The Devious First-Daughter

Chapter 402 Vice Minister Ling's Fluster

Vice Minister Ling was very annoyed these days. His sister and his family affairs were the cause of the annoyance. His son was engaged to the Qian Manor. Going by the status and appearance, Madam Qian's niece could not be compared with Ning Yuling. Besides, his son's engagement with the Qian Manor had offended the Lord Protector's Manor.

Ning Yuling was the daughter of the Lord Protector's Manor's principal wife. Besides, she was his niece. In any case, he had to protect her. He felt it would be better to ask his son to marry her and bring her into his manor. If his son felt wronged, he could also marry a co-wife in the future. Her son and daughter were the principal wife's children. It was not a big deal in his manor.

Moreover, in this case, if he promised to let his son marry Ning Yuling, all the people in the Ning Manor would thank him. Recently, he had been teased by his colleagues, because of his daughter. Adding to that, the emperor did not attach great importance to him, which made him very anxious. He wanted to take this opportunity to let Ning Zu'an put in a good word for him in front of the emperor.

With such an opportunity to cover up Ning Zu'an's embarrassment, Ning Zu'an was bound to be grateful and would spare no effort to put in a good word for him in front of the emperor. Even if Ning Zu'an's current situation was not good, he was still much better off than him, and his two daughters had also brought him additional glory.

However, all his plans had been ruined by Madam Qian. She said that she would never let her only son be wronged or cuckolded. With Ning Yuling's appearance, how could her son be wronged? In the future, he could marry whoever he wanted!

However, his son was now engaged to the daughter of the Qian Manor. It was inferior to his manor in every aspect, and it was not helpful to him. Instead, they offended the Lord Protector's Manor. Since the engagement was settled, the Lord Protector's Manor had not sent anyone here. And, they had not sent anyone to attend his son's wedding banquet.

Vice Minister Ling was anxious because of this. He had planned to send gifts and attend the banquet, while the two young ladies in the Lord Protector's Manor worshipped the ancestors. However, the Lord Protector's Manor returned the gifts and said that the guests were all relatives of the Ning family, so there was no need for other relatives to come.

The words were pleasant, but in fact, everyone could understand the alienation behind it. Even if only the people from the Ning family were present, why did they give back the gifts? Courtesy costs nothing. When Ning Huaijing returned to the Lord Protector's Manor, the people from the Vice Minister of Justice's Manor did not send their people there, but they still sent gifts. At that time, Lord Protector's Manor did not return the gifts.

It was said that the young lady, who was lodging in the Cloud Reflection Courtyard of the Lord Protector's Manor, had been killed by others. These rumors occasionally made Vice Minister Ling worried. He did not know about the young lady's exact situation, but he knew that his sister had planned to rob her of her marriage. In the end, Ning Ziyan married Xia Yuhang. From this point of view, it seemed that his sister had a hand in the murder of the young lady.

It was highly likely that his sister was the murderer.

Thinking of this, Vice Minister Ling had a headache. Then, the matter was made known to the public suddenly. Everyone said that his sister did it. Although there was no evidence, everyone suspected Madam Ling now. In the court, some officials brought up this matter in an ambiguous way. When they talked about it, many people stared at him as if he knew the truth.

Vice Minister Ling was upset when he thought of this and wanted to get in touch with his sister. However, Madam Ling did not send him any message. After Ling Yi's marriage, it was inconvenient for him to visit his sister. Therefore, he was anxious like an ant on a hot pot. He tried to find a way to meet Madam Ling to ask her about the situation.

Such a matter could have either a great or slight influence. If it was not handled properly, it could implicate the entire Vice Minister of Justice's Manor.

"Your Excellency, the male servant is back." Just as he was starting to feel anxious, the housekeeper knocked on the door and came in to report. He could do nothing, except to send some medicinal herbs to Madam Ling. He wanted to see Madam Ling in person, but he did not see her the day before yesterday. It was said that Madam Ling had been sleeping the whole of yesterday. He did not know what was going on today.

"Let him in." Vice Minister Ling said quickly, when he heard that the young male servant had returned. He turned around and sat behind the table. He took a sip of tea to quell his anger.

"Your Excellency, I did not see the Marchioness, but I saw her maid today." After he came in, the young male servant bowed to Vice Minister Ling, and then wiped his sweat away. Today, he finally saw the people who served the Marchioness. During the first two times, he could not even get to see the people around the Marchioness, let alone the Marchioness.

Vice Minister Ling was thrilled when he heard that the young male servant managed to meet the people around her. He asked anxiously, "Did you convey my message to her?"

"I've passed on the message. One of the maids was coming out of the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard. She was gorgeously dressed, so I knew that she was not just any ordinary maid. I deliberately asked the older female servant behind me about the maid. She told me that the maid was a first-class maid. So, I followed her secretly."

The first-class maid of the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard must be the Marchioness's henchman. The young male servant said happily. He was anxious about not being able to get into the room, but he did not dare to ask a maid to convey his master's message. The first maid looked exceptional, so he guessed that the Marchioness must value her greatly. This was also the reason why the young male servant followed her to a place where no one was around, and caught hold of the maid.

