Chapter 254: A Mysterious Middle-aged Woman

Qingyu, of course, wasn’t guarding the back door of the backyard for no reason. Since discovering Ning Zuan’s suspicious accounts last time, Ning Xueyan had stopped tracking that account. She also had Qingyu guard the back door today. In that place, in her previous life, she had seen someone come to find Ning Zuan.

Usually, there were few people going in and out of the mansion. Even the back door was difficult to enter. But today was different, as there were many people coming and going. Some servants, seeking convenience, directly entered and exited from the back door. The curfew was much weaker than usual. If someone wanted to enter the mansion to find Ning Zuan, this was the best opportunity.

As for the old woman at the back door, Ning Xueyan had also investigated. She wasn’t Madam Ling’s person, nor was she even Old Madam’s. She was the old mother of one of Ning Zuan’s former subordinates. That subordinate was crippled on the battlefield, and Ning Zuan took care of his whole family. He specifically brought his old mother into the mansion to look after the back door.

The wages were also twice as high as those of ordinary servants, so in this sense, she was Ning Zuan’s true confidante.

Therefore, she was more suitable to help Ning Zuan do some things that he didn’t want the others in the mansion to know.

Therefore, Ning Xueyan was lying in wait, and it was obvious that the effect was significant.

“Where is Qingyu?” Ning Xueyan had already made up her mind, nodding her head.

“She’s still watching.” Lan Ning answered.

“Go get her to come over, no need to keep watching.” Ning Xueyan instructed, and after speaking, she parted ways with Lan Ning. She went to Mingshuang Courtyard, while Lan Ning understood and went to find Qingyu near Ning Zuan’s study.

When Ning Xueyan arrived at Mingshuang Courtyard and sat down, Lan Ning and Qingyu returned together.

“Young Miss, that woman circled around Duke’s study’s annex for a long time. Later, she bumped into Duke’s valet. The two seemed to know each other. After saying a few words, the woman was still waiting there. The valet went outside. In a moment, Duke came in, bringing the woman into the study. They still haven’t come out.”

Qingyu had been closely watching this woman who suddenly appeared in the mansion, so she saw the whole thing!

“What did that woman look like?” Ning Xueyan took the tea that Lan Ning had brewed, took a sip, and as if suddenly remembering, she asked while holding the teacup.

“This servant was watching from behind. At first, I didn’t see clearly. Later, once, she happened to be unable to find anyone and was anxiously pacing back and forth at the study door. This servant deliberately walked over there, pretending to pass by, and looked at her. That woman was very timid. When she saw this servant, she hurried to the side to hide. She looked timid, looked to be in her thirties, but was generally unremarkable. This servant has never seen her before, and she is not a person from the mansion.”

Qingyu thought that Ning Xueyan just wanted to confirm whether this person was from the mansion, and specially added the last two sentences.

Ning Xueyan slightly lowered her head, her eyes slightly lowered. An ordinary appearance, that meant she wasn’t very good-looking. This seemed somewhat different from what she had imagined. Could it be that she was mistaken? But the various signs that were showing didn’t seem like she was wrong.

She had privately had Nurse Han check that account as well. It seemed to be heavily guarded, and nothing could be found. Moreover, she couldn’t let Nurse Han check in a straightforward manner; otherwise, it would only alert Ning Zuan. Ning Xueyan had never thought that Ning Zuan had any father-daughter affection for her.

“What expression did Duke have when he saw that woman?” Ning Xueyan’s eyes turned, asking meticulously.

“Duke seemed to have strong opinions and didn’t look good either. When he saw the woman, he just frowned and looked at her a few times, and then he went to the study. The woman cautiously looked left and right and timidly followed in, like a young married woman.”

Qingyu recalled the situation at the time, and was also very surprised. That woman’s behavior and demeanor all revealed a hint of eeriness. Was she a servant? It didn’t seem so. But if she wasn’t a servant, why would she go directly to Duke if something happened in the inner courtyard? It also didn’t seem to make sense.

“Qingyu, let’s go to the backyard and take a look. Just now, the mansion was in a mess. I don’t know if Older Brother and the others have investigated clearly.” Ning Xueyan thought for a moment, stood up, and said to Qingyu.

Mingshuang Courtyard was originally in a corner, and the path to the backyard wasn’t too far.

Today, because of Madam Ling, the rumors of some assassin surfaced, and it was normal for her to go to the backyard to check as the Duke’s Mansion’s master.

The middle-aged woman came out of Ning Zuan’s study, wiped a trace of tears from the corner of her eye, then looked at Ning Zuan’s cold back, gritted her teeth, endured the sadness, and retreated. She lowered her head and walked very carefully, almost every time she saw someone coming, she consciously avoided them.

Today was Duchess’s wedding day. Originally, people should have been lively and bustling, but because of the previous incident, the maidservants and old women in the backyard of the Duke’s Mansion were all cautious, afraid of accidentally causing trouble. Therefore, even though they saw that this woman was unfamiliar, they didn’t pay attention.

Because there was a banquet today, the First Madam had specially arranged for a few maidservants and old women to come in yesterday, so it was normal not to recognize them.

She had heard that the two maidservants who had something happen in Lanyuan before, it was because they didn’t recognize each other that they caused such a thing.

The woman simply walked to the back door, and looked at the back door from afar, then she lightly let out a sigh of relief. As long as she left this door, no one would recognize her, no one would discover her, and she would be safe.

