Chapter 316 Someone Tampered with the Zither

After the song ended, Ning Qingshan’s hand dropped instantly. The pain in her fingertips caused her hands to spasm. The nerves of the fingertips are linked to the heart. If it was not for the fact that it was a very important occasion, she would have given up earlier.

The eunuch came down and waved to them to leave.

The ladies looked at Ning Qingshan. Ning Xueyan came over and held Ning Qingshan. She asked in a gentle voice, “Third Sister, what happened? Did you hurt your hand?”

In other people’s eyes, Ning Xueyan’s words sounded as if she was very concerned. But from Ning Qingshan’s point of view, she could only feel the coldness and ridicule that she did not even try to hide. “Ning Qingshan tried to frame me. What should I do now? Otherwise, my finger would have been injured at this time, and I’m the one who would be viewed with disfavor!”

Honored Consort Ya protected Ning Qingshan so that she could play her song till the end, successfully. What about Ning Xueyan? If it happened to her, n.o.body would be there to defend her. Then, what would happen to her?

This matter had not been settled yet. Ning Qingshan and Honored Consort Ya would pursue this case and throw cold water on her. To avoid this, she might as well disclose it in front of the emperor and the empress. In this way, they would not be able to stir up trouble for a while. If she did not speak up now, they would have an excuse to frame her in the future…

Her words made Ning Qingshan s.h.i.+ft her attention from her fierce struggle to contain the pain, to Ning Xueyan. She stared at Ning Xueyan fiercely, and her voice burst forth. “It’s you, you vicious woman, who framed me, isn’t it?”

“Third Sister, what’s wrong? Is your hand injured? Come on. Let us look for the imperial physician.” Ning Xueyan did not seem to notice that there was something wrong with Ning Qingshan. She pointed to a trace of blood on Ning Qingshan’s sleeve and said hurriedly.

Ning Qingshan hated Ning Xueyan so much that all the pain in her fingers converged into hatred toward Ning Xueyan. Under such circ.u.mstances, how could she keep calm and stay rational? She pushed Ning Xueyan away and shouted angrily, “It’s you, right? You deliberately kicked my zither so that I am not able to play it, right?”

Did someone dare to tamper with the zither in front of the emperor? The whole hall was in an uproar. The emperor sat there, his eyes cold and no one could tell what he was thinking, from the expression on his face. The Empress remained dignified. Honored Consort Ya could not sit still, and there was urgency in her eyes.

Ao Chenyi’s eyes fell on Ning Xueyan’s face. He cast his long, narrow and cold eyes on the calmness in Ning Xueyan’s eyes. He suddenly chuckled. It seemed that the little fox had not been exposed at all. Then, he wanted to watch the fun!

Ao Mingyu’s face darkened. He was not his usual gentle self. Now it was out of his control.

“Third Sister, what did you say? I don’t understand? You brought the zither here. Do you think that I can ask the eunuchs in the palace to do this?” Ning Xueyan asked gently, slight surprise showing in her eyes. Then she smiled faintly and let go of Ning Qingshan’s hand.

Her tone was neither haughty nor humble, but it was more convincing than Ning Qingshan’s scream.

The Fifth Young Lady had been in the Lord Protector’s Manor for so many years. The reason why n.o.body had heard of her was because Madam Ling had suppressed her in the Lord Protector’s Manor. Madam Ling had almost prevented the funeral of her biological mother from taking place. She was in a difficult situation in the Lord Protector’s Manor. How could she do that in the palace?

“It’s you. You must have bribed the eunuch in the palace with money. You sent a broken zither to me on purpose and hurt me!” Ning Qingshan felt dizzy, because of the pain. At this time, she did not care about the fact that she was in the main hall of the imperial palace. She pointed at Ning Xueyan and scolded angrily. It was rumored that she was all “loyalty and filial piety.” But now, her image was ruined by her actions.

She was not the same person who was said to be cultivating quietly in the monastery during the three years and ignored the secular world. Then, she looked calm and detached from all desires. But now, she spoke aggressively. She pointed at her younger sister and scolded her loudly in front of the emperor. She displayed no signs of observing any social etiquette at all. There was no trace of peace in her whole being.

The Buddhist family called for “Sacrificing the body to feed the tiger.” The current situation did not seem to be like this. After three years of meditation, she enjoyed a good reputation. It turned out that it was just a cover-up and a lie!

Thinking about all the rumors about Ning Qingshan, many people did not believe it at that time. But now, when they saw Ning Qingshan’s behavior, they could not help feeling skeptical. It seemed that the Third Young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor won her popularity by hoodwinking the public. Even several imperial concubines started to talk about her.

Honored Consort Ya could not sit still anymore. She looked at the emperor, who was sitting there with a gloomy face, “Your Majesty, I’ll go down and have a look. I don’t know what the two Young Ladies are doing. It must be due to the family affairs of the Lord Protector’s Manor. How could they behave like this…”

It was much less severe to ascribe it to the affairs of Lord Protector’s Manor. Honored Consort Ya thought so, but others did not. Honored Consort Shu, who was sitting aside, said in a delicate voice, “Sister Ya, this is not just about the family affairs of Lord Protector’s Manor. By seeking the cooperation of the eunuchs in the palace, they are able to do this kind of thing. Then, will the safety of the emperor and the empress be threatened next time?”

