Ch 120: A Beauty Is Good, But Not As Good As Wealth
Madam Ling then discovered that she was too excited and grabbed the old woman’s neck, pulling so hard that she caused the old woman’s eyes to roll back. She couldn’t even speak, so she loosened her grip and urgently asked, “Whose maidservant put the poison in my meals? Tell me quickly!”
With the neck loosened, the old woman began to cough violently, clutching her throat tightly. She didn’t expect Madam Ling to use so much force. Fortunately, Fifth Young Lady reminded her, because she was coughing and slightly bowing to Ning Xueyan, as a sign of thanks.
Such an action, in Madam Ling’s eyes, became direct evidence pointing to Ning Xueyan. She excitedly grabbed the Old Madam’s sleeve, pointing at Ning Xueyan and saying, “It’s her, it’s her, she had someone poison me, lured Marquis of Peace here, and ruined my reputation. Mother, you must make the decisions for your daughter-in-law.”
She was now invigorated, overjoyed, thinking that Ning Xueyan was trying to steal a chicken but ended up harming herself instead. How could she not be ecstatic? Finally found an opportunity to crush the little bitch, how could she not be overjoyed? She even forgot about her current affairs with the Marquis of Peace. Regardless, this would become a thorn in Ning Zuan and the Old Madam’s hearts.
“Mother… what… what do you mean?” Ning Xueyan looked as if she were frightened. She looked at the Old Madam, who had a gloomy expression, and then at Madam Ling. A look of bewilderment appeared on her wronged face, as if she really didn’t understand what Madam Ling’s accusation meant.
“Mother, look, this little bitch is still denying it. She actually dared to harm me. Mother, you must make the decisions for me.”
Madam Ling shouted, pointing at Ning Xueyan, and said it with great certainty.
Seeing that she spoke so confidently, the Old Madam couldn’t help but become suspicious. She turned her head and looked at Ning Xueyan’s face, and asked coldly, “Fifth Young Lady, did you really do this?”
Even if she didn’t like Madam Ling, the Old Madam still believed Madam Ling’s words, pushing her own direct blood granddaughter to the side. Indeed, she could shift the responsibility for the matter onto herself without the slightest hesitation. This grandmother was truly “loving,” Ning Xueyan thought with a sneer.
“Old Madam… it’s… it’s Second Miss…” The old woman finally stopped coughing, and said in a hoarse, intermittent voice.
“Second Miss, didn’t you say it was Fifth Young Lady?” The Old Madam frowned and asked.
“It’s not Fifth Young Lady, it’s the maidservant from Second Miss’s courtyard, who was pulling the servant girl and talking about the Third Prince’s affairs. She also asked if the Third Prince was eating in front. The servant girl originally didn’t want to talk to her much about these things, but the maidservant from Second Miss’s courtyard kept pulling the servant girl.” At the time, the people in the kitchen were very chaotic, with servants from various courtyards coming and going, as well as people from the Marquis’s side.
The old woman now could only remember Ning Yuling’s maidservant because that maidservant was pulling her to talk, and had been talking for a long time, which nearly caused her to be late in delivering Madam Ling’s meals, and for which she was scolded by Madam Ling.
“The people from Ling’er’s courtyard!” Madam Ling almost fell, feeling a dizzy spell. How could it be the people from Ling’er’s courtyard? Isn’t that the people around Ning Xueyan?
How could it not be Ning Xueyan’s people? There must be a misunderstanding in this! No, she absolutely couldn’t let Ning Xueyan escape this calamity. There must still be clues, so she wanted to speak again to mention Ning Xueyan, but Ning Xueyan had already seized the initiative before Madam Ling and acted first.
“Thud,” Ning Xueyan knelt down on the side, her head heavily hitting the ground. When she looked up again, her face was full of grievance and bewilderment: “Grandmother, Yan’er is wrong, Yan’er shouldn’t have let the maidservant go to the kitchen to get the dishes when Mother was about to eat, causing Mother’s suspicion. Please punish Yan’er, Grandmother.”