Her footsteps quickened, and she was about to walk quickly to the door. Suddenly, at the intersection ahead, a young girl appeared, followed by a maidservant. It was obvious at a glance that she was a young lady. She immediately stood to the side of the road, lowered her head and shoulders, and didn’t dare to move.

“Who are you?” A gentle and soft voice reached her ears, carrying a faint gentleness.

Before her eyes was a pair of embroidered shoes embroidered with a hibiscus flower, half-hidden under a skirt.

“This servant is here to ask Duke for the annual provisions from the estate.” The woman answered cautiously with familiar words, which she had said before, so there was no hesitation.

“The annual provisions from the estate? Which estate?” Ning Xueyan looked at the middle-aged woman who had lowered her head so that her face was almost invisible, and asked with a smile.

“It’s the estate outside the city. The harvest was poor this year, and Duke asked this servant to come and get some of the annual provisions.” The middle-aged woman didn’t expect that the young lady in front of her would be interested in this. Although she was stunned, she still answered respectfully, with proper behavior, and didn’t show any unusualness.

Qingyu, behind her, looked at her up and down with a curious gaze, but couldn’t figure anything out.

“It’s the estate outside the city. It’s quite close to the Capital City. How did you come?” Ning Xueyan’s attitude was as gentle as ever. Her gaze, with the same smile, fell from the middle-aged woman’s plain commoner’s clothes, to her hairline, and to the neatly combed hair, which was held in place by a simple hairpin.

Although it was a plain style, the material of this hairpin was gold, which was very mismatched with her commoner’s clothes.

“It’s quite far. This servant came by a ride, otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to get to the Duke’s Mansion at this time.” Hearing that Ning Xueyan was just curious about how she entered the city, the middle-aged woman lightly let out a sigh of relief, and answered very naturally.

“Are you going back soon?”

“Maybe I’ll have to wait a while. This servant still has some things to do in the city, I need to see an old friend.” The woman’s answers became more and more natural, led by Ning Xueyan’s casual small talk, she answered subconsciously.

“Oh, do you need the mansion to send you a small carriage? Although it’s from the estate, you’re still a person from the mansion.” Ning Xueyan showed a few points of interest on her face and continued to entice her.

“No… no need, this servant… just wants to casually stroll around, see an old friend, and see if there are any daily necessities to sell.” Upon hearing that Ning Xueyan was going to send her off, the middle-aged woman waved her hands in a panic, and her head involuntarily lifted.

It was really an extremely ordinary woman’s face. Placed among the servants in the mansion, it was not attractive at all. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes made her look a few years older. There were traces of labor on her hands and feet, showing that she wasn’t a person who was pampered. Ning Xueyan’s gaze impassively fell on her somewhat cracked hands.

It was winter, and her hands weren’t as well-maintained as those of the servants in the mansion.

“Then go back early, so that no one is waiting.” Ning Xueyan smiled kindly and stopped staring at the middle-aged woman. She walked forward with the maidservant.

Seeing Ning Xueyan leave, the middle-aged woman finally breathed a sigh of relief. Today, the Duke’s Mansion was having a banquet, and many guests had come, but the young lady in front of her didn’t seem like the young ladies from other families. Was it the Third Young Lady, the Fourth Young Lady, or the Fifth Miss?

The middle-aged woman’s eyes flickered, but in the end, she couldn’t tell which young lady had just passed by. She sighed, and what had passed was already in the past, so what if she knew? The Duke’s Mansion and herself were already strangers.

Thinking this way, she started to walk again, towards the back door. The old woman at the door saw it was her, didn’t ask a single word, and pushed the door open to let her out. She sighed and closed the back door again after watching her leave.

This action was extremely fast, and also extremely natural. Ning Xueyan hadn’t left; she had been standing behind the tree on the path, watching this scene. Her willow leaf eyebrows slightly frowned, and she said, “Xinmei has already left the mansion?”

That person made her even less want to be discovered than Ning Zuan!

“Yes, Xinmei has already left just now. She should be at the back door by now, Young Miss, is there something wrong with Duke’s estate? How could it be that after a year, not only is there no profit, but also a sum of money is missing?”

Qingyu had heard it clearly just now, and now asked with doubt.

She had just discovered that the shop had deliberately falsified the accounts, why was there another unexpected event with the estate? Could it be that they also falsified the accounts? But this estate belonged to Duke himself. Even if it was to check the accounts, it didn’t need to report to the inner courtyard; it was just a general account of the flow of money.

She couldn’t see anything wrong.

“Let’s go, let’s go back and rest first. Duke’s will have an explanation, but I don’t know if it’s the same as what she said.” Ning Xueyan had already restrained her mind, smiled elegantly, and a trace of mockery appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Madam Ming’s greatest misfortune was meeting Ning Zuan, a heartless person, and in the end, she died so miserably. Madam Ling, with the status of an outer concubine, seized Madam Ming’s status, and still didn’t let go of Madam Ming’s mother and daughter, and wasn’t it just for Ning Zuan’s status? Now, the reason why she was dealing with Madam Ling was always unsuccessful.

Of course, it was also because Madam Ling gave birth to Ning Zuan’s only son.

If she hadn’t been reborn, Ning Xueyan would have also escaped the word “Death” that day, and all of this was caused by Madam Ling and Ning Zuan…