Chapter 21: Corpse At The Mingshuang Courtyard Entrance

“What’s the matter?” Ning Xueyan turned her head, frowned, and looked at Nurse Han with doubt. She had never seen Nurse Han this anxious before.

“Young Lady, Qingrui is barely alive, and First Madam had her dragged to the entrance of Mingshuang Garden, saying it was to avenge Second Madam. She’s still lying there, bloodied, at the entrance of Mingshuang Courtyard.” Nurse Han wiped her sweat, her complexion pale. Anyone who saw the person beaten to a bloody pulp would be terrified!

Beating someone into that state and throwing them at the entrance of Mingshuang Courtyard, with the unclear implication of avenging Madam Ming. Madam Ling’s heart is truly vicious. She wants everyone to see Ning Xueyan as someone with a small heart and vicious methods, to ruin her reputation, and of course, to use this matter to divert everyone’s attention.

Qingrui is a person of Mingshuang Courtyard and serves Ning Xueyan. Previously, there was the matter of the meals. The servants would only think that Ning Xueyan wouldn’t let Qingrui go, using Madam Ming to force First Madam to punish Qingrui. In the end, she wasn’t even at peace with death, and still wanted to display her at the entrance of Mingshuang Courtyard as a warning!

Her actions can’t be said to be anything but vicious!

Compared to the matter of Madam Ling concealing Madam Ming’s funeral, this is even more shocking and vicious, excessive!

“Nurse, let’s go take a look together.” Ning Xueyan said calmly, and casually picked up a pair of large plain candles from the pile of sacrificial offerings.

Seeing Ning Xueyan so calm, Nurse Han inexplicably felt a sense of relief, and the expression on her face improved a bit. She hurriedly nodded and led Ning Xueyan towards Mingshuang Courtyard.

“Fifth Miss, the Duke wants you to take the person away. You must pay attention to the Duke’s Mansion’s decorum.” Just as they reached the intersection of Mingshuang Courtyard, an old woman hurried over. Seeing Ning Xueyan, she smiled and saluted, her tone was extremely faint, and her expression was even more neglectful.

To have her pay attention to the Duke’s Mansion’s decorum is to prevent her from speaking about Madam Ming’s poisoning. Madam Ling really calculated Ning Zuan’s temperament. She knows he will certainly let her suffer a silent loss.

It’s just that no matter how well Madam Ling calculated, some things were originally beyond what she could have imagined!

“Okay.” Ning Xueyan smiled faintly and nodded. She seemed to say casually, “You go help me reply to Father, just say that what that Prince said just now, someone will come over later to send the sacrificial offerings, and let Father receive them.”

During the worship, sacrificial offerings are to be offered, but that Prince just now came empty-handed! He shouldn’t have come to worship Madam Ming on purpose, but even if it’s on the way, the sacrificial offerings will also be offered later according to the ritual!

Ning Zuan just now hurried to the inner courtyard, while that Prince went to the outer courtyard. The directions were different, so the two of them couldn’t have met.

“Yes, this old servant will go report to the Duke now.” The old woman felt she had completed Madam Ling’s instructions. She nodded triumphantly, smiled, and turned to leave. Her direction was Madam Ling’s Mingxia Courtyard.

She was originally a person from Madam Ling’s courtyard. She also had a part in throwing Qingrui at the entrance of Mingshuang Courtyard just now. After throwing the person, she went to find Ning Zuan to report this matter. Of course, she also expressed Madam Ling’s goal: to vent anger for Fifth Miss. She repeatedly indicated that Madam Ling was magnanimous, completely considering her from Ning Xueyan’s position.

The hatred of a mother’s murder cannot coexist under the same sky; even flogging the corpse is not excessive!

Ning Zuan felt it was improper the moment he heard it. He hurriedly had that old woman come to stop Ning Xueyan from speaking the truth. The dignified Second Madam of the Duke’s Mansion was actually poisoned to death by a servant. Such words would shame the Duke’s Mansion, and others would not know what to think of the Duke’s Mansion’s inner courtyard.

