Chapter 275 Ning Lingyun Pretending to Be Ill and Not Going Upstairs

“Don’t worry. You can find out what happened between them.” Ning Qingshan gritted her teeth and held back her anger. She was clear-headed now and remembered that Ao Mingyu treated Ning Xueyan differently. It could be seen that Ning Xueyan must have something to do with the Third Prince. If she said so, Ning Xueyan wouldn’t be wronged.

“Okay, okay. Come on. Go and invite the Fifth Young Lady here. Tell her that my cousin and I are waiting for her.” Hearing Ning Qingshan’s words, Ya Moqin looked pale. She gritted her teeth and spoke with hatred. She wanted to see what the little vixen looked like.

The Lord Protector was a fox’s den. She just caught a big fox, but she didn’t expect that there was also a little one. Today, she had to teach the little fox a lesson.

After receiving the order, the maid immediately went downstairs and went to the private room of Lord Protector’s Manor. She pushed open the door and walked up to Madam Dowager with respect. “Madam Dowager, why didn’t the Fifth Young Lady come? My Young Lady and Third Prince are there. They invited the Fifth Young Lady to have a chat.”

“Again?” Ning Xueyan looked away from the window and looked at Ning Lingyun coldly.

Ning Lingyun came back in a panic and only said that all were n.o.ble people upstairs, and she was not so gregarious. After Madam Dowager looked at her with disdain, she shrank to one side. She did not look as if nothing had happened.

Ning Xueyan still remembered that Ning Lingyun was quite proud when she went upstairs. However, she didn’t look good after going upstairs and downstairs. At first glance, she knew that something had happened. “Perhaps Ya Moqin is upstairs and the Third Prince is absent. When the two women meet, Ning Qingshan, who always wears a mask, will inevitably suffer a loss to face the arrogant Ya Moqin.”

“Now, has she put the blame on me after suffering a loss?”

“Fourth Sister, won’t you go upstairs? Let’s go together!” Ning Xueyan smiled and turned to Ning Lingyun, who didn’t say a word after entering the room.

Ning Lingyun had planned to meet the Third Prince. Unexpectedly, she didn’t see the Third Prince. Instead, she b.u.mped into Ya Moqin. After she came in, she didn’t say a word and saw Ya Moqin slap Ning Qingshan. First, she was stunned, then she left. Later, she hurriedly took the maid’s hand and ran away.

However, she didn’t dare to tell the truth because she was afraid that Ya Moqin would deal with her. Thus, she pleaded that she was not gregarious and hid in the corner tremblingly, fearing that someone would find her acting strangely. With a shudder, she looked up and faced a pair of cold eyes.

With a slight tremble, she forced a smile and declined in a low voice. “Fifth Sister, I won’t go. You are all legitimate sons and daughters. I’m a daughter of a concubine. After all… my status is lower.”

At this time, she did not dare to return. She just wanted to get away.

“Fourth Sister, if you don’t go upstairs, I won’t go either. Anyway, I’m not familiar with the Third Prince and Miss Ya.” Ning Xueyan refused the maid with a smile.

Madam Dowager’s face darkened because she would not let go of any opportunity to make friends with the royal family.

So before the maid replied, she made a claim, “Fourth Girl, Fifth Girl, you go upstairs to accompany the Third Girl. You can’t leave your sister alone.”

Although she said it with a smile, Ning Lingyun and Ning Xueyan knew that Madam Dowager had ordered them to go, so they had to go.

“Yes, Grandma,” Ning Lingyun said with a pale face.

“Yes, Grandma!” Ning Xueyan smiled and answered gently. She looked calm.

Compared with Ning Lingyun, Ning Xueyan was superior. Even though she had been ill-bred for so many years, she was still much better than a concubine’s daughter. Madam Dowager smiled and looked at Ning Xueyan kindly. “Go ahead. Go ahead. Go and have fun. You should play with other young people.”

“Grandma is right.” Ning Xueyan nodded, followed the maid, and went out first. Ning Lingyun hesitated for a moment, gritted her teeth, and followed. Even if she was unwilling to do so, she dared not say anything in front of Madam Dowager. If Madam Dowager knew that Ning Qingshan had been beaten and she did not report it when she came back, she would find herself in serious trouble.

After they went through the door and turned to the stairs, Ning Lingyun suddenly reached out to cover her stomach, screamed in pain, and bent down. The maid behind her hurried to help her, “Young Lady, what’s wrong with you?”

“My… my stomach hurts…” Ning Lingyun said in pain. She lowered her head and covered her stomach with her hands. She looked to be in so much pain that she couldn’t finish a sentence.

“Fourth Sister, how are you doing? Do you want to see a doctor?” Ning Xueyan smiled with understanding. She knew that Ning Lingyun didn’t dare to go up, so she deliberately did this. She squatted down and asked Ning Lingyun with concern.

With the Third Prince’s intelligence, he wouldn’t humiliate Ning Qingshan, would he? What she needed to do next was stall. She believed that there would be a bigger surprise after that…

“No… no, it doesn’t matter. I’ll be fine… after I have a rest. You can go upstairs now, Fifth Sister. I… I’ll come over later.” Ning Lingyun looked to be in pain, but she pretended to be concerned about others. She covered her stomach and spoke with difficulty.

She didn’t want to go upstairs. Even Ning Qingshan was beaten, so Ya Moqin would beat them one by one. Seeing Ning Qingshan being beaten, she was quite happy. Of course, she would be happier if Ning Xueyan was slapped a few times. “Isn’t she a legitimate daughter who is high above the ma.s.ses? Isn’t she so amazing?”