“How dare you! All the courtyards go get their meals at noon, and every courtyard has them. Are you saying that I also let someone poison you!” The Old Madam was furious, and she forcefully struck the ground with her walking stick. Her eyes were cold, and her voice was like a double-edged sword, shooting towards Madam Ling.
At noon, during the mealtime, the servants from each courtyard would go get the dishes, which wasn’t really a big deal. Not only Ning Xueyan’s Mingshuang Courtyard, but the Old Madam’s Xiangfu Garden also sent people at this time.
“Mother, I… I didn’t mean it!” Madam Ling urgently clutched the handkerchief in her hand, almost crumpling it into a ball.
“What do you mean you didn’t mean it? Ling’er’s maidservant talked with your servant, which means Ling’er wants to harm you, the mother!” The Old Madam’s eyes revealed a cold light and she demanded.
“No, I…” The Old Madam didn’t give her any face, and Madam Ling still wanted to argue.
“What are you saying? You had such a thing happen, and you pushed it onto Fifth Young Lady. Where did Fifth Young Lady provoke you? You repeatedly refuse to let her go. And look at yourself, your behavior is so improper. Have you ever put me, your mother-in-law, and your husband in your eyes?” The Old Madam pulled Ning Xueyan up while she hatefully said.
Ning Xueyan, following the trend, took the Old Madam’s hand to get up, and gently pulled her sleeve: “Grandmother, don’t blame Mother first, what about him… what should he do?”
Ning Xueyan wasn’t in a hurry to punish Madam Ling. The marriage of the Marquis of Peace was still a double-edged sword that Madam Ling had forced upon her.
Today’s matter, no matter what, Madam Ling couldn’t explain it. Qingyu first mentioned the matter of the Third Prince to Ning Yuling’s maidservant, but didn’t say it in detail, only said that the people from the Old Madam’s courtyard knew, and then didn’t pay attention to that maidservant. She wholeheartedly wanted to please Ning Yuling’s maidservant, who saw the old woman from the Old Madam’s courtyard, and how could she not pull her to talk?
The meals were still placed on the side of the basket, and the two were talking enthusiastically. No one knew that Qingyu took the opportunity when they weren’t paying attention to sprinkle the powder.
Those powders were just some medicine powder, mixed with some Chinese medicine, and had no strange smell. The recipe provided by Aunt Xiang also specifically mentioned that these powders were not real poison, but only to make people sleepy, so even if the doctor searched, he wouldn’t be able to find it.
Being reminded by Ning Xueyan, the Old Madam immediately sobered up and turned her face, which was gloomy, towards the Marquis of Peace, who was secretly sneaking out. She said coldly, “Marquis of Peace, do you have any explanation?”
“I… I didn’t, I really didn’t have any affair with the Duchess. I just came in after being drunk to rest for a while. How could I have known that someone would lead me here?” The Marquis of Peace stopped awkwardly, tongue-tied, and couldn’t explain himself. He could only argue.
“You don’t know, so you can just brush this matter aside? Even if the Marquis of Peace is unwilling to give the Duke’s Mansion a reasonable explanation, then I will enter the Palace to speak to the Emperor.” The Old Madam said hatefully, leaned on her walking stick and stood up, preparing to walk out.
“Mother, don’t…” Seeing that things were going badly, Madam Ling rushed over and reached out to stop the Old Madam. With a “thud,” she knelt down, her face pale, swaying and about to collapse.
She couldn’t explain this kind of thing now. If it was brought to the palace, no matter if it was true or not, she was a fact that she was embracing a man in the Buddha Hall with a man. Her reputation would be truly ruined, and where would she have the face to live.
“Old Madam, you… don’t be impulsive, I… I will definitely give you an explanation.” The Marquis of Peace was also very anxious. Doing this kind of thing that defiles female relatives was a big matter. Moreover, he was defiling Ning Zuan’s wife. How could Ning Zuan let it go? His nobility might also be lost because of this.
