At the turning of a dead end at Bright Frost Garden, where nobody would come without any special reason,

Qing’er was talking to someone tearfully. She wiped the tears from her cheeks with a handkerchief, and said sadly, in a low voice, "Sister, Concubine Ma doesn’t like Fifth Young Lady, so she vented her anger on me. What will mom and I live on if they drive me away?"

"Don’t think too much. She can’t even protect herself now!" Yu Lian said dismissively. She really detested Concubine Ma. Before First Madam was shut up in Buddha Hall, Concubine Ma had always trailed behind her, flattering her endlessly. Even the servants could not bear her bootlicking ways.

"Why can’t she even protect herself? Maybe she will be promoted to Second Madam after some time. Now First Madam is in Buddha Hall, and there is no any other madam managing the manor. Since marquis likes Concubine Ma so much, if he decrees it, she will definitely become a real master. If she remembers me when she becomes Second Madam in the future, even Fifth Young Lady can’t protect me anymore." Qing’er cried even more bitterly.

"She should look at herself first before she finds fault with others! How can a woman with such a dirty record, dare dream of becoming a madam!" Yu Lian said ironically. Madam Ling was reluctant to let Yu Lian get close to Ning Zu’an, but she still took her as her henchman, so Yu Lian knew something about Concubine Ma.

"Sister, don’t speak that way. You said that you will become a madam in the future, but now, look at you! You can’t even become a concubine! Otherwise, I would not have to become a maid, and get rejected by others," Qing’er claimed, sobbing.

Hearing what she said, Yu Lian felt ashamed. With a serious look on her face, she said, "What are you talking about? Aren’t you afraid of being overheard?"

"So what? You told me that you would not forget me when you became rich. But now you’re still a maid, and you even can’t prevent your sister from being bullied by a concubine, let alone become rich! Since you’re so useless, don’t brag in front of mom next time!"

Qing’er felt very wronged and she began to cry again after being scolded by Yu Lian. She threw all caution to the wind, and her cries grew louder.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps could be heard. Yu Lian was worried and she immediately covered Qing’er’s mouth with her hand. She warned her in a low voice, "Why did you speak so loudly? Someone might overhear it. Come on! Stop talking!"

The sound of footsteps was just at the turning, so Qing’er did not dare to cry out. She bit her lips hard to prevent herself from sobbing.

"Was there someone quarreling here just now?" a sweet and surprised voice rang out. It was Qingyu.

"You must have heard wrongly. How could anyone quarrel in a place like this? Besides, there’s nothing to quarrel about in Bright Frost Garden," Lanning answered gently. Obviously, they had something to do, and were heading for Bright Frost Garden.

"Lanning, are they serious in marrying her off to Housekeeper Lu’s nephew? It’s terrible! How pitiful that she has to marry that fool! The maid is even more beautiful than Concubine Ma."

Housekeeper Lu had a nephew who had a mental problem. Whenever he came to the manor and saw a pretty maid, he would call her ’sister’, drooling, and would then rush toward her and hold her. Once, Housekeeper Lu came with his nephew to pay their respects to Madam Ling. When his nephew saw Madam Ling’s maid, Yu Lian, he kept on calling her ’beautiful sister’ and then held her tightly in his arms, saying that he would marry this ’beautiful sister’.

Yu Lian had nearly been frightened to death. Finally, several older female servants managed to save her from the fool.

Housekeeper Lu had joked with them, saying that he would like Yu Lian to marry his nephew.

Yu Lian had a bad feeling when she overheard the conversation between Qingyu and Lanning, so she could not help but listen more intently.

"But First Madam has her reasons. She is in Buddha Hall now and Yu Lian is so beautiful, so it’s normal for her to worry, in case Yu Lian takes this opportunity to please marquis if she is still in the manor. It’s said that marquis has been fascinated with Yu Lian for a long time already. If First Madam had not stopped him, we would have already called her Concubine Xu! It’s a pity! Beautiful girls are usually unlucky!"

Qingyu said this, as if she were defending Yu Lian. Then she let out several sighs.

"That’s her fate. If she was not so well-dressed, marquis would not have noticed her. Unfortunately, she failed to become a concubine, and instead aroused First Madam’s suspicion. No good will come of anyone who offends First Madam. Yu Lian will be sent out of our manor soon. Madam Dowager wanted this matter to be dealt with in a low key manner, so she asked Young Lady to deal with it secretly. According to the instructions of Madam Dowager, it will be fine, even if she was sent to Housekeeper Lu in a sedan. She is so unlucky!"

Lanning pretended to sympathize with Yu Lian, but could not help her.

"First Madam is a person who suffers from great jealousy. Marquis did not do anything but only paid a little more attention to Yu Lian than to the other maids, but First Madam already wanted to drive her away."

Qingyu grew angrier.

"Come on! We don’t have to worry about the others. Anyway, we’re not as beautiful as Yu Lian and marquis probably won’t notice us, so we don’t need to worry that we’ll be married off to a fool."

Lanning patted Qingyu on the shoulder, and then they turned round a corner, and walked toward Bright Frost Garden, talking and laughing at the same time. It seemed they didn’t notice there was someone hiding behind the corner.

Yu Lian was frozen in surprise at the corner, and she had already taken her hand away from Qing’er’s mouth. She gritted her teeth and trembled violently, as if she had been struck by lightning. She was so beautiful, but she would have to marry a fool! Moreover, it was First Madam who had made the decision, so it was inevitable that she lost her temper. It was almost the straw that broke the camel’s back!