The relationship between the Vice Minister of Justice's Manor and the Lord Protector's Manor was not good. Therefore, the young male servant did not dare to talk openly about his master's order.

Vice Minster Ling nodded and asked, "What did that maid say?"

"I told her your message and asked for the Marchioness's opinion about what to do next. The maid returned to the main house on purpose and then came out to convey the Marchioness's thoughts on that." The young male servant replied respectfully.

"Just say it." Vice Minister Ling asked immediately.

"The Marchioness did not talk about the other things. She only asked you not to panic, but to keep the account books she sent before. Although those things are not important now, it will cause a serious impact once they are found. She asked you to pay attention to them and make sure they do not get stolen."

The young male servant reported the whole thing clearly.

"The account books?" Vice Minister Ling was lost for a moment. After a while, he remembered that those account books belonged to Ning Xueyan's mother, Madam Ming. The last time when his sister came out of the Buddha Hall, she asked for the carriage of his manor to pick her up. After that, he did not pay attention to them, but threw them directly into the woodshed behind. He thought that Madam Ling put them there, because she had no space for them.

Now, he knew that they would make a significant impact once they were discovered.

"Have you made an appointment with that maid?" Vice Minister Ling asked, after thinking for a while.

"I told the maid to wait for the reply in the afternoon. Then, I'll pass your message to her." The young male servant was smart. He knew his master had been anxious to talk with the Marchioness. It was rare to be able to get in touch with a maid, so he would not let her go. Now, he said this hurriedly.

"Your Excellency, if you have any other orders, I will go and tell the maid in the Lord Protector's Manor."

"You go and tell the maid that I will check on the account books, so that she will be assured. How is she? Does she need my help? I have some things that she sent to me a long time ago. If Ning Zu'an does not want to help her, should I take out these things and send them directly to Ning Zu'an?"

His face darkened as Vice Minister Ling said this ambiguously. Only he and Madam Ling knew the details. He believed that his sister would understand after hearing what he said. This matter was so crucial that even Madam Qian did not know about it at all. Madam Dowager did not agree to Madam Ling becoming the legal wife.

However, she had to agree later, partly because of this.

In the past, Madam Ling had also instructed that these items should not be taken out unless it was critical. But now, it could be considered as a critical moment. Without Madam Ling's instructions, Vice Minister Ling could not make a decision. He did not dare to take these things lightly because they could matter a lot. Every time he thought of them, a chill swept over him.

How could he, a lowly Vice Minister of Justice, have such things?

Although Vice Minister Ling's words were given in detail the young male servant was smart. He nodded vigorously and then left. After that, he had a light meal in the manor. It was getting late, so he went to the Lord Protector's Manor. This time, he went through the back door instead of the front door, because he had already made an appointment with the maid there.

When he sneakily appeared at the back door after sometime, he saw another figure lurking furtively there. When he saw the figure, he found that it was the maid he had made an appointment with, before. He jumped out of the corner, waved his hand vigorously, and beckoned to the maid silently.

The maid looked to be a smart type. Seeing the young male servant's figure, she ran over in a hurry. They huddled in the corner and talked for a while. Then, the young male servant left in a hurry. Seeing the young male servant leaving, Qingyu was no longer panicky, and entered through the backyard door. She had told them that one of her cousins would be coming to see her.

So now, she was back after seeing her cousin.

What a coincidence! Today, Ning Xueyan ordered her to send some things to Madam Ling. Unexpectedly, she met the young male servant from Vice Minister of Justice Ling's Manor. The male servant treated her as if she was a maid from the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard, so Qingyu went to Madam Ling's room again, in order to gain the young male servant's trust.

She made an appointment with the young male servant to inquire about the news of the Vice Minister of Justice's Manor. Now, she found out everything she wanted to know, so she immediately went to the Bright Frost Garden. As soon as she arrived at the door, she suddenly met Lanning, who was coming out in a hurry. Both of them were in such a rush that they almost bumped into each other, at the corner of the wall.

Fortunately, both their reflexes were good, and they moved away from each other, in a timely manner.

"Qingyu, you are back just in time. You go and serve the Young Lady first. Madam Dowager asked one of us from the Bright Frost Garden to go over and said that there is something urgent. Mother Han is not here, so I'll go" Lanning said in a low voice, holding Qingyu's hand as soon as she saw her coming back.

"Is there anything wrong?" Madam Dowager was sick, so why did she suddenly summon one of them? Qingyu asked in surprise.

"I don't know. Something must have happened. She did not summon the Young Lady, so it must have something to do with the Young Lady." Although Lanning was calm, she was worried because Madam Dowager had summoned one of them who served the Young Lady, rather than the Young Lady, in a hurry. She realized that there must be something wrong, so she felt flustered.

"It's OK. I'll ask the Young Lady about it. You go first. If there's something wrong, inform me immediately. Be careful," Qingyu said.

"Then, I'll go first." "Okay!"