Chapter 543   Unmasking Ning Qingshan

Ning Xueyan’s words left Madam Dowager stunned. She abruptly raised her head to look at Ning Qingshan with an increasingly displeased expression. Finally, her face turned as dark as the night.

Everyone knew Ning Qingshan’s intentions about the Third Prince, so she couldn’t have fallen for Xia Yudong, a man inferior to the prince in many ways. Her mysterious relationship with the Second Young Master Xia at a time like this suggested that they were having an affair.

Coincidentally, Ning Yuling had just murdered her mother to frame Ning Xueyan.

Everyone in the manor was well aware of the kind of person Ning Yuling was. She was a selfish and impulsive person who would be easily provoked into action. In other words, she was a complete idiot. Madam Dowager recalled that it was Ning Qingshan who suggested that they held the ancestral ceremony for Ning Huaiyuan. She wouldn’t have thought of performing the ceremony without knowing whether Ning Huaiyuan had succeeded in the examination.

Ning Qingshan’s face turned increasingly pale. She never thought that Ning Xueyan would know about this, and even brought it up at this point. Most importantly, Ning Xueyan didn’t seem to have suggested much. She had no reason to argue even if she wanted to. She looked up at Ning Xueyan, who acted as if nothing had happened after dropping such a bomb. Ning Xueyan was looking out of the door in silence.

But Ning Qingshan knew that Madam Dowager had already begun to doubt her.

Ning Xueyan didn’t produce any factual evidence to accuse her, but this was even worse. Her simple question had cost her Madam Dowager’s favor.

“Fifth Sister, where did you hear such nonsense? I’m not close to Second Young Master Xia. Why would I have contact with him? Much less exchanging letters.” With a pale face and gritted teeth, she tried to make it seem like Ning Xueyan was wronging her. Unfortunately, the sudden change in the situation had caught her off guard and her delicate, pitiful expression didn’t appear quite right. It made her look more nervous instead.

Madam Dowager watched Ning Qingshan closely. She could tell from Ning Qingshan’s face that she was furious.

“Third Sister, should we invite Second Young Master Xia here and ask him about it? I believe that His Highness has many tricks to make him speak.” Ning Xueyan smiled gently.

Prince Yi’s tricks? Ning Qingshan felt cold all over. If the prince were to use his cruel methods against Xia Yudong, the latter would surely answer everything that was asked of him and all of her plans with him would be exposed to the world. If Madam Dowager found out that she had harmed Ning Xueyan behind her back just to win over the Third Prince, and even claimed the lives of Ning Yuling and Madam Ling in the process...

She didn’t dare to think further. If the truth was exposed, she could only compensate for her wrongdoings with death.

“Fifth Sister, don’t, don’t speak nonsense. Second Young Master Xia is the younger brother of a court official. His Highness would never... treat him like that.” Her smile was stiff and she was even stammering.

Madam Dowager felt as if a fire was rampaging in her chest and she had the urge to vomit blood. “Enough!” she cried, slamming the table with her hand so hard that the cups were shaking. They looked as if they would crash to the ground.

The mood in the room immediately turned tense.

Ning Xueyan looked at Ning Qingshan with a fleeting smile and stopped talking.

Madam Dowager stared hard at Ning Qingshan. The more she thought about it, the more resentful she became. She swept her hand across the table, flinging the tumbling cups to the ground. The cups made a crisp sound as they fell. She started raging at Ning Qingshan. “Very well... Very well! I never thought we’d be raising a traitor in the Lord Protector’s Manor!”

Her words were sharp and her stare on Ning Qingshan was cold. Everyone could tell who the recipient of her anger was. Silence fell over the room.

Ning Qingshan never imagined that the scheme that she had been orchestrating from behind the scenes would one day be brought to her face. Madam Dowager appeared furious at her and even called her a traitor. She was still living in the Lord Protector’s Manor now. Following Madam Ling’s death and Ning Yuling’s actions, she was destined to live as a concubine-born daughter of the Lord Protector’s Manor.

Not only did she have such a status, but she was also not a biological child of this family. If she couldn’t win back Madam Dowager’s favor, she could already see how badly she would be suppressed in the Third Prince’s harem. She had a low status in the first place. Without a strong family backing her up, she couldn’t even match up to Ya Moqin.

Part of the reason Honored Consort Ya chose her instead of her niece, Ya Moqin, was the Lord Protector’s Manor behind her. Now, however, her status as a lady from the Lord Protector’s Manor not only did not raise her, but appeared to be dragging her down instead.

Moreover, she hadn’t married the Third Prince yet and had to seek a living under Madam Dowager. If she angered Madam Dowager, she might not even be able to marry the Third Prince.

She gritted her teeth and allowed tears to well up in her eyes. She knelt with a thud. “Madam Dowager, believe me when I say that I have no contact with Second Young Master Xia. I’m always around and rarely leave the manor. After coming back, I didn’t even know this Second Young Master Xia. So how could we exchange letters? Fifth Sister must have misunderstood me. Maybe a maid in the manor is using my name to have an affair with him.”

