Ch 130: Nervous, The Events Of That Year

Everyone returned to the Duke’s Mansion. Ning Xueyan had Qingyu take several servants to carry Nurse Wang to Mingshuang Courtyard. She herself came to the Old Madam’s Xiangfu Garden. The two old women had already gone to report to the Old Madam first. No one expected that the injured old woman was actually Nurse Wang, the wet nurse of the deceased Miss Ning Ziying.

“What, it’s that wet nurse of Ning Ziying?” The Old Madam was drinking tea. Upon hearing this news, the teacup in her hand fell to the ground and shattered.

“Yes, it’s that Nurse Wang. The old servant even met her a few times in the mansion before.” The two old women answered, trembling with fear.

“How could it be her!” Nurse Qin was also speechless. She called a maidservant to come and clean up while she inquired about the situation at the time in detail. After confirming that the two old women had decided to bring the person to the Duke’s Mansion, she slightly relaxed.

If this person was not Nurse Wang, this was indeed the best way to solve the problem!

“Why did the Fifth Miss bring the person to Mingshuang Courtyard?” The Old Madam asked in a low voice.

“The Fifth Miss said that this matter was always her fault. She was the one who hit the person, so naturally, she had to take responsibility. From now on, she would use the people from her Mingshuang Courtyard to serve Nurse Wang, not to trouble the Old Madam. The daily expenses would also be deducted from her.” Obviously feeling that the Old Madam’s reaction was wrong, the two old women dared not conceal anything further and recounted everything in detail.

“Did the Fifth Miss already acknowledge Nurse Wang before you came?” The Old Madam asked another question anxiously. This fact was really too coincidental. How could she go out for no reason and happen to hit Ning Ziying’s wet nurse?

“When the old servants arrived, the doctor had just finished treating Nurse Wang and was discussing her illness with the Fifth Miss. The Fifth Miss should not know Nurse Wang. The maidservant who accompanied the Fifth Miss today was Qingyu, who used to be with the Fifth Miss in Mingshuang Courtyard and never came out.” The old woman thought for a moment and answered.

Everyone knew that Ning Xueyan used to be timid and always hid in Mingshuang Courtyard, not seeing anyone, and even the personal maidservant beside her was the same.

When Ning Ziying came to the Duke’s Mansion, Ning Xueyan had already hidden away. Afterwards, Ning Ziying died, Madam Ming died, and Ning Xueyan came out from Mingshuang Courtyard. The two of them had no intersection at all and could not possibly know the wet nurse beside Ning Ziying.

But unfortunately, the Old Madam always felt that something was wrong, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

Waving her hand, she had everyone else leave, leaving only Nurse Qin. The Old Madam then sighed: “Look, is there a problem with this matter?”

Ning Ziyan could marry Xia Yuhang, and the Ning and Xia families would form a good relationship. The Old Madam was naturally very happy. When Ning Ziying came, she heard that she had secured a good marriage. The Old Madam had once sighed in front of Madam Ling, saying that Ning Ziying was not worthy of Young Master Xia, who was so talented, and so noble. How could such a young master with a bright future be cheapened by an orphaned girl without power or influence?

Of course, she didn’t ask Madam Ling to harm Ning Ziying, but she turned a blind eye to some of Madam Ling’s small actions.

If they could win this marriage for Ning Ziyan, the benefits to the Duke’s Mansion would be great.

She didn’t care how Madam Ling would do it. For everything in Cloud Shadow Courtyard, she let people not come and report to her, and everything was decided by Madam Ling.

In the end, she only heard that Madam Ling framed Ning Ziying for having a deficient private morality and having an affair with other men. This marriage was naturally impossible. She was also satisfied in her heart. No man would tolerate his fiancée having an affair with other men. This marriage would certainly not succeed.

As long as the marriage between Xia Yuhang and Ning Ziying couldn’t happen, the Duke’s Mansion would send someone to the Xia Mansion to propose, and this matter would naturally succeed.