“Explanation, how will the Marquis of Peace give us a reasonable explanation for the Mansion?” The Old Madam stopped her steps and said coldly.
Explanation, how to explain? The Marquis of Peace was also seeking momentary pleasure. Only after he finished speaking did he realize how to explain this kind of thing. He was sweating profusely in a hurry.
“Marquis of Peace… I heard you want to marry me, is that true?” Ning Xueyan spoke softly from the side, asking.
“I don’t want to marry you. I want to marry Fourth Young Lady. Although the Duchess told me it was you, it is Fourth Young Lady I favor.” Hearing the question was from Ning Xueyan, the Marquis of Peace subconsciously retorted. After speaking, it seemed that he thought of something and immediately widened his eyes, opened his mouth, and his two ugly eyes were like two dead fish eyes.
“Jade pendant… yes, yes, Old Madam, I’ll give the jade pendant back to you. I heard the Duchess say that this jade pendant is crucial. Holding this to propose marriage, Fourth Young Lady will definitely marry me.” He suddenly realized at this moment, and hurriedly expressed to the Old Madam, pleasingly saying everything out, although the beauty was good, but compared to his wealth, the Marquis of Peace could still distinguish the priorities.
If this matter was spread out, Ning Zuan and he would be an irreconcilable situation. Compared to the high-ranking and powerful Ning Zuan, the Marquis of Peace was just a show, where was Ning Zuan’s opponent? The reason he married the Duke’s Mansion’s young lady was also to take advantage of the situation. He did not expect that he would not become in-laws this time, and they would become enemies.
His heart had long regretted it to death. He would not have come to the Mansion today, no matter what.
After finishing speaking, he reached into his arms and took out the jade pendant, directly handing it over.
He only wanted to end this matter this time. He didn’t care that the Old Madam’s face was green and then white because of his words. Madam Ling collapsed directly to the ground, her lips were pale, and she couldn’t say a word.
How could the Old Madam not feel shame and anger? Just now, she kept saying how the Marquis of Peace was so fond of Ning Xueyan, and insisted on marrying her, and said that after she went to the Marquis of Peace’s Mansion, she would be a ready-made Duchess. Who would have thought that the Marquis of Peace, in order to escape, would say anything? The most important thing was that people didn’t look favorably on Ning Xueyan at all. What they were looking at was Ning Lingyun, and it had nothing to do with Ning Xueyan.
But what shocked and angered her even more was Madam Ling. This jade pendant was of great importance. Madam Ling actually gave this jade pendant to an outsider, letting the outsider use this jade pendant to threaten her. How could she bear it? She also didn’t care that there were others present, and she heavily struck Madam Ling’s shoulder with the walking stick in her hand, only hitting Madam Ling, who fell to the ground, unable to struggle for a while.
Nurse Qin came forward to take the jade pendant and looked at it, nodding to the Old Madam.
“Madam Ling, I have entrusted the backyard of the Marquis Mansion to you to manage. Even if you have some conflicts with Madam Ming, they are just small fights, and I will let you handle them. After all, you are the Mistress of the house. Which Mistress doesn’t have some clever methods to hold her position? But now, in order to harm Yan’er, you use this kind of thing to speak, it is really too bold and excessive!”
The Old Madam’s face was ashen, staring at Madam Ling. The words were almost gritted out, word by word, which showed how much she hated and how furious she was.
Ning Xueyan looked at the Old Madam like this, with cold eyes. Madam Ling had killed Madam Ming before, and the Old Madam couldn’t possibly not know anything. In the Old Madam’s eyes, her own life and Madam Ming’s were just small fights. She didn’t punish Madam Ling at all. Now, when she encountered something related to herself, she was furious and almost wanted to tear Madam Ling apart. The Old Madam was indeed selfish and lacking in affection.
For a while, everyone was silent. At this time, the atmosphere in the room was simply frighteningly solemn!
The door was kicked open with a “bang.” Ning Zuan, whose face was fierce, appeared in the doorway like an evil. Madam Ling, who had just struggled to get up, immediately collapsed again.