She appeared sad and timid as tears fell down her face continuously. She sounded both wronged and upset as she tried to argue for herself.

Her explanation sounded reasonable. Xia Manor and Lord Protector’s Manor were not in contact three years ago. Never mind Xia Yudong, the ladies in the manor didn’t even know Xia Yuhang. Three years after that, Ning Qingshan didn’t think she had the chance to meet Xia Yudong.

Of course, she wouldn’t mention that Ning Ziyan was the one who helped her meet Xia Yudong.

Her words were intended to direct the blame onto her maid. The death of a maid was nothing if it meant her salvation. Whether or not the maid would expose her behavior before death, it didn’t matter. She could just excuse it as the maid being grudgeful and making up stories to hurt her.

With such reasoning and evidence, coupled with her performance, Ning Qingshan believed that Madam Dowager would just kill her maid at most.

Caifen widened her eyes at Ning Qingshan after hearing her mention her maids. Her pupils were filled with disbelief. Was this the Third Young Lady that she wanted so desperately to protect? What did she mean? Was Ning Qingshan planning to make her a scapegoat? But the consequences for this crime weren’t something a mere maid like her could bear!

She didn’t understand it before, but she slowly began to understand after living in the Lord Protector’s Manor for a while. A crime like this wasn’t something a maid could bear. When something like this happened, only death awaited.

Did her sister die under such circumstances as well? The Third Young Lady told her that her sister died because of the Fifth Young Lady. If she were to die here, could this be blamed on the Fifth Young Lady as well? But the real murderer was the Third Young Lady.

Ning Qingshan couldn’t care less about Caifen now. She even made an oath, saying, “Madam Dowager, let heaven strike me with lightning and give me tragic death if I have an affair with Xia Yudong!

Her explanation and oath didn’t diminish the anger on Madam Dowager’s face. She had thought today’s events over in her head earlier. She felt that Ning Yuling couldn’t have possibly done this. Ning Yuling was never smart, and it would be impossible for her to come up with such a plan to frame Ning Xueyan.

And if things didn’t work out, she would be the one to die.

She was a mere concubine at Xia Manor, but she was nonetheless no longer living at the Lord Protector’s Manor. Even if Madam Ling’s status improved, only Ning Ziyan’s status would be better. It had very little to do with her. When did Ning Yuling start being so considerate of others to the point of sacrificing herself to frame Ning Xueyan?

To the point of committing such a vicious act that violated human ethics?

Unless someone provoked her, Madam Dowager was sure that Ning Yuling wouldn’t dare to do such a thing.

Ning Yuling had intended to frame Ning Xueyan, so both of them weren’t suspects. That made Ning Qingshan, the bystander in this event, the most suspicious of them all. Madam Dowager could vividly remember that Ning Qingshan was the one who brought up having an ancestral ceremony. Bringing up such a matter out of nowhere was just her way of tricking Ning Xueyan into coming back.

Therefore, no matter how reasonable Ning Qingshan’s explanation was, Madam Dowager wouldn’t believe her anymore. She had also heard Ning Qingshan’s oath loud and clear. Ning Qingshan vowed that she didn’t have an affair with Xia Yudong, not that she had nothing to do with this incident. Naturally, there was no affair between them, but a conspiracy.

Madam Dowager was so angry that she nearly vomited blood.

“Go back to your courtyard. Don’t leave unless you have any business. Stay there, copy scriptures, and pray for Madam Ling’s well-being in the afterlife,” Madam Dowager said, every word leaving her mouth with difficulty. She looked at Ning Qingshan as if she was going to devour her but didn’t respond to her words.

Ning Qingshan was currently not only the adopted daughter of the Lord Protector’s Manor but also their link to the Third Prince’s Manor. Even if Madam Dowager was angry, she couldn’t expose Ning Qingshan. They had already offended Prince Yi; they couldn’t afford to anger the Third Prince as well.

Ning Qingshan nearly fainted after hearing Madam Dowager’s words. That was as good as convicting and imprisoning her! Wasn’t it enough to have a maid take the blame? Why should she still be implicated?

Saying such words in front of so many, particularly under such circumstances, was akin to slapping Ning Qingshan in the face. Her face turned increasingly pale, but she had no choice but to accept this.

Facing Ning Qingshan’s bloodless, pale face and vaguely furious eyes, a mocking smile appeared on Ning Xueyan’s face. Ning Qingshan must be furious right now, but she couldn’t show it. Offending Madam Dowager would make her life more unbearable than hell.

“Yes, Madam Dowager!” Ning Qingshan had no choice but to bow and put on a submissive expression on her face.

“Madam Dowager, is the conversation over? His Highness wants to know if Consort Ning can leave.” A voice, carrying a hint of malice, came from the door.

Everyone looked up and saw a eunuch at the door. He was staring at them with cold eyes.