and piercing like the wailing of a ghost. Unable to stomach it, the Madam Dowager tilted over and fainted. She collapsed on Mother Qin beside her when she lost consciousness, causing Mother Qin to nearly fall as well. It took her and a few other female servants to support her weight.
Ning Zu’an looked pale and the veins on his sweaty forehead protruded, but he couldn’t say anything. He looked at the Ning Yuling who was rolling on the ground with a conflicted expression, feeling resentful and furious. He didn’t care if she died, but the problem was that Prince Yi didn’t look like he would spare him.
Ning Xueyan watched Ning Yuling’s miserable state coldly, without any trace of mercy in her eyes…