"Look! Not only will you not become a concubine, but you have to marry that idiot!" Qing’er came to Yu Lian for help to soothe her broken heart, but she did not get any useful suggestions from Yu Lian. When she saw Yu Lian standing there in shock, she could not help mocking her.

"No! I won’t marry that idiot!" Yu Lian had just recovered from her shock. She flew into a rage and she never thought that Lanning and Qingyu had said these deliberately, so that she could overhear them.

She knew that Madam Ling did not want her to approach Ning Zu’an. Although she dressed up beautifully each time she appeared in front of Ning Zu’an, Ning Zu’an was not her target, so she had never raised any objection to Madam Ling’s decision. She had thought that Madam Ling would give her a chance to serve Eldest Young Master. After all, he was much younger and more handsome, than marquis.

She was surprised that Madam Ling would be that wicked to marry her off to a fool. Now she realized what Madam Ling said was a lie.

"Sister, didn’t you hear sister Lanning saying that marquis has always been fascinated with you? If you don’t want to marry that idiot, you’d better go to him as soon as possible. Since you’re more beautiful and younger than Concubine Ma, you’ll definitely win the marquis’ heart." Qing’er remembered what Lanning had said, so she thought if Yu Lian became a concubine, her position in the manor would rise too, and Concubine Ma would never dare bully her again, so she immediately made this suggestion.

Yu Lian had always dreamed of becoming a concubine, and she had promised her mother and her sister that she would definitely become rich in the future. That was why Qing’er came to the manor. However, after waiting for a long time, not only did her sister not get rich, but would be married to an idiot! How could she just wait and do nothing?

So Qing’er began to advise her sister.

"Of course I won’t marry an idiot! I must go to marquis immediately. The fortune teller told me that I would enjoy prosperity in the future, so I should not let others push me around. I must find marquis before Housekeeper Lu comes back. Marquis will definitely help me!" Yu Lian thought.

"Go back and wait for my news." She pushed Qing’er away and rushed off, clenching her fists.

Qing’er had not expected that Yu Lian’s reaction would be so furious. Caught unawares, she fell to the ground, when she was pushed. Her bottom hurt so much from the fall that she screamed at once.

She managed to stand up and then hobbled back, but she looked happy. Once her sister became marquis’ concubine, she would be marquis’ official relative, and she would not have to serve the others, as a maid, but enjoy a comfortable life, like a Young Lady.

Thinking about that, she forgot about her former sadness. And she had already put the possibility of her being thrown out of the manor behind her.

Qingyu, who had been hiding somewhere near the siblings, had clearly seen every one of their moves. After seeing Yu Lian leave, she turned around and walked into the courtyard. She then headed for the main room to report the news to Ning Xueyan.

Ning Xueyan was reading a book when Qingyu came in. Hearing what Qingyu said, she put down the book and looked out of the window. Qing’er was walking in, holding on to the wall for support. Several maids in the courtyard saw her limping, so they asked her what happened out of curiosity. She just said, "Nothing," with a poker face, and then walked slowly to her room. She looked quite different from her usual timid self.

"The siblings were all snobs!"

Thinking about this, Ning Xueyan did not feel guilty any more in making use of them.

She wanted Yu Lian to strengthen her determination, so she had asked Lanning and Qingyu to say those words when the siblings were together. What Yu Lian had planned before might be useful for Ning Yuyan in the future.

Yu Lian wanted to serve a powerful man in bed, so that she could become a concubine of a rich family. She did not really care about who she would serve. But it was impossible to sit on the fence. So Ning Xueyan thought she was helping her to make a decision by giving her a push. It was said that Ning Huaiyuan was going to return in a few days’ time.

"Arrange for more hands at the outer study room. I don’t like dad to sleep there alone. Besides, he will go to court tomorrow morning. So ask someone to serve him in the morning," Ning Xueyan ordered.

If more people knew about it, the news would spread quickly.

In the early morning, everyone in the Lord Protector’s Manor knew what happened between Yu Lian and Ning Zu’an. It was said that marquis had asked Yu Lian to serve him in bed last night. And this morning, someone saw Yu Lian going back to Auspicious Clouds Courtyard hurriedly after coming out shyly from the study room of marquis. The maids and the older female servants who had seen her could prove it.

Madam Ling got up early and went to the cold and cheerless Buddha Hall. She lit up a stick of incense and put it in front of the Buddha. Then she sat on a futon with crossed legs, began to beat the wooden fish and chanted the Buddhist scriptures. Madam Dowager would arrange for someone to check on what she was doing, from time to time. Although she was angry, Madam Ling did not dare to disobey Madam Dowager’s orders.

At this point, the door was pushed open suddenly. Mother Chen ran hurriedly into the hall. "First Madam! First Madam, I have bad news for you!"

"Calm down! How could something bad happen so early in the morning?" Madam Ling glanced at Mother Chen coldly, her face darkening. She had only been here for a few days, but already some gray hairs could be seen at her temples. She was not as charming and happy as she used to be, and looked cold and depressed.

No one would believe that the smart and tactful Marchioness looked ten years older!

"First Madam, someone said that the little bitch, Yu Lian, served marquis in his bed last night! And this morning, she was seen coming out from marquis’ study room, her clothes in disarray. The kitchen staff said that marquis asked someone to cook soup to nourish her constitution!" Mother Chen was so anxious that she raised her voice.

"Clang!" the wooden fish slipped from Madam Ling’s hands and dropped on her feet.