Therefore, when this old woman heard it, Ning Xueyan indeed dared not defy Ning Zuan’s order. Of course, she triumphantly went to her master to report the good news.

“Young Lady, she…” Looking at the direction the old woman was leaving, Qingyu’s eyes widened, and she said angrily, saying she was going to report to Ning Zuan, but she was so openly running towards Mingxia Courtyard. It was clearly because they were bullying Ning Xueyan, and she couldn’t do anything about it.

A trace of cold smile appeared at the corner of Ning Xueyan’s mouth: “Nurse Han, you go and watch the front gate. If a distinguished guest sends the sacrificial offerings in separately, you go over…” Ning Xueyan whispered in her ear, causing Nurse Han to be stunned at first, then nodded in agreement!

A large circle of people surrounded the entrance of Mingshuang Courtyard. The maidservants and old women were all holding handkerchiefs, covering their mouths, and pointing at Mingshuang Courtyard.

“I can’t believe Fifth Miss is so heartless and ruthless. Even after she died, she wouldn’t let her rest peacefully.”

“It was only a few meals she ate, and she was directly beaten to death, it’s truly pitiful!”

“She was beaten to death, and they still have to drag her here to show to the public, it’s truly a sin!”

“I didn’t expect Fifth Miss, who usually doesn’t leave Mingshuang Courtyard, to be so heartless. Whoever marries her in the future, the inner courtyard, from top to bottom, will all be dead.”… 【】

Sure enough, under the instigation of those with ulterior motives, the discussions about Ning Xueyan became more and more unpleasant, and the few maidservants and old women standing inside the door not only didn’t help Ning Xueyan speak, but instead, they joined the crowd in defaming Ning Xueyan, each of them showing an expression of disapproval on their faces.

All of the maidservants and old women in this garden were actually standing with Madam Ling, currying favor with Madam Ling to ruin themselves.

“Shut up! Fifth Miss is here!” Seeing those people were still slandering Ning Xueyan, Qingyu angrily stepped forward, pushed aside an old woman who was speaking enthusiastically, and said loudly.

The scene quieted down slightly, but soon after, giggling and joking sounds came, the maidservants, and the old women. Not a single person came forward to salute. They all looked at Ning Xueyan sideways, chatting and talking to themselves. It was as if no one took Ning Xueyan seriously.

“Who was slandering me just now!” Ning Xueyan’s eye color was cold and condensed, looking at these more than ten servants in front of her.

“Fifth Miss, we, the servants, wouldn’t dare. We were just here to watch the fun. We heard that a dead person was thrown here in Mingshuang Courtyard, and we didn’t know who had committed the crime, so we all came over to take a look.” A maidservant in green clothes smiled in the crowd.

“That’s right, I heard that someone died, and we old servants were shocked. We came over to take a look and found out that it was Fifth Miss who was punishing someone from Mingshuang Courtyard. It was indeed we old servants who were making a fuss!” An old woman holding a teapot also smiled and chimed in. This immediately attracted more people to respond, one sentence after another, saying that they were just curious to watch the fun.

In this Duke’s Mansion, from top to bottom, no one really took her seriously. If Madam Ling wasn’t behind them, how could these people dare to be so neglectful in front of her.

Her face turned cold. She stepped forward two steps, and casually picked up the teapot in the old woman’s hand. Without another word, she smashed it at the feet of the crowd, smashing it to pieces, and the hot water inside splashed out.

No one expected that the usually weak Fifth Miss would suddenly make trouble. The few who reacted quickly only managed to jump away themselves. The few who reacted slowly were scalded by the hot water that splashed out. They couldn’t help but retreat a few steps, sat on the ground, and covered their burns, crying out in pain.

Never having seen such a Ning Xueyan, looking at those cold dark jade eyes without a trace of warmth, the voices of those who were burned became a little quieter unconsciously, only feeling that the Ning Xueyan in front of them carried indescribable dignity and aura.

“Continue speaking, I want to hear what else you will say?” Ning Xueyan’s expression was cold and severe, and she sternly shouted.

