Chapter 349 Nothing in the Four Corners of Wall
“What do you mean, Immortality Master? Is there anything wrong with the Fifth Young Lady? Please tell me exactly.” Madam Dowager asked.
“It’s amazing when the two ladies’ fate are combined together! That lady had the hope to become a princess, but she is having rotten luck, and her fortune is on the decline. Now, this lady’s fortune is rising, while that lady is having rotten luck. It seems that she is taking advantage of that lady’s power.”
The Taoist priest looked at Ning Xueyan as he said this.
“Master Immortal, do you mean that I am having good luck when Second Sister is having bad luck? So I swept away my bad luck by tapping on her good fortune?” Ning Xueyan smiled slightly and looked at the Taoist priest. She asked this in a meaningful way, with a hint of coldness in her glistening eyes.
“Yes, you’re smart.” The Taoist priest did not expect that Ning Xueyan would suddenly speak up, and he was not prepared. He smiled immediately. He had planned to highlight the focus on the Fifth Young Lady’s taking advantage of the Second Young Lady’s fortune. However, he did not expect that the Fifth Young Lady would speak up for herself. That was great.
As long as he turned the talk on this subject, and stated that Fifth Young Lady had taken advantage of the Second Young Lady’s fortune, and he took out all the “prepared items” out of the Fifth Young Lady’s courtyard, everything would be a great success. As for how the Lord Protector’s Manor would deal with this Fifth Young Lady who cursed others and enhanced her luck, it was not his problem.
“What do you mean by that? If our Lord Protector’s Manor is having bad luck, all of us will have bad luck. Then, the fortune of the whole manor will be on the decline. Is there no one who will have good luck and be able to save the whole manor?” Ning Xueyan smiled softly and looked at the Taoist priest coldly, with a hint of undisguised sarcasm.
“I… I didn’t mean that…” How would the Taoist priest dare to say that? He immediately waved his hands and said.
“You did not mean that, but I have offended you. Master, please continue with your procedure.” Ning Xueyan smiled politely. It seemed that she just made an indiscreet remark. She pointed to the platform aside, indicating that the Taoist priest should go there.
The Taoist priest did not expect such a thin girl to be so domineering and aggressive. He could only step back for a moment. He did not dare to say that the fate of the whole Lord Protector’s Manor could not be saved. A Dharma Master would not say this for sure, while conducting a religious rite. There would always be a turn of events, not to mention that Madam Ling had already warned him about it.
“Grandmother…” Ning Yuling was about to say something, but Ning Xueyan interrupted her gently. “Grandmother, don’t worry. As long as Yan’er is lucky, I will definitely bring good luck to the whole manor.”
Madam Dowager liked Ning Xueyan’s words and nodded with satisfaction.
Ning Yuling gave Ning Xueyan a vicious look and lowered her head. Madam Dowager liked to listen to good words. If she wanted to say something else at this time, it would only annoy Madam Dowager. Fortunately, the matter was not over yet. If the thing fell upon that little b.i.t.c.h, she would die.
Madam Ling could not be too obvious, lest they suspect her. So, she retreated to the side and did not say anything.
“Fifth Young Lady, you’re a sweet talker. You know what fate means. You must teach me if you have a chance, so that I’ll be luckier.” Some people did not notice the sharpness in Ning Xueyan’s eyes. One example was Junior Concubine Xu, who was socially active, and she came over to talk.
Ning Xueyan turned her head and looked at Xu Yulian. Seeing the smugness in her eyes that could not be concealed in time, Ning Xueyan sneered coldly. She took herself seriously. At this time, even Madam Ling did not talk about her fortune, but she, a concubine, came out again.
She did not know what the man had promised her, so that she could not tell what was going on.
A cold smile appeared on Ning Xueyan’s pale lips. She asked coldly, “Are you not lucky enough? Do you want to go further?”
A maid who served the master in bed and became a concubine. In some people’s eyes, it was already a matter of great luck. Did she want to advance further to be a co-wife or legal wife?
Not only did Madam Ling’s face change, but Madam Dowager’s face darkened as well. She gave Xu Yulian a cold look and cursed fiercely, “It is important to know one’s own limitations.”
Although she did not specify who she was, everyone knew that she was talking about Junior Concubine Xu. Many people took pleasure in her misfortune at this moment. They all looked at Junior Concubine Xu, who suddenly looked ashamed and anxious. With such a humble origin, how dare she think of becoming a legal wife?
Recently, Xu Yulian had antagonized many people in the manor. She used to be Madam Ling’s maid, but now she rode roughshod over others. Many people in the mansion were not convinced. Recently, the Junior Concubine Xu was so domineering that no one dared to provoke her. Unexpectedly, not only did the Fifth Young Lady rebut her, but Madam Dowager scolded her as well. This cheered the people greatly.
Being looked at with contempt and ridicule by so many people, Xu Yulian felt shy and angry. She subconsciously leaned to the side. Ning Huaiyuan was standing beside her. He stood behind Madam Dowager, so he happened to stand side by side with Xu Yulian. Sensing that she was upset, he turned his head and showed a gentle smile on his handsome face.
This smile comforted Xu Yulian inexplicably. She was no longer angry and ashamed, but lowered her head. Others thought that she lowered her head because of Madam Dowager’s scolding. Only Ning Xueyan, who stood in front of her and had leaned over slightly , saw her interaction with Ning Huaiyuan. Xu Yulian’s blush was not caused by extreme shame turning into anger.