Hearing what Honored Consort Shu said, the Emperor’s face darkened.

“Yes, it doesn’t… look good.” Honored Consort Ya looked at the emperor in embarra.s.sment, and then she looked at the Empress with a pleading look in her eyes.

“Make them stop now. The other beautiful ladies are waiting.” the Empress said.

Although the Empress had no children, she was the master of the Six Palaces. In such a situation, no one dared to question her words, if the emperor did not say anything. Honored Consort Shu could not say anything after hearing her command. She could only watch as Honored Consort Ya hurried down.

“Third Sister, how do you know this so well? Since that’s the case, let’s find out who damaged the zither.” Ning Xueyan smiled at Ning Qingshan and said softly, “We can also send someone to ask who the zither was sent to.”

Who was the zither sent to? Ning Qingshan suddenly came to her senses, and she trembled, even though her fingers were sore. Who was the zither sent to? It was sent to Ning Xueyan. However, she did not know how it was sent to her. When Caifen bribed the eunuch last night, she had her makeup on. The eunuch might not recognize her.

But just before that, Caifen had selected the zither, and said it was for Ning Xueyan.

If this happened to Ning Xueyan, Ning Qingfan could pa.s.s the buck easily. Even if it was known that she sent a maid to select the zither, the little eunuch could be the witness that Caifen did nothing at that time, because she just chose a zither for Ning Xueyan. It was not a big deal that she, as a sister, chose a zither for Ning Xueyan.

So what if Ning Xueyan felt uneasy. n.o.body in the hall would believe that the Fifth Young Lady, who knew nothing, was able to play the zither. Maybe she could not play it herself, so she intentionally hurt her hands and s.h.i.+fted the responsibility onto her.

Instead, she was the one who played the zither. Moreover, she asked someone to choose a zither for Ning Xueyan. Although she did not know how she got it, she could not escape from the suspicion that she originally wanted to frame Ning Xueyan. When she thought of it, she recovered slightly from the severe pain immediately.

This matter could not be investigated into!

Her mind sobered up immediately as she realized the consequences and that she was in a dangerous situation. Ning Qing widened her eyes and turned to Ning Xueyan. There was a tinge of pain in her eyes. She stretched out her bloodied hand, and she murmured, “Fifth Sister, it hurts.”

After she spoke, her eyes rolled up and she fell to the ground.

The maid standing beside her reached out and tried to help her up.

“Hurry up, help her up. Call the imperial physician.” By now, Honored Consort Ya had reached her and yelled at the eunuch standing at the side. Then, a palace maid came over. She took her away, half-supporting and half-carrying her. Ning Xueyan bowed to the emperor and the empress in the distance, and retreated respectfully.

After she went outside, she changed into her usual clothes in the room, and returned to the main hall. Ning Qingshan’s zither had been removed, and the faint bloodstains on the ground had been cleaned up. However, it was inexplicably creepy. Whether it was because they were affected by that, the rest of the beautiful ladies only gave average performances.

After all the performances were over, the emperor did not say anything. He left together with the empress and his concubines. As the key person in charge of this matter, the Honored Consort Ya had gone with the imperial physician. Seeing no one taking any notice of her, Ning Xueyan brought Lanning out of the hall.

After leaving the hall, she saw that the eunuch who was in charge of the instrument, being flogged. Although his mouth was gagged, each time he was flogged, one could see the pain in his face.

Ning Xueyan looked on coldly as the eunuch was being tortured. She had an indifferent look and went out of the gate of the main hall. The place where the eunuch was being tortured was at the side of the road. Two eunuchs were flogging him viciously. No one counted the number of beatings, which meant that he would be killed by flogging.

They would not stop if he did not die. When she pa.s.sed by the doomed eunuch, the eunuch glanced at Ning Xueyan, with a chilly look. Although she felt uncomfortable, Lan Ning stood in front of Ning Xueyan, and blocked her from the eunuch’s malicious look.

Ning Xueyan walked on, as if there was no one else present. She looked calm and unfl.u.s.tered. It seemed as if she had not seen the paddle with strips of flesh stuck to it, before her eyes.

Going out of the hall and looking for the one that came before, Ning Xueyan strolled. Today was destined to be a restless day. For a while, it seemed that nothing was going to happen. Ning Qingshan wanted to frame her, so she deliberately selected a lengthy song. After it ended, her hand would be severely injured.

Ning Qingshan’s intention was for her to hurt own hands. But unfortunately, she was stewing in her own juice, now. She wondered if she would be lucky enough…

While thinking about this, she did not stop walking. She walked casually to a quiet path. At this time, she did not want to make contact with anyone in the palace, so she was determined to go to a place with lesser people. Lanning followed her quietly. Knowing that she was thinking about something, she did not say anything.

It was quiet along the way. Suddenly, they heard a low sigh. How could there be anyone here? Ning Xueyan stopped immediately.