Chapter 388 Ning Qingshan’s Obsession
Many pieces of brocade were sent to the Bright Frost Garden and the Foggy Courtyard. Some of them were gifts from the imperial palace, and some were gifts from Madam Dowager. Their two granddaughters were fawned upon by the royal members. Anyway, they could not afford to lose the dignity of the Lord Protector’s Manor when it came to the dowry. Besides, Ning Xueyan also got a larger share.
Although the Lord Protector’s Manor supported the Third Prince secretly, the Third Prince was much inferior to Prince Yi in status and seniority. Prince Yi was the emperor’s younger brother and would be the emperor in the future. Besides, he was the Third Prince’s uncle. Therefore, Ning Xueyan’s status was higher than Ning Qingshan’s.
Everyone in the manor thought the Fifth Young Lady was superior to the Third Young Lady. For example, the newly-added bird’s nest porridge for the two Young Ladies had been arranged in sequential order. When Caifen returned with a bowl of bird’s nest porridge, angrily, Ning Qingshan was also sulking, while Mammy Luo was trying to pacify her, in the room.
It was said that the clothes from Madam Dowager’s courtyard were given to Ning Xueyan to select first, before being pa.s.sed to her.
“Why did you come back so late? Didn’t I tell you to come back as soon as possible? I have other things to talk to you about.” Seeing that it was Caifen who lifted the curtain and came in, Ning Qingshan asked her unhappily.
“Third Young Lady, it’s not that I was slow. It was those servants who looked down upon me and sent the bowl of bird’s nest porridge to the Fifth Young Lady first. I had to wait for them.” Caifen took out the bird’s nest porridge from the basket and explained angrily.
“Bang!” Ning Qingshan slammed the teacup in her hand on the table, heavily. “Mammy Luo, look, they think they will suppress me all the time. Ning Xueyan is not married yet, and now they’re bullying me. To become the Asura King’s co-consort, she might lose her life some day…”
“My dear lady, b.u.t.ton your lip.” Hearing Ning Qingshan’s words, Mammy Luo was so frightened that she put down the cloth in her hands. She hurriedly came over to cover Ning Qingshan’s mouth, and her face turned pale with fear. “Young Lady, how can you say that? If Prince Yi knows that, he will handle you without bothering about your ident.i.ty.”
Mammy Luo usually did not care how Ning Qingshan scolded Ning Xueyan. But if she provoked Prince Yi, it would not be a trivial matter. It was said that Prince Yi would kill people in the blink of an eye. What’s more, what she said was not groundless. It was said that a concubine in the imperial palace had offended him and had been killed by him. And the emperor did not say anything, not forgetting the fact that Ning Qingshan was nothing, but the Third Young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor now.
Even if Ning Qingshan married into the Third Prince’s Manor, she would only be a co-consort. In Prince Yi’s eyes, she was nothing.
Having her mouth covered by Mammy Luo, Ning Qingshan came to her senses. She pushed Mammy Luo’s hand away, and her face darkened. She winked at Caifen, and Caifen understood what she meant. Caifen walked out of the room and looked around the outer room. Then, she came back and shook her head at Ning Qingshan.
“Mammy Luo, isn’t there any reply about what happened last time?” Ning Qingshan asked in a low voice. No one heard what she had said, so she let out a sigh of relief. But soon, a cold light flashed in her eyes.
“They replied.” Seeing that Ning Qingshan was no longer talking about Prince Yi, Mammy Luo breathed a sigh of relief and became embarra.s.sed again. They were not optimistic about her young lady’s situation. They were indifferent to her, which was not a good thing. “They won’t do this kind of thing, and they won’t openly a.s.sa.s.sinate a Young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor, who has nothing to do with them.”
Hearing that, Ning Qingshan felt extremely angry. She thought that if they followed her plan, they would have a.s.sa.s.sinated Ning Xueyan when Ning Xueyan and Ning Yuling were on their way. What a great opportunity! There were startled horses, overturned carriages, and a lot of trouble. The crowd was so chaotic at that time.
It should be easy to a.s.sa.s.sinate Ning Xueyan. Why could she not convince them? She had repeatedly said that Ning Xueyan knew her ident.i.ty, so Ning Xueyan would perhaps spoil their plans. In the past, as long as she used this reason, they would kill Ning Xueyan directly without asking. Why were they evading the issue now?
“Mammy Luo, do they think that I’m useless and want to abandon me?” Ning Qingshan felt cold all over when she thought of this. She held Mammy Luo with one hand and trembled nervously. If those people were to reveal her real ident.i.ty, she would die.
“Young Lady, don’t worry. It’s impossible. You’re distinguished. As long as those people have other ideas, they can’t abandon you. Otherwise, they would not spend so much effort to send someone to solve the crisis for you several times.” Mammy Luo comforted her in a hurry.
“Then why did they not help me to kill Ning Xueyan?” After hearing Mammy Luo’s words, Ning Qingshan calmed down again. She thought about it and let go of Mammy Luo’s hand. She gritted her teeth and said unwillingly, with coldness flickering in her eyes. If it were not for Ning Xueyan, she would be the Third Prince’s consort, rather than a co-consort now.