A strange smile appeared on her lips. It was exactly what she had expected.
She turned around and s.h.i.+fted her attention to the Taoist priest, who was performing a religious rite. The Taoist priest used all his strength to point to the east and west with his sword. From time to time, he spat a mouthful of water on the sword. He struggled to make himself resemble a real Dharma Master.
The religious rite was fitful. Toward evening, Madam Dowager and the people in the inner courtyard had already gone off to rest. After dinner, they would come out when the Dharma Master began the religious rites.
When Ning Zu’an returned to the manor, Madam Dowager had asked someone to tell him about it and instructed him to bring the Taoist priest there later.
After dinner, the masters and servants of each courtyard did not sleep. In order to access the situation clearly, Ning Zu’an would accompany the Dharma Master to each yard to check out the feng shui of the place. It was said that it was unlucky enough in the manor, and even the fate of the Marquis was being suppressed.
It was improper for such a Taoist priest to appear in the backyard. But now, it was related to several masters’ fortunes. Moreover, with Ning Zu’an’s accompaniment, it was not a big deal.
“Young Lady, do you want to rest first? I’ll call you when someone comes?” Seeing that it was getting late, Lanning brought a cup of tea and said to Ning Xueyan, who was reading under the light.
“No, they should be coming soon.” Ning Xueyan raised her head with a cold smile on her face. They were targeting her today. How could they not come over quickly? It was just an excuse to see one yard after another. She believed that they were so anxious that they would not let her wait for too long.
After she finished speaking, she heard noises outside the courtyard. Someone knocked on the door. Ning Xueyan came to the corridor with several maids and saw Ning Zu’an, Ning Huaiyuan, Ning Huaijing, and the Taoist priest coming in. As soon as the Taoist priest entered the door, he pointed his sword around the room. Suddenly, he pointed at one place and said to Ning Zu’an.
“Marquis, there seems to be something different in that direction. I can sense that there is something with a strong evil spirit, which is causing bad luck to the Lord Protector’s Manor.”
“Yan’er, what’s over there?” Seeing Ning Xueyan coming over, Ning Zu’an raised his head and pointed to the direction indicated by the Taoist priest.
“Father, how could there be something wrong?” Ning Xueyan said softly. She followed the direction of Ning Zu’an’s finger and said in a hoa.r.s.e voice.
“Let’s go and have a look.” Ning Zu’an strode to the other side first, followed by a large group of people. Ning Xueyan followed them with several maids and went to the corner of the courtyard wall.
“It’s here, Marquis. The aura of the Evil Spirit is strongest here.” The Taoist priest pointed at a corner and said this with certainty.
Ning Zu’an walked over and looked at it. Looking from the outside, he could not see anything unusual. It was just like any other place. But when he looked carefully, he could still see that the soil had been turned. He looked up at Ning Xueyan doubtfully and ordered, “Dig!”
Two older female servants, who had already come over with shovels, dug into the ground. The soil was very loose, and after a few spadefuls, they already dug to the bottom. However, there was nothing. If they dug deeper, there would only be some soil layers. There was still nothing.
Ning Xueyan, who was standing aside, smelled the faint fragrance of a woman’s face powder and there was a meaningful smile on her face.
The Taoist priest was a little confused. “Didn’t they say that there will be little cloth men inside? It should be here!” He panicked for a moment and pointed to another corner of the wall. “Marquis, it’s over there.”
The group of people moved to another place. When they dug there, they found nothing.
Then, they turned around again. After all the four corners of the wall had been turned over, there was still nothing!
There was cold sweat running down the Taoist priest’s back, and his confident smile was gone. Not far away, Ning Huaiyuan looked gloomily at the holes that were now dusty pits. Then he looked at Ning Xueyan, who looked inexplicably confused. His gentle smile froze. Ning Huaiyuan seemed to realize something. He looked at Ning Xueyan quietly and asked in a low voice.
“Are you okay?”
Ning Xueyan shook her head and gave him an affirmative answer. Then she turned to the stunned Taoist priest and asked gently, “Immortal Master, what’s over here? Didn’t you say that I have great luck? Why is there bad luck here? Do you mean that the flower seeds I planted here hindered the Luck of the Lord Protector’s Manor?”
“I dug up the soil a few days ago. Now all the flower seeds are gone.” Qingyu pouted and pointed at the several black spots that had been dug out together with the soil.
She also added, “Immortal Master, you’re truly magical. How did you know that the flower seeds were sown at the four corners of our courtyard?”
The master’s face turned grey. Ning Zu’an’s face was gloomy. As the Lord Protector, he did not get any sleep that night, ran to his daughter’s courtyard, and brought people to dig the corners of the garden, but found nothing. How could he not be angry?
“Qingyu, don’t say that. The Dharma Master has true magic skills. Otherwise, how could he be so accurate? Maybe he mistook the garden.” Ning Xueyan said with an elegant smile, instead of hitting him when he was down.
“Yes, yes, Young Lady, you’re right!” The Taoist priest’s forehead was sweaty. As soon as he looked at the Duke’s face, he knew that the situation was not good. So, he went along with Ning Xueyan’s words. He did not know what to do next.
“Marquis, something eventful has happened to Junior Concubine Xu. You, you should go and have a look.” An older female servant rushed over and cried out loudly.