“She will be beaten and scolded by others at will. If she sees Ning Qingshan and Ning Xueyan lose face one after another, Madam Dowager will not think that the daughter of the princ.i.p.al wife is more powerful than me, a concubine’s daughter.”

“How can I let Fourth Sister stay here alone? I’ll stay here with you. When Fourth Sister is no longer in pain, let’s go upstairs together. If you still feel pain, we can go back to find Grandmother and ask her to find a doctor.”

Ning Xueyan had expected Ning Lingyun’s trick, so she said this to her gently.

“Sister, our Fourth Young Lady is ill. Our Fifth Young Lady wants to take care of her. Please report to the Third Prince and Young Lady Ya that if Fourth Young Lady isn’t hurt, our two young ladies will come soon. But if she is, we can only visit them next time.”

“No… no, Fifth Sister. I… I’m fine. I’ll be fine in a while. You can go upstairs first.” How could Ning Lingyun bother Madam Dowager? If Madam Dowager knew that Ning Xueyan lost the opportunity to play up to the Third Prince and the Young Lady of the Grand Tutor Ya’s Manor because of her, she would be punished severely. She covered her belly with one hand and shook it desperately with the other.

Xinmei had received Ning Xueyan’s hint a long time ago. At this time, she immediately came over and spoke to the maid of Grand Tutor Ya’s Mansion, who was standing aside and watching coldly.

“Fourth Young Lady, our young lady has long desired to know you. She felt sorry that she did not have time to greet you. Can you go upstairs with Fifth Young Lady first? It so happens that His Royal Highness’s imperial physician is at his side. Can I call a physician to see you?”

Grand Tutor Ya’s maid saw clearly that Ning Lingyun ran away when Ya Moqin slapped Ning Qingshan. Now, Ning Lingyun deliberately made such a scene because she dared not go. If she did not go, the Fifth Young Lady would not go at the moment. Therefore, the maid humiliated Ning Lingyun.

Everyone knew that Ning Lingyun was pretending to be sick. How could she dare to let the imperial physician see her, a concubine’s daughter?

Hearing that she was going to invite the Third Prince’s imperial physician, Ning Lingyun panicked with sweat on her forehead. She shook her hand and said urgently, “No… I don’t need it. I feel… better.”

She was pretending to be sick. The imperial physician would be able to tell that at a glance. If she were found to have feigned sickness, she would be embarra.s.sed. Moreover, if Madam Dowager knew about it, she would come to no good. Her marriage inexplicably would come to nothing. Now her marriage hadn’t been settled yet, so she didn’t dare make Madam Dowager angry.

Ning Lingyun knew that she was not as n.o.ble as she used to be. At least, Madam Dowager worried about the Commandery Prince Li’s Manor in the past.

“Fourth Sister, are you… better?” Ning Xueyan gently said as she stalled with Ning Lingyun. Her eyes were full of concern as if she was worried about Ning Lingyun.

“I… I’m better. Let’s… let’s wait a little longer.” This time, Ning Lingyun didn’t dare to ask Ning Xueyan to go upstairs first. She leaned against the railing of the stairs and stood up a little bit. She was so scared that sweat was on her forehead and she looked pale. She seemed to be sick.

Her eyes were rolling. She didn’t dare go upstairs. Now she didn’t know what Ning Qingshan had been beaten for. Ya Moqin asked the maid to call Ning Xueyan. It was evident that she had evil intentions. Whoever went upstairs now would be in trouble.

But this maid insisted on threatening her without persuading Ning Xueyan to go upstairs first. She knew that she had to go today.

She was in a dilemma. Ning Lingyun was in great confusion, and she didn’t know what to do. She was anxious like an ant on a hot pan, and she didn’t know how to escape.

“Fourth Young Lady, I’ll hold you to see if you can move. If it’s okay, why don’t we take a little step forward?” However, the maid of Grand Tutor Ya’s Mansion didn’t want to let her go at all. On the other side, she held her hand with concern and gestured for her to raise her foot — one step at a time.

This meant that she had to move to the private room upstairs.

She had to take Ning Lingyun with her. Ning Lingyun had seen Ya Moqin beat Ning Qingshan before. Although Ya Moqin was Grand Tutor Ya’s granddaughter, Ning Qingshan was also high-ranking. As the legitimate daughter of Lord Protector’s Manor, she couldn’t be beaten easily.

Ya Moqin was arrogant and overbearing. She hit Ning Qingshan regardless of the situation. However, the maid was smart, so she wanted to threaten Ning Lingyun to not say anything. However, what happened at that time occurred too fast. As soon as Ya Moqin started to fight, Ning Lingyun immediately ran away. The maid couldn’t stop her.

Now it seemed that the Fifth Young Lady would never leave Ning Lingyun behind. So, the maid would put all her focus on Ning Lingyun. She had to make Ning Lingyun go upstairs. Otherwise, the Fifth Young Lady would not go upstairs. Then, she could not accomplish her task and she would be in trouble because the Young Lady had a bad temper.

This was also the reason why the maid fixed her eyes on Ning Lingyun. Now, Ning Lingyun was in a dilemma, so she had to walk up step by step with the help of the maid.

“Fourth Sister, wait. Who is that?” when Ning Xueyan pa.s.sed the stairs, she suddenly cried out in a low voice as she grabbed Ning Lingyun’s hand and pointed at one place.