“Fifth Miss, we… we were just here to watch the fun!” The old woman with the teapot came to her senses at this moment, and she defended herself forcefully. She was also considered quick with her actions just now and jumped away in time, so she wasn’t scalded.

“Slap the mouth twenty times!” Ning Xueyan’s gaze landed coldly on her, her eye color cold and clear without a trace of warmth.

“Why? Fifth Miss is the master. It is the master who wants to punish the old servant, and the old servant has nothing to say, but the old servant is a person in front of First Madam. One must also consider the owner before hitting a dog. Fifth Miss must at least give the old servant a reason before punishing the old servant, otherwise, it will not be easy for Fifth Miss to explain to First Madam!”

The old woman defended herself with a sharp tongue, one sentence after another about First Madam, without a trace of nervousness on her face. She was completely indifferent. In the end, she even became smug.

She was originally sent by Madam Ling to provoke trouble. At this moment, seeing that she had diminished Fifth Miss’s dignity, she was even more proud, full of confidence, and didn’t speak to Ning Xueyan. Instead, she turned to the other maidservants and old women present.

“Pa” A heavy slap, slapped the old woman around in a circle, almost falling. Seeing that it was Qingyu who had hit her, she immediately gritted her teeth and rushed over to make a scene, cursing, “Bitch, Fifth Miss didn’t dare to hit First Madam’s people, you bitch, you actually dare to hit me, you really don’t want to live.”

Ning Xueyan sneered, suddenly stepped forward and stood in front of Qingyu, and sternly shouted, “Bold dog servant, I am also the master of this mansion, and you, a dog servant, are so arrogant in front of me. Who gave you such courage!”

That kind of killing intent that suddenly erupted between her eyebrows and eyes, was like a substance falling on the old woman’s body. The old woman involuntarily trembled, feeling guilty, and stepped back a step. She didn’t dare to slap again, being looked at by Fifth Miss’s so cold eyes, and actually had a feeling of being scared.

But then she remembered that she was First Madam’s person, and didn’t have to be afraid of Fifth Miss at all. She saw that everyone was looking at her just now, and immediately felt both embarrassed and angry, feeling that she had lost face. She immediately gave a look to the two maidservants standing beside her. They were both sent by Madam Ling: “Fifth Miss, you move aside, and this old servant will teach this bitch a lesson today, so she doesn’t know who the master of this mansion is!”

After she finished speaking, she was going to pull Ning Xueyan’s sleeve, to pull her away, and the two maidservants also came over, wanting to go around Ning Xueyan to hit Qingyu.

At the entrance of this Mingshuang Courtyard, Madam Ling’s servants dared not give Ning Xueyan any face, and in front of her, they were going to hit her maidservant! How could this mansion consider her a master!

The plain candles in her hand were fiercely smashed onto the old woman’s face. The old woman hadn’t expected it and was immediately hit dizzy. She subconsciously reached out and touched her head, and it was actually full of fresh blood.

She had never thought that Ning Xueyan, who was bullied and never dared to raise her voice, would actually dare to hit someone. Then she looked at Qingyu’s mocking eyes standing to the side, and she was immediately filled with malice and shouted at Ning Xueyan, “Fifth Miss is bold, she even dares to act like a master in front of me and defy First Madam’s wishes. Look at the one lying on the ground, it’s the end of those who don’t listen to First Madam’s words.”

At this moment, she was talking irresponsibly, only wanting to suppress Ning Xueyan.

“Oh, so this person offended Mother, and that’s why Mother beat her to death. But why was the person thrown into my Mingshuang Courtyard!” Ning Xueyan sneered, the corner of her mouth turning up in ridicule.

“Fifth Miss, if you don’t listen, this is the end!” The old woman, thinking that Ning Xueyan didn’t believe it, immediately glared and continued to threaten, deliberately pointing her finger at Qingrui, who was lying on the ground, bloodied, and already dead and without a sound.

After she finished speaking, she also reached out to grab Ning Xueyan, wanting to pull her over to see clearly Qingrui’s tragic appearance.

But before her hand could touch Ning Xueyan’s sleeve, she heard a stern shout from behind: “Stop, where did you get this mad old woman, and don’t hit her yet.”