The Devious First-Daughter

“Young Lady, it’s still the same tea house as the last time. Childe Hua told me that he will be there in the afternoon, and you can go there to meet him.” Mother Han came back from outside and hurriedly came in to report. She had sent a letter from Ning Xueyan and waited for a while to get a reply from Ming Yuanhua. It was still considered fast, although it took about four hours for her to make a round trip, even if Ming Yuanhua replied so quickly this time.

“Mother Han, is your son still at the Qingyun Academy?” Ning Xueyan put down the cold tea. Her long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings. After blinking a few times, she looked up and asked thoughtfully.

Mother Han did not know why Ning Xueyan was suddenly asking about her son, but she replied honestly, “Dazhuang has nothing else to do at the moment, so he is still at the Qingyun Academy. Is there anything he can do for you?”

For the sake of Ning Huaijing, Han Dazhuang had been sent to the Qingyun Academy to protect Ning Huaijing secretly. They were afraid that Madam Ling would plot against him. Now, Ning Huaijing had returned to the Lord Protector’s Manor and was no longer studying in the Qingyun Academy. So, it did not matter if Han Dazhuang was there or not.

Thinking for a while, Ning Xueyan came up with an idea that she had been mulling about for a long time. “Mother Han, let your son come out of the Qingyun Academy. I want to open a shop, and I’ll let your son be the shopkeeper. In this way, it will be convenient for me to contact my uncle and the others. If there is any news, it will be sent quickly.”

Today’s matter was not urgent. If one had been anxious, it would have been too slow. Although most of Madam Ming’s shops had been under her control, these shops had been under Madam Ling’s control for a long time already. There must be some people working for Madam Ling. For a time, as an unmarried young lady, how could she clean them up?

If she opened a new shop, it would be different. If she used Mother Han’s son, he could be her henchman. If she needed to send messages, it would not alert the others. Ning Xueyan never doubted Mother Han’s loyalty. Moreover, Mother Han had only one son.

In order to help her, Han Dazhuang worked at odd jobs and did not have a stable job. So, he did not have much of an income. If she opened a shop and made him the shopkeeper, she could give him more money, so that Mother Han would not have to worry about him.

She had thought about it for some time, and today she formally made a decision.

“Young Lady, you will be opening a shop? That’s great!” Mother Han was stunned at first, but she immediately understood Ning Xueyan’s meaning. She smiled, but then her smile disappeared. She said uneasily, “Young Lady, you can ask Dazhuang to help you, but you don’t have to let him be the shopkeeper. I’m afraid that he won’t be competent enough to be the shopkeeper and will only ruin your plan.”

Seeing Mother Han’s consideration for her, Ning Xueyan felt warm in her heart. She smiled softly and said, “Mother Han, it does not matter whether we make money or not. As long as my cousin and the others can find me directly, and I can get information anytime, that’ll be fine.”

“But, Young Lady…” Mother Han still wanted to refuse.

“Mother Han, you don’t have to say that. You’ve dedicated your life to my mother and me. You’ve been in the Bright Frost Garden for so many years. If it were not for you, maybe my mother and I would have died long ago. Speaking of which, you don’t have to be concerned about the shop. If your son is the shopkeeper, I will feel more assured. Meanwhile, you don’t have to worry about your son’s job instability. Now, it’s all right. With this store, you can go and see him at any time. Besides, your son is not young anymore. He has to save some money so that he can have a good wife in the future.”

Ning Xueyan interrupted Mother Han with a smile.

“Young Lady…” Mother Han’s eyes turned red. She wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and said in a choked voice, “Yes, I’ll listen to you. From now on, I’ll ask Dazhuang to keep your business in mind, and not to make any mistakes.”

Mother Han knew that her Young Lady wanted to promote Dazhuang. Although her Young Lady’s current identity was not distinguished, she would soon be Prince Yi’s co-consort. Her Young Lady’s shop would undoubtedly be her dowry, and her son would become the shopkeeper. Compared with the servants who worked at odd jobs, he would have a better future.

If it were not for her, Dazhuang would not have been able to get such a good job. Mother Han secretly made up her mind that she must make sure that her son did a good job and he should never abuse her young lady’s trust.

Since they had determined to open a shop, the master and servants would discuss what kind of shop would be best. In the end, Ning Xueyan made the final decision and opened a cosmetic shop selling rouge powder. On the one hand, the women here were all familiar with rouge powder. On the other hand, Ning Xueyan had her own way of making rouge powder.

As long as she did some adjustments to the several prescriptions that Aunt Xiang gave her in the past, they could be readily made. When they were mixed in the powder, they would do a good job. The powder that was used to destroy Ning Yuling was the one specially added by Ning Xueyan. There was a fresh fragrant powder in it. It also proved that this kind of powder was more attractive.

Moreover, it was spring now, and there were a lot of flowers in bloom. They could ask some people to collect different flowers, dry them, and make them into different types of fragrances. Then, they could infuse them directly into the powder and produce different effects. It would be much better than a single powder, and it would enhance the quality of the powder.