As for what would happen to Ning Ziying, it was no longer within the Old Madam’s consideration. So although Ning Ziying’s death was not ordered by the Old Madam, she also had a part in it. Ning Ziying and her personal maidservant Xiang’er both died in the Lotus Pond, and no one pursued this matter. But unfortunately, Ning Ziying’s wet nurse appeared now.

This couldn’t help but make the Old Madam feel a hint of unease.

“Old Madam, don’t worry. No one can explain the matter of Miss Ziying. It was originally something she brought about herself because she was unwilling to live. If that Nurse Wang wants to speak, the Old Madam can also let her go to the First Madam to speak. I heard that the First Madam still has some ‘evidence’ left.” Nurse Qin comforted her, knowing what the Old Madam was worried about.

At that time, the “images” of Ning Ziying having an affair with other men, the First Madam should still have them!

“How should we explain the marriage of the Eldest Young Lady? It was originally Ning Ziying’s, but in the end, it was the Eldest Young Lady who got married. I’m afraid she will make a fuss.” The Old Madam was still feeling uneasy, always feeling that this matter was not so appropriate. The person who originally shouldn’t have appeared in the mansion unexpectedly appeared again, which always made people feel doubtful.

“This kind of matter, it’s hard to explain. Perhaps Young Master Xia was betrayed by Miss Ziying and then transferred his feelings to our Eldest Young Lady, or he felt that our Eldest Young Lady was good. The wedding was approaching, and everything was prepared, but the marriage didn’t happen. It wouldn’t sound good to say it out loud, so they simply married our Eldest Young Lady directly. This matter was also the bad consequence caused by Miss Ziying herself. She herself did that kind of ugly thing, she was ashamed to face people, and she killed herself, it’s none of our business.”

Nurse Qin was clever. With such an explanation, the Old Madam’s expression eased.

With such a saying, there was also order!

They couldn’t say that because they dismissed the previous one, they couldn’t get married again!

The Old Madam thought for a moment and nodded. Ning Xueyan hit someone in front of everyone. If the person who was just brought in died in the Duke’s Mansion, the Duke’s Mansion wouldn’t be able to explain it. So this Nurse Wang absolutely couldn’t have an accident in the Duke’s Mansion now. So this explanation was at least acceptable.

“Old Madam, the Fifth Miss is here.” A maidservant reported outside the curtain.

“Let her in.” The Old Madam said faintly. Nurse Qin stood behind the Old Madam again.

A maidservant lifted the curtain, and Ning Xueyan walked in with a look of guilt.

The two old women walked quickly and hurriedly reported to Xiangfu Garden. She first had Qingyu call a few people to carry Nurse Wang to Mingshuang Courtyard. Now, she was coming to Xiangfu Garden.

“Greetings, Grandmother. Grandmother, I’m sorry. Yan’er caused trouble for you and made you feel difficult.” As soon as she entered, Ning Xueyan directly brought up the topic in a soft voice, with a look of annoyance.

“You want to take care of her there?” The Old Madam carefully looked at Ning Xueyan’s expression and found nothing abnormal. Then she asked.

“Yes, I hit the person. I can’t let Grandmother bear everything for me. Others will say that the young ladies of our Duke’s Mansion are too irresponsible.” Ning Xueyan explained with a sincere expression. It seemed that she had thought of something, and her face showed a look of shame. “Just now on the street, they mentioned Second Sister, saying that the young ladies of the Duke’s Mansion were all arrogant and rude and had no sense of responsibility.”

Ning Xueyan’s words reminded the Old Madam of Ning Yuling’s matter. Thinking of that incident at the time, it caused a storm throughout the city. Later, they spent so much effort to calm it down. Even the marriage arranged with Noble Consort Ya had to be postponed. In the end, the two of them didn’t get married. This was all because Ning Yuling was arrogant and hit people. If it wasn’t for this mistake and then another, it could be said that Ning Yuling would now have become the Third Prince’s Consort.

The young ladies of the Duke’s Mansion couldn’t have this kind of thing happen again!

Immediately, the Old Madam had made up her mind. Since Ning Xueyan was willing to be responsible, let her be responsible. They couldn’t let the reputation of the young ladies of the mansion be ruined again.