When she thought of this, she could not wait to see Ning Xueyan die in front of her now. Now because of this co-consort, Ning Xueyan was even superior to her.
“Young Lady, don’t worry. Maybe the master has another plan. Maybe the Fifth Young Lady’s death is in conflict with his plan. Or, the Fifth Young Lady’s matter is not serious enough. It will take a severe influence to expose the master’s plan.” Mammy Luo frowned and said in a low voice, “Young Lady, in a few days, maybe the master will be willing to take action. Please wait for a while.”
From Mammy Luo’s point of view, since the master was willing to spare no effort to find her young lady, he must have other plans. It was impossible for him to give up on her master. The reason why he had disagreed with her young lady’s demand was that the Fifth Young Lady’s affair was not a big deal. Otherwise, the master would kill Ning Xueyan, according to his character.
Her young lady said that the Fifth Young Lady knew about her affairs, but she had no evidence to prove that. Did the Fifth Young Lady really know about that?
Even Grand Tutor Ya, who thought he knew her young lady, was not aware of it. How could the Fifth Young Lady, a humble and ignorant young lady, know about that? The Third Young Lady’s words were unconvincing, so the master did not do anything to the Fifth Young Lady!
Mammy Luo did not say these words to her young lady directly. Otherwise, her young master might do something that would affect her family background. Then she would be in big trouble. Her young lady’s real ident.i.ty was so n.o.ble, but it could not be exposed.
Therefore, Mammy Luo tried to find a cover story. Mammy Luo had a deep impression of her young lady’s hatred for the Fifth Young Lady. Before the Fifth Young Lady went out of the Bright Frost Garden, the Third Young Lady’s path had been smooth. Everything went well based according her plan. She even knew what the Third Prince and the Honored Consort Ya were thinking of.
But since she came back from the nunnery, she found that everything was not going so smoothly. Many things had gone wrong because of the Fifth Young Lady. Every time they faced each other, the Third Young Lady was at a disadvantage. She even lost her position as the Third Prince’s wife. How could she not be angry?
“Mammy Luo, I’m afraid that it will take at least half a year to perform the co-consort ceremony!” Ning Qingshan said with a gloomy face, as if she did not hear Mammy Luo’s cajolery. The sun shone through the window, reflecting on her face.
“Young… Young Lady, what are you going to do?” Mammy Luo was stunned for a moment. Then she came to her senses and asked hurriedly.
“Mammy Luo, take it easy. I won’t let the master kill her. It doesn’t matter if he does not want to interfere. If something bad happens to that b*tch, I don’t believe that Prince Yi will get angry with the Third Prince over a woman.” Ning Qingshan said coldly, with some hesitation.
As soon as she said this aloud, she immediately became confident. It was said that the reason why Ning Xueyan managed to get Prince Yi’s favor and become the co-consort, was because she had a dispute with Ling Xue in the palace, and then she was brought together with Prince Yi by fate. Prince Yi had casually asked someone to marry him.
If she had been more tactful at that time, Ling Xue might have been the co-consort now. It would have nothing to do with Ning Xueyan!
Thinking of this, Ning Qingshan could not help but secretly scold Ling Xue for being such a disappointment. Now she had come to this point because of her doings. Otherwise, Prince Yi would not choose Ning Xueyan as a co-consort. Even if something terrible happened to her, she would still be a co-consort.
Otherwise, at this time, with her ident.i.ty as the Third Prince’s co-consort, if Ning Xueyan was still a n.o.body, her life and death would be in her hands. She would not have to scheme all the time.
“Young Lady, you’re now the Third Prince’s co-consort. You’d better not deal with the Fifth Young Lady anymore. From now on, you and the Fifth Young Lady will be married, and you won’t meet each other so much in the future. No matter how cunning the Fifth Young Lady is, she can’t do anything to you!” At a glance, Mammy Luo could tell that Ning Qingshan could not let go of her obsession with Ning Xueyan, so she still tried to persuade her.
In her opinion, Ning Qingshan should not have done it. Even though everything seemed to be going against the Third Young Lady because of the Fifth Young Lady, she could get something. When she married the Third Prince, she would probably be able to become the consort according to the relationship between herself and the Third Prince. What’s more, the master’s meaning was uncertain, but it seemed that he was on the Third Young Lady’s side.
With so much support, the Third Young Lady would become a consort by taking some detours. She did not have a deep hatred for the Fifth Young Lady, so she did not need to kill Ning Xueyan.
“Mammy, don’t try to persuade me. I’ve made up my mind. Take it easy. I won’t let down my guard.” Ning Qingshan waved her hand impatiently to stop Mammy Luo from trying to persuade her again. She turned to Caifen and said, “Go get a piece of light-colored cloth. The material is similar to the one that Fifth Young Lady usually wears.”
“Yes.” Caifen stopped what she was doing and left.