Chapter 289 - A Coincidence Might Cause a Disaster
Chapter 289 A Coincidence Might Cause a Disaster
In Foggy Courtyard, only Ning Qingshan and Mammy Luo were in the inner room. Both of them looked pale.
After a while, Ning Qingshan asked with a gloomy face, “Was she really beaten to death by my father?”
“Yes. When the marquis saw that maid, he immediately ordered people to beat her to death with sticks. It’s said that he didn’t even give her an opportunity to explain.” Mammy Luo’s face turned blue. Another maid had been beaten to death by Madam Dowager, and now this one was beaten to death by Ning Zu’an. Mammy Luo had thought that after leaving the nunnery, they would enjoy incomparable honor and wealth following Ning Qingshan, but now the servants had been beaten to death one by one, and it would be her turn next.
“Can we ask them to send another maid like this one? We can tell them that this maid was caught by my father due to her carelessness,” Ning Qingshan said, biting her teeth, but her face softened a little.
“Miss, the maid who took the blame for you last time for what had happened at the gate was sent by them. Today, we lost another one. They told us last time that if anyone else they sent to us died, they would leave us alone and never send anyone here again.”
Mammy Luo’s face was ashen. She walked to the window and looked outside, lowering her voice.
“Mammy, don’t worry. I’m sure that they will send us more people. They have to take my identity into consideration.” Although Ning Qingshan did not look good, she raised her head and said proudly, “As long as they still want to achieve big goals, they will need me.”
“Miss, we…” Mammy Luo was not as confident as Ning Qingshan. At the thought that the sword almost cut off her neck last time, she was frightened.
“Mammy, relax! You can promise that person that we’ll be more careful next time. Tell him if he fails to send more people here, I may be killed in the imperial palace. If I die, it won’t do any good to them. Besides, he should know that I do this for him!” Although Ning Qingshan was a little worried, she calmed herself down at the thought of this.
She looked even more arrogant. Her identity was unique. Since that person had made great efforts to find her, of course he would not abandon her easily. Thinking about it, she felt relieved. Anyway, due to her special identity, that person would not let her die easily.
“Got it, Miss. I’ll find a way out soon.” Seeing that Ning Qingshan had calmed down, Mammy Luo was a little relieved, as if she had found something to fall back on. That was right. Her master was so distinguished, so losing a few maids was not a big deal.”
What was more, Mammy Luo thought that her master meant well to help that person to investigate Ning Zu’an. Nobody had thought that Ning Zu’an would have suddenly appeared. By now, Ning Qingshan did not know exactly what had happened yet.
After all, Ning Qingshan was very calm. She stopped Mammy Luo, who was about to leave and said, “No, don’t go out today. Act as nothing has happened. Let’s talk about it in a few days.”
Since a maid from her courtyard had just been beaten to death, if her wet nurse was found running out of the manor in a hurry, other people would think that there was something wrong. Besides, that person had told Ning Qingshan not to look for him except for something extremely urgent.
That person had offered to come to meet her every time before.
“Yes, Miss, you’re right!” Mammy Luo said, looking at Ning Qingshan with admiration. Now she had completely calmed down. She touched her forehead, closed her eyes and took a long sigh, suppressing her astonishment. Ning Qingshan’s servants had been beaten to death one by one gave her a sense of foreboding, so Mammy Luo had lost her cool.
“Mammy, go to Bright Frost Garden later and tell my fifth sister that I can’t visit her because I have to deal with some problems. Ask her to pick several books for me at will,” Ning Qingshan ordered. She had rushed back in a hurry, so she had to explain it to avoid suspicions. Now she had known what had happened in the study, so she did not have to inquire Ning Xueyan about it.
“What should I say if Fifth Young Lady asks me what’s wrong with you?” Mammy Luo nodded but immediately asked uneasily.
By the look on her master’s face when she walked into the room, Mammy Luo could tell that something bad had happened. Therefore, she was sure that the moment her master had gotten the news, she must be panicked. It was said that Fifth Young Lady’s maid had also been there at that moment.
“Tell her that a maid broke the jade my mother left to me.” Ning Qingshan thought for a while and reminded, “Mammy, tell her that I’m heartbroken now. The maid was so reckless and broke the only memorial my mother left to me, so I’m very distressed. Don’t say anything more.”
Although she could not see her own face, she knew that she must have lost her composure just now. It sounded reasonable to use the jade left by her mother as an excuse.
“Yes, I’ll go now.” Mammy Luo nodded and was about to turn to leave. However, she was stopped after only taking a few steps forward.
“Mammy Luo, wait!”
“Miss, is there anything else you want me to tell Fifth Young Lady?” Thinking that Ning Qingshan had something else to tell her, Mammy Luo asked in surprise.
“No, Mammy. My father is investigating this matter, isn’t he?” Ning Qingshan’s face was gloomy and there was a strange look in her eyes. How could she forget that sometimes, misfortune was a blessing in disguise? She should take special measures at critical moments. She would show her ability to that person while putting Ning Xueyan under her feet. Why not?
“The marquis will definitely see into this matter. Maybe he will suspect Third Young Lady,” at the thought of this, Mammy Luo had a headache. She lowered her voice subconsciously, for fear of being heard by Ning Zu’an by accident.