“That’s fine. Then, that person will be taken care of by you. Although this matter happened to you, you are always a young lady of the mansion. At most, you let the servants take good care of her. But it is impossible to serve her personally at her bedside, lest you make other mansions look down on you.” The Old Madam revealed a kind expression and admonished Ning Xueyan.

The meaning of the words, however, carried some warnings.

She was worried that Nurse Wang and Ning Xueyan would say something inappropriate.

“Yes, Yan’er won’t. Yan’er will bring the person over and let people serve her. She won’t lack food or clothing. It’s already the best I can do. How could I possibly serve her personally?” Ning Xueyan nodded with a smile.

Seeing her well-behaved and obedient, the Old Madam nodded in satisfaction and asked about Ning Xueyan’s health. Then she specially bestowed Ning Xueyan with some of her good medicinal herbs, just saying to take good care of her body. She said that she might have a wealthy future waiting for her.

It seemed that she wanted to send herself to the Third Prince’s Mansion to be the Third Prince’s Concubine. The Old Madam had always been thinking about this and didn’t forget it.

Ning Xueyan thanked her one by one. As for the meaning in the Old Madam’s words, although she sneered in her heart, it wasn’t obvious on her face. After the Old Madam finished speaking, she said farewell to the Old Madam and left Xiangfu Garden. Because she came in a hurry, she didn’t have a maidservant to serve her. The Old Madam also specially sent a little maidservant to send her off.

“Are there any outsiders here, Old Madam?” Ning Xueyan asked casually. At the entrance of the courtyard just now, she saw a stranger old woman smiling and going out. She seemed to be very familiar with the people in the mansion, and she was smiling all the way. When she met people, she would always say a few words, making people laugh. She looked like an All-Round person.

But this person, Ning Xueyan had obviously never seen before.

“There are no outsiders. It’s just that Nurse Luo from the Third Miss came to pass on a message. Our Third Miss truly has a Bodhisattva’s heart. She was supposed to return in these few days, but unfortunately, she met a sick child on the road. Without any relatives, the Third Miss stayed behind to take care of her. The day of returning to the mansion, at least had to postpone for a period of time. Nurse Luo came to say this to the Old Madam.”

The little maidservant answered with a smile.

“This Nurse Luo seems to be a clever person, and she’s familiar with everyone in the mansion. The Third Sister herself must be clever, right?” Ning Xueyan’s face showed a rather curious expression, but in her heart, there was doubt. This Ning Qingshan was recorded under her mother’s name, but her relationship with Madam Ling was clearly good.

She only maintained a superficial respect for the mother of Mingshuang Courtyard. In the situation where everyone despised Mingshuang Courtyard at that time, her respect earned her a lot of praise.

If you think about it carefully, this superficial respect didn’t have any affection in it. Everything was about rules, and it seemed to be without any difference, but in reality, there was no family affection at all.

According to Nurse Han, her mother used to be very good to her, treating her almost the same, so why did she treat Madam Ling better than her mother! But when she asked, Nurse Han again had a complex look of wanting to speak but not speaking, which made people very doubtful.

“This servant girl is not clear, but I heard that the Third Miss is truly a kind and gentle person. She is also very gentle to the servants in the mansion and never beats or scolds the servants.” The little maidservant didn’t understand what Ning Xueyan meant by asking, and she thought that she was happy to see the Third Miss soon, so she first inquired about some things to please the Third Miss.

“Fifth Miss, if you really want to know about the Third Miss, this servant girl will inquire about it when I have free time and tell the Fifth Miss.”

The people in Xiangfu Garden would certainly know more about Ning Qingshan’s affairs. Someone took the initiative to be her eyes and ears, which was really great…

“Okay, then you should put more effort into it.” Ning Xueyan smiled slightly and didn’t explain. She returned to Mingshuang Courtyard with the little maidservant and had Qingyu give the little maidservant two taels of broken silver.

Unexpectedly, there would be this benefit from sending the Fifth Miss back, and the little maidservant happily left.