Since the matter had been decided, Mother Han would choose a site for the shop. If she liked it, she could ask Ning Xueyan to go and check it out. Speaking of this matter, she was the one who started the business on her own. Madam Dowager would not say anything about it. Besides, she would have one more reason to go out of the manor. Otherwise, how could a young lady, who was about to be married, go out every now and then?

After their discussion, it was already late. Qingyu brought lunch over, so Ning Xueyan ate a little. After all the maids were done, she took Xinmei and Lanning out of the manor. Madam Dowager was ill, so she did not bother her. She only asked Mother Han to tell Mother Qin what she meant.

She hinted to Mother Qin that the reason why she wanted to open a shop before she got married, was that she hoped she did not have to worry about money after she entered Prince Yi’s Manor. In that way, she would not bother the Lord Protector’s Manor. After hearing what Mother Qin said, Madam Dowager was very satisfied. She also said that if Ning Xueyan went out for the business of the shop in the future, she would not need to report it to her. She also asked Mother Qin to tell her that she had to speed up on the embroidery of the dowry garments.

After all, the marriage of the two concubines in Prince Yi’s Manor had exceeded Madam Dowager’s budget. However, Madam Dowager was not dissatisfied with it. For whatever reason, Commandery Princess Xianyun, the Lord Peace’s Manor, and the Prince Yi’s Manor had come to such a decision, it was good for the Lord Protector’s Manor.

A co-consort could marry with a consort at the same time, which would mean that the co-consort was honored. Madam Dowager had never thought of such honor in the past. So, she was delighted with Ning Xueyan. As for Ning Xueyan’s opening a shop, in Madam Dowager’s opinion, it was the basis of the competition between a wife and a concubine in the future.

Although she did not have many thoughts about Prince Yi, it was hard to say. If it was possible, the Fifth Young Lady might be…

Thinking of this, Madam Dowager naturally gave Ning Xueyan a lot of freedom. She even asked Mother Qin to provide a sum of money to Mother Han in private. She said that it would be used as the principal for the business.

When Ning Xueyan arrived at the tea house, the shop assistant recognized them and led them to a private room at the back. Ming Yuanhua was already sitting inside. After Ning Xueyan entered, Xinmei guarded the door, while Lanning served tea inside.

“Cousin, did the matter of the Cloud Reflection Courtyard have anything to do with you?” As soon as Ning Xueyan came in, Ming Yuanhua immediately asked her. Such a big event had happened in the Lord Protector’s Manor. Now, it caused a big scandal in the whole city. He and his father were worried that Ning Xueyan would be involved in that, and wanted to ask Ning Xueyan about it. However, they could not get in touch with Ning Xueyan, so they were very anxious.

When he received the letter from Ning Xueyan, Ming Yuanhua came to the tea house early.

Seeing Ming Yuanhua staring at her anxiously, Ning Xueyan knew that he had been worried about her. She comforted him in a soft voice, “Cousin, don’t worry. I’m fine. When something happened to the Cloud Reflection Courtyard, I was still in the Bright Frost Garden. How could it have anything to do with me? You don’t need to worry about me.”

The rebirth was her biggest secret. If it had not happened to her, she would not have believed it. Therefore, she did not want to tell anyone about it. At most, she showed her connection with Ning Ziying in her dream.

This kind of reason would not work for Ming Yuanhua. It was better for her not to say anything, lest he and his uncle worried about her.

“It must be that vicious woman in your mansion who did that. So even if you know something, you can’t say it. After all, you are her junior, and your position is not strong enough. If there is a need, you’d better let my father do it.” Seeing that she was so assertive, Ming Yuanhua felt a little relieved, but he still reminded her.

If someone was involved in the incident of the Lord Protector’s Manor, the person would get into trouble. Moreover, Madam Ling was the most probable suspect. However, because there was no victim, and they could not find any evidence for a while, it would be under investigation for some time, based on the current situation. At last, when the rumors had subsided, maybe the matter would not be investigated into, anymore.

No one would be willing to offend the Lord Protector, Ning Zu’an, for Ning Ziying, who had no power and influence. Moreover, Ning Zu’an’s two daughters were going to marry into the royal family and he would now have a closer relationship with the royal family. So, it was unwise to offend Ning Zu’an now.

Ming Yuanhua was worried that his cousin might not be able to stand it anymore and would stand up to testify for the dead Ning Ziying. In the end, it would be a mess. Whoever got involved in such a groundless thing would be unlucky. Moreover, Ning Xueyan addressed the “evil woman” as Mother. Whether she admitted it or not, the truth was there. If Ning Xueyan said something, others would blame her for being unfilial.

Even though she was Prince Yi’s co-consort, so what? The emperor dared not disobey the former emperor’s will and dared not to bear the label of “unfilial.” It could be seen that the crime was severe.