“If I can prove that the maid came to our manor with ulterior motives and had nothing to do with me, my father won’t doubt me anymore,” Ning Qingshan said coldly. “Those maids were all brought in our manor by Mammy Xing, the human trafficker, right?”
Most of the servants in the Lord Protector’s Manor were the Ning family’s servants’ children, but some were bought from human traffickers. Mammy Xing specialized in human trafficking. Since Madam Dowager had planned to change the servants of Bright Frost Garden, most of the maids who had been brought in the manor recently were sent there.
Considering that Ning Qingshan was about to return, Madam Dowager had also specifically picked some smart maids for her. Both the maid who had sneaked into the study and the one who had taken the blame for Ning Qingshan last time at the gate had been brought in the manor at that time.
As soon as Mammy Xing had brought the servants to the manor, Madam Dowager had selected a few smart maids and sent them to the Foggy courtyard. Then she had sent all the rest servants to Bright Frost Garden and asked Ning Xueyan to choose some. In general, she had bought those servants mainly for Ning Xueyan, as Ning Xueyan and Madam Ling had already been on bad terms by then.
“Miss, do you want to get Fifth Young Lady involved in this matter?” Mammy Luo’s eyes lit up, but she frowned soon. “But it has nothing to do with Fifth Young Lady!”
“My grandmother bought those maids mainly for her. Except for my maid, Ning Xueyan also went to the study. What a coincidence that she was also there! Why did she show herself as soon as my maid was caught? Besides, she also wanted to pick this maid before!” Ning Qingshan said with a hint of complacency on her face.
Although this reason sounded kind of reasonable, it was too far-fetched. Mammy Luo hesitated for a while and did not know what to say.
“Mammy Luo, go to Bright Frost Garden and tell Fifth Young Lady about me. Then find a way to go out with someone of Bright Frost Garden to find Mammy Xing,” Ning Qingshan said confidently with a trace of malicious jealousy in her eyes.
“Got it, Miss! I’ll go to Fifth Young Lady’s courtyard right now.” Mammy Luo rolled her eyes and immediately understood her master’s intention. It was impossible for her to have any henchman of Fifth Young Lady go out with her, but it would be easy to ask an ordinary older female servant to do this.
When Mammy Luo arrived at Bright Frost Garden, Ning Xueyan was resting in the room. Hearing that Ning Qingshan had sent her henchman, Mammy Luo to her place, she asked Lanning to ask her in.
“Fifth Young Lady, is your foot better?” Mammy Luo bowed to Ning Xueyan and asked with concern.
“I’m fine. What’s wrong with my third sister? Did anything happen just now?” Ning Xueyan put down the book in her hand. There was a faint glow in her eyes in the sun and nobody could tell what she was thinking about.
“Fifth Young Lady, a careless maid broke the jade left by my master’s mother, so my master was not in the mood to chat with you for the moment. She asked me to apologize to you on behalf of her. As for the books you brought back from the marquis’ study, my master said that you could give any two of them to her at will. When she is in a better mood, she will come to apologize to you in person,”
Mammy Luo replied quickly and explained the matter in a reasonable way. She smiled apologetically, as if she really felt sorry that Ning Qingshan could not come.
“It doesn’t matter. Please bring these two books to my third sister. When my foot is better, I’ll visit her.” Ning Xueyan smiled gracefully, pointing at the two poetry books on the table. Lanning walked over and took the books. She then handed them to Mammy Luo.
“Thank you, Fifth Young Lady! Are you sure that your foot injury is not serious? It will need 100 days to recover if you injured your muscles or bones. Fifth Young Lady, you must take it seriously. Why don’t you ask a doctor to come over and apply some ointment to your foot?” Mammy Luo took the books and looked at Ning Xueyan’s foot resting on a small stool with concern. Qingyu was massaging the foot for Ning Xueyan, squatting on the floor.
“It’s unnecessary. I’m okay!” Ning Xueyan shook her head and refused, with an uneasy look on her face.
“Oh, I see! Fifth Young Lady, you must be worrying that the doctor will see your bare foot!” Mammy Luo seemed to have realized something. “Fifth Young Lady, don’t worry. I know a doctor who specializes in treating traumatic injuries. I’ll ask him for some ointment and you can have your maid spread it on your foot. Thus, the doctor won’t see your foot.”
How could a Young Lady’s foot be seen casually?
“Really?” Ning Xueyan smiled slightly, as if convinced.
“Of course. I have sprained my foot too. The other doctors said that it would take at least 100 days to recover. However, not long after applying the ointment, people couldn’t find out that my foot was injured. If you don’t run too fast, it will be okay.” Mammy Luo promised, pattering her chest. Seeing that Ning Xueyan was almost convinced, she tried harder to persuade her.
Of course, it would be okay to have an ordinary servant of Bright Frost Garden go out with her. However, if this person was Fifth Young Lady’s personal maid, it would be more convincing. This idea suddenly occurred to Mammy Luo as soon as she saw Ning Xueyan’s injured foot. Besides, she did know a skilled doctor who specialized in treating traumatic injuries.
What